RTHK: Canadian military on standby to evacuate towns Ottawa prepared Friday to send military aircraft and other help to evacuate towns and fight more than 100 wildfires in western Canada fueled by a record-smashing heatwave. According to wildfire officials, at least 152 fires were active in British Columbia, 89 of them sparked in the last two days. Most were caused by lightning strikes. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met in the afternoon with an incident response group that included several ministers. He said he had already spoken with British Columbia's premier, as well as local mayors and indigenous chiefs in communities under threat. "We will be there to help," he told a news conference. The response group decided to set up an operations centre in Edmonton to "provide support across the region as needed," said Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan. He also said that armed forces will be positioned across the region to provide logistical assistance "if requested." The military resources would include military helicopters and possibly Hercules turboprop transport planes. "The dry conditions and the extreme heat in British Columbia are unprecedented," said Public Safety Minister Bill Blair. "These wildfires show that we are in the earliest stages of what promises to be a long and challenging summer." Roughly 1,000 people have already fled the wildfires in British Columbia, and authorities are searching for many who have gone missing. The village of Lytton, 250 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, was evacuated Wednesday night because of a fire that flared up suddenly and spread quickly. The fire came a day after the village set a Canadian record-high temperature on Tuesday of 49.6 degrees Celsius. Late Friday, the British Columbia province medical examiner's office said there had been 719 deaths in the past week, an "unprecedented number." This provisional death toll is "three times more" than the average number of deaths recorded over this period under normal circumstances. "Today our thoughts are mostly with families that are grieving, that are facing terrible loss," said Trudeau during his press conference. "But of course, we also have to reflect on the fact that extreme weather events are getting more frequent and climate change has a significant role to play in that." Meanwhile, a heat wave that stretched at the beginning of the week from the US state of Oregon to Canada's Arctic territories has started moving eastward, late Thursday touching parts of Ontario in central Canada. British Columbia also warned Friday of flooding from melting mountain snow caps and glaciers under the heat dome, which occurs when hot air is trapped by high pressure fronts, heating the ground. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2021-07-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. RTHK: 19 missing in Japan landslide A huge landslide swept away homes and left 19 people missing at a popular resort town in central Japan on Saturday after days of heavy rain, local officials said. Television footage showed a torrent of mud obliterating some buildings and burying others in Atami, southwest of Tokyo, with people running away as it crashed over a hillside road. "I heard a horrible sound and saw a mudslide flowing downwards as rescue workers were urging people to evacuate. So I ran to higher ground," a leader of a temple near the disaster told NHK. "When I returned, houses and cars that were in front of the temple were gone." A Shizuoka prefecture disaster management official said that "the safety of 19 people is unknown" after the landslide. The local government has requested military assistance for a rescue mission, he added. More than 2,800 homes in the region were without power, according to the Tokyo Electric Power Company. A video posted on TikTok from the scene showed a huge slurry of mud and debris sliding slowly down a steep road and nearly engulfing a white car, which drove away before a faster and more devastating torrent arrived. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will meet ministers this afternoon to discuss the disaster and other rain-related damage, Japanese media reported. Much of Japan is currently in its annual rainy season, which lasts several weeks and often causes floods and landslides, prompting local authorities to issue evacuation orders. Experts say climate change is intensifying the phenomenon because a warmer atmosphere holds more water, resulting in more intense rainfall. Atami saw rainfall of 313 millimetres in just 48 hours to Saturday -- higher than the usual monthly average of 242.5 millimetres in July, according to NHK. The city is around 90 kilometres from Tokyo and is famous as a hot spring resort. Shinkansen bullet trains between Tokyo and Osaka were temporarily stopped due to the heavy rain, while other local trains in rain-affected areas were also halted, rail company websites said. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2021-07-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Stress-free path to stress-free metallic films paves the way for next-gen circuitry Tokyo, Japan - Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have used high power impulse magnetron scattering (HiPIMS) to create thin films of tungsten with unprecedentedly low levels of film stress. By optimizing the timing of a "substrate bias pulse" with microsecond precision, they minimized impurities and defects to form crystalline films with stresses as low as 0.03 GPa, similar to those achieved through annealing. Their work promises efficient pathways for creating metallic films for the electronics industry. Modern electronics relies on the intricate, nanoscale deposition of thin metallic films onto surfaces. This is easier said than done; unless done right, "film stresses" arising from the microscopic internal structure of the film can cause buckling and curving over time. Getting rid of these stresses usually requires heating or "annealing". Unfortunately, many of the best metals for the job e.g. tungsten have high melting points, meaning that the film needs to be heated to over 1000 degrees Celsius. Not only is this energy intensive, but it severely limits which substrate materials can be used. The race is on to create films out of high melting point metals without these stresses in the first place. A team led by Associate Professor Tetsuhide Shimizu of Tokyo Metropolitan University have been working with a technique known as high power impulse magnetron scattering (HiPIMS), a sputtering technique. Sputtering involves applying a high voltage across a metallic "target" and a substrate, creating a plasma of charged gas atoms which bombards the metallic target and forms a charged metal vapor; these metal ions fly towards the substrate where they form a film. In the case of HiPIMS, the voltage is pulsed in short, powerful bursts. After each pulse, it is known that there is some separation between the arrival of metal and gas ions at the substrate; a synchronized "substrate bias" pulse can help selectively accelerate the metal ions, creating denser films. Yet despite many efforts, the issue of residual stress remained. Now, using argon gas and a tungsten target, the team looked at how ions with different energies arrived at the substrate over time in unprecedented detail. Instead of using a bias pulse set off at the same time as the HiPIMS pulse, they used their knowledge of when different ions arrived and introduced a tiny delay, 60 microseconds, to precisely select for the arrival of high energy metal ions. They found that this minimized the amount of gas ending up in the film and efficiently delivered high levels of kinetic energy. The result was a dense crystalline film with large grains and low film stress. By making the bias stronger, the films became more and more stress-free. The efficient delivery of energy to the film meant that they had, in fact, achieved a similar effect to annealing while they deposited the film. By further swapping out argon for krypton, the team realized films with a stress as low as 0.03 GPa, comparable to what can be made with post-annealing. An efficient pathway to stress-free films will have a significant impact on metallization processes and the manufacture of next-generation circuitry. The technology may be applied to other metals and promises big gains for the electronics industry. ### This work was supported by the Fund for the Promotion of Joint International Research (No.17KK0136) of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), the Swedish Research Council (No. VR 2018-04139), and the Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU No. 2009-00971). This story has been published on: 2021-07-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. RTHK: Israeli cargo ship reportedly attacked Israeli defence officials were checking whether Iranian forces were behind a possible attack on a cargo ship under partial Israeli ownership on Saturday on its way from Jeddah to the United Arab Emirates, Israel's N12 Television News reported. The crew were not hurt and the ship, possibly hit by a missile, was not badly damaged and continued on its journey after the incident, N12 said, citing unnamed sources within Israel's defence establishment. Lebanese pro-Iranian TV channel Al Mayadeen had reported earlier that the ship was attacked in the Indian Ocean. N12 said the vessel, the Tyndall, was owned by Zodiac Maritime Ltd. Zodiac Maritime's website says the CSAV Tyndall is a container ship that sails under a Liberian flag. A source familiar with Zodiac Maritime's fleet said the company had sold the CSAV Tyndall several months ago and that no such incident had taken place involving any of its vessels, they said. Ship-tracking data from Refinitiv Eikon showed a vessel called the CSAV Tyndall that was last docked in Jeddah was off the coast of Dubai. A UAE government spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Israeli officials had no immediate comment. (Reuters) This story has been published on: 2021-07-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. by Vladimir Rozanskij Parent groups are organizing to protect their children. The police ignore the disappearance reports. The authorities do not want to give the country a negative image. The official numbers on the coronavirus never revealed. Obligation to wear a mask in public imposed only a few days ago. Moscow (AsiaNews) - Panic over the disappearance of children is growing in Turkmenistan, following a series of rather sensational cases of violence against minors. In the capital Ashabad, groups of parents have formed to guard the streets and walk areas between their homes and the school; other families have chosen instead to send their children to relatives in the countryside. The authorities and the press have so far avoided commenting on the affair. The notices of disappearances, in addition to the alarms on social networks, can also be seen in the many signs hanging on the streets with photos of even very young children; they are often located next to police stations and even on public transport. This plague is not new in Turkmenistan, and has recently resurfaced in a very worrying way. According to Radio Azatlyk, which cites various local sources, several cases of violence against children between 10 and 13 years of age, sometimes hospitalized in very serious conditions, also occur every day in the medical centers of the Turkmen capital. In addition to the problem of street hildren, often in search of food in shops, markets or simply some compassion, the presence in Ashabad of one or more serial paedophiles is being hypothesized. According to local sources, some surveillance cameras have also filmed them. Many parents accuse the police of inertia. A story reported from a few days ago in Azatlyk spoke of passers-by witnessing two children forced into a car as they screamed. The scene took place in broad daylight in Ashabad, near Oguzkhan Street. The witnesses were schoolmates of the sixth class (therefore around the age of ten) of the two boys. The drama of the disappearance of the children is not limited to the capital Ashabad; several cases have also been reported in Mary, the fourth largest city in the country, where the police continue to ignore requests from parents for help. The authorities do not intend to disseminate information in this regard, in order not to feed panic and not to endorse a negative image of Turkmen society. The problem of missing children is very serious worldwide, even in the most advanced Western nations, and Turkmenistan does not intend to become part of these statistics. Despite the worried visits of various World Health Organization delegations since summer 2020, the regime of Gurbangul Berdymuhamedov does not even want to reveal the numbers on the spread of Covid-19. After the last check at the end of June, the authorities introduced the obligation to wear a mask, with very severe restrictions in the velayat (province) of Mary. Berdymuhamedov himself chaired a meeting of the Emergency Committee for the fight against the "ghost virus". The mask, however, was imposed on the grounds "of the increase in dust in the air", which would generally favor infections, without naming the coronavirus. A special team of policemen in civilian clothes has been set up in Mary to monitor the use of outdoor protection. The controllers stop the cars to force drivers and passengers to keep the mask on even in the passenger seats, despite the scorching heat of these days and the absence of air conditioning. At first, the population was advised to fight the virus by smoking the local harmala, a variant of the Syrian rue. Unlike the disappearance of minors, now the authorities seem to be very concerened about Covid, so much so the immenent launch of the vaccination campaign seems likely. Update on News Conference in Front of U.S. Capitol Building on July 4th at 10:00 AM For the first time in America history, public prayer is prohibited from the grounds of the U. S. Capitol building on the 4th of July. NEWS PROVIDED BY Christian Defense Coalition July 3, 2021 WASHINGTON, July 3, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- Rev. Mahoney will hold a news conference in front of the U.S. Capitol Building on July 4th at 10:00 AM on East Capitol Street and 1st Street NE. He will discuss efforts to ensure the Capitol fence comes down and that peaceful First Amendment activities are once again allowed at the Capitol. Rev. Patrick Mahoney applied for a permit from the U.S. Capitol Police Board in which he sought to hold a "Prayer vigil and worship service on the 4th of July as we ask God to bless and protect our nation. On America's birthday, we will be praying for God to preserve and protect our freedom!" He was denied the right to conduct a peaceful prayer vigil and worship service at the Capitol after he was told his permit would not be processed because the U.S. Capitol grounds were "restricted." Speaker Pelosi and the U.S. Capitol Police Board continue to keep the grounds of the U.S. Capitol closed to peaceful First Amendment activities and free speech even though other business is still going on at the Capitol. Members of Congress and their staff are entering and using the Capitol. Vendors, the media and their crews, invited guests, lobbyists and so many others are also allowed to enter and use the Capitol grounds. Sadly, peaceful First Amendment events are prohibited. Even during COVID restrictions last year, the grounds of the Capitol were open to public prayer and First Amendment activities. It should be deeply troubling that on the 4th of July the "People's House" is closed to prayer and the First Amendment. This is a clear reminder as America celebrates its birth as a nation, our free speech and liberties are in grave danger. Rev. Patrick Mahoney, Director of the Washington, D.C. based Christian Defense Coalition, states; "The People's House, as the US Capitol Building is so rightly called, must be a place where all Americans are afforded the right to come and peacefully celebrate and express their First Amendment Rights, especially on the 4th of July. "Tragically, those rights and freedoms are being denied and prohibited. "It should be deeply troubling that on the 4th of July the 'People's House' is closed to prayer and the First Amendment. This is a clear reminder as America celebrates its birth as a nation, our free speech and liberties are in grave danger." For more information or interviews call Rev. Patrick Mahoney at: 540.538.4741 Rev. Mahoney will be holding a demonstration in front on the U.S. Capitol Building on July 4th at 10:00 AM on East Capitol Street and 1st Street NE. SOURCE Christian Defense Coalition CONTACT: Rev. Patrick Mahoney, 540-538-4741 Thanh Hoa suspends Tho Xuan Airport for Covid-19 prevention The northern central province of Thanh Hoa has temporarily closed Tho Xuan Airport for Covid-19 prevention. Under the decision issued by Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan, the suspension will be valid from Saturday midnight until further notice. Tho Xuan Airport The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has been required to consider the operation of special flights which transport medical workers and equipment for the Covid-19 fight based on the proposals by management agencies and airlines. Earlier, Thanh Hoa authorities sought the Ministry of Transports permission for halting passenger flights to Tho Xuan Airport amid the pandemic spread in many localities. The Thanh Hoa Peoples Committee has ordered all people who come to the province from the Covid-19-infected localities of HCM City, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Tien Giang, An Giang, Danang, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Hung Yen to conform to self-quarantine at home for 14 days. They then need to take Covid-19 tests. Quang Ninh launches invest care group The northern province of Quang Ninh has launched a group to support investors during their operation in the locality. The Invest Care group is led by an official from the provincial peoples committee, while its members are leaders from local agencies and departments as well as localities who are in charge of investment issues. Xi's article on learning Party history published Xinhua) 09:18, July 03, 2021 Xi Jinping delivers an important speech at a key meeting to launch a campaign on Party history learning and education among all Party members in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 20, 2021. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen) BEIJING, July 2 (Xinhua) -- An article by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on learning the CPC history has been published. The article by Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, was published Thursday in this year's 13th issue of the Qiushi Journal, a flagship magazine of the CPC Central Committee. In his article, Xi said learning the history of the Party, including its remarkable achievements, arduous journey, historical experience and fine traditions, would help better understand the capability of the Party and the strengths of socialism with Chinese characteristics, as well as the reason why Marxism works. The article called on Party members to gain a profound understanding of the historical inevitability of upholding the Party's leadership, strengthen their confidence in the Party's leadership, and unswervingly follow the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The article stressed strengthening faith in Marxism and Communism, belief in socialism with Chinese characteristics, and confidence in realizing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The article also called on Party members to develop strong moral character, stay loyal to the Party, and unite and lead the people in better implementing the new development philosophy and fostering a new pattern of development, so as to pool strengths for the national rejuvenation. (Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji) Investment, trade fair to be held in northwest China Xinhua) 09:34, July 03, 2021 LANZHOU, July 2 (Xinhua) -- The 27th China Lanzhou Investment and Trade Fair is scheduled to kick off on July 8 in Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu Province, local authorities said. The five-day event will focus on deepening economic and trade cooperation and jointly building a green Silk Road, with exhibitions and conferences held online and offline, said Zhang Yinghua, head of the provincial commerce department, during a press conference held Friday afternoon. The fair plans to set up a virtual pavilion, where promotion and negotiation activities and the release of information can be realized online, according to Zhang. Nepal and Uruguay have been invited as the guests of honor at this year's fair, said Zhang Baojun, director of the provincial foreign affairs office, during the press conference. Officials of embassies and consulates in China and representatives of business associations from 14 countries, and representatives from international organizations including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and ASEAN-China Centre are expected to attend the event. The fair will also feature more than 30 economic and trade negotiation and promotion activities. First held in 1993, the fair serves as a window for the opening of northwestern China and has become a major event for Belt and Road economic and trade cooperation. (Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji) Across China: China works to reduce burden of preschool expenses Xinhua) 10:10, July 03, 2021 YINCHUAN, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Every parent wants the best for their child, and the opportunity to attend a high-quality preschool is no exception. Shen Ziqi, the mother of a three-year-old boy in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, thought she was very lucky. "A friend of mine recommended a private kindergarten and we were all very satisfied with it. The only problem was that the cost was too high," she said. "But this year, we were surprised to find that it had become a public-interest kindergarten, and the price was just one-third of the original." Public-interest kindergartens are public or private kindergartens that provide quality preschool education at affordable prices. Preschool education matters as it shapes a child's lifelong habits. It is thought to help children learn social norms and creates an environment in which children can explore, gain a sense of self, play with their peers and build self-confidence. In the past, the Chinese government put more effort into the popularization of nine-year compulsory education, and many parents were often frustrated to find they faced fierce competition when attempting to send their children to a public kindergarten, or they had to choose a private one at a high cost. In November 2018, a policy aiming to deepen the reform of preschool education was rolled out by the State Council, kick-starting a three-year campaign to reduce the burden of preschool expenses. Efforts included expanding existing kindergartens, building new ones -- particularly in rural and poverty-stricken areas -- and absorbing more private kindergartens into the public-interest kindergarten system. The kindergarten that Shen's son now attends was previously private, charging 3,000 yuan (about 460 U.S. dollars) of various fees per month. Now a public-interest kindergarten, the total monthly fees are less than 1,000 yuan. Her son has now been attending the kindergarten for nearly a year, and Shen is very content. "My son was relatively young for his class. The food at the school is nutritionally balanced and my son is strong and growing fast," she said. Data from the Yinchuan Education Bureau shows that now about 84.9 percent of kindergarten children in Yinchuan are enrolled in public-interest kindergartens, up from 22.11 percent in 2018. Nationally, the gross preschool education enrollment rate reached 85.2 percent last year. China last year had a total of 291,700 kindergartens in which more than 48 million children were enrolled, with nearly 85 percent of the children attending public-interest kindergartens, according to statistics from the Ministry of Education. "Subsidies provided by the government greatly eased our financial pressure after we became a public-interest kindergarten," said Sun Huimin, the director of a kindergarten in Yinchuan's Xingqing District. But kindergarten admission is still no easy feat in many places, and authorities this year vowed to build more kindergartens to further raise the preschool enrollment rate. In May, the central government earmarked a budget of 19.84 billion yuan for the development of preschool education in 2021, an increase of 1 billion yuan, or 5.31 percent, over the previous year. The funds will be mainly used to improve infrastructure and the teaching quality in early childhood education. An Yinchuan resident surnamed Min said his son will soon be turning three years old, the minimum age to enter kindergarten. "There are public kindergartens, public-interest kindergartens and private kindergartens near our home, which allow parents to choose freely," said Min. (Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji) Swiss Haute Horlogerie manufacturer Audemars Piguet presents its Royal Oak Jumbo ExtraThin Only Watch unique piece. This dedicated timepiece is the last unique 15202 reference powered by Calibre 2121, the thinnest automatic movement with central rotor and date indication of its time, first introduced on the Royal Oak in 1972. Reference 15202 and Calibre 2121 will officially retire at the end of 2021, making way for the new generation. While offering new grey hues, the Petite Tapisserie dial of this unique watch has retained the original Royal Oaks typography for the signature and AP monogram as introduced with the 5402 A series. Yet, with an eye to the future, the case and bracelet combine titanium with a new palladium-based alloy, Bulk Metallic Glass a first at Audemars Piguet. Royal Oak 15202 Audemars Piguet We are proud to be part of the Only Watch family once again in 2021, helping advance scientific and medical research," said Francois-Henry Bennahmias Audemars Piguet Chief Executive Office."We hope we have created a timepiece that shares our story and will inspire bidders to contribute to the research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. A Unique Combination For the first time, the Manufacture complements titanium with Bulk Metallic Glass, a palladium-based alloy notably used in micro-electronics. When cooled rapidly, this palladium-based alloy shares several characteristics with other glasses, including amorphicity and high strength, making it highly resistant to wear and corrosion. Its non-crystalline nature results in a unique play of light when handfinished. Hand-polished Bulk Metallic Glass is used for the bezel, the frame of the sapphire caseback and for the bracelet studs to offer a powerful contrast with the titanium case and bracelet links. The sandblasted titanium case, enhanced with polished chamfers, is complemented with a bracelet adorned with sandblasting (on top), satin-brushing (underneath) and polished chamfers on the edges. It is also the first time that the Manufacture presents a titanium bracelet finished with sandblasting. Royal Oak 15202 Audemars Piguet A Dial inspired by the past The sapphire Bulk Metallic Glass caseback is engraved with Unique Piece and the Pd500 hallmark attests to the alloys composition of over 50% palladium. While offering new grey hues, the dial of the unique Only Watch piece retains the aesthetic codes of the initial Royal Oak as introduced in 1972 with the 5402 A series. The printed Audemars Piguet signature and the mention Automatic appearing at 12 oclock, as well as the applied AP monogram at 6 oclock present the same position and typography as the original timepiece. In addition, the original printed denomination Swiss has been kept under the hour-marker at 6 oclock. The dials rhodium-toned shades seamlessly match with the case and bracelet. A monochromatic combination exuding timeless elegance. Royal Oak 15202 Audemars Piguet Calibre 2121: The end of an era The dedicated Only Watch timepiece represents the very last unique 15202 and the last unique piece powered by the automatic movement, Calibre 2121, which came to equip the first Royal Oak in 1972. Measuring a mere 3.05 mm in thickness, Calibre 2121 was the thinnest automatic movement with central rotor and date indication of its time. The legendary movement aligns with the Manufactures long history of extra-thin movements. Champion of miniaturisation since 1875, Audemars Piguet quickly charted its own course in the development of extra-small and extra-thin mechanisms with or without complications. In 1938, the manufacturer released hand-wound 9ML Calibre measuring 1.64 mm in thickness, followed in 1953 by its successor Calibre 2003. Calibre 2120 was introduced in 1967 thanks to the collaboration between several prestigious companies. With its 2.45 mm in thickness, it became the thinnest selfwinding movement with central rotor of its time. It is on this base that Calibre 2121 was created in 1970, this time with date indication. While marking the end of an era, the Royal Oak Jumbo Extra-Thin Only Watch unique piece also ushers in a new generation of Royal Oak in 39 mm arriving in 2022 for the 50th Anniversary. As freedom of travel becomes a reality once more for some, Chopard brings a new design and lightweight wearability to its most prestigious watch for globetrotters: the L.U.C Time Traveler One Black, a worldtime watch crafted by the artisans of Chopard Manufacture, produced as a limited edition of 250 pieces, according to the most sophisticated Fine Watchmaking criteria. It introduces a monochrome style ideal for the fast-paced lives of global citizens. Along with the new L.U.C. GMT One Black, it is the worlds first travel watch in ceramised grade 5 titanium, a material that is both ultra-light and very hard wearing. Beating inside this timepiece is a movement of exceptional quality and invention: calibre L.U:C 01-05-L, created entirely in-house. This stunning fusion of innovative technology and traditional handcraft gives rise to the ultimate timepiece of a new generation of gentlemen travellers. L.U.C Time Traveler One Black Chopard World time within reach The L.U.C. Time Traveler One Black timepiece is the latest interpretation by Chopard Manufacture of one of watchmakings noblest travel complications: the worldtimer, showing the time in 24 zones around the world simultaneously. A symbol of travel at its most sophisticated and elegant, the worldtimer is also a valuable tool for those doing business in multiple corners of the world at any one time. The L.U.C Time Traveler One Black achieves the feat of displaying complex information with absolute clarity via a series of concentrically arranged discs. A central date disc, indicated by a discreet hand, is surrounded by a chapter display for the hours and minutes of the local time zone, with Dauphine hands in the elegant style characterising the L.U.C collection, adjusted by a crown positioned at 2 oclock. L.U.C Time Traveler One Black Chopard The latter serves to adjust the time in the main time zone. A second crown at 4 oclock is used to turn the disc bearing the reference cities of 24 time zones, synchronised on the city disc with local time. Wherever the wearer finds himself at a given moment, when the city for the local time zone is set to the 12 oclock position, all the time zones around the globe will be correctly displayed. An innovative and modern material Chopard launched the L.U.C Time Traveler One to wide acclaim in 2016, offering an elegantly modern take on the worldtimer tradition. The new L.U.C. Time Traveler One Black adds an even more contemporary twist with its sleek monochrome palette and lightweight wearability. The result: a sporty travel watch suited to any occasion. The use of ceramised grade 5 titanium for the L.U.C Time Traveler One Black marks a world first for travel watches and reflects Chopards ongoing commitment to harnessing the most innovative materials in the advancement of Fine Watchmaking. Used in areas such as aerospace, automotive and medical component manufacturing, ceramised titanium is obtained by oxidising surface layers of titanium at extreme temperatures using electroplasma technology. This process improves the metals hardness 700 Vickers (Hv) along with its friction coefficient as well its wear and corrosion resistance. Ceramised titanium is also highly biocompatible. Monochrome style The ceramised titanium case of the L.U.C Time Traveler One Black is matched with a monochrome dial featuring a hand-applied vertical satin-brushed finish. Completing the look is a matching black strap in fully vegan rubber, crafted with an intricate fabric like pattern. Made in Switzerland, the strap offers huge flexibility of usage thanks to its resistance to the effects of water or sweat, its high durability and its comfort on the wrist. In keeping with Chopards commitment to sustainable luxury, the strap has been subjected to stringent environmental tests including REACH certification for protecting human health and the environment from chemicals. L.U.C Time Traveler One Black Chopard Certified precision around the world The L.U.C Time Traveler One Black timepiece is powered by the acclaimed worldtimer movement L.U.C 01.05-L, first unveiled in 2016. Made in-house at Chopard Manufacture in Fleurier, Switzerland, this self-winding integrated-construction movement has a 60-hour power reserve and beats at 28,800 vph (4 Hz). Reflecting the high standards of the L.U.C collection, it is meticulously hand-finished, with beautifully chamfered bridges and Cotes de Geneve decoration visible through the display case-back. For Chopard Manufacture, chronometric performance is as important to Fine Watchmaking as the beauty, finish and functionality of the watch. Like all L.U.C timepieces carrying a seconds indication, the L.U.C Time Traveler One Black is therefore Chronometer-certified by the COSC for accuracy and performance. HEAD Geneve, University of Art and Design, will host the event in Le Cube, a magnificent building that is part of Geneva's industrial heritage, and the flagship venue of its campus. Situated in the heart of Geneva, halfway between Palexpo by the airport and the lakeside hotels, Time to Watches will host 50 exhibiting brands in an emblematic building which combines exhibition areas, a dedicated media room and open spaces for informal meetings and catering. Aimed at industry professionals - retailers, medias, influencers and VIPs - the 4-day event will be open for one day to enthusiasts from the general public. In a market devoid of face-to-face meetings for far too long, the mission ofTime to Watchesis to strengthen links between key players across the watchmaking community, in the very heart of its capital city. It is also to build bridges with the academic and cultural world, hence the partnership with HEAD Geneve. HEAD Geneve, University of Art and Design, offers Bachelor's and Master's courses in Fine Arts, Cinema, Interior Architecture, Space and Communication, Visual Communication as well as Fashion and Accessory Design. It has forged close links and significant collaboration with the local arts community and economy. Time to Watches Head Since 2012, HEAD Geneve has been offering a unique Masters course in Watch Design as part of the Fashion, Jewellery and Accessory Design Department. Students learn about watchmaking design, marketing and strategic challenges as well as trends and heritage issues related to the watchmaking industry. "HEAD Geneve has always been a place open to the city and the world. Promoting a pedagogy rooted in the real world, we wish to offer our students every opportunity to confront the professional world," said Jean-Pierre Greff, director HEAD Geneve. "The Time to Watches event is precisely the kind of context where our students can find inspiration, networking and professional perspectives. " "In the current context, our intention has always been to create an event that is relevant today and tomorrow, hence the synergy of our partnership with HEAD Geneve," said Marc Angebault and Christian Wipfli, co-directors of Time to Watches. "We want to promote values of audacity and innovation in watchmaking by bringing together know-how, creativity and energy from watch brands, who all happen to be meeting on the same dates in the same city". Editor's Note: Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), China has worked with all other countries to build a community with a shared future for mankind, which has boosted confidence and added impetus for development of Asia and the world. For the celebration of the 100th funding anniversary of the CPC, we are launching the CPC in eyes of foreign military students series, viewing China and CPC from the perspective of foreign soldiers. By Togolese Army Major Gnandi Kondi "Ninety-five percent", I remember this number very clearly. According to the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer report released by Edelman, a world-renowned public relations company, the Chinese people's trust in the government has risen to 95 percent after the COVID-19 pandemic, ranking first among the countries surveyed. This is a very convincing figure. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of millions of Chinese people fought side by side and overcame the difficulties together under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Many CPC members risked their lives to rush to the anti-pandemic frontline, and some even sacrificed their precious lives. In 2014 and 2018, I went to China for training twice as a foreign military cadet. The longer I stayed in China, the more I knew about the CPC. What I particularly admire is that the CPC always stays true to its original aspiration and founding mission and serves the people wholeheartedly. I visited Chongqing Hongyan Revolution History Museum when attending a training course at the PLA Army Logistics University. There are many valuable documents and historical pictures in this museum. I learnt that many patriots united and fought bravely under the leadership of the CPC. Since its founding in 1921, the CPC has embarked on the path of striving for national independence, and seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. In China today, Ive seen the extensive public transportation networks in cities, and experienced the convenience of mobile payment and online shopping and rapid changes every day. "To meet our people's desire for a happy life is our mission." The CPC keeps its promise. Tens of millions of CPC members have united and worked in succession to fulfill the Partys promise, and earth-shaking changes have happened in the living conditions of the Chinese people. CPC has won respect and recognition of the international community. As a century-old party, why has the CPC always been supported by the Chinese people? I think a substantial reason is that it has always been at the forefront of the times in the historical process of dealing with various risks and tests and has become the backbone of all the Chinese people. (This article is based on an interview by the PLA Daily with Togolese Army Major Gnandi Kondi, who had once studied at China's PLA Army Logistics University.) Americans are preparing to travel in large numbers over the July Fourth weekend as many people seek to return to traditional holiday routines following more than a year of pandemic worries and restrictions. The travel group AAA forecasts that more than 47 million people will travel by car or plane this weekend in the United States. That represents a return to 2019 travel levels and is 40 percent higher than last year. Americans traditionally celebrate the Independence Day holiday with cookouts, fireworks, and visits with family and friends. Large gatherings are also back this July Fourth, with major events being planned across the country. Nashville, Tennessee, is expecting up to 400,000 people to visit the city for its celebration featuring country star Brad Paisley, while Huntington Beach in Southern California is planning a three-day festival that could attract a half-million people. Other celebrations, however, have been altered by the coronavirus pandemic. A July Fourth concert traditionally held in Boston that typically draws hundreds of thousands of people to the Charles River has been moved to the Tanglewood music center 160 kilometers away. Concert organizers said they did not have enough time to plan the massive event in Boston after local officials had lifted coronavirus restrictions at the end of May. They say a fireworks display will still take place in Boston but will be held in Boston Common instead of along the river. Organizers of Washington's Capitol Fourth celebration, which airs on public television, said most performances would not be held live at the U.S. Capitol as is traditionally done. They will be held remotely from cities such as New York, Nashville and Los Angeles. American researchers using commercial satellite imagery say China appears to be significantly expanding the number of launch silos for its arsenal of intercontinental range ballistic missiles, raising fears that nuclear weapons will become a new issue of contention between Washington and Beijing. Using images provided by the satellite imaging company Planet, two researchers from the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey found that China is building 119 silos in the desert of the northwestern province of Gansu. Jeffery Lewis, one of the researchers, told VOA that development is likely for China's DF-41 ICBM, which is believed to be capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads. With an estimated range of nearly 7,000 kilometers and possible capability to carry up to 10 warheads, researchers believe the missiles can reach targets in the United States. "We believe China is expanding its nuclear forces in part to maintain a deterrent that can survive a U.S. first strike and retaliate in sufficient numbers to defeat U.S. missile defenses," Lewis said in a summary of findings provided to VOA. In response to the findings, the State Department said that the U.S. is concerned about China's rapid expansion of its nuclear capabilities. "These reports and other developments suggest that the PRC's nuclear arsenal will grow more quickly, and to a higher level than perhaps previously anticipated," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a briefing on Thursday. He called the buildup "concerning." "It raises questions about the PRC's intent. And for us, it reinforces the importance of pursuing practical measures to reduce nuclear risks," he continued, "We encourage Beijing to engage with us on practical measures to reduce the risks of destabilizing arms races -- potentially destabilizing tensions." The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request from VOA for comment. In 2020, the Department of Defense estimated that China had around 100 ICBMs, and will double that number in the coming years. The researchers said the 119 new silos are spread across approximately 1,800 square kilometers near Yumen, a city in Gansu province, with each spaced approximately 3 kilometers apart. Images show that construction began in March 2020, but most building was done since February 2021, "suggesting an extremely rapid pace of construction over the past few months," the summary said. Timothy Heath, a senior international and defense researcher for the policy research group the RAND Corporation, told VOA by email that the silos raise the credibility of China's nuclear force. "It shows China intends to expand its inventory of nuclear weapons. This means China is raising the potential risk and cost of escalation in any conflict along China's periphery," he said. New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Cloudy this evening with thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low 72F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Cloudy this evening with thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low 72F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Isolated thunderstorms early, then mainly cloudy overnight with thunderstorms likely. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Isolated thunderstorms early, then mainly cloudy overnight with thunderstorms likely. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. TMHS students were recognized for their foreign language competency as Seal of Biliteracy recipients during the 2021 graduation. Back row: Conor Moynihan, Caesar Barboa, Ryan Rosenberg, Derek Munroe, Nabil Barkallah, Kunal Pal, Nick Jonhston; front row: Sra. Dudley, Matthew Martins, Michelle Hinkle, Gabriella Schubert-Raimundo, Iris Diaz-Archilla, Maria da Silva, Sabtari Sabir, Shayne O'Neil, Kaitlin Macdonald, Elias Melki, Karen Hodgson, Mme Ryan (not pictured: Trinity Gustin, Lovens Lamousnery, Vanessa Flynn, and Julianna Fisher). (courtesy photo) Woburn, MA (01801) Today Some clouds. Low 66F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. Low 66F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Accounting for Everything I want to put violence in perspective. Lets start with a common set of facts before we argue about their significance. I saw an infographic about firearms from 2013 and I wanted to update it. 2019 is the last year where I could find complete data from both the US Department of Justice and the US Center for Disease Control. I want to put those facts into perspective so we see the real picture. This is what I found: -We had 39,707 deaths from firearms in 2019. Over 61 percent were suicides. (24,380) -That means firearms were used in 15 thousand homicides, a death where one person kills another. Murder doesnt happen everywhere with equal frequency. More than half of the murders are concentrated into 2 percent of our counties. In contrast, more than half of our counties wont have a murder at all. I find it interesting that many of these non-violent counties are typically considered to have high rates of gun ownership. -We have laws against it, but criminals commit over a million violent crimes each year. We have over 23 thousand firearms regulations, but criminals used a gun to commit murder over 12 thousand times a year. -Across the entire United States, that leaves us with all of 3,065 homicides with a gun that were not gang related. For perspective, that is about the same number of people who died from asthma or obesity. -Of those 3 thousand deaths, 340 homicides were the justified use of lethal force by a police officer. 344 homicides were attributed to civilian gun owners using a gun in legally justified self-defense. ..... (The Center Square) The number of students attending public schools during the 2020-2021 academic year fell by roughly 3% compared with the previous year. The data comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, a federal agency that analyzes education figures. The 3% drop represents some 1.5 million students according to the preliminary report. A final report will not be available until next spring, according to the NCES. Figures come from reports generated by state departments of education. There were 51.1 million students enrolled in conventional and public charter schools during the 2019-2020 academic year. Even more stark is the drop in enrollment among younger students. Preschool enrollment fell by 22%, and preschool and kindergarten enrollment combined dropped 13%. By contrast, high school enrollment fell by 0.4%. Ross Santy, associate commissioner for the NCES, noted how rare it is for public schools to lose students. K-12 enrollment in our nations public schools has been increasing almost every year since the start of this century, Santy said in a statement. Before this year, in the few recent years where we have seen enrollment decreases, they have been small changes representing less than 1 percent of total enrollment. Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Contribute Some 29 states experienced enrollment declines of between 1% and 3%. Washington, D.C., Utah, South Dakota, the U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa saw decreases of less than 1%. Vermont, Mississippi and Puerto Rico all saw enrollment fall by more than 5%, while Washington, New Mexico, Michigan, Kentucky and Maine lost between 4% and 5% of enrollment. The coronavirus pandemic and government-imposed restrictions that closed schools has been the main driver behind the drop in the number of public school students. The large drop in enrollment among younger students confirms earlier speculation that families chose to keep those students out of school rather than attempt virtual learning. Home-schooling, meanwhile, more than doubled between the end of the 2019-2020 school year and the start of 2020-2021. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 5.4% of American households said they were home-schooling their children in the spring of 2020. By October of 2020, that figure reached 11.1%. Its clear that in an unprecedented environment, families are seeking solutions that will reliably meet their health and safety needs, their childcare needs and the learning and socio-emotional needs of their children, the Census Bureau said in a recent report. GARY David Rorex was just 10 months old when his 27-year-old father Dorian Rorex, a Gary police officer, was shot and killed in the line of duty while pursuing a drug suspect. Dorian Rorex Jr. wasn't even born on Jan. 15, 1998, when the father he never met suffered fatal wounds to his chest and hip in an alley in the 2500 block of Tyler Avenue. On Friday, the brothers, along with David Rorex's infant son, Kylo Haven Rorex, placed a white flower in a star-shaped floral display outside Gary police headquarters to commemorate the father, and now grandfather, who sacrificed his life for his community. "It's a good feeling to be here around people that knew our father and for them to meet my son his grandson for the first time," David Rorex said. "It means a lot that he's not forgotten," added Dorian Rorex Jr. WATCH NOW: Gary Police Graduate Tamara Hall In all, 15 flowers were added to the display during the annual ceremony recognizing the 15 Gary police officers killed in the line of duty, from Detective Julius Gunther, who was shot while searching for a suspect on Sept. 16, 1921, to the most recent, Patrolman Jeffrey Westerfield, who was shot and killed in his squad car on his 47th birthday, July 6, 2014. "These men and women gave their lives to protect our safety and to defend our freedoms," said Gary Police Chief Brian Evans. "They are forever bound together by an unbreakable bond of valor." In addition to honoring Gary's fallen police officers, the 29 retired Gary officers who died in the past 24 months were remembered prior to the playing of taps, and a performance of "Amazing Grace" by the pipes and drum unit of the Lake County Sheriff's Department. Gary Mayor Jerome Prince acknowledged to the 40 or so friends and family of the deceased officers that no ceremony ever could sufficiently recognize all the work their loved ones did, and the on-the-job experiences they had that would give most people nightmares. Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Contribute "When these men and women are called into a dangerous situation, they run head-first," Prince said. "When you consider the ultimate sacrifice that the officers who are being recognized today have paid, I know that thank you could never be enough." Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. likewise observed that police officers often have no idea when an otherwise routine call might turn out to be a life-threatening situation. "Law enforcement officers are called upon to respond. When they're called upon, they don't question, they just respond," Martinez said. "So next time somebody wants to criticize a police officer ask them to put themselves in his or her shoes. Would they walk in a dark alley at 3 o'clock in the morning? Would they face an armed individual? Would they have the courage to risk their lives for another?" WATCH NOW: Riding Shotgun with NWI Cops Patrolling Lowell with Cpl. Aaron Crawford U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland, urged Region residents to take some time this Independence Day weekend to remember all of the officers, and their families, for the risks they choose to face every day on behalf of their communities, as he recently did in Congress to honor Hammond Sgt. Thomas Sawyer who died in the line of duty June 17 due to COVID-19. "Scripture says there is no greater sacrifice than to lay down one's life for another," Mrvan said. "Police officers put that in their mind every single day when they go out on the street." Mrvan also pledged to the dozens of Gary officers standing at attention during the ceremony that he will do all he can to ensure Northwest Indiana police agencies always have the resources and support they need to uphold the law and promote civility. Get to know these new Indiana laws enacted in 2021 Welcome Guest! You Are Here: The following statement was issued by the joint platform of Central Trade Unions in solidarity support to the Defence civilian employees on 02nd July 2021 CENTRAL TRADE UNIONS CONDEMN THE DRACONIAN ESSENTIAL DEFENCE SERVICES ORDINANCE 2021 PROMULGATED BY THE MODI GOVERNMENT EXPRESSES SOLIDARITY SUPPORT TO THE STRUGGLE OF DEFENCE CIVILIANS IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST Against the anti national decision to splinter the pioneer Defence Industry viz the 220 years old Indian Ordnance Factories under the Ministry of Defence into 7 non viable corporations and then to privatise the same taken by the Modi Government , the five Federations of Defence Civilian Employees since all the efforts taken by them to withdraw the decision taken in violation of all the previous agreements and settlements failed they had decided to proceed with an indefinite strike which was to commence from 26-7-2021 demanding to withdraw the Government decision in the interest of National security, Defence preparedness and the service life of 76,000 employees. The Government has ignored the alternative / robust proposals given by the Federations for continuing the Ordnance Factories with the Government and putting pressure on the CLC to windup the conciliation proceedings in the absence of the 3 major recognised Federations on 15-6-2021 and went ahead and took decision on 16-6-2021 to slice the Ordnance Factories into 7 pieces. It is now more than 2 weeks after the CLC submitted the failure report to the Government. The Government has not bothered even to refer the disputes raised by the Federations for adjudication. The Government in the most cowardly manner, instead of commencing dialogue with the Federations for a negotiated settlement has acted in a draconian and brutal manner by deployment of state power against its own employees. We condemn the arrogance and highhandedness of the Government at centre The EDSO promulgated by the President of India prohibits strikes in essential Defence services which includes Defence production, repair and maintenance of products connected with Defence. The strike in Defence is declared as illegal and includes draconian provisions like dismissal from service without even an inquiry, arrest and imprisonment for a term which may be extended to one year or with fine which may extend to 10,000 Rupees or with both. In the name of instigation of strike any person shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years or with fine which may extend to 15,000 Rupees or with both. The most draconian law which post independence has witnessed in this country. The Central Trade Unions terms this EDSO as draconian, brutal, retrograde, undemocratic anti worker and is not acceptable to the working class of this country. The Central Trade Unions urges upon the Government of India to immediately withdraw its decision since it takes away the legal rights of an employee to participate in a strike under the Industrial Dispute Act 1947 after following all the procedures laid down in the Act. The five federations in the Defence sector met on first july in the background of new development and adopted resolution and decided to observe 8th july 2021, the day they were to serve strike notice, as Nationwide protest day as Black Day. They have also decided to legal course including to approach ILO. The Central Trade Unions call upon the entire working class of the country to stand up and protest against this unprecedented action of the Modi Government and leaving to the mercy of the Government the status of the 76,000 employees of the 41 Ordnance Factories who were recruited as Defence Civilian Employees / Central Government Employees under Article 309 of the Constitution of India. The joint platform of Central Trade Unions stands in solidarity with the Defence workers and extends support to their action programmes to save the sensitive defence industry and its work force in the national interest. INTUC AITUC HMS CITU AIUTUC TUCC SEWA AICCTU LPF UTUC Johan Palema and driver Yannick Gingras captured the $500,000 MGM Yonkers Trot, the first jewel in the Trotting Triple Crown for three-year-old colt and gelding trotters, on Friday night with a virtuoso wire-to-wire performance, winning in 1:55 over a rain-soaked surface at Yonkers Raceway. Johan Palema, one of three finalists from the Ake Svanstedt stable, worked his way to the top from stablemate Ambassador Hanover off the first turn, as second choice Ahundreddollarbill settled in third, with Mon Amour and In Range following the top three to the :28.2 opening quarter. Gingras rated the pace nicely but shortly before the half of :58, Johan Palema took off from the pocket-sitter, as well as the rest of the field. Ahundreddollarbill was forced to pull from third and go without cover, but he found the sledding a bit too tough as Johan Palema blitzed the third quarter in :27.2. The third quarter sprint kept In Range from gaining second-over, but driver Tim Tetrick was able to get his horse to make up ground inside as Mon Amour made a miscue. Gingras hardly moved a muscle through the final turn as the others battled for minor honours, and the son of Bar Hopping cruised across the wire with a :29.3 final quarter. In Range skimmed the pylons but fell a nose short of second, with Ambassador Hanover and Svanstedt holding the place spot. Ahundreddollarbill faded to fourth, with Ethan T Hanover the final check-getter. "I got an easy front," said Gingras following the race. "They let me steal a half in :58 seconds. At that point, come and get me." Seven tried but none were up to the task. Owned by Bender Sweden Inc, Johan Palema, one of four horses in the field sired by first-cropper Bar Hopping, won for the third time in four starts in 2021, adding the win to his elimination score seven days earlier. As the favourite, Johan Palema returned $3.90, to win. Johan Palema is a Hambletonian eligible. "He can go with the top horses," said Gingras. "I'm not sure if he can cut it on the big track, but he's very handy." The $1 million Hambletonian is slated for August 7 at the Meadowlands. American Courage picked up the most significant win of his career to date by scoring a 1:51.4 decision in Friday nights $500,000 MGM Grand Messenger Stakes final, the first leg of the Triple Crown of Pacing for three-year-old colts and geldings. Starting from post six over a Yonkers Raceway surface left sloppy by persistent, steady rainfall, American Courage pressed on two-wide under the direction of Matt Kakaley and forged his way by early leader Charlie May (Brett Miller) past the :27 second opening quarter. After working to get command, Kakaley was able to get American Courage a nice breather in the second quarter, as the half went on the board in :56.3. As the colts and geldings passed the half-mile point, driver Brian Sears sent Chase H Hanover first-over from the fourth spot, and that would give a second-over trip to Abuckabett Hanover (Andrew McCarthy), who was able to tuck into fifth after floating away from post eight. Chase H Hanover was able to get into second on the rim racing to the 1:24.1 three-quarters, but that was as far as he could go as American Courage repelled his bid. On the far turn Abuckabett Hanover made a break, ending any chance he had, and then in the lane Chase H Hanover faded, giving Charlie May the path to the outside he was looking for. After getting clear, Charlie May did rally and gain, but it wasnt enough as American Courage held sway to win by half a length. Chase H Hanover did save third, with Simon Says Hanover (Scott Zeron) and Ill Drink To That (Dexter Dunn) completing the top-five finishers. "He's a special colt. If they were going to duke it out a little bit, I would have just laid in there and waited, but Brett got a pretty easy lead, so I didn't want him to get soft fractions, remarked Kakaley. I moved to the front, and he was so strong. I kicked the plugs at the top of the stretch, and he just exploded. That's the first time I pulled the plugs all year. (Charlie May) was coming close, but I wasn't that worried." An American Ideal colt trained by Travis Alexander for owner-breeder Fiddlers Creek Stables LLC., American Courage won for the 11th time in 12 career starts, and he has now put away $468,633. The 6-5 favourite, American Courage paid $4.50 to win. "To me, it was unbelievable just because the track is horrendous and to have to work like that through the first turn to make the front. Matt had it under control - all the confidence in Matt and what he did, and the horse responded. It was a great race. Charlie May raced unbelievable, said Alexander. I knew (he had it) in the last turn because I saw what Matt was doing; he was jamming, making it a sprint, and I know my horse is quicker than people give him credit for. It worked out. He needed to do that with the half-mile racing, that strategy, and that's the way it went. "It feels good. Im happy for the owner. He puts so much money into the game and deserves this win. This will probably be his last start at Yonkers for a while. Now we move on to bigger things. Meadowlands Pace elims next, and then away we go." Iteration, with driver Brian Sears, kept her footing throughout over a sloppy surface to capture the $150,000 New York New York Mile for sophomore filly trotters. The three-year-old daughter of Chapter Seven kept it in the family, so to speak, capturing the filly companion to the MGM Yonkers Trot, a race won by her older brother Gimpanzee in 2019. Sent off as the 3-5 public choice, Iteration, leaving from post two, got some help in the early stages, as Presto, to her inside, broke before the outset. Once the gate sprung Sears had Iteration away smoothly, but Sweeping Rainbow, Contested Hanover, and 4-1 shot Mazzarati all left the gate with purpose. While Sweeping Rainbow and David Miller were able to work into the pocket, Contested Hanover, with Scott Zeron, miscued into the turn. Tim Tetrick, aboard Mazzarati, tried to make it three-deep through the first turn, but his filly also lost her gait late on the bend and dropped out of it. Sears had Iteration in control through a :28.4 opening quarter, but with many of the top contenders out of the picture, strolled to the half in :59, giving the Marcus Melander-trained filly all the breather she would need for the mile. Iteration cut three quarters in 1:28 and was in control into the stretch, with Sweeping Rainbow taking a brief shot at her but falling a length short in the 1:56.4 mile. Rebel Girl followed the top pair around the track in third and took the show dough, while the winner's stablemate Imhatra Am S held on to fourth after a mild uncovered bid. "It was pretty windy out there," said Sears after the victory. "The field made breaks, and it worked out good." Owned by Courant Inc, Iteration returned $3.20 to win. Iteration is now undefeated in three sophomore starts, all stakes victories. Test Of Faith had little difficulty in improving her record to four-for-four in 2021 and 12-for-13 lifetime, as she front-stepped her way to a 1:53.2 win in Friday nights $150,000 Park MGM Pace for three-year-old fillies. Driven by David Miller over the sloppy oval, Test Of Faith went to the lead from post three and was well-rated through opening-half fractions of :28 and :58.2. Business picked up after the half as second choice Marsala Hanover (Scott Zeron) tried a first-over move out of third, but her advance stalled as Test Of Faith picked up the tempo to 1:26.1 at three-quarters. Things remained unchanged around the final bend, and in the stretch Test Of Faith opened up on her rivals in an instant despite Miller sitting like a statue in the bike, winning by 3-1/4 lengths. Heart Of Mine (Jason Bartlett) followed in the pocket throughout and held second, with Darby Hanover (Andy Miller) up for third. Classicist (Todd McCarthy) checked in fourth from second-over, and Marsala Hanover faded to fifth. "She raced great. She was a little bit wild. I don't know if it was the night or the weather, whatever it was, but usually she's very, very calm, and tonight she was on it, so I knew it was game on, said winning trainer Brett Pelling. She comes back here for the sire stakes on (June 16). That'll be good. Another run around Yonkers will do her well. "She's sound, she's healthy, she's just a beautiful horse." A daughter of Art Major, bred by Fred Hertrich and owned by Mel Segal, Kentuckiana Racing Stable, and Eddie Gran, Test Of Faith has now earned $637,700. She was the 1-9 favourite and paid $2.10 to win. (Yonkers) UAE-based du, a unit of Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company has signed an agreement with Wipro, a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company based in India, for the launch of their new multi-cloud platform. As per the deal, Wipro will help du deliver market-leading multi-cloud management and migration capabilities through this platform, which aligns with their aims to simplify and accelerate digital transformation and cloud adoption across the UAE. The partnership will enable organizations to minimize risks and maximize return on investment for migration and management across multi-cloud environments. Chief New Business and Innovation Officer Farid Faraidooni said: "In the multi-cloud era, eradicating digital infrastructure complexities and ensuring clients realise their transformation aspirations are topmost priorities for du. Infrastructure management and digital initiatives are imperative sustainability components, and we will ensure our clients benefit from productivity and efficiency in both these areas alongside Wipro." Through this multi-cloud platform, du and Wipro will help organizations reimagine their infrastructure, create new cost efficiencies, and deliver compliant, trusted, and secure solutions. It will act as a single pane of glass that will help clients completely manage their cloud estate. "This partnership with Wipro will provide a wide range of management services across the multiple cloud environments. It will address client requirements through our unified management user interface and bridge tehnologies across organisations to integrate solutions for driving transformation projects across the UAE," he added. Sanjeev Tayal, VP and Business Head (Middle East) Wipro said: "We are delighted to partner with du and help our clients succeed in their digital transformation journey. The multi-cloud platform instilled with transformative capabilities, outline our shared vision for the future." "Enterprises across UAE are increasingly engaging in activities geared towards digital transformation, and Wipro is committed to accelerating their digital innovation and contribute to UAEs digital transformation plan, stated Tayal. "Simplified multi-cloud migration and management are essential to every digital agenda, and we look forward to supporting enterprises with du through the Multi-Cloud Platform," he added.-TradeArabia News Service Accelerating energy transitions on a path to climate safety can grow the worlds economy by 2.4 percent over the expected growth of current plans within the next decade, said a new analysis from the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena). Irena's 1.5C pathway - (The Agencys ambitious goals to limit global temperature rise to 1.5C and bring CO2 emissions to net zero by 2050) foresees the creation of up to 122 million energy-related jobs in 2050, more than double todays 58 million. Renewable energy alone will account for more than a third of all energy jobs employing 43 million people globally, supporting the post-Covid recovery and long-term economic growth, stated Irena in its World Energy Transitions Outlook. It sees renewables-based energy systems instigating profound changes that will reverberate across economies and societies. Sharp adjustments in capital flows and a reorientation of investments are necessary to align energy with a positive economic and environmental trajectory. Forward-looking policies can accelerate transition, mitigate uncertainties, and ensure maximum benefits of energy transition, it added. By 2050, a whopping $33 trillion of additional investment will be required into efficiency, renewables, end-use electrification, power grids, flexibility, hydrogen and innovations. The benefits, however, greatly exceed the costs of investments. When air pollution, human health and climate change externalities are factored in, the payback is even higher with every dollar spent on the energy transition adding benefits valued at between $2 and $5.5, in cumulative terms between $61 trillion and $164 trillion by the mid-century. Irenas Director-General Francesco La Camera said the outlook represents a concrete, practical toolbox to total reorientation of the global energy system and writes a new and positive energy narrative as the sector undergoes a dynamic transition. "There is consensus that an energy transition grounded in renewables and efficient technologies is the only way to give us a fighting chance of limiting global warming by 2050 to 1.5C. As the only realistic option for a climate-safe world, Irenas vision has become mainstream," he added. La Camera pointed out that energy transformation would drive economic transformation. "Energy transition is a daunting task but can bring unprecedented new possibilities to revitalise economies and lift people out of poverty," stated the top official. Irenas Outlook brings unique value as it also outlines the policy frameworks and financing structures necessary to advance a transition that is just and inclusive. "Each country will define what is the best for them, but collectively, we must ensure that all countries and regions can realise the benefits of the global energy transition for a resilient and more equitable world. We have the know-how, we have the tools, we need to act, and do so now," he added. The next decade will be decisive to achieve the Paris and Sustainable Developments goals. Any delay will drive us to the direction of further warming, with profound and irreversible economic and humanitarian consequences. Phasing out coal, limiting investments in oil and gas to facilitate a swift decline and a managed transition as well as embracing technology, policy and market solutions will put the global energy system on track for a 1.5 C pathway. Irenas Outlook sees energy transition as a big business opportunity for multiple stakeholders including the private sector, shifting funding from equity to private debt capital. The latter will grow from 44 percent in 2019 to 57 percent in 2050, an increase of almost 20 percent over planned policies. Energy transition technologies will find it easier to obtain affordable long-term debt financing in the coming years, while fossil fuel assets will increasingly be avoided by private financiers and therefore forced to rely on equity financing from retained earnings and new equity issues. But public financing will remain crucial for a swift, just and inclusive energy transition and to catalyse private finance. In 2019, the public sector provided some $450 billion through public equity and lending by development finance institutions. In Irenas 1.5C scenario, these investments will almost double to some $780 billion. Public debt financing will be an important facilitator for other lenders, especially in developing markets. As markets alone are not likely to move rapidly enough, policy makers must incentivise but also take action to eliminate market distortions that favour fossil fuels and facilitate the necessary changes in funding structures. This will involve phasing out fossil fuel subsidies and changing fiscal systems to reflect the negative environmental, health and social costs of fossil fuels. Monetary and fiscal policies, including carbon pricing policies, will enhance competitiveness and level the playing field. Enhanced international cooperation and comprehensive set of policies will be critical to drive the wider structural shift towards resilient economies and societies. If not well managed, the energy transition risks inequitable outcomes, dual-track development and an overall slowdown in the progress. Just and integrated policies will remain imperative to realise the full potential of the energy transition. Todays policies, finance and socio-economic analysis completes the outlined technological avenues for a 1.5C-comptabile energy pathway, providing policymakers with a playbook to achieve optimal results from the transition. Launched by energy leaders at the Agencys Global High-Level Forum on Energy Transition, this Outlooks aims to raise ambition towards UN High-Level Dialogue on Energy and Climate Conference COP26 later this year.-TradeArabia News Service Firefighter's Daughter, 7, Found in Florida Rubble By The Associated Press MIAMI - The body of a Miami firefighter's 7-year-old daughter was recovered from the site of a South Florida condo collapse by the search and rescue team he had been assisting, officials said Friday.The child was one of two victims found in the rubble of Champlain Towers South late Thursday, one week after the building partially collapsed. On Friday, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced the death toll now stands at 20, with 128 people still considered missing in the wreckage.Miami Mayor Francis Suarez confirmed that the child, whose name hasn't been released, was the daughter of a firefighter. He said the family had asked for privacy.She was a member of our fire family, Suarez said, adding that the entire fire department is grieving.The Miami Fire Department is part of Task Force 2, which has been assisting in the search since the collapse. The firefighter voluntarily joined the search, officials said, hoping he could help find his daughter and others still missing in the wreckage.It goes without saying that every night since this last Thursday has been immensely difficult, particularly for the families that have been impacted," Levine Cava said during Friday morning's news conference. Last night was uniquely difficult. It was truly different and more difficult for our first responders. These men and woman are paying an enormous human toll each and every day, and I ask that all of you please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.Earlier this week, the search teams found the remains of Emma Guara, 4; her sister Lucia, 10; and their parents, Marcus and Anaely Guara, in the wreckage. The family had lived in Apartment 802.Obviously, the firefighters are emotional, Miami-Dade County Fire Chief Alan Cominsky said. You know it takes a toll. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. by Trung Tin The Covid-19 emergency has not stopped charitable activities and the community has asked the authorities for a list of the poorest people to help. Faithful of all ages mobilised. Pastor Joseph Pham Ba Lam: "Our secret? Prayer and listening to the word of God". Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews) - The new wave of Covid-19 in Vietnam is putting a strain on the poor. However, it is also an opportunity for many to discover the vitality of Catholic realities as in the parish of Hoa Hung, in the archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City, which is not at all discouraged in these difficult times. In 1946, the Catholic community in Hoa Hung numbered just 46, but today it has grown to about 9,000. In the compound there is rice and bread distribution for the poor, a drinking water station, a hostel for female students, a support group for those who live by collecting rubbish. Father Joseph Pham Ba Lam, parish priest, explains that the rice distribution has been active for seven years now and is supported by monthly offerings from benefactors. "It continues to operate even today with the pandemic," he explains, "while members of the Catholic Association visit the poorest families". As for the drinking water station, Father Lam says it was set up three years ago and provides clean water every day to all the residents of the neighbourhood, Catholics and non-Catholics alike. The Pastoral Council creates the conditions for all the faithful of the parish to participate in the activities. The groups of elderly people," says Peter Nguyen, one of the leaders, "have been working together with the Dominicans. The group of Catholic mothers is involved in charitable activities. The Eucharistic Youth Movement has also set up aid missions for people living in remote areas in the mountains: before leaving, a project is prepared with the Catholic Association of the parish, which is then checked on return". The parish has also asked the local authorities for a list of poor families living in the neighbourhood, and on the basis of this information is supporting them all with rice and essential goods. According to Father Lam, the secret of all these activities is the spiritual life of each person: every parishioner is invited to be diligent in prayer. Listening to the word of God," concludes the parish priest, "inspires us in our charitable activities and helps us propose our faith to all". The Syrian Catholic Church of Mar Thomas, in the right bank of the city, the feast of the patron saint is solemnly celebrated. Fr. Pius Afas: rebuilding places of worship is an "important step." Young Muslims also contributed to the recovery of the building. The history of the local community custodied in a book written by the parish priest. Mosul (AsiaNews) - "The past and the violence of Isis are behind us, we must look to the future" and "rebuilding places of worship" is an "important step", as seen in the church of Mar Thomas. 82-year-old Fr Pius Afas, a priest from Mosul, celebrates today, July 3rd, a solemn mass in conjunction with the patronal feast to mark the official reopening of the church in which he was baptized, ordained priest and then parish priest for many years. He tells AsiaNews how the militants had marked the churches to blow them up, but fortunately in this case the dynamite did not explode. We want to celebrate, to thank God for safeguarding it." The Syrian Catholic church of Mar Thomas stands on the right side of Mosul, a metropolis in northern Iraq that was once a stronghold of the Islamic State (IS, formerly Isis). The place of worship, spared from the iconoclastic and devastating fury of the men of the "caliphate", has undergone major restoration work to return it to worship, one of the first Christian buildings to become viable again in the western sector of the city, on the right bank of the Tigris. And for today's service are expected more than a hundred faithful, in addition to several local church dignitaries, from Dohuk, Ankawa (Christian neighborhood of Erbil), Qaraqosh and other towns in the plain of Nineveh. Fr. Afas, who had also been kidnapped (then freed) by Islamic extremists, recalls "the first Mass that I celebrated in the church of Mar Thomas after the liberation was on July 3, 2018, precisely on the feast of St. Thomas. A solemn celebration, in a building that still bore the signs" of the passage of jihadist militias. "The we repeated same celebration a year later, then on the occasion of the elevation of the cross on the dome. However, today's mass marks the official reopening, in the presence of the archbishop and embellished with icons and statues." The historic place of worship dates back to the mid-1800s and was plundered by militiamen, who had forced Christians (such as Yazidis, other Muslims, Sabeans) to flee to a safe haven in Iraqi Kurdistan. After the looting, which took place during the summer of 2014, the church of St. Thomas poured in a state of neglect, risking ruin, until a group of Christians, with the help of young Muslim volunteers, began restoration work. The official mass (others have been celebrated in recent years, since the fall of Isis) of reopening of the church comes just over seven years after the anniversary of the rise of Islamic State jihadists in June 2014. A domination that lasted until the summer of 2017 and perpetrated with violence and terror, as well as the devastation of symbolic places such as the al-Nouri mosque and the church of al-Saa (Our Lady of the Hour). The two places of worship, Muslim and Christian, are symbols of rebirth thanks to the project funded by UNESCO and the United Arab Emirates with the program "Reviving the spirit of Mosul by rebuilding its historical monuments". "The atmosphere is beautiful - says the priest - and the young Muslims, who have contributed to the restoration of the church, are as welcoming and enthusiastic as we are. They ask when the bell will start ringing again", relocated thanks to the contributions allocated by the French NGO "Fraternite en Irak" and "when the museum will reopen". He recalls "I myself am originally from Mosul, a parishioner of this church where I was ordained, where I celebrated my first mass. My whole life is linked to Mar Thomas" and seeing it return to its former glory "is a very emotional for me". In the city "there are only about thirty Christian families, none on the right bank of the Tigris River, and the work of rebirth and reconstruction of the social, economic and cultural fabric is still long. Young Christians are still afraid to return, they still do not feel safe." "We need to rebuild a community - concludes the priest - and to do this it still takes time and patience. In the meantime, we continue with the celebrations, to keep alive the places of worship that testify to the Christian presence in this region and that I myself have described in an illustrated book. The book traces the history of the local community since 1863 and is being presented to the public today at the end of Mass. Because in order to build the future, it is essential to look at the past, especially in a reality like ours rich in history. Dakota graduated from Bret Harte in 2013 and went to Davidson College, NC where she earned a bachelor's degree in Arab studies. After spending time studying in the Middle East and Europe, she is happy to be home, writing about the community she loves. Comment Policy Calaveras Enterprise does not actively monitor comments. However, staff does read through to assess reader interest. When abusive or foul language is used or directed toward other commenters, those comments will be deleted. If a commenter continues to use such language, that person will be blocked from commenting. We wish to foster a community of communication and a sharing of ideas, and we truly value readers' input. Separatist fighters open fire on civilian vehicles Facebook Gunmen with trappings of separatist fighters operating in Cameroons North-West and South-West Regions opened fire on transport vehicles along the Kumba-Mamfe Road killing one woman. The Advocate reports that the victim, Onyinyechi Ugwu Emmanuella of Nigerian nationality was shot dead Friday, 02 July 2021 at Manyemen, a locality in Nguti Subdivision in Cameroons restive South-West Region. Manyemen village lies along the Kumba-Mamfe Road (National Road No. 8), which is an extension of the multinational Bamenda-Mamfe-Ekok-Nigeria border corridor. According to the driver, whose identity is concealed for security reason, the lady left Douala in the morning in the company of her two kids and was heading to Nigeria for vacation, The Advocate reported. At the time she was killed, she was on board a Toyota Carina public transport vehicle with tinted glasses. The driver is quoted as saying that a number of vehicles left Kumba early Friday morning in a convoy when suddenly they heard gunshots. Upon reversing to avoid stray bullets, he noticed that his vehicle had been hit by four bullets with one shattering the windscreen at the rear, reports journalist Ojong Joseph Ojong who conceals the name of the driver for security reasons. It was then that he realized the woman had been killed. A boy who was one of the three adult passengers in the vehicle sustained injuries, the report adds. Upon getting the information, soldiers of the Rapid Intervention Battalion, BIR, within Nguti, rushed to the scene to avert any further casualty. Ackpo Maximillian Efanyi, President of the Nigerian Union in Kumba is said to have decried and regretted the unfortunate incident. The corpse of the lady has been deposited at the mortuary of the Kumba District Hospital while the injured passenger was ferried to the emergency unit of the same health facility, according to The Advocate. Fridays incident is one of many separatist attacks on civilians in the North-West and South-West Regions. On May 31, 2020, armed separatists opened fire on a private car at Ikiliwindi along the Kumba-Mamfe Road, killing an elder of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, Akwo Gabriel Makia who was heading for his traditional wedding in Batibo. Thousands of businesses have no ability to get people back to work. Weve got more jobs available than ever before in the history of the state, Hogan said. People that really need the help are still going to get unemployment benefits. Its the extended bonus $300 thats keeping people home. For more than two decades Sen. Peters has been a strong leader, a workhorse and the go-to person to get things done in the greater Bowie area and the county. In his low-key yet persuasive manner, he has had a quiet hand in and achieved outstanding results for the areas he has represented during his public service in the city, the county and the State of Maryland, said Todd Turner, the Prince Georges County Council member from District 4. The investigators found a nearby burn barrel, Alkire said. An ember could have ignited combustibles within the shed, he said. But they will need to find the exact origin of the fire before making that determination, he said. Between March 15 and April 21, 2020, investigators intercepted text messages and phone calls where Hammond would coordinate meet-ups with his customers, often at his Baltimore County home, according to the plea agreement. Often, Hammond would invite buyers to his home; they would travel there from Harford County and return after a short meeting, the plea states. The documents do not make clear if one or multiple people bought drugs from Hammond. Johnson filed falsely amended income tax returns in 2014 for three District of Columbia taxpayers that fraudulently claimed large refunds based upon fake refundable credits and withholdings that had never been paid to the IRS, according to a news release from the DOJ. Much of the shooting was captured on cellphone video after Dwayne Taylor unintentionally dropped his phone at the scene, according to the states attorneys office. Information obtained on the phone implicated Dwayne Taylor and provided information on the motive for the shooting. The road construction is meant to help prepare the base for the future as more Department of Defense employees come to the base, including to the National Security Agency, which is in the process of building five new properties. The NSA project will allow employees who have been working off-campus to call Fort Meade their new work home. Hes the second member of the General Assembly to announce a resignation this week. State Sen. Douglas J.J. Peters, a Prince Georges County Democrat, announced on Thursday that he was stepping down. At the same time, he was appointed to an unpaid position on the University System of Marylands Board of Regents. A controversy erupted over the dredging of an ancient irrigation tank Tissa Wewa in Tissamaharama in Hambantota District in Sri Lanka after media reports showed Chinese men clad in military camouflage outfits at the site. Hambantota, a maritime inland port project in Hambantota District has been an area of focus for critics who have accused China of using dept-trap diplomacy to boost its geopolitical influence around the world. Colombo had to hand over the running of the Hambantota port to China in 2017 after it was unable to repay the Chinese loans used to develop it. The Chinese dredging company had not sought the archaeology department's permission as it was obligated to do prior to dredging leading the department to halt the work, reported EconomyNext. Cabinet spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella dismissed concerns of possible Chinese military presence in Sri Lanka, claiming on June 29 that the outfits worn by the Chinese workers were similar to overalls worn by Sri Lankan workers at local automobile workshops. At the weekly cabinet press briefing on Tuesday, Minister Rambukwella further said that if the archaeology act has been violated, there are laws that Sri Lanka can resort to. "We strongly reject that we were silent and cowardly about the incident," he told reporters. The minister said a joint investigation by the army and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had concluded that there was nothing untoward in the outfits worn by the Chinese workers and that they were simply a uniform worn by personnel attached to the dredging company, reported EconomyNext. "As far as we know it was not the Chinese military. The CID report says those uniforms were overall kits. I have seen people working in garages wear such overalls," he said. Asked whether Sri Lankan civilians are allowed to wear camouflaged outfits, Rambukwella said, "If it is a registered security firm, there is a list [of regulations] on how the uniform should be. If there are any deviations from that list, approval has to be sought." Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka archaeology department said that it won't take action against the Chinese dredging company, reported EconomyNext. Archaeology Department Director-General Prof Anura Manatunga told EconomyNext on Wednesday (June 30) afternoon that the department does not wish to harass anybody by dragging them to court. "We are not going to take action without seeing the case. Simply, we cannot go to the courts. It's also harassing people. We don't want to harass anybody nor do we want to work against development projects," he said. As per Manatunga, the company has since obtained permission from the department, no action will be taken against it. The archaeology chief said the department's southern office in Galle received a formal request letter from the company on June 28, after which a team of officials visited the site. According to Prof Manatunga, any future course of action will be decided upon the submission of the report. "But what we want to see is, we want all the development projects working according to the law and rule of the country (sic)," he added. Hambantota's location at the southern tip of Sri Lanka makes it a potential key maritime hub in the Indian Ocean. (ANI) Also Read: Afghanistan: Last US troops to leave Bagram Air Base today as withdrawal nears completion If you are old enough to remember the hit comedy movie of 1980, Caddy Shack, then you will recall that a gopher infestation was threatening a golf course in Nebraska. The somewhat deranged groundskeeper was tasked with getting rid of the pest. His efforts at eradication include shooting, f When we launched this program, we communicated extensively that the demand was going to exceed the $28.6 billion, said Guzman, who was appointed by Biden and sworn in as SBA Administrator in March. We could not serve everybody. But we were very pleased that we were able to distribute the funds quickly and efficiently and that there was such interest. The title character's obsession with Diana Ross, who is interpreted by Salisha Thomas, allows the show to include several of Ross's big hits ("Remember Me," "Endless Love" and, of course, "I'm Coming Out"), a jukebox identifier that may serve the piece well in its later life. Such fusions rarely work in musicals with mostly original scores because you find yourself gravitating toward the known hit with the sticky melody. But that's not the case here. Wick Davis has several songs that hold up well, including a couple of zesty big numbers in "One of Those Days" (an ode to the "it gets better" campaign) and "On With the Show." The shooting happened around 8:15 p.m. Thursday in the 6500 block of South Halsted in the Englewood neighborhood, Chicago police said. Three males got out of a black Jeep Cherokee and began shooting in several directions, striking seven people, then got back in the Jeep and fled east on 66th Street, police said. Operation Dry Water is the Coast Guards annual national campaign to prevent drinking and boating incidents over the holiday weekend. The agency will increase its patrols on the water, as will state and local agencies. The Coast Guard said alcohol is the leading factor in all recreational boating deaths. The month of July is typically one of the worst for search and rescue incidents, according to Coast Guard Lt. Rachel Ault. Last year, the Coast Guard responded to 37 total search and rescue cases on Lake Michigan during the week of July 1. The man was riding on the bus in the 8600 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue around 4:30 p.m. when he got into an argument with another male, police said. The male pulled out a knife and stabbed the 67-year-old man in the chest. The Friday of the deadliest weekend of the year, to have our superintendent and his senior leadership team be in City Hall for what was it, six hours when they could and should have been out making sure deployments were set, making sure they were giving the charges to the troops on the ground that are going to be doing the hard work and heavy lifting, as my mother would say, theres a time and a place for everything, Lightfoot said. The fireworks store has helped my children earn money for their college education. But now the city wants us to remove our patriotic pennants. Once those pennants come down, I feel that my grandfathered clause to have them is over and they wont be allowed back up, said Morgavan, whos a grandfather himself. My ultimate plan is to give all this to my kids someday. You are here: Business Assets under management of public offering funds in China climbed to 22.91 trillion yuan (3.55 trillion U.S. dollars) by the end of May, data from the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC) showed. The volume was up from 22.51 trillion yuan registered by the end of April, according to AMAC, an industry body supervised by China's securities regulator. China had 135 asset management companies by the end of May, including 44 joint ventures and 91 domestic companies. At the end of May, 13 securities firms or asset management subsidiaries under securities firms, as well as two insurance asset management companies, had obtained qualifications for the management of public offering funds, AMAC data showed. One hundred years is a figure that arouses awe, and with the country in a festive mood to celebrate the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, a grand gala that aired on television on Thursday night allowed people to revisit milestones in the rise of the Party. The gala was staged at Beijing's iconic National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, on Monday. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, joined around 20,000 audience members to watch the two-hour performance. Titled "The Great Journey", the four-part epic traced the Party's century-long history from its revolutionary victories to the construction spree in the early days of the People's Republic of China and the unprecedented changes brought about by reform and opening-up in recent decades. Fireworks lit up the sky as the action climaxed. Around half the stadium was turned into a huge stage, with giant screens and two oval-shaped revolving platforms vividly recreating awe-inspiring scenes, from battles in modern China's biggest wars to the nation's ending of extreme poverty, its battles against the severe acute respiratory syndrome and COVID-19, and the country's exploration of space. Shen Chen, deputy chief director of the gala, said the performance used nearly 8,000 performers and some choruses of around 8,000 students from over 20 universities. "The show has been prepared and rehearsed for two years, with the script revised over 100 times due to changes of ideas and locations," Shen said. Once the location of the performance was set, in July last year, the creative team behind it decided to make it an epic gala. They then gathered all the performers in Beijing for two months of rehearsals in the stadium from late April. One highlight of the program mentioned by Shen was the chorus- and-dance Zhan Qi Mei Ru HuaThe War Flag as Beautiful as a Paintinga performance about the Chinese People's Volunteers entering the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to help in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-53). With around 1,000 performers dressed in military uniforms bringing fierce conflicts to life, one innovative feature of the performance saw a 30-meter-wide, 90-meter-long screen slowly lifted from the ground, with an actor playing a renowned war hero sitting on top of it. Shen said the performance was a tribute to the many unnamed martyrs who sacrificed their lives to demonstrate the Chinese people's determination to defend peace. Zhu Han, a 37-year-old teacher from the Central Academy of Drama, said he was thrilled to join the performance as a dancer playing a Chinese soldier. A veteran of the stage since the age of 13, Zhu said the performance rekindled the intense national pride he felt after being part of a series of large-scale tributes previously, including those for the 90th anniversary of the CPC's founding and the 70th anniversary of victory in the World Anti-Fascist War. He said the actors carried prop rifleseach weighing around 10 kilogramsas they dashed around performing battle scenes under the scorching sun during the rehearsals. It was a special experience that helped him understand Chinese troops' devotion to safeguarding the country, Zhu said. Zhu is from Jiangxi province, the revolutionary cradle where the Party established its first rural revolutionary base and he said the show reminded him of the Red culture deeply rooted in his hometown. Huang Tengshi, an 82-year-old retired official who lives in Beijing, was part of the audience. He said he was very excited when the giant screen showed documentary clips featuring Xi and former top leaders Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao. An audience member or participant in anniversary celebrations in Tian'anmen Square or the Great Hall of the People since the late 1950s, Huang said the Bird's Nest's gala was the most impressive and imposing he had seen, giving him a strong immersive experience and stirring his love for the Party. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority in Taiwan was condemned Friday for turning a blind eye to the mainland's achievements, smearing its social system and development path, and deliberately distorting the mainland's independent foreign policy of peace. In response to a media question, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, noted that the DPP's malicious verbal attacks on the mainland have once again revealed its intention to be a pawn of Western anti-China forces and the enemy of 1.4 billion Chinese people, to seek "Taiwan independence." Resolving the Taiwan question and realizing China's complete reunification is a historic mission and an unshakable commitment of the Communist Party of China, and a shared aspiration of all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation, Zhu said. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and the island has never been a country, Zhu said, stressing that the Chinese people will never allow its secession from the motherland. "We will unswervingly uphold the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, advance the process of the peaceful reunification of China, and defeat any attempt to seek 'Taiwan independence'," Zhu said. Floodwaters almost submerge a ferry bridge in Rong'an county in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Friday. [Photo by Tan Kaixing/For China Daily] Heavy rains are expected to continue causing floods along small rivers in China's Yangtze River region after the country triggered its emergency response on June 21, water resources departments and meteorological services said. The downpours that began to affect the Yangtze River region, southwestern and southern China on Saturday will continue until Monday, according to the National Meteorological Center. On Friday, meteorological services in Wuhan, Hubei province, issued the highest-level red alert for heavy rains and the Xinjiang River Hydrology and Water Resources Monitoring Center in Jiangxi province issued a yellow alert for floods, the second lowest level of its four-tier system. Meteorological services in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region warned of potential disasters and flooding along small rivers due to heavy rain, hail and strong winds. The rains are likely to cause the Yangtze River and rivers leading from the Poyang, Dongting and Taihu lakes to swell visibly, the Ministry of Water Resources said. Flood prevention has been beefed up. The ministry has sent 10 working groups as of June 30 to Heilongjiang province, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, East China's Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangxi provinces, Southwest China's Guizhou and Yunnan provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. By Thursday, the Jiangxi government had evacuated 54,000 people from a number of cities to locations safe from rising waters, local media reported. A man rides along a flooded riverbank in Rong'an. [Photo by Tan Kaixing/For China Daily] By June 26, Heilongjiang province's local governments had evacuated about 19,000 residents from the Greater Khingan Mountains area, and Heihe and Mudanjiang cities, where floods were affecting about 60,000 hectares of farmland, according to the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters. "Heilongjiang local governments should send experts to ensure the safety of houses that have been flooded for extended periods. No one should be allowed to live in such buildings. Fishing is banned in flooded areas, and traffic is forbidden on dangerous roads," said a notice issued by the Heilongjiang provincial government. On June 21, the Ministry of Water Resources identified the country's first major river flood so far this year as having happened on the Nenjiang, a tributary of Heilongjiang's Songhua River. Ning Fanggui, an official with the Songhua and Liaohe Rivers Water Resources Committee, told thepaper.cn that this year, flooding in northeastern China is heavier and a month earlier than normal due to frequent and heavy rainfall. "Northeast China experienced more rain this June due to a cold vortex from the north," he was quoted as saying. At a work meeting this week, Zhou Xuewen, vice-minister at the Ministry of Water Resources, said that local flood control and drought relief headquarters should enhance real-time consultation, prediction and supervision. General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Xi Jinping's speech at the ceremony marking the centenary of the CPC on Thursday has drawn recognition and support from domestic and foreign business leaders, who viewed it as an encouraging message that China's development will create new opportunities for the world and the country will continue to be a major force in driving global growth. The emphasis on China pursuing peaceful development, as well as its resolve to promote high-quality growth and to further deepen reform and opening-up has further boosted confidence in the world's second-largest economy as the country's top leadership pledged to make more notable and substantive progress toward building a strong and modern socialist country in all respects, experts and business leaders said. As the country embarked on a new development journey, the remarks by Xi, who is also China's president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, underscored the trend that the Chinese economy will not only grow in size but also evolve into an innovative and rules-based market economy that will bring benefits to the common prosperity of the world, they added. Zhang Yansheng, chief researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said that Xi's speech holds great significance as it not only announced that China has achieved its first centenary goalto build a moderately prosperous society in all respects and eradicate absolute povertybut also laid out the major tasks of the Party on the way to realizing the second centenary goal. "It is not only about achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation but also about promoting the peaceful development of the world and building a community with a shared future for mankind," he said. Zhang said that new success stories are expected to emerge in China's efforts to boost its innovative ability to further unleash the potential of its productivity, major progress in improving the country's rule of law and modern governance, and efforts to promote common prosperity after eradicating absolute poverty. Business executives viewed Xi's speech as an encouraging sign that China will continue to develop its economy by deepening reform and opening-up, promoting high-quality development and improving its business environment. "During the past century, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, China's business environment has been optimized, Chinese consumers have played an increasingly important role in the global economy and China has become a major force in leading global economic development," said Saravoot Yoovidhya, CEO of Thailand's TCP Group, which owns the energy drink brand Red Bull. "Thanks to the infinite opportunities created by the CPC's unwavering reform and opening-up, my father, the founder of TCP and the inventor of Red Bull, Mr. Chaleo Yoovidhya, was proud to return to his ancestral homeland of Hainan province as China's reform and opening-up era took off and establish the first Red Bull factory in the country in 1993," he said. Liu Guoping, chairman of the China branch of Orix Group, a Japanese financial services group, said that China's reform and opening-up under the leadership of the CPC has enabled the company to develop rapidly in the country over the past 50 years. "China's supportive economic and trade policies, especially in the areas of trade in financial services, have offered global companies more access, prompting Orix to add more investment and expand its market presence across the country," he said. Xi's call to implement the new development philosophy, foster a new development paradigm and build up the country's strength in science and technology has also boosted business confidence over the prospects for the Chinese economy powered by innovation, technological breakthroughs and new types of business. "It was moving and inspiring to hear President Xi's speech. China has made tremendous progress into a technological powerhouse and the digital revolution, characterized by the rapid maturation of technologies such as AI, 5G, cloud computing and blockchain, will profoundly transform our country in various ways by bolstering productivity," said Da Hongfei, CEO of Onchain, a blockchain technology startup. Shao Changnan, chairman of Dalian, Liaoning province-based DHI-DCW Group Co Ltd, a State-owned manufacturer of machinery equipment, said that Xi's speech was encouraging and the company will further accelerate the upgrading of its technologies to produce more intelligent industrial equipment and contribute to China's target to peak its carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Zhang Feng, CEO of Dmall, a Chinese fresh grocery digital platform, said that the company will strive to seize opportunities emerging in the global development of the digital economy and sharpen its advantages in the digitalization of retail sales to contribute to the country's high-quality development and meet the people's desire for a better life. Flash On behalf of a group of countries, a senior Chinese diplomat on Friday expressed grave concern over the fabrication and spread of disinformation on multilateral human rights work at the on-going 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council. Delivering a joint statement to the Council, Jiang Duan, minister of the Chinese mission to the United Nations in Geneva, said that some countries fabricate and spread disinformation out of political purposes, and smear others under the pretext of human rights, in an attempt to make excuses for interfering in other countries' internal affairs, imposing unilateral coercive measures and setting up country-specific mechanisms at the Human Rights Council. "These acts severely violate the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, run counter to the principles of universality, impartiality and objectivity of the work of the Human Rights Council, and will only misdirect the work of international human rights mechanisms and undermine their reputation," the joint statement said. "We are also gravely concerned that a few special procedure mandate holders indiscriminately take unauthenticated information from western media and political groups to make groundless accusations against sovereign States," the joint statement continued. The joint statement urged countries concerned to immediately stop fabricating and spreading disinformation and refrain from using human rights as a political tool. The statement also expressed hope that relevant special procedure mandate holders will perform their duties in a fair and objective manner, and respect the authoritative information provided by the governments of States so as to avoid being used by those with ulterior motives. Flash The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief has sent a letter inviting Chinese experts to participate in a working group pertaining to Japan's disposal of nuclear wastewater, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday. Confirming the relevant information, spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a daily news briefing that IAEA is actively preparing to assemble the working group after repeated requests from stakeholders such as China and the Republic of Korea (ROK). "China will give full support to the follow-up work of the working group," said the spokesperson, adding that China hopes the IAEA will listen to the opinions of stakeholders to ensure that the working group can play its due role in the technical assessment of and supervision on Japan's disposal of the nuclear wastewater. Stressing that the disposal of nuclear wastewater is of great importance and not a private issue of Japan, Wang said China strongly urges the Japanese side to provide all necessary cooperation to ensure that the IAEA working group can carry out its work smoothly. Japan must not wantonly start the ocean discharge before consulting and reaching consensus with all stakeholders and relevant international organizations, Wang added. Flash The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government has expressed strong opposition to reference relating to Macao in the 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report, issued lately by the U.S. Department of State. The report ranked the Macao SAR as on the Tier 2 Watch List. The Macao SAR government security authorities said on Friday that they found such references on Macao in the report "extremely unreasonable and unacceptable." The Macao SAR government is determined to combat the crime of human trafficking, and has been relentless in its efforts in this regard, said the Office of the Secretary for Security under the SAR government. The SAR government, while following local laws and international standard, has given its full support to its Human Trafficking Deterrent Measures Concern Committee and coordinated with all sectors of the community for the protection of victims, and the formulation of preventive and combative measures, the office said. The Macao SAR government has been combating human trafficking effectively under the supervision of the local judiciary. The decline in cases relating to human trafficking and labor exploitation recorded in recent years well demonstrates the efficient collaboration between the SAR government and local communities. The self-styled U.S. report, nonetheless, has for years continuously ignored objective facts by giving wrong interpretations, false deductions and unreasonable speculation. This is especially seen by its ignorance on and bias against Macao SAR's related laws and independent judiciary system, and the false accusations about the efficacy of the SAR government's efforts to prevent and fight against the crimes, said the office. The combating of crimes relating the trafficking in persons has long been a matter of consensus among the international community. The Macao SAR government has formulated relevant pieces of legislation and mechanisms for coordination and enforcement in this regard. These efforts showcase the government's resolution, along with the efforts of the community, to prevent and combat all kinds of human trafficking-related crimes, and to protect the legitimate rights of residents and visitors, according to the office. In addition, the security authorities will step up international and regional exchange and cooperation in order to explore jointly strategies to prevent and combat any form of human trafficking and exploitation, added the office. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Faith and Courage of America's Founders NEWS PROVIDED BY Liberty Counsel July 2, 2021 ORLANDO, Fla., July 2, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- In today's society where some people are frantically trying to erase America's history, the signers of the Declaration of Independence, a document which maintained that the thirteen American states were free of British rule, clearly revealed their faith and sacrifice to ensure that this nation was founded upon Judeo-Christian principles and religious freedom. A few months before signing the Declaration, Patrick Henry, a Founder who served as the first and sixth post-colonial governor of Virginia, addressed the Virginia Convention and declared: "We are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battle alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave." John Hancock, the presiding officer over the Second Continental Congress, became the first representative to sign the Declaration on July 4, 1776. Hancock left a sizable signature which started the modern-day idea of leaving a "John Hancock" on paperwork. In fact, according to a popular saying, he signed his name large so that King George could read it without his glasses. While that may or may not be true, it is factual that one of America's most ardent patriots put his life on the line with that signature. If the Revolutionary War was lost or he was caught, Hancock would have been hanged by the British. Yet Hancock said, "Principally and first of all, I give and recommend my soul into the hands of God that gave it: and my body I recommend to the earth. Nothing doubting but at the general resurrection I shall receive the same again by the mercy and power of God." All 56 patriots who signed the Declaration took their duties so seriously to the people of the new nation that they made a promise "with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." They signed the Declaration of Independence knowing that the penalty would be death if they were captured, and that pledge could literally cost them their lives and fortunes. As a result, 17 men lost property because of British raids and 12 had homes destroyed. Five lost their fortunes in helping fund the Continental Army and state militias battle the redcoats, five were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died. One had two sons imprisoned on a British starving ship, one had a son killed in battle, one had his wife die from harsh prison treatment, and nine signers died in the Revolutionary War. Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, "The Founders were deeply influenced by a Judeo-Christian worldview that gave them great courage to sacrifice everything in order to establish this great nation. Yet, for many of them, signing America's birth certificate was their own death sentence. However, they knew that our rights come from God, not government, and that the sole purpose of government is to protect these inalienable rights whatever the cost. As we celebrate America's birthday this weekend, we must continue to protect the priceless gift of our religious freedom and never forget the cost that was paid for it." Liberty Counsel provides broadcast quality TV interviews via Hi-Def Skype and LTN at no cost. SOURCE Liberty Counsel CONTACT: Mat Staver, 407-875-1776, Liberty@LC.org Related Links lc.org/ US (03-07-2021) Are you hitting the gym regularly to reduce excess body weight and are not getting desired results? If your answer is yes, then you have to work smarter than work harder. Hitting the gym is not an instant solution to reduce excess body weight as every individual need to burn more calories regularly in the gym. You have to perform exercises for a very long time and control your cravings to reduce stubborn belly fat and overall body fat. It is difficult for every individual to hit the gym harder because of insufficient time. A huge number of individuals like you want a faster way to burn excess body fat, so they are searching on the internet for the best method to reduce weight. The internet is loaded with so many ways that people are trying to get a slim body. 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If necessary, interested people can click here or the official website for full insight Flat Belly Tonic . You can also contact us by providing the information below. Website-: https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/okinawa-flat-belly-tonic-reviews-scam-or-ingredients-that-work/Content?oid=27413156 The 30-year-old businessman had always talked of building one expansive home, or mahal, for his whole family so he would always have cousins, nieces and nephews around to care for and laugh with, Adnan Chaudhry said Sunday. Until then, Zeshan Chaudhry had his little hotel on the Hartford Turnpike, where he often gave discounts and leeway to patrons in need, his brother said. If the younger people in these stories had been alive in the 1920s or 30s, they might have trudged off to war. In the 50s, hit the road. In the 60s or 70s, turned on and dropped out. These characters, by contrast, seem hemmed in, uptight, ambivalent about having children, uncertain about the path forward, doomed to live up to their parents or their own high expectations, and struggling to do the right thing and not succumb to despair. Bengaluru: In a setback to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, a special court for public representatives on Saturday dismissed the 'B-Report' by the Lokayukta police seeking the closure of investigation against him in a 15-year-old case relating to denotification of prime land in Bengaluru. The court also directed the Lokayukta police to expedite the investigation and furnish the final or additional final report. Judge Sridhar Gopalakrishna Bhat said in his order, "The B Report submitted by the investigation officer under section 173(2) of CrPC is hereby rejected." "Consequently, acting under section 156(3) of CrPC, the Deputy Superintendent of Police attached to the police wing of Karnataka Lokayuktha, Bengaluru is hereby directed to investigate the matter further in the light of the observation made in this order and to file final report/additional final report expeditiously as per law." The court also reminded the investigation officer to keep in mind the observations made by the Karnataka High Court with regard to delay in conducting investigation. The case pertains to the denotification of prime land in Bellandur and Devarabeesanahalli, which was related to Varthur-Whitefield IT Corridor.The land was acquired in 2000-2001 for an IT park. However, in 2006-07, as the Deputy Chief Minister in the JD(S)-BJP coalition government headed by H D Kumaraswamy, Yediyurappa denotified the land according to the private complaint lodged by Vasudeva Reddy with the Lokayukta court alleging irregularities in the denotification. The court directed the Lokayukta police to register a case, based on which a case was registered on February 21, 2015 under the Prevention of Corruption Act. In December 2020, Yediyurappa had filed a petition in the High Court seeking quashing of the case. Yediyurappa had contended that the High Court had quashed the same FIR against the then Industries minister and Congress leader R V Deshpande on October 9, 2015. Hence, the investigation against him based on the same FIR was illegal but the court rejected his argument. Dismissing the petition, Justice John Michael Cunha directed the police to intensify the investigation. The Lokayukta police had filed a 'B Report' seeking closure of the investigation which Reddy had challenged. Cultivated in Krishnapuram in Mydukur area of Kadapa district, the onion has special properties and is high in phenolic compounds, apart from antioxidants. (Representational Photo:PTI) KADAPA: Widely cultivated in Kadapa district, dark red Mydukur KP onions, also called Krishnapuram onions, are good for health as they are rich in flavonoids, which enhance immunity, says researcher Vijaya Lakshmi of Yogi Vemana Botany University. Not just Vijaya Lakshmi, who did her research under guidance of Botany Professor P. S. Shawalli Khan, researchers from Italian Institute of Food Science and National Research Institute have commended KP onions. Their research papers have been published in Journal of Biological Sciences Springer. Cultivated in Krishnapuram in Mydukur area of Kadapa district, the onion has special properties and is high in phenolic compounds, apart from antioxidants, Vijaya Lakshmi pointed out. These onions are small in size and mostly exported to Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Middle East. The onions are dark red due to anthocyanin in it. Professor Shawali Khan disclosed that if union ministry of commerce and industry acquires geo-tag for KP onion, farmers of Kadapa will be protected. At the same time, the region will benefit by way of exports. Vijaya Lakshmi, who did her post-graduation in botany from Yogi Vemana University, received her doctorate for her research on KP onions. Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, sponsored her research through the Inspire Fellowship. She created onion plants from KP onion flowers during her research. YV University vice-chancellor Professor Munagala Surya Kalavati has congratulated Vijaya Lakshmi for her work. Puducherry: Senior Congress leader V Narayanasamy has charged Prime Minister Narendra Modi with showing 'no interest' to concede the demand of Puducherry for statehood. Addressing reporters on Friday night, he said when Modi was on a visit to the union territory for poll campaign in February, he did not respond to the plea of AINRC made at a public campaign here for statehood for Puducherry. "The Prime Minister chose to remain silent on the demand and this proved that he is not interested in granting statehood for Puducherry," he claimed. The delegation of two Ministers of Puducherry belonging to the BJP and also the other legislators of the party who met the Prime Minister and Central Ministers recently in Delhi did not make any demand for statehood. "It is therefore very clear that neither Prime Minister nor the BJP is interested in ensuring statehood for Puducherry," he said. Narayanasamy recalled that the Congress and its alliance partners had launched a series of agitations for statehood during the previous Congress government headed by him here. "Once statehood is available, the financial status of Puducherry would improve. Decisions taken by the elected government could be implemented fast and Puducherry would be included in the Central Finance Commission," he pointed out. The former Chief Minister also took strong exception to the Centre's silence on the rise of petrol, diesel and cooking gas cylinder prices. Very soon signatures from the public would be obtained through special campaigns by the Congress as per directions of the AICC to urge the Centre to roll back the hike in prices, he said. HYDERABAD: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Saturday demanded the cancellation of the tripartite meeting of Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) scheduled to be held on July 9 following the complaint lodged by the Andhra Pradesh government against generation of hydel power by the Telangana state government. Instead, Rao demanded that the KRMB hold a full-fledged meeting after July 20 and incorporate the issues raised by Telangana state in the agenda of the meeting. The Chief Minister held a meeting with senior officials at Pragathi Bhavan to take stock of the situation arising out of the ongoing Krishna water row with AP. The CM stated that the AP government's Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (RLIS) and Pothrireddypadu were 'illegal projects' which Telangana would never accept. He said RLIS was taken up without any approvals by concerned agencies and without a single drop of water allocations made. The Chief Minister reiterated that the Telangana state government would continue hydel power generation at projects over Krishna till water levels permitted and no one including the KRMB had the power to ask the Telangana state government to stop it. He rejected the existing Krishna water sharing ratio of 66:34 between Telangana state and AP and demanded that it should be done in the ratio of 50:50. Out of total 811 tmc ft (thousand million cubic feet) in the Krishna river allotted to undivided AP, both the states should share 405.5 tmc ft each till Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal delivered its verdict, he said. The Chief Minister rubbished AP's claims that they were forced to release surplus water into the sea from Prakasam barrage due to Telangana state taking up hydel power generation upstream. He suggested that AP utilise the water to meet the needs in Krishna district and save power charges to be incurred for lifting Godavari water from the Pattiseema project. TS had a large requirement of power for its lift irrigation projects and Mission Bhagiratha. To meet this demand, generating hydel power was necessary to reduce financial burden as well as pollution since hydel power was considered 51 per cent clean energy. The CM said the Centre too was encouraging states to opt for hydel energy and Telangana state was following suit. He added that 40 per cent of hydel power consumption was for lift irrigation needs. Chandrashekar Rao said the Telangana state government would go to any extent to protect its justifiable share in the Krishna river. He expressed anger over Bachawat Tribunal failing to deliver a final verdict on Krishna water allocations even though it was constituted 17 years ago. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Your Holiday Shopping Magazine to Emporia and area businesses. Also visit ShopEmporiaKansas.com to shop Emporia businesses who are online. Start your online shopping here. VIEW NOW Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. If you already subscribe to our print edition, sign up for FREE access to our online edition. Thanks for reading the Wharton Journal Spectator. By Park Han-sol The Jeju Island-born Buddhist monk Jung Kwang (1935-2002), whose birth name was Go Chang-ryul, was identified with several different, sometimes contradicting nicknames: "The Mad Monk," "The Mop Monk" (or his own favorite "The Buddhist Mop") and "The Picasso of Korea." As this series of monikers indicates, the late monk-artist was an idiosyncratic figure during his time, painting and writing pieces that were deemed vulgar and contrary to the precepts of the ascetic Zen Buddhism. As a daring rule breaker, his controversial behaviors and outspokenness eventually saw him expelled from the monastery in 1979, 19 years after his entrance. The Jeju provincial government announced that 432 of Jung Kwang's art pieces, which include his free-spirited and "obscene" paintings, have returned to the island, Thursday, as part of a donation made by Gana Art Chairman Lee Ho-jae. With the donated pieces, the island plans to establish an art museum dedicated to the monk-artist in the Artists' Village at Hangyeong, a township on the western tip of the island. His works have been showcased globally at the Asia Society Museum in New York, the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco and Tokyo Art Expo, with some stored in collections of the British Museum and the Rockefeller Foundation. Two Austrian nurses, well known here for their longtime devotion to helping patients in South Korea, have written to President Moon Jae-in in response to his recent personal message and gifts sent to them. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae, Yonhap Two Austrian nurses, well known here for their longtime devotion to helping patients in South Korea, have written to President Moon Jae-in in response to his recent personal message and gifts sent to them, Cheong Wa Dae said Saturday. Marianne Stoger and Margaret Pissarek / Courtesy of Korea Nurses Association A United Nations agency dealing with trade and development issues decided Friday to categorize South Korea as a developed economy. The decision was made unanimously during the 68th board meeting of the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) held at the agency's headquarters in Geneva. This is the first time that the agency has upgraded a member nation from the developing economy group to the developed one since its establishment in 1964. UNCTAD classifies member countries into four groups based on U.N. Regional Groups, and South Korea used to be on List A consisting of Asian and African countries, but the change has moved South Korea to List B the Western European and Others Group. With the decision, the List B group now has 32 member countries, including Germany, France and Japan. Last month, Lee Tae-ho, South Korea's new permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva, mentioned that Seoul was looking forward to playing a more active role at UNCTAD. "In order to more effectively contribute to UNCTAD discussions as the sixth largest Aid-for-Trade donor in the OECD, Korea is now seeking to further institutionalize its engagement with other OECD donors at UNCTAD," he said. South Korea was the first nation to become a donor country from being a recipient of U.N. aid in half a century, a transformation that has inspired many developing nations to follow in the footsteps of the Asian country in advancing their economies. (Yonhap) Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae / Yonhap A new act will enable South Korea to establish a national committee in charge of ensuring the country follows a stable, long-term education policy regardless of any change of government, officials said Saturday. Earlier this week, a National Assembly plenary meeting passed a relevant act on the establishment and management of the envisioned National Education Committee. The launch of the committee was part of President Moon Jae-in's election campaign, aimed at ensuring that the country's education policy, often reversed and revised upon the inauguration of a new administration, is established and implemented in a stable, long-term manner. The committee is expected to begin operation in July next year at the earliest, after Moon's five-year terms ends in May, in accordance with the law that governs the implementation of new acts, one year after their promulgation. Once launched as a decision-making body directly under the president, the committee will be in charge of drawing up, via social consent, a broad 10-year education development plan for the education ministry to follow in establishing detailed policies. The National Assembly will be entitled to recommend nine of the committee's 21 members while the president will be given the right to name five of them. The committee will include the deputy education minister as well as members recommended by various education-related bodies. The scope of the committee's decision making will range from the school system to policies on teachers and university admission, the size of each school class, and the standard of the overall national education process. The Ministry of Education welcomed the law's passage and pledged to speed up steps to launch the committee. "The national education committee will serve as a new arm of governance enabling a coherent education policy to be established independently of the (sitting) government and political parties," Minister Yoo Eun-hae said right after the Assembly approved the bill, Thursday. The new law championed by the ruling Democratic Party, however, ran into protests by the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), which argued the committee's jurisdiction overlaps with that of the education ministry. The composition of the committee's membership, as currently required by the new law, may also eventually tilt the committee toward the side of an administration in power, the party also claimed. "Wielding the power to set long-term policies that transcend the presidency is also against the principle of democratic policy (making)," PPP lawmaker Chung Kyung-hee said in her speech against the bill before it was put to a vote. (Yonhap) South Korea's major umbrella union pressed ahead with a massive street rally in central Seoul, Saturday, despite the government's warning of a stern response. Yonhap South Korea's major umbrella union pressed ahead with a massive street rally in central Seoul, Saturday, despite the government's warning of a stern response. Around 8,000 members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) gathered in the Jongno District, ignoring the government's call to cancel the gathering as it could affect the fight against COVID-19. The country is currently struggling to contain a resurgence of coronavirus cases. The union had planned to hold the rally in the western Seoul area of Yeouido; but it changed the venue just ahead of the rally after police blocked KCTU members' entry to Yeouido. Union members marched down Jongno Street starting around 2 p.m., demanding a revision to the Labor Act. They are calling for the abolition of non-regular employment, halts to job cuts, a hike in the minimum wage and measures to prevent industrial accidents. gettyimagesbank This article is the sixth in a series about Koreans adopted abroad. For adoptees, coming to Korea in search of their origin is a huge decision. It takes time, money and, most of all, the nerve to face the language barrier and private agencies hiding behind the curtain of privacy protection. Rebecca Kimmel, an American adoptee who decided to come to Korea during the pandemic for her origin search, tells us her version of the meaning of identity. By Rebecca Kimmel gettyimagesbank Eom Yeong-nam was a featured speaker at the May 15 Asia Regional Forum organized by Freedom Speakers International and sponsored by UniKorea. Below is an excerpt of his remarks. Ed. By Eom Yeong-nam What's the difference between suffering in oppression and suffering in freedom? In an oppressive country like North Korea, when you suffer, you don't have the opportunity to solve your problems. In a free country like South Korea, you may suffer, but you have the opportunity to overcome your problems. I hope after you hear my speech today that you will have a greater appreciation that you were born into freedom and have opportunities to enjoy a better life. Today I will discuss my own experience with suffering in both North and South Korea, and demonstrate the difference between suffering in oppression and suffering in freedom. I was born in North Korea I would like to use that as my example. As far as I know, North Korea has the worst human rights situation in the world. The result is that many people there suffer every day, but they have no way to overcome it as long as they stay there. In 2008, when I was in the North Korean military, doing construction work as a soldier, I witnessed a tragic accident. One morning in the middle of November, we had just started working when, suddenly, I heard screaming. Around 20 soldiers had become trapped under a huge beam. We rushed to them. We all tried to lift the beam, but it was too heavy. We didn't have an emergency number to call like 911, and we didn't even have cell phones. We had to help them ourselves. Everyone was either screaming in pain or shouting. It was like a scene from a horror movie. There was a crane, but it was not working. An hour later, another crane arrived, and finally the beam was lifted. But it was too late for some of them. We had to block the highway so we could take the injured soldiers to a hospital. There were no ambulances available. We took them in cars, vans, and trucks. The situation was like a battlefield. I still remember it like it was yesterday. I later heard that 3 of them had died, several had lost their legs, and others had suffered other serious injuries. They did not receive any compensation from the regime. This all happened because Kim Jong-il had ordered our brigade to dismantle three large bridges near Sunaen Airport in Pyongyang. We dismantled all of the bridges using sledge hammers. We used dynamite to drop huge beams and columns. In fact, the bridges were built to reduce traffic jams for foreigner visitors who had participated in the 13th World Youth Student Festival in 1989. But after that event, due to the death of Kim Il-Sung and the collapsing economy, foreigners stopped coming to North Korea through Sunaen Airport. As a result, Kim Jong-il was angry and ordered us to dismantle the bridges due to a shortage of building materials. At the tragic accident moment, my fellow soldiers and I hoped such an accident would never happen again, but the situation grew worse. Around 2 months later, one of the soldiers in our brigade was killed when a crane produced in the 1970s collapsed. In another case, one of the soldiers in our unit was killed instantly while he was digging a well. Such accidents are common on army construction sites in North Korea. Moreover, North Korean soldiers are dying from hunger and malnutrition. In North Korea, we don't have the ability to overcome suffering. That is what life is like in an oppressive society. Luckily, I escaped from North Korea in 2010 and I now live in South Korea. I have a master's degree in public administration from Korea University. I work at a good company now. It might seem that things are easy, that I am enjoying freedom without problems. However, until now, things were not easy and I have had to overcome many challenges. In the Bible, the Israelites complained at and even cursed Moses, even though he had rescued their people after they and their ancestors had endured 400 years of slavery in Egypt. They felt that their new level of freedom was worse than slavery because they were struggling with managing their lives by themselves. Getting freedom is difficult, but living in freedom can be challenging another kind of suffering, as I will discuss in part two of my speech. American soldiers wait on the tarmac in Logar province, Afghanistan, in this Nov. 30, 2017, file photo. AP-Yonhap Nearly 20 years after invading Afghanistan to oust the Taliban and hunt down al-Qaida, the U.S. military has vacated its biggest airfield in the country, advancing a final withdrawal that the Pentagon says will be completed by the end of August. President Joe Biden had instructed the Pentagon to complete the military withdrawal by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States, but officials now say they can finish the drawdown earlier. In fact, the drawdown is already largely completed and the officials say it could be wrapped up this weekend. But a number of related issues need to be worked out in the coming weeks, including a new U.S. military command structure in Kabul and talks with Turkey on an arrangement for maintaining security at Kabul Airport, and so an official end to the pullout will not be announced soon. ''A safe, orderly drawdown enables us to maintain an ongoing diplomatic presence, support the Afghan people and the government, and prevent Afghanistan from once again becoming a safe haven for terrorists that threaten our homeland,'' Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said. The administration is meanwhile narrowing options for ensuring the safety of thousands of Afghans whose applications for special visas to come to the United States have yet to be approved. The administration has already said it's willing to evacuate them to third countries pending their visa approvals but has yet to determine where. Officials said Friday that one possibility is to relocate them to neighboring countries in Central Asia where they could be protected from possible retaliation by the Taliban or other groups. The White House and State Department have declined to comment on the numbers to be relocated or where they might go, but the foreign ministers of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan were both in Washington this week and the subject of Afghan security was raised in meetings they held with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Kirby said that Austin approved a new command structure in Afghanistan, Friday, to transition the U.S. military mission from warfighting to two new objectives protecting a continuing U.S. diplomatic presence in Kabul and maintaining a liaison with the Afghan military. Austin's plan calls for the top commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Scott Miller, to transfer his combat authority to the Florida-based head of U.S. Central Command, Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, before relinquishing his command this month. Also, a two-star Navy admiral will head a U.S. Embassy-based military office, dubbed U.S. Forces Afghanistan-Forward, to oversee the new mission of providing security for the embassy and its diplomats. A satellite military office based in Qatar and headed by a U.S. one-star general will be established to administer U.S. financial support for the Afghan military and police, plus maintenance support provided for Afghan aircraft from outside Afghanistan. Kirby said Miller, who is already the longest-serving commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan in the 20 years of warfare, will remain in command for ''a couple of weeks'' longer but was not more specific. He said Miller will be preparing for and completing the turnover of his duties to McKenzie and also will be traveling inside and beyond Afghanistan. Miller met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Friday, and, according to a Dari-language tweet by the presidential palace, the two discussed ''continued U.S. assistance and cooperation with Afghanistan, particularly in supporting the defense and security forces.'' A wall surrounds Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan in this June 25, 2021, file photo. In 2001 the armies of the world united behind America, and Bagram Air Base, barely an hour's drive from the Afghan capital Kabul, was chosen as the epicenter of Operation Enduring Freedom, as the assault on the Taliban rulers was dubbed. It's now nearly 20 years later and the last US soldier is soon to depart the base. AP-Yonhap EXO Xiumin, slated to return as a musical actor, shared the status of the members serving in the military. The idol-musical actor also revealed the EXO member who supported him the most for his upcoming musical. On July 2, EXO Xiumin and musical actor Park Kang Hyun appeared as guests on SBS Power FM's "Love Game." In the episode, broadcast by DJ Park So Hyun, the two musical actors gave a sneak peek about their upcoming musical, "Hadestown." During the broadcast, Xiumin also shared the recent status of his fellow EXO members, particularly those who are currently serving in the military. EXO Suho Cheered for Xiumin's Musical the Most While talking about the forthcoming musical "Hadestown," Xiumin also talked about the support he received upon joining the cast lineup. He said, "Musical actor Go Eun Sung was the first to congratulate me. He cheered me up a lot. We're friends, but we missed you so much. I love you, Eun Sung." Then, Park So Hyun then asked how his co-members are doing in the military, Xiumin specifically mentioned Suho and Baekhyun. According to the idol, the EXO leader Suho cheered for his musical the most, saying, "Suho cheered me the most among EXO members. Suho, how are you doing in the military service? I miss you so much. You're the best." He added, "Baekhyun is also serving in the military, but he is doing so well." Xiumin, who just returned from the military in December last year, opened up about coming back as an idol after two years in the service. He shared some behind-the-scenes deets regaring EXO's special album "DON'T FIGHT THE FEELING" filming, released on June 7. Xiumin said, "I was very busy recording. But thats why (schedule) got even more rushed. I had to shoot a music video too, so I was super busy. EXO Xiumin Spills Further Details about His Upcoming Musical "Hadestown" The interview centered on the idol-musical actor giving more information about their musical. Xiumin expressed his thoughts about his first musical after being discharged from the military. According to him, it is different from his previous musical in the army, as there is no "military spirit." The EXO member is set to portray Orpheus, son of a Muse and a human with great musical ability. The musical is a Korean adaptation of a broadway based on a Greek myth, centering on the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. As the conversation went on, Park Kang Hyun praised Xiumin, pointing out, "Xiumin is the youngest in the musical team but he's the oldest in EXO. So he's not just a cute little brother, but he's like a little brother who takes good care of me." EXO Xiumin and Park Kang Hyun are scheduled to meet the audience with "Hadestown," to kick-start on August 24. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, READ: EXO Xiumin Confirmed to Star in Musical 'Hadestown' For more K-Pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz. KpopStarz owns this article. Written by Eunice Dawson In a swarm of visual idols in K-pop, BTS Jin, EXO Sehun, GOT7 Mark, SEVENTEEN Mingyu, and more were chosen as the most handsome K-pop idols this 2021 in a South Korean poll. Various Korean news outlets reported that BTS Jin had been crowned as the "Most Handsome K-pop Idol 2021" in the poll conducted by KPOP VOTE (KV). Along with the "Worldwide Handsome," incredibly attractive male stars like ASTRO Eunwoo, EXO Sehun, SEVENTEEN Mingyu, and more also entered the rankings. BTS Jin is the "Most Handsome K-pop Idol 2021" BTS Jin once again proved himself to be the representative visual king of K-pop by topping the list of the "Most handsome K-pop idols 2021." Jin topped the list with a total of 195,920 votes. Following his win, the male idol also trended on social media channels such as Twitter, with the hashtag #VISUALKINGJIN. The idol appeared on real-time trends both in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines and worldwide trends. Referred to as a "Top Male God of Beauty of the World" by fans and media, Jin has always been praised for his visuals. Aside from his fit figure, he also attracts fans with his golden ratio face. BTS Jin has a sharp nose, thick lips, pretty eyes, and porcelain skin - features that best fall under Korean beauty standards. ASTRO Eunwoo, EXO Sehun, GOT7 Mark: Top 10 "Most Handsome K-pop Idols 2021" Trailing behind Jin are his BTS co-members V and Jungkook, who ranked second and third place, respectively. In this poll, the three BTS members proved that they are not only the group's "visual line" but K-pop's visual representatives for dominating the top 3. ALSO READ: SEVENTEEN's 'Your Choice,' Bambam's 'riBBon' & More: Here are 5 K-pop Albums That Are Currently the World's Top Albums The "Face Genius" Eunwoo of ASTRO claimed the fourth spot. Eunwoo is not only popular among fans for his visuals as current idols also voted him as the most handsome in the K-pop industry. In fact, aside from his face, his sexy brain has been commended several times, proving he's "beauty and brains" idol. Meanwhile, EXO members Kai, Sehun, and Baekhyun also reigned in the rankings as fifth, sixth, and seventh place, in order. The EXO members are not your ordinary handsome - they possess luxurious visuals! These three are currently ambassadors for various high-end brands: Kai as Gucci global brand ambasssador, Sehun as Dior House Friend (global), while Baekhyun is Burberry Korea's ambassador. ALSO READ: NCT Taeil and Mark Praised by Former Idol Manager for Stable Live Vocals The ever-handsome SEVENTEEN Mingyu also entered the top 10, hitting No. 8, followed by KARD BM at No. 9. Both are visual idols who also boast enviable physiques. GOT7 Mark completed the top 10. The LA-raised heartthrob, who's the main dancer and rapper of one of the most influential K-pop boy groups, nevel fails to set the internet afire for his attractiveness, even creating various headlines just for being handsome! Who's your favorite male visual? Did your bias make it to this list? Tell us in the comments! READ MORE HERE: Here Are The 15 Best Visual Lines in K-Pop According to Netizens For more K-Pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz. KpopStarz owns this article. Written by Eunice Dawson Celebrated author Erma Bombeck wrote, You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4th, not with a parade of guns, tanks and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad ge In Room Dining Servers - FT/PT - $1000 SIGN ON BONUS Job Category: Food and Beverage Requisition Number: INROO02552 Posting Details Posted: June 29, 2021 Full-Time LocationsShowing 1 location Park City-Stein Eriksen Lodge, UT, USA Job Details Description Hourly wage is $11(AM shift) or $8.25(PM shift) plus 25% automatic gratuity. 6 months 1 years experience in a full service hotel as a room service attendant wait person. Job encompasses receiving and delivery of food orders to hotel guests. Job requirements include a high level of responsibility as well as organizational and communication skills. Qualifications Experience Required 1 year: Server BENEFITS Stein Eriksen Lodge Management Corporation offers a variety of benefits to meet the needs of our team members and their families. These benefits are a major part of the team member compensation. Recognizing this, it is our goal to offer a benefits package that is comprehensive in design and cost-effective for team members. ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS VARIES DEPENDING ON POSITION CLASSIFICATION. You may apply for a position online or in person Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. For more information, please contact our Human Resources Department at (435) 645-6463. Our benefit package may include the following: Health insurance Dental plan Basic life insurance / accidental death and dismemberment employer paid Additional voluntary life insurance Short- and long-term disability Flexible spending accounts for dependent care and health care costs Supplemental accident, cancer, disability insurance immediately upon hire 401k with employer match Profit sharing at management discretion Employee assistance program Paid time off Seasonal ski benefits Holidays Dry cleaning benefits Hotel, dining, and spa discounts Direct deposit Pre-paid legal and identity theft protection recblid esl1dvgqoymq98jkzk40cxibrhr5gb Characterization Engineer (Depth Module HW) Santa Clara Valley (Cupertino) , California , United States Hardware Summary Posted: Jun 29, 2021 Role Number: 200262235 The Depth Hardware group at Apple develops depth-sensing hardware such as the revolutionary TrueDepth camera that powers FaceID, and the breakthrough LiDAR scanner. This multi-disciplinary group of engineers is responsible for architecture, research, and manufacturing development of these highly complex sensing systems for Apple products. The Depth Hardware team is seeking an optical characterization engineer to support characterization and validation of depth sensors for future depth applications. Key Qualifications Experience in designing or characterizing hardware systems such as depth sensors, cameras, or compact imaging optical systems Experience in developing characterization instrument involving optical, mechanical and electrical hardware Experience with typical optics lab equipment - cameras, power meters, detectors, oscilloscopes, optical stages/mounts, etc. Experience using C/C++, C#, Matlab, or Python for lab equipment control, data collection and data analysis Experience with image processing and quantitative imaging analysis is a plus Experience with 3D CAD mechanical design for fixtures is a plus Experience with board level circuit debug and soldering is a plus Experience supporting volume manufacturing of optical systems is a plus Description Primary focus is on engineering level depth sensor characterization for design validation and failure analysis Define and execute characterization and validation plans, develop quantitative metrics to evaluate performance, develop new characterization methods and hardware setups Build, automate, and qualify characterization tools for camera systems and optical illumination systems Document setup procedures and characterization methods, present summary results Operate and maintain characterization tools Travel to support design/production/supplier teams as necessary (up to 10%) Education & Experience M.S or PhD degree in Optics, Physics or Electrical Engineering 2+(PhD) or 5+(MS) years of industry experience Collaboration and Productivity Tools Trainer Austin , Texas , United States Software and Services Summary Posted: Jun 22, 2021 Weekly Hours: 40 Role Number: 200258190 Do you have a real passion for helping others learn and grow? Do you strive for high quality results with a strong focus on empathizing and relating to people? At Apple, extraordinary ideas have a way of be-coming excellent products, services, and customer experiences. If you are an innovative, analytical, and engaging trainer who thrives in making sense of collaboration and productivity tools in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, we would like to talk to you! The people here at Apple don't just build products - we craft the kind of wonder that's revolutionized entire industries! It's the diversity of those people and their ideas that supports the innovation that runs through everything we do, from amazing technology to industry-leading environmental efforts. Join Apple, and help us leave the world better than we found it! The Collaboration & Productivity team works hard to provide our internal employees with information, training, tools, and support throughout their careers at Apple. We focus on partnering with employees to understand their needs and guide them to solutions. Key Qualifications Deep understanding of adult learning theory and ability to implement learning solutions that are inter-active and learner-centered Ability to facilitate strategic discussions with business leaders to identify needs, align on goals, scope requests, and strategize new product training, delivery, and scale Comfortable with ambiguity and constant change, able to methodically work through complex problems, set priorities, and execute on commitments Eagerness to accept accountability, displaying ownership over work and the impact it has on the success of the business Experience crafting content for and publishing within a Content or Learning Management System Experience collaborating and driving projects with distributed teams across multiple timezones and cultures Ability to empathize, listen, and create a welcoming learning environment for employees Description We work both independently and as a part of a regional and distributed team to strategize, build, and deliver training on our productivity tools at Apple. The ideal candidate would recognize not only the hard work required to understand something deeply in order to communicate it simply, but also provide a training environment that is welcoming and engaging. Education & Experience Bachelors degree in any subject area nice to have The Princess Anne Police Department is seeking men and women that exhibit the characteristics of sound judgment, honesty, reliability, integrity, and the ability to blend the philosophy of community-oriented policing with a desire to best serve the interests of the residents of the Town of Princess Anne. The typical duties of a police officer include Enforcing the criminal and traffic laws of the State of Maryland, Somerset County, and the Code of the Town of Princess Anne, problem solving, report writing, courtroom presentation, and providing effective service to residents. In exchange for these duties, police officers are offered a competitive salary and excellent benefits. Shift work is required of all department employees. High School Graduate, 21 Years of Age at Certification, Possess a Valid Driver License Persons currently certified by the Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commission (MPCTC) are preferred. In addition, minority, female, and bi-lingual (English/Spanish) persons are strongly encouraged to apply. The Town of Princess Anne is an Equal Opportunity Employer without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation, disability, political or union affiliation. Minimum Qualifications Selection Process 1. Complete Application, 2. PT Test, 3. Interview, 4. Pass a Drug test, CVSA, Medical Exam and Phycological Screening, 5. Background Investigation, 6. Final Offer of Employment Reasons for disqualification from the employment process may include (but are not limited to) the following: poor work history; poor driving record; felony conviction; illegal drug usage, including the purchase, sale, or distribution of drugs; falsification of employment documents; inability to complete any of the components of the background process; and/or any other disqualifying factor as determined by the Chief of Police. Click APPLY within to complete application and be considered today!! recblid 2n98fln4ejet00h8p0ssr6yg7fgef1 Employment Opportunity Full-time Administrative Accountant position available with the Kingsville Housing Authority. Applicants will be responsible for maintaining the Housing Authoritys financial records. Minimum requirements: College Degree, or will receive their degree within 1 year, in Accounting, Finance, or similar field. Knowledge of accounting principles and practices required. Ability to operate a variety of computer programs and office equipment. Multitasking and prioritizing skills necessary. All employees are required to pass a criminal background check. Qualified applicant may obtain an application at 1000 W. Corral, Kingsville, Texas 78363 or via email by clicking APPLY NOW! Application deadline: Position opened until filled. recblid iy8klpt0wzij2ysxggveltnmirbhym Description The Dallas ISD Board of Trustees on Jan. 28 adopted three calendars for the next two school years, with the majority of schools set to have a traditional calendar. Click the appropriate calendar below to see your campuses schedule for the 2021-2022 School Year: Base Calendar Intersession Calendar School Day Redesign 1 School Day Redesign 2 Develop and implement lesson plans that fulfill requirements of the district's curriculum program and show written evidence of preparation as required Prepare lessons that reflect accommodations for differences in student learning styles Present subject matter according to guidelines established by Texas Education Agency, Board of Trustee policies, and administrative regulations Establish efficient classroom management procedures Establish and maintain standards of pupil behavior Establish a system of students evaluation within the guidelines prescribed in state law or adopted by the school district Continually evaluate and record various aspects of students' progress and report to parents as needed and required Teach within the course of study for the subject area at the grade level as prescribed in state law or adopted by the school district Understand and plan lessons leading to subject area objectives and assume the responsibility for written lesson plans for substitutes Provide a variety of planned learning experiences using a variety of media and methods in order to motivate students and best utilize available time for instruction Identify pupil needs and cooperate with other professional staff members in assessing and helping students resolve health, attitude, and learning problems Be available for counseling with students and parents before and after school. Share the responsibility of interpreting the educational programs to the community through such activities as open house and PTA meetings Plan and coordinate the work of aides and other paraprofessional and student teachers (when applicable) Participate cooperatively with the principal to develop the system by which he/she will be evaluated in conformance with the district's uniform guidelines for evaluation and assessment Keep accurate records of student information; compile, maintain, and file all reports, records, and other documents required by the school and district Performs all other tasks and duties as assigned Regular and punctual attendance at the worksite is required for this position WORK ENVIRONMENT: The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. Travel throughout the district is integral to this job. A remote working environment /alternate work arrangement is not an option for campus-based employees/campus-based positions because regular and punctual attendance at the worksite and performing all duties at the worksite are essential job duties for all campus-based personnel. Qualifications The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required of this job: Bachelor's Degree from an accredited university; valid Texas teacher certificate with required endorsements for subject and subject level assigned. Demonstrated general knowledge of curriculum and instruction. Demonstrated knowledge of various routine tasks, duties, and procedures and the ability to follow specific instructions with little or no previous experience. Present subject matter according to guidelines established by Texas Education Agency, Board of Trustee policies, and administrative regulations. Establish efficient classroom management procedures. Demonstrated flexibility to cope with the challenges of a rapidly changing world Demonstrated willingness to remain current with the latest developments in the profession Position Objective: Contributes to the provision of high-quality, cost-effective healthcare as a provider of direct and indirect patient care and by effective of the health care team. Functions as a competent member of the health care team. Essential Job Duties: Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 1. Clinical Decision Making/Judgment Demonstrates clinical nursing knowledge and skill in the specialization of the unit. Demonstrates the ability to apply the nursing process effectively in the care of culturally diverse patients and families. Demonstrates the ability to utilize all applicable laws, policies, standards, guidelines and evidence-based practice in the provision of patient/family care. Organizes and reprioritizes patient care activities based on subtle and overt and/or environmental changes. Consistently and thoroughly assesses patients to collect data and identify learning needs according to established standards and policies. Utilizes a systematic, continuous and complete analysis of assessment data to develop individualized problem lists for assigned patients. Develops and individualizes a plan of care for each patient in accordance with established standards, appropriate prioritization of problems/needs, and mutually agreed upon goals. Efficiently implements the patient's plan of care in accordance with applicable standards, policies, procedures and guidelines. Demonstrates proficiency in medication administration, pain management and other unit or initiative specific skills. Continuously evaluates the effectiveness of the plan(s) of care, making revisions and recommendations based on analysis of patient responses to interventions. 2. Nurse-Patient Family Relationships Demonstrates the ability to assess the patient's/family's learning needs, readiness to learn, learning style, and presence of barriers to learning. Demonstrates the ability to develop, implement and evaluate teaching plans for patient populations in unit specialty in accordance with applicable standards. Demonstrates the ability to apply knowledge of growth and development across the life span to the care of patients. Provides direct patient care to patients and families in a culturally, developmentally and ethically appropriate manner. Plans of care address the physical, psychosocial, spiritual and learning needs of the patient/family. 3. Clinical Scholarship Participates in QI, CPI and risk management activities at the unit, department or organizational level. Demonstrates the ability to effectively perform and improve all processes in order to achieve excellence with regard to AAMC's quality standards and benchmarks. Supports the use of evidence based guidelines and organizational policies and procedures to promote safe patient care and a safe practice environment. 4. Clinical Leadership Participates in unit shared governance according to departmental standards. Participates in the education and orientation of new staff. Delegates patient care activities as appropriate; evaluates delegated activities for expected patient care outcomes. Employs real time computer documentation when completing patient record. Educational/Experience Requirements: Graduate of an accredited school of nursing Adherence to the credentialing requirements of AAMC as stated in the nursing bylaws. Required License/Certifications: Current licensure as a registered nurse by the Maryland Board of Nursing. CPR - American Heart Association Healthcare Provider certification Working Conditions, Equipment, Physical Demands: There is a reasonable expectation that employees in this position will be exposed to blood-borne pathogens. Physical Demands - Medium work. Exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 30 pounds of force frequently, and/or up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects. The physical demands and work environment that have been described are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The above job description is an overview of the functions and requirements for this position. This document is not intended to be an exhaustive list encompassing every duty and requirement of this position; your supervisor may assign other duties as deemed necessary. Location: United States of America Milwaukee (South 2nd Street) Location: Twinsburg - Ohio Location: Mayfield Heights - Ohio Job Description Rockwell Automation's Identity and Access Management (IAM) team is looking for an innovative Solution Architect to collaborate, design, and oversee the implementation of IAM systems architecture. The Solution Architect's responsibilities include playing an integral role in building a holistic view and roadmap of the company's technology strategy and processes. In addition, you will partner with business and technology groups to ensure the alignment of technology solutions with the company's strategic objectives. To be successful as a Solution Architect, the ideal candidate should maintain a holistic view of the organization's strategy, processes, information, and technology assets. In addition, an outstanding Solution Architect should explain complex problems to management and business stakeholders in layman's terms. Solution Architect Responsibilities include: Foster collaboration and provide guidance while partnering with business and technology subject-matter experts to drive requirements that enable teams to build and maintain innovative solutions while aligning to strategic vision. while aligning to strategic vision. Is a key stakeholder in the successful delivery of Information Security projects and services for our customers by working directly with key business stakeholders, executives, and project teams. Security architects are often the technical lead on initiatives and must drive the vision and alignment of the solution delivery. Identify, design, build and integrate IAM information systems to meet the company's needs. Continually researching current and emerging technologies and methodologies, proposing changes where needed and providing an assessment of the business impact to technology choices. Promotes collaboration and the use of shared infrastructure, application roadmap, and prior development to produce cost-effective/scalable solutions. Partners with other solution architects to provide scalable and adaptable architectural solutions Drive the adoption of Authentication and Authorization reference architectures for existing, new, and emerging IAM technologies. Develops and maintains policies, standards, and guidelines to ensure that a consistent technology framework is applied across the company. Leadership/Change : Strong leadership and negotiation skills across multiple stakeholders and technical groups which can influence project decisions Act courageously by sharing viewpoints openly and directly with others, providing relevant and timely information and feedback, as required Ability to retain and convey a positive attitude in challenging circumstances Maintains a sense of urgency in driving assignments to completion. Collaborate across teams gaining the cooperation of others to complete goals Ability to maintain the confidentiality of information and compartmented team activities Interpersonal : Build positive relationships within the IAM team and business stakeholders by demonstrating integrity and high standards of performance. Desire and ability to continually teach, learn, and grow, personally and professionally Complex problem-solving skills with the keen ability to rapidly define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions Ability to effectively work on multiple objectives simultaneously Basic Qualifications: Bachelors degree Legal authorization to work in the US is required. We will not sponsor individuals for employment visas, now or in the future, for this job opening. Preferred Qualifications: Bachelors or equivalent experience; preferred bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Management Information Systems, or other related fields. Typically requires 5 years experience with customer/consumer identity solutions is preferred; B2B and B2C identity management tools and services; external identity management is a plus Experience designing, developing, communicating, and executing capability roadmaps Hands-on experience with adoption of build pipelines and automated unit/regression testing Experience designing and implementing applications using a micro-service architecture Brings a customer experience lens to IAM strategy Experience designing, integrating, and managing complex infrastructure solutions Comprehensive knowledge of hardware, software, application, and systems engineering Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills; Previous project management experience is advantageous. Must exhibit excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills Proven experience in software and cloud engineering, as well as architecture design, and a deep understanding of security best practices Demonstrated expertise with IAM-related protocols such as SAML, SPML, XACML, SCIM, OpenID, and OAuth. Strong experience with Directories, SSO, Federation concepts and technologies (ADFS and Ping Identity), Delegated administration, API gateways, and SOA services. Experience implementing and managing Multi-Factor authentication. 2-3 years of software development experience is desirable. ***For a candidate with the right experience, this position could be worked remotely from any US location #LI-MM1 We are an Equal Opportunity Employer including disability and veterans. If you are an individual with a disability and you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please contact our services team at +1 (see application details). The USAID Project Management Specialist (Strategic Information / Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning [SI/MEL]) is part of the HIV Team in USAID Pacific Island Office in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The Specialist plays a lead role in the development of effective PEPFAR strategic information and monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems in support of the full range of Contracting/ Agreement Officer's Representative (C/AOR) Mission PEPFAR programs/projects/activities. Please click on the PDF file on the right for more details. Sol.No. 72049221R10014: Project Management Specialist (SI/MEL), FSN-11 HOW TO APPLY: Offers must be received on or before 24 July 2021, 11:59PM Philippine time and submitted at (see application details) with subject line indicating the solicitation number - 72049221R10014 . Qualified applicants are required to submit the following: Cover letter/Letter of Interest: The cover letter should contain an overview of the offeror's qualifications and must state how the applicant meets the minimum education and prior work experience qualifications as stated in Section III of this solicitation. Current resume/curriculum vitae (CV): The CV/resume must contain sufficient relevant information to evaluate the offer in accordance with the stated evaluation criteria (such as indication of month and year of each employment to reflect number of years of relevant experience). Please indicate period of employment for each job in this format MMMM dd, yyyy (e.g., July 01, 2015 to December 31, 2020) Transcript of records (TOR): The TOR should reflect the date of graduation. To ensure consideration of offers for the intended position, offerors are to prominently reference the solicitation number (72049221R10014) in the offer submission. Job Attachment SOLICITATION NUMBER: 72049221R10014 ISSUANCE DATE: 25 June 2021 CLOSING DATE/TIME: 24 July 2021, 11:59PM PH time SUBJECT: Solicitation for a Cooperating Country National Personal Service Contractor (CCNPSC - Papua New Guinea Local Compensation Plan) Dear Prospective Offerors: The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is seeking offers from qualified persons to provide personal services under contract as described in this solicitation. Offers must be in accordance with Attachment 1 of this solicitation. Incomplete or unsigned offers will not be considered. Offerors should retain copies of all offer materials for their records. This solicitation in no way obligates USAID to award a PSC contract, nor does it commit USAID to pay any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of the offers. Any questions must be directed in writing to the Point of Contact specified in the attached information. Sincerely, Lynn P. Winston Contracting Officer ATTACHMENT 1 72049221R10014 2 I. GENERAL INFORMATION 1. SOLICITATION NO.: 72049221R10014 2. ISSUANCE DATE: 25 June 2021 3. CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: 24 July 2021 11:59PM Philippine time 4. POINT OF CONTACT: Executive Office/Human Resources Division, USAID/Philippines, e-mail at (see application details) 5. POSITION TITLE: USAID Project Management Specialist (Strategic Information/Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning [SI/MEL]), FSN-11 6. MARKET VALUE: PGK 152,875.00 - 214,025.00 basic salary equivalent to FSN-11 In accordance with AIDAR Appendix J and the Local Compensation Plan of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value. 7. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: The services provided under this contract are expected to be of a continuing nature that will be executed by USAID through a series of sequential contracts, subject to the availability of funds, the need for services and contractor's performance. The initial CCNPSC contract will be for five years, with the possibility of renewing. The renewal may be exercised based upon satisfactory contractor performance, mutual agreement between the Contractor and the United States Government (USG), continued USAID Papua New Guinea (Mission) requirements and the continued availability of funds. The probationary period is twelve months. 8. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, with possible travel as stated in the Statement of Duties. 9. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: Cooperating country national (CCN) means an individual who is a cooperating country citizen, or a non-cooperating country citizen lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the cooperating country. Open to all interested individuals who are PNG citizens or non-PNG citizens lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the PNG, and who also have the required work permits. USAID does not sponsor work permits nor reimburse travel/transportation of household effects to/within PNG for purposes of this application. 10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: Foreign Service National Security Certification 11. STATEMENT OF DUTIES BASIC FUNCTION OF POSITION 72049221R10014 3 The US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) represents the US government response to the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and is the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease in history. Thanks to American leadership and generosity, alongside the work of many partners, PEPFAR has saved millions of lives, averted millions of infections, and changed the course of the epidemic. As countries progress towards HIV/AIDS epidemic control, the point at which new HIV infections have decreased and fall below the total number of deaths among HIV-infected individuals, PEPFAR is now undertaking the challenge of controlling the pandemic. PEPFAR 3.0 - Controlling the Epidemic: Delivering on the Promise of an AIDS-free Generation, collects and uses data in the most granular manner (disaggregated by sex, age, and at the site level) to do the right things, in the right places, and right now within the highest HIV-burdened populations and geographic locations. As with all USAID programs/projects/activities, those within the PEPFAR Strategy require active and forward-looking Strategic Information in order to assure results make the best use of PEPFAR resources, and are consistent with and meet Mission, PEPFAR, USG, and host- government priorities. The USAID Project Management Specialist (Strategic Information / Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning [SI/MEL]) is part of the HIV Team in USAID Pacific Island Office in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The Specialist plays a lead role in the development of effective PEPFAR strategic information and monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems in support of the full range of Contracting/Agreement Officer's Representative (C/AOR) Mission PEPFAR programs/projects/activities. The Senior Specialist applies evaluation research to the monitoring of program/project/activity implementation in order to document results, and to translate SI and MEL and other data into meaningful policy and program improvements. The Senior Specialist serves as a subject matter expert and key contributor to strengthening the capacity of information systems, providing senior-level technical guidance to Health Office leaders, the broader USAID Mission, Implementing Partners (IPs) involved in PEPFAR program monitoring and evaluation, and within the host government. The Senior Specialist serves as a C/AOR or Activity Manager, responsible for providing technical and programmatic guidance to assigned activities. MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES A. Program/Project/Activity Performance Management and Reporting (35%) Provides senior/high level technical guidance to Health Office, Mission staff, IPs, and other USG agencies on MEL concepts, processes, design, training, and best practices. Provides expert direction and technical guidance in the implementation of the Health Office portions of the Mission Performance Management Plan (PMP), and Health Office responsibilities from Mission PMP; and SI and MEL services and support to Implementing Partners in the development and implementation of program/project/activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plans. 72049221R10014 4 Provides guidance to IPs in understanding of the Performance Monitoring Plan systems, and their role in the process, and advises on specific measurement techniques appropriate for their programs/projects/activities. Provides technical strategic information (SI) and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) expertise to the Program Office, USAID/Washington, and other USG agencies in order to plan and manage Health Office responsibilities related to the Performance Management Plan, including collection, assessment of validity, and improving data quality. Develops innovative and cross-cutting monitoring tools, including Data Quality Assessment and Improvement (DQA/I) tools in coordination with the Program Office and SI/MEL contractors; tracks and maintains multiple sets of key indicators, common indicators related to standard components in all USAID programs/projects/activities, indicators at the strategic objective level, and detailed indicators at the activity level; and, ensures proper collection of data, and that indicators serve is an appropriate measure of their corresponding result. Provides technical leadership to CORs/AORs and IPs to ensure activity work plans and monitoring plans include relevant and effective performance measures, which together provide greater results and more accurate measurements. Leads, designs, and performs assessments/studies/research requiring independent analysis and interpretation, on a regular and recurring basis; studies and research are cross-cutting, and include substantive and often sensitive Mission and Health Office topics. Briefs Health Office and Mission leaders on findings and makes recommendations to impact strategic, operational, and programmatic direction. Provides expert guidance to Health Office technical staff on defining measurable indicators and targets for desired results addressed by their program/project/activity, and edits quarterly, semi-annual, and annual performance Reports. Leads USAID's support to the host government for the development and management of a national information system, and a central repository (data warehouse) for Health data; and serves as USAID point of contact for Health data and information systems. B. Evaluation and Organizational Learning (35%) Provides technical guidance and leadership to ensure evaluations are properly planned and carried out in a high-quality and professional manner, by aiding Health Office CORs/AORs to draft appropriate Scopes of Work (SOWs) for evaluation Teams, by actual participation in and/or leading evaluation Teams, and by ensuring that Team comments on draft evaluation reports are reflected in final reports. Leads a team in the development and execution of an evaluation plan that ensures compliance with USAID Evaluation Policy. Advises thematic teams/working groups and technical specialists on planning, designing, and implementing appropriate Evaluation Plans. Provides technical guidance and leadership to other USG agencies in the development, preparation, and dissemination of results of Public Health evaluations, Demographic Health Surveys, etc. Leads cross-cutting evaluations, and supports prioritization and implementation of recommendations, as required. 72049221R10014 5 Manages the Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) component of Health Office activities. Organizes and leads roundtables and consultations with Health Office staff, IPs, and other stakeholders to develop a Learning Agenda for Health interventions; identifies mechanisms for implementing research; and manages implementation of research and evaluation activities and dissemination of results. Provides technical leadership and oversight to the National Department of Health and other Government of Papua New Guinea staff to ensure that national-level data is available and reliable and works with inter-agency Heads of Departments and senior technical staff to ensure that USG data contributes to an accurate picture of the situation on the ground, that double-counting is avoided, and that results are attributable to USAID (and USG) interventions. C. Project Management (30%) Serves as a C/AOR and/or Activity Manager for SI/MEL programs/projects/activities awarded through the Health Office, providing financial and programmatic oversight to ensure contracts and grants achieve anticipated results, and are linked to and enhance attainment of the Health Office, Mission, and USG objectives. Conducts site visits as required in order to monitor progress, and to provide technical and programmatic recommendations to ensure effectiveness, efficiency and judicious use of USG funding. D. Representation Represents the Health Office, Mission, and USG at national and/or international technical and programmatic meetings, and in consultations with other social sector donors, government officials, and IPs. Provides technical and strategic leadership in the preparation of key annual and mid-term planning reporting documents including the Country Operational Plan, Operational Plan, Congressional Budget Justifications, Technical Notifications, Quarterly, Semi-Annual and Annual Progress Reports. Drafts talking points and/or speeches for the Office Chief, Mission Director, Ambassador, and others, as required, and prepares briefing papers, presentations, and coordinates site preparations for VIP site visits. The contractor is eligible for temporary duty (TDY) travel to the U.S., or to other Missions abroad, to participate in the "Foreign Service National" Fellowship Program, in accordance with USAID policy. SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP: The Specialist works under the very general supervision of the Health Office Chief, and the closer but general supervision of the HIV Team Lead. SUPERVISORY CONTROLS: This is a non-supervisory position. Supervision of other USAID staff is not contemplated. 72049221R10014 6 12. PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The work requested does not involve undue physical demands. II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION To be considered for this position, offerors must meet the following minimum qualifications: a. Education - Completion of a US-style University Master's Degree in a field related to social science, statistics, mathematics, economics, computer science, epidemiology, health informatics, public health, infectious disease, zoonotic disease, biology or other quantitative discipline, or the local equivalent, is required. Note: Additional education may NOT be substituted for experience. b. Prior Work Experience - Five years of progressively responsible job-related professional-level experience in monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) and other surveillance systems, evaluation of program/project/activity implementation, in direct program/project/activity management, or in a closely related activity is required. At least two years of this experience in a development-oriented workplace, or a related field, for USAID, other donor agencies, host-country organizations, or private-sector institutions, and which included project design, performance monitoring, and/or the analysis and interpretation of large amounts of data, is required. Note: Additional experience may NOT be substituted for education. c. Language Proficiency/Communication Skills - Level IV (fluent proficiency) in English, and in Tok Pisin (local language), both written and spoken, is required. With this level of communication skills, the Specialist is expected to: prepare regular and ad hoc reports, project documentation, and briefing papers, develop and deliver professional quality reports and presentations, and possess the ability to translate, on occasion, when the Specialist may need to act as an interpreter. d. Job Knowledge - The Senior Specialist must have in depth, professional-level knowledge of development approaches and methods for performance analysis, data visualization, and program design, monitoring and evaluation. The Senior Specialist must have excellent knowledge of MEL systems, public health programming, and international donor operations in the sector. The Senior Specialist must have knowledge and understanding of the economic, political, social, and cultural characteristics of Papua New Guinea; development problems in the health sector in the country and the region; an understanding of the resources, resource constraints, and overall development prospects and priorities of Papua New Guinea and the region. The Senior Specialist must have working knowledge of USG legislation, policy, and practice relating to monitoring, evaluation, and learning, and of USAID programming policies, regulations, procedures, and documentation, and of the objectives, methodology, and status of assigned activities. e. Skills and Abilities - The Senior Specialist must have the ability to plan, organize and execute complex SI/MEL activities, including the ability to provide technical leadership and apply this ability to programming in the host country and the region. The Senior Specialist must have the ability to issue precise and accurate factual reports using rigorous analytical 72049221R10014 7 and interpretive skills. Excellent communication skills both writing and speaking, especially in being able to communicate technical subjects to individuals with nontechnical background. This role requires the ability to respond professionally and adjust in fluid situations in order to meet deadlines in the face of competing priorities and time pressures. Excellent computer and software skills including ability in excel, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), STATA, R and/or other analytical databases. III. EVALUATION AND SELECTION FACTORS The Government may award a contract without discussions with offerors in accordance with FAR 52.215-1. The CO reserves the right at any point in the evaluation process to establish a competitive range of offerors with whom negotiations will be conducted pursuant to FAR 15.306(c). In accordance with FAR 52.215-1, if the CO determines that the number of offers that would otherwise be in the competitive range exceeds the number at which an efficient competition can be conducted, the CO may limit the number of offerors in the competitive range to the greatest number that will permit an efficient competition among the most highly rated offers. The FAR provisions referenced above are available at https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far Offerors who clearly meet the aforementioned minimum education and work experience qualification requirements may be further evaluated through review of the offeror's submitted required documents (see section below) and ranked based on the below evaluation and selection factors. A competitive range may be established of the highest-ranked offerors, who may be further evaluated through tests, interviews, and reference checks to determine the most qualified/highest-ranked offeror. Reference checks may be conducted with individuals not provided by the offeror, and without prior notification to the offeror. Any offeror not receiving satisfactory reference checks will no longer be considered for the position. Negotiations may be conducted with the most qualified/highest-ranked offeror at the conclusion of evaluations. USAID expects to award a personal services contract for the period of performance commencing as early as practically possible subject to security and medical clearances and funds availability. Offerors will be evaluated and ranked based on the following selection criteria to a maximum score of 100 points: Rating System 1. Education - 5 points 2. Prior Work Experience - 30 points 3. Language Proficiency/Communication Skills - 5 points 4. Job Knowledge - 30 points 5. Skills and Abilities - 30 points 72049221R10014 8 IV. SUBMITTING AN OFFER 1. Offers must be received on or before 24 July 2021, 11:59PM Philippine time and submitted at (see application details) with subject line indicating the solicitation number - 72049221R10014. 2. Qualified applicants are required to submit the following: a. Cover letter/Letter of Interest: The cover letter should contain an overview of the offeror's qualifications and must state how the applicant meets the minimum education and prior work experience qualifications as stated in Section II of this solicitation. b. Current resume/curriculum vitae (CV): The CV/resume must contain sufficient relevant information to evaluate the offer in accordance with the stated evaluation criteria. (such as indication of month and year of each employment to reflect number of years of relevant experience). Please indicate period of employment for each job in this format MMMM dd, yyyy (e.g., July 01, 2015 to December 31, 2020). c. Transcript of records (TOR): The TOR should reflect date of graduation. 3. To ensure consideration of offers for the intended position, offerors are to prominently reference the solicitation number 72049221R10014 in the offer submission. By submitting your offer materials, you certify that all of the information on and attached to the offer is true, correct, complete and made in good faith. You agree to allow all information on and attached to the offer to be investigated. V. LIST OF REQUIRED FORMS PRIOR TO AWARD Once the Contracting Officer (CO) informs the successful offeror about being selected for a contract award, the CO will provide the successful offeror instructions about how to complete and submit the forms needed to obtain medical and security/facility access. Failure of the selected offeror to accurately complete and submit required documents in a timely manner may be grounds for the CO to rescind any conditional pre-contract salary offer letter and begin negotiations with the next most qualified/highest ranked offeror. VI. BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES The Local Compensation Plan (LCP) is the basis for all compensation payments to locally employed staff /CCNPSCs. The LCP consists of the salary schedule, which includes salary rates, authorized fringe benefits, and other pertinent facets of compensation such as health and life insurance. As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, a PSC is normally authorized the following benefits and allowances: BENEFITS: a. Allowances b. Paid Leaves 72049221R10014 9 c. Medical Benefits d. Life Insurance e. Participation in the Local Social Security System Additional information may be provided to the selected offeror at time of salary offer. VII. TAXES CCNPSCs are responsible for paying local income taxes. VIII. USAID REGULATIONS, POLICIES AND CONTRACT CLAUSES PERTAINING TO PSCs USAID regulations and policies governing CCN and TCN PSC awards are available at these sources: 1. USAID Acquisition Regulation (AIDAR), Appendix J, "Direct USAID Contracts With a Cooperating Country National and with a Third Country National for Personal Services Abroad," including contract clause "General Provisions," available at https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/aidar_0.pdf 2. Contract Cover Page form AID 309-1 available at https://www.usaid.gov/forms. Pricing by line item is to be determined upon contract award as described below: ITEM NO (A) SUPPLIES/SERVICES (DESCRIPTION) (B) QUANTIT Y (C) UNIT (D) UNIT PRICE (E) AMOUNT (F) 0001 Base Period - Compensation, Fringe Benefits and Other Direct Costs (ODCs) - Award Type: Cost - Product Service Code: [e.g. R497] - Accounting Info: [insert one or more citation(s) from Phoenix/GLAAS] 1 LOT $ TBD $ TBD at Award after negotiations with Contractor 1001 Option Period 1 - Compensation, Fringe Benefits and Other Direct Costs (ODCs) - Award Type: Cost - Product Service Code: [e.g. R497] - Accounting Info: [insert from Phoenix/GLAAS] 1 LOT $ TBD $ TBD at Award after negotiations with Contractor 72049221R10014 10 3. Acquisition & Assistance Policy Directives/Contract Information Bulletins (AAPDs/CIBs) for Personal Services Contracts with Individuals available at http://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/aapds-cibs 4. Ethical Conduct. By the acceptance of a USAID personal services contract as an individual, the contractor will be acknowledging receipt of the "Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch," available from the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, in accordance with General Provision 2 and 5 CFR 2635. See https://www.oge.gov/web/oge.nsf/OGE%20Regulations 5. PSC Ombudsman The PSC Ombudsman serves as a resource for any Personal Services Contractor who has entered into a contract with the United States Agency for International Development and is available to provide clarity on their specific contract with the agency. Please visit our page for additional information: https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/personal-service-contracts- ombudsman. The PSC Ombudsman may be contacted via: (see application details). ImOn Communications is the LOCAL choice for cable TV, high-speed Internet and phone service. We value the relationships we have with colleagues, customers, and members of our community and look forward to serving Eastern Iowa for many years to come. As we expand our service availability we are looking for a Business Analyst to be a part of the ImOn Difference! Our employees share a passion for building a culture of Creating Connections One Person at a Time and fostering a fun and rewarding work environment The Business Analyst will be responsible for the daily, weekly, and monthly generation and validation of reporting for various departments. Will take large data extracts, convert them into reports and provide value added commentary on report results. A successful candidate will have an eye for detail and a desire for continuous improvement and automation. Essential Job Responsibilities for Primary Functional Area of Accountability Prepare daily reporting and communication that includes customer count, revenue, contribution and other various metrics and projections. Assist in the development and review of review daily/weekly/monthly metrics, exception reports, and performance indicators. Analyze and interpret financial operating data related to company operations. Assists with ad-hoc reporting and data requests from various groups. Perform internal audits of billing and vendor information and data. Enhance reporting tools and review current processes for improvement. Performs variance analysis to better understand drivers of business results. Assist with monthly operations forecasting and preparation of annual operating budget. Maintains pricing and cost tables and assists in pricing updates. All other duties as assigned. Requirements We are looking for some who has: Excellent time management and organizational skills with the ability to prioritize and handle multiple projects, meet established deadlines and execute tasks while under pressure. Strong attention to detail and a professionally skeptic mindset Proven problem-solving ability and willingness to think outside the box. Excellent comprehension, analytical, mathematical, and creative problem-solving skills. Excellent listening, interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills. Ability to work independently with users and under direction of project managers to define concepts. Required Experience, Training, and Special Qualifications Bachelors degree in accounting, finance, business administration, business analytics, computer science, management information systems or a related field. Must be extremely proficient with Microsoft Office tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, etc.) with a strong emphasis on Excel. 1-2 years experience using and developing queries and stored procedures with MS SQL Server (SSMS, SSRS). 1-2 years experience using and developing office applications with VBA. Experience with Power BI preferred but not required. Experience with Salesforce administration and reports/dashboards preferred but not required. Telecommunications experience preferred but not required. In addition to competitive pay, ImOn also offers health & dental insurance, 401(k), discounted Cable, Internet & Phone services, and additional perks such as FREE vision insurance, FREE life insurance as well as FREE short term/long term disability, vacation & holiday pay, and community volunteer opportunities. recblid y0z7zrz7lobh2ziepe93kx9aroo3aa Salary $68,868.80 - $105,164.80 Annually Location Arlington, VA Job Type Full-Time Permanent Department Department of Parks and Recreation Job Number 7560-22A-DPR-SD Closing 8/1/2021 11:59 PM Eastern Position Information The Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) has three (3) vacancies for experienced dedicated Urban Foresters to promote, manage, and protect Arlington County's environmental urban forestry initiatives and programs. These professionals will work collaboratively with a diverse staff and community. Additionally, they will have an opportunity to contribute their expertise to DPR's continued success in receiving the Tree City USA Award from the National Arbor Day Foundation, a recognition for having a healthy and sustainable urban forestry program. Specific duties include: Serving as one of the County's primary resources for landscaping and tree-related issues during the plan review process to ensure compliance with Arlington's Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance, Site Plans, County projects, Environmental Assessments, and local ordinances; Performing follow-up site inspections to evaluate compliance with tree protection and planting requirements, as outlined on approved plans; Assessing tree health, making recommendations for tree removal and preservation and providing management options for trees on County property; Responding to inquiries by residents, staff and developers on tree related issues and emergencies; Developing presentations and providing training and educational information that reflect the most current technical knowledge and practices in the cultivation and care of trees and shrubs to a diverse audience that includes neighborhood associations, advisory commissions, developers, staff, and County officials; Conducting both large-scale and site-specific assessments of forest health and developing forest management strategies that address environmental needs and County priorities; Assisting with the maintenance and implementation of Arlington's Urban Forest Management Plan that includes long-term goals, strategies and recommendations for assessing, monitoring, or improving tree canopy, forest health, and reforestation to ensure compliance with state and local ordinances; Maintaining tree inventory through GIS-based technology. The ideal candidate is well organized, communicates well to a variety of audiences, works well in a team environment, and enjoys the diversity of field and office work. Selection Criteria Minimum: Bachelor's degree in forestry, horticulture, landscape architecture, urban/environmental planning or a related field ; and ; and Two (2) years of experience in urban tree planning, tree management, or a directly related field. Substitution : Additional qualifying experience may be substituted for the education requirement on a year-for-year basis. Desirable : Preference may be given to candidates with a Master's Degree in a related field and one or more of the following: Certification as an arborist by the International Society of Arboriculture; Knowledge of interdisciplinary roles of forestry, arboriculture, landscape architecture, engineering and urban planning for urban forest management; and/or Experience using Geographical Information System (GIS) software. Special Requirements Must possess a valid driver's License and be able to operate a County vehicle to perform assigned duties away from the primary worksite. The applicant must authorize Arlington County to obtain, or the applicant must provide a copy of the applicant's official state/district driving record. Any offer of employment will be contingent upon a favorable review of the applicant's driving record. A pre-employment background check will be made on all candidates who are selected for employment. It may include checks of the following: drug screening, criminal record, driving record, education, professional licensure, and credit history. You will be required to sign a release authorizing the County to obtain your background information. Must have ability to work outdoors in various weather conditions or indoors depending on the work assignment. The work environment includes exposure to drafts, noise, dust, grease and dirt with extended periods of sitting, bending, and lifting light to very heavy objects and equipment, weighing up to 50 pounds Additional Information Work Hours : Monday - Friday, 40 hours a week, b etween 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m . S ome weekend and evening hours will be required, and this employee must be available for callback and holdover in emergency situations. Please complete each section of the application. A resume may be attached; however, it will not substitute for the completed application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Arlington County Government employee benefits depend on whether a position is permanent, the number of hours worked, and the number of months the position is scheduled. Specific information on benefits and conditions of employment can be found on the Arlington County Human Resources Department website: (see application details) Permanent, Full-Time Appointments All jobs are permanent, full-time appointments unless otherwise stated in the announcement. The following benefits are available: Paid Leave : Vacation leave is earned at the rate of four hours biweekly. Leave accrual increases every three years until eight hours of leave are earned biweekly for twelve or more years of service. Sick leave is earned at the rate of four hours biweekly. There are eleven paid holidays each year. Health and Dental Insurance : Three group health insurance plans are offered - a network open access plan, a point-of-service plan, and a health maintenance organization. A group dental insurance plan is also offered. The County pays a significant portion of the premium for these plans for employees and their dependents. A discount vision plan is provided for eye care needs. Life Insurance : A group term policy of basic life insurance is provided at no cost to employees. The benefit is one times annual salary. Additional life insurance is available with rates based on the employee's age and smoker/non-smoker status. Retirement : The County offers three vehicles to help you prepare for retirement: a defined benefit plan, a defined contribution plan (401(a)), and a deferred compensation plan (457). The defined benefit plan provides a monthly retirement benefit based on your final average salary and years of service with the County. You contribute a portion of your salary on a pre-tax basis to this plan. General employees contribute 4% of pay; uniformed public safety employees contribute 7.5% of pay. Employees become vested in the plan at five years of service. The County also contributes to this plan. For general employees, the County also contributes 4.2% of pay to a defined contribution plan (401(a)) . The County also matches your 457 contribution, up to $20 per pay period, in this plan. The 457 deferred compensation plan allows you to set aside money on either a pre-tax (457b) or post-tax (457 Roth) basis up to the IRS annual limit. New employees are automatically enrolled with a pre-tax contribution equal to 2% of your base pay. Other Benefits: The County also offers health, dependent care, and parking flexible spending accounts; long-term care insurance; tuition assistance; transit and walk/bike to work subsidies; a college savings plan; wellness programs; training opportunities; and a variety of other employee benefits. Permanent, Part-Time Appointments: Part time employees who work ten or more hours per week receive paid leave and benefits in proportion to the number of hours worked per week. Limited Term Appointments: Benefits are the same as permanent appointments except that the employees do not achieve permanent status. Temporary Regular Appointments: Temporary regular employees who work 30 hours or more per week are eligible for health, dental, and basic life insurance as described above. They are also eligible for vacation, sick leave, and paid holidays. Temporary Seasonal and Occasional Appointments: Temporary employees who work on a seasonal basis or variable hours receive sick leave, but do not normally receive other paid leave or benefits. Exceptions are noted in individual announcements. If you already subscribe to our eEdition edition, sign up for FREE access to our online edition. Thanks for reading the El Campo Leader News. Al Humaidi Family Kuwait Real Estate Business Cues If your family is seeking to start a joint real estate venture, you may have already come to a central realization tied to the endeavor it can be complicated. Unlike other businesses, a real estate venture can carry with it a number of unique considerations including which properties to invest in and how to develop projects. To get a better understanding of some of these issues, weve turned to the example set by the Al Humaidi Family Kuwait real estate operations. By examining the efforts of the family in this area, we can get a more holistic view of the challenges other families may face in the field of real estate. Al Humaidi Family Kuwait and Egypt Operations One major initiative by the Al Humaidi Family in Kuwait and elsewhere in the region has manifested in the Red Sea-adjacent Aqueous Resort. This is a great example of a family real estate business in action and it makes sense to study the resort in greater depth to pull insights from its creation. The resort, which has already completed phase one construction, is an example of a mixed-use resort that provides accommodations for both short-term and long-term guests. A major goal of the resorts conception was to position it as a place where families and other large groups could come to spend quality time with one another. To this end, a high priority was placed on the resorts outdoor spaces and their ability to accommodate groups of many sizes. This has led to the creation of intimately designed gathering spaces that are separated from one another by natural and artificial elements. These include trees, bodies of water, and specially built structures. Taken together, these spaces add a level of offerings that may be lacking in other resorts, helping to make Aqueous a premier destination for families and friends. Connection to Community Another aspect of the resorts creation that was deemed a high priority from the start was its connection to the larger community surrounding it. Since it is located on the Red Sea, the resort has the unique ability to provide visitors with a glimpse of an area of high historical intrigue that has figured largely into many of the myths and stories that make up modern culture. In so doing, it helps to reconnect these travelers to a piece of history that might otherwise go unexplored and, therefore, broaden their appreciation for the world in which they live. This concept is further underscored by the resorts commitment to connecting local residents to the people who visit and stay at the resort. This has been accomplished by connecting guests to local merchants to allow them to peruse their shops and purchase handcrafted wares. The resort has engaged in a similar initiative with regard to local restaurants, allowing guests to easily seek out nearby cuisine thats representative of the areas rich history. In the process, local residents are able to share their services with newcomers and are able to improve their economic standing at the same time. Al Humaidi Family Kuwait Decision-Making One of the reasons weve taken the time to outline the work of the Al Humaidi Family in Kuwait and at the above resort is because it speaks to the power of coming to decisions collaboratively in a family real estate business. The cohesive setup of the Aqueous Resort sometimes presents to guests a streamlined offering that was created from a single mind. However, this was not the case and actually owes its creation to a large number of people including members of the family itself. This speaks to the degree to which the family was able to come together over the design of the resort and create a unified vision for its development that would appeal to a wide range of people. This process did not happen all at once and instead was the product of a long development period that incorporated ideas from many different people that were then carefully analyzed for their merit and combined into the eventual design of the resort itself. The result has been a project that touches on the strengths of many contributors and serves to build an enduring structure that is greater than the sum of its parts. Incorporating Insights The manner in which the Al Humaidi Family in Kuwait collaborated to build the Aqueous Resort can be instructive for other family real estate businesses as well. One thing to take away from this work is the manner in which hearing a diverse range of opinions can positively contribute to a projects end result. This can be an important consideration for families working together on a project because each member of the family may have a different strength and foundation of skills. By drawing on the most relevant aspects of each family members body of knowledge, a project can improve its chances of success. At the same time, it can also be important for a family business to designate an individual who will lead the organization and make decisions for which consensus is not required. By creating such a role, a family business can serve to make its operations more efficient and can appeal to the managerial strengths of a single member of the family. Such a role, if the business chooses to create it, is best filled by someone who enjoys the full trust and confidence of other members of the family. This will allow the collaborative endeavor to move forward with the maximum amount of effectiveness and can hopefully leave it less encumbered by conflict and other distracting forces. While starting a family real estate business can be confusing, it doesnt have to be impossible. One way to help along such a venture is to look to other similar ventures that have proven successful in the past. The case of the Al Humaidi Family Kuwait-based real estate business can be one such touchstone for what success in this area can look like. The familys ability to make collaborative decisions that work to the benefit of all can be an important point to try and mimic for newcomers to the field. By incorporating this insight, as well as others from the family, new businesses can hope to give themselves the best start in an exciting new industry. By Sumeet Manhas 2021 Copyright Sumeet Manhas - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors. 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Jahre said its important to keep in mind that in Pennsylvania, only 60% of the population is vaccinated and in some parts of the state the number is much smaller. The vaccine is not available for anyone under 12 and it is less effective for people who are immunocompromised, such as those receiving cancer treatment or recovering from other infections. WHILE YOURE HERE... If you learned something from this story, pay it forward and become a member of Spotlight PA so someone else can in the future at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results. The incident occurred when Easton police officers were summoned shortly after 2 p.m. to the unit block of North Fourth Street for a report of a male screaming at passing cars and causing a disturbance to patrons outside, according to a news release. The Palestinians have consistently rejected any deal with Israel that does not include the Palestinians taking the land from the river to the sea. For those unfamiliar with this phrase, it means that the Palestinians seek the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea (i.e., all of Israel). This is not a compromise position, but rather a call for the destruction of the state of Israel. Burley, ID (83318) Today Clear skies. Low around 60F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Clear skies. Low around 60F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Sayre, PA (18840) Today Widely scattered showers or a thunderstorm this evening. Then partly cloudy. Low 69F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Widely scattered showers or a thunderstorm this evening. Then partly cloudy. Low 69F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Sayre, PA (18840) Today Isolated thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low near 70F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Isolated thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low near 70F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Google Earth put together images from different sources, from satellites in geosynchronous orbit that took photos of low-resolution from tens of thousands of miles above Earth, to satellites near the Earth that took higher-resolution pictures and also aerial photos captured from airplanes, drones, kites, and even balloons. Anyone who downloads the software can access this imagery and archaeologists have capitalized on the rich resource. Google Earth brings some stranges locations to light. Here are some of the weirdest sights on goggle earth. Sprawling swastika Scientists found over 50 geoglyphs across northern Kazakhstan in Central Asia, both the swastika-shaped design. Although the swastika symbol was made from timber, many geoglyphs were made of earthen mounds. These geoglyphs seem to date back 2,000 years. During that time, swastikas were common across Asia and Europe and were not certainly connected with any political beliefs. Island-in-a-lake-on-an-island-in-a-lake-on-an-island As the image of Google Earth is an island-in-a-lake-on-an-island-in-a-lake-on-an-island, it is an eye-full and also a mouthful. Sure, Google Earth took this picture revealing a small island that is situated inside a crater lake on an island referred to as Volcano Island in a lake known as Lake Taal on the Philippine island of Luzon. Apparently, for years this occurrence was believed to be the greatest of type spied by Google Earth. However, it happens that honor was directed to a 4-acre spit of land in northern Canada where the chances no human has stepped foot there is high. Also Read: Venus Mystery Solved? Disco Ball Used To Explore How the Planet Spins Bull's eye One type of the "wheels" in the Middle East resembles the eye of a bull, with three triangles pointing towards the direction of the eye and tiny piles of stones leading from the triangles close to the bull's-eye wheel. The University of Western Australia David Kennedy, who was the co-director of the project, named it a central bull's-eye tomb with, three triangles each with at least a portion of a linking line of stone piles running to the core. Mysterious pyramid? This picture from Google Earth reveals an anomaly that some individuals thought could be an unearthed pyramid. A lot of oddities in Egypt have been identified with the use of Google Earth in the past five years. However, there is a discussion as to whether they act for natural features or artificial structures. More unearthings are required, but Egypt's situation of security and economy has reduced the number and size of excavations. Abandoned launch sites Previous supersonic surface-to-air missiles, Nike missiles, sat prepared to launch at almost 300 locations across the United States during the period from 1954 to the 1970s. Some of those missiles even possess nuclear warheads. Those missiles became outdated with the arrival of long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Related Article: Scientists are Puzzled as Earth's Core Continues to Grow Lopsided Over Time For more news, updates about the earth and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News! MAJOR-General (Rtd) Shadreck Chiramba, who succumbed to Covid-19 related complications last Sunday, will be buried at the National Heroes Acre in Harare today with limited numbers attending the ceremony in line with coronavirus prevention measures. The public has been advised to follow the burial proceedings on national television and online platforms that will beam the funeral service live. Major-General Chiramba (66), was declared a national hero as a result of his immense contribution to the liberation war and post-independence Zimbabwe. Among his numerous career exploits, the decorated military commander led the Two Infantry Brigade during the Democratic Republic of Congo campaign under the auspices of the Sadc Allied Forces. He retired from military service in 2004. In an advisory communicating the protocols which will govern burial proceedings, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage said President Mnangagwa will preside over the burial. The programme will be presided over by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde Dr ED Mnangagwa. Vice-President Honourable Gen (Rtd) Dr C G D N Chiwenga will also be in attendance as will the Vice-President and Second Secretary of the ruling party, Zanu-PF, Col (Rtd) Cde K C D Mohadi, the ministry said. Unlike in the past where multitudes would converge on the national shrine to pay their last respects, the numbers will be closely monitored. Only 30 close family members and a few dignitaries will be allowed at the National Heroes Acre. Service Chiefs, the Speaker of Parliament, the Senate President, Chief Justice, Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs, Zanu-PF Secretary for Administration, as well as the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, will be among the select few allowed to attend the burial. On Friday, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe said only invited guests will be allowed. This time we are going to have very strict rules on the burial of our national hero. As you see that cases are rising countrywide, only the invited and people will be tested as they enter and this time we are not going to allow anyone other than the invited persons to enter. I would also like to take this opportunity to inform the nation that public gatherings are strictly prohibited except for funerals only. At the funerals, only 30 people are allowed. The law enforcement agents will be coming in full force to enforce the lockdown as well as Covid-19 regulations after we witnessed a laxity, said Minister Kazembe. Announcing the national hero status to Major-Gen Chirambas family in Harare on Thursday, President Mnangagwa described him as a cheerful and intelligent cadre who dedicated his life to the liberation and development of the country. The late Major-General was a strong revolutionary cadre who served his country before and after Independence with utmost loyalty, dedication and commitment. I knew him personally, even though he joined the liberation war via Botswana and Zapu. Major-General Chiramba joined the liberation struggle in June 1974, crossing the border into Botswana through Plumtree. He received basic military training in Tanzania in 1974 and proceeded to do a Light Artillery training course in Ukraine for 11 months, from November 1974 to October 1975. After Independence, Major General Chiramba joined the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) where he served, attaining the rank of Brigadier-General in 1996. He was promoted to the rank of Major General in 2004, when he left the army. After his retirement, Major General Chiramba ventured into farming where he ran a successful soya beans enterprise at his Karoi farm, until the time of his death. He is survived by his wife Beatrice, eight children and 14 grandchildren. Sunday Mail The waterfront park stretching along the East River has some of the best views in Brooklyn of the Williamsburg Bridge and Midtown Manhattan. Not only will you have clear views of the pyrotechnics launched from the barges on the East River, but you can see fireworks set to go off from the Empire State Buildings 72nd, 86th and 103rd floors. We go to Disney every July Fourth, said Rossi, who traveled to LaGuardia Airport from New Jersey. The fireworks show they put on is the best. They have so many cute things going on for the kids. We were sad to miss it last year. The minivan yellow taxi was involved in a three-car collision that sent it barreling toward Amura Japanese Cuisine on E. 81st St. near Second Ave. on the Upper East Side at about 4:45 p.m., officials and witnesses said. The tot, clad in a pink dress, had just been placed in a child seat at the Liberty View shopping complex at 30th St. and Third Ave. about 3:40 p.m. when Hall slipped behind the wheel and drove off with the car. Nearly half the 22 people arrested are Brooklynites, and five of them have records of at least 10 prior arrests, cops said. Their previous arrests were on charges including weapons possession, assault and attempted murder. He was a wonderful person. Ive known him for years, building representative Joanne Gallo told the Daily News. Im in shock right now. Im really not comprehending the fact that this man is just gone in this way. The woman had her foot up where she was shot and there was another guy on the ground between cars shot in his leg, the witness said. The third guy was shot inside the car. There were police everywhere pushing us back. Police said the men refused to put down their long guns and pistols or follow orders given to them, saying they belonged to a group that does not recognize our laws before heading for the woods. I want to be very clear about that, and we will take no action that will jeopardize our ability to continue the search and rescue mission, she said. ``Its unfortunate that they chose to express themselves the way that they did. But its actually a symbol of the fact that there is a lot of hurt and that theres a lot of frustration and anger with just how things have happened, Dumas said. White nationalists and other far-right groups loyal to Trump stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, and were among those trying to overturn Bidens victory. Authorities has been tracking chatter online about groups of people potentially returning to Washington as part of an unfounded and baseless conspiracy theory that Trump would be reinstated in August, according to two officials familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive law enforcement information. Thousands signed a change.org online petition protesting the memorial. Many said they had no problem honoring first responders and others who kept the city running during the COVID crisis, but didnt see why the 3,000 square foot site had to be located on parkland. However, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said in December that the vaccine was morally acceptable with Pope Francis adding that there was a moral responsibility to get vaccinated. While the pope did not say it was an obligation, the pope criticized the suicidal negativism for those who refuse to get a shot. Milford, N.J.: My father, Hal Tulchin, shot the footage featured in the Questlove film Summer of Soul which was reviewed by Lindsey Bahr in your paper ( Soul revealing, June 30). I was at the Harlem Festival backstage with my father and met all the artists. I would like to clear up a misconception about the footage being in a basement for 50 years: This is categorically false, as everyone familiar with the footage knows. My father licensed the footage for several other projects prior to this one and was offered a number of other deals through the years which were not to his liking. He held out until the last week of his life in which a licensing deal was made. I was not contacted or interviewed for the film, nor asked about the history of it. I guess it would not fit the narrative they chose. The truth is often not as interesting. Ava Seavey The mans M.O. was bending and breaking the rules for maximum profit and advantage. The workers who did the demolition prior to the erection of Trump Tower were not paid fair wages and most of them were illegal immigrants. When this came up in court, Trump denied having any knowledge of it. In fact, he had a man on the job watching everything that happened and reporting it back to Trump, every day. Trump knew exactly what was going on. After demolition, when I came on, we worked with only legitimate union contractors. The new version of America where for 12 hours each year any and all crime, including murder, is legal feels slightly less dystopian than it did back when the first Purge hit theaters in summer 2013. But with the final chapter of the franchise which also got a two-season small-screen treatment on USA Network hitting theaters this weekend, theres no time like the present to catch up on the films that turn the American way on its head. The Purge and The Purge: Anarchy are streaming on Peacock. The Purge: Election Year and The First Purge are streaming on fuboTV. The Forever Purge is now in theaters. The as-of-yet untitled film also starring Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge as well as Mads Mikkelsen of another Round marks the first in the franchise not to be directed by Steven Spielberg, who will instead serve as producer. In the letter, Rashad said that she will engage in active listening and participate in trainings to not only reinforce University protocol and conduct, but also to learn how I can become a stronger ally to sexual assault survivors and everyone who has suffered at the hands of an abuser. I have no formal training at all, he says. Zero. These are just recipes handed down from my mother and grandmother served in a business thats supported by a close-knit community, but its built on African-American culture and tradition like how every Sunday we were at my grandmothers house eating some type of Southern food. First Sundays was fried chicken and greens and mac and cheese and candied yams and all of those things just about are on our menu, just the way she made them. Best guess now is that the swath will lie to the west of Orlando, Master said. The models have been trending more westerly in their tracks over the past day. You should get at least 1 to 2 inches from Elsa, though. This child was such a beautiful, angelic little baby that it would be hard-pressed for anyone to see a picture of her and not have a passion, said J. Cheney Mason, a Winter Park attorney who defended Casey Anthony. Once a story gets started and someone gets accused of killing such a child, its kind of like chum for the sharks out in the water. First, theres one, then another, then another nobody wants to be left out. Gov. DeSantis has held up these funds because he doesnt want the districts to provide the bonuses. Instead, he wants to be able to send a bonus check with his signature to all classroom teachers in the state, the union said on its website. In May, the condo association submitted plans asking for approval of a temporary parking plan in order to move forward. But their request went unanswered for more than a month. The delay, according to the Miami Herald, prompted the condo building manager, to accuse the town of holding us up as the association sought to accelerate the towers overhaul, which included repairs to a concrete slab under the pool deck and planters that experts are now pointing to as an initial point of failure that preceded the building collapse. In an abundance of caution, the City ordered the building closed immediately and the residents evacuated for their protection, while a full structural assessment is conducted and next steps are determined, City Manager Arthur H. Sorey III said in the news release. We appreciate the meticulous nature of criminal investigations, and the difficulty of reviewing a case that now dates back more than 70 years. The Groveland Four case is particularly complicated because of the multiple twists and turns it took, including the assassination of one of the wrongly accused men by former Lake County Sheriff Willis McCall. Sadly, despite Vice President Kamala Harriss statements, we arent going to repair the countries to our south overnight. But we might look to repairing our drug policy, seeing if that can be adjusted to take the profit out of the trade. Except for the gradual, local legalization of marijuana, we havent contemplated drug management, short of prohibition, in a century. A new look is due. New York, US (PANA) - Senior UN officials appealed on Friday for immediate and unrestricted humanitarian access to Tigray and for an end to deadly attacks on aid workers - as the Security Council held its first open meeting on the conflict in the restive northern Ethiopian region Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - Thousands of people took to the streets of the Burkina Faso capital, Ouagadougou, and several other cities around the country on Saturday to denounce the "silence" of the authorities in the face of rising terrorist attacks "The United States of America is still run by its citizens. The government works for us. Rank imperialism and warmongering are not American traditions or values. We do not need to dominate the world. We want and need to work with other nations. We want to find solutions other than killing people. Not in our name, not with our money, not with our children's blood." Molly Ivins A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Espanola, NM (87532) Today Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Low 63F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Low 63F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Espanola, NM (87532) Today Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Low 63F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Low 63F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%. 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Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffdaad050)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffda6a5e0)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffdaad050)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffda6a5e0)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffdac0f28)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffda6a5e0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffda6a5e0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffd1a8710)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fbffd931060)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fbffd931060)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 ARRL EC Minutes record President's deep displeasure with FCC ARRL President Rick Roderick K5UR has expressed his deep personal displeasure with the lack of action by the FCC on Amateur matters The minutes of the ARRL Executive Committee meeting held June 8, 2021, say: Mr. Roderick voiced his deep personal displeasure with the lack of action by the FCC on Amateur matters that are impairing the Amateur Service, saying that it is embarrassing that American Amateurs built upon its century-old tradition of message handling by developing many of the original digital message-handling techniques currently in widespread use, but due to a 1980s-era rule are prevented from communicating with stations in other countries using the most efficient state-of-the-art digital techniques. Continuing, Mr. Roderick commented that even more damaging is that the 1980's-era rule, and the delay in addressing other Amateur proceedings, some of which have been languishing for over eight years, are collectively preventing the Amateur Service from advancing the skills of new Hams in both communications and technical phases of the advancement of the radio arts. Ending his comments, he shared his belief that efforts of the Amateur Service to recruit new Hams and interest students in STEM subjects are being thwarted by the lack of FCC action on long-pending matters that the ARRL has repeatedly urged the FCC to update and allow American Amateur Operators to join the rest of the worlds Amateurs in the experimentation and development of exciting new communication modes. The EC minutes record the FCC has failed to resolve these Amateur Radio related proceedings: Docket 16-239 (symbol rate): Initiated by ARRL petition filed on Nov. 15, 2013; assigned RM-11708. After receiving comments, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to delete the 300-baud symbol rate as requested, but declining to propose any bandwidth limitation in its place. This NPRM was adopted by the Commission on July 27, 2016, comments received, and remains pending. RM-11828 (Enhancing Technician Class Privileges) would, among other proposals, allow the entering (technician) class licensee to engage in and learn digital and voice communication on limited portions of the HF bands below 10 meters. Petition filed by ARRL on February 28, 2018, assigned RM-11828, comments received, and remains pending. RM-11759 (Rebalancing the 80/75 Meter Sub-bands) would relieve congestion that is particularly bad in portions of the band. CW and digital modes are squeezed below 3.600. Petition filed by ARRL on January 8, 2016, comments received, and remains pending. RM-11767 (Eliminating the 15 dB HF Amplifier Gain Limit ) would delete the 15 dB HF amplifier restriction originally adopted in 1978 within a set of rules, many since repealed, that intended to prevent use of Amateur HF amplifiers by CBers. Many modern amplifiers use LDMOS devices that have greater gain capabilities than tubes, but cannot be marketed in the U.S. without modification to limit gain. This petition was filed by Expert Linears America, LLC on April 7, 2016, comments received, and remains pending. Expert Linears filed a Petition for Waiver of the same rule on June 11, 2016. After receiving comment, the Wireless Bureau denied the waiver request on Dec. 27, 2016, finding in part that ruling on the waiver request would prejudice the outcome of the petition for rulemaking by prematurely deciding the issue.Read the full EC meeting minutes atMinutes of previous meetings: Foundations of Amateur Radio What mode is that? The hobby of amateur radio is about communication. When you go on-air and make noise, you initiate a communications channel, sending information out into the world and hoping for another station to receive and decode what you sent. The channel itself can be used in an infinite number of ways and each one is called a modulation mode, or mode for short. The popular ones come with most radios, CW, AM, SSB and FM. Those few are not the only ones available. In fact as computers are being integrated into the radio at an increasing pace, signal processing is becoming part and parcel of the definition of a mode and new modes are being introduced at break neck speed. I've talked about WSPR as an example of one such mode, but there are many, each with their own particular take on how to get information between two stations. As you listen on the bands you'll increasingly find yourself hearing a bewildering litany of beeps, pops and clicks. Some of those are due to ionospheric conditions, but many are different modes that are being experimented with across our spectrum. If you have access to a band scope, a way of visualising radio spectrum, you can actually see the shapes and patterns of such signals over time and getting to that point can be as easy as feeding your radio audio into your computer and launching a copy of fldigi or WSJT-X. Every mode requires a specific tool to decode it and with practice you'll discover that there is often a particular look or sound associated with a mode. Over time you'll confidently select the correct decoder, using your brain for the process of signal identification. Of course if you don't have access to the library in your brain yet, since you've only just started, or if the mode you've come across is new, you'll need another library to discover what you found. There is such a library, the Signal Identification Wiki. It's a web-site that hosts a list of submitted signals, grouped by usage type, including one for our community. On the amateur radio page of the Signal Identification Wiki there are over 70 different modes listed, complete with a description, an audio file and a spectrogram. With that you can begin to match what you've discovered on your radio to what the web-site has in the library and determine if you can decode the incoming information. I will mention at this point that the Signal Identification Wiki is far from complete. For example, the Olivia mode has 40 so-called sub-modes of which about 8 are in common use. Each of those sub-modes looks and sounds different. The wiki shows only a single line for Olivia. I'm pointing this out because the wiki allows you to submit a mode for others to use. If you have a signal, either by recording it off-air, or better still, recording it directly from the source, consider submitting it to the wiki so others can benefit from your experience. If you've come across a signal and you cannot figure out what it is, there are other places you can go for help. The four and a half thousand members of the /r/signalidentification sub on reddit will happily look at and listen to your signal and try to help. Make sure you contribute some meta data like the time, frequency and location to accompany the spectrogram and audio. You might have come to this point wondering why I'm encouraging you to use and contribute to the wiki and ask for help on reddit. Amateur radio is about experimentation. We love to do that and as we make signal processing easier and easier, more people are making new modes to play with. The speed at which this is happening is increasing and as an operator you can expect to come across new signals. I remember not that long ago, it was last month, tuning to an FT8 frequency and the person I was with asking what that sound was. They'd heard it before but never discovered its purpose, even though FT8 has been with us since the 29th of June 2017. What interesting signals have you come across and how did you go with decoding them? I'm Onno VK6FLAB This article is the transcript of the weekly 'Foundations of Amateur Radio' podcast, produced by Onno Benschop, VK6FLAB who was licensed as radio amateur in Perth, Western Australia in 2010. For other episodes, visit http://vk6flab.com/. Feel free to get in touch directly via email: cq@vk6flab.com Dili (Timor-Leste), 3 July 2021 (SPS) - The Secretary-General of FRETILIN, the historical party that struggled for the Independence of Timor-Leste Mr. Mari Alkatiri received Friday the Saharawi (S.A.D.R) Ambassador in Dili, Mr. Malainin Abba. During the Audience Mr. Alkatiri said: From FRETILIN, we express our sympathy, solidarity and support to the Saharawi people struggle for liberation During the meeting, Ambassador Malainin Abba, expressed his gratitude and appreciation for the historical and principled support stand of FRETILIN towards the just struggle of the Saharawi people for Self-determination and complete sovereignty of S.A.D.R over all its territory. The Saharawi Diplomat briefed Mr. Alkatiri about the different aspects of the latest developments in Western Sahara. It is worth noting that FRETILIN is the main political party in the actual Government Coalition in Timor-Leste and that Mr. Mari Alkatiri was a former Prime Minister for two times in Timor-Leste. (SPS) 062/090 Ethical Society of Police Attorney, William Dailey, called for the termination of a St. Louis County Police employee who led the homicide investigation into Lamar Johnson in St. Louis in the 1990s on Tues., June 29. Five of the DGT's radar traps in Malaga province have the dubious honour of being among the most active in Spain, and the eastern bypass around the provincial capital city, the A7, stands out on this 'black list', especially the device between the Cerrado de Calderon and El Palo exits. Last year it caught 48,771 drivers speeding, making it the number one in the country. It had already achieved that in 2018 with 54,377, but the figure dropped to 13,930 the following year because there were periods during which it was not operative. Nor is it the only one to figure on the list of 'The 50 least-respected radars', which the Traffic department publishes each year. In the top ten, in 7th place, is the speed trap situated ten kilometres further east on the A7, but in the Malaga direction, shortly before the Rincon de la Victoria turning. The third busiest in the province, and 18th nationally, was on the old western bypass (now the MA-20), a few metres before the Carlos Haya tunnel, with 19,645 fines, while one of the two average speed devices covering stretches of Las Pedrizas motorway (A-45) was in 39th place, with 12,856. At these four points the maximum permitted speed is 80 km/h, and the fifth busiest radar in the province (and 45th in the country) is in a spot where the limit is 60 km/h on the A-384 at Almargen. It was responsible for 11,765 fines being issued last year. These five are among those which photograph the highest number of drivers in the country, although in the past that only used to apply to the one covering a stretch of road over the tunnel on the Autovia del Mediterraneo (A-7) in the Nerja direction at Torrox. Las Pedrizas There is a similar situation with the speed traps at Las Pedrizas (A-45) in the Malaga direction. When they were installed in mid-2014 one of them directly became responsible for the highest number of fines in Spain, but they have gradually become less active because the accident rate has fallen. For example, in 2017 they were only in operation for 55 days. What triggers these radar devices? The law stipulates a margin of error, so there is a difference between the speed limit and the one which incurs a fine. The mobile radar devices follow a Rule of Seven: a leeway of seven kms where the maximum permitted speed is 100 km/h or less, and seven per cent on faster roads. So, for example, on an 80 km/h stretch of highway, the camera will be triggered if a vehicle travels at 88 or more. On the fixed and portable devices on tripods and in parked cars, the margin is five km/h on roads where the limit is 100 km/h or lower, and five per cent on faster roads. The devices that monitor the average speeds on stretches of road apply the same system. When in 1954 the law criminalizing homosexuality was passed in Spain, the state needed more prisons to keep homosexuals, along with tens of thousands of dissidents. In some jails there were specific modules for gay or transsexual prisoners. Such isolation could be considered as the only humane measure in the treatment of homosexuals in that period. In the late 60s two prisons for homosexuals were opened. One of the prisons for sexual minorities was established in Huelva, Andalucia. The second was in the neighbouring region of Extremadura, in the city of Badajoz. The Old Prison of Huelva (Antigua Carcel de Huelva) is a historical building which silently remembers historical injustice. The jail was a part of the first urban project for Huelva developed by the architect Jose Maria Perez-Carasa. A two-storey building covering some 3,624m2 was built in the very centre of the city in 1930. 'Rehab' Thirty years later the old jail was transformed into a rehabilitation centre for gays and transsexuals, a 'centro de internamiento de homosexuales y transexuales.' This 'clinic' existed in Huelva until 1978. The treatment was carried out under the supervision of a real doctor. The Spanish psychiatrist Antonio Vallejo-Najera was renowned for finding the so-called 'red gene' as well as for carrying out experiments on female Spanish Republican Army and International Brigades prisoners to define "the bio-psychic roots of Marxism". After the scientist had come to the conclusion that Marxists were genetic retards and Marxism was a mental illness, he created a similar theory in the context of homosexuality. A disease His colleague, Dr Juan Jose Lopez-Ibor from Madrid, also considered homosexuality to be a disease and gave his advice about the treatment of homosexuals in the prison of Huelva. The 'therapeutic' recovery programme was based upon forced labour, beatings, and humiliations. Gays were also 'treated' in the rehabilitation centre on the Canary island of Fuerteventura. The Tefia Penitentiary Agricultural Colony (La Colonia Agricola Penitenciaria de Tefia) was built on wasteland - the site of old airport - surrounded by a stony desert. Here, among other work, the 'patients' had to dig trenches and to work in quarries under the hot sun without water and proper food but with constant beatings, insults and humiliation. Social exclusion Although homosexuals were forced to work in inhuman conditions in the colonies and prisons, they were socially excluded after that. Society made it almost impossible to find a job because the police were supposed to inform potential employers about their 'criminal' background. In 2014, the Junta de Andalucia declared the Old Prison of Huelva as a Place of Historical Memory of political prisoners and those jailed for their sexual orientation. . MBABANE All sorrows are less with bread. This ancient adage proves true on the current situation in the country as hundreds queued for bread at Prime Bakeries yesterday. Prime Bakery sold the bread in bulk and customers had to buy at least six. Some customers had to put their money together so that it reaches the minimum E60 for six loaves while others were shop owners who intended to buy in bulk for stocking at their shops. One of the shop owners who came all the way from Maguga, said the bakery was not reaching the area since the protests began. He said he even struggled to get other items for his shop because the suppliers like Ruchi Stores in Matsapha where he normally bought his stock, were vandalised and looted. guaranteed Having at least bread in your store is enough to have customers come in because you are guaranteed that they would come out carrying something. We have run out of stock and getting it has never been hard, he said. When asked how much he would sell the bread given that it was now standing at E25, especially on the streets, he said that it would be unfair to sell it at that price because that would be taking advantage of the crisis which was not fair to the customers. One has to know his customers and the economy at the area the shop is situated. I would not want to double the price of bread but obviously it will not be the same, he said. Another interviewed customer, who preferred anonymity, said he was going to sell it at his neighbourhood at E20 since it was very scarce yet essential. I was taught that if a business opportunity knocks, take it and put it into good use, he said briefly. The observation in some major food retailers in town was that a majority of the trolleys had more than one bread in them. This is despite that bread is now double its normal price in the black market due to scarcity of the essential commodity caused by the closure of shops and manufacturing companies owing to the ongoing political unrest in the country. Reports from local media houses suggested that bread price shoot up to E20 and E25 a loaf on the streets. observed At Pick n Pay Mbabane, Blue ribbon brown bread costs E16.39 while the one baked at the store costs E8. One of the shop managers said it was people who bought in bulk who then sold at a higher price. Also observed was that shelves of flour were empty at some food retailers as people have opted to bake at their homes both for domestic and commercial purposes. Fatcakes, popularly known as emafethi, are now popular as people have substituted bread with same, especially for breakfast and business is booming for retailers of the fat-cakes. Shortage of bread due to political unrest also hit Syria and according to international reports, a deepening economic crisis, coupled with the significant destruction of infrastructure over a decade of conflict primarily by the Syrian government and its allies, led to severe wheat shortages. MBABANE Political activist Madzabudzabu Kunene has had his leg amputated after he was shot by police officers who were dispersing crowds during the ongoing violent protest actions over political changes. Kunene is one of several protesters who took a bullet on Tuesday night, when the protesters clashed with the paramilitary police at the Extension 3 township in Mbabane, close to the Mbabane Industrial site. This is where a number of buildings were damaged and looted with Bandag being set on fire. He said he and a group of protesters were singing and dancing along the streets when suddenly police approached them aboard vans. scampering We were just scampering when suddenly the police opened fire on us. One bullet ripped right through my right foot and immediately paralysed me. The police did not stop there, but kicked me with their heavy boots. One officer, who had realised what had happened, stopped his colleagues and told them to halt the beating. They then left me in that position without offering any assistance, he alleged. Kunene said he had dragged himself to an open space, where his friends noticed that he had been shot. My friends later emerged from their hiding spots and organised transport to take me to hospital, he said. Kunene said when he arrived at the Mbabane Government Hospital he discovered that there were many other people who had sustained injuries allegedly at the hands security officers in different parts of the country. He said doctors had initially tried to patch his foot by stitching and bandaging it, after which they sent him to his hospital bed to wait for an operation at the theatre. I realised at this time that my injured leg was cold and that it was not moving any inch. That is when I knew that fears of a possible amputation were real. He said doctors informed him that saving the leg would be impossible and that the only option was to amputate. Perhaps I did not have a problem because I knew when the bullet hit me that the leg would be amputated, as it had twisted strangely from the thigh downwards, he said. tragic Kunene said losing a leg is tragic to him but will not silence him in joining the masses that want democratic changes in the country. Besides being a member of the banned Swaziland Youth Congress, Kunene is also known extensively as a foot soldier in the fight against the spread of HIV and AIDS, having persuaded many to start taking the antiretroviral treatment. Siyabonga Dlamini of Msunduza was seriously injured and had his leg fractured when the police pounced on him and a group protesters near the Msunduza Market. Meanwhile, Menzi Tsela from Ezulwini said he was returning home from work when he came across a group of people that were protesting. MBABANE Years are not just numbers in politics as it has been observed by legendary politician Samuel Mkhombe. Mkhombe, a former Private Secretary at the Kings Office said he had observed that every after 20 years or so the mindsets of the countrys politics evolve and people understand things differently, warranting modifications to the system of governance. He said the first landmark transformation of the countrys governance was in 1972 just before King Sobhuza II made a landmark pronouncement that from then onwards all political parties would be banned and that the Tinkhundla System of Governance would be used. People accepted this as the new system of governance, though there were a few that questioned it. However, about 20 years later, in 1992, the youth at the time, started registering discontent with the way the Tinkhundla System was operating, he said. It was at this time that MPs were not elected by the people from grassroots level, but the people merely submitted names for appointment by the King. His Majesty King Mswati III had then appointed a Tinkhundla Review Commission, which was headed by Prince Mahlalengangeni. Mkhombe was one of the members of the committee. At the time, he was a strong advocate for human rights as a controlling member of the Human Rights Association of Swaziland. nominated It was the committee in which Mkhombe was a member that recommended a new era, by which MPs would be nominated from royal kraal level. It further recommended that the position of indvuna yetinkhundla be abolished and that instead, a Cabinet minister be appointed to head the Tinkhundla portfolio. Also, one of the recommendations of the committee was that there must be a national Constitution. It also said the appointment of the prime minister must be a prerogative of the King. Over 20 years later again, the people are calling for the power to elect a prime minister, among many changes. Three MPs who have set the tone for the calls for change are Hosea MP Bacede Mabuza, Siphofaneni MP Mduduzi Simelane and Ngwemphisi MP Mthandeni Dube. This is why I have realised that every after 20 years, the youth of that era want a different way of being governed, he said, speaking as a political analyst. In the past two weeks, the youth have delivered petitions to tinkhundla centres saying they want the people to be given power to elect a prime minister of their choice. Though Mkhombe did not approve nor disapprove of the recent calls, he said it was not surprising that every after 20 years the people want changes and said the country should not be surprised when such happens. On the election of a prime minister, the seasoned politician said the Mahlalengangeni states that such must be done through the council of Liqoqo. MBABANE V-Best, one of the capital citys largest wholesaler was burnt to the ground by protesters on Tuesday, causing the company to lose E11 million in stock losses. The company is owned by Chinese Investor Feng He, who has also suffered immensely as all his other businesses throughout the country were vandalised and, most, burnt down. His Hluti business trading as Sondelani Supermarket was looted and further burnt down by protesters, resulting in the business loosing E6 million worth of stock. On a similar wavelength his Hlatikhulu business also trading as Sondelani was looted and burnt to ashes resulting in what he estimated to be millions worth of losses. However, the losses had not been fully quantified by yesterday. Meanwhile, protesters in Nhlangano also looted his warehouse and stole stock worth E2.5 million. Altogether, the directors of V-Best have lost an estimated cost of E20 million. He said, altogether, his businesses that had been torched by protesters had employed 77 emaSwati on full-time basis. envisage The Managing Director said he was devastated at the losses because he did not envisage such a thing could ever occur in Eswatini. I have always known Eswatini to be a peaceful country and I am happy to do business here. This has really taken us by surprise, he said. Feng He said the onus was now on the Eswatini Government to ensure that such an occurrence is averted in future. Investors will be afraid to rebuild their businesses if there is no assurance from government that what has happened would not be repeated. Otherwise it will be difficult for businesses to be revived, he said. Responding to questions on reviving his businesses, he said he would also discuss with his landlords. The businessman said he would discuss with his landlord about repairs to the damages and also talk to business partners. This was not the only business that was on the receiving end of violence at the Sidwashini Industrial Site as the Top Ten Supermarket also incurred losses exceeding E14 million when protesters burnt it down. Woodmasters, one of the Capital Citys oldest businesses was also vandalised as furniture was stolen and window panes broken. Staff found at the premises said they had taken it upon themselves to spend nights at the premises and protect it from the vandals. When these people did this on Tuesday, we thought it was the last. We were surprised that on Wednesday, they came back. Luckily, they found us guarding the premises. We warded them off. We also called the police who arrived promptly to assist us, said an employee. Responding to questions on what they armed themselves with, the staffer said liswati uyalati. Nome ngabe yini lingaysebentisa, meaning a liSwati uses anything to protect himself. MBABANE A resident of Mankayane has taken ICT Minister Princess Sikhanyiso, MTN Eswatini, Eswatini Mobile, EPTC and ESCCOM to court over internet disruption. Melusi Simelane wants the High Court to order the respondents in the matter, or anyone acting under their instruction and/or advice, to be restrained or interdicted from shutting down the internet. Simelane is the Director of Eswatini Sexual and Gender Minorities. The respondents are Minister of Information, Communication and Technology Princess Sikhanyiso, MTN Eswatini, Eswatini Mobile, Eswatini Communications Commission, Eswatini Posts and Telecommunications Corporation and the attorney general. Simelane is also seeking an order that the respondents be, or anyone acting under their instruction and/or advice, directed and/or ordered to allow the provision of unlimited access to the internet. Simelane is represented by Celumusa Bhembe of Bhembe and Nyoni Attorneys in the matter. He told the court that at midday on Tuesday, access to the internet was suddenly, and without any notice, interrupted. He submitted that since Tuesday, access to the internet has been almost non-existent. Simelane informed the court that on Wednesday, June 30, 2021, at 4:33pm, MTN Eswatini notified him that: Dear valued customer. MTN regrets the internet service interruption. We are engaging stakeholders to restore internet connectivity. Simelane argued that, notwithstanding the fact that MTN Eswatini had promised to restore the internet connectivity, to date she has not done so without any justifiable reason. Notify He further told the court that Eswatini Mobile, EPTC, and ESCCOM, or Minister Princess Sikhanyiso allegedly never made any attempt to notify him about the internet interruption. I humbly submit that the respondents conduct of interrupting access to the internet at a whim is unlawful and infringes on my constitutional right to receive ideas and information without interference as guaranteed in terms of Section 24 of the Constitution of Eswatini Act No. 1/2005, Simelane said. Simelane argued that he had no alternative remedy but to approach the High Court because most of his work was virtual, in particular that government continued to encourage innovative and technological interventions to economic stimulations. I further submit that with the current political unrest and the surging number of COVID-19 cases, government has insisted on working from home for those who are able to do so, Simelane argued. He explained to the court that the right to freedom of expression was affirmed under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Simelane said Article 19(2) of the ICCPR states that the right to freedom of expression includes the right to seek, received and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. MBABANE - An urgent application to, among other things, remove soldiers from the streets and business areas around the country has been filed at the High Court. The application was filed yesterday by the Institute for Democracy and Leadership (IDEAL), which is a non-profit making organisation situated at Swazi Plaza in Mbabane. Other applicants in the matter are Inhlanse Institute of Investigative Journalism, Bongumenzi Dlamini and Thoba Gupta Dlamini. In their papers, the applicants averred that the deployment of the army upon civilians by the acting prime minister is unconstitutional. According to the applicants, it was only under a state of emergency, declared in terms of Section 36 of the Constitution, that the intervention of the military in the political affairs of the State might be justified. It was further their contention that there was no prime minister in place to advise the King to make such declaration since the Acting Prime Minister, Themba Masuku, was allegedly unconstitutionally in office. The presence of the army among civilians violates the right to life in that people have been allegedly shot dead by soldiers while others have been seriously injured. The sanctity of human life needs not to be over emphasised and any further loss of life cannot be tolerated, argued the applicants. These are allegations whose veracity is still to be tested in court and the respondents are yet to file their papers. The continued presence of the armed soldiers, according to the applicants, violates the right to security of the citizens. The presence of the soldiers among civilians is not only traumatic but also induces terror during the day and night, they argued. According to the applicants, no circumstances exist to justify the presence of the army in places occupied by civilians. The ongoing protest and internal disturbances are done by unarmed civilians who can be effectively handled by the police. Not even a single incident of armed confrontation by the protesters against the police has been reported, contended the applicants. IDEAL and the other applicants contended that the soldiers were fully armed with nothing else but military weapons, in particular the most dangerous firearms one could think of. Their heavy presence in the different towns and cities of this country epitomises a battlefield where there is an armed conflict, argued the applicants. The applicants want the court to interdict the acting prime minister from deploying military personnel on the streets, residences, business or any other places occupied by civilians. They are also praying for an order directing the army commander to forthwith withdraw all military personnel already deployed on the streets, residences, businesses or any other places occupied by civilians. It is worth underscoring that the protesters are not armed at all as no shootings have been reported either against the police or the military force. Contrariwise, reports that several protesters have been shot dead and others injured have been received, alleged the applicants. The applicants went on to inform the court that gunshots and city patrols in armoured vehicles and noisy helicopters throughout the night have become the new normal. MBABANE It seems the Acting Prime Minister (APM) was allegedly not truthful when addressing the nation on the ongoing disruptions to the network in the country. What the APM said in his speech, specifically on the network disruptions in the country, during the press conference held on Thursday at the Cabinet Offices, is not collaborating with a statement that had been issued by MTN Group with regards to the matter. In his speech, the APM said since the protests began in the country, all that had been happening resulted to a lot of damage to the infrastructure. He said the telecommunications sector was not spared from the damage, hence the network disruptions and the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology was working around the clock to have the network restored as they are the responsible ministry for anything that has to do with communications. This was when a Times journalist asked him specifically on the network shutdown. The same thing applies with issues of water, if there is any matter of urgency on that sector, we employ the responsible ministry to sort it out hence we have employed the ICT Ministry to work on restoring the network disruptions, he said. Directive However, a statement from the service provider is singing a different tune. It confirms that MTN Eswatini, along with other operators allegedly received a directive from the Eswatini Communications Commission (ESCCOM) to suspend access to social media and online platforms until otherwise informed. The statement was confirmed by MTN Group Executive Corporate Affairs Nompilo Morafa. Directive It communicates that after assessing the request, and in compliance with MTNs licence conditions and in accordance with MTNs group-wide Digital Human Rights due diligence framework, MTN Eswatini has implemented the directive. MTN Eswatini will continue engaging with the relevant stakeholders to limit the duration of the service disruption, reads the statement. Morafa also confirmed reports that the matter was now in court but she did not have much detail on it as she was only updated yesterday. When reached for comment on the matter, ESCCOM Director Lindiwe Dlamini said she had not been at work for a few days and she was not aware of the latest developments regarding the network disruptions in the country. Disruptions Government Spokesperson Sabelo Dlamini said government was in no position to respond to the matter as it was currently in court. The network disruptions have led to a communication barrier at a time when everyone is anxious and some even shattered by the ongoing protests that have left a trail of destruction and loss of life in the country. People were using social media to get updates on what was happening, which places were safer to travel at and those that were not safe. MBABANE The Political Party Assembly (PPA) has called upon His Majesty King Mswati III to commit to a dialogue that will take the country out of the current political quagmire. In a statement read by Secretary General of SWADEPA Mbongiseni Shabangu during a press conference yesterday, the PPA said they were ready for a genuine, meaningful and result oriented dialogue. They, however, discarded Sibaya, vuselas and Smart Partnerships as session that cannot qualify as a conflict resolution mechanism. Political parties in the country are currently banned under the 1973 Decree. Entities Six of the proscribed entities were represented in the press conference and they indicated that they jointly called for the King to lead the country towards dialogue. The PPA is a joint assembly of all proscribed political entities in the country. We are calling on the Head of State to commit on dialogue as has been their famous rhetoric. Willingness There should be a clear willingness to engage on democratic reforms as per the call by emaSwati from all over the country during the lawful peaceful delivery of petitions at their different tinkhundla centres reads the statement. The PPA said it is time for the countrys leadership to prove that dialogue is the true weapon of peace as they have always said. They further condemned the ongoing violence and destruction of property. We condemn the ongoing violence, destruction of property, and looting by some elements within the population of this country. In the same vein, we also condemn the brutal aggression, slaughter and killing of the citizens by the State security agents. Our plight goes to the families of the people who have lost their loved ones, they said. Peaceful The PPA further recognised the effort of the churches in the call for a peaceful return to normalcy and the call for a round table. Shabangu further said the PPA demands the removal of soldiers from the streets so that the situation can come back to normalcy. Quizzed on the relevant tool that can bring all relevant parties on the round table for a dialogue despite the PPA being proscribed, they said they were calling for an inclusive political dialogue that would involve all the relevant stakeholders such as the work force, students, the church and the citizens. The King must be the one who is bringing everyone under one roof for the discussions and by everyone we mean all the relevant groups including all the political parties which were banned, they said. MBABANE There are suspicions that the countrys legislative capital, Lobamba, was also under attack on Wednesday night. A Parliament employee was taken into police custody for being responsible for a fire that broke out not far from the Parliament building and nearby historic buildings. Police are said to have suspected that the fire was part of the countrywide arson attacks on public and private infrastructure. The employee has been identified as Micah Dlamini, who is an usher in the House of Senate and a part-time driver for Senate President Lindiwe Dlamini. Micah, yesterday made an appearance before the Mbabane Magistrates Court. The arson attacks are being carried out by protesters who are calling for political reforms that will usher in multi-party democracy to replace the Tinkhundla System of Government. Suspected The fire is said to have been ignited between the Parliament building and the King Sobhuza II Memorial Park on the night and the employee was found in the vicinity, hence he was arrested as it was suspected that he was behind the inferno. The police are said to have been of the belief that the main target was the Parliament building. Clerk to Parliament Benedict Xaba said he was informed by security officers that Micah had been arrested in connection with the fire incident. A report has reached me even though I am yet to get the finer details, but I did get information through security that there is an officer who has been arrested on suspicion that he was involved in the ongoing riots. I heard that he has been implicated in an alleged arson attack, he said. Confirmed He confirmed that the officers position is that of usher but would also be asked to drive the Senate President when there was a need. For now we have to wait for the law to take its course and then as Parliament, we can take it from there in terms of deciding on his employment here in Parliament, the former minister of Health said. Xaba said security had since been reinforced in Parliament following the incident and hoped that the same would happen countrywide so that citizens could be protected. When Micah appeared before Mbabane Senior Magistrate Sifiso Vilakati, he was charged under the Grassfire Act of 1955 for having started a wild fire. Impeccable sources said when the matter was heard, Micahs defence was that it was not his intention to start the fire but was smoking a cigarette and the matchstick he had used to light his smoke was the one that started the blaze after he carelessly disposed of it. Magistrate Vilakati is said to have enquired from Micah whether his igniting of the fire was also in conjunction with the ongoing political unrest and the suspect explained that it was not, but was just carelessness caused by smoking. Kuwait plans to build 71 schools for all educational levels for both boys and girls - with 23 new ones in Al Ahmadi Educational Area, 22 in Hawalli and three in Jahra region - for the next academic year, said a report. The sites for the construction of these schools are expected to be handed over by the Kuwait Municipality, reported Arab Times citing a report prepared by the Educational Facilities Sector at the Ministry of Education. The report revealed the preparation of a five-year construction plan from 2020/2021 2024/ 2025, which determines the need for schools in each educational district. While the report stressed that the renovation of government schools is subject to the availability of budgets, the sector in coordination with the Public Education Sector is prioritizing the construction of new school buildings as well as school buildings that need to be renovated. The report, prepared by the sectors assistant undersecretary, Yassin Al Yassin, unveiled the work plan for the construction of new schools, demolition and renovation and maintenance of schools. According to the report, 13 government schools were closed three years ago upon instructions of the MPW in various educational regions, including 4 in Al Ahmadi Educational Area, 4 in Hawalli, a religious institute in Farwaniya and 4 in the Capital. He pointed out that in the Capital Educational Area 3 new schools two primary and a kindergarten schools will be built in the suburb of Granada for the first time that schools will be established in this region, it added. Fort Polk, LA (71446) Today Thunderstorms this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. Low 72F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Thunderstorms this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. Low 72F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. Interactive Signs Installed in I-24 Work Zones By West Kentucky Star Staff WESTERN KENTUCKY - In response to long lines of traffic and serious accidents on I-24 this summer, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has added interactive message boards to notify drivers if problems are developing ahead.Using sensors, the system monitors traffic speed in the work zone. If traffic slows to a crawl or stops, the system will change the message on the board to warn about what's happening ahead.The signs are in place at the 4-mile marker at Paducah for eastbound traffic, and in the westbound lanes starting near the 1-mile marker in Kentucky for traffic crossing the bridge into Illinois. It's also at the entry points for a 10-mile long concrete rehab project on I-24 in Caldwell and Trigg counties.A work zone on I-69 at the 33-mile marker in Graves County also has interactive monitoring, but it has been removed for the July 4th holiday.KYTC engineer Kyle Poat said high demand for the technology by state transportation agencies has created a shortage of equipment. At least for now, Kentucky plans to save them for use on long-term work zones.Poat said that technology is no substitute for driver alertness, however. "It's still the responsibility of drivers to pay attention. Put down your cell phone and maintain a high level of situational awareness anytime you are entering a work zone."On the Net: Victims in Cadiz Investigation Died from Gunshots By West Kentucky Star Staff CADIZ - The cause of death has been released for two Trigg County shooting victims.Kentucky State Police went to a home in the area of Cerulean Road in Cadiz on Saturday morning, after someone reported finding two bodies.On Sunday, the names of the victims were released. Trigg County Coroner John Mark Vinson told WKDZ they were identified as 75-year-old Mildred Sue Farris and 28-year-old Matthew Blakely.On Monday, police detectives said both people died of gunshot wounds.Detectives have been searching for 29-year-old Landon W. Stinson, of Cadiz, since Saturday morning. He is wanted for questioning in reference to the shooting incident.If anyone knows the whereabouts of Stinson, they should contact Kentucky State Police, Post 1 at 270-856-3721. Man Injured in Hopkinsville Motorcycle Crash By West Kentucky Star Staff HOPKINSVILLE - A man was injured in a motorcycle crash on Fort Campbell Boulevard in Hopkinsville Friday afternoon, just before 1:00 pm.WKDZ reports that Hopkinsville Police say a man was southbound in front of the Hopkinsville Towne Center when a car pulled out of a parking lot in front of him, causing him to run off the road and strike a fence post.The man was taken to Jennie Stuart Medical Center for treatment of injuries.Names of those involved in the crash have not been released. Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-02 21:20:16|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Smoke from an explosion at Petromidia Refinery is seen through an airplane window in Navodari, southeastern Romania, July 2, 2021. One person was confirmed dead in an explosion that occurred here on Friday, followed by a fire that has not yet been extinguished. (Photo by Cristian Cristel/Xinhua) BUCHAREST, July 2 (Xinhua) -- One person was confirmed dead in an explosion that occurred Friday at the Petromidia Refinery in Navodari, southeastern Romania, followed by a fire that has not yet been extinguished. An employee was found dead after the explosion at the Petromidia Refinery, announced Silviu Cosa, prefect of Constanta County, where the refinery is located. At least five people were injured in the accident. One of them, who has burns on 45 percent of his body surface, was sent to hospital by helicopter. About 50 firefighters are fighting the flames, and special vehicles are still coming from neighboring counties. The perimeter has been delimited and there would be no risk of a new explosion, but the situation is dynamic and unpredictable, Anamaria Stoica, spokesperson of regional inspectorate for emergency situations, was quoted as saying by local Pro-TV television station. "From the information we have, it seems that it was an explosion at the oil gas transmission installation, and the cause will be established at the end of the intervention," said Stoica. People in the neighborhood have been alerted to stay in their homes and not to open the windows. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-02 23:03:56|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Women inspect a house damaged during a gunfight, at Hanjin-Rajpora village of Pulwama district, about 37 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, July 2, 2021. Five militants and an Indian army trooper were killed in a fierce gunfight in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said Friday. (Xinhua/Javed Dar) SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Five militants and an Indian army trooper were killed in a fierce gunfight in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said Friday. The gunfight broke out at Hanjin-Rajpora village of Pulwama district, about 37 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. "Of the five slain militants one was a district commander," a police official said. According to police, the gunfight broke out on Thursday night after a joint contingent of police, army and paramilitary launched a cordon and search operation in the village on specific intelligence information suggesting the presence of militants there. A senior police official described the killing of five militants a "big success." Meanwhile, a policeman was wounded on Thursday evening after militants fired upon a police party in Anantnag town. On Wednesday three militants were killed in a similar gunfight in the region's Kulgam district, police said. There has been a surge in militant attacks in the region over the past two weeks. A guerilla war is going on between militants and Indian troops stationed in the region since 1989. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-02 23:26:42|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, attends a high-level theoretical seminar to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC in Beijing, capital of China, July 2, 2021. The two-day seminar concluded here on Friday. It was jointly held by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Education, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) BEIJING, July 2 (Xinhua) -- A high-level theoretical seminar concluded in Beijing on Friday to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The two-day seminar was jointly held by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Education, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission. Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, attended the seminar, which was a key part of the Party's centenary celebrations. Wang urged the thorough study and implementation of the speech delivered by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, at a ceremony marking the CPC's centenary on July 1. Efforts should be made to deepen the study, research and publicity of the Party's history and boost the confidence and strength of all Party members and all the Chinese people with regard to fully building a modern socialist China, Wang said. Also present at the seminar were Ding Xuexiang, director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, and Huang Kunming, head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, both of whom are members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Around 220 people, including Party officials, experts and scholars, attended the seminar. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-02 23:26:42|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, July 2 (Xinhua) -- The leading Party members group of the State Council met on Friday to study an important speech delivered by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, at the ceremony marking the centenary of the CPC. The meeting was presided over by Premier Li Keqiang, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the State Council's leading Party members group. Xi's speech is a Marxist guiding document that charts the course for the Party and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups toward the second centenary goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects, according to the meeting. The meeting urged the leading Party members group of the State Council and the government system to study and integrate the speech into all aspects of government work. The meeting called for efforts to uphold the Party's overall leadership, deepen reform and opening-up across the board, stick to the Party's fundamental purpose of wholeheartedly serving the people and advance Party building in the government system. The meeting called on Party members in the government system to resolutely respond to the call of the CPC Central Committee, and continue working tirelessly to realize people's aspirations for a better life. Senior officials, including Han Zheng, Sun Chunlan, Hu Chunhua, Liu He, Wang Yong, Wang Yi, Xiao Jie and Zhao Kezhi, attended the meeting. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-02 23:32:51|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Pedestrians walk past a broadway theater in New York, the United States, July 2, 2021. U.S. employers added 850,000 jobs in June, with unemployment rate unexpectedly edging up to 5.9 percent, the U.S. Labor Department reported Friday. The latest data followed downwardly revised job growth of 269,000 in April and upwardly revised increase of 583,000 in May, indicating a bumpy road in labor market recovery. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) WASHINGTON, July 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. employers added 850,000 jobs in June, with unemployment rate unexpectedly edging up to 5.9 percent, the U.S. Labor Department reported Friday. The latest data followed downwardly revised job growth of 269,000 in April and upwardly revised increase of 583,000 in May, indicating a bumpy road in labor market recovery. In June, job gains were notable in leisure and hospitality, public and private education, professional and business services, retail trade, and other services, according to the report released by the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment in leisure and hospitality increased by 343,000, with over half of the job gain in food services and drinking places, the report showed, while noting that employment in leisure and hospitality is still down by 2.2 million, or 12.9 percent, since February 2020. Employment in local government education, state government education and private education increased by 155,000, 75,000 and 39,000 respectively, but is still lower than the pre-pandemic level. "In both public and private education, staffing fluctuations due to the pandemic, in part reflecting the return to in-person learning and other school-related activities, have distorted the normal seasonal buildup and layoff patterns, likely contributing to the job gains in June," the report said. The unemployment rate unexpectedly rose by 0.1 percentage point to 5.9 percent. The measure was down considerably from its recent high in April 2020, but remained well above the pre-pandemic level of 3.5 percent. Among the unemployed, the number of "job leavers" -- unemployed persons who quit or voluntarily left their previous job and began looking for new employment -- increased by 164,000 to 942,000 in June, the report showed. U.S. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell recently cited four factors that seem likely to be holding back labor supply, one of which is finding a new job, a process that takes longer as workers match their skills to what the employer wants. Other factors are fear of returning to work, which should "diminish" as vaccinations move ahead, lingering childcare needs, and federal supplements to unemployment insurance. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased by 233,000 to 4.0 million in June, following a decline of 431,000 in May, according to the Labor Department report. This measure, which accounted for 42.1 percent of the total unemployed in June, is 2.9 million higher as compared with that of February 2020. Among major ethnic groups, the unemployment rates for Whites (5.2 percent), African Americans (9.2 percent), Asians (5.8 percent), and Hispanics (7.4 percent) showed little or no change in June, indicating an uneven recovery among different groups. Despite the improvement in the pandemic-ravaged labor market, some 9.5 million people remained unemployed in June, well above the pre-pandemic level of 5.7 million, according to the report. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-02 23:40:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, July 2 (Xinhua) -- The international community has spoken highly of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Xi Jinping's remarks at the CPC centenary ceremony on Thursday, which looked back on the party's glorious history and ahead to the bright future of the Chinese nation's great rejuvenation. Addressing the ceremony at Tian'anmen Square, Xi, also Chinese president, said that all the struggle, sacrifice, and creation through which the CPC has united and led the Chinese people over the past hundred years has been tied together by one ultimate theme -- bringing about the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Today, the image China presents to the world is one of a thriving nation that is advancing with unstoppable momentum toward rejuvenation, Xi said. Foreign leaders, officials and experts noted that over the past 100 years, the CPC has led the Chinese people to overcome various difficulties and make great achievements, writing a glorious chapter in the history of both the Chinese nation and human civilization. They said they believe that under the leadership of the CPC, China will make greater achievements in fulfilling the Chinese Dream of great national rejuvenation, as well as greater contributions to global development and human progress. Greek international relations scholar Pella Karpathiotaki said that Xi, in his speech, outlined the CPC's great contributions to China's national independence, development and prosperity, and depicted the country's bright prospect of future development. Under the leadership of the CPC, she noted, China has achieved the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and is forging ahead towards the second centenary goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects. "This is a phenomenon in the global economic history," and China would have not been as prosperous as today without the CPC, she said. Elon Musk, chief executive of U.S. tech firm Tesla, tweeted that "the economic prosperity that China has achieved is truly amazing, especially in infrastructure! I encourage people to visit and see for themselves." Robert Griffiths, general secretary of the Communist Party of Britain, said that "the achievements of the CPC are undeniable, and are there for all to see." He noted that nowadays, the Belt and Road Initiative and other ones proposed by China keep bringing opportunities for other countries to fast-forward their economic and social development. Cambodian government chief spokesman Phay Siphan said that under the leadership of the CPC, China has attained great achievements in various fields and brought a better life to the Chinese people. Siphan said that China has also made important contributions to safeguarding world peace and stability as well as to boosting international cooperation and the development of multilateralism. Cavince Adhere, a Kenya-based international relations scholar, spoke highly of the CPC's people-centered philosophy and the contributions the CPC has made to the progress of mankind and the development of the whole world, saying that "with the CPC at the helm, China has become a strong voice of multilateralism." The CPC's leadership has always been visionary and people-centered, said Humphrey Moshi, director of the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. According to the expert, there has always been close communication between the CPC and the Chinese people, which facilitates swift execution of decisions within the country, and China's success in fighting COVID-19 is a result of the country's effective structure of communication, coordination and execution. The CPC has not only established a framework for China's sustainable and inclusive development, but also made landmark and unprecedented achievements, noted Charles Onunaiju, director of Nigeria's Center for China Studies. The CPC, he added, has been the decisive social force in the construction of modern China. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 00:01:07|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Helicopters fly in echelons ahead of a grand gathering celebrating the Communist Party of China (CPC) centenary in Beijing, capital of China, July 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Ju Zhenhua) BEIJING, July 2 (Xinhua) -- An aerial display echelon passed over Tian'anmen Square on Thursday, flying the flag of the Communist Party of China (CPC), as part of a grand ceremony to celebrate CPC's centenary. The Party flag hanging beneath a military helicopter was made with space technologies by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), which is the main development institution of the Shenzhou spacecraft and the core module of the country's space station, Science and Technology Daily reported Friday. To ensure that the flag flew smoothly, the CAST researchers made use of spacecraft aerodynamic deceleration technology and their experience in developing spacecraft parachutes. The flag, measuring 9 meters long and 6 meters wide, was transported over the square at a flight speed of between 160 km and 180 km per hour. At such speeds, the aerodynamic impact would cause the tail of an ordinary flag to shake violently, resulting in partial damage along its edge, and eventually the whole flag would be torn apart. To tackle this issue, the researchers chose a special material used for spacecraft parachutes. The material's fibers are only one third of the thickness of ordinary human hair, but it is 17 percent stronger than that used for the Shenzhou spaceship parachute, while being 15 percent lighter. They also employed special coating technologies in the material to make the flag rainproof while ensuring the pattern was clearly visible. Any rain drops falling on the flag would slip off quickly. However, it was not sufficient to rely entirely on the strength of this special material. The airflow might still damage the fabric at high speeds, and the tail of the flag might become deformed rather than lying flat. After conducting several simulations and analyzing test data, the researchers added a pair of stabilizing "wind pockets" at the top and bottom edges of the flag's tail area. In flight, the wind filled these pockets, thereby increasing the aerodynamic stability of the flag and allowing it to unfurl perfectly over Tian'anmen Square without sustaining any damage. Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 00:24:30|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NEW DELHI, July 2 (Xinhua) -- India's death toll due to COVID-19 pandemic crossed the 400,000-mark on Friday, said the federal health ministry. As many as 853 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the country's death toll to 400,312. Besides, 46,617 new cases since Thursday morning took the total tally to 30,458,251. There are still 509,637 active cases in the country, with a decrease of 13,620 during the period. Since the pandemic hit the country, a total of 29,548,302 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals, with 59,384 of them discharged during the past 24 hours. Although the pandemic situation is easing down in India, a few states are still reporting a high number of COVID-19 cases, including Kerala, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Manipur. The federal government has sent multi-disciplinary teams to these states to monitor the pandemic control, including sample testing, surveillance and containment operations, the COVID Appropriate Behavior (CAB) and its enforcement, availability of hospital beds, ambulances, ventilators, and medical oxygen, among others. Meanwhile, the federal government on Friday approved the vaccination of pregnant women against COVID-19, based on recommendations from the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI). The decision empowers pregnant women to make an informed choice on taking the COVID-19 vaccine. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 01:02:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Soldiers stand at a state funeral for Zambia's first President Kenneth Kaunda in Lusaka, Zambia, on July 2, 2021. Zambia on Friday held a grand funeral for the country's first President Kenneth Kaunda. (Photo by Martin Mbangweta/Xinhua) LUSAKA, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Zambia on Friday held a grand funeral for the country's first President Kenneth Kaunda. Held at the Show Grounds, a venue for holding agricultural and commercial shows in Lusaka, the country's capital, the state funeral attracted hundreds of people, including leaders from different parts of the world. Kaunda, 97, died on June 17 and the government announced a 21-day mourning period. The mourning period included taking the body around all 10 provincial towns. However, attendance at the funeral on Friday was by invitation only due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Zambian President Edgar Lungu led foreign dignitaries from various parts of the world, including some African presidents, during the state funeral. A somber mood filled the Show Grounds main arena as Kaunda's casket entered, with many people waving white handkerchiefs, the trademark Kaunda was known for as a symbol of peace. He was given full military honor mounted by the three defense forces which included a 21-gun salute and flypast of military jets. His casket was carried by brigadier generals from the country's defense forces. All the dignitaries who spoke during the funeral had nothing but high praise for Kaunda for the contribution he made not only in Zambia but in Africa and the world as a whole. Lungu described the former president as an African giant, pan-Africanist and freedom fighter who sacrificed for the good of humanity. According to him, Kaunda left a legacy of nationalization and laid a foundation to educate the citizens immediately after independence. He noted that Kaunda, like many other African forefathers, believed that Africans deserved to decide their own destiny and could not be discriminated hence their resolve to fight for the liberation of the continent. "He was even more determined to ensure Africa was free. And indeed Africa was freed. Thanks to Dr. Kaunda and other leaders of his time, Africa is free," he said. The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat described Kaunda as a unifier who worked tirelessly with other African leaders to emancipate Africa from colonial rule. He said Zambia paid a heavy price for the liberation of other countries in the southern African region because of Kaunda's selflessness and thanked him for his sacrifice. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa thanked Zambia and Kaunda for providing a sanctuary for Africans in the southern African region during the struggle for independence. "South Africa is grateful for the support from Zambia. We will not be able to pay the debt we owe you," he said. Kaunda led Zambia from 1964 when the country got its independence from Britain until 1991 when he lost elections. He is credited for using what he termed "positive non-violent action", a form of civil disobedience against the colonial masters until the country got its independence in October 1964. After Zambia got its independence, Kaunda felt that the country's independence will not be complete as long as other countries in the southern African region were still in colonial rule. He then embarked on a campaign to ensure that other countries got their independence. Zambia became a sanctuary for the freedom fighters running away from their countries. Kaunda was among the first African leaders to establish the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the forerunner of the African Union (AU) to fight for freedom of the African continent. It is because of his immense contribution to Africa's freedom struggle that the AU, during this year's African Day commemoration, awarded him a distinguished award for the role he played. In 2002, South Africa bestowed on him the Order of the Companions of OR Tambo, one of the highest honors, in honor of his remarkable contribution to fighting the Apartheid regime in South Africa. Apart from fighting for political freedom, Kaunda was also involved in the HIV/AIDS fight after retiring from politics. He formed the Kenneth Kaunda Children of Africa Foundation in order to contribute to the fight against the pandemic. He came out in public and declared that one of his children died of HIV/AIDS, as a way to break the silence and stigma associated with the disease. Due to his contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS, Kaunda served as an ambassador for the Brothers for Life campaign to encourage more men to be tested for HIV. He retired from active politics in 1999. In his earlier message of condolences, the Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Li Jie said Kaunda's death was a loss not only to Zambia and Africa, but also to the whole world. Zambia was the first country in the southern African region to forge diplomatic ties with China. Li described Kaunda as an old friend, real friend and good friend of China. "Kaunda has been known and admired by the Chinese people for his wisdom and courage, and his extraordinary contributions to the China-Zambia friendship," he said. The relationship reached an all-time high when China decided to help Zambia establish a trading route to the north of the country due to the blockade experienced in the south routes due to political tensions in the region. China agreed to Kaunda's request and undertook the construction of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA). The 1,860 km railway line runs from the Zambian town of Kapiri Mposhi to Tanzania's Dar es Salaam. Since then, China has financed a number of huge projects across Zambia, which further deepened bilateral relations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, China has responded positively and helped Zambia in terms of the provision of medical supplies, equipment and human resource. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 01:48:11|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LOS ANGELES, July 2 (Xinhua) -- A Boeing 737 cargo plane, with two people on board, made an emergency landing in the ocean off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii, early Friday morning, U.S. authorities said. The incident happened around 2:30 a.m. local time, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The pilots of the Transair Flight 810 "had reported engine trouble and were attempting to return to Honolulu when they were forced to land the aircraft in the water," said the FAA in a statement, adding that the U.S. Coast Guard rescued both crew members. The aircraft, which departed from the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, also known as Honolulu International Airport, was heading to Maui, the second largest Hawaiian island, local news outlet Hawaii News Now reported. According to the report, the pilots were forced to make an emergency landing in the water after both engines failed. A U.S. Coast Guard MH-65 helicopter located the debris field and spotted the two pilots in the water. The news outlet said that the incident left one pilot in critical condition and another in serious condition. Operating since 1982, Transair is one of Hawaii's largest and locally owned air-cargo providers. It operates daily flights to all major Hawaiian island destinations, plus cargo charters available to all points within the state of Hawaii, according to the company's website. The company operates a fleet of five Boeing 737 and five Bombardier SD3-60-300 aircraft. The FAA and U.S. National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident. "We are aware of the reports out of Honolulu, Hawaii and are closely monitoring the situation. We are in contact with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and are working to gather more information," said Boeing in a statement. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 05:30:39|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Experts and officials have expressed grave warning about increasing COVID-19 infections driven by the highly contagious Delta variant, as lots of Americans will be on the move during the Fourth of July holiday. Health experts said the Delta variant, originally found in India, is much more contagious than other coronavirus variants. Currently about 25 percent of new infections have been linked to the Delta variant, up from 6 percent in early June, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "Looking across the country we have made incredible progress. However, looking state by state and county by county it is clear communities where people remain unvaccinated are communities that are vulnerable," said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky on Thursday. "I expect that in the coming weeks the Delta variant will eclipse the Alpha variant," she warned. In the state of Arkansas, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, cases are surging, according to local health department. In Los Angeles County, where the vaccination rate is above the national average, officials warned about a possible new wave of infections, especially given the rapid spread of the Delta variant. The county reported 506 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, the highest daily number of new cases since mid-April and more than double the average daily number reported in mid-June. "Our recommendation for everyone to wear masks indoors in those settings where vaccination status cannot be verified will help press pause on viral transmission while we learn more," said Barbara Ferrer, public health director of Los Angeles County. "We have enough risk and enough unvaccinated people for Delta to pose a threat to our recovery, and masking up now could help prevent a resurgence in transmission," she said. U.S. President Joe Biden set a goal in May of having 70 percent of American adults to receive at least one COVID-19 shot by the Fourth of July. But the White House confirmed last week the country would fall short of that goal. About 47.1 percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and 54.7 percent of the population has received at least one shot as of Friday, CDC data show. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 05:44:05|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, on Friday called on the international community to fully respect the sovereignty and ownership of Ethiopia on the Tigray issue. Addressing the Security Council meeting on peace and security in Africa, Dai said that the Tigray issue is the internal affairs of Ethiopia. "China believes that the Ethiopian people have the wisdom and capability to properly solve this issue. When offering help, the international community must fully respect the sovereignty and ownership of Ethiopia, and jointly help Ethiopia tide over the difficulty." China has been closely following the situation in Tigray, said the envoy. "China welcomes the Ethiopian Government's recent announcement of unilateral ceasefire in Tigray to guarantee the normal agricultural and humanitarian activities. China hopes to see a complete ceasefire in Tigray, and supports relevant parties to solve their differences through political dialogue, so that all the Ethiopian people, including people in Tigray, can enjoy peace and stability and achieve development and prosperity. China supports the African Union in continuing its constructive role and welcomes the support expressed to Ethiopia by Chairperson Faki of the AU Commission." Dai said that China has provided humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia to the best of its ability. The food assistance offered by the Chinese government will soon arrive in the country, and the COVID-19 vaccines donated by China to Ethiopia will also benefit people in Tigray. The ambassador underscored that the Ethiopian government has actively responded to the humanitarian need in Tigray by providing aid to the people in need, restoring local production and normal life and fully opening humanitarian access, all of which have yielded sound outcomes. "Humanitarian assistance for Tigray still faces severe shortage of resources. The international community should provide greater emergency humanitarian assistance and the UN guiding principles of humanitarian emergency assistance should be fully observed," he added. "The Security Council should prudently handle the timing and method regarding the settlement of the Tigray issue to ensure that the Council will play a positive role in improving the Tigray situation, not the other way around," said the ambassador. "Ethiopia is the anchor of stability for the Horn of Africa, exerting major influence over regional peace and stability," he said. "To safeguard peace and stability in Ethiopia is the common aspiration of the Ethiopian people, and also the shared expectation of African countries and the wider international community. China will work with the international community to make efforts in this regard," the envoy noted. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 10:30:56|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Assets under management of public offering funds in China climbed to 22.91 trillion yuan (3.55 trillion U.S. dollars) by the end of May, data from the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC) showed. The volume was up from 22.51 trillion yuan registered by the end of April, according to AMAC, an industry body supervised by China's securities regulator. China had 135 asset management companies by the end of May, including 44 joint ventures and 91 domestic companies. At the end of May, 13 securities firms or asset management subsidiaries under securities firms, as well as two insurance asset management companies, had obtained qualifications for the management of public offering funds, AMAC data showed. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 10:41:49|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MACAO, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government has expressed strong opposition to reference relating to Macao in the 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report, issued lately by the U.S. Department of State. The report ranked the Macao SAR as on the Tier 2 Watch List. The Macao SAR government security authorities said on Friday that they found such references on Macao in the report "extremely unreasonable and unacceptable." The Macao SAR government is determined to combat the crime of human trafficking, and has been relentless in its efforts in this regard, said the Office of the Secretary for Security under the SAR government. The SAR government, while following local laws and international standard, has given its full support to its Human Trafficking Deterrent Measures Concern Committee and coordinated with all sectors of the community for the protection of victims, and the formulation of preventive and combative measures, the office said. The Macao SAR government has been combating human trafficking effectively under the supervision of the local judiciary. The decline in cases relating to human trafficking and labor exploitation recorded in recent years well demonstrates the efficient collaboration between the SAR government and local communities. The self-styled U.S. report, nonetheless, has for years continuously ignored objective facts by giving wrong interpretations, false deductions and unreasonable speculation. This is especially seen by its ignorance on and bias against Macao SAR's related laws and independent judiciary system, and the false accusations about the efficacy of the SAR government's efforts to prevent and fight against the crimes, said the office. The combating of crimes relating the trafficking in persons has long been a matter of consensus among the international community. The Macao SAR government has formulated relevant pieces of legislation and mechanisms for coordination and enforcement in this regard. These efforts showcase the government's resolution, along with the efforts of the community, to prevent and combat all kinds of human trafficking-related crimes, and to protect the legitimate rights of residents and visitors, according to the office. In addition, the security authorities will step up international and regional exchange and cooperation in order to explore jointly strategies to prevent and combat any form of human trafficking and exploitation, added the office. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 16:27:30|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Four China-Europe freight trains, packed with containers of goods, set off from China's Guangdong and Hunan simultaneously for central Asia and Europe on Thursday. The four trains, loaded with 200 containers of goods, are headed to Germany, Russia and Belarus. They are expected to arrive in about two weeks, according to Sinotrans. The goods carried by the trains include medical supplies to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, toys, electronic items, furniture and bicycle frames. Since the first China-Europe freight train was launched in March 2011, the service has reached more than 160 cities in 22 European countries. Countries along the international freight route have shown growing interests in cooperation on upgrading logistics chains to speed up post-pandemic recovery. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 16:44:52|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SINGAPORE, July 3 (Xinhua) -- China's young people are proud of being a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and support the country's development path, Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao reported on Friday. Yang Hao (pseudonym), a graduate student who has been in the party for five years, told the newspaper that China's accelerated rise in recent years is inseparable from the leadership of the CPC, and he is proud of his membership. Shen Yumeng, a 29-year-old white collar in Shanghai, told Lianhe Zaobao that China has done better than most western countries in putting the COVID-19 pandemic under control and boosting the economy, giving young people a boost in national pride and a greater appreciation of the CPC's statecraft. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 19:04:12|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BAGHDAD, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Four fishermen were killed and five others injured on Saturday in an attack by militants of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group at a lake in Iraq's western province of Anbar, a local official said. The attack took place before dawn when IS militants opened fire on fishermen at the lake of Haditha Dam near the town of Haditha, some 200 km northwest of the capital Baghdad, the town's mayor Mabrouk al-Jughaifi told Xinhua. During the past months, IS militants have intensified their attacks on the Iraqi security forces in the Sunni province the militants previously controlled, leaving dozens dead and wounded. The security situation in Iraq has been improving since Iraqi security forces fully defeated the IS militants across the country late in 2017. However, IS remnants have since melted in urban areas or deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 19:46:42|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BANGKOK, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Thailand on Saturday reported its highest daily rise in new COVID-19 cases in 47 days at 6,230, while deaths rose by 41. The country's tally now stands at 277,151, and the death toll has reached 2,182, according to the country's Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA). Of the new infections, four were imported and 6,226 were locally transmitted, of which nearly one third were registered in the capital Bangkok. The government currently has no intention to further tighten the existing COVID-19 restrictions, Nataphol Narkpanich, head of the CCSA subcommittee, was quoted as saying by local media. To fight the latest surge in infections, Thailand reimposed its dine-in ban in Bangkok and neighboring provinces late in June after lifting it one and half months ago. As of Friday, more than 10.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Thailand, with about 4.4 percent of its population fully vaccinated, CCSA data showed. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 20:29:59|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAIRO, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated on Saturday the 3rd of July Naval Base in Gargoub on Egypt's northwest coast, the Egyptian Presidency said in a statement. Covering an area of 10 million square meters along the Mediterranean, the new base is considered Egypt's largest naval base. The 3rd of July Naval Base is a new addition to the Egyptian naval base system, a part of the comprehensive development plan for the naval forces, the statement said. The inauguration ceremony was attended by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the Libyan Presidency Council Mohamed Menfi and Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. The naval surface units, submarines, and aircraft at the base will provide security for Egypt along the northern and western strategic directions, preserve its economic wealth, secure shipping lines, and maintain maritime security, the statement said. The base also provides logistical support for the Egyptian naval forces in the Red and Mediterranean seas to confront any challenges and risks that may exist in the region and to combat smuggling and illegal immigration, it added. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 20:34:25|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MANILA -- The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported on Saturday 5,908 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 1,430,419. "If you look at the overall situation, (the country) is at low-risk classification. But there are still regions showing a spike or surge in cases," Health Secretary Francisco Duque said in a radio interview. - - - - TEHRAN -- Iran will increase its oil production to pre-sanctions level "as soon as possible," the country's Minister of Oil Bijan Zanganeh said Friday, official news agency IRNA reported. "Whenever the sanctions are lifted, we will return to the market in the shortest possible time and take production at least to its pre-sanctions level," Zanganeh told reporters. - - - - MINSK -- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko ordered the country's border guard to completely close the border with Ukraine, the Belarusian state news agency Belta reported Friday. "I am astounded by the amount of weapons being smuggled from Ukraine to Belarus," Lukashenko said in his speech dedicated to Belarus Independence Day, according to Belta. - - - - MOGADISHU -- Somalia's government on Saturday condemned the suicide bombing attack in Mogadishu on Friday evening that left 10 people dead and dozens injured. "The horrific and callous attack by al-Shabab terrorists shows they targeting innocent people which makes it our duty to co-operate together to fight terrorism," Prime Minister Mohamed Roble said in a statement. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 21:31:45|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A man excavates the roots of Salvadora Persica, which is locally known as the "toothbrush tree", in Hajjah Province, north Yemen on July 1, 2021. In Yemen, Salvadora Persica spreads along the Red Sea's hot and dry coastal plain, where many people use its roots to clean teeth and thousands of families have tried to sell them as a source of income even since before the civil war. (Photo by Mohammed Al-Wafi/Xinhua) HAJJAH, Yemen, July 3 (Xinhua) -- In Yemen, Salvadora Persica, otherwise known as the toothbrush tree, spreads along the Red Sea's hot and dry coastal plain, where many people use its roots to clean teeth and thousands of families have tried to sell them as a source of income even since before the civil war. Yemen has been mired in the civil war since late 2014 when the Houthi rebels seized control of several northern cities and forced the internationally recognized government out of the capital Sanaa, which has devastated the country's economy, pushing millions to the brink of famine. "We work for hours to collect a handful of the roots. We first search for suitable roots near the surface, and then we dig a wide hole about one meter deep below the tree. Finally, we sell the roots to shops and street vendors," Naif Abdo Al-Jaidi, a resident in the Midi district of the northern province of Hajjah, told Xinhua. "Our business thrived in the years before the war, but the war has hampered everything, forcing us to flee our homes several times and causing the closure of many markets and roads in and between the cities," Al-Jaidi said. "The war has turned our lives into hell," he added. Al-Jaidi, his brothers, and their families start their work in the morning or early evening to escape the summer heat, which soars up to 40 degrees Celsius at noon. They cut the roots that look like stick-shaped slim twigs and have moist bark with a fragrant scent, before burying the pits and leaving to allow the tree to continue to grow. They then peel the roots into short sticks and the top end into a brush. This natural toothbrush called Miswak in Yemen is now ready for sale. Abdo Bari, 55, is also struggling to collect the roots to sell them in exchange for a meal for his family. "We collect a few roots now and we hardly sell them. This business is no longer feasible after the outbreak of the war, which led to the rising prices of fuel and transport, as well as the closure of many markets and main roads between cities ... The situation has become very difficult," Bari said. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 21:42:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani criticized on Saturday the lack of apology from the U.S. government for more than three decades for downing an Iranian airliner in 1988, official news agency IRNA reported. "The U.S. government has to know that it committed a very big crime in the Gulf in 1988," Rouhani said in a meeting. U.S. apologies, compensation, and an explanation about the reason why awards were given to "the killers and perpetrators of this great crime" are still expected, Rouhani noted. On July 3, 1988, a surface-to-air missile fired from a U.S. warship stationed in the Gulf hit an Airbus A300 from Iran's capital Tehran to Dubai, killing all 290 passengers on board. Washington claimed that its forces were acting in self-defense after having mistaken the airliner for a F-14 Tomcat jet fighter. The crew of the U.S. ship received awards at the end of their mission. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 22:12:42|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close "If I were to decide on my career again, I would still sign up for the peacekeeping mission without hesitation," says a peacekeeper of China's 7th peacekeeping infantry battalion to South Sudan. Far from home, Chinese military peacekeepers have made concrete efforts to bring peace and hope to war-afflicted people. Check out their story. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-04 07:07:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LIMA, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Peru's security forces seized a shipment of 236 kilograms of cocaine at the port of the coastal province of Callao, the Anti-Drug Directorate of the National Police reported on Saturday. According to the police report, the drugs seized were discovered inside a container at the port's APM Terminals and were destined for the city of Antwerp in Belgium. "Inside, four suitcases were found with a total of approximately 236 kilos of cocaine," explained the Anti-Drug Directorate. According to prosecutor Ruben Quispe, the illicit shipment came from Bolivia, with a stopover in Chile, and was hidden in a shipment of gold and silver. Officials noted that this shipment could bring in over 7 million euros (about 8.3 million U.S. dollars) in Europe. During the first six months of 2021, the security forces seized more than four tons of cocaine in the country during various operations as part of the fight against international drug trafficking. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-29 10:17:56|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KIGALI, June 28 (Xinhua) -- About 35,000 people have been arrested in different parts of Rwanda over the last four days since the announcement of new measures to contain further spread of COVID-19 in the country, the police said Monday. The number is "so huge" compared to previous incidents when about 11,000 people were arrested in one week for violating COVID-19 preventive measures, said John Bosco Kabera, police spokesperson in a live talk with Rwanda Television about the progress made by the police to ensure citizen adherence to new measures. The arrestees included those motorists who violated curfew time, those who were selling alcohol from their homes, or operating bars, sauna and massage parlors, and people visiting infected friends and relatives in isolation, said Kabera. He warned that anyone who contravenes the lockdown regulations will be found guilty of a criminal offence and be punished by relevant laws. The Rwandan government announced last Wednesday that movements between the capital city Kigali and the rest of the country will be prohibited except for essential services and goods transportation, as a response to the recent rise of COVID-19 infections. As of Sunday evening, Rwanda registered a total of 36,627 COVID-19 cases with 27,090 recoveries and 420 deaths from the disease. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 09:17:47|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KIGALI, July 2 (Xinhua) -- A climate adaptation project in eastern Rwanda has been approved by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) on Friday, the country's Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning said in a statement. The total GCF financing of the project is 33.7 million U.S. dollars. The funding will be used to restore over 60,000 hectares of drought-degraded landscapes in the country's Eastern Province into climate resilient ecosystems. The six-year project will also promote clean and efficient cooking energy technologies to more than 100,000 households, and climate resilient markets and supply chains, and bolster the capacity of communities, read the statement. "We believe that the project will strongly transform Rwanda's Eastern Province through adaptation, and it will make it resilient to climate change," Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Uzziel Ndagijimana said in a statement. GCF is the world's largest climate fund supporting developing countries in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing their ability to respond to climate change. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 09:20:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ACCRA, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Ghana confirmed a community infection of the Delta variant of COVID-19 on Friday, the Ministry of Information said. "The Ghana Health Service informed the COVID-19 Task Force on Friday that the Delta Variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus had been recorded within a community in the latest round of genomic sequencing," said the ministry in a release. Without specifying the location and the number of these infections, the ministry said, "the relevant agencies are taking the necessary steps to contain the spread, and the positive persons are in good health." On June 22, Ghana first confirmed six cases of COVID-19 Delta variants among passengers arriving in the country. The West African country confirmed 85 new infections Friday, bringing the national count to 95,914 with 796 deaths. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 09:34:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KAMPALA, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan authorities said if they could immunize more than 21 million people, or nearly half the population, COVID-19 would be put at bay. But procuring vaccines remains uncertain as one of the main manufacturers India is battling the raging virus at home and prioritizing domestic use. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has previously said although the country has received doses of the COVID-19 vaccines through donations, it is now considering purchasing the vaccines or even producing them locally if it could secure the necessary raw materials. In a televised update about the pandemic on Friday, Minister of Health Ruth Aceng said the government would procure an additional 11 million doses, among which 9 million are AstraZeneca and 2 million Johnson and Johnson. "The ministry of health has concluded the initial legal requirements to procure 2 million of Johnson and Johnson vaccine through Africa Export-Import Bank and the African Union. The process is ongoing," said Aceng. "Legal requirements to procure 9 million doses of vaccines through the COVAX facility under the cost sharing framework have been concluded and funds have been remitted for this. So we wait for feedback on when we can receive the doses from the COVAX facility," she said. COVAX is a global initiative to boost the equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. She said there are ongoing talks to acquire vaccines from Cuba, Russia, China and the United Kingdom in addition to COVAX. The Ministry of Health recently announced that this month it will receive over 882,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine through COVAX. At least 300,000 doses of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine are also expected to arrive this month. The country last month received 175,200 AstraZeneca doses with support from the United Nations Children's Fund and the French Embassy under COVAX. The country in March this year received 864,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine via COVAX and 100,000 doses from the Indian government. As of Friday, a total of 861,645 people had received the first jab of AstraZeneca vaccine and 129,259 had gotten their second jabs, according to the ministry of health. Health experts in Uganda accused developed nations of hoarding vaccines, which has affected the speed of vaccination in Africa. The World Health Organization estimates that by now countries should have vaccinated 20 percent of their populations, but vaccine shortages remain. "As you know the vaccine supply is not as ideal as we would have liked it. We have been promoting vaccine equity and fair distribution and use of vaccines," said Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam, WHO Uganda country representative. Woldemariam said it is not fair for developed countries to deny sufficient vaccine supplies to Africa. Some developed nations overbooked vaccines even before production started, said Woldemariam. "There are countries which have 5 million people but have ordered for 15 million vaccines," the WHO official said. "We should all push for these countries to share their vaccines so that vaccine inequality is addressed," Woldemariam said. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 17:08:33|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MANILA, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported on Saturday 5,908 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 1,430,419. The death toll climbed to 25,063 after 90 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said. The Philippines, with a population of 110 million, has tested more than 14 million people since the outbreak in January 2020. The Philippines "is not out of the woods" yet despite the slowing of transmission in the last two weeks, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said on Saturday. "If you look at the overall situation, (the country) is at low-risk classification. But there are still regions showing a spike or surge in cases," Duque said in a radio interview. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire urged people to continue their vigilance and comply with safety protocols to cut the chain of transmission. "The low-risk classification should not be advertised or encourage people to be complacent," Vergeire said in a televised press conference. "The (COVID-19) situation is very fragile; there are many factors that could trigger a spike in transmission," she added. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 17:25:45|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MOGADISHU, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Somalia's government on Saturday condemned the suicide bombing attack in Mogadishu on Friday evening that left 10 people dead and dozens injured. "The horrific and callous attack by al-Shabab terrorists shows they targeting innocent people which makes it our duty to co-operate together to fight terrorism," Prime Minister Mohamed Roble said in a statement. A suicide bomber wrapped in an explosive vest blew himself up at a tea restaurant in Mogadishu's Shibis district. The scene of the attack is near National Intelligence and Security Agency headquarters and the eatery is frequented by security forces. The Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism said the attack occurred during a busy hour where the victims were enjoying tea at a local eatery. The ministry said the terrorist group has once again proven that its violence has no bounds and will kill indiscriminately. "Al-Shabab only strives to cause pain, destruction and chaos. These ideals have no place in a free Somalia," it said in a statement issued in Mogadishu. An investigation into Friday evening's attack by suspected al-Shabab militants is still ongoing to establish the motive of the attack. It said the Somali National Army and special forces Danab will work tirelessly for the people of Somalia to live in peace, prosperity and free from al-Shabab's indiscriminate crimes. The militant group was routed from Mogadishu in 2011 by the allied forces and has had to abandon most of its strongholds, but it still controls vast rural areas and remains the key threat to peace in Somalia. The latest attack comes barely a week after the government released an electoral calendar in which it plans to hold parliamentary and presidential elections by October. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 14:18:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ULAN BATOR, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia reported 17 more deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, a record daily death toll, bringing the national count to 631, the country's health ministry said Saturday. The ministry also reported 2,401 new cases, raising the nationwide tally to 122,740. The total number of recoveries rose to 82,933, including 1,457 new recoveries reported in the last 24 hours. Mongolia launched a national vaccination campaign in late February, aiming to vaccinate at least 60 percent of its population of 3.3 million. So far, more than 2,053,700 Mongolians have received first dose, and over 1,756,400 have been fully vaccinated. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 20:57:57|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NEW DELHI, July 3 (Xinhua) -- India's main opposition Congress party on Saturday demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Rafale aircraft deal, saying it was the only way forward to find the truth about "corruption" in the purchase of the fighter jets. The party said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should come forward and order the investigation into the deal. The demand came after French investigative website Mediapart reported that a French judge has been appointed to lead a "highly sensitive" judicial investigation into alleged "corruption and favoritism" in the 7.8-billion-euro (9.2-billion-U.S. dollar) sale to India in 2016 of 36 Dassault-built Rafale fighters. "In view of the latest revelations, it becomes all the more scandalous," said a statement issued by the Congress party. "The facts now clearly call for a thorough JPC probe in Rafale scam." Congress party spokesman Randeep Surjewala said since the matter deals with national security and identity, a fair and independent JPC probe is the only way out and not the Supreme Court. "When the French government has accepted that there is corruption in the deal, why should a JPC probe not be held in the country where the corruption took place?" Surjewala said. "Will the Prime Minister, like the French, now answer to the nation and tell when he will submit his government to a JPC probe into the Rafale scam?" Surjewala said a JPC probe will be able to call witnesses and will be able to have access to all government files which the Supreme Court or the Central Vigilance Commission could never see. India in 2016 signed a deal with France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets in a bid to bolster the country's military image. Congress and other opposition parties alleged the ruling Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) has indulged in gross corruption while finalising the deal and demanded a JPC probe into the matter. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 06:19:05|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, July 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Oakland Zoo has inoculated some of its animals against COVID-19 this week using an experimental vaccine formulated for animals, according to a report by San Francisco Chronicle on Friday. So far, the zoo has vaccinated tigers, grizzly and black bears, mountain lions and ferrets, the report said. The list of animals to receive a shot was selected because of their unique vulnerability for contracting COVID-19, according to Alex Herman, vice president of veterinary services at Oakland Zoo. "Those are real cases where animals have become mildly sick, gravely ill or even died, and that's why we're being so proactive," she was quoted as saying. None of the animals at Oakland Zoo have gotten the virus, she added. The vaccine was developed by the animal health company Zoetis. Oakland Zoo received its first shipment of 100 vaccine doses on Tuesday. The company is donating more than 11,000 doses of its new vaccine to nearly 70 zoos, as well as more than a dozen conservatories, sanctuaries, academic institutions and government organizations in 27 states, according to Zoetis. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 06:37:15|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close OTTAWA, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Seven people, including four children, were killed in a house fire in Chestermere, Canada on Friday, according to CTV. The fire broke out early Friday morning in the city, about 16 kilometers east of Calgary in Alberta province. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 21:51:22|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Huang Kunming, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, addresses a teleconference on studying, publicizing, and implementing the guiding principles of the important speech by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, at the ceremony on July 1 marking the Party's centenary, in Beijing, capital of China, July 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Ding Lin) BEIJING, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official Huang Kunming has called on people working in public communication to thoroughly study an important speech by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, at the ceremony marking the Party's centenary on July 1. Huang, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks at a teleconference Saturday. Huang stressed gaining a profound understanding of the spirit of Xi's speech, precisely grasping the requirements in practice and generating enthusiasm for people to study the speech and implement its guiding principles. He called for efforts to publicize the great feat of realizing the first centenary goal and the principle of learning from history to create a bright future on a new journey toward socialist modernization. Huang also emphasized the need to coordinate learning, public communication, elaboration, and international communication of the speech and encourage the Party and the Chinese people to continue to make new achievements. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-03 22:06:44|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Recipients of national titles of outstanding Party members, exemplary Party workers, and representatives of advanced community-level Party organizations attended a symposium on Saturday to celebrate the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Senior CPC official Chen Xi addressed the symposium, calling on attendees to stay true to the Party's original aspiration and founding mission and to work tirelessly toward fully building a modern socialist China and realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. Chen, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the CPC Central Committee's Organization Department, said Party organizations at all levels, Party members and officials nationwide should learn from those honored to stay loyal to the Party with firm convictions. He also emphasized the importance of serving the people, shouldering responsibilities, dedication, and upholding morality to better play an exemplary role. Eight honorees delivered speeches at the symposium. Enditem As part of the regional operational plan to curb illicit drug trafficking and related activities within the West Coast Region, operatives of the Drug Law Enforcement Agency The Gambia (DLEAG) has apprehended four suspects including minors at diverse places for being in possession of prohibited drugs for the purpose of drug trafficking. The three minors arrested have been handed over to the Agency's Gender, Human Rights and Child Welfare unit for further processing. Confirming the development to The Point Newspaper, Ousman Saidybah, spokesperson of the narcotic agency, said the three minors who are all 16 years are Gambian nationals and were clutched on the 13th June at a village near Brikama at around 20:26 hrs. "They were nabbed with 14 big bundles of suspected cannabis. The said cannabis were wrapped in brown papers and concealed in white bags tied to the unregistered Black Lifan Motorcycle that they were riding on." In a similar but separate development, Saidybah said, a17-year-old and a resident in one of the villages in Foni District was arrested at Mandinaba Police check point while onboard a 'Gele Gele' commercial vehicle heading to the Kombos. "He was arrested on the 11 June 2021 around 17:00hrs onwards with two (2) big bundles of suspected cannabis sativa. The said suspected cannabis were wrapped in a white paper, sellotaped, covered with a multi colour cloth and concealed in a brown travelling bag." The DLEAG PRO further added that one Essa Ceesay an adult male Gambian, a fisherman and a resident of Tanji village was arrested at Tampoto village with three (3) big bundles of suspected cannabis and eight (8) stones of hashish. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Gambia Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "He was arrested on the 13 June 2021 around 17:00hrs onwards. He is presently in custody while investigation into the matter continues." "It is equally important to note that the cases mentioned here only relates to those arrested for the purpose of drug trafficking. Several other persons were arrested for drug possession in diverse places across the region and the country at large." "We must join hands to sensitise and educate them as well as provide alternatives for our teens." The future of this country lies with the youths. They are the leaders of tomorrow and they can only be prepared for such roles or undertakings today," the Narcotic Agency PRO advises, while underlining the Agency's relentless commitment in curbing drug trafficking and possession. Operatives of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested one hundred and forty four (144) male suspects. The suspects were arrested during the raiding of blackspots in Ebutte Meta area of Lagos State on Wednesday 30th June, 2021 by a combined team of operatives from the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Command's Special Squad and Taskforce. Confirming the arrest, the spokesperson Lagos State Police Command CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi said that "the raid was at the instance of the intelligence reports and the special request for assistance from the neighborhood to dislodge criminals hibernating in some of the shanties in the area". "Many dangerous weapons and substances suspected to be indian hemp, drugs, suspected stolen items etc were recovered from them .The suspects will be arraigned in court as urgent as possble." However, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Hakeem Odumosu, has reiterated his commitment to flush miscreants and hoodlums out of Lagos State and secure public space in the State. He further warned sponsors and aiders of hoodlums and criminals in the State to desist from such criminal acts and turn a new leaf as the Command will not spare anyone caught promoting crimes and violence in Lagos State SOCIAL worker Doris Roos has one message during the Covid-19 pandemic: Avoid funerals. "Can we do it over the telephone?" Roos pleads in a video which circulated on social media in June. Roos knows what she is talking about. Six years ago, she was part of a United Nations (UN) team sent to Sierra Leone to fight the deadly Ebola virus. "In Sierra Leone, during the Ebola outbreak, I have seen how large numbers in communities are wiped out. We would go into communities to provide psychosocial support, and we would go from house to house, which were closed with planks - clearly showing everybody in the house had died," Roos says. According to the BBC, nearly 4 000 people died of the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone between 2013 and 2016. By Wednesday, 1 556 deaths linked to Covid-19 were recorded in Namibia. Roos is currently a lecturer at the University of Namibia (Unam). The university has lost at least 11 staff members and five students. "We are living in different times. The pandemic we are facing is of such nature that people are dying every day, and it means we have to show respect and empathise with people who have lost loved ones," she says. She warns that communities would be wiped out like in Sierra Leone if Namibians continue to ignore Covid-19 regulations. "You attend a funeral today, and in two weeks' time, people are planning your funeral," she says. Roos says people should express their sympathy telephonically and not in person. Although the government prohibits more than 10 people to attend a funeral, a large number of mourners were seen at the funerals of prominent people who passed away recently. Roos encourages people to host virtual memorial and funeral services on social media platforms. RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES She joins calls by leaders and other residents who are worried that defiance of Covid-19 regulations at funerals could lead to more deaths. John Likando, councillor of the Kabbe South constituency in the Zambezi region, says if nothing is done, the impact of the virus on rural communities will be huge. He fears that more people in the constituency could be spreading the virus unknowingly as they spend time in close proximity to each other and in rooms with little or no ventilation during mourning periods. "The challenge is the ongoing burials in villages that are not monitored by the police. This seems to be increasing the number of infections. We also have a problem of people with symptoms of Covid-19 not willing to be tested when they are not well. They prefer to steam," Likando says. He says people should not be allowed to gather before the test results of a deceased person are known. Governor of the Omusati region Erginus Endjala says a number of communities in the region continue to defy the ban on large crowds - despite several warnings by law-enforcement agencies. "People have misunderstood their rights - every right comes with respect and responsibility. The spread of Covid-19 is caused by our own ignorance and attitudes, because we do not want to adhere to the regulations," Endjala says. CULTURE AND TRADITIONS Aletha Frederick, the governor of the //Kharas region, says culture and tradition play a key role in people's funeral attendance. "How do you tell a person you cannot come to this funeral? How do you exempt one and allow another? So, funerals are difficult to enforce these regulations on," she says. Ongandjera Traditional Authority spokesperson Sakeus Shangula says some community members keep showing up in big numbers at funerals and weddings. He says regulations are often contravened on the eve of weddings during the performing of rituals. He says older people want to be part of those events so they can dance, eat meat and drink alcohol. SUPERSPREADER EVENTS Oshana governor Elia Irimari says: "I personally have observed funerals being attended by 10 people only. I'm really impressed by such people because it shows how serious the communities are adhering to the regulations. They should continue with the same trend," he says. Minister of health and social services Kalumbi Shangula in February raised concerns about burials being superspreader events. "The aim was and still remains to protect those who are attending the burial from contracting the virus. I always say we do not wish that one burial results in more burials," he said at the time. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia Coronavirus By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Shangula has also previously warned families of the deceased to serve meals at funerals on a take-away basis, and to restrict any visitations. "Serving meals at funerals is an unnecessary expense and is discouraged. Visitations must be restricted. This shall apply to all funerals - irrespective of the cause of death," Shangula says. UNDERTAKERS MUST HELP Erongo governor Neville Andre says he will engage the police on strengthening operations to monitor burials. "I know it can be difficult not to bury your loved ones, but you need to save your life and the lives of those around you. Send messages to the bereaved family, and let us arrange virtual services if possible," he says. Andre called on undertakers to assist mourners in maintaining protocols during funeral services and to ensure people wear masks, social distance and that sanitisers are available. He says those handling coffins must also be protected by protective gear, and should not share tools such as spades at gravesites. Meanwhile, //Kharas police commissioner David Indongo says fines will soon be imposed on Namibians disregarding regulations. The Office of the Chief Justice has announced that Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has assumed responsibilities as Acting Chief Justice with effect from yesterday. The Office said on Friday that the acting capacity of Madam Justice S S V Khampepe as Acting Deputy Chief Justice ended on 30 June 2021. President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Madam Justice S S V Khampepe as Acting Deputy Chief Justice following the Chief Justice taking a long leave. As the Chief Justice is still on long leave as made known on 06 May 2021, and by application of the relevant legislation namely section 4 (2) (b) of the Superior Courts Act, 2013, the Deputy Chief Justice will exercise the powers or perform the functions of the Chief Justice as the Acting Chief Justice. "The work of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State, has now, despite the extension, reached a stage that the Deputy Chief Justice will be in a position to fulfil his responsibilities as Acting Chief Justice while attending to the finalisation of the Commission's work," the Office of the Chief Justice said in a statement. In terms of Regulation 8 of the Judges Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act, Judges leave is not cumulative and therefore had the Chief Justice not taken his leave it would have been forfeited as it has happened on previous occasions. President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday received the first set of recommendations from the Presidential Climate Commission. The commission was established on 15 December 2020 to advise government on pathways to transition to a low-carbon economy and climate resilient society. It is comprised of representatives from business, labour, NGOs, the science community and government and its recommendations are the product of engagement between the social partners. The commission's first set of recommendations deals with South Africa's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) which is a statement by the country of its commitment to address climate change, made in terms of the Paris agreement and submitted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Paris Agreement was born out of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action developed at COP17 under South Africa's leadership. South Africa continues to advocate for a just transition sensitive to the needs of developing countries, especially those on the African continent. At COP26, South Africa will submit a credible NDC that reflects increased ambition. The commission highlighted the risks South Africa faces from a rapidly decarbonising global economy. Many of South Africa's trading partners have adopted net-zero targets, and will be looking to lower their emissions and impose trade barriers on emissions-intensive products. The commission also suggested that additional measures to lower emissions should be undertaken, such as decommissioning coal-fired power stations at the end of their commercial life, increasing renewable energy investment and rolling out green transport initiatives. Setting more ambitious emissions targets will lower the transition risk, improve energy security and attract additional international finance. "Higher ambition is possible without negatively impacting the economy, and will set the stage for longer term competitiveness. Also, higher ambition will lead to a net jobs increase," Commission Deputy Chair Valli Moosa said. However, the commission pointed out that international support will be needed to accelerate the transition, including for managing the decommissioning process and social adjustment costs in the coal sector. President Ramaphosa welcomed the report and commended the commission on producing its first set of recommendations within such a short timeframe. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "The country's emissions targets are fundamental not only to our transition to a low carbon economy, they are also critical in influencing the pace and the nature of our country's transformation. "A more ambitious approach to reducing our emissions must be accompanied by greater attention to the work we must do to protect communities, jobs and the broader economy from the effects of climate change," President Ramaphosa said. The President will consider the recommendations made by the commission. These recommendations, together with other submissions received during the public consultation process, will form part of Cabinet's deliberations as it finalises the updated and revised NDC. President Ramaphosa encouraged the commission to continue with its work, which is crucial for successfully steering the country through the climate transition. The commission's report can be downloaded from: www.climatecommission.org.za. Historian and Novelist Jeff Pearce announced that Ethiopia has now turned its face towards fresh opportunities and diversifying its economy after saddled with a mind-boggling debt created by the TPLF terrorist organization and its war. In his article entitled "Ethiopia to TPLF: No More Free Lunch" published on jeffpearce.medium.com, the historian said that Ethiopia is no longer footing the bill of the terrorist TPLF since the declaration of the unilateral ceasefire on June 28, 2021. "Currently, the terrorist group apologists and lobby firm in different countries are crying for the traitor group and devising strategies on how to deliver artillery and ammunitions by the name of humanitarian assistance. The Tigrayans living abroad are also raising money for terrorism," he stated. As to him, it is quite clear that all these machinations to destabilize the country have puppeteers standing in the shadows behind the TPLF. Egypt is hell bent on stopping GERD, and the U.S. seems hell bent on pleasing Egypt, he added. He said, therefore, if the U.S. and EU want to treat an ally like an enemy, it's time for Ethiopia to get new friends, adding that, It's also time for Ethiopia to reach out and resume its place as a leader of Pan-African interests. The terrorist TPLF organization activists and lobbyists are now demanding to restore power and communications after murdered several power and communications workers and repeatedly vandalized and destroyed the infrastructure like transportation, electricity, telecom, among others. The terrorist group leaders are now threatening to invade Eritrea and the Amhara state rejecting the Ethiopian government's call for the unilateral ceasefire. opinion Part One: In 2015, while the war with ISIS was still going on, I had the opportunity to visit a Peshmerga base where I leaned on sandbags, and my fixer pointed out a village two kilometers away, held by one of the most despicable terrorist organizations on Earth. To the world at the time, the evil of ISIS seemed a horrible yet seemingly permanent fixture of world politics. I met refugees from Mosul in a camp not far away from Erbil, people who lost practically everything. But in about three years, coalition forces would plow into Mosul and liberate the town. And in all that time, as the world collectively held its breath and barely had an idea of how people fared "behind the lines" in Iraq and Syria, and as these psychopaths beheaded captured soldiers and even a respected, downright beloved archaeologist in Palmyra, I did not hear anyone once float the asinine idea of... "Well, ISIS doesn't have power over there, and they don't have communications, and they're running out of food." The notion would have been ludicrous. Insane. It. Was. A. War. In 1945, the Nazis sent little boys, their sobbing faces sometimes captured in film footage, to run out with rifles to defend what remained of the Third Reich. Can anyone believe that American soldiers wanted to shoot children? Mow them down with machine guns? But what choice did the soldiers have? Does anyone think that when bombing raids were made on Berlin or Munich that the Allies wanted civilian casualties out of this? (And yes, I'm well aware of the atrocity of Dresden; after that, we can chat about what the Nazis did while invading Poland). And yet the Allies dealt with an enemy of pure evil, one that did not think twice about bombing the East End of London into such rubble that to this day, Brits will wryly refer to a newish section of town as "Oh, yes, this was German relandscaping... " What you did not hear was the enemy bleating, "You big meanies, our power's cut off!" No shit, asshole, you invaded the Poland, Holland, France, etc... Now the world has gone insane. In what twisted reality does a terrorist organization have the right to demand "restore power and comms" while it vows to destroy the very government providing those services? And even as its leaders threaten to invade more territory? Because lest we forget, the ceasefire offer was barely a day old when Getachew Reda bragged to one of the TPLF's favorite propagandists, Cara Anna of Associated Press, "We'll stop at nothing to liberate every square inch" of Tigray. To Getachew, the unilateral ceasefire was a "sick joke," and "if there is still a menace next door," he and his thugs would go on a spree against Eritrea or regions with Amhara populations. None of this has made any impression on Robert Godec, acting assistant secretary of state for the U.S. State Department's Bureau of African Affairs, who told the Foreign Affairs Committee in Congress the next day, "If the [Ethiopian] government's announcement of cessation of hostilities does not result in improvements, and the situation continues to worsen, Ethiopia and Eritrea should anticipate further actions." But... No such ultimatum issued to the TPLF. No recognition of responsibility on the TPLF's part at all. And yet at that same hearing, Godec acknowledged that the TPLF started the conflict. "We need gov't of Ethiopia to lift comms blackout, Amhara forces to open 3 major roads and UN and other donors to continue to scale up aid," tweeted the Lead for the USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance last night. How about, "No?" Hey, USAID, you wanted this mess, it's yours. How dare you ask for road access and the blackout lifted -- and for what the Ethiopian government rightly considers a terrorist group that attacked its armed forces? Go use Mekelle airport for aid drops. Some will say that we won't know what's being smuggled in with aid transported by air, but quite frankly at this point, the security of Ethiopia's territory outweighs the logistics, manpower, and regular abuse Ethiopian authorities will endure if they need to continue checking aid convoys. To hell with them, Roads are closed. Get your own damn aid from your American buddies. Need comms? Start building cell towers. Especially when, according to sources, the TPLF, in fact, murdered several workers who tried to restore power service and communications after the terrorists repeatedly vandalized the infrastructure. The U.S. and EU, the care providers for the entitled, spoiled and psychopathic child known as the TPLF, are telling the world the equivalent of, "Yeah, I know my kid just vandalized your store and puked on your cashier's shoes, but you owe him a new Xbox." State Department representatives get awfully quiet when one asks why the TPLF, which was designated a terrorist group under Homeland Security's Global Terrorism Database, can seemingly do no wrong in the eyes of the Biden administration. If we look further, however, we can get a clue. The fix has been in for years. Abebe Gallaw noted an interesting mindset on the part of the keepers of the GTD. If a government does it, well, that's not terrorism, that's "state terrorism," so not included -- geddit? And by 2013, the U.S. Attorney General's office, along with Secretary of State John Kerry and Homeland Security, got the bright idea of exempting the TPLF from the normal rules that would apply to a terrorist organization regarding one of its members immigrating into the United States. Remember when folks wanted to sue the asses of those in the diaspora raising cash for the TPLF? First, the money was supposed to be for innocents, but in a shamelessly brazen move, the fundraisers announced to their faithful that oh, no, they changed their minds and were diverting the money to their PR and lobbying efforts. No doubt a good portion of it found its way into the bank accounts of Von Batten-Montague-York, their lobby firm that should have a villain cameo in the next James Bond flick. And the cry went up, Sue them! They're raising money for terrorism! Only those of us who made that argument never had a chance. Note the exemptions of "activities" by the TPLF granted by Kerry and Company: On its face, yes, this is a policy related to immigration eligibility criteria. But it's quite obvious that if you keep the terrorist designation on the books while doing an end-run around the whole point of designating terrorist groups, something else is going on. A year later, Susan Rice stood in the White House press briefing room as Barack Obama's National Security Advisor and laughed after claiming Ethiopia's election that year was a "100 percent" democratic election. No one in Ethiopia laughed. And Rice is not welcome there any time soon. And so now we're fully immersed in a weird, wild, Tim Burton world in which Von Batten-Montague-York can claim the Addis government's declaration of TPLF as a terrorist group was done for "political and strategic purposes." Gee, I guess only the United States is allowed to say who the bad guys are. Fun fact: long before the U.S. decided it would barge into Iraq on a pointless search for fictional WMDs; it wanted to assassinate a general named Abdul Karim Qassim in 1958. Guess who the U.S. hired as part of a six-man hit squad? Saddam Hussein. It's a great story: Saddam was completely incompetent, wound up getting shot by another member of his own team while another idiot got a hand grenade stuck in his coat, and then Saddam fled to Cairo, where the CIA babysat him for a while. I still can't believe this stuff wasn't a bigger deal back in 2003. But then again, maybe I should... Because here are the Western spin doctors at it again. "Ethiopian officials threaten to send troops back into Tigray," shouts the Guardian, for a piece written by Jason Burke. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ethiopia Governance Conflict By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Why is it that we have to scroll down several paragraphs to find the boasts of Getachew Reda reported by the AP? Okay, standard inverted pyramid structure, journalism 101, lead with your most up-to-date info -- but it's incredibly misleading, even downright deceitful, to present the Ethiopian government as threatening to break the ceasefire when the comments were made Wednesday and after Getachew Reda issued his sinister promises to go invade other territory. No matter how despicable, it seems there are those who are determined to let the TPLF have its way. Nic Cheeseman, columnist for South Africa's The Mail and Guardian, wins "Pompous Douche of the Week" Award by accusing analyst Bronwyn Bruton of being "disingenuous" and pushing what looks like "bias"... only to advance on the same day the stupidest rationale I've come across yet to justify media bias. Who the hell decides who the "underdog?" is as we've seen, lately, it seems to be the top dogs. Under Cheeseman's rules of warped reality, we should all be celebrating those terrorist acts in Europe by the Red Brigades. Hooray! After all, Italy was a "dominant power" with "advantages," wasn't it? Sorry, Aldo Moro, you were shot and dumped in the trunk of a Renault by "underdog" heroes. Hooray, Boko Haram! You're free to go commit the vilest attacks because Nic Cheeseman noticed that Nigeria is a "dominant power." And this guy is a Professor of Democracy and International Development at the University of Birmingham. He used to run the African Studies Centre at Oxford. That is truly frightening. It has been, to put it mildly, a confusing and depressing week for Ethiopians and those in the diaspora who want to make sense of the ceasefire and who hope something good can come out of this debacle after months of their native land getting beaten up and treated like an international pariah. Editor's Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald The unilateral humanitarian ceasefire the government announced in Tigray State changes the longstanding culture of fighting till the last bullet and showcases its commitment to peace and stability in Ethiopia and the East African region at large, said Defend Ethiopia Taskforce Co-founder. Speaking to The Ethiopian Herald, one of the Co- founders of the Taskforce, Zelalem Tesema stated that the truce is also a window of opportunity to global actors to understand the government's devotion to public well-being. Zelalem further noted that the decision has garnered wider international acceptance and accolade and the majority of the international partners consider it as a significant step to ease the Tigray conflict. Some others; however, try to disseminate false narratives that the evacuation was caused by military loss and want to exploit more concessions out of Ethiopia. As to him, the ceasefire would be a game changer in bringing new dynamics in Ethiopia's somewhat strained relations with the West in enabling the latter to test the terrorist TPLF remnant commitment for peace and stability. TPLF has caused mayhem and destroyed public infrastructures including the Tekeze Dam, even after the announcement of the unilateral cessation of hostilities thereby signifying the absence of reciprocal commitment for peace from its side. "The faction may carry on falsely blaming the Ethiopian government, but the reality on the ground requires TPLF to demonstrate its commitment for peace and makes sure that there is no one to blame. Hence, the global community should press the group to adhere to reciprocate to the decision." Commenting on TPLF associates' attempt to present to the military evacuation as initiated by the remnant's military might, Zelalem said that the international community is largely uninterested by the false narrative. Global actors, particularly the West, has given more attention to how they capitalize on the truce for building peace and excelling humanitarian response in Tigray State of Ethiopia. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ethiopia Governance Conflict By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "If the Westerns are interested in who wins militarily, the Ethiopian National Defense Forces are in the striking distance and Ethiopia leaves the military option open in the ceasefire" He highlighted that one of the main outcomes of the truce is it will take the heat out of the diplomatic pressure and help the international community to understand the reality in Tigray. Cease of hostilities is allowing unfettered humanitarian access and averting the development of further sanctions. What is more interesting and strange is some governments' opposition to the ENDF's evacuation from Tigray while they were demanding for such decision for so long. The conspiracy theory of damaging the Tekeze Bridge is to justify some international actors' demand to provide unmonitored air support that may be meant to boost TPLF's insurgency, Zelalem remarked. Dar es Salaam The United States of America has explained the reasons for the country's military plane type C-17 Globemaster landing at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) in Dar es Es Salaam. Photos of the military plane bearing a US flag and initials AMC parked at the JNIA airport started circulating online on Thursday, July 01, with people speculating the reasons behind the plane's arrival - some stating it has brought Covid-19 vaccines.However, a US embassy official, Michael Pryor has cleared the air, explaining that the military aircraft is in Dar es Salaam to deliver supplies for the US embassy. Without mentioning the kinds of supplies that are being offloaded, Mr Pryor said the plane's arrival is routine - a trip that happens at least once a year, delivering important supplies to the US embassy in Tanzania and other neighbouring countries. He said that the plane is expected to jet off soon as they finish offloading the supplies. President Julius Maada Bio speaks during the start of Sierra Leone's vaccination campaign. Sierra Leone's President Julius Maada Bio has reimposed a nationwide curfew as part of new measures aimed at curbing rising Covid-19 cases. President Bio, in a televised address on State broadcaster SLBC on Monday, said the month-long curfew would run from 11pm to 5am. He also banned congregational worship for a month, starting Friday, and said restaurants and bars will close at 9pm daily. The President also announced that funerals, weddings and all other social events will have a maximum of 50 participants. The country is grappling with a third wave, which the government says has seen both infections and fatalities rise exponentially. Data from the National Covid-19 Emergency Response Center (NaCOVERC) show that Sierra Leone has recorded its highest numbers in June. As of Monday, the country had recorded 5,652 cases and 102 deaths. Reasons for concern President Bio said the new anti-virus measures were based on experts' advice, following careful data analysis. He also noted the existence of the deadlier 'Delta' variant of the coronavirus, which NaCOVERC says is fueling the third wave. "More people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last few weeks. More people have been hospitalised and 72 percent of beds in treatment and care centers are occupied. More people are dying and the western area is the epicenter of the latest infections," the President said in his address. "We have assessed the data and carefully examined patterns of infection. We have closely looked at the trends. We believe we must take urgent steps to stem this third wave of the pandemic in Sierra Leone and thus save lives and protect livelihood." The measures will be reviewed regularly as advised by medical experts, Mr Bio said and asked the public to adhere to the basic rules of social distancing, wearing masks and washing hands regularly. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Coronavirus Sierra Leone By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. President Bio also reiterated calls for the public to trust the safety of the Covid-19 vaccine and get the jab. Country's tack record Sierra Leone recorded its first Covid-19 case on March 31, 2020. Since the second wave, the country was praised for keeping cases and fatalities low, compared to its neighbours, until the third wave was confirmed. Two weeks ago, the World Health Organization ranked Sierra Leone, its neighbour Liberia and the southern African nation of Namibia as countries with some of the highest case numbers. Sierra Leone was one of the first countries to impose restrictions, making the move even before recording its first case of the deadly disease. It imposed a one-year state of emergency, a nationwide curfew and occasional lockdowns, restrictions which were lifted exactly a year ago. The eSwatini government on Friday defended a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters even as acting Prime Minister Themba Masuku denied reports of deaths from the brutal force. In a statement on Friday, Masuku suggested the protesters had descended into "criminality", arguing they had looted and damaged property, which according to him was no longer within the rights to picket. He said his office was yet to receive official reports about alleged deaths due to the riots, insisting the army was only called in to protect critical national infrastructure. A government crackdown on pro-democracy protests in eSwatini, has killed dozens after soldiers fired live rounds at protesters, according to lobbies in the country. King Mswati III, Africa's last absolute monarch, has deployed the army in recent days as the landlocked kingdom of 1.2 million people is swamped with demonstrations by people demanding civil and political liberties. They have asked for a Prime Minister they can elect. As it is today, King Mswati III retains absolute authority over his government, and appoints and fires judges, ministers and even the Prime Minister and senior civil servants. Political parties were banned in 1973 and citizens had been using petitions to file grievances. Last month, the government controversially banned those petitions. "No martial law" Mr Masuku said the government will investigate the allegations. "The government has tightened security to reclaim the rule of law, peace and to protect all emaSwati. We will continue not to tolerate looting, arson, violence and all other forms of criminality that are directed at business and people's property," he said. "We have had to call in the army to protect critical national infrastructure and enforce covid-19 regulations. No martial law has been declared." Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Swaziland Governance Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. He added that the government was highly concerned about the events in the country in the past few days. "While we continue to advocate and promote the full expression of all constitutional and human rights, including the right to protest, we cannot condone attacks on emaSwati and their property," he said. "The current riots are also a violation of Covid-19 regulations in place to save lives. The riots have degenerated into criminality and are infringing on many basic and social rights of emaSwatwi, including but not limited to food security, safety, health care and business." Neighbouring South Africa on Thursday called for "total restraint" by the security forces, saying it was concerned about reported loss of life and destruction of property. African Union Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, also raised concerns about violence and looting, asking authorities to stick to the law and address all concerns raised. New York Ethiopian authorities should immediately release all recently arrested journalists and media workers, and ensure that authorities cease harassing members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 1 p.m. on June 30, police raided the office of the independent broadcaster Awlo Media Center in Addis Ababa, the capital, and arrested at least 12 of its employees, according to news reports, the outlet's lawyer Tadele Gebremedhin, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview, and two family members of the detainees, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing safety concerns. Officers detained the employees at the Federal Police Crime Investigation Center, have not brought them to court, and have not stated the reasons for their arrest, according to the family members, who had visited the employees in detention. Separately, police arrested journalist Abebe Bayu yesterday and administrator Yayesew Shimelis today, both with the privately owned YouTube-based broadcaster Ethio Forum, according to Tadele, who is also representing them, those news reports, and Facebook posts by Ethio Forum. The two journalists are also being held at the Federal Police Crime Investigation Center, Tadele said. "Ethiopian authorities should immediately release all employees of Ethio Forum and the Awlo Media Center who were recently arrested in a brutal crackdown," said Angela Quintal, CPJ's Africa program coordinator. "Authorities' brazen raid on the media center and the mass detention of its staff for undisclosed reasons, followed by the arrests of Abebe Bayu and Yayesew Shimelis, is alarming, and further evidence that authorities will go to any length to suppress information and criticism." The arrested Awlo Media Center employees include reporters Bekalu Alamrew, Fanuel Kinfu, Fana Negash, and Miherete Geberkirestos; camera operators Musse Hadra and Nebeyu Mikael; video editors Melkamfire Yemam and Fikerte Yensu; and at least four non-journalistic employees, including accountants, janitors, and technical staff, according to their lawyer. Police also arrested Tewlde Taddesse, a lawyer with the media center, at his home, the employees' family members said. In May, Awlo Media Center registered with the Ethiopian Media Authority as an online media outlet, as required by new regulations in the country, according to a Facebook post by the authority. Last week, unidentified men briefly abducted and attacked Abebe, and Ethio Forum announced that it would temporarily cease broadcasting, as CPJ documented at the time. Abede told CPJ in a phone interview following the incident that the men told him to stop criticizing the government, but did not cite any specific coverage prompting the attack. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Media Ethiopia Human Rights By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Both the Awlo Media Center and Ethio Forum have recently covered the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region, as well as other news topics, according to CPJ reporting and a review of their recent coverage. CPJ called Jeylan Abdi, a federal police spokesperson, who said he had no information about the detentions and referred CPJ to the Federal Police Crime Investigation Center. CPJ called Nadew Alehgn, a spokesperson for the center, but he did not answer. Jeylan later told the Addis Standard, "The journalists were not arrested because of their profession but rather due to their affiliation with a terrorist group which is banned by the parliament." Last year, police arrested Yayesew following his reporting on COVID-19, and arrested Bekalu for allegedly disseminating false news. Both journalists were later released on bail, according to news reports. document United Nations Statement by Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Ramesh Rajasingham As delivered Mr. President, thank you. Just over two weeks ago on 15 June, we briefed the Council on famine in Tigray, with over 350,000 people in catastrophe conditions the worst famine situation we have seen in decades. In the short space of time since then, the situation has worsened dramatically. You have just heard from Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo about the political and security dynamics in Tigray and Ethiopia. What I would like to speak about is the humanitarian situation. This, I am afraid, is more alarming than when you were briefed two and a half weeks ago. Two million people are still displaced and close to 5.2 million people still require humanitarian assistance the great majority of them women and children. One of the most distressing trends is an alarming rise in food insecurity and hunger due to conflict. More than 400,000 people are estimated to have crossed the threshold into famine and another 1.8 million people are on the brink of famine. Some are suggesting that the numbers are even higher. Thirty-three thousand children are severely malnourished and, moreover, the food insecurity crisis will continue to worsen during the impending rainy season, as food supplies are exhausted, and the risk of flooding and waterborne diseases, including cholera, increases. Considering where we already are, this means that more people will die certainly if we do not reach them with humanitarian assistance. Let me also emphasize that what we are seeing in Tigray is a protection crisis. On 22 June, an air strike on a busy market in Togoga killed and injured dozens of civilians. This is just one of many times when civilians have been killed in the eight months of conflict in Tigray. As has been widely reported by senior UN official, civil society and others, we have multiple credible and widely corroborated cases of serious sexual and gender-based violence. More than 1,200 cases have been reported, with more continuing to emerge. This is likely, we fear, only a fraction of the actual cases, as stigma, shame, fear of reprisals as well as the lack of health and psychosocial services are leading to underreporting. All parties to the conflict must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law. Attacks directed against civilians and indiscriminate attacks are prohibited. Allegations of serious violations must be thoroughly and independently investigated by the State, and the perpetrators must be prosecuted regardless of who they are. Mr. President, To recall what should be already obvious to all of us, humanitarian workers must never be a target. Still, last week three humanitarian colleagues from Medecins Sans Frontieres were brutally and deliberately murdered in Tigray. This only weeks after aid workers from the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) and the International Committee for the Development of Peoples (CISP) were killed on 29 May and 28 April, respectively. Twelve humanitarian workers have now been killed since the start of the conflict. Despite the challenges, humanitarian workers continue to work to reach people in desperate need. In the last two months, 3.7 million people have received emergency assistance, 167,000 displaced persons have received non-food items and 630,000 people have been reached by water trucks. However, it is estimated that over 2.5 million people in rural Tigray have not had access to essential services over the last six months. This includes many of the people facing famine and is also part of the reason that they face famine. The lives of many of these people depend on our ability to reach them with food, medicine, nutrition supplies and other humanitarian assistance. And we need to reach them now. Not next week. Now. As you have heard us say before, to do so we need timely, unimpeded, safe and sustained access. International humanitarian law requires all parties to a conflict to facilitate this. Let me explain what this looks like and be clear about what exactly we are asking for. Over the past few days, our colleagues in Mekelle have been able to move towards Abd Adi and Samre and from Shire teams have reached Selekleka and have travelled from Axum to Adwa. This is positive and we now plan to dispatch convoys with humanitarian supplies to many of the areas which have been difficult to reach for us before. But we can only do so for as long as we have something to deliver. Today, WFP has enough food for only 1 million people for the next month in Mekelle. This is a fraction of what we need for the 5.2 million people who need food aid. However, we have also almost run out of health, water, sanitation and other non-food items kits. Food alone does not avert a famine. Water, sanitation and nutrition supplies are essential in such a response. We also desperately need to prevent a cholera outbreak or people dying from other communicable diseases. Mr. President, Earlier this week, the Government of Ethiopia announced a humanitarian ceasefire. We wholeheartedly welcome this and look forward to its implementation throughout the conflict area. It is imperative that all parties to the conflict, whoever they are and wherever they are, ensure no further escalation of conflict. We cannot afford to fail in this endeavour. The affected populations in Tigray on the brink of starvation deserve no less. All groups must stop fighting to allow humanitarian aid to get through unimpeded and to protect civilians. There is no other way to achieve this. While inside Tigray we may now be able to reach areas that were difficult to reach before, it is essential we act fast and without any further obstruction. What we need first and foremost is for all armed and security actors to provide guarantees for safe road access for humanitarian workers and supplies to and from Tigray, as well as to and from the most remote parts of the region. This means not stopping us from getting through checkpoints, but rapidly letting us proceed in all directions. As we speak here, there are five UNICEF trucks loaded with life-saving water and sanitation supplies blocked in Afar. Earlier this week, a convoy of WFP trucks was prevented from entering Tigray from Gondar. All these trucks must immediately be allowed to proceed. Secondly, we must be allowed to use the fastest and most effective route to get humanitarian supplies to the people in need. We need immediate, unhindered and sustained access from both Komolcha and Semera to Mekelle, and from Gondar to Shire. I am deeply alarmed by yesterday's destruction of the Tekeze River Bridge and the reported damage to two other bridges which has cut off our main supply route from Gondar to Shire, which we use to bring in food and other life-saving supplies. We call on the Government of Ethiopia to undertake immediate repairs to the bridges and by doing so help prevent the spread of famine. Third, we must also be able to use the fastest and most effective modality to deliver supplies and transport humanitarian staff. This means that we need to be able to fly, and I welcome the information received today that the Government of Ethiopia has approved our request for an UNHAS flight to Mekelle tomorrow. We hope that this is not a one-off, but this must continue and be extended to all airports in Tigray. I also call on all parties to provide security assurances for these humanitarian air operations. Fourth, we need to be able to bring in and use all appropriate communication equipment, such as VSATs, VHF radios, HF radios and satellite phones for humanitarian purposes. These are imperative and critical for the safety and security, you will understand, of humanitarian workers. We use these all over the world. We ask that the Government of Ethiopia fast-track all requests made by humanitarian organizations. We also call on the Government to see to the immediate return of the communications equipment confiscated from the offices of humanitarian organizations by the Ethiopia National Defence Forces. Trucks commandeered from humanitarian organizations must also be returned by those who have done so. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ethiopia Conflict Aid and Assistance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. We also urge the Government of Ethiopia to restore and maintain electricity, communication networks and banking services in Tigray, without which we cannot effectively reach populations, as well as to allow the free flow of essential commercial goods, including fuel at scale. Without fuel, we cannot transport the food, and people will indeed starve. We cannot run water pumps providing clean water and prevent cholera, which kills. Hospitals cannot operate and people will suffer. In short, without fuel, humanitarian operations will not be possible and lives will indeed be lost. We have repeatedly said that the only way to stop the humanitarian situation from further deteriorating is peace. The welcomed announcement, as I mentioned, by the Government of Ethiopia of a ceasefire must be the beginning of this peace for the sake of millions of innocent civilians. The conflict has already caused enormous suffering to the civilian population. It must stop now. The ceasefire has raised expectation among the population, and we now need to reach people throughout Tigray with humanitarian assistance to prevent a spread of famine and, as I mentioned before, an outbreak of cholera. But humanitarian assistance alone is not enough. We are not the solution. Unless civilians can return to normality and farmers can access their fields, famine will take an even tighter grip on Tigray. We welcome the Government's announcement today of the formation of a High-level Mechanism to solve access problems and challenges in real time, and we look forward to working together to make sure we immediately reach people. There can be no reason for the ceasefire to fail and humanitarian convoys to be blocked. We hope this mechanism can be operational within the next 48 hours so as not to lose any more time, nor lose any more lives. I conclude this by asking the Council, Mr. President, and all those with influence to help us save lives and prevent famine and further suffering by ensuring these fundamental requests are fulfilled. Thank you. Kenyan Representative Martin Kimani speaking after UN Security Council meeting on Tigray, accompanied by other representatives from the #A3Plus1 Group - Inga Rhonda King (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Tarek Ladeb (Tunisia) and Abdou Abarry (Niger). Uniyed Nations Speaking on behalf of the Africa Group #A3Plus1 [Kenya, Nigeria, Tunisia plus Saint Vincent and the Grenadines]. Kenya Representative Martin Kimani @AmbMKimani addressed the UN Security Council during the debate on the situation in Tigray. Here is a summary of his remarks as presented by the Kenya UN Mission in a Twitter thread. 1) The #A3Plus1 condemned without reservation the targeting of unarmed civilians in Tigray, including humanitarian workers; 2) They expressed outrage & sadness about the pain experienced by all the women and girls who have suffered sexual violence; 3) They demanded respect for international law including humanitarian principles and the moral codes at the core of Africas cultures and religions; 4) They welcomed the 17th June launch of the Commission of Inquiry on Tigray by the African Commission on Human & Peoples Rights as key to holding perpetrators to account & establishing truth that will serve the cause of peace & nation building; 5) They called for the withdrawal of any and all non-Ethiopian forces from Tigray and the standing down of all militias from neighboring federal states; 6) A real ceasefire is an opportunity for a Silencing of the Guns in line with #Agenda2063 & a key to the start of dialogue. The #A3Plus1 recommended Ethiopia embrace the tools of mediation in the peace & security architecture most which were forged in Addis Ababa; 7) They stated that this is the time for careful diplomacy, the rapid scale up of humanitarian response, prioritizing people, appreciation of regional stability, and the curbing of misinformation and disinformation; and 8) They concluded by reaffirming their respect for, & commitment to, the sovereignty & territorial integrity of Ethiopia. And that they stand in solidarity with the people of Ethiopia at this defining moment in the pursuit of sustained peace, nation building and prosperity. Yeshialem Gebreegziabher, 27, holds her daughter, Kalkidan Yeman, 6 months old, who is suffering from malnutrition at Aby Adi Health center in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia Senior UN officials appealed on Friday for immediate and unrestricted humanitarian access to Tigray - and for an end to deadly attacks on aid workers - as the Security Council held its first open meeting on the conflict in the restive northern Ethiopian region. Painting a grim picture, Ramesh Rajasingham, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said that 400,000 people have "crossed the threshold into famine" - with another 1.8 million on the brink of following them. Some 1.7 million people have been displaced by fighting between Ethiopian troops and the Tigray Defence Force, with 60,000 refugees crossing the border into neighbouring Sudan, added Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. And more than 1,200 incidents of serious sexual and gender-based violence have been reported - a number that is likely just a fraction of the actual number of cases in a conflict that is impacting women and children especially hard. A literal lifeline "The lives of many of these people (in Tigray) depend on our ability to reach them with food, medicine, nutrition supplies and other humanitarian assistance," the acting relief chief told the 15-member Council. "And we need to reach them now. Not next week. Now," he added as he called for timely, unimpeded, safe and sustained humanitarian access - which, by international humanitarian law, must be guaranteed by all combatants. It was the Council's first public meeting on Tigray since the crisis erupted eight months ago, although it previously held a half-dozen briefings and discussions behind closed doors. It came four days after Ethiopia announced a unilateral humanitarian ceasefire - one which the Tigray Defence Force, which now controls the Tigrayan capital Mekelle, and other cities and towns, has yet to agree to. Fighting must stop "All groups must stop fighting to allow humanitarian aid to get through unimpeded and to protect civilians... It is essential that we act fast and without any further obstruction," Mr. Rajasingham said. Both officials strongly condemned targeted attacks which have taken the lives of at least 12 humanitarian workers, including three from Medecins Sans Frontieres staffers, just last week. A worker looks out over the Grand Renaissance Dam in Ethiopia. Addis Ababa The main actor behind the undue pressures exerted on Ethiopia from different quarters is Egypt which attempts to maintain its hegemony over Blue Nile, East African Policy Research Institute (EAPRI) Deputy Director-General Birhanu Lenjiso revealed. The deputy director-general told ENA that the external pressures exerted on Ethiopia by the international community mainly emanates from Egypt. "In fact, international pressure has many sources. But the main pressure springs from Egypt's durable diplomacy compared to Ethiopia. So, using its robust diplomacy, Egypt has convinced powerful countries, including the US, UK and others, to buy its agenda, exert pressure on Ethiopia, and this is the result of Egypt's century-old diplomatic efforts," Birhanu elaborated. Egypt has at least three identities to cave in, he observed, adding that it wears the Arab League, African Union and Mediterranean-Europe caps to sell its distorted agenda regarding the Blue Nile River and to indirectly exert undue pressure on Ethiopia. "Due to its different identities, it plays great role in keeping the interests of western countries and it secures substantial support for that. Egypt's relation with Arab League, its wealth compared with Ethiopia, and having academia in international institutions and countries made the country strong diplomatically, but Ethiopia can sell the truth through strong diplomacy to twist the undue pressures," he explained. According to him, Egypt's influence on Ethiopia has existed for a long period of time, but surfaced after the development of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The deputy director-general associates the current unusual expulsion of Ethiopians from Saudi Arabia as part of Egypt's faithful relationship ploy with Saudi Arabia to engulf Ethiopia with additional assignments amid GERD tension. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ethiopia Governance External Relations By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. The government is working to repatriate 40,000 Ethiopians from Saudi Arabia within two weeks following the Saudi government order to expel Ethiopian citizens. "The extraordinary expulsion of Ethiopians, including documented citizens, from Saudi Arabia could relate to Saudi's relationship with Egypt to perhaps exert pressure on Ethiopia," Birhanu asserted, noting that the Arab League has also been trying to exert pressure on Ethiopia in connection with the GERD. Even though Saudi Arabia has the right to deport undocumented Ethiopians, the country is even pushing for the expulsion of documented Ethiopians in unusual way to exert pressure on Ethiopia by aligning with Egypt, he pointed out. The deputy director-general further stated that Egypt has been working tirelessly to convince the Arab League and other countries to put pressure on Ethiopia in connection with the dam, noting that Ethiopia has done little to strengthen its relations with various countries and to face the pressure. Birhanu underscored that Ethiopia releases 86 percent of the Nile water, but 60 percent of its population is not getting electricity. Therefore strong endeavor is needed from Ethiopia to sell the truth and undertake career diplomacy. Diplomats at the UN Security Council (UNSC) have reaffirmed their respect and commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ethiopia and commended the government for the unilateral ceasefire it declared over Tigray. Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, Ambassador Dai Bing said at the UNSC discussion held yesterday that China has been closely following the situation in Tigray. "China believes that the Ethiopian people have the wisdom and capability to properly solve this issue. When offering help, the international community must fully respect the sovereignty and ownership of Ethiopia, and jointly help Ethiopia tide over the difficulty," the ambassador stated. Furthermore, Ambassador Bing said that China welcomes the recent announcement of unilateral ceasefire by the Ethiopian Government to guarantee the normal agricultural and humanitarian activities in Tigray. "China hopes to see a complete ceasefire in Tigray and supports relevant parties to solve their differences through political dialogue so that all the Ethiopian people, including people in Tigray, can enjoy peace and stability and achieve development and prosperity," he underlined. According to him, the Government of Ethiopia has actively responded to the humanitarian need in Tigray by providing aid to the people in need, restoring local production and normal life and fully opening humanitarian access, all of which have yielded sound outcomes. Yet, humanitarian assistance for Tigray still faces severe shortage of resources. The international community should provide greater emergency humanitarian assistance and the UN guiding principles of humanitarian emergency assistance should be fully observed, he stressed. The Tigray issue falls within Ethiopia's internal affairs, Ambassador Dai Bing noted, adding that "in helping solve the Tigray issue, the international community must fully respect Ethiopia's sovereignty and ownership, with an aim to jointly help Ethiopia tide over the difficulty and safeguard peace and stability in Ethiopia and the wider region." The Security Council should prudently handle the timing and method regarding the settlement of the Tigray issue to ensure that the Council will play a positive role in improving the Tigray situation, not the other way around, the Chinese ambassador underscored. Russians Permanent Representative at the UN Security Council, Vassily Nebenzia said his country is closely following the developments of the complex military and political situation. "We believe that the unilateral decision to immediately cease fire in Tigray that the Federal Government of Ethiopia took on 28 June was a step in the right direction," he added. Hopefully, all opposing sides will demonstrate the political will which would help stop the bloodshed, improve humanitarian situation, and ensure step-by-step socio-economic stabilization, Nebenzia stated. "We proceed from the assumption that the leading role in settlement of the Ethiopian conflict is to be played by Ethiopians themselves - under the assistance of the African community in the first place." He noted that the Government of Ethiopia has in recent months contributed a lot to restoring the ruined infrastructure and responding to humanitarian needs of the region. According to the information available, the total spending on these aspects exceeds 2.5 billion USD, the Russian diplomat said, adding that "we call on UN OCHA and humanitarian agencies that are present in the region to further maintain these efforts as per UNGA resolution 46/182 and give strict observance of the guiding principles of humanitarian assistance. We expect the humanitarian community to develop an objective vision of the humanitarian situation in Tigray and define the real needs of the regional population." He pointed out that Russia is ready to continue promoting normalization in Tigray. "We are convinced that politicizing of this issue is unacceptable. The situation in Tigray must remain an internal affair of Ethiopia. Interference of the Security Council in resolving this issue would be counterproductive." Permanent Representative of India to the UNSC, Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti said on his part India welcomes the decision of the Government of Ethiopia declaring humanitarian ceasefire to address humanitarian situation in Tigray region. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ethiopia Governance Conflict By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. He reiterated India's strong commitment to the unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ethiopia. Kenya's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UNSC, Martin Kimani said "As Africans we will not agree now or in the future for this debate to be turned into a platform that undermines the people and state of Ethiopia." He stressed that the UNSC should always listen to Africa when it comes to African issues. The Council should also allow the continent a space to resolve its challenges with the support of the international community. Kimani pointed out that the "A3 +1 (Kenya, Niger, Tunisia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) conclude by reaffirming our respect and full commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ethiopia. We stand in solidarity of the people and the Government Ethiopia at this defining moment in their pursue to sustainable peace that is conducive to nation building and prosperity." Kenya and peers at the UN Security Council have endorsed an African Union commission of inquiry into atrocities in Tigray even as the Ethiopian government began to count the cost of the war it began in November. On Thursday, Ethiopia, while admitting financial losses, suggested that it could now consider dialogue as a path to permanent resolution in Tigray. The country had declared a unilateral ceasefire against the Tigray People's Liberation Front. At a session of the Council on Friday, Kenya's Permanent Representative to the UN Martin Kimani urged parties in Tigray to lay down the arms. He said the commission of inquiry formed last month should be the appropriate channel to punish perpetrators of rights violations. Speaking on behalf of other African members in the Council (including), known as A3 Plus 1, the Kenyan diplomat said all non-Ethiopian troops must leave Tigray and that all parties should allow humanitarian access. Thorough investigations "Among the tools that Africa has built [to resolve conflicts," is the African Commission on Human and People's Rights. We note its 17th June launch of a Commission of Inquiry on Tigray. We look forward to its thorough investigations that allow for perpetrators being held to account. "[It's] the key to holding perpetrators to account and establishing truth that will serve the cause of peace and nation building." The A3 Plus 1 includes Kenya, Niger and Tunisia, as well as Saint Vincent and Grenadines which is not from Africa but routinely works in concert with the African stance. While the continent had always said it will allow Ethiopia to use its local institutions to resolve the matter, Addis Ababa was furious last month when the African Commission for Human and People's Rights launched the inquiry seen as parallel to what Ethiopia wanted. On Friday, Demeke Mekonnen, Ethiopia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs suggested his country will allow both UN and AU investigators to gather evidence on perpetrators of the violations. "The Ethiopian government has elaborated a roadmap for inclusive dialogue to resolve the Tigray crisis and ensure lasting peace and stability in the region. "This dialogue process is expected to involve legal opposition parties, rank and file members of the TPLF who show readiness to choose a peaceful path, the business community, civil society organisations, elders, other prominent personalities," he told members of the diplomatic corps in Addis Ababa. This position was in contrast to weeks earlier when Ethiopia indicated it closed the door on dialogue when TPLF attacked its military command in Tigray. Was it signal that war was no longer the appropriate option? On Friday, the TPLF paraded soldiers they had captured from the Ethiopian National Defence Forces, in the latest move to embarrass the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Debretsion Gebremichael the leader of TPLF told the New York Times on Friday his fighters were holding as many as 6,000 Ethiopian soldiers most of whom surrendered in the past week after falling short on food supplies. The parade through the streets of Makelle, Tigray's capital, brought the captured soldiers closer to a jeering crowd, as TPLF said it was sending them to prison to await handover to refugee organisations. Public scrutiny like this may violate international law on prisoners of war, but the TPLF used this occasion to reap maximum publicity. In Addis Ababa, however, Demeke suggested Ethiopia withdrew from Tigray after achieving its targets. "We were able to defeat the TPLF and meet our major objectives within a short period. But we also had to face new realities and lingering problems whose genesis dates back to irresponsible governance of the group while it was at the helm of power for much of the past three decades," he told the diplomats. "As the major objectives of the law enforcement operation in Tigray have been largely addressed and the threat by the TPLF is neutralised, we also believe that engaging in a protracted conflict that unnecessarily costs human lives and financial resources becomes a futile exercise that would unnecessarily divert us from our developmental objectives." National attention After eight months of a bloody war, officially known as the Law Enforcement Operation, officials started admitting there were other priorities requiring national attention. But it is the cost which may be the underlying factor. The ceasefire may have been motivated by "pushing and pulling factors," says Metta-Alem Sinishaw, a political analyst on Ethiopia and the East African region. "Growing international criticism, adversarial ethnocentric sentiment, lack of public cooperation, and relentless mobilisation and incessant propaganda from diaspora based TPLF supporters could be pushing factors that prompted the unilateral ceasefire," he told Nation.Africa on Thursday. "Economic pressure and national security concern could be pulling factors that led to the military withdrawal, partly to shift the onus of addressing the impending humanitarian crisis." Redwan Hussein, the Spokesman for Ethiopia's Tigray Emergency Response Taskforce, a team meant to rebuild the region, said the country had lost about $2.3 billion in damaged infrastructure which will need to be repaired. The cost did not include the military spend, lost livelihoods, civilian deaths or injuries as well as hours of economic productivity lost as civilians fled for dear life. If included, the country may have incurred a higher loss. The next problem, argued Metta-Alem, is how to keep the peace between Amhara and Tigray, especially since the former, which has been fighting alongside the national army, took control of certain territories initially in Tigray. As it is now, ideological differences between Addis Ababa and the TPLF make negotiations difficult, meaning the war could erupt again in future. "The withdrawal of the Ethiopian federal military and administrators from Tigray's capital, Mekele, is a major victory for Tigray's armed resistance. It shows that the Tigray Defence Forces not only consolidated its position in recent months but also strengthened so it could launch a major counter-offensive last week," said William Davison, a senior analyst on Ethiopia for the International Crisis Group. "It did this mainly through mass popular support and capturing arms and supplies from adversaries," Davison told The EastAfrican. Major towns With Tigray Defence Forces now in control of most of the region, including major towns, William says a critical question now for the conflict is whether Eritrea's military will withdraw fully from Tigray and also what will be the Tigrayan approach to Amhara regional state's administration of the west and south of the region. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Governance Conflict By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. In the wake of the withdrawal of troops, it was expected that calm will immediately follow. But the TDF announced they had taken over Tigray capital Makelle and other towns such as Shire near the border with Eritrea, without breaking a sweat. On Thursday, the crucial Tekeze Bridge connecting Tigray to neighbouring Amhara was destroyed by unknown people, bringing a new challenge to the delivery of aid. Ethiopia responded by accusing TPLF of destroying the bridge, saying it will "take two to tango" in the ceasefire, and suggesting it was no longer responsible for any hampering of aid delivery. $2.3 billion The losses of $2.3 billion felt so far are equal to half of the cost of the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam [GERD], which incidentally is supposed to be refilled for the second time this month, even as downstream countries Sudan and Egypt protest. When Abiy took the premiership, he targeted the stranglehold of TPLF, accused by some of atrocities against ethnic communities like Somalis and Oromos. In December 2019, it finally led to the disintegration of the former ruling coalition, the Ethiopian National Democratic Revolutionary Front, and was replaced by the Prosperity Party. TPLF refused to dissolve and raised tension whose climax was the attack on a national army command in the north last November. Abiy launched an offensive then. However, Abiy is also credited with quietly transforming the leadership and arming the military with new military technology with which it has swiftly disarmed the TPLF to an extent. Industrialist Naushad Noorali Merali was a gifted businessman whose contribution to the country's progress will be missed, President Uhuru Kenyatta has said. President Kenyatta sent a message of condolence to Naushad's family, following his death on Saturday morning. Merali, 70, was the chairman of the Sameer Group of companies. Besides Sameer Group, which has interests in nearly all sectors of the Kenyan economy, he will be remembered for starting mobile service provider Kencell in 1995. The President noted that Merali was a top industrialist whose businesses created thousands of jobs for Kenyans, contributing significantly to the stability of the Kenyan economy. "I have received the shocking news of the passing away of Mr Merali with a heavy heart. The cruel hand of death has robbed our country of a successful entrepreneur whose investments contributed significantly to the economic stability and progress of our country," he said in a statement. "Mr Merali's business acumen created thousands of direct and indirect jobs for our people and wealth that helped uplift many of our households from poverty. Alongside his celebrated business exploits, Mr Merali was a philanthropist whose generous giving earned him the 'Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear' State commendation." Naushad's family said he will be buried on Saturday in Nairobi. Flanked by family and friends, Ms Jane Gatwiri, mother of missing security expert Mwenda Mbijiwe, addresses journalists at her home in Sirimon, Buuri West, Meru Count, on July 3, 2021. Missing former Kenya Air Force Commander Mwenda Mbijiwe's mother has appealed for the international community's help in finding him. Mr Mbijiwe, a vocal security consultant, has been missing since June 12. His car was discovered in a coffee plantation near Tatu City in Kiambu. It had been hired from Mr Edward Mwangi for three weeks, for business purposes, according to the owner. Mr Mbijiwe's mother, Ms Jane Gatwiri, said the family had reason to believe he was still alive but that the police seemed reluctant to find him, and were withholding information from her. Ms Gatwiri invited the US, Israel and South Africa to join the search for the missing chief executive officer of Eye on Security Ltd, 22 days after he left Nairobi for his rural home in Kimbo village in Meru County. Alleged sister Speaking to the press for the first time at her home in Sirimon, Buuri West, Meru Count, flanked by family and friends, she said there were many gaps and unanswered questions that they wanted addressed. She, for instance, asked why Mr Mwangi was allowed to repossess the car without recording a statement. Ms Gatwiri claimed Mr Mwangi is a police officer attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations in Nairobi, which is actively involved in the Mbijiwe probe. It also emerged that Ms Tamara Mbijiwe, the woman who gave press interviews on Mr Mwenda's disappearance while posing as his sister, is not related to him. Ms Mbijiwe is the daughter of former Rift Valley Provincial Police Officer John Mbijiwe who hails from Meru County. "We are disturbed since the same people carrying out the investigations are the same people who recovered the vehicle. The DCI officer was not even asked to record a statement yet police keep telling us that they are busy pursuing the matter," she said. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Legal Affairs External Relations By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "We are bothered and disturbed by the delay and want the government to [give clear reports on the matter]. We will only be comfortable when we see him. We believe he is alive." Detention fears Mr Nicholas Bundi said they were worried that his brother might be in the hands of Kenyan security agencies. "I have worked with him on security and counter-terrorism issues. He is always very alert, meaning the people with him must be better trained than he is. The issue of the hired vehicle is another puzzle," he said. Mr Stephen Nkonge, Mr Mbijiwe's step-father, supported these observations and accused the police of reluctance to resolve the issue. "Mwenda is not a simple man whose disappearance would go unnoticed or unaddressed for three weeks. He authored the book "America fear no evil". If the Kenyan government doesn't have the machinery to find him, let them invite the USA (FBI), Israel and South Africa governments, which have helped Kenya before." Mr Mbijiwe in 2017 declared he would contest for the Meru gubernatorial post but withdrew in favour of Peter Munya, who subsequently lost to incumbent Kiraitu Murungi. Mr Munya is now the Agriculture Cabinet secretary. The security expert was raised in Kimbo village, Kibirichia, and is a popular commentator on security matters. Very few vaccines have found their way into the arms of Africans as they struggle with a surge in COVID-19 infections. Several countries now want to start producing vaccines on the continent. Can they succeed? The third wave of coronavirus is rolling through much of Africa -- and it could be the most severe of the pandemic yet, experts fear. The conditions on the continent could not be worse: The more contagious and arguably more dangerous delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has already wreaked havoc in India, is now spreading in Africa, where it is encountering a largely unvaccinated population. According to the African Union's (AU) disease control agency, Africa CDC, just over one percent of the African population has been fully vaccinated, around two and a half percent have received at least the first dose. By comparison, in the EU, at least 50% of the population has now received the first dose, according to "Our World in Data," and one in three already has full vaccination protection. "A wake-up call" for Africa This disparity in the supply of COVID-19 vaccines is causing anger and incomprehension among many African politicians. "The selfishness in this world is bad," Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, for example, said last week at the World Health Summit in Kampala. But he also used his opening speech to warn his African counterparts: The current situation is a wake-up call, Museveni said. "It is a shame that the African continent is sleeping and waiting to be saved by others." African countries have so far relied almost entirely on vaccine imports from North America, Europe, and Asia not only in the fight against COVID-19 but also against diseases such as measles, tetanus, and tuberculosis. Only about one percent of all vaccines administered on the continent are produced in Africa, and active production facilities currently exist only in Tunisia, Algeria, South Africa, and Senegal. That is precisely what is now set to change. Several African countries are currently working to promote the local production of vaccines. The African Union wants to produce 60% of the vaccines needed in Africa by 2040 -- and as soon as possible, African vaccines shall also reduce the COVID-19 pandemic. But why is Africa only now getting into vaccine production? What are the difficulties in setting up the production lines? And how quickly can the plans be implemented at all? The most important questions and answers at a glance: Why are hardly any vaccines being produced in Africa so far? Basically, the technical hurdles for the production of vaccines are very high. Not only is the construction of specialized production and filling facilities costly, but the training and further education of qualified personnel require massive investments. Even in highly industrialized countries such as the US or Germany, the development and production of vaccines are therefore supported with gigantic government investments. Many African governments cannot afford these. It is, therefore, no coincidence that the few existing production facilities in Africa, such as those of the Pasteur Institutes in Senegal, Tunisia, and Algeria, are largely financed by development cooperation. Thus, for example, projects that are less well funded in Nigeria or Ethiopia have not yet succeeded in bringing vaccine production to market maturity, despite years of effort. What has changed as a result of the pandemic? Since the beginning of the pandemic, but especially since the start of vaccination campaigns in the Global North, building local vaccine capacities has been high on the agenda of many African countries. Numerous projects are already in the pipeline, ranging from forays by individual companies or countries to establish so-called "regional vaccine hubs" involving several countries. These initiatives are financed and supported by the EU, the World Bank, and other international donors. German Health Minister Jens Spahn also pledged aid of up to 50 million ($59 million) during a visit to South Africa in May. What exactly do the projects look like, and how quickly can they be implemented? Most of the announced projects are aimed at the local production or filling of already licensed vaccines in existing production facilities. Since, apart from the licensing negotiations, only the production lines have to be adapted and the raw materials procured, these projects can be realized relatively quickly. South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare has been the quickest to respond and is so far the only one on the continent producing a COVID-19 vaccine on behalf of the US company Johnson & Johnson. Egyptian company VACSERA plans to begin manufacturing the Chinese Sinovac vaccine in the coming weeks. Similar cooperation agreements between African pharmaceutical companies and international vaccine manufacturers also exist in several other countries, such as Senegal and Algeria. Less quick to implement are plans where the appropriate production or filling facilities have yet to be built. It takes around 18 months to set up a fill-and-finish production line, says Simon Agwale, biotech entrepreneur and director of the African Vaccine Manufacturers Alliance (AVMI). And there's another problem, he says: "Because of the pandemic, there's a long waiting list right now for manufacturers of such equipment." As a result, he does not believe that the ambitious timelines of some governments that have announced locally produced vaccines for this year can be met. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Coronavirus Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Financing such projects is also more complicated and lengthy. "Everyone is talking about building factories for COVID-19 vaccine production right now. But what happens after COVID?" says Agwale. According to him, there needs to be a concrete plan for how, for example, mRNA production facilities needed for BioNTech's or Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines could later be used for other vaccines. A technology transfer center for mRNA vaccines is currently being built in South Africa and is not expected to be operational until summer 2022. Other challenges The challenges to building a dedicated vaccine infrastructure in Africa are immense. In addition to the usual difficulties such as financing and a lack of technical expertise, issues surrounding patent protection, which have been discussed for many months, have still not been resolved. It is also questionable whether the bulk of the projects currently being pursued in Africa will actually make the continent less dependent on pharmaceutical companies from the developed nations. According to AVMI Director Simon Agwale, most projects are filling plants that rely on the supply of raw materials by vaccine manufacturers. While this is welcome in principle, he says: "If there is not also investment in the production of the actual substances, we end up with countless filling plants, but no product that can be filled." analysis South Africa's approach to its COVID-19 vaccine programme has been characterised by a large number of missteps. In aggregate it has left the country behind many others on the continent, and essentially left millions unvaccinated as a savage third wave descends on the country. This has happened despite an established vaccine procurement and distribution network, access to the first large batch of vaccines on the continent, and a large number of pandemic and vaccine experts. As the country battles a severe third wave crisis, at great cost to health, economy and society, the rollout of a vaccine programme remains the only sustainable means to protect the population against COVID-19 severe disease and death and return to some level of acceptable economic activity. Strategically, therefore, policy needs to be hyper-focused on the delivery of a responsive vaccine programme to protect especially high risk groups against severe disease and death. In this article, we outline the history of the vaccine strategy and its pitfalls. We also suggest a way forward. Some context As the pandemic first unfolded South Africa had, from a vaccine perspective, a number of things going for it. It has a large childhood vaccine programme although with weaknesses in overall coverage. It also has a private sector able to distribute adult vaccines, and experience of rolling out large programmes, such as antiretrovirals. While reeling from a devastating first wave and associated lockdown in this period, the country was well poised to rapidly implement a mass vaccine programme. In September 2020, for instance, a vaccine subgroup (the MAC Vac) of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 (MAC) was set up. It was made up of a small group of virologists, regulators and other public entities. It recommended supporting COVAX, a pooled procurement and distribution initiative aimed at securing large volumes of vaccines for countries that might struggle with bilateral agreements. But during early December 2020 it became worryingly clear that government had no vaccine strategy at any level of maturity apart from the fragile COVAX arrangement. To quote the deputy director general of the Department of Health, Dr Anban Pillay: We have not delayed the procurement at all. We took a decision at the time we will go to (sic) COVAX facility because COVAX was purchasing vaccine (sic) from multiple vaccine producers, rather than taking the risk and going with one vaccine supplier. Despite also asserting that individual companies had in fact been approached, there was no evidence of this, including within the publicly released MAC Vac advisories. In late June 2021 the first 1.4 million doses of Pfizer vaccine were finally delivered to South Africa through the COVAX facility. It still remains unclear what will be delivered of the roughly 10.6 million doses still owed to South Africa during 2021. As no signs of a coherent strategy by the government were surfacing, a group of academics drafted a 10-point vaccine strategy in early December 2020 to prompt a strategic response from government. But no strategy emerged during that month. January - February 2021 In frustration a group of South Africa's health academics and activists published an article in early January 2021 condemning the absence of a vaccine strategy. They raised the concern that South Africa would enter the winter wave of SARS-CoV-2 infections without a significant part of the population vaccinated against infection or severe illness. The article provoked a response. The health minister called a news conference, announcing that a strategy would be forthcoming and that confidential bilateral negotiations were in fact under way. He failed to disclose any details. A day later, on 4 January 2021, the Department of Health for the first time began belated bilateral negotiations of any seriousness with the Serum Institute of India for whatever doses they could make available of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Within a week a commitment of some 1.5 million doses was made for delivery during February and March, with the potential option to purchase another 1.5 million. This revealed what was possible if government began to act with purpose. Also, within a relatively short period, an application for registration was submitted to the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority and emergency approval provided. However, there was no rollout strategy, with no vaccine sites or registration system to manage the process. The first AstraZeneca vaccine batch then arrived on 1 February 2021 with much fanfare and was immediately transferred to the Free State for quality assurance. As there was no other commitment to purchase, until this period no other vaccines were being evaluated by the regulatory authority apart from a rolling application by Johnson & Johnson. And as government had indicated it would be the sole purchaser and distributor of COVID-19 vaccines, no other party had applied for registration. Despite the rolling application, the Aspen facility in Gqeberha was set to fill and finish 300 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine in 2021. But there were no plans to use these in South Africa as the government appeared to show little interest up to that point. A 26 January 2021 statement by Aspen's chief financial officer appeared to confirm this. It stated that: Aspen confirmed it had the capacity to make up to 300 million doses of the vaccine, in a Port Elizabeth plant, and that all those doses would be earmarked for export. Confusion then ensued when the health minister announced that due to the AstraZeneca vaccine not demonstrating efficacy against mild to moderate COVID-19 against what is now referred to as the Beta variant in the small South African AstraZeneca trial, the rollout of the vaccine was put on ice. The decision was criticised by local scientists, and not supported by the World Health Organisation. March 2021 Due to the intervention of researchers involved in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine trial in South Africa a workaround was quickly negotiated for 500,000 trial doses to be made available. These would be prioritised for health workers with implementation in March 2021. However, this was an expanded observational trial (Sisonke trial), not a rollout. It could only rely on trial sites for expansion, severely restricting the scaling up of the programme. Nevertheless, the Sisonke workaround was a local initiative that spared the lives of many frontline health workers. April 2021 The minister of health then controversially chose to discard the initial one million AstraZeneca doses rather than use them. It is our understanding that this was based on the MAC VaC advice. He also took a decision to forgo the additional doses that would have been made available from the Serum Institute of India in terms of both bilateral agreements and the first round of COVAX. This was despite the World Health Organisation position that while not effective against infection by the Beta variant, it would be effective against the original wild-type variant still prevalent in South Africa and would probably offer protection against severe illness due to the Beta variant, which was subsequently corroborated in animal model studies. The protection against Beta-variant severe COVID-19 in the animal model study was evident despite the low levels of neutralising antibody induced by the AstraZeneca vaccines against the Beta variant, indicating such protection is likely mediated by CD4+ and CD8+ cellular immune responses that are largely unaffected even due to mutations in the Beta variant. A number of experts were critical of this decision. They argued that South Africa should urgently use all available vaccines. The minister also indicated that South Africa would not make use of NOVAVAX either, despite it being the only vaccine shown to protect against mild to moderate COVID-19 from the Beta variant and considered in the same league as the mRNA vaccines for efficacy against severe COVID-19. No evidence was offered for the decision. The AstraZeneca decision effectively knocked South Africa out of the running for the first round of COVAX doses, which were made up of AstraZeneca (237 million doses) and some Pfizer (1.2 million doses). The decision not to pursue the NOVAVAX vaccine potentially explains why they did not seek authorisation through the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority. While the South African government did begin to take bilateral contracts seriously, our understanding is that substantial negotiations with Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer only began from February 2021. This guaranteed that South Africa would face a winter wave of the epidemic with most of the 17 million or so high risk population unvaccinated. The bilateral negotiations bore fruit with both Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer making significant commitments. But delivery was to be spread out intermittently through the remainder of the year - largely missing the predicted winter wave. May - July 2021 South Africa officially started its rollout in May 2021 with Pfizer. But it did so with limited sites. Expansion to scale is now restricted by the availability of doses rather than the ability to expand the number of sites. The achievement of scale during June was then scuppered by the Federal Drug Administration's (FDA) determination that the very 2.2 million initial Johnson & Johnson doses earmarked for South Africa by Aspen were contaminated and needed to be destroyed. Despite the very long lead time to this decision, no apparent contingency arrangements were negotiated in the meantime. This resulted in a scramble to compensate for the failure of Johnson & Johnson to deliver on time. Although replacement doses were subsequently made available, South Africa's already belated vaccination drive was substantially diminished. By the end of June 2021 South Africa had administered only 3 million doses, 480,000 of which were from Johnson & Johnson through the Sisonke trial and the remaining 2.2 million from Pfizer. The end of June target for vaccinations was however 5 million outside of the Sisonke trial. Going into July 2021 South Africa should therefore have stock of around 4.3 million doses available if the 6.5 million doses promised by the end of June have arrived. However, this stock is largely due to the slow pace of vaccinations. We should have had only around 1.7 million doses available at the end of June if everything had gone according to plan. The bungling continues. Vaccines have moved up to around 100,000 doses administered per day. But, inexplicably, virtually no vaccinations occur over weekends at the majority of sites. And government has not made arrangements for non medical scheme members to make use of private sector vaccination sites. What has been learned? Without a proactive strategy government will perpetually respond to events. Any reasonable strategy must account for contingencies. What could go wrong? What is not yet known for certain but may be true? This requires combining evidence with hedging decisions for unknowns where no evidence is yet available. In this pandemic, as in many other aspects of government policy, decisions have to be made even when perfect information is unavailable. With this in mind four strategic errors were made. First, vaccine nationalism was plainly the greatest risk to securing doses in late 2020. Without timely and assertive bilateral contracting beyond COVAX it was guaranteed that South Africa would be at the back of the international queue when it began to realise its mistake. Second, low vaccine efficacy, especially when confronted with variants, is a contingent risk you have to mitigate through careful vaccine candidate selection (for procurement) together with diversification - booking multiple candidates. This includes the advance contracting of booster doses updated for variants of concern. Third, the ground-game - or rollout process - requires advance preparation to rapidly achieve scale. However, scaling up requires that you start early and learn from mistakes. South Africa has started. Finally. But it is nowhere near the levels required before the winter wave of infections. Fourth, a substantial winter third wave was predictable and every effort was required to vaccinate the high risk population, particularly for those over the age of 60 and with co-morbidities, by May 2021 with at least one dose of a vaccine that could prevent severe illness. South Africa unfortunately gave this option away despite a contingent probability that AstraZeneca vaccinations would protect against severe COVID-19. A look at the strategy for 2022? South Africa has clearly suffered the consequences of poor strategic decisions to this point. It doesn't need to continue along these lines. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Coronavirus Science By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. But strategy going forward needs to account for three key factors. First, from the end of July 2021 many of the advanced countries will have surplus doses and are likely to shift their focus to updated vaccines that address variants of concern. It is therefore probable that the COVID-19 vaccine world will be characterised by a simultaneous glut of original vaccines and constrained supplies of updated booster shots. Second, global herd immunity, even though an aspirational goal, is unlikely to materialise with the current generation of COVID-19 vaccines and the ongoing evolution of the virus. Instead the objective should be centred on protecting against severe illness and death despite ongoing transmission. One possible contingency is that a single complete mass vaccination programme permanently reduces COVID-19 to a mild illness - with ongoing infections acting as a booster to immune responses. The alternative, less likely contingency is that new variants emerge that evade even natural infection and vaccine induced immunity against severe illness. Both contingencies need to be prepared for. Third, the pace of vaccinations remains constrained by access to doses rather than the capability of the public and private health systems to administer vaccines. Addressing these supply constraints is therefore a priority. Taking account of these factors, the following four considerations should form part of the strategy for 2021 and into 2022: First, bilateral negotiations need to be assertively pursued despite the doses already booked. These should focus on the more effective vaccines that are likely to move into surplus during the latter part of 2021 and into 2022. Therefore negotiations need to be ongoing with proactive procurement for both 2021 and the whole of 2022. Second, South Africa should be advance purchasing the updated vaccines which could have higher effectiveness against the variants of concern. These should include agreements well into 2022. Third, rather than advance purchasing too few doses, or just enough, consideration should be given to purchasing more than is required. This would cater for the contingent risk of ongoing transmission resulting in severe illness in the vaccinated population. It would be a mistake for South Africa to again take its foot off the pedal when the opportunities for bilateral contracting are increasing. But the window for astute early action is closing. Fourth, and more generally, greater transparency in strategy, implementation, and the strategic rationale for decisions is required, given the importance these decisions hold for the well-being of the country. Alex van den Heever, Chair of Social Security Systems Administration and Management Studies, Adjunct Professor in the School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand; Imraan Valodia, Dean of the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, and Head of the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the Witwatersrand; Martin Veller, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand; Shabir A. Madhi, Dean Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Vaccinology at University of the Witwatersrand; and Director of the SAMRC Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand, and Willem Daniel Francois Venter, Ezintsha, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, University of the Witwatersrand opinion The ConCourt judgment is a definite demonstration that South Africa has not become a complete banana republic. First published in the Daily Maverick 168 weekly newspaper. The judgment of the Constitutional Court against Jacob Zuma is a defining moment in our democracy. The more or less total collapse of the dreams laid out in the Freedom Charter is a direct result of the ANC's collapse into a kleptocracy in which there was no accountability for even blatant forms of criminal behaviour. The judgment is a definite demonstration that SA has not become a complete banana republic and that, ultimately, we are all accountable to the law of the land. It is potentially a real turning point. If there can be further criminal prosecutions of rogues in business and government there will be a real chance that we can begin to rebuild the capacity of the state to meet social objectives. There is also good news from within the ANC. The suspension of ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule and the removal of Zweli Mkhize from his position as health minister are important steps towards restoring the integrity of the party. Of course, these important steps forward will be bitterly contested by the... 'Free, Unfettered Access' to Tigray is Urgent - Key Bridge Down Emergency food delivery in Tigray has resumed, according to the World Food Programme, which is calling for "free, unfettered access and secure passage guaranteed by all parties." Earlier, a bridge over Tekeze River, which has been a crucial gateway to supplying aid to many parts of Tigray region, was destroyed, cutting off people from family, food, medicine and fuel, according to various aid agencies in the region. Fighting, which began in November, is hampering assistance in the region where the UN humanitarian agency OCHA estimates that 91 per cent of the population is facing severe hunger. The US Federal Aviation Authority has also directed aircraft flying over Ethiopia to either avoid Tigray region or maintain a high altitude. It is not yet known who is responsible for the bridge destruction, which came as the Ethiopian government declared a ceasefire, and opposition forces from the Tigray People's Liberation Frtont re-entered the regional capital Mekelle and several other cities. Burkina Faso's President Roch Kabore has dismissed the country's defense minister in the wake of widespread protests Saturday against insecurity. Read more Islamist militias in Burkina Faso raid villages and extort money from residents to fund their fight to establish a caliphate. But as violence increases, France wants to reduce its Read more Burkina Faso: 'Priest and the Faithful Perhaps Kidnapped to Be Used As Human Shields' Agenzia Fides, 23 June 2021 "Perhaps the priest and the faithful who accompanied him were kidnapped, at least initially, to serve as human shields by an armed group chased by the army and fleeing towards the Read more Searching for Peace in Tigray as Crisis Worsens and Tensions Rise With humanitarian suffering escalating in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, the UN Security Council held a long-delayed open meeting on the crisis Friday. The session adjourned after statements by representatives of member states with no debate or consideration of a resolution. Speaking on behalf of the Africa Group, Kenyan Representative Martin Kimani called for "an African solution' to the conflict and called on Ethiopia to "embrace the tools of mediation" adopted by the African Union. Ethiopian Representative Taye Atske Selassie told the Council Ethiopia "is undergoing a significant transformation" and "it was not our preference to have an open meeting because it is an internal matter", an approach also endorsed by Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia. "The decision to cease military operation is hoped to create a conducive environment for humanitarian operations in Tigray and pave the way for an inclusive national dialogue," Ambassador Taye said. The UN acting humanitarian coordinator Ramesh Rajasingham warned of "an alarming rise" in hunger, saying that "more than 400,000 people are estimated to have crossed the threshold into famine and another 1.8 million people are on the brink of famine." Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. Representative who has been pressuring for a public session for several months, told the Council: "We need access. We need aid. And we need to end the conflict. Instead of further escalation, we need all parties to negotiate a true ceasefire - and then to honor that ceasefire." She urged the Council act act quickly. ""It's the first opportunity for us to show that African lives matter as much as other lives around the world. But an open meeting is not enough. What we need to see is action on the ground," she said. Nuestra principal preocupacion en el manejo de la pandemia es el riesgo de una tercera ola, porque la variante Delta ya circula en el pais. Por ello es sumamente importante vacunar a mas peruanos con dos dosis. @Minsa_Peru #PongoElHombro ???? | Ciudadanos de 54 y 55 anos comparten su experiencia tras recibir su primera dosis de la vacuna contra la COVID-19. ? Seguimos vacunando a personas mayores de 50 anos en Lima Metropolitana y Callao. ? Consulta tu fecha programada en https://t.co/FMfPvIH3kQ pic.twitter.com/yBuz8dxnEH YEREVAN, JULY 3, ARMENPRESS. The European Union will allocate more than 1.5 billion euros to Armenia in the next 5 years for five key programs, including the development of Syunik region. The document was presented today in Brussels, highlighting the initiatives that the European Commission intends to implement by 2025 in the member states of the Eastern Partnership, Massis Post reports. In a statement released on July 2, the commission said the plan was part of a proposed agenda focusing on recovery, resilience and reform that sets specific targets for 2025 with the aim of increasing trade, growth and jobs, investing in connectivity, strengthening democratic institutions and the rule of law, supporting the green and digital transitions, and promoting fair, gender-equal and inclusive societies. The proposed long-term policy objectives are to be discussed at an Eastern Partnership summit planned for December 2021. The Eastern Partnership was launched in 2009 with the aim of strengthening and deepening the political and economic relations between the EU, its member states, and six countries in the blocs so-called Eastern Neighborhood Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. As for Armenia, the European Commission plans to: -Support 30,000 small and medium-sized businesses for a sustainable, innovative, competitive economy; -Promote socio-economic development and communication by supporting the North-South highway corridor; -Investments in information technology, science and technology, -Strengthen the resilience of the southern regions of Armenia. -Investing in green Yerevan for energy efficiency and the launch of more environmentally friendly buses. The first pilot project will provide 500 million in assistance to 30,000 small and medium-sized businesses. Recovery of the economy after the epidemic is a top priority for Armenia, the European Commission said, noting that by helping Armenian businessmen, the European Union will help create new jobs, develop and modernize businesses, and sustain Armenias long-term socio-economic recovery. In this regard, according to the document, priority will be given to entrepreneurs who work with nature-saving technologies, especially in the regions, as well as businesses run by women. The second project envisages supporting the socio-economic development of Armenia, emphasizing that one of the priorities of Armenias national agenda is the operation of the North-South corridor, which will provide access to international trade routes and markets. Improving transport infrastructure will allow closer ties between the regions, as well as Armenias connection with neighboring countries and the European Union, the European Commission said. EU investment in this area will focus on the as-yet undeveloped sections of the North-South highway, including the Sisian-Kajaran road. It is planned to allocate 600 million euros for the implementation of this project, which will be allocated for the construction of a new Sisian-Kajaran tunnel in the south. The third landmark program provides support for innovative technologies and science. Armenia has a strong information potential, the sector has grown by about 20% in recent years, but additional support is needed to reveal its full potential, the European Commission report states. The EU used to support e-government, but now new investments are needed to expand those services to regional and local levels. In total, up to 300 million euros are planned for this purpose. The fourth direction envisages supporting the strengthening of development in the southern regions of Armenia. The Syunik region in particular needs support, the report said, noting that the region has already had problems due to underdeveloped infrastructure, and has recently been hit by the war and displaced people need education. Following progress achieved in the northern regions of Armenia, the European Union will invest in strengthening the sustainable socio-economic development of Syunik. Priority areas may include housing, infrastructure, tourism, agriculture, education, healthcare, renewable energy, and support for local small and medium-sized businesses. For this purpose, it is planned to provide 80 million euros. The last, fifth direction refers to the capital, particularly the green Yerevan. Improving the quality of human life and improving air quality in Yerevan requires addressing waste management and energy efficiency, the European Commission said in the statement, adding that the European Union was ready to invest in a smart city package. In this context, it is planned to support the import of green buses, which will do less damage to the environment of the capital, will improve and modernize public transport. The agenda also includes improving the quality of life, including a number of programs aimed at waste management and waste treatment in Yerevan. In total, up to 120 million euros will be allocated for the implementation of these goals. YEREVAN, JULY 3, ARMENPRESS. Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan has issued a statement over the imprisonments of Armenian captives in Azerbaijan, stating that those convictions are totally groundless and are an artificial result of an artificial process. Each trial organized by the Azerbaijani authorities is accompanied by reports in Azerbaijani media violating human dignity and rights, with titles such as Armenian terrorists or similar ones. Its obvious that this is done deliberately and has an organized nature. In their turn Azerbaijani social networks are being filled with discussions of hatred, calls for torturing and killing the captives, the Ombudsman said, adding that the monitoring shows that in reality political bargaining and trade of people are taking place, citing the video of the conversation of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkeys First Lady Emine Erdogan as an example of this. The continuous appeals and alarms of families of captives and missing persons to the Ombudsman prove that these trials cause additional psychological sufferings, make peoples feelings more painful. Each, the so-called trial is fake from the very start, with a gross violation of international law, and holding the captives is a banned punishment. This situation grossly violates the international human rights demands, including the 1949 Third Geneva Convention. All existing facts and the behavior of Azerbaijani authorities is an open ignorance to the whole international community, distorts the system of international humanitarian law which has been developed for decades. All captives must be immediately released and repatriated without any preconditions, the Ombudsman said. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, JULY 3, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan sent a congratulatory letter to President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko on the Independence Day, Pashinyans Office told Armenpress. The letter reads: Dear Mr. President, I sincerely congratulate you on the Independence Day of Belarus. This holiday has become a symbol of the Belarusian peoples courage and heroism, a vivid example of love and dedication towards the Homeland. I am sure that the Armenian-Belarusian traditional friendly relations will continue serving as a guideline for the development of the inter-state ties between our states both at the bilateral format and within the frames of international organizations and integration unions. Dear Mr. President, By using this chance I wish you good health, happiness and success, and to the good people of Belarus peace and welfare. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, JULY 3, ARMENPRESS. US Congressman Frank Pallone discussed the issue of the Armenian prisoners of war illegally held in Azerbaijan with the officials from the State Department and the Department of Defense. Had a productive call with officials from State Department and Department of Defense today to discuss ways to bolster the US-Armenian relationship. We also spoke about the important role the US must play in freeing the remaining Armenian POWs in Azeri detention and the ongoing border crisis, the Congressman said on Twitter. Editing by Aneta Harutyunyan The Mediapart said the probe into the inter-governmental deal signed in 2016 was formally opened on June 14 The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had inked a Rs 59,000-crore deal on September 23, 2016, to procure 36 Rafale jets from French aerospace major Dassault Aviation. (AFP Photo) New Delhi: The BJP alleged on Saturday that Rahul Gandhi is acting as an agent of rival defence companies and being used as a "pawn", and also claimed he and the Congress keep raking up allegations of corruption in the Rafale deal in an attempt to "weaken" India. At a press conference, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra also played down the appointment of a judge in France to lead a judicial investigation into the alleged corruption and favouritism in the Rs 59,000 crore deal, saying the development was outcome of a complaint by an NGO and should not be seen as a matter of corruption. This is akin to a competent authority in India writing down in a file that "please act accordingly" when a matter is brought before him, Patra said and accused the Congress of spreading lies and misconceptions over the issue. The Congress has become synonymous with spreading lies and misconceptions, he said. "The way Rahul Gandhi is behaving, it will not be an exaggeration to say that he is being used as a pawn by competing companies. He has been lying right from the beginning on the issue. Probably, he is acting as an agent or some member of Gandhi family has been for a competing company," Patra alleged. Patra alleged that as the Gandhi family had received no commission in the Rafale deal, its party had been levelling these allegations. The Congress has demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Rafale deal, saying it is the only way forward to find the truth about "corruption" in the purchase of the fighter jets. The Congress' demand came after French investigative website Mediapart reported that a French judge has been appointed to lead a "highly sensitive" judicial investigation into alleged "corruption and favouritism" in the Rs 59,000 crore Rafale fighter jet deal with India. Patra cited a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report and a Supreme Court (SC) verdict, both of which had found nothing wrong in the defence deal between the Indian and French governments, to reject allegations of the Congress. The government won a judicial verdict as well as an electoral verdict, he said in reference to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in which the BJP notched up a massive victory with the Congress making the alleged corruption in the Rafale deal as a key plank of its campaign against the Modi government. The BJP spokesperson noted that the Supreme Court had in its verdict in November 2019 said that there can't be a roving and fishing enquiry pertaining to the Rafale allegations, and accused Gandhi of going on another "fishing expedition" with his party attacking the government. The SC had made these remarks while rejecting a plea to review its December 2018 decision to reject a plea for a court-monitored probe into the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft. Gandhi is trying to weaken India, Patra alleged. He also cited a number of allegations levelled by Gandhi, including his attributions to former French president Francois Hollande and incumbent Emmanuel Macron to back his charge of corruption against the Modi government, and noted that both French leaders had immediately denied making such comments. Gandhi also had to tender an apology to the Supreme Court for wrongly claiming that the top court has agreed that "chowkidar chor hai" (watchman is thief), a pet slogan of the Congress leader against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the run up to the 2019 polls. A French judge has been appointed to lead a "highly sensitive" judicial investigation into alleged "corruption and favouritism" in the Rs 59,000 crore Rafale fighter jet deal with India, French investigative website Mediapart reported. Following the development, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come forward and order a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Rafale deal. "Corruption in the Rafale deal has come out clearly now. The stand of the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi has been vindicated today after the French government has ordered a probe," he told reporters at a press conference. However, there was no immediate reaction from the Indian government or the BJP. The Mediapart said the probe into the inter-governmental deal signed in 2016 was formally opened on June 14. "A judicial probe into suspected corruption has been opened in France over the 7.8-billion-euro sale to India in 2016 of 36 Dassault-built Rafale fighter aircraft," the Mediapart reported on the latest development on the controversial deal. It said the investigation has been initiated by the national financial prosecutors' office (PNF). The judicial investigation has been ordered by France's national financial prosecutors' office, following Mediapart's fresh reports in April of alleged wrongdoings in the deal as well as a complaint filed by French NGO Sherpa that specialises in financial crime. "The highly sensitive probe into the inter-governmental deal signed off in 2016 was formally opened on June 14th," the media report said. Mediapart journalist Yann Philippin, who filed a series of reports on the deal, said a first complaint was "buried" in 2019 by a former PNF chief. "The judicial investigation was finally opened following the revelations of the investigation #RafalePapers of @mediapart and a new complaint from @Asso_Sherpa. A 1st complaint was buried in 2019 by the former PNF boss, Eliane Houlette," he tweeted. In April, Mediapart, citing an investigation by the country's anti-corruption agency, reported that Dassault Aviation had paid about one million Euros to an Indian middleman. Dassault Aviation has rejected the allegations of corruption, saying no violations were reported in the frame of the contract. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had inked a Rs 59,000-crore deal on September 23, 2016, to procure 36 Rafale jets from French aerospace major Dassault Aviation after a nearly seven-year exercise to procure 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for the Indian Air Force did not fructify during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime. The Congress accused the government of massive irregularities in the deal, alleging that it was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the UPA government during the negotiations for the MMRCA. Prior to the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the Congress raised several questions about the deal and alleged corruption but the government rejected all the charges. Crime-and-courts alert COURTS NY state judge apologizes for racist costume in 1988, ends administrative role Craig Doran State Supreme Justice Craig Doran announced Friday morning he would step down from his role as administrative judge for the Seventh Judicial District due to a photograph taken at Halloween party in 1988 "in which I appear as a well-known public figure of color." Doran made the announcement after he said this photograph began circulating. The photograph still hasn't surfaced publicly and it's unclear who Doran was portraying in it. The judicial district that Doran oversaw includes much of the Finger Lakes region, including Cayuga County. Doran made the unexpected announcement in a three-paragraph statement released by email Friday. He said he would continue to serve in his role as an elected state supreme court justice. The announcement caught many by surprise, because Doran has worked on numerous efforts to help local courts become more equitable. The Monroe County Bar Association strongly condemned Doran's actions in 1988, but also asked for caution. "Doran has been a champion of diversity within the bench and bar and has worked with the MCBA in its attempts to bring about real and substantive change," the MCBA said in a statement. "We can all condemn the actions of individuals without condemning the individuals themselves." Lucian Chalfen, spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration, said New York Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks of the state's Unified Court System were alerted to the photo earlier this week. "We do not comment directly on personnel matters, however, when the Chief Judge and Chief Administrative Judge were made aware of the photo, immediate action was taken," Chalfen wrote in an email. Doran was told by DiFiore and Marks that he needed to step down from his administrative role, Chalfen said. State Supreme Court Justice William Taylor will serve as acting administrative judge in the district, Marks announced. A search for a permanent replacement will begin soon. The Seventh Judicial District covers Cayuga, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne and Yates counties. Doran was first appointed to the administrative position in 2011. That made him the chief supervisory judge for all courts in the eight-county region. Doran selected which judges oversaw treatment courts and judges who must be brought in for cases involving potential conflicts of interest, like the pending campaign finance fraud case involving Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren. Doran, who also reached the title of deputy chief administrative judge for New York state, was most recently tasked with managing the shutdown and reopening of trial courts during the coronavirus pandemic. "I am deeply sorry for my decision to appear in this manner," Doran wrote in the statement. "I did not comprehend at the time the hurtful nature of my actions. I know now that an act of this nature is considered to be racist. I can assure you that this event in 1988 in no way reflects my beliefs and principles." He continued, "I ask for forgiveness from those who have been hurt by this, those I may have embarrassed, and from the people who have taken time in their lives to educate me about the hurt my actions caused." Doran, who is 56, promised to make the transition to a new administrative judge "seamless." In February 2019 a photo allegedly showing Virginia governor Ralph Northam in a 1984 medical college yearbook lead to calls for his resignation. Northam said he did not believe the photo was him an investigation was inconclusive but denounced the photo as offensive and racist, and later said he had blackened his face for a Michael Jackson costume. A USA Today investigation found other racist imagery in a review of over 900 college yearbooks across the country, including at Rochester area colleges RIT, SUNY Brockport and St. John Fisher. Doran is a lifelong resident of Canandaigua, Ontario County. He graduated from Canandaigua Academy, finished his bachelor's degree at the State University of New York College at Albany, and then completed his law degree in 1989 at the Albany Law School. He was elected to the state Assembly in 1994 and served in that role until 1999. He was elected to Ontario County Court in 1999 and then re-elected in 2009. He was first elected to to a 10-year term state Supreme Court in 2015. In his various judicial roles in the region, he has been presiding judge of the Drug Treatment, a member of the Office of Court Administration Raise the Age Task Force, and also served as co-chair of the states Juvenile Justice Strategic Planning Advisory Committee. Efforts to reach Friday Doran were unsuccessful. The Rev. Lewis Stewart, president of United Christian Leadership Ministry, expressed support for Doran. Stewart said he spoke to Doran over the phone Thursday "concerning the incident involving Blackface" and Doran "expressed his sorrow and regret that this foolish and racist behavior happened." "I told Judge Doran that his behavior 33 years ago was highly offensive and racist but does not reflect who he is today," Stewart concluded. Stewart said Doran is an advocate for "systemic change when it comes to implicit bias in the courts and criminal justice system." He concluded UCLM would soon be announcing details of a judicial observation project to address systemic racism and implicit bias. Stewart said Marks, the state's chief administrative judge, is "bowing to political correctness" in removing Doran. Attorney Tina Monshipour Foster echoed Stewart's sentiments. Foster, who is executive director of JustCause, an organization providing free legal assistance to low-income Monroe County residents, said she has worked with Doran since 2017 when she became leader of the group. She said Doran is the "strong ally in the court system," noting he "has done more to address racism and inequality in our local courts than anyone else I know." She said Doran started a Community Justice Council in 2019 to advise him and court staff about their experiences and concerns. "He seeks input from underserved communities, is willing to hear their criticisms of the court system, and takes steps to eliminate racial bias on a personal and professional level," Foster wrote. MONTREALGay studio Icon Male has released the second chapter of fledgling series Dont Tell My Wife on DVD. The movie is distributed through parent company Mile High Media. Directed by Ricky Greenwood and written by Chris Crisco, Dont Tell My Wife 2 stars Johnny B., Colby Jansen, Nick Sahara, Dante Colle, Icon Male contact star Nick Fitt, and McKenzie Lee in a non-sex role. Ricky presents a wild tale of hidden lust and intense passion that takes taboo relations to another level, Mile High vice president Jon Blitt said. Cover models Johnny B. and Colby Jansen dial up the sexual energy and erotic chemistry in this scorching new release featuring an amazing cast of performers. Its not to be missed. According to a company synopsis, "Dont Tell My Wife 2 opens with a divorced Colby marrying his high school sweetheart after many years apart. But he soon gets acquainted with his sexy new stepson and his hidden passion finally erupts in a big way." The movie features four hardcore sex scenes shot in HD along with animated chapter index, a photo gallery and more. The latest Icon Male trailers can be seen at www.IconMale.com Over the past few weeks, Northern Arizona University has begun announcing plans for the upcoming fall semester. Classes start Aug. 23, and the goal is to return to the pre-pandemic normal for the campus. NAU will aim to operate at pre-pandemic levels, including a vibrant, in-person campus experience in Flagstaff and at our locations throughout the state, NAU President Jose Luis Cruz Rivera said in a statement last week. This will include engaging classroom instruction and academic experiences, the in-person staffing of our campus offices to provide exceptional service, and the reintroduction of services, activities, and events that contribute to the vibrancy of student life and the vitality of our university community. A later statement, published to the universitys website, also outlined a number of specific COVID-related plans for the fall semester. Vaccines will not be required for NAU students, faculty or staff, though the university strongly recommends them. Masking will similarly be recommended rather than required on campus, except on campus public transportation and in Campus Health Services, where it will be mandatory. The university says it is committing to making sure COVID-19 testing is available to any community members who may want to use it, though tests will not be required except in case of an outbreak. In the 2020 election, more than 2,000 voters in Apache County were placed on a list because of questions surrounding their residency, the Navajo Nation noted in court documents. Neither the state nor the county had online options for voters to determine their polling location without a street address, tribal attorneys wrote. There's no public transportation on the 27,000-square-mile (70,000-square-kilometer) Navajo Nation that's bigger than 10 U.S. states. It stretches into Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Many people rely on friends, family or strangers for rides. Poor roads increase the difficulties of voting, the tribe said. More than four-fifths of the reservation's roads are unpaved. During elections, many Navajos tell politicians they want better roads. Even just gravel, we'd be very grateful, said Tovina Yazzie, manager of the Sweetwater Chapter on the Navajo Nation. Yazzie tries to impress upon tribal members that voting could result in more funding to the small community near the Arizona-Utah border. She also recognizes the obstacles. We run into some people or community members who don't have vehicles, so it is a hindrance for our community to come in and vote, she said. And also, the weather has a role in it, if it's snowing or rainy or muddy. On Thursday, on the 24th anniversary of the Peoples Republic of China resuming exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, a man stabbed a police officer on a Hong Kong street and then killed himself with the same knife. A close watch of a video shows that the man attacked the policeman from the back, near the heart, which is life-threatening. Indeed, the policeman fell on the ground after the attack and was rushed to hospital. Thats why the Hong Kong police are right in calling the incident a lone wolf terrorist attack. The attackers behavior meets all the definitions of a lone wolf and attacking the police is doubtlessly an act of terrorism. Yet some Western politicians calling themselves human rights activists seem to lack the most basic human sympathy. Hours after the incident happened, Benedict Rogers, a UK politician who claims to be interested in Hong Kong human rights, mourned the terrorist attacker on his Twitter account. How distorted can a mind be to mourn an attacker? The policeman is the real victim and he was just fortunate enough to survive; Even under such condition they sent the attacker to hospital and tried to save his life out of humanitarianism. The attacked policeman is the one who should get sympathy, not the person that narrowly missed taking his life. Rogers also called the attacker a man driven to the most extreme desperate action. There is no need to hear the story of the attacker, who raised his knife at an innocent policeman. Had he survived, he would have faced a trial so that justice is done, not the mourning from Western politicians for their own political interests. On Friday, exactly when Rogers was mourning the attacker in Hong Kong, someone posted a video clip of a random stabbing in London and included Rogers in his/her mention. Rogers thanked the posting account and said he was safe and fine. See? Western politicians sympathy for terrorist attacks is reserved for Hong Kong only because it is part of China. When it comes to their own country, they care about safety more than anybody else. There is no word more suitable than double standards for them. Viruses can evolve to be more deadly "That claim as a whole is just nonsense," said Troy Day, a professor of mathematics and biology at Queen's University in Canada, who has studied the ways infectious diseases, including coronavirus, can evolve. Some examples of viruses that became more deadly over time include those that developed drug resistant variants, and animal viruses such as bird flu, which were harmless to humans initially but then mutated to become capable of killing people, according to Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins University's Center for Health Security. "Flu viruses have developed resistance to certain antivirals that make them more difficult to treat, and therefore make them more deadly," Adalja said, also noting the same has happened with HIV and certain Hepatitis C strains. While early scientific theories suggested that as viruses evolved, they would become more contagious and less lethal to keep spreading, over time the scientific community has acknowledged that's not always the case. "Becoming more transmissible and less lethal are absolutely what's best for the pathogen," said Day. "But the problem is that it's not always possible, and in many instances is never possible, to be more transmissible and also less lethal." Day said there are documented cases of animal viruses that evolved over time to become more lethal, including myxoma virus in rabbits and Marek's disease in chicken. Some viruses provoke severe symptoms in their hosts that make it easier to transmit the virus to others. But those same symptoms can wind up killing the hosts. "The virus, speaking anthropomorphically, just wants to spread and have its genes replicated," said Adalja. "If the best way for it is to spread by causing severe symptoms it will continue to do that." GOP Sen. Michelle Benson, of Ham Lake, wouldn't name the commissioners who might be in danger when pressed by Democratic senators. But she said Republicans plan to remain vigilant and attentive to the governor's appointments" when the Senate reconvenes Tuesday. She didn't say how long the Senate might remain in special session. Is there some vendettas here against the governor's commissioners that you want to fire some of them, at this point? When we've just passed the budget, and people have a lot of work to do to implement what the Legislature has asked them to do? And now you're going to fire some who are at the helm, who have worked hard during COVID to do the job that they were hired to do? Democratic Sen. Sandy Pappas, of St. Paul, asked Benson. Who is it that you're upset with, and what do you plan do? I think you should just put your cards on the table. Though "The Purge'' saga is fictional, with the very real rising levels of divisiveness, intolerance and violence in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic could fiction become reality? Obviously we shot it before all the disaster that happened in America in the last year, but I think thats the genius of James DeMonaco, who has the clairvoyance to see five minutes into the future, Gout said. It is a current film. If some aliens came to Earth, I think it would be one of the 10 films that represent who we are. And when it seems that the complicated relationship between Mexico and the United States has been introduced, the film reminds that long before the border issues, Native American people were in the region. In a prominent role, an indigenous ally (played by Gregory Zaragoza) who guides them through the desert points out that they have been fighting oppression and extermination for 500 years. Behind the camera there is also a Mexican presence. Gout called on his friend Luis Sansans to be the director of photography: I needed my guardian. For the director, the most difficult part of the production was to do everything that the apocalyptic script proposed and stick to the budget. You have to resort to Spielberg from Jaws, where the shark was broken all the time and thats why its so scary, because you dont see the damn shark until the end, he said. Although it looks very big, we did not have those conditions and that was the real challenge from start to finish. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 I ran here right away because this is important to me. I needed to ensure that what happened in Surfside doesnt happen here, she said. It could have been our building instead of Surfside. The mayor of Miami-Dade County had suggested an audit of buildings 40 and older to make sure they are in compliance with the local recertification process after the condo building collapse last week that killed at least 22 people and left more than 120 still missing. After reviewing files, the city Building and Zoning Department sent a notification that the Crestview building was not in compliance. On Friday, the building manager submitted a January recertification report in which an engineer hired by the condo association board found the property unsafe. The city then ordered all residents to evacuate immediately. I am concerned that more buildings are in this condition. Hopefully, this is an easy fix. Thankfully, we have at least evacuated the residents and no harm will come to them or their pets, Smukler said. The Crestview condo association could not be immediately reached for comment on the delay between the January recertification report and Friday's evacuation. The North Miami Beach Police Department was helping with the evacuation. Education is essential to our community and the sovereignty of all Native people, Ridgley said Monday. I thank Governor Polis and Colorado legislators whove taken this important step to improve our access to colleges and universities while simultaneously striking down harmful school mascots that promote racist, derogatory stereotypes against American Indians. At least five high schools in Wyoming still use American Indian mascots or as names for their sports teams. Two of them are on the reservation and have deep ties to the communities there: Wyoming Indian and St. Stephens Indian School. Wyoming Indian, we did that as a community, Dresser said. It shows the strength of the community and the tribes. Cheyenne Centrals mascot, however, is an American Indian, and Worland High and Star Valley High both depict an American Indian as the face of their sports teams. They think theyre honoring us, but theyre not, Dresser said. Its 2021; when you use caricatures as Native American Peoples, its harmful for individuals. While Wyoming hasnt banned Native American mascots or offered a discount for Native American college students, Dresser hopes to have similar conversations with Wyoming lawmakers soon. This just shows Colorados view on the tribes, he said. Theyre honoring us by fulfilling a lot of the treaties. Love 0 Funny 3 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 1 Were one of the few tribes that have elected to develop our energy resources. Thats our right, tribal Chairman Mark Fox told AP at the opening of a Fort Berthold museum and cultural center built with oil revenue. We can develop those resources and do it responsibly so our children and grandchildren for the next 100 years have somewhere to live. Smallpox nearly wiped out the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara tribes in the mid-1800s. They lost most of their territory to broken treaties and a century later, their best remaining lands along the Missouri River were flooded when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers created Lake Sakakawea. With dozens of villages uprooted, many people moved to a replacement community above the lake New Town. Today, leaders of the three tribes view oil as their salvation. They want the Biden administration to speed up drilling permits and fend off efforts to shut down a pipeline carrying most reservation oil to refineries. Pipeline fight Yet tribes left out of the drilling boom have become outspoken against fossil fuels as climate change worsens. One is the Standing Rock Sioux. "My girls grew up, moved away and my wife passed away about seven years ago from cancer," he said. "But I still wanted to keep on performing like I always have been." Now that he was going solo, Miller wanted to come up with a character. He thought of going as a cowboy or lumberjack before finally settling on the perfect persona. "One day it hit me -- Im tall and skinny, and my beard is turning white, so I can pretend to be Uncle Sam and play my banjo," he said. Miller has been playing the banjo as Uncle Sam for almost five years now. He also will play as an 1875 soldier at Fort Sisseton and Fort Stevenson from time to time. He said he is usually booked around the Fourth of July when people are looking for more patriotic music. While last year was terrible for gigs due to the pandemic, he said, he has gotten some more performances in this year. "My favorite song to play on the banjo is an old Stephen Foster song -- he was the one who wrote 'Oh! Susanna.' He also wrote a song called 'Hard Times' and I played that one a lot last year," Miller said with a laugh. He said his favorite part of being Uncle Sam is getting to play in front of an audience and sharing his love of music. He hopes his playing will inspire interest in the banjo and its history. "It's one of the things Ive always loved about folk music -- there's no fakeness about the relationship between the performer and the audience," Miller said. "The performer makes the audience happy and the audience makes the performer happy. I just love that symbiosis." Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Petitioners who include ultraconservative North Dakota lawmakers and Republican Party leaders have proposed a ballot measure for term limits on the governor and members of the Legislature. Secretary of State Al Jaeger received the petition on Thursday for his review of its format. After his approval for circulation, petitioners would have one year to gather 31,164 signatures to put the measure to voters next year. The measure would add a new article to the state constitution, effective Jan. 1, 2023, imposing term limits of eight cumulative years each in the House and Senate. The governor could not be elected more than twice. Term limits would not be retroactive -- meaning the service of current officeholders would not count against them. The measure's language also would bar the Legislature from proposing amendments to alter or repeal the term limits; only citizens would be able to do so. North Dakota For Term Limits Chairman Jared Hendrix, of Minot, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment. In a statement he said, "We are filing this petition because North Dakota needs a government of the people, not a political class. In 2020, it was widely reported that Joe Biden wanted to be a "transitional" president. At a campaign event in Detroit, appearing with several younger, more progressive Democratic politicians, he seemed to endorse this idea. "Look, I view myself as a bridge, not as anything else," Biden said. "There's an entire generation of leaders you saw stand behind me. They are the future of this country." His pitch wasn't just about his age. Biden made the case that his more moderate stance on various issues was necessary to get elected. The message to the base was, in effect: "You need to tolerate my opposition to socialized medicine and defunding the police if you want Trump out of the White House." But then, after he was elected, Biden got it into his head that he could "go big." All of a sudden there was a lot of New Deal talk. The progressive base, some liberal historians and cheerleaders in the press convinced Biden that he could be a transformative, not transitional, president who would usher in a new progressive era. Biden embraced an agenda that would be a heavy lift with 60 Democratic votes in the Senate, when he has to struggle to get 50. I won't belabor all of this, because plenty has been written about it already. But there is new data to consider. The issue of critical race theory is raising a more fundamental question about our nation: education. Education is about more than teaching children to read and write. It is about transmitting values, transmitting a worldview, that will define how our youth think and how they will live. Per the Department of Education, in 2020, 56.4 million children were enrolled in K-12 education. Of these, 50.7 million were in public schools, and 5.7 million were in private schools. So, government plays a substantial role in the education of our children. Per the Department of Education, "Each educational institution that receives federal funds for a fiscal year is required to hold an educational program about the U.S. Constitution for its students." But do we care at all what is taught? In a survey done by Pew Research last October, just prior to the presidential election, 80% of Donald Trump supporters, and 77% of Joe Biden supporters said, regarding the opposition, "Not only do we have different priorities when it comes to politics, but we fundamentally disagree about core American values." Finish this article for as low as $1 when you purchase a day pass. Just click the sign up button to purchase. If you are already a subscriber, just click log in to continue reading. "We get a million-dollar view here," Denise Beyers said. A volunteer crew from Maher's Lake View Lawns has stopped by the Beyers home for a number of years now, making quick work of landscaping and other tasks that would take Mark and Denise much longer to do on their own. One member of the crew, for example, relined the Beyers' koi pond on Thursday. They also chopped about six cords of firewood from ash trees. The Beyers will use the wood to fuel the evaporator for their maple syrup, produced under the Beyers Maple Farm name. The annual event is a testosterone-rich, carnivore-friendly scene, with Mark Beyers at the center of it all. "It's a lot of moving parts. Very busy, but we always have a good time," Denise Beyers said. "It means so much. We look forward to it every year." This year, Maher and the crew surprised the Beyers with the donation and the flag, carved from an ash tree doomed by the emerald ash borer and painted with red stripes and white stars on a blue background. "The guys made me cry a little bit," Mark Beyers said the next day. The jocular mood also turned somber at times when Beyers and Maher recounted some of their more harrowing experiences in Iraq. Also, the number of patients hospitalized with the virus has grown 33% over the past week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though the levels are far below what they were in December, when hospitals were near capacity. State biostatistician Kyra Morgan said Friday that the spike in cases might be attributable to the full reopening of the state and city in June and that the return of crowds and big events on the Strip could cause the increase to continue. If we know anything about COVID, we know that when people are gathering in close proximity to one another in large volumes, that is the recipe for COVID transmission to increase," Morgan said. State and local officials said that almost all the new cases and hospitalizations involve unvaccinated people and that the best way to attack the problem is by getting more shots in arms. Nevada has fully vaccinated 45% of those 12 and older, well below the nationwide level of 55%, according to the CDC. We are a state of skeptics when it comes to vaccines, Morgan said. We have a lot of anti-vaxxers, frankly, in the state of Nevada. Much of our society has regained: Freedom of assembly, whether for parades or backyard barbecues. Freedom of movement, in which we can travel again in or outside our country. Canadas refusal to reopen our common border is a frustrating exception. Freedom of choice in how we spend our time and energy. Political arguments about wearing masks or receiving vaccines will continue, but there is little reason to waste brain cells on arguing for its own sake. There is too much to celebrate this year. The country will fall short of President Bidens goal of having 70% of U.S. adults receiving at least one Covid-19 shot by the Fourth of July, though the figure will be about 67%. Those not protected by the Moderna, Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson vaccines are vulnerable to the new delta variant. Public health authorities cant yet declare victory and go home, but the low infection rates in Western New York demand our gratitude. If the Covid-19 pandemic felt like an invasion by a foreign power, we are at least now able to let our troops on the front lines begin to take a breather. WELL Health Technologies (TSX:WELL) has been one of the top growth stocks on the TSX during the pandemic. But even as the pandemic comes to a close, WELL Health stock continues to trend higher and higher. The $1.61 billion Canadian telehealth company has become a superstar during the last year, all thanks to the massive shift into telehealth. The pandemic meant patients that needed healthcare could no longer see their physicians and other healthcare professionals in person. Telehealth companies like WELL Health stock provided a means to do this. But it didnt stop there. WELL Health stock and others became a tool for almost every type of healthcare company. Whether its physiotherapy or dermatology youre seeking, you can usually have at least an initial appointment online. This saves time, money, and, most importantly, lives. It looks like telehealth is here to stay. Why not WELL Health stock? Im giving Motley Fool Canada investors a lot of reasons to buy WELL Health stock, and Im not saying its a bad purchase. Shares of the company are up 5,500% since coming on the market and 203% in the last year alone. WELL Health stock management recently reported record-setting revenue during the latest earnings report, with 150% year-over-year growth. On top of that, the company has continued its growth-through-acquisition strategy. Most recently, thats included a massive move into the United States. The company is now on the verge of becoming a global operation. Thats all good news! The bad news? Its the price. Sure, WELL Health stock still looks cheap with a $8.65 share price as of writing. But the growth its seeing now is bound to start slowing down. But the stock is moving quickly towards overbought territory with a Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 69 (70 is overbought). Meanwhile, its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is predicted to be 110.8 for the next 12 months an insanely high amount. But Motley Fool Canada investors can get similar growth and guaranteed income from the growing healthcare industry without investing in WELL Health stock. Instead, consider NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT (TSX:NWH.UN). Story continues Stable healthcare growth NorthWest Healthcare is a strong option for those seeking both growth and guaranteed income. The company is a real estate investment trust (REIT), so 90% of taxable income must be paid out to shareholders, and this usually comes out as dividends. But on top of that, its in the growing healthcare sector. Its one of the few REITs that actually saw revenue increase during the pandemic, as it was a necessary service. So, that means it was able to keep that dividend steady and stable. Beyond that, with rents coming in the company was also able to expand. Most recently, NorthWest has been expanding in a similar way to WELL Health stock, acquiring more and more businesses. That includes a $200 million acquisition in the Netherlands and a whopping A$2.6 billion acquisition in Australia. Revenue continued to climb for this company, even before it started acquiring businesses. Most recently, NorthWest reported 98.5% international occupancy, with an average lease agreement of 14.3 years! Total assets under management increased by 16.2% year over year as well to $7.7 billion. It gets better The best part? The stock is actually cheap, both in share price and in fundamentals. Shares currently trade at $12.75, up 29% in the last year and 130% since coming on the market. And its P/E ratio is an insanely cheap 9.52 as of writing, with an RSI fairly valued at 46. And whereas WELL Health stock could slow down soon, analysts predict a potential upside of 14% in the next year. Add on top of that something WELL Health stock doesnt have: a dividend yield. Motley Fool Canada investors can currently pick up NorthWest and lock in a dividend yield of 6.19% as of writing. Thats guaranteed income of, say, $1,882 each year from a $30,000 investment. For me, its a no brainer. Sure, WELL Health stock has grown, but that growth will slow eventually. NorthWest, however, will keeping paying far beyond that time. The post Forget WELL Health (TSX:WELL) Stock: This Stock Pays Better appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada. But healthcare isn't the only place to find stocks set to soar... Were issuing a BUY alert on this TSX space stock Our team of diligent analysts at Motley Fool Stock Advisor Canada has identified one little-known public company founded right here in Canada thats at the cutting-edge of the space industry and recently completed a transformational acquisition, all while making a handsome profit in the process! The best part is that in a market where many stocks are selling at all-time-highs, this stock is trading at what looks like a VERY reasonable valuation for now. Click here to learn more about our #1 Canadian Stock for the New-Age Space Race More reading Fool contributor Amy Legate-Wolfe owns shares of NORTHWEST HEALTHCARE PPTYS REIT UNITS and WELL Health Technologies Corp. The Motley Fool recommends NORTHWEST HEALTHCARE PPTYS REIT UNITS. 2021 Irish premier Micheal Martin has called on the UK Government to reciprocate the generosity of spirit shown by EU leaders on the Northern Ireland Protocol. It came after UK cabinet ministers ramped up pressure for concessions on the Protocol by warning of disruption to peace if changes are not made. Micheal Martin said the EU had demonstrated goodwill and generosity to the UK, with the extension to the grace period allowing chilled meats to be sent from Great Britain to Northern Ireland this week. He said warning each other is over and called for engagement to find solutions through the withdrawal agreement. He told reporters on Saturday: I think the British Government should acknowledge the approach of the European Union this week in terms of the extension of the grace period and also in terms of the facilitation around the medicines issue. There is no question that the European Commission and the European Union leaders have demonstrated goodwill and a generosity of spirit towards the British Government in resolving this issue. It really is time for British Government to reciprocate the generosity of spirit that European leaders have shown. And also the sense of flexibility that Europe has indicated to the United Kingdom that it is willing to deploy, in respect of the working-out of issues pertaining to the Protocol, The time for warning each other is over. Its time for engagement, constructive engagement, with a view to reaching a resolution. On Wednesday the EU announced a number of solutions to ease the implementation of the Protocol. As well as extending the grace period on chilled meats, it changed its own rules to allow medicines to continue to flow from the UK into Northern Ireland and waived the obligation to show the motor insurance Green Card for drivers from the UK. Unionists who have demonstrated against the UK-EU treaty in recent months have complained the terms of the Protocol are splitting Northern Ireland from Great Britain and hitting the pockets of businesses, with suppliers either giving up exporting across the Irish Sea or facing added checks and costs to do so. Story continues People take part in a Loyalist protest in Newtownards, County Down, against the Northern Ireland Protocol (Brian Lawless/PA) Mr Martin said there is a pathway to a sustainable solution to those concerns. Its within the withdrawal agreement that the British Government signed up to, and there are mechanisms within that agreement to reach a resolution, he said. The Taoiseach said the EU is willing to make changes that can ease disruption to trade flows, but that the UK must abide by what it signed up to. He said: European leaders have made it clear to me, and the agreement itself makes it clear, that it wants to reduce and minimise disruption to the optimal degree, as much as possible. But there was an agreement there. There was a mechanism to resolve the issues within the withdrawal agreement. It really needs political will now. I have no doubt that if both the United Kingdom Government and EU Commission really engage, this can be resolved. On Saturday, UK Cabinet ministers turned up the rhetoric in a bid to push Brussels into concessions over the Northern Ireland Protocol by warning of possible disruption to peace in the region without changes. In a joint article in the Irish Times, Brexit Minister Lord Frost and Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said this weeks extension of a grace period in the so-called sausage war was welcome but that the extension addresses only a small part of the underlying problem. The men warned the European Union that the Protocol negotiated as part of the Brexit divorce deal risks damage to the Good Friday Agreement, which in 1998 helped to secure peace after decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, unless a new balance is found in terms of customs checks. Following a request from the UK, the EU on Wednesday agreed to continue to allow chilled meats to be shipped to Northern Ireland from Great Britain for another three months. The deal avoids a trade dispute by delaying the ban until September 30 while efforts continue to find a lasting solution. With a reprieve in place, Lord Frost and Mr Lewis urged Brussels to adopt a softer approach to the implementation of the Protocol a treaty the Conservative peer helped to negotiate or else risk further economic disruption and possibly even upsetting the peace in Northern Ireland. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Boris Johnson met on Friday (Stefan Rousseau/PA) The protocol is aimed at avoiding a hard border with Ireland by effectively keeping Northern Ireland in the EUs single market for goods. Writing in the Irish Times, the ministers said: Opposition is growing, including among many people who are not normally active in political life. That is not a stable basis for the future. The current process to resolve all these difficulties is not working and risks creating a series of rolling crises as we lurch from one deadline to another. Wednesdays agreement to extend by three months the right to circulate British sausages and chilled meats in Northern Ireland is welcome, but addresses only a small part of the underlying problem. In short, a seriously unbalanced situation is developing in the way the Protocol is operating this risks economic harm in Northern Ireland and damage, in turn, to the essential balance within the Belfast Agreement itself. The Conservative frontbenchers called for a new balance in the way the Protocol is operated to be put into place rapidly and questioned how the EUs insistence on stricter application of the Protocol would help matters. If operating the Protocol on the current basis is making the situation worse, then how can pressing for an even more rigorous assertion of it make sense? they asked. They said that the UK would have to consider all our options if no solution is forthcoming, as ministers have an overriding responsibility and obligation to support peace in Northern Ireland, in what will likely be read as a further threat to act unilaterally to suspend irksome elements of the Protocol. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said he hoped the wurst is behind us when it came to the chilled meat saga. By Tom Balmforth MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian warplanes practiced bombing enemy ships in the Black Sea during training exercises, Russia said on Saturday, amid friction with the West over NATO drills in the region and following a recent incident with a British warship. Moscow last week challenged the right of HMS Defender to pass through waters near Crimea, something London said it had every right to do. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 but most of the world still recognises it as part of Ukraine. Russia said the vessel had illegally entered its territorial waters and accused London of a "provocation". Moscow has said it could bomb British naval vessels if there are more such actions by the British navy off Crimea. On Saturday, Russia's Black Sea Fleet said warplanes from its aviation units and those of the southern military district had taken part in training drills. "Aircraft crews ... conducted training flights over the Black Sea, practicing missile and bombing strikes against simulated enemy ships," it was quoted as saying by the RIA news agency. The drills involved aircraft including Sukhoi Su-30SM multi-purpose fighters, Sukhoi Su-24M bombers, Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bombers and Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jets, the report said. The exercise comes as NATO, Ukraine and allies conduct their large-scale Sea Breeze drills in the region. Those drills are set to last two weeks and involve about 5,000 military personnel from NATO and other allies, and around 30 ships and 40 aircraft, with U.S. missile destroyer USS Ross and the U.S. Marine Corps taking part. Moscow had called for the exercise to be cancelled and the Russian defence ministry has said it will react to safeguard national security if necessary. (Reporting by Tom Balmforth; Editing by David Holmes) Where are you heading this summer? If a recent Harris poll is to be believed, more than 75% of Americans are planning to travel somewhere over the next two months. Thats up quite dramatically from this time last year when only 29% of those surveyed stated that they were ready to venture out for a vacation. Such a thirst for summer fun shouldnt surprise anyone. Although Connecticut saw a dramatic downturn in COVID-19 case rates during the entirety of the 2020 summer, few people felt comfortable venturing very far from home. It didnt help that other parts of the country, spared the worst of the pandemic early on, were suddenly seeing infections skyrocket and most of the world was still in some sort of lockdown. Simply put, even for those who did want to leave Cheshire, there werent a lot of options. Not so in 2021. Most everything is now fully opened in Connecticut and around the rest of the country. Cities that just a few months ago were actively discouraging outside tourism are now spending on commercials and advertising to entice people back. Everyone is sending the same signal: We are open for business. But its clear that some people are less inclined to venture back out for a normal summer than others. Many will likely decide to once again remain close to home. And those who do will undoubtedly find themselves enjoying some time at Mixville. While not as popular as Bartlem, which has the benefit of being located right off of Route 10 and directly across from Cheshire High School, Mixville Recreation Area is undoubtedly the towns most unique public park. On one side sits a large hill that is popular in the winter for sledding after a substantial snowfall. And on the other, a pond a favorite for swimmers in the summer and fishermen in the spring and fall. In the middle lies plenty of opportunity for activities. It has often been referred to as Cheshires hidden gem, and while that moniker may not do justice to the areas overall popularity, it certainly captures the charm of Mixville. In the spring of 1961, however, Mixville was just an idea. It was simply land, available for purchase, and open to possibilities. Over the course of the spring and early summer of 1961, that property would become a part of Cheshires recreation, as it was first introduced to a community looking for some summer fun. The decision as to whether or not the Town would secure the land and turn the pond on the site into a recreational watering hole for residents was set for late April. A front-page article in the April 20, 1961 edition of The Cheshire Herald explained that, up for a vote would be whether to authorize the purchase (of) a bathing facility, two pieces of property which include Mixville Pond, (as well as) its beach and bathing facilities. The article continued: A tract of approximately 11.1 acres on the southwest and west sides of the pond and including the bathing facilities, now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Albert Adams, is under option to the town at a price of $48,000. A second tract including the pond is now owned by the estate of Rebecca Mitkowski and is under option for a price of $20,000. The Board of Finance has recommended an appropriation of $69,000 to cover the costs of the two pieces of land, plus $1,000 for title search, survey costs, and other incidental expenses. It seems shocking to those of us used to 21st-century finances that such an expansive piece of land could be purchased for the sum of less than $70,000. Cheshire is currently in the midst of determining what to do with the former Chapman property adjacent to Bartlem Park. Those acres cost the community $3 million, a sum many considered to be a good bargain. But whatever 2021 Cheshire thinks of it now, all that mattered was what 1961 Cheshire would decide when it came to Mixville. It turns out they too saw it as a deal, as The Herald explained in an article published on April 27, 1961: In almost unanimous agreement, town meeting voters approved the purchase of the Mixville Bathing Pond facilities at a special town meeting Monday evening (a) session which was attended by about 130 people. Two minor amendments to the original resolution were also approved an amendment providing for the purchase of the property after good marketable title had been ascertained (and another) adding other public recreation activities to the original resolution which had specified only swimming. So the deal was done, Cheshire had the go-ahead from the taxpayers to secure the property and the pond, and all that remained was a decision as to when the new park would be opened. Oh, and what it would cost residents to use the property. Some clarification was provided in a May 18, 1961 edition of The Herald, where an article explained that the plan was to charge 25 cents for Cheshire residents and 50 cents for non-Cheshire users. While there had been some discussion, it appears, of rushing to get the area ready for the Memorial Day weekend, local officials announced that it would be impossible, as several issues, such as a title search and finalization of the purchase, had yet to happen. Yet it appears another issue would hold up the areas grand opening even longer. Many, it seems, were unhappy with the proposed fees recommended for the new recreational area. Again, to the modern ear, 25 cents for Cheshire residents and 50 cents for non-residents seems like a steal, but in 1961 the payment plan appeared less than ideal. The issue was finally decided approximately a month later, when voters once again were asked to weigh in on the matter, as The Herald explained in a June 22, 1961 article: A several-weeks controversy over charges at the Mixville Recreation Area were resolved at a special town meeting last Thursday, when voters approved a season $2 parking fee for Cheshire residents and a 50-cent parking fee for out-of-town visitors to the area. The plan approved by most of the 85 persons present at the high school was introduced by Park Commissioner William Myers. The official plan of the Park Commission proposed a seasonal family fee of $10; an individual seasonal fee of $5; a 20-cent daily admission charge for residents and 50-cents for non-residents. A third plan proposed by the Board of Selectmen suggested a 25-cent parking charge for all cars. So with that, the last hurdle for the new park was passed. While Memorial Day weekend had been far too ambitious of a timeline, it turned out that a target date of Independence Day was one that could more easily be met. Before the July 4 holiday arrived in fact, before June had concluded the pond at Mixville was buzzing with activity. We expect that there will be a similar buzz around the pond in 2021, as there was in 1961, as families look to get out of the heat and humidity by enjoying a little bonding time with nature. Mixville remains today as it always has been a great place to enjoy summer! In 2019, UW Health reported $16.4 million in charity care and $15.5 million in bad debt. St. Marys had $4.8 million in charity care and $2.4 million in bad debt. Meriter had $3 million in charity and $3.9 million in bad debt. Peterson said hospitals need to do more to connect vulnerable patients with coverage. You cant just tell a patient who has mental health issues to go down to the county and apply, he said. Its not going to happen. For some patients, the consequences of medical debt are far-reaching, Peterson said. Youre in an electronic debtors prison, he said. You cant get credit. You cant get a car. You might not get a job or an apartment because you have a poor credit report. Sarina Benford, 32, of Madison, noticed her credit score dropped 50 points this spring after two unexpected medical bills totaling more than $1,000 appeared on her report, including one from April 2020, when she went to Meriters ER. After years of poor credit, the mother of two, who works as a sales manager at a hotel, was trying to improve her score. (CNN) At the western edge of Europe lie two little islands with a complex past. Ireland and Britain are just 12 miles apart at the Irish Sea's narrowest point, but waters run deep here -- in every sense. For the past century, Ireland's northeast corner has been part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In a bid to improve domestic transport links, the UK government is now conducting a feasibility study to see whether Northern Ireland can be linked by a bridge or tunnel to Scotland, its neighbor over the water. The findings are due later this summer. The idea is not a new one, but it's been gaining traction since 2018, when UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave the bridge concept his support, and Scottish architect Alan Dunlop unveiled his proposal for a rail-and-road bridge between Portpatrick in Scotland and Larne in Northern Ireland. More recent arguments -- dubbed "sausage wars" -- between the European Union and the UK over trade links disrupted by Brexit have added a fresh impetus to the search for a way to create a frictionless route across the water. The distances involved are short. However, there are geological and environmental challenges so immense this would be one of the most technically ambitious projects in engineering history. There are also questions of economics, infrastructure and entrenched local politics. The Westminster plans have met with scepticism from local politicians, with Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon describing it as a diversion from "the real issues," while in Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein Deputy Leader Michelle O'Neill called it a "pipe dream bridge." Now isolated in Europe, the UK today has a reputation more for burning bridges than building them. However, if it pulls this project off, it could be a wonder to rival the Golden Gate Bridge or the Channel Tunnel. The question the upcoming report must answer is: Can a fixed sea link be done -- and is it worth it? Bridge over troubled water The unique geology of this corner of the world is seen to spectacular effect in the Giant's Causeway, a Northern Irish UNESCO World Heritage site, and its Scottish counterpart Fingal's Cave. Legend has it that the countries were once linked by a bridge made of these basalt columns created by ancient volcanic lava flow. But deep below the surface of this narrow sea you'll also find Beaufort's Dyke, a huge 50-kilometer-long natural trench created during the last glacial period. Its average depth is around 150 meters, but at its deepest point, it's about twice that -- enough to submerge the Eiffel Tower. This dyke lies slap-bang on the most direct route between Scotland and Ireland, and what's more, it's the largest known British military dump. There are more than a million tons of unexploded munitions here, as well as chemical weapons and radioactive waste, jettisoned by the UK Ministry of Defence between World War II and the mid-1970s. On top of this, there are rough seas, strong currents, and the famously unpredictable Irish and Scottish weather. The munitions are the first challenge to the fixed sea link project. The clearance operation It's "a considerable clearance campaign," says David Welch, managing director of bomb and explosives disposal experts Ramora UK: "not impossible, but incredibly challenging." He compares the project to trying to recover the most famous product of Northern Ireland's shipbuilding industry: "It's a bit like raising the Titanic." On an average offshore project, clearance teams might deal with anywhere between one and 10 large munitions a day -- so the bill for clearing the trench would run to "many, many millions of pounds" before any construction work could take place. "We have very strong currents around there," says Margaret Stewart, a marine geoscientist from the British Geological Survey. The precise location of the munitions aren't known, as many have been swept north along the seabed, and others never made it to the dyke at all, having been dumped ahead of target by crews cutting corners. If you're putting in the foundations for a bridge or tunnel, says Welch, "you need to be confident that the area in which you're about to place equipment or assets or people is sufficiently clear to allow the safe mooring or positioning of the vessels and everything else. "What you don't want is to clear an area around the bridge, only for it to over time have migrated munitions move up against the base of the bridge." Getting from A to B Building a bridge or tunnel is not just a question of drawing a line between the two closest land masses, explains Paul Quigley, geotechnical engineer and director of Ireland's Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions. The sea isn't the blank canvas we imagine it to be. There's "existing infrastructure, you've got cables, you've got shipping lanes," says Quigley. "When you start to map the seabed, it's surprising how constrained the resources can be." And then when you're on land, you need to consider the quality of road and rail links, and distances to large population centers. Torr Head in Northern Ireland and Mull of Kintyre in Scotland are the two closest points, but they are remote locations, some way from the key cities of Belfast and Derry in Northern Ireland and Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland. The islands' biggest cities -- Dublin in the Republic of Ireland and London in southeast England -- are further away again. There are three existing ferry routes between the two islands. The Larne to Stranraer ferry connects Northern Ireland and Scotland but its distance from the main hubs means it's less popular than the busy service between Dublin and the Welsh port of Holyhead. Says Quigley, "What Brexit has shown is there is a sizable volume of trade that comes into Dublin from (Britain) and it's destined for Northern Ireland." He thinks it would be hard to get stakeholders to invest in a route that directs traffic so far north, or for it to be more appealing than the ferry crossings. "It's good to dream and good to imagine these things," he says, but there has "to be a project need." Celtic Crossing "There isn't a major infrastructure project that hasn't received criticism," architect Alan Dunlop tells CNN. He's studied recent bridge, tunnel, highway and oil rig projects around the world in similarly "difficult geological conditions" and while he admits there's "none of them as challenging as this," it's his firm belief that "within the United Kingdom, we have absolutely the engineering and architectural talent to tackle this." He's made proposals for a "Celtic Crossing" bridge -- with an estimated price tag of 20 billion ($28 billion) -- and also a sea tunnel. His heart is with the bridge concept, though, as a national symbol and a way of linking the Celtic nations. His crossing would be a 45-kilometer-long floating pontoon-style bridge anchored to the seabed by cables. He was inspired by oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico which are connected to the seabed at depths of up to 1,000 meters below. He says the greatest lessons can be learned from the Norwegian Coastal Highway, a $40 billion, 1,100-kilometer route which connects the country's west coast. Its pioneering plans include floating bridges supported by pontoons -- a way of handling extreme depths which avoids column contact with the seabed -- and the world's first "floating tunnel." A submerged "floating tunnel" tube, attached to surface pontoons or tethered to the sea bed, perhaps in tandem with a bridge, is one of several design propositions in currency. Record-breaking bridges For the Irish Sea project, "you're at the outer limits of what is possible from bridge technology," says Quigley. "The real constraint on the bridge is the fact that, given the weather conditions, there will be periods when you will close a bridge due to high winds and just the safety aspects. The other issue is you're putting a structure into a very harsh environment. The maintenance of a bridge structure is likely to be prohibitive." While both a multi-span suspension or cable-stayed bridge might be possible, traditional tower supports on the seabed would have to be at a height never achieved before in the world -- so more creative solutions have to be found. China is currently the world leader when it comes to record-breaking bridges. At 48.3 kilometers (30 miles), Hong Kong--Zhuhai-Macau Bridge is the world's longest bridge over water. It was designed to withstand typhoons and is composed of cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel and its length is broken up by four artificial islands -- although the waters there are more shallow than in the Irish Sea. The world's longest bridge, at 164 kilometers (102 miles), is China's Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge, while Hangzhou Bay Bridge (36 kilometers or 22.4 miles) spans the greatest expanse of open sea. Tunnel vision Grant Shapps, the UK's transport minister, told the BBC in March that if a fixed sea link is built, the weather factors mean it's more likely to be a tunnel than a bridge. The High Speed Rail Group, a rail industry body, has proposed a sea tunnel between Larne and Stranraer that could bypass Beaufort's Dyke -- but it's based on plans made by Victorian engineer James Barton 120 years ago. The group also recommended that existing rail infrastructure would need to be improved in both countries to support the tunnel link. Another bold plan reportedly investigated by UK government officials is a three-tunnel proposition connecting at an underwater roundabout underneath the Isle of Man, similar to the new Eysturoy tunnel network in the Faroe Islands. Engineer Ian Hunt, meanwhile, has located his proposal further south to make use of the existing infrastructure that supports the current ferry service. He revealed his plans to New Civil Engineer for a bridge and tunnel link, via two man-made islands, between Holyhead in Dublin. Political divide The project is also politically charged, with more support typically coming from Northern Irish and Scottish unionists and less from nationalists. In Northern Ireland, the bridge's strongest advocate has been the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the country's biggest party, which floated the idea in its 2015 general election manifesto. The party, which in 2017 struck a deal with the ruling Conservative party which helped prop up the government now headed by Johnson, is currently in disarray, and on its third leader in as many months. Alan Dunlop tells CNN that reaction to his Celtic Crossing proposal had initially been largely positive, but the Scottish backlash began once Boris Johnson gave public support to the bridge idea at the DUP conference in November 2018. Nichola Mallon, Northern Ireland's Infrastructure Minister and a member of the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP, told CNN in a statement that it was a "vanity project from Westminister." Said Mallon, a fixed link "will not provide us with the level of improvement to jobs or trade that some may expect, until we have addressed the longstanding issues within our existing transport network." The 20 billion figure is the one that's bandied around most in discussion around the project, but commentators have speculated that the costs could be much more than that. Paul Quigley points out that that figure is based on technology associated with the Channel Tunnel between England and France, completed in 1994, but the costs of the Irish Sea project could be much higher because "we're in a very different era in terms of environmental compliance and risk assessment." Then there's the matter of infrastructure improvements to support the fixed sea link -- which will cost money which many on both islands have said would be better used on other community investments. "it's difficult to argue on the basis of economics, but it's not really a project about economics," Dunlop tells CNN. "It's about the future of countries and doing something for our kids." It's a bold vision for the future, but it will need a lot of buy-in from the four nations that co-exist in Britain and Ireland. Like the legend of the Giant's Causeway, the bridge built by the Irish giant Finn McCool and destroyed in a fight with the Scottish giant Benandonner, it may in the end be a fantastic tale of hubris -- but the challenge is not insurmountable. This story was first published on CNN.com, "The UK wants to build one of the world's most ambitious bridges" Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 2) Amid the threats posed by the more contagious COVID-19 variants, vaccine experts said they hope to provide recommendations on the use of a booster shot towards the third quarter or by the end of the year. "We are monitoring closely so that maybe by the end of the year or towards he third quarter of the year we might be able to give some recommendation on the possibility of giving boosters or third shot," Vaccine Expert Panel head Dr. Nina Gloriani told CNN Philippines' The Final Word. Gloriani explained that some currently available coronavirus shots can provide immunity for up to around nine months. She said there are three possibilities the World Health Organization is looking into on what booster shot to give. One is the same vaccine that was initially given, second is an updated version - a combination of the prototype strain plus the variant strain, and third is an entirely new vaccine. Gloriani added that many vaccine manufacturers are already studying the production of an updated version - with some using only one variant, while others include all. Asked about the performance of vaccines available in the Philippines against the variants, Gloriani said the efficacy of Pfizer and AstraZeneca against the Delta variant is at 35% after one dose, which goes up to 80% after the second dose. For Sinovac, she said it is important to get both doses to ensure better protection. Gloriani also welcomed recent studies that showed the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine appears to provide adequate protection against the Delta variant. READ: J&J COVID-19 vaccine lasts at least 8 months, protects against Delta variant, studies find (CNN) The Boy Scouts of America has reached an $850 million settlement with sexual abuse victims amid bankruptcy proceedings and allegations of widespread abuse within the group, it said in news release. The deal is among the largest single settlements of sexual abuse claims in US history. Under the agreement, BSA will pay up to $250 million in value to a trust fund that will compensate survivors of abuse. The other $600 will come from local councils. Additional negotiations with sponsoring and chartering organizations that "have billions of dollars in legal exposure" are planned, said Ken Rothweiler, whose Philadelphia law firm represented more than 16,000 survivors. "This significant step toward a global resolution benefits the entire Scouting community, as this agreement will help local councils make their contributions to the Trust without additional drain on their assets, and will allow them to move forward with the national organization toward emergence from bankruptcy," BSA said in its release. Noted Rothweiler: "I am pleased that both the BSA and their local councils have stepped up to be the first to compensate the survivors." BSA filed for bankruptcy in February 2020 as hundreds of sexual abuse lawsuits were filed across the country. The organization months later faced at least 92,700 claims of sexual abuse by former scouts, a lead attorney for claimants told CNN just after the bankruptcy court's claim deadline passed. The youth organization, which celebrated its 110th anniversary last year, listed liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million and estimated assets of $1 billion to $10 billion. "The Boy Scouts of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to achieve two key imperatives: equitably compensate survivors who were harmed during their time in Scouting and continue to carry out Scouting's mission for years to come," the organization previously said in a statement. Other institutions facing lawsuits related to sexual abuse claims have agreed in recent years to massive settlements. Payouts by Catholic Church entities involved in clerical sex abuse claims have reached into the billions of dollars combined. The University of Southern California agreed pay a record-setting $1.1 billion over sexual abuse allegations against a former campus gynecologist, including one $852 million settlement. Michigan State University agreed to pay $500 million to settle lawsuits brought by 332 victims of a former associate professor and doctor. CNN's Casey Hicks contributed to this report. This story was first published on CNN.com "Boy Scouts of America reaches $850 million settlement with sexual abuse victims" (CNN) -- In Mongolia, hospitals are overwhelmed. In the tiny archipelago of Seychelles, more than 100 new Covid-19 cases are being reported each day. And in Chile, a nationwide lockdown was lifted this week -- but the country is still reporting thousands of daily cases. What links these countries is that they have each fully inoculated more than 50% of their populations, largely with Chinese-made coronavirus vaccines. And that's raised questions over the vaccines' efficacy. If the Chinese vaccines aren't working, that's a huge problem -- and not just from a health perspective. Beijing has staked its reputation on providing other countries with vaccines. As Western nations stockpiled supplies for their own populations, China sent vaccines overseas -- in June, the foreign ministry announced the country had delivered more than 350 million Covid-19 doses to more than 80 countries. That mission highlighted inadequate Western efforts at a time when tensions between China and many major democracies were running high. Questions over the efficacy of China's Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines now jeopardize that soft-power win for Beijing, although China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin has dismissed such criticism as a "bias-motivated ... smear." Experts say that while these Chinese vaccines might not be as effective as some, they aren't a failure. No vaccine gives 100% protection against Covid-19, so breakthrough cases are to be expected. The crucial metric for measuring success, they say, is preventing deaths and hospitalizations, not aiming for zero Covid-19. Why are vaccinated people getting sick? China has two vaccines authorized for emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO), Sinopharm and Sinovac. Both use inactivated viruses to prompt an immune response in the patient, a tried and tested vaccine method. Pfizer and Moderna, by contrast, use a newer technology called mRNA, which teaches the body's cells how to make a piece of the coronavirus spike protein that triggers an immune response. So far, trials show Sinopharm and Sinovac have a lower efficacy against Covid-19 than their mRNA counterparts. In Brazilian trials, Sinovac had about 50% efficacy against symptomatic Covid-19, and 100% effectiveness against severe disease, according to trial data submitted to the WHO. Sinopharm's efficacy for both symptomatic and hospitalized disease was estimated at 79%, according to the WHO. Both Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 are more than 90% effective against symptomatic Covid-19. Global efficacy studies of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine showed it was 66% effective against moderate to severe illness, 85% effective against severe disease and 100% effective at preventing death. The trials took place at different times, and in places where different variants were circulating. Experts say the outbreaks in places that used Chinese vaccines are broadly in line with what we would expect from these efficacy rates. "If we want to bring down the severe cases (and) the number of deaths, the Sinopharm, Sinovac can help," said Jin Dong-yan, a professor in molecular virology at Hong Kong University. Ben Cowling, a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the same university, said the Chinese vaccines appeared to be limiting the number of serious infections and deaths. "I think the vaccines are certainly working and they're certainly saving a lot of lives," he said. What's going on in Chile, Mongolia and Seychelles? Chile is reporting thousands of new Covid-19 cases each day. There, 55% of the population is fully vaccinated, and among that cohort almost 80% received Sinovac. But according to the Ministry of Health, 73% of cases in the intensive care unit between June 17 and 23 were not fully vaccinated. It's a similar situation in the Seychelles, where authorities said almost all critical and severe cases of Covid-19 were in people who had not been fully vaccinated. The country is using Sinopharm in adults under 60, while over 60s get Covishield, the AstraZeneca vaccine made in India, which has a similar efficacy rate of 76% against symptomatic Covid-19 and 100% efficacy against severe or critical Covid-19. The Seychelles Ministry of Health said in a Facebook post last month that of the 63 people who had died from Covid-19 in the country at the time, three had been vaccinated with two doses. All three were aged between 51 and 80. CNN has reached out to the Ministry of Health for comment. Mongolia has fully vaccinated 53% of its population, with 80% of those people receiving Sinopharm, according to Enkhsaihan Lkhagvasuren, the Ministry of Health's head of public health policy implementation. A fifth of Mongolia's Covid-19 cases have been fully vaccinated, but 96% of Covid-19 deaths were in people who were either unvaccinated or had received just one dose, Lkhagvasuren said. To reach herd immunity, Lkhagvasuren said more than 80% of the population needed to be inoculated. The country of 3 million still has 1.6 million people vulnerable to Covid-19, she said. And she maintained that Sinopharm had been very effective. "We cannot differentiate between Covid-19 vaccines, saying this one is bad or that one is good. All of the available vaccines reduce the risk of severe illness," she said. Odgerel Chuluunbat, a fully vaccinated business owner in Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar who tested positive for Covid-19 two weeks ago and recovered at home, said she believed her infection could have been much worse without the Sinopharm vaccine. "I don't regret getting the jab," she said. "Without it, the situation in the country would be very bad." With global vaccines in short supply, many developing countries had few other options. Mongolia was allocated more than 112,000 AstraZeneca doses and 126,000 Pfizer doses via COVAX, but production issues and India's outbreak have delayed deliveries. Why are vaccinated people dying? Some people who are getting vaccinated with Sinovac or Sinopharm are still dying of Covid -- although these breakthrough cases are possible with any vaccine. In Indonesia, which the Red Cross warned this week is "on the edge of catastrophe," at least 88 doctors died of Covid-19 between February and June 26. At least 20 were fully vaccinated with Sinovac, according to Dr. Adib Khumaidi, the chief of Indonesian Medical Association's risk mitigation team. Another 35 had not been vaccinated, and 33 deaths are still under investigation. An estimated 1,600 doctors in Indonesia have been infected with Covid-19 in May and June alone, although it's unclear how many of those had been vaccinated. Adib said most medical workers died because they were in a unique circumstance: they were overwhelmed with patients, meaning they had to work long hours with little rest. "Based on our investigation data, the death of medical workers has nothing to do with the Sinovac vaccine," Adib said. "The most important thing is taking the Covid vaccine and people should keep following health protocols." Dr. Hermawan Saputra, an epidemiologist and member of the Indonesian Public Health Experts Association, said more virulent strains of Covid-19 may have reduced the efficacy of the vaccines. The issue of inoculated people dying from Covid-19 is not contained to Chinese vaccines. A Public Health England report in June found that of the 117 people who died within 28 days of testing positive for the Delta variant in the UK, 50 had received two doses. But such deaths are rare -- in total, there were 92,029 Delta cases, of which 58% were unvaccinated. The UK is using Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, which are both mRNA vaccines, and Oxford/AstraZeneca, which uses a different technology. In an article in the Guardian, statisticians David Spiegelhalter and Anthony Masters said some deaths were to be expected from good, but not perfect, vaccines. Virologist Jin cautioned there could be underlying issues in these serious cases. Some vaccinated people hospitalized with Covid-19 might be immunocompromized, meaning their body is not able to produce a strong immune response, he said. Have the Chinese vaccines failed? Pfizer and Moderna vaccines appear to be more effective than Sinovac and Sinopharm at limiting transmission, but whether the two WHO-approved Chinese vaccines have failed depends on the metrics for success. Jin said the Chinese vaccines' efficacy might not be high enough to stop the virus circulating in a community, thereby putting herd immunity out of reach. That runs the risk of vaccine-resistant variants emerging. "It's possible that the end of the pandemic might be delayed, or we might have to work with these flu-like diseases for a longer period of time," Jin said. "(The Sinovac, Sinopharm vaccines) are good, but they're just not good enough. We want the vaccine to help put an end to the pandemic, and if that is the case, Pfizer and Moderna are doing a much better job." He said the manufacturers of the Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines have a responsibility to improve, which could just be a matter of increasing the dose or adding a third dose. There are also signs China might not rely entirely on homegrown vaccines in the future. China's Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical said in a Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing that it would work with BioNTech to produce up to 1 billion vaccines annually. Pfizer and Moderna may roll out in more countries next year after manufacturing capacity is increased. But right now, there's just not enough to go around. Even so, getting a Chinese vaccine is still better than nothing, said Scott Rosenstein, director of the global health program at Eurasia Group. "In places where that's the only option, it still remains the best decision to take it," he said. And he worries that criticism of the Chinese vaccines may encourage people to wait until more effective vaccines become available. "That itself creates challenges for the rollout, it means that you vaccinate people slower," he said. How does politics play into this? As it exports vaccines around the world, Beijing has promoted the Sinopharm and Sinovac shots as "Chinese vaccines," aligning the products with China's government in a way not seen in the US or the UK. After the WHO validated Sinovac and more efficacy data on Sinopharm was released in June, for example, state media Xinhua ran an editorial under the headline: "Latest evidence reaffirms Chinese vaccines' benefits to the world." When the vaccines are a success, that reflects well on the Chinese Communist Party, even though Sinovac is a privately owned company (Sinopharm is state-owned). But because China's shots are often flattened to "Chinese vaccines," when there are questions over efficacy, that impacts all of them -- and hurts the party, too. Neither vaccine company has made extensive trial data public, which may allow efficacy questions to continue. "The most I can say about that data is that those vaccines seem to work OK," Rosenstein said. "You're sort of partially flying blind here because the gold standard is a randomized trial, and we don't have that much to work with for those." The lack of data has fed skepticism. Now reports of cases even among vaccinated people is prompting a backlash. In Mongolia, where there's already a long-running anti-China sentiment, partly thanks to a belief that neighboring China wants to undermine its sovereignty, many are frustrated about the rate of infections. Gandi Boldbaatar, a 22-year-old student, said she was fully vaccinated with Sinopharm a month ago, but tested positive for Covid-19 last week and is now in intensive care in a government hospital. She said she didn't think Mongolia's vaccination campaign was very effective. "I still got very sick," she said. "If given the option to get inoculated again with Sinopharm or any other vaccine, I will refuse it." Some of the backlash is wrapped up in "political scorekeeping" over the vaccines, said Rosenstein. When China's efforts started, Western countries were accused of hoarding vaccines. Questions over Chinese vaccine efficacy have come about as the US announced its own plans to donate millions of vaccines abroad. "It's too early to say that the verdict is in," Rosenstein said. "The downside (of vaccine diplomacy) may have outweighed the upside ... I think that the vaccine diplomacy objectives of China at this point are not being realized." But the bigger picture, Rosenstein said, isn't about politics -- it's about health. "It's bad for public health when you have so much political jockeying instead of good faith discussions around what's the best way to get this outbreak under control." This story was first published on CNN.com Why Covid-19 outbreaks in countries using Chinese vaccines don't necessarily mean the shots have failed (CNN) As the tourists head back to Italy, one of the cities that has suffered most at the hands of tourism is fighting back. In a bid to avoid overcrowding during the pandemic, authorities in Florence have announced that people will be banned from the city's most popular nightlife areas, unless they've been eating or drinking in the area. And in a bid to tackle the side effects of tourism, one of the city's most important voices has called for a tax on street food stalls. Mayor of Florence Dario Nardella has signed an ordinance banning people from wandering around popular areas on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings until further notice. Access to six areas of the historic city center -- including the popular nightlife area of Santo Spirito -- is not allowed from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., unless people are using the bars and restaurants there. Other bans include the central areas Piazza Strozzi, Santa Croce and Piazza S.S. Annunziata. All are places where people like to congregate in the evenings on the steps of the famous churches and palaces. Eating or drinking on the steps of the basilica of Santo Spirito is banned 24/7, as well. Anyone breaking the rules will be fined between 400 and 1,000 ($475 - $1,185). The rules will be in place until the end of the pandemic. Locals have reacted angrily to the news. Veronica Grechi, who owns a B&B in Florence, Velona's Jungle, said the decision is "not right." "The squares are public -- if people are behaving badly you need to make them go away, you don't say that you can only access these places with a receipt from a bar -- it's saying you can only get access if you pay," she said. "It's fine to say you can't bring a beer along and chuck it on the ground, but limiting access -- no, it's not right." The call for a 'sandwich tax' But while the city authorities declare war on nightlife, the director of the Uffizi Galleries -- home to one of the world's most famous collections of Renaissance art -- has gone after tourists, demanding a "sandwich tax" on the street food stalls which supply visitors with take-out meals that end up littering the city center. "Bans [on eating] and fines [for littering] have proved mostly inadequate at tackling the phenomenon," Schmidt told CNN. The open courtyard around the Uffizi is ringed by inbuilt benches of highly absorbent "pietra serena" stone, so the problem is not just litter, he says -- food and drink are ruining the stone that's been there since the Renaissance period. "Even now, the benches and steps of the Uffizi and the Loggia dei Lanzi [which looks onto the main square] are full of people eating and drinking. The result is oil and sauce on the stone, bits of paper, food leftovers and stains from soft drinks everywhere. "The stone absorbs it all and gets damaged over time, so to protect it we have to be cleaning it continuously." "Having stallholders take responsibility through a small contribution could be a concrete way of tackling it." Street food sellers are different from restaurateurs, said Schmidt, because the latter have premises where clients can eat, that they clean afterwards. Whereas with street food, "of course it's a legitimate business, but they take the money for the sale of the product, but essentially flush the consequences -- litter, oil, ketchup, sauce that drips on the ground or the stone -- on the citizens. So we need to balance the situation." An 'absurd' idea His proposal has been met with delight by some locals. "The situation is terrible, and needs to be managed," said Grechi, who would like either to see eating and drinking banned in the area, or to change the urban planning to ban clusters of street food stalls: "It means that anyone who doesn't want to sit down for a meal goes to the same places," she said. But those in the business have reacted with fury. Paolo Gori, president of the business and service sector of Confartigianato Imprese Firenze, a trade association for small and medium businesses which has 8,000 members in the area, called it "absurd." "It's not the moment to think about new taxes after 18 months of a pandemic," he told CNN, adding that about a third of his members have either folded in the pandemic, or are close to folding. "The hospitality sector is one of the most affected industries -- they're just starting to see light at the end of the tunnel, and here comes this idea of a sandwich tax." What's more, he said, "Florence was born on street food -- we have a street food culture," referring to lampredotto, the local delicacy made from the fourth stomach of a cow, usually served in a sandwich. Instead, he said the city should be putting the onus on the tourists making the mess. "We need to fine people who don't behave well -- who litter, who make the city dirty," he said. "We want tourists, but behavior needs to be civil. Florence is everyone's heritage, but tourists need to respect it enough to leave it clean." A question of quality Alessandro Frassica, owner of upmarket sandwich bar Ino, agrees that it's too much, too soon. "The problem definitely exists, so we need to take action that can better 'hit-and-run' tourism, but I haven't understood how the tax would be applied, and who to," he told CNN. The issue is not just sandwiches, he said. "Ice cream, pizza -- it's all out of control now, especially if you're talking about the quality of what's on offer. "To make something of good quality has a cost -- from the product itself to the staff, hygiene and cleaning of the sales point. So when something costs so little, we should be asking questions. "And let's not forget that often people bring their own food in a backpack and leave the waste everywhere." But Schmidt insisted: "The situation that's on its way back is already penalizing various kinds of business -- but most of all it's damaging the image of the whole city, and that hurts everyone." This story was first published on CNN.com Italian tourist city bans evening walks to halt overcrowding (CNN) A new space telescope that could spot potentially hazardous asteroids and comets heading for Earth is one step closer to reality. The Near-Earth Object Surveyor space telescope, or NEO Surveyor, has been approved by NASA to move forward to the design phase. The 20-foot-long (6-meter-long) infrared telescope would bolster planetary defense by helping astronomers find asteroids and comets that come within 30 million miles (48 million kilometers) of Earth's orbit.= The mission's launch is currently scheduled for the first half of 2026. "NEO Surveyor will have the capability to rapidly accelerate the rate at which NASA is able to discover asteroids and comets that could pose a hazard to the Earth, and it is being designed to discover 90 percent of asteroids 140 meters (459 feet) in size or larger within a decade of being launched," said Mike Kelley, NEO Surveyor program scientist at NASA Headquarters, in a statement. Wednesday is International Asteroid Day, commemorating the Earth's largest recorded asteroid impact while focusing on the real danger of asteroids that could collide with Earth. In 1908, a powerful asteroid struck the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in a remote Siberian forest of Russia. The event leveled trees and destroyed forests across 770 square miles, which is equal to the size of three-quarters of the US state of Rhode Island. The impact threw people to the ground in a town 40 miles away. And it explains why astronomers and the Asteroid Day group want people to be aware. Detecting the threat of near-Earth objects, or NEOs, that could potentially cause grave harm is a primary focus of NASA and other space organizations around the world. In 2010, NASA completed its goal of discovering 90% of all near-Earth objects larger than 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) in size. The agency was then directed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Act of 2005 to find 90% of NEOs larger than 140 meters (459 feet). To date, NASA has found 40% of the objects within this range. "Each night, astronomers across the globe diligently use ground-based optical telescopes to discover new NEOs, characterize their shape and size, and confirm they do not pose a threat to us," said Kelly Fast, program manager for NASA's NEO Observations Program, in a statement. "Those telescopes are only able to look for NEOs in the night sky. NEO Surveyor would allow observations to continue day and night, specifically targeting regions where NEOs that could pose a hazard might be found and accelerating the progress toward the Congressional goal." The ability to discover and characterize potentially hazardous NEOs also allows astronomers to track these objects. Currently, there are no known NEO impact threats to Earth for the next century. However, unknown NEOs can lead to unpredicted impacts, like the Chelyabinsk event in Russia. In 2013, an asteroid entered Earth's atmosphere over Chelyabinsk, Russia. It exploded in the air, releasing 20 to 30 times more energy than that of the first atomic bombs, generating brightness greater than the sun, exuding heat, damaging more than 7,000 buildings and injuring more than 1,000 people. The shock wave broke windows 58 miles away. It went undetected because the asteroid came from the same direction and path as the sun. The NEO Surveyor will use infrared sensors that can help astronomers find these objects -- even ones that may approach Earth during the day from the direction of the sun. This isn't something that's possible using ground-based observatories. "By searching for NEOs closer to the direction of the Sun, NEO Surveyor would help astronomers discover impact hazards that could approach Earth from the daytime sky," said Amy Mainzer, principal investigator for NEO Surveyor at the University of Arizona and professor in the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, in a statement. "We think there are about 25,000 NEOs large enough to wipe out an area like Southern California," Mainzer said. "Once they get bigger than about 450 feet (137 meters) in diameter, they can cause severe regional damage. We want to find these, and as many smaller ones as possible." The NEO Surveyor can search for asteroids by sensing the heat they emit in infrared light. This information can help astronomers detect the position, movement and size of NEOs. The telescope will follow an orbit that takes it outside of the moon. This position will allow it to scan the sky and focus on areas near the sun where asteroids with orbits that bring them close to Earth can be found. "Earth-approaching asteroids and comets are warmed by the sun, and they give off heat that the NEO Surveyor mission will be able to pick up," Mainzer said. "Even asteroids as dark as a chunk of coal won't be able to hide from our infrared eyes. With NEO Surveyor, we want to spot potentially hazardous NEOs when they're years to decades away from possible impact. "The whole idea is to provide as much time as possible to develop mitigation efforts that enable us to push them out of the way." Deflecting asteroids If there is enough warning, near-Earth objects could possibly be deflected. Later this year, NASA will test its asteroid deflection technology to see how it impacts the motion of a near-Earth asteroid in space with DART, or the Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission. Two decades ago, a binary system involving a near-Earth asteroid was found to have a moon orbiting it, dubbed Didymos. In Greek, Didymos means "twin," which was used to describe how the larger asteroid, which is nearly half a mile (805 meters) across, is orbited by a smaller moon that is 525 feet (160 meters) in diameter called Dimorphos, which means "two forms." In late 2022, Didymos and Dimorphos will be relatively close to Earth and within 6,835,083 miles (11 million kilometers) of our planet -- the perfect time for the DART mission to occur. The DART spacecraft will deliberately crash into Dimorphos to change the asteroid's motion in space, according to NASA. This collision will be recorded by LICIACube, a companion CubeSat or cube satellite provided by the Italian Space Agency. The CubeSat will travel on DART and then be deployed from it prior to impact so it can record what happens. A few years after the impact, the European Space Agency's Hera mission will conduct a follow-up investigation of Didymos and Dimorphos. This fast impact will only change Dimorphos' speed as it orbits Didymos by 1%, which doesn't sound like a lot, but it will change the moon's orbital period by several minutes. That change, which is unlikely to be a negative one, can be observed and measured from ground-based telescopes on Earth. It will also be the first time humans have altered the dynamics of a solar system body in a measurable way, according to the European Space Agency. This story was first published on CNN.com New space telescope could spot potentially hazardous asteroids heading for Earth Karyssa Harbison, 11, said we celebrate because of family, and her brother Alex, 11, said it is for our freedom. "We celebrate Fourth of July as a remembrance of all of those who have fought for what they believed in," Ella Clauser, 14, said. "They believed that our country should declare independence from Great Britain. It celebrates the birth of our free independent country." Ella said it is also a day for the community to come together to celebrate its freedoms and to thank and respect all of whom have fought to build and continue to protect this beautiful country. "The reason why we celebrate Fourth of July is to celebrate the birth of our country and all the happiness that will come in the future," Ava Hovis, 14, said. "It's the meaning of every year, the date of which our country became independent from Britain." As you can see some of the kids' responses were along the right lines, but they all had one thing in common, they knew it was something worth celebrating. Local historian Scott Bates said July 4 is celebrated in commemoration of a day when the American people united as one and fought for the freedom to unite 13 colonies under a new Republic for the good of the people. NORTH CONWAY, N.H. A cat has made it to the summit of New Hampshire's 48 tallest mountains, spending parts of the journey peering out from the comfort of her owner's backpack. Floki has grown from kitten to cat in the nine months since she and owner Mel Elam, of North Conway, started their journey to the top of the state's 4,000-footers (1.21 kilometers). Last on their list was Mount Washington the highest summit in the Northeast at 6,288 feet (1.91 kilometers), which they reached last Saturday. We did it!" Elam posted on social media. She chronicled her Adventures with Floki," accompanied by photos and video. Elam adopted Floki from a shelter last year after losing another beloved hiking companion, her dog. A harness is attached to Floki when shes in the backpack, and shes on a leash when walks along a trail. In colder weather, she wore a vest. We wanted to encourage them and to keep the program going especially in Central Virginia because, in my company, we need structural engineers, we need the cost estimators, we need mathematicians, said Revella Warega, the companys president. We have to have the foundation for them to start now considering those careers. Daniel Fairley, president of 100 Black Men of Central Virginia, said they settled on the weeklong hybrid option after surveying families. All students were required to wear masks, and the adults have been fully vaccinated, he said. About 40 students participated this year. In another change from previous years, Fairley said they brought in a counselor to help students throughout the week as needed. Fairley said the group thought it was important to get students back in person this summer to help them to form friendships, among other benefits. If we establish them as brothers here, theyre gonna be brothers when they go back to their own individual schools, he said. Fairley added that those connections are important when the young men return to a school where they might be the only Black student in the building or in an advanced class. The biggest risk is not receiving the VATI funding, Wood said, but Firefly is working hard to manage the risks. The counties have some access through the American Rescue Plan funds for their portions this year, he said. Thats helpful and helpful to the counties because its difficult for rural counties to find additional funds, but the ARP funds give them a pool of money and a pool that has specific permissions to be spent on broadband expansion. American Rescue Plan money also will be part of what is discussed during a General Assembly special session next month, with broadband being one of the priorities. We know the VATI program has $50 million in funds and we anticipate there being another significant allocation of funds at the state level, Wood said. That will be important because our project will request possibly more than $50 million in VATI funds were looking at a project that would total more than $200 million in construction costs. He said Firefly is working with the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, which manages the VATI program, on how to be successful with this application. Yes. I will do my part to conserve household energy usage, even if I'm uncomfortable in my home. No. It is too hot to conserve household energy usage. I already conserve, even before ERCOT requested it. Maybe, depending on the reason ERCOT provides and whether or not I am home during that time. Vote View Results I was grateful simply to get to Atlanta and back without a confrontation on the plane. The number of incidents of bad behavior on airlines has skyrocketed since January, mostly because of people refusing to wear masks to help stem the tide of COVID-19. Im a progressive Christian, a member of a United Church of Christ congregation, although I grew up a fundamentalist Southern Baptist. In fact, many of the messages of my childhood church still resonate for me in these mean times: Be ye kind one to another (I memorized Bible verses from the King James version back then, and so thats how they still come to me); Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God; Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. Most faiths have some version of these words telling us to be kind, care for one another, and act out of love. Yet we see such a disconnect when people who claim religious faith act mean. Krum featured At a crossroads: TxDOT expansion to forever alter Krum landscape Jeff Woo/DRC Motorists drive along West McCart Street in downtown Krum last week. An upcoming highway expansion project will eliminate street parking for downtown businesses and bring construction right up to their doorsteps. Jeff Woo/DRC Jennifer Jonas, the owner of Krum Clips Salon, is worried about how the upcoming FM1173 expansion project will affect her business. I know Krum is going to grow, and I welcome the growth, but I just dont welcome that theyre going to kill my business because my customers cant come in here, she said. Jeff Woo/DRC Motorists drive along West McCart Street in downtown Krum last week. An upcoming highway expansion project will eliminate street parking for downtown businesses and bring construction right up to their doorsteps. KRUM Krum Clips Salon owner Jennifer Jonas has owned her shop at 110 W. McCart St. for 17 years. But as a $45 million highway expansion project by the Texas Department of Transportation looms on her doorstep in downtown Krum, she fears her longtime clients could be driven away. I feel like the city is going to leave us hanging, Jonas said. Spanning Denton and Krum, the project will expand McCart Street (FM1173) from Interstate 35 to FM156 and is broken down into five segments. It would widen the two-lane stretch of FM1173 to four lanes between FM156 and East Sixth Street, and to six lanes between East Sixth to I-35, adding 0.8 miles of new construction between Masch Branch and Barthold roads. Krums historic downtown is located just on the other side of the BNSF tracks on McCart, where the first segment of the project will run. The expansion, which will be ready to open for construction bids in December 2023, is aimed at addressing current and future traffic volume as well as a potential bottleneck at FM1173 and I-35 with an upcoming I-35 improvement project, TxDOT representative Emily McCann said. The project will create 10 parallel parking spots on the north side of McCart upon completion of the first segment but would eliminate the roughly 28 pull-in spots that currently exist on both sides of Krums main street. It also would bring construction right up to the sidewalk in front of the downtown strip, which will make it difficult to access existing businesses, Jonas said. I know Krum is going to grow, and I welcome the growth, but I just dont welcome that theyre going to kill my business because my customers cant come in here, Jonas said. We just need a plan. Jeff Woo/DRC Jennifer Jonas, the owner of Krum Clips Salon, is worried about how the upcoming FM1173 expansion project will affect her business. I know Krum is going to grow, and I welcome the growth, but I just dont welcome that theyre going to kill my business because my customers cant come in here, she said. Though McCann said it is too early to know how long construction might go on once the project begins, and the agency will not begin purchasing until the right-of-way map is completed in the coming months, there are currently 63 lots expected to be impacted. Those impacts could involve a purchase of the entire land parcel or may mean TxDOT needs only a small portion of a property. At 318 E. McCart St., that could mean relocating entirely. The commercial building houses Cramer Orthodontics and previously housed Krum Dental, which relocated ahead of the expansion. Though staff at Krum Dental declined to be interviewed, a staff member confirmed during an initial phone call that the practice moved because of the project. Chris Rosprim, who manages the property, said the building owner is waiting on an offer from TxDOT and hopes to rebuild elsewhere in the area. But for downtown merchants whose customers would lose access to existing parking, that isnt an option, since TxDOT would not need to purchase from Jonas and others it already owns the right of way where the expansion will take place. Ashlee Rogers, co-owner at JoyGrace & Co., said her clothing business has petitioned the city and attended several Krum City Council meetings that touched on the project. Though potential solutions explored have included parallel parking along McCart, parking behind City Hall down the street or across the highway, none have been settled on nor are any realistic, Rogers said. People arent going to walk across a four-lane highway, and even the chiropractor down the way, his elderly patients are not going to walk around the entire block to come over there, Rogers said. If theres nowhere to park or its inconvenient, people arent going to come. Rogers, along with Jonas, sent a letter of protest about the project to TxDOT, but both said they never received a response. Jonas said she knows of at least two other neighboring business owners who also submitted letters objecting to the expansion. TxDOT first asked for public input on a proposed feasibility study for the project in May 2018. Mayor Ron Harris shared the meeting details on his Facebook page, inviting residents to attend. The expansion of 1173 to accommodate growth in Krum as well as the surrounding areas in Denton County is a project that will be happening, regardless of anyones personal view on our town [as it becomes] larger or new development, Harris wrote in the post. Positives include an increased ease of traffic flowing in and out of town, road improvements that will significantly reduce flooding issues at 1173 and Hopkins, and sidewalks along 1173 to help with mobility and improve the safety of those walking along the roadway. Traffic counts have more than doubled on 1173 and 156 in just in the last three years and will continue to increase, so this project is definitely needed. Harris did not return several calls to his office for comment about the project. McCann said TxDOT does take public feedback into account and make changes where possible. Original plans for the expansion would have significantly impacted several properties including the Sonic at 1221 E. McCart St., but after hearing concerns, TxDOT shifted the alignment to narrow the footprint of the project and reduce impacts, McCann said. Downtown merchants feel that hasnt been the case for them despite communications with the city and TxDOT. Edward McRoy, director of development for the city of Krum, said though he has heard some public concern regarding the project, much of the initial discussions happened with his predecessor, Tom Elgin, who retired in December. McRoy said the city likely will work together with TxDOT to come to a solution for downtown parking, but city officials are still assessing the impacts and he expects the path of the project might change. I had a couple emails from business owners that contacted us wanting to know whats going on, and my answer to them is at this point, these are sort of initial drawings, and then we go to a more formalized process of actually going through and getting engineering and construction plans, so they can shift quite a bit from these initial draws, McRoy said. But TxDOT does not expect any significant changes to the project, which they presented to Krum city officials and received a letter of support for in February, McCann said. The city held a public hearing regarding the expansion in December 2020, prior to TxDOTs presentation to the city. FM 1173 expansion details Plans are pretty set by the time of the public hearing, McCann said. But we do try to be a good neighbor and keep access to the businesses open and will hopefully come up with a mitigation plan for parking. Scott Sackett, a longtime Krum resident who owns three buildings downtown, said there has been a lot of confusion surrounding the project for property owners. The mayor will say one thing, City Council will say something else its hard to really know whats happening, Sackett said. We dont have a lot of information at this point except if it does happen, unless the city comes up with parking on both the north and south sides of FM1173, it will do a lot of damage to the downtown. While downtowners fear the construction on FM1173 could be a detriment to business and put the 100-plus-year-old buildings at risk McRoy said that in the long term, expansions typically benefit local commerce. Obviously by expanding the right of way, that creates greater capacity for flow-through and traffic, so ultimately, those expansions tend to be beneficial, but in the short term and for individual locations, there might be some impacts that are particularly negative to individual business owners, McRoy said. Jon Gumfory, owner of the Sonic on McCart, said he is not opposed to the project. The last draft I saw, we werent going to have to move because everything was happening south on the other side of the roadway, Gumfory said. Theyll take some of the ditch here the only thing I dont like is theyll have a raised median, so there wont be a turnout and people will have to do a U-turn to get to us. It is not clear when business owners might expect a concrete solution to concerns surrounding the expansion. The project is expected to be environmentally cleared and receive funding this summer, after which offers on impacted properties can move forward. As for Jonas and others, the future remains murky. If they never address parking, its not going to make my business grow, but if a solution is made and there is more parking as the project is completed, it could help my business grow tremendously, Jonas said. My only hope is the project can go quickly, and the growing pains are minimal. I know theyre not going to be, but that is my hope. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! The continuing need for oil and gas isnt going anywhere anytime soon, as evidence by the worlds use during the global business shutdowns caused by the pandemic of 2020. Which means demand is about to surge as world economies recover. Thats according to several panelists who participated Colorado Business Roundtables Road to Recovery Series: Colorados Energy Industry in Denver Tuesday. Even in the midst of the largest economic slowdown weve seen in decades, the world was still utilizing 90% of the oil and gas it was using at pre-pandemic levels, said Hodge Walker, vice president of Chevron Rockies Business Unit. Its further evidence of how ingrained the oil and gas industry is in the world economy. That said, we need to be thinking about the future, and the future being clean energy. . We need to think about how we produce cleaner energy, with returns the investors are looking for and in an efficient way. American Petroleum Institutes CEO Mike Sommers said pre-pandemic production levels stood at about 100 million barrels a day. At its lowest production point last year, that dropped to 82 million barrels a day in April. The industry expects to return to pre-pandemic levels, and beyond, by 2022 with 102 million barrels a day being produced. Unfortunately what weve seen lately is import more oil policies, Sommers said, referring to the state and federal laws impacting the industry. Its a national security issue. We dont want to be held hostage by foreign performers. Many panelists cited Colorados leadership position for the United States when it comes to regulating the oil and gas industry, and utilizing alternatives like solar and wind-generated electricity. How Colorado is going to continue to drive the American recovery in energy is going to be a turn towards the future while leveraging the strength of what we currently have, said Danny Splettstosser, vice president of Origination and Investor Relations for Renewable Energy. We have a strong foothold as the energy hub of the nation. Where Colorado goes, the nation goes. Colorado influences regulatory and legislative outcomes, said Sommers. What happens in Colorado tends to happen elsewhere legislatively and with regulations. Colorados resources are unrivaled, and we produce energy in a safe way. Panelists were asked about issues like President Joe Bidens decision to revoke the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, causing the projects halt. The pipeline situation is a frustrating one because the demand for oil and gas will stay strong for decades to come, said Ron Gusek, President, Liberty Oilfield Services. Theres no evidence that well change consumption patterns for many years to come. Transportation of that around U.S. and globe is an important issue. We think that was a bad decision and poor things are happening because if it. It doesnt change the demand for oil. Not building a pipeline just moves how its transported. Thats most likely trains, which are less safe and less environmentally responsible. Xcel Energy President Alice Jackson said the need for natural gas pipelines isnt going anywhere soon, either. We not only provide electricity, were the natural gas suppliers too for Colorado homes, businesses, resorts, Jackson said. So whats going on now is we have a couple of regulators who are questioning weather that infrastructure is even going to be here 10 years from now. You heard that right. Theyre questioning our investment in pipelines to the mountains. Colorados efforts to reduce greenhouse gasses, including emissions from natural gas, is not going to be easy, she said. In November last year we did a state survey of our general customers about utilization of natural gas, Jackson said. We asked if they would trade natural-gas appliances like stoves or the fire pit for alternatives. Regardless of political position, 2/3 of them came back with not just no, but hell no. Thats public sentiment. And when you ask them verbatim why, the answer they give is that its cleaner than coal and takes less energy to keep a home or business warm. They understand the science. Splettstosser said infrastructure to transport electricity is going to be key as well in coming years. By 2050 alone the electric sector alone looking at something like 2.4 terawatts of additional electricity generation production, he said. Its not just the way we generate the electricity, its how we move it. A video reply of the panel discussion is available on the Colorado Business Roundtable website. Moments before he broke ground on the first phase of a 240-acre housing development planned for south Moscow, Mayor Bill Lambert said he envisioned the Palouse becoming the Silicon Valley of northern Idaho. Thats how I see it, Lambert said. The government issued a resolution Thursday on releasing the second pandemic relief package to help poor individuals and businesses hit by Covid-19. The first VND62 trillion package was launched in April last year. Compared to the previous one, the new package will reach more groups of individuals: confirmed Covid-19 patients, those sent to centralized quarantine zones, children, preschool teachers and teachers at private schools, artists working for state-owned units, and tour guides. Covid-19 patients will receive VND80,000 per day, counting from the beginning of the fourth Covid-19 wave on April 27 until the end of this year, but each patient will get no more than VND3.6 million ($156). People staying in centralized quarantine zones (for having direct contact with an infection) will receive the same amount with a maximum limit of VND1.68 million. The package will cover the treatment costs of children with Covid-19 as well as daily meals for children in centralized camps, apart from giving each child in both categories an extra sum of VND1 million. Artists managed by state-owned units will receive VND3.71 million if they have had to stop working for more than 15 days in a row. All licensed tour guides will receive VND3.71 million. Laborers who have to stop working for being sent to quarantine zones or kept in areas under lockdown for more than 14 days will get VND1 million. Those who lost their jobs because their employers had to stop operations under Covid-19 safety measures spread will be given VND3.71 million. Another update in the new package is local authorities will directly allocate support fund to informal workers, who don't have a labor contract. Cities and provinces will set up their own categories to recognize this group of workers, who will receive at least VND1.5 million each. "Informal workers are hard to define, but they are the labor group hardest hit by the pandemic," said Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung. "Administrative procedures for people to access the fund will be cut by two-thirds compared to the first package," Dung said. Family businesses that had to suspend for at least 15 days will be given VND3 million. Businesses will be given loans with zero percent interest to compensate workers that they have to lay off. The same policy is applied for businesses in transport, tourism and other services to resume operations after having to shut down due to the pandemic. The first package targets six categories of individuals and businesses: People having lost their jobs due to the Covid-19, unemployed part-time workers who have not received related benefits, poor and near-poor households, households with a record of meritorious services, household businesses, and businesses that suffered financial difficulties or had to suspend operations. As of May this year, only 22 percent of the first package had been disbursed. The second package is announced at a time when Vietnam is battling its fourth Covid-19 wave that has infected more than 14,500 people in over two months. Vietnam recorded 239 new local Covid-19 patients Saturday morning in five localities, including 215 in HCMC. Of the cases in the southern metropolis, 182 were detected in areas under isolation in the community and in centralized quarantine camps, and the sources of transmission for the remaining 33 cases are still unclear. With them added, the domestic case count in HCMC has jumped to 4,938 so far in this wave. The south central Phu Yen Province registered 11 cases and the northern Hung Yen Province 10, all of whom are in quarantine and isolated areas. Mekong Delta's Bac Lieu Province reported two cases who are people returning from HCMC. This is the first community case after 30 clean days for Bac Lieu. Bac Ninh Province in northern Vietnam recorded one case in an isolated area. Vietnam has recorded 14,955 cases in 52 of its 63 cities and provinces since the fourth Covid-19 wave broke out in the nation on April 27. The northern province of Bac Giang and HCMC are having the most infections, with 5,710 cases in Bac Giang. Across the country of 96 million, more than 3.84 million have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, with 214,405 having two doses. Flights from HCMC to Hue, Quang Nam to be suspended over Covid fears Passengers line up to be tested for Covid-19 at HCMC's Tan Son Nhat Airport in May 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa. The Ministry of Transport decided Friday to suspend flights from HCMC to Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Nam Provinces as Covid-19 infections rise at an alarming rate in the city. Authorities in the two central provinces had earlier urged the ministry to suspend flights to contain the spread of the disease. Flights to Quang Nam, home to UNESCO heritage sites Hoi An and My Son Sanctuary, will be suspended from Sunday until the Covid situation in HCMC comes under control. Flights to Hue will stop a day later. Hue was the seat of the Nguyen Dynasty, the last feudal rulers of Vietnam, and is famous for royal tombs, ancient palaces and pagodas that attract millions of visitors every year. In the ongoing Covid wave that began in late April Thua Thien-Hue has recorded five infections and Quang Nam has had four cases. But both have managed to contain the pandemic and resumed tourism activities. Earlier the ministry suspended flights from HCMC to Hai Phong City and Quang Ninh, Quang Binh and Gia Lai provinces. Vietnam's commercial hub is the new epicenter of the current wave, and top health officials said it is becoming unpredictable and could worsen. It has so far found nearly 5,000 cases and is the second worst hit of the 52 affected localities behind the northern province of Bac Giang. Passengers talk to airline employees at Riyadh International Airport, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 31, 2020. Photo by Reuters. Saudi Arabian authorities have banned arrivals from the UAE, Ethiopia and Vietnam amid rising global concern about the spread of the delta variants of Covid-19. The ban, which takes effect Sunday, will apply to everyone who has been in those countries in the last 14 days, it said. Flights to and from the three nations will also be suspended from Sunday. The Saudi Ministry of Interior said the decision was due to concerns about the spread of more infectious variants of the coronavirus in these countries. Saudi Arabia has had 490,464 Covid cases and 7,848 deaths so far. The highly transmissible Delta variant, first identified in India, has become the most prevalent in many countries, including Vietnam where most new cases are linked to it. There is also concern over the latest mutations of this variant. One such, considered to be 50 percent more transmissible than other strains and dubbed Delta-plus, is now present in 12 countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Japan, Russia, and China. Several other countries have been banning and imposing stricter quarantine measures for travelers from Vietnam. Two months into its fourth wave, the most challenging so far, the country has recorded 14,955 cases. On July 4, the United States celebrates the 245th anniversary of its existence. It is a commemoration of the day in 1776 when representatives of the 13 British colonies signed the Declaration of Independence, a separation from Great Britain. The decision to break ties with the English monarchy was years in the making, and ultimately stemmed from two seemingly unrelated but intertwined causes. The first was a long-term drive by the English Government to impose ever-tighter control over the colonists. Second was the imposition of taxes on the colonists as a means to discharge the huge debts of the English Crown, many of them accrued as a result of the 1754 French and Indian war: a continuation of Englands centuries-long, on-again, off-again war with France. Beginning in 1764, the English Parliament began to impose taxes specifically intended to raise money from the colonials for the Crown, first on sugar, and then on an ever-growing list of goods including newspapers, glass, legal documents, paint, and tea. The imposition of each new tax was met with organized protest. Eventually the taxes became punitive, the protests more violent, and government response increasingly more restrictive. The situation was particularly acrimonious in Boston. The final straw came in February 1775, when the British Parliament shut down Boston harbor. Boston began to prepare for war. Thus, although the American Revolutionary War did not officially begin until July 4, 1776, the first battle was fought just west of Boston on April 19, 1775. In the Revolutions aftermath, the leaders of the fledgling United States remembered the abuses of British rule. Governed by the liberal ideals of the Enlightenment, they turned the conventional relationship between the government and the governed on its head. The top-down government headed by a hereditary ruling class was replaced by the principle of elected national and state executives. Common citizens played increasingly important roles in local and state governance, and as more people gained the right to vote, political participation increased. Within a decade, this idea galvanized democratic and independence movements around the globe. As Thomas Jefferson, later the third President of the United States, wrote in the Declaration of Independence to justify the American colonies decision to break away from Britain, When a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government. Since the passage of the bill that allocates funds to send a $600 stimulus check to anyone making less than $75,000 a year, leaders in California have been quiet. With no news from the governor or state leaders, many are left wondering when they can expect their checks. The bill also includes an additional $500 payment for adults with dependents and undocumented families. Those who have already received a check during the first round, will not be sent another. Gov. Newsom was expected to sign the bill into law this week, but as the holiday weekend approaches, it looks unlikely. The state legislature and the governor are still negotiating and have not released public statements announcing a broad budget deal, even as bills went into print Friday reflecting some new agreements that modify the placeholder budget lawmakers approved on June 14. In California, a budget must be passed by 1 July, but lawmakers seem to be using the version passed on 14 June as a placeholder as they continue their negotiations. Once a compromise has been made, state workers will begin the process of distributing the Golden State Stimulus Checks. For now, the California Tax Franchise Board, which is tasked with the distribution of the checks, has an alert on their website reading Recently, the Governor announced a proposal to expand and add stimulus payments for more Californians. These additional payments are not yet available and are pending legislative action. This alert links to a press release from the Governors office from early May and has not been updated with information on the passage of the most recent bill. However, because that bill has not been signed by the governor, workers and recipients are waiting in limbo. How do I request a check? To receive your check it is mandatory that a tax return is submitted to the state. This rule also applies to undocumented people who can file using an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN). The best action for a person eligible to receive the payment is to file a tax return if they have not done so already. With this information, the state will be able to administer the payment. For those who do not normally file a return, the state is encouraging them to do so to ensure they are able to benefit from this government program. In 2020 Independence Day celebrations across the country were largely cancelled, with Americans required to remain indoors and avoid large crowds to stem the spread of covid-19. Although the United States looks set to fall short of President Bidens target of 70% vaccinated by 4 July, the country is in a much better shape this year and some celebrations will be going ahead. As usual a centrepiece of the occasion will be the Fourth of July firework displays taking place on Sunday evening across the country. Unfortunately there is no online database of all the celebrations on offer, but heres a few of the biggest and best fireworks displays if you are hoping to catch the live spectacle Birmingham, Alabama Thunder on the Mountain The largest city in the state uses the iconic Vulcan cast iron statue as a backdrop for a massive fireworks display. The fireworks show will be televised on local stations from 9pm but Vulcan Park and Museum will be closing at 6pm to prepare for the show. For more information on the best viewing spots, such as Five Points South, Homewood and Vestavia, check out these prime viewing locations. Boston, Massachusetts Fireworks and Pops Concert An enormous Independence Day extravaganza will be held across New England with the fireworks display in Boston Common from 10.30pm. Tickets are already sold out but it will be visible from miles around and will be broadcast live from 8pm to 11pm. Clear Lake, Iowa Celebrating American Independence If you want a more local feel to your Fourth of July experience then the fireworks display at Clear Lake may be more your speed. Despite boasting a population of just 7,600 the towns celebrations last from Wednesday 30 June to Monday 5 July, and the Sunday night fireworks show at 10pm is definitely the highlight. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 4th of July Spectacular For a coastal taste of Independence Day celebrations get down to Fort Lauderdale where the Beach Boys will perform live from 7.30pm to 9pm. This is followed by a seaside fireworks display from 9pm immediately afterwards. Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas Strip Fireworks Bright lights and loud noises are nothing new in Las Vegas and the spectacle will be amped up even further on Sunday as various events take place all over the city. However the highlight will be the simultaneous display on the Strip at 11pm on Sunday as rockets are launched from Caesars Palace, The Aria, Planet Hollywood, Treasure Island, The Venetian, The STRAT and the new Resorts World. Nashville, Tennessee Let Freedom Sing! This Independence Day will be one to remember in Nashville with the largest fireworks show in the citys history, with a musical component headlined by Brad Paisley. The fireworks display will begin at 9.30pm, with accompaniment from the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and centred around the Cumberland River. Pasadena, California AmericaFest The 2021 celebration at the Rose Bowl is entitled Celebrating Americas Perseverance and gates for the paid event open at 5.30pm. However there are plenty of viewing areas nearby to get a great sight of the 9pm fireworks show. St Louis, Missouri - Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular Another city promising its largest-ever display is St Louis, which will use the Mississippi River and the Gateway Arch as a stunning backdrop for the event. From roughly 9.40pm there are plenty of spots to view the spectacle, but it can also be streamed at home and will be screened in restaurants and bars across the city. Washington, DC - A Capitol Fourth and July 4th Fireworks The US Capitol hosts an annual Independence Day spectacle and this years is the 41st edition. A Capitol Fourth will see a music concert hosted by Vanessa William broadcast on PBS from 8pm. The fireworks display will follow with a show launched from either sides of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool from 9.09pm. A ceremony marking the centenary of the Communist Party of China is held at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, capital of China, July 1, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua] Foreign diplomats in China lauded the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China, saying that the speech delivered by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, was inspirational. The diplomats and a number of other expats were among the over 70,000 people who took part in the celebration at Tian'anmen Square, which was also broadcast live to global audiences on Thursday. "It was an honor to be part of this historic event as President Xi Jinping shared with this great nation the CPC's perspective of achievements attained so far and the vision that is driven by the desire for a better community for mankind," said Martin Chedondo, ambassador of the Republic of Zimbabwe to China, who attended the celebration. The achievements by the CPC over the past 100 years have demonstrated that the decisions and resolutions taken by the Party leadership at every stage of the nation's development have contributed to the epochal success of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, Chedondo said. From Zimbabwe's perspective, the success registered by the CPC provides encouragement to other political parties, he said. "With the loud calls for adhering to the principle of multilateralism gaining ground and with China at the forefront, the developing world feels assured that this is the only route that will guarantee our security and propel the world to attain equal development," he added. Mahendra Bahadur Pandey, Nepal's ambassador to China, said he was impressed with the grand celebration, audience applause and the happy mood. "This achievement of the CPC is very inspirational for people who do believe in socialism and are trying their best to move forward their socialist economy and society," he said. Dino Rachmadiana Kusnadi, minister and deputy chief of mission of the Indonesian embassy to China, said the celebration was both a fantastic display of China's magnificent achievements and a form of appreciation toward the historic development and vital contribution of the CPC. "Such a display indeed showcased to the global audience that the people of China are highly fortunate, as the CPC has brought about sustainable development for the prosperity of the people," he said after participating in the celebration. He said that Xi's speech could be seen as a foundation by the CPC on how to move China forward. He added that Indonesia looks forward to further establishing a close partnership for a peaceful and harmonious Southeast Asia region in the future together with China. The National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC) advised market participants, both consumers and generators of electricity, not to focus on the day-ahead market (DAM) as a price indicator in bilateral agreements, and use a fixed price at which the resource is bought and sold. According to the regulator's statement on the website late on Friday evening, it provided such recommendations in response to a sharp, by almost a third, decrease in the price of day-ahead market in the first days of July, which was explained by the withdrawal of demand from DAM to the bilateral contracts market. "The volume of day-ahead market on July 2 due to a decrease in demand decreased by 32,293 MWh or 40% [to 47,940 MWh from 80,200 MWh as of July 1]. The weighted average price of DAM decreased by 29%, to UAH 1,035 per MWh [price as of July 1 was UAH 1,451 per MWh]. At the same time, there is a significant increase in the volume of bilateral contracts market," the commission said in a statement. In turn, the regulator explained the sharp decrease in demand by a decrease in the purchase of a resource on the DAM by individual market participants, indicating that this is primarily D.Trading LLC (DTEK group), which, according to the regulator, reduced the purchase on DAM by 74%, while increasing the volume of its purchases on the bilateral contracts market "from related parties." "Such excessive power of individual players in the electricity market threatens its efficient, competitive and stable functioning," the regulator said, adding that in the near future the relevant information will be transferred to the Antimonopoly Committee for investigation. For its part, the commission intends to contribute in every possible way to the introduction of amendments to the legislation, providing for the obligation of all market participants, regardless of their form of ownership, to buy and sell electricity under bilateral contracts exclusively at electronic auctions. "This, among other things, minimizes the possibility of non-transparent sale of electricity to its own traders or related parties," the regulator said. According to the Market Operator, the weighted average price of electricity for DAM in the United Energy Systems of Ukraine on July 3 decreased to UAH 665.42 per MWh, which is almost 36% lower than the price of July 2 and 54% lower than the price as of July 1. Compared to July 2, the volume of DAM decreased by almost 5,000 MWh, to 43,200 MWh. At the same time, D.Trading urged NEURC to put things in order in the new electricity market in accordance with European standards of work, urgently remove manipulations and speculations that distort, in its opinion, the energy reform of Ukraine. "Due to the new wave of speculation on the DAM and the fall in prices due to speculative traders D.Trading insists on the need for the regulator to take decisive action to combat manipulation in the market and ensure the stability of the energy system," the company said on the website on Friday. At the same time, the company said they consider the inactivity of NEURC in solving its problems and creating conditions for manipulations to be fatal for the market. The Russian government has expanded a list of products prohibited from importation from Ukraine, amending a resolution of December 29, 2018. A resolution of June 28, 2021, which has been published on the Russian official legal database website, states that the expanded list of prohibited goods has been supplemented with ice cream, other kinds of edible ice, mineral water, carbonated waters containing sugar additives and other sweetening or flavoring agents, ready-to-eat soups and bouillons, and semi-finished food products. The Russian government also restricted the importation of malt, palm oil and its fractions in containers with a net weight of 20 tonnes, ready-to-eat or preserved meat products, meat by-products, and ready or preserved crustaceans. From now on, any shipments of full fat cacao paste, pasta, popcorn, foods like muesli produced on the basis of unroasted corn flakes, ketchup and other tomato sauces, mayonnaise, or products necessary to prepare sauces from Ukraine to Russia will be outlawed. The ban also applies to cake meals (seed meals) and any products used as feed for livestock, certain kinds of wood products, and transport packaging. These decisions have been adopted in accordance with the Russian president's executive order of October 22, 2018, On the Use of Special Economic Measures in View of the Unfriendly Measures of Ukraine in Relation to Citizens and Legal Entities of the Russian Federation. Earlier, the Russian government issued a resolution on December 29, 2018, banning imports of wheat and meslin (a mixture of wheat and rye) and malt beer, sunflower oil, safflower oil, and cotton oil and their fractions from Ukraine. Also, the list of prohibited food imports from Ukraine now includes extracts and juices of meat, fish or shell fish, mussels and other aquatic invertebrates, ready-to-eat or preserved fish, sturgeon roe and its surrogates, canned vegetables, fruits, nuts, jams, fruit jellies, candied fruit jellies, mashed fruits or nuts, pastes, and fruit and vegetable juices. Sweets made of sugar (including white chocolate) which do not contain cocoa, chocolate and other ready-to-eat cocoa-containing foods, bread, pastries, cakes, biscuits, cookies, and other bread and flour confectionary goods may not now be imported from Ukraine, either. The ban includes any shipment of wines, including strong wines, ethanol, alcoholic tinctures, liqueurs, and other alcoholic drinks. The ban also applies to certain types of machinery and equipment for agriculture and for the food and pharmaceutical processing industries. Apart from that, there is a ban on shipments of several food products from Ukraine introduced as part of a food embargo which began on January 1, 2016 (including meat, meat products, milk and dairy products, fish and fish products, vegetables, fruit, and salt). Ukrainian Embassy in United States announces ongoing work in U.S. Congress to approve aid packages to Ukraine for 2022 The United States House Committee on Appropriations approved a bill, according to which the amount of funds to be allocated for the implementation of programs in Ukraine in the 2022 financial year is at least $481.5 million, which is $28.5 million more than this year. "The United States House Committee on Appropriations approved the State Department Appropriations Bill, Foreign Operations and Related Programs for FY 2022. The total amount of funds to be allocated for the implementation of programs of assistance to Ukraine through the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development and related programs is at least $481.5 million, which is $28.5 million more than this year," the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States said on its Facebook page. Of this estimate, it is proposed to allocate $125 million for assistance to Ukraine in the field of security under the article "International military financing," which is $10 million more than in 2021, the embassy said. It is also noted the bill approved by the Committee contains provisions on the threat of completion of the Nord Stream 2 construction. Ukrainian diplomats also said the relevant Defense Appropriations Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill on U.S. Department of Defense appropriations for fiscal 2022. "The bill provides for the allocation of $275 million for assistance to Ukraine in the security sector under the Pentagon's program Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, USAI," the embassy said. It was noted that in the committees of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, work continues on the draft law on spending on security needs in 2022 (National Defense Authorization Act, NDAA) Russian-occupation forces fire at Ukrainian positions in Nevelske area three times this day JFO HQ From the beginning of the day, Russian-occupation forces in Donbas have violated the ceasefire three times in the area of the Joint Force Operation (JFO). "Near the village of Nevelske (Donetsk region), Russian armed formations fired at Ukrainian positions three times with 120 caliber mortars," the JFO said on its Facebook page on Saturday. There are no combat losses among the servicemen of the Joint Forces. The Ukrainian servicemen opened fire in response to enemy shelling, the JFO said. In addition, over the past day, on July 2, some 19 ceasefire violations by Russian-occupation forces were recorded in Donbas. The enemy fired at Ukrainian positions in the area of Zolote-4, Avdiyivka, the settlement of Pisky, near Starohnativka, in the Svitlodarsk area, near Krasnohorivka and Kamianka. "The occupation forces twice fired at civilian infrastructure and the private sector of Avdiyivka from 122 mm artillery and 120-caliber mortars," the JFO said. In addition, in Luhansk region was recorded the passage of an enemy unmanned aerial vehicle of the Orlan-10 type. Macron reminds Putin of relevance of Normandy format for settlement in Donbas French President Emmanuel Macron, in a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, recalled the relevance of the Normandy format for resolving the situation in eastern Ukraine. According to the Elysee Palace, speaking about the situation in Ukraine, Macron "recalled the relevance of the Normandy format, within which France and Germany act as mediators to help Ukraine and Russia put an end to the conflict and find durable solutions." In addition, it is noted that Macron "confirmed France's desire to establish more trusting relations between the European Union and Russia." Earlier, the Kremlin press service said that Putin and Macron had a telephone conversation at the initiative of the French side. Federal Minister of Finance of the Federal Republic of Germany Olaf Scholz said that Germany will seek the extension of the agreement on gas transit through Ukraine. "We work very hard to make sure that the gas transit agreement between Ukraine and Russia is prolonged," Scholz said in an interview with Bloomberg on Friday. According to the position of Germany, the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which runs along the bottom of the Baltic Sea, should be finished, but gas transit through Ukraine should be preserved. According to Scholz, Germany sees its responsibility to ensure transit through Ukraine in the future, and not only for two or three years, but for decades to come. The current agreement, according to Government Spokesperson Steffen Seibert, is valid until at least 2024, but the agreement implies that the parties will check the possibility of extending the agreement until 2034. A fishing vessel that sounded a distress signal in the Black Sea at night is being towed to Ochakiv by the Balaklava Marine Guard cutter of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. "The technical observation post 'Chornomorsk' of Odesa border detachment reacted to the message, which appeared on the radio at 02:40. Through the open channels of international maritime security, the crew of a civilian ship heading in the direction of Georgia received information about a felucca, which transmits a signal with signal flares. The boat of the Sea Guard of the State Border Guard Service 'Balaklava' immediately moved to the indicated area," the press service of the State Border Guard Service said. The fishing vessel, de-energized and out of control, was discovered by border guards 25 nautical miles south of the Tendra Spit. According to the captain of the vessel, the fishermen in the prescribed manner issued an exit to the fishery from Ochakiv, but after a while there was a technical malfunction and the de-energized vessel lost control. The wind began to carry them into the open sea. The crew gave a distress signal. At the moment the Balaklava boat is towing the ship to the port of Ochakiv. "By the way, the crew of Balaklava did not notice any Russian military or border ships, which, according to some information resources, came to the aid of the Ukrainian fishermen," the service said. The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine has called on Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova to ensure a full investigation into the murder of journalist Georgiy Gongadze, with all those involved being brought to justice. "We urge the prosecutor general to ensure that this crime is fully investigated and that the instigators have been brought to justice. For over twenty years, the Gongadze case has been a litmus test on the effectiveness of the justice system in Ukraine," the embassy said on Facebook. The embassy also welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court of Ukraine to uphold the conviction of the former head of the Department of External Surveillance of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Oleksiy Pukach, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Gongadze. Facebook under fire as U.S. lawmakers press for new antitrust complaint Attendees walk past a Facebook logo during Facebook Inc's F8 developers conference in San Jose, California, U.S (Photo : REUTERS/Stephen Lam) A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers expert in antitrust urged the Federal Trade Commission Friday to press on with its lawsuit against Facebook Inc, according to a statement from Senator Amy Klobuchar. In a letter to new FTC Chair Lina Khan, Klobuchar, Senator Mike Lee and Representatives David Cicilline and Ken Buck urged the FTC to "pursue enforcement action against Facebook and to consider all available options under the law for ensuring that the commission's claims receive a full and fair hearing." Advertisement Klobuchar and Cicilline, both Democrats, and Lee and Buck, both Republicans, hold the top positions on congressional antitrust panels. The FTC is expected to file a new complaint against Facebook after U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of District of Columbia dismissed one filed in December, experts said. That complaint, which asked him to require Facebook to sell photo sharing app Instagram and messaging app WhatsApp, fell short, Boasberg said, because the FTC failed to show the company had monopoly power and instances of alleged anticompetitive behavior were too old. Several veteran FTC officials said it was implausible that the agency did not have data to back up its assertion that Facebook had "in excess of 60%" of the social media market. "What he told them was 'I'm not going to read the newspaper and believe that Facebook is a monopoly'," said Andy Gavil, an FTC veteran who teaches at the Howard University School of Law. Facebook declined to comment for this story. In earlier comment, it noted that Instagram and WhatsApp grew mightily under Facebook stewardship. It said it would vigorously fight the FTC in court. GO BIG AND GO HOME? The FTC, under new leadership, might write a considerably broader complaint and could file it before an FTC administrative law judge, essentially taking the case in-house. William Kovacic, a former FTC chair now at George Washington University Law School, said that a new complaint could add allegations, including potentially unfair method of competition. "That is a topic that she (Khan) has talked about and written about on many occasions," he said. Experts also predicted the dismissal would build support for bills to ramp up antitrust enforcement. "If these dismissals tip the scales, it will be toward doing something. If the government could win even modestly on these cases, it's an argument to do nothing," said Herb Hovenkamp of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Rescue personnel continue the search and rescue operation for survivors at the site of a partially collapsed residential building in Surfside, near Miami Beach, Florida, U.S (Photo : REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo) The death toll rose to 20 on Friday from last week's condominium tower collapse in Florida after search-and-rescue crews found two more bodies, including the 7-year-old daughter of a Miami firefighter. The painstaking search for victims in the rubble, suspended for much of Thursday over worries that a remaining section of the 12-story tower could come down, proceeded on Friday with greater caution and a watchful eye on a hurricane forecast to hit Florida. Advertisement As of Friday afternoon 128 people were listed as missing and feared buried beneath tons of pulverized concrete, twisted metal and splintered lumber as the search stretched into its ninth day. The number of people on the missing list dropped by 17 from Thursday. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters that the totals were fluid and sometimes revised when investigators learned of additional family members when determining whether missing residents were safe. The body of the firefighter's daughter was the third child fatality to be recovered from the debris in the oceanfront town of Surfside, next to Miami Beach. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez told the Miami Herald that the firefighter was at the recovery site at the time, though not digging through the rubble. The firefighter and his brother, also a firefighter, have kept a vigil at the site since last week, waiting until the girl was discovered, the paper reported. About 200 officers saluted as her body was carried away, the Herald said. "Every victim we remove is very difficult," Miami-Dade County Fire Chief Alan Cominsky. "Last night was even more, when we were removing a fellow firefighter's daughter. As firefighters, we do what we do - it's kind of a calling. But it still takes a toll." No survivors have been pulled alive from the ruins since the first few hours after the Champlain Towers South tower partially caved in on itself early on June 24 as most residents slept. Authorities halted the search early on Thursday after engineers detected movement in the debris pile, raising concerns that the remaining section of the tower might topple onto rescue workers. U.S. ARMY RESERVE UNITS ARRIVE The operation resumed about 15 hours later when it was deemed safe, though with a new set of precautions in place and limited to just three of nine grids demarcated in the ruins. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wrote on Twitter that more than 400 members of the U.S. Army Reserve from Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio and Virginia had arrived in Surfside to assist in the effort. The remaining part of the building will ultimately be demolished, but Levine Cava said on Friday that it would "take some time" before that occurs. Crews also sought to make progress before the expected arrival of Elsa, which strengthened into the first hurricane of the 2021 season on Friday as it churned in the Caribbean Sea. The storm could approach South Florida as early as Monday, National Weather Service meteorologist Robert Molleda told reporters, with tropical storm-force winds possible on Sunday. Elsa's forecasted path remains uncertain. The search resumed shortly after President Joe Biden toured the scene on Thursday. Local officials said the operation was not halted due to his visit. Investigators have not determined what caused the 40-year-old condo complex to abruptly crumble into a heap in what may ultimately be listed as one of the deadliest building collapses in U.S. history. A 2018 engineering report prepared for a safety-recertification process found structural deficiencies that are now the focus of various inquiries, including a grand jury examination. USA Today, citing a 2020 document the newspaper obtained from a family member of a missing victim, reported that the same firm noted "curious results" after testing the depth of the concrete slab below a pool. The document did not elaborate, the newspaper said. As recently as April, a condo association president sent residents a letter warning them that major concrete damage identified by the engineer around the base of the building had grown significantly worse. Several lawsuits have already been filed on behalf of survivors and victims against the association's board. In a statement on Friday, the board - some of whose members remain missing - said it would appoint an independent receiver to "oversee the legal and claims process." The board said it would continue working with investigators to understand the cause of the tragedy. Test tubes are seen in front of a displayed Biontech logo in this illustration taken (Photo : REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration) Terry Gou, the billionaire founder of Taiwan's Foxconn, and TSMC reached initial agreements to buy 5 million doses each of BioNTech SE's COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, three sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters. Taiwan's government has tried for months to buy the shots directly from Germany's BioNTech and has blamed China, which claims the self-ruled island as its own territory, for nixing a deal the two sides were due to sign earlier this year. China denies the accusations. Advertisement Last month, facing public pressure about the slow pace of Taiwan's inoculation programme, the government agreed to allow Gou and TSMC to negotiate on its behalf for the vaccines, which would be donated to Taiwan's government for distribution. The agreements were reached with a subsidiary of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd, which has a contract with BioNTech to sell the COVID-19 vaccines in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, the sources said. One of the sources said both Gou and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) reached an "initial agreement" to purchase 5 million vaccine doses each with the Chinese company, adding it was not a final contract and it will still take some time to close the deal. The person added that the agreement signed included "related legal documents" needed to finalise the deal, but the agreement does not specify a possible delivery date, as global demand for vaccines continues to outstrip supply. The vaccines will be shipped directly to Taiwan from the German manufacturer, the person added. Taiwan's government has said any BioNTech vaccines should be "produced in the original factory with the original packaging" and be directly delivered to Taiwan. Neither Foxconn, a major Apple Inc supplier, nor Fosun responded to requests for comment outside of business hours. TSMC said in a brief emailed statement it was still a work in progress and "no further information is available at this time". BioNTech declined to comment. A second source told Reuters the German government, which has said it has been trying to help Taiwan obtain the BioNTech vaccines, had been trying to speed up the talks. "The German government doesn't want to leave the impression that they didn't sell vaccines to Taiwan due to the Chinese pressure, so it has been pushing the company to speed up its talks with Taiwan," the source said, referring to BioNTech. The German Foreign Ministry declined to immediately comment. Both sources said although global supplies are tight, Fosun, as an exclusive dealer for the vaccine in China and Taiwan, is able to secure higher priority for the vaccine distribution. Only around 9% of Taiwan's 23.5 million people have received at least one of the two dose COVID-19 vaccine regimen, a need made more urgent by a spike in domestic infections on the island, though numbers remain relatively small. Corn is harvested at the Kenison Farms in Levan, Utah, (Photo : REUTERS/Jim Urquhart/File Photo) U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill on Friday to limit exemptions offered to refiners on blending biofuels, after sources said the Environmental Protection Agency chief voiced disapproval about a Supreme Court ruling upholding broad use of the waiver program. Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra of Iowa and Democrat Congresswoman Angie Craig of Minnesota introduced a bill to restrict the EPA's ability to grant waivers, after the Supreme Court overturned a lower court decision that had imposed limits. Advertisement U.S. biofuel policy has been a battleground between the oil and corn industries for years. It has created a large market for corn-based ethanol that has helped farmers but petroleum refiners say it adds costs because they either have to invest in biofuel blending businesses, which smaller refiners say is not a viable option, or buy credits from refiners which already blend. The lawmakers said they wanted to clarify existing law and restrict waivers, which exempt refiners from obligations to blend biofuels, to a few plants. Some refiners have consistently been able to secure waivers since the program began a decade ago. The new limits could effectively end the waiver program. The Supreme Court ruled in June that, under current law, refineries were eligible for waivers regardless of when they applied. "We must erase ambiguities and ensure oil refineries are not able to take shortcuts when it comes to blending biofuels," Feenstra said. Lawmakers in farming states have pressed the U.S. administration to uphold mandates requiring refiners to blend biofuels. The EPA is expected to make a decision soon on the amount of biofuels refiners must blend during 2021 and 2022. Democrat lawmakers met EPA chief Michael Regan on Tuesday after reports that the administration was considering giving relief to refiners from the mandates. Craig, Iowa's Cindy Axne, and Cheri Bustos and Lauren Underwood from Illinois were among those in the meeting. Sources said Regan told them he disapproved of the Supreme Court ruling and said a decision on how much biofuel refiners would be required to blend was expected in the next few weeks, although he did not give them details. EPA spokesperson Nick Conger confirmed the EPA met the lawmakers but declined to give details about the talks. Lawmakers representing refinery workers have also been lobbying the administration, saying the obligations were hurting refineries and could drive them out of business. The New Jersey State Senate this week passed a resolution calling on the EPA to reduce mandates to relieve refiners. U.S. economy is 'on the move,' Biden says as jobs jump A sign advertising job openings is seen outside of a Starbucks in Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S. (Photo : REUTERS/Andrew Kelly) U.S. President Joe Biden and top administration officials hailed Friday's strong monthly jobs report, saying it was a sign that the White House's economic and pandemic-fighting strategies were working. "This is historic progress, pulling our economy out of the worst crisis in 100 years, driven in part by our dramatic progress in vaccinating our nation and beating back the pandemic as well as other elements of the American Rescue plan," Biden said in remarks at the White House. Advertisement "To put it simply, our economy is on the move," the Democratic president said. The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which passed Congress in March without any Republican support, pumped money into businesses, households and local governments. The Labor Department reported on Friday that U.S. businesses added 850,000 workers in June, ahead of analyst expectations and a sign the economic recovery may be accelerating. "None of this happened by accident," Biden said, calling the strong numbers a "direct result" of a plan that some had questioned. "Well it worked," he said. More than 22 million jobs evaporated when schools and businesses were shut down in March 2020 to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus; the United States is now about 6.7 million jobs below pre-pandemic levels. GRAPHIC: The jobs hole facing Biden and the Fed - https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ECONOMY/JOBS/jbyprzlrqpe/chart.png Friday's report suggests the United States may return to pre-pandemic employment levels earlier than once expected, White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein said in an interview with Reuters. The Congressional Budget Office's new economic forecast, released Thursday, "shows that the unemployment rate, in their expectation, hits 3.6% by the end of next year," Bernstein said. "That's close to a 50-year low," he said. Previously, the year-end CBO unemployment rate forecast was about 5%, he noted. FLIPPING THE SCRIPT Biden also highlighted the jump in wages, which increased 0.3% overall in June from the month before and were up 3.6% from the year before. "The strength of our recovery is helping us flip the script. Instead of workers competing with each other for jobs that are scarce, employers are competing with each other to attract workers," he said. Businesses have complained about the lack of workers available. About half of U.S. states, most of them led by Republicans, are suspending special unemployment benefits that were included in the American Rescue Plan, to push people back into the workforce. GRAPHIC-A (mostly) red state roll off - https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ECONOMY/EMPLOYMENT/oakpedgnkvr/chart.png Continuing claims for still-available local unemployment benefits have fallen faster in those states since mid-May, but it is too early to know whether the policy has led to faster job creation. The White House is studying areas where jobs aren't improving, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh told Reuters in an interview, adding it will be months before the United States returns to pre-pandemic levels across the board. "We need to focus on areas that might not be growing - is there something else happening? Lack of supply? Permitting? Who knows what it might be," he said. "There are lots of factors here in people coming back to work, health reasons, their industry is gone," Walsh said. The U.S. economy needs further investment, he added. A view shows the pediment of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., U.S (Photo : REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo) The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday took up a challenge by two families with children attending Christian schools to a Maine tuition assistance program that bars taxpayer money from being used to pay for religious educational institutions in a case that could further narrow the separation of church and state. Advertisement The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, agreed to hear an appeal by the families of a lower court ruling in favor of the state that concluded that Maine's program did not violate the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion. The eventual ruling could build on other decisions by the court in recent years allowing public funds to go to religious institutions. It was one of 10 new cases the justices added to their list of ones they will hear during the court's next term, which starts in October. Friday's announcement on cases was the final action in the court's current term, which culminated in a major 6-3 ruling on ideological lines on Thursday that could make it easier for states to enact voting restrictions. In addition to adding new cases, the court on Friday also rejected several appeals including one brought by a florist fined by Washington state for refusing to make a flower arrangement for a same-sex wedding due to her Christian beliefs. The Maine case is the latest one for the court that pits the free exercise of religion against another element of the First Amendment: the separation of church and state that prohibits government establishment of an official religion or favoring one religion over another. The court's conservative justices often have taken an expansive view of religious rights. Some sparsely populated areas of Maine lack public secondary schools, so state law lets public funds be used to pay for tuition at certain private "nonsectarian" schools of a family's choice. The case involves two sets of parents - David and Amy Carson, and Troy and Angela Nelson - who sued Maine in 2018 in federal court, arguing that the tuition assistance program's exclusion of religious schools discriminates against them based on religion. The Carsons pay to send their daughter to Bangor Christian Schools in Maine's third-largest city. The Nelsons would like to send both their children to a Christian school called Temple Academy in Waterville, but can afford tuition for only one. Their son attends Temple Academy while their daughter does not. The schools, both of which are private and nonprofit, describe themselves as seeking to instill a "Biblical worldview" in students. Bangor Christian Schools does not hire teachers who are gay or transgender, and would potentially expel openly gay or transgender students, according to court papers. Temple Academy does not hire gay teachers and likely would not accept gay, transgender or non-Christian students, court papers said. The families contended that they are entitled to tuition help given the Supreme Court's recent rulings siding with religiously based institutions, including its decision https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-court-religion-idINKBN2412HY last year endorsing Montana tax credits that can help pay for students to attend religious schools. The families are represented by the Institute for Justice conservative legal group. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the families last year, deciding that Supreme Court precedents did not forbid states from barring public funds from religious entities based on how those dollars would be used. While states cannot disqualify religious schools from public aid programs simply because of their religious status or affiliation, Maine is not required to subsidize schools that would use the money to provide religious instruction, the 1st Circuit decided. "States should not be permitted to withhold an otherwise available education benefit simply because a student would make the private and independent choice to use that benefit to procure an education that includes religious instruction," they wrote in a court filing. Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey wrote in a court filing that religious schools willing to provide a secular education may receive public funds. "In excluding sectarian schools, Maine is declining to fund explicitly religious activity that is inconsistent with a free public education," Frey wrote. Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya holds a picture of her husband Syarhei Tsikhanouski during a "Belarus support day" protest in Vilnius, (Photo : REUTERS/Janis Laizans/File Photo) Twitter said on Friday it had reinstated access to the accounts of a group of exile opposition groups that call themselves the "Belarusian People's Embassies", which it suspended after they were accused of identity theft, apparently by Belarusian authorities. "We took enforcement action on the accounts referenced in error," a Twitter spokesperson said. "This has been reversed, and access to the accounts have been reinstated." Advertisement The people's embassy movement sprang up after last year's presidential election, in which long-serving strongman Alexander Lukashenko claimed a resounding victory despite a widespread belief that the vote was fraudulent. The resulting crackdown has seen hundreds thrown in prison, allegations that opposition activists were tortured, and spurred a lively exile movement in countries like Latvia, Lithuania and Germany where many Belarusians live. The various groups, which assert that Svetlana Tikhanouskaya, now living in Lithuanian exile, won the election, and acknowledge her as Belarus's legitimate President, argue that their social media accounts are in effect 'embassies' of the Belarusian people, not Lukashenko's state. "Even though the regime is illegitimate, we never claim to be an official embassy," the People's Embassy group in Germany said in a statement. "We represent the people, not the regime." There was no proof that Belarusian authorities reported the three accounts, @BelarusinS, @BelarusInUK and @BelarusInDE, representing groups in Spain, Britain and Germany, all of which were listed as suspended on the Twitter platform on Friday afternoon, before access was reinstated. But the group earlier sent journalists and activists a screenshot of an e-mail from Twitter in which the platform said it had been "made aware that this account violates Twitter rules, in particular against identity theft." Belarus has stepped up its activities against exiled activists, most recently taking the almost unprecedented step of forcing a Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania to land in order to arrest Roman Protasevich, an influential opposition journalist who was on board. "Lukashenko's regime tries to silence everybody who dares to say the truth or to fight him" the opposition group said in a statement. The app of Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi is seen on a mobile phone in front of the company logo displayed in this illustration picture (Photo : REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration) Chinese cyberspace regulator said it has launched a new cyber security investigation into ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc to prevent data security-related risks and protect national safety, days after its New York initial public offering. Below are some Chinese investigations into Didi's operations: Advertisement DATA SECURITY - On Friday, China's cyberspace agency said it had launched an investigation into the ride-hailing giant to protect national security and prevent data security-related risks. It also said that Didi was not allowed to register new users during its investigation. ANTI-TRUST - In 2021, China's market regulators fined Didi multiple times for not reporting details of merger and acquisitions to government agencies. Sources told Reuters the company is also facing an antitrust investigation over whether Didi used anti-competitive behaviors to drive out smaller rivals. Didi told Reuters at the time that it would not comment on "unsubstantiated speculation from unnamed source(s)". OPERATION LICENSES - In 2020, several local city regulators in China asked Didi to suspend its new standalone ride-hailing service, Huaxiaozhu, citing a lack of operating licenses for the platform in their regions. Shanghai city transportation regulator has fined Didi several times for hiring drivers with no proper license to operate business in the city. SAFETY - In 2018, China's transportation ministry urged Didi to rework its safety process after two murder and rape cases related to its drivers. Didi suspended its Hitch service and spent billions to add staff to improve its overall safety standard. Former South Korean "comfort woman" Lee Ok-sun speaks during an interview with Reuters at the House of Sharing in Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, (Photo : REUTERS/Heo Ran) Fighting disease, death and disillusionment, members of South Korea's rapidly dwindling sisterhood of surviving "comfort women" say they are facing the twilight of their lives with diminished camaraderie and will to wage political battles. Only 14 of the 240 registered survivors of Japan's wartime brothels are still alive in South Korea, nearly half the number who were alive just three years ago. Advertisement One major organisation that advocated for them was brought down by a corruption scandal last year, and in April a South Korean court dismissed a case some of the women brought against Tokyo. That has left the women more divided than ever over whether to keep seeking greater compensation and contrition from the Japanese government, an issue that has helped sour relations between Seoul and Tokyo and brought intense personal scrutiny and controversy. "I just wish I could live at peace for one single day," said Lee Ok-sun, 91, who has been bedridden for years. Under a 2015 deal Tokyo issued an official apology and provided 1 billion yen ($9.3 million) to a fund that helps comfort women victims, with both sides promising to "irreversibly" end the dispute, but South Korea effectively backed out of the deal after some victims said they had been overlooked. Some historians estimate up to 200,000 Korean girls and women were forced to provide sex to Japanese troops during the colonial era, sometimes under the pretext of employment or to pay off a relative's debt. The experiences of the women should not be forgotten, said Cho Young-kun, a manager of the House of Sharing, which has served as a shelter for elderly survivors for 26 years. "Most of the grandmothers were born in the 1920s and just over a dozen remain nationwide," he said. "I'm afraid such accounts will vanish in the mists of history when the remaining ones pass away." After over eight decades, the three women who spoke to Reuters still fought back tears when remembering their past. "They treated Koreans worse than a dog. They kicked and beat me up," Kang Il-chul, 92, said as she displayed scars on the back of her head. 'ENDING THE FIGHT' The comfort women - a euphemism for women forced into brothels in World War 2 - have been a fixture of South Korean politics since Kim Hak-sun first came forward in 1991 to publicly testify of her experience. Since then, victims and activists have lobbied for compensation and apologies from the Japanese government. A 1996 UN human rights report concluded that the women had been "military sexual slaves". Japan contests that finding, and the 2015 compensation agreement between Japan and South Korea did not address the issue of whether coercion was a policy of imperial Japan. In 2018 the South Korean government shut down a fund created under the 2015 deal and vowed to pursue a more "victim-oriented" approach, a move Japan said threatened the two countries' relations. Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment for this article. And some say the fight is far from over. Lee Ok-sun denounced South Korea for participating in the Tokyo Olympics. "Don't go. What's the point of going? They shouldn't go," said Lee, who said she was forcibly taken for Japan's brothels at age 16. Prominent activist and victim Lee Yong-soo, 92, was among those rejecting the 2015 deal, vowing to seek a judgment from the International Court of Justice. "I wish time would wait for me, but I know it won't," Lee said. "I am determined not to die before I resolve this... I need to be alive as much as 200 years to resolve this." A mob of supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump fight with members of law enforcement at a door they broke open as they storm the U.S. Capitol Building (Photo : REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo) Federal prosecutors are discussing possible plea bargains with at least 12 of 16 defendants in the U.S. Capitol riot accused of links with the far-right Oath Keepers movement, a government lawyer said in court on Friday. Three people described as Oath Keeper defendants have already entered guilty pleas and agreed to cooperate with investigators. Prosecutor Kathryn Rakoczy, at a hearing to discuss the status of the cases, told Judge Amit Mehta that it is likely more Oath Keepers would plead guilty. Advertisement Five people died, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer, when supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 to try to stop the formal certification of Joe Biden as the winner in last November's election. The Oath Keepers are focused on recruiting current and former military, law enforcement and emergency services personnel and the Southern Poverty Law Center identifies it as "one of the largest radical anti-government groups" in the United States. While most defendants accused of Oath Keeper links have been released on bail, at least three remain in pre-trial custody. Lawyers and Mehta indicated that at least some of the pending Oath Keeper cases could ultimately proceed to trial. In a separate federal court hearing in Washington on Friday, a San Antonio man pleaded guilty to a single riot-related misdemeanor charge. Matthew Carl Mazzocco, 37, of San Antonio, Texas, pleaded guilty to a charge of violent conduct on U.S. Capitol grounds. A court document describes Mazzocco as a mortgage loan officer for CMG Financial and says he posted pictures of himself on Facebook at the U.S. Capitol with the caption, "The capital [sic] is ours!" A spokesperson for CMG Financial said in a statement that Mazzocco "was not a CMG Financial employee in January 2021 and had not been a CMG employee for several months at that time." Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi inaugurated the "3rd of July" Naval Base, located in Gargoub area in the countrys northwest coast on Saturday. The "3rd of July" base, which is considered the newest Egyptian military base on the Mediterranean Sea, will be in charge of securing Egypts northern and western strategic borders, presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement. The 3rd of July base, which stretches over 10 million square meters, is Egypts largest naval base. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Abu-Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, head of Libyas Presidency Council Mohamed Al-Menfi as well as senior Egyptian officials including Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly and Minister of Defense and Military Production Mohamed Zaki. The national anthem was played upon the arrival of El-Sisi at the base, the artillery fired 21 rounds and the Egyptian flag was raised to celebrate the bases entry into service. The naval base will also safeguard Egypts economic capabilities, secure shipping routes, and maintain maritime security by using combat groups from land military units, submarines, and air forces, Rady added. During the opening ceremony, commander of the Egyptian Navy Lieutenant General Ahmed Khaled said the base is part of the overall development strategy for the Armed Forces. The base is a message of peace and development for the entire region, he stressed. The Egyptian state implements a comprehensive plan to achieve development after achieving victory over terrorism, against the forces of extremism and terrorism with weapons of thought and comprehensive development, Khaled said. The new base took its name from a history associated with eliminating the motives of hateful terrorism and moving towards development and progress, including the tangible interest in the sea after the 30 June Revolution, the navy commander said. Khaled stressed that the base will help protect navigation in the Suez Canal and confront illegal immigration. The new base will be witnessing the military drill "Qader 2021" on Saturday, Khaled said. The "3rd of July" base represents a new addition to Egypts naval bases system, according to the presidency statement, as part of the comprehensive development plan for the Navy Forces. Through the development plan, the naval bases will act as provider of the logistical support for the Egyptian troops in the Red and Mediterranean seas to confront any challenges and threats that may exist in the region, as well as combating the smuggling and illegal immigration, the presidential spokesman noted. Short link: A number of Egyptian churches said they will purchase sacrificial sukuk ("Islamic bonds") offered on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha by the Ministry of Waqf (religious endowments), a statement read on Saturday. The move comes on the heels of a religious edict issued by Dar Al-Ifta allowing non-Muslims to buy sacrificial sukuk in the form of cows and camels. Eid Al-Adha, which according to astronomical calculations will fall on 20 July, is marked by the traditional sacrifice of livestock. During Eid Al-Adha, which is one of the two major annual Islamic feasts, Muslims slaughter cows, sheep, or goats for family meals and to donate to the poor, marking Prophet Ibrahims willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismail, on God's command. Seven people may participate in the sacrifice if it is a cow or a camel, Dar Al-Ifta said, even if the participants include a non-Muslim." In its edict, Dar Al-Ifta said the sacrifice is a good Sunna, and the scholars differed as to whether it is obligatory or desirable for them. Short link: Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi attended on Saturday the "Qader 2021" military drill at the newly-inaugurated " 3rd of July " Naval Base in Gargoub area in the countrys northwestern coast. El-Sisi was accompanied by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, head of Libyas Presidency Council Mohamed Al-Menfi as well as senior Egyptian officials including Minister of Defense and Military Production Mohamed Zaki. Earlier in the day, El-Sisi inaugurated the 3rd of July Naval Base, the newest Egyptian military base on the Mediterranean Sea, that will be in charge of securing Egypts northern and western strategic borders. The naval base will also safeguard Egypts economic capabilities, secure shipping routes, and maintain maritime security by using combat groups from land military units, submarines, and air forces, presidency spokesman Bassam Rady said. During the opening ceremony, commander of the Egyptian Navy Lieutenant General Ahmed Khaled said the base is part of the overall development strategy for the Armed Forces. The base is a message of peace and development for the entire region, he stressed. The 3rd of July base reflects Egypt's commitment to securing the Suez Canal and navigation routes, Khaled stated. The 3rd of July base represents a new addition to Egypts naval bases system, Rady said, as part of the comprehensive development plan for the Navy Forces. Through the development plan, the naval bases will act as provider of the logistical support for the Egyptian troops in the Red and Mediterranean seas to confront any challenges and threats that may exist in the region, as well as combating the smuggling and illegal immigration, the presidential spokesman noted. Short link: Egypt's Senate the consultative upper house of parliament will meet on Sunday following a 34-day holiday to discuss a bill meant to upgrade the system for drafting the public budget. The bill targets enhancing the government's socio-economic development plans and strategic goals. A report prepared by the Senate's Financial, Economic, and Investment Affairs Committee said the government-drafted General Unified Finance Law aims to improve Egypt's financial performance. "However, the government believes that this will never be possible without merging two laws which regulate Egypt's financial performance -- the State's Public Budget Law 53/1973 and the Government Accountancy Law 127/1981," said the report, adding that "the step to unify the two laws comes upon the recommendation of international financial institutions and in light of the worldwide shift to digital and mechanised budgetary and accounting systems." Besides, the report said, "if certain budgetary allocations were not used in a given year, the law will help in using them the following years in line with strict rules to decrease the budget deficit," said the report. "The law also seeks to forge an outlook for the financial performance of the country's administrative system and discipline the state's financial performance in terms of adopting the most up-to-date scientific methods and technologies aimed at raising the financial efficiency of the economy's different sectors," the report continued. One of the key objectives of the new General Unified Finance Law is to achieve transparency during the preparation of the country's annual budget in terms of using the e-signature system and modern mechanised methods which help rationalise public spending and boost accountability, the report added. The draft of the General Unified Finance Law also seeks to improve the skills of employees in the state's financial departments and administrative units. "The draft law stipulates that employees in financial sectors receive intensive training courses on modern digital financing, being the only window for raising the qualifications of human skills and guaranteeing a high level of financial performance," said the report. Short link: Egypt has added a new military naval base in the eastern Mediterranean, around 140 kilometers away from the Egyptian-Libyan border and oriented towards the western strategic direction This ensures full coverage of Egypts northern coasts in combination with other military bases, from the farthest point in the northeast at the port of Al-Arish, to the Mohamed Naguib military base in the middle of the northern coast and finally the Third of July base. It comes following the establishment of the southern fleet in the Bernice military base, which was inaugurated around a year and a half ago. The Bernice base is located on the Red Sea, covering the eastern and southern strategic directions. According to the inauguration document of the base released by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, also the supreme commander of the armed forces, the Third of July base represents a new addition to the northern fleet, oriented towards the west. The Third of July base is responsible for securing Egypts economic interests, protecting sea lines of communication and maritime security, using both surface combatants and submarines. The speech of the Commander of the Egyptian Navy Lieutenant General Ahmed Khaled included four main messages: First, the base is part of the Navys comprehensive modernisation programme and is the largest in Egypt, covering 10 million square metres. It is one of five such naval bases that will provide logistical support for the armed forces in the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea. This base will help counter smuggling operations and illegal immigration, and secure Egypts economic resources at sea. Second, the base is built in accordance with the international standards and is equipped to carry out joint trainings and missions with friendly countries. The base comprises 47 modern naval vessels from the Egyptian fleet. Third, the base sends a message of peace, security, cooperation and stability in the region, which is key to achieving development. Fourth, its name comes in memory of a great day in Egypts modern history where the forces of extremism were faced by thought and development. Armament experts in Egypt affirm that the Third of July base reflects Egypts military engineering capabilities, which has achieved a qualitative leap in the naval armament field. The base was inaugurated in parallel with the challenges that still exist in Libya, including the continued flow of weapons despite the UN embargo, making Libya among the biggest passageways of weapons in the world. Security challenges also extend through Africa, especially the areas of tensions in Chad, Niger, Nigeria, and Mali. Military expert Nassr Salem said this base is not directed at any one party; it is rather a message to any force that can pose a threat. The five new bases are an integrated system for the defence of the more than 2,200 kilometer-long coastal strip to the north and the east. Some of the naval vessels are also mobile military bases that roam the eastern Mediterranean. Concerning strategic cooperation and military diplomacy, Egypt has signed military cooperation statements with many international and regional powers in the Gulf and Africa. Enhancing Egypts military capabilities in this regard will foster this strategic cooperation. A Libyan political source said the choice of the site of the Third of July base is meant to be a strategic deterrent. The source said the base supports the security of all Arabs, noting that Egyptian influence and geographical position oblige the country to take these steps. He added that the foreign interference has had a negative impact on Libyan sovereignty. He said Egypt has defended Libya and been a supporting force for Libyan sovereignty. The source said the new Egyptian base bolsters the strategic partnership between Egypt and Libya. Short link: Top U.N. officials warned the Security Council on Friday that more than 400,000 people in Ethiopia's Tigray were now in famine and that there was a risk of more clashes in the region despite a unilateral ceasefire by the federal government. After six private discussions, the Security Council held its first public meeting since fighting broke out in November between government forces, backed by troops from neighboring Eritrea, and TPLF fighters with Tigray's former ruling party. Acting U.N. aid chief Ramesh Rajasingham told the council that the humanitarian situation in Tigray had "worsened dramatically" in recent weeks with an increase of some 50,000 in the number of people now suffering famine. "More than 400,000 people are estimated to have crossed the threshold into famine and another 1.8 million people are on the brink of famine. Some are suggesting that the numbers are even higher. 33,000 children are severely malnourished," he said. The Ethiopian government declared a unilateral ceasefire on Monday, which the TPLF dismissed as a joke. There are reports of continued clashes in some places as pressure builds internationally for all sides to pull back. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said Ethiopia's government must demonstrate "it truly intends to use the ceasefire to address the humanitarian catastrophe," warning that any denial of aid access is "not an indication of a humanitarian ceasefire, but of a siege." Ethiopia's U.N. Ambassador Taye Atske Selassie Amde told reporters after he addressed the council that the purpose of the ceasefire "is not to make a siege, it is to save lives." Amde questioned the need for the public Security Council meeting, telling the body the ceasefire was declared to improve aid access and "should have encouraged our friends to give support and de-escalate the unhelpful pressure." He said the government hoped the ceasefire could also spark dialogue. Thomas-Greenfield urged the parties to the conflict to "seize this moment," warning that if they failed there could be devastating consequences for Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. U.N. political and peacebuilding affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo said Eritrean forces had withdrawn to areas adjacent to the border and that forces from the neighboring region of Amhara remained in areas of western Tigray that they had seized. "In short, there is potential for more confrontations and a swift deterioration in the security situation, which is extremely concerning," she told the council, urging the TPLF to endorse the ceasefire and for Eritrean troops to fully withdraw. While Russia and China did not object to Friday's public meeting of the Security Council on Tigray, they made clear that they believed the conflict is an internal affair for Ethiopia. Russia's U.N. Ambassador said: "We believe that interference by the Security Council in solving it is counterproductive." Russia and China are both council veto-powers, along with the United States, France and Britain. Short link: The capture of the Tigray regional capital by its ousted rulers this week was a dramatic setback for Ethiopia's government, diplomats and analysts say, opening a new chapter in a brutal war but by no means bringing it to an end. A showdown is brewing over rich farmlands in the west of Tigray and humanitarian agencies say they still can't deliver enough aid to hundreds of thousands of people facing famine. Forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the party that dominated Ethiopia's government for nearly three decades, took control of Mekelle on Monday night, seven months after they withdrew from the city. The government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, whose 2018 ascent marked the end of TPLF power, played down the reversal. It declared a unilateral humanitarian ceasefire and said its soldiers left Mekelle to tend to greater security threats elsewhere. But the TPLF and some international observers described the turnaround as a rout for the military, the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF). Tigrayan forces had launched a major offensive as Ethiopia geared up for national elections on June 21. Residents and diplomats said they captured towns to the north and west of Mekelle, and pushed into the centre of Adigrat, the northern region's second-biggest city. "They were surrounding Mekelle for two to three days," one senior diplomat in the capital, Addis Ababa, told Reuters. "The ENDF realised they were going to get slaughtered or leave. They decided to leave." Reuters couldn't independently verify the residents' and diplomats' accounts. TERRITORIAL GAINS The TPLF rapidly seized control over the region's main cities and roads, largely without a fight, as pro-government forces withdrew to the contested west of Tigray, according to a UN report. On Thursday, the TPLF vowed to drive the military and its allies - troops from neighbouring Eritrea and the Ethiopian region of Amhara - from the rest of Tigray. "We are closing in on both the western and southern parts of our territory ... so we can fully liberate every square inch of Tigray," TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda told Reuters by satellite phone. Col. Getnet Adane, Ethiopia's military spokesperson, and Billene Seyoum, spokesperson for the prime minister, did not respond to questions about the TPLF's and diplomats' assertions. In his first public comments after Mekelle's capture, Abiy said the city was no longer the "centre of gravity for conflicts". He said the army "was being stabbed in the back by its own", a reference to Tigrayan civilians he accused of denying water to exhausted soldiers, burying weapons in churchyards and lying to aid workers to get extra food rations for the TPLF. Abiy's government has been battling the TPLF since early November, when it accused the then-governing party of Tigray of attacking military bases across the region, a charge the TPLF has denied. The fighting followed months of deteriorating relations between the TPLF and the government. The TPLF accuses the government of discrimination against ethnic Tigrayans and attempts to centralise power. The government says it is cracking down on a TPLF "criminal clique". Eritrea and the Amhara region sent troops into Tigray to support the army in the first days of the war. Eritrea fought a brutal war against Ethiopia from 1998 to 2000 and "will be absolutely worried, possibly even panicked by resurgent Tigrayan forces", said Murithi Mutiga, Horn of Africa project director at the International Crisis Group. Eritrea's information minister did not respond to a request for comment. Amhara officials say they have taken back a swathe of territory, equal to about a quarter of Tigray, that was historically theirs and have no intention of leaving. Tigrayan officials say the western area has long been home to both ethnic groups and accuse Amhara forces of driving out hundreds of thousands of ethnic Tigrayans, which the Amhara regional administration strongly denies. The fighting is believed to have killed thousands and displaced more than 2 million. The United Nations has spoken of possible war crimes by all sides, including mass killings of civilians and gang-rapes. AID BLOCKED The government controls electricity, telecommunications and internet connections, which are out throughout Tigray, the UN said on Thursday. Most roads into the region, where the UN says more than 350,000 people face famine conditions, are blocked. Government officials on Friday denied accusations by the TLPF and humanitarian agencies that the government was preventing aid from reaching Tigray and said it would support UN flights to the region. On Thursday, two bridges over the Tekeze River near the northern town of Shire were destroyed, making it even more difficult to deliver aid, the UN World Food Programme said. It was not immediately clear who was responsible. The government blamed the TPLF. Residents and humanitarian officials pointed the finger at the military or Amhara forces. Shire and other towns east of the river are now controlled by Tigrayan forces. Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers withdrew to areas west and south of the river, according to two security officials in the town of Humera, in Amhara-controlled western Tigray. Amare Goshu, who heads Abiy's Prosperity Party in the area and works closely with the military and Amhara regional forces, said they were prepared to make a stand if TPLF fighters crossed the river. "We have a right to defend ourselves," he told Reuters. On Thursday, Humera was teeming with Ethiopian soldiers, Amhara regional police and local militiamen, who sat under trees in outdoor coffee shops, their rifles within arms' reach. Truckloads of Eritrean soldiers roared down dusty roads in hand-painted camouflage pick up trucks, wearing their trademark black plastic sandals and scowling when photographed. Zewdu Tarekegn, an ethnic Amhara farmer, said the TPLF should not try to attack Humera. "A polished gun is waiting for them," he said. Short link: Niger President Mohamed Bazoum on Saturday pledged to "cleanse" villages of Islamist militants that have expanded their reach in the southeast of the country near Nigeria. Boko Haram has gained a foothold in at least two villages, Bazoum said at the end of a three-day tour of the southeastern region that has been plagued by jihadist violence since 2015. He described another village as being "infested", while Boko Haram are able to cut off roads from their bases in other settlements, he said. "We will give instructions for these villages to be cleansed," he said, adding that joint operations with Nigeria will clear out jihadists operating on both sides of the border. Boko Harem, Islamic State and groups affiliated to Al-Qaeda are a growing menace for a number of countries across the continent -- sparking protests as people demand leaders restore security. Bazoum gave no start date for the military operations. "On the military level, we have a good balance of power... but the enemy is reorganising itself, and has a lot of capacity," he said, adding the government would remain "very vigilant". Boko Haram have widened their area of operations, Bazoum said. The jihadists are operating "increasingly to the west and south" of the Diffa region, far from their usual range around Lake Chad, a security source confirmed to AFP. In the first six months of the year, there were nine attacks on Niger's security forces in two towns that are not bordering the lake, including the regional capital Diffa, according to the United Nations. The Diffa region is home to 300,000 Nigerian and displaced refugees fleeing jihadist violence since 2015, according to the UN. Niger is also fighting jihadists from the Sahel in its western region, including the Islamic State in the Great Sahara. Short link: President Hassan Rouhani expressed fears on Saturday that Iran will be hit by a fifth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic due to an outbreak of the Delta variant. "It is feared that we are on the way to a fifth wave throughout the country," Rouhani told a meeting of Iran's anti-virus taskforce, warning the public to be careful as "the Delta variant has spread" in southern provinces. Short link: U.N.-sponsored talks aimed at paving the way for elections in Libya in late December failed to find common ground, the deputy of the United Nations mission in Libya said on Friday night after weeklong talks near Geneva. Raisedon Zenenga, assistant secretary-general and mission coordinator of the U.N. Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), called on participants to pursue the effort, describing the talks as "heated debate" marked by threats of walk outs. "The people of Libya will certainly feel let down as they still aspire to the opportunity to exercise their democratic rights in presidential and parliamentary elections on 24 December," Zenenga told the closing session. "This does not bode well for the credibility and future relevance of the LPDF (Libyan Political Dialogue Forum)," he said. "I encourage you to continue to consult among yourselves to pursue a workable compromise and cement what unites you." The talks, held at a hotel about 15 kilometres (9 miles) from Geneva, had been extended into a fifth day on Friday with delegates struggling to agree. They had been expected to establish the constitutional basis for presidential and parliamentary elections by July 1. But delegates and U.N. officials said they could not agree among themselves on several proposals circulating, prompting organisers to extend the talks originally planned to last four days. The elections would be a critical step in international efforts to bring stability to Libya, which has been in turmoil since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising against Muammar Gaddafi. A U.N.-led peace process brought a ceasefire last summer after fighting between rival factions paused and then a unity government was formed. The talks in Switzerland follow an international conference in Berlin last week. The United Nations envoy for Libya, Jan Kubis, said on Monday that leaving Switzerland without a decision this week was "not an option" given the timeframe. On Thursday, Kubis described that day's session as "difficult" and urged delegates to refrain from "disrespectful behaviour and personal attacks", without elaborating. LPDF member Elham Saudi told Reuters on Friday: "This is not the outcome that many of us had hoped for but it is the better outcome given the options that were on the table and UNSMIL's leadership's inability to keep the talks on track." "This only delays the battle, but does not resolve the issue," she said. "Let us remember the interests of Libya and Libyans who deserve elections." Moves toward a political solution in Libya accelerated after eastern commander Khalifa Haftar's 14-month assault on Tripoli collapsed last summer. A formal ceasefire was agreed in October and the next month the participants in the U.N. peace dialogue set a date for elections and agreed to create a new interim government. However, major risks persist with many armed groups holding power on the ground. Haftar was backed by the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Egypt in his Tripoli offensive. The internationally-recognised Tripoli government was supported by Turkey, which ultimately helped it repel the assault. Short link: The judge in charge of the investigation into the Beirut port blast will seek to question top politicians and security officials, Lebanon's national news agency said on Friday, almost a year after the explosion that devastated the capital. The blast in August, blamed on a huge quantity of chemicals left for years in poor storage conditions, deepened a political and economic crisis in the heavily indebted country. Ordinary Lebanese have grown increasingly angry that no senior officials have been held to account for the explosion that killed hundreds of people, injured thousands and ruined whole neighbourhoods in the centre of Beirut. Judge Tarek Bitar, who became the lead investigator into the blast after his predecessor was removed in February, will call in caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab and others, the agency said, although it said no dates had yet been set. He has also written to parliament asking to lift immunity from former Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, former Public Works Minister Ghazi Zeaiter and former Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk as a first step towards charging them. Zeaiter, a parliamentary deputy from speaker Nabih Berri's bloc, and Khalil issued a statement later on Friday saying they would cooperate with the investigator to help determine those responsible for the blast, even before permission was issued. Machnouk declined to comment when contactd by Reuters. The caretaker prime minister and others listed as targets for questioning by the judge could not immediately be reached for comment. Diab and the same ex-officials were charged last year by judge Fadi Sawan, who previously led the probe, but they refused to be questioned as suspects, accusing him of overstepping his powers. Judge Bitar also asked for permission from caretaker Interior Minister Mohamed Fahmy to question Lebanon's security chief Abbas Ibrahim, the agency said. Fahmy told Reuters he had not been notified yet about the process but would take all legal steps required once he was. Bitar's list included another former public works minister, Youssef Finianos, and Tony Saliba, the head of state security. Sawan was removed from the investigation in February by the court of cassation after a request by Khalil and Zeaiter, a major setback for the families of victims seeking justice. Sawan accused the three ex-ministers and caretaker prime minister of negligence. The court of cassation cited "legitimate suspicion" over Sawan's neutrality, partly because his house was damaged in the blast. Short link: Turkey will carry on exploring for oil and gas in the eastern Mediterranean, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday in comments that may revive tensions with the European Union and Greece amid attempts to repair their frayed ties. Turkey is at odds with EU members Greece and Cyprus over energy resources and jurisdiction in the region, and tensions flared last year when Turkish and Greek navy frigates escorted vessels exploring for hydrocarbons. Speaking in the northwestern province of Sakarya, Erdogan said Turkey had been receiving "signals of natural gas" in the eastern Mediterranean and vowed to continue defending Turkey's rights in the region. "Whatever our rights are, we will take those one way or another. And we will carry out our oil exploration operations in the eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus, and all those seas," he said, without elaborating or providing a timeline. EU leaders had threatened punitive measures against Ankara over its offshore activities, but later froze those plans after Turkey withdrew a research vessel from contested waters. Ankara has since been working to repair ties with the bloc and Athens. After Turkey brought its Oruc Reis vessel back to port in November amid threats of EU sanctions, Ankara resumed direct talks with Athens after a five-year hiatus. The two sides have held two rounds of talks since January, but have said no immediate results should be expected. Erdogan's comments came a week after the EU promised 3.5 billion euros for Turkey to continue hosting Syrian refugees until 2024. Ankara later dismissed it as insufficient and called on the bloc to take concrete steps to increase cooperation. Brussels and Ankara also disagree over the divided island of Cyprus. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned on Thursday that it would resume operations in the eastern Mediterranean if the EU and United Nations did not take steps on equitable sharing in Cyprus, after informal U.N.-led talks in April yielded no significant results. Ankara backs the breakaway Turkish Cypriot administration in the north and is the only country that does not recognise the Greek Cypriot government to the south. Cyprus was split in two after a Turkish invasion prompted by a brief Greek-inspired coup in 1974. Erdogan will visit northern Cyprus on July 20. Short link: Israeli defence officials were checking whether Iranian forces were behind a possible attack on a cargo ship under partial Israeli ownership on Saturday on its way from Jeddah to the United Arab Emirates, Israel's N12 Television News reported. The crew were not hurt and the ship, possibly hit by a missile, was not badly damaged and continued on its journey after the incident, N12 said, citing unnamed sources within Israel's defence establishment. Lebanese pro-Iranian TV channel Al Mayadeen had reported the incident earlier. N12 said the vessel, the Tyndall, was owned by Zodiac Maritime Ltd, a London-headquartered international ship management company which later said it did not own or manage the CSAV Tyndall. Ship-tracking data from Refinitiv Eikon showed the CSAV Tyndall container ship, which sails under a Liberian flag, was last docked in Jeddah and was now off the coast of Dubai. A UAE government spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Israeli officials had no immediate comment. Iranian media widely reported the attack, citing Al Mayadeen, which was among the first news outlets to report an attack on a commercial vessel owned by an Israeli company in April. Iran's largest navy ship sank in early June after catching fire in the Gulf of Oman, in what appeared to be the latest incident in a region of sensitive waterways, where arch-enemies Iran and Israel have traded accusations of attacks on each other's vessels. Short link: Six people were killed when a private airplane crashed south of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, local authorities said Saturday. The aircraft had taken off from the city's airport at 6:57 pm (2257 GMT) on Friday and should have arrived at Jacmel, on Haiti's southern coast, around an hour later, according to the National Civil Aviation Office (NCAO). "The plane crashed en route with six people on board," an NCAO incident report said. Gutenberg Destin, the coordinator of civil protection for Haiti's Ouest Department, confirmed to AFP that all six people on board had perished. Experts, with the assistance of police, civil protection officers and local authorities, were "working hard to reach the crash scene, in a hard-to-access location," according to the NCAO. The cause of the crash wasn't immediately clear. With heavily armed gangs controlling the main land route from Port-au-Prince to the southern half of Haiti, charter flights to Jacmel have become increasingly popular -- among the tiny number of Haitians able to afford them. Short link: Russia reported its fifth record for daily Covid-19 deaths in a row on Saturday, as countries around the world rushed to contain the rapid spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. The variant has propelled a resurgence of the virus which has already killed nearly four million people, forcing numerous nations to reimpose restrictions well over a year after the pandemic first swept the world. Thousands of troops and police hit the streets in Indonesia to enforce a partial lockdown imposed on Saturday, as the country recorded a record 27,913 new daily cases as well as 493 deaths. Mosques, restaurants and shopping malls were shuttered in the capital Jakarta, across the main island of Java and on Bali after the daily caseload quadrupled in less than a month, with the Delta variant blamed. The overwhelmed healthcare system is teetering on the brink of collapse as jammed hospitals turn away patients, leading desperate families to hunt for oxygen tanks to treat the sick and dying at home. "The stricter restrictions came too late," said Jakarta resident Maya Puspita Sari. "Before, people who got Covid-19 were strangers, but now it's also the people closest to me who are infected... The virus is getting so much closer and it's terrifying." Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, Myanmar ordered two million people in the second city of Mandalay to stay at home Friday as the coup-hit country struggles to contain coronavirus cases. New measures were also put in place in Portugal, with a night curfew entering into force for nearly half the population in a bid rein in rising Delta infections. - New waves in Russia, Iran - Russia has so far ruled out a new lockdown to fight surging Delta cases, even as it reported 697 more deaths on Saturday -- setting a new nationwide record for the fifth straight day. Second city Saint Petersburg hosted a Euro 2020 quarter-final between Spain and Switzerland on Friday night, with concern raised after hundreds of cases were detected among spectators attending games across the continent. Russia had hoped its vaccination campaign would tamp down a new wave, but it has met with widespread scepticism and a sluggish rollout, with only 16 percent of the 146 million population jabbed. AFP journalists saw hundreds of people waiting at vaccination points across Moscow on Friday. "I've been queueing for about two hours already," 21-year-old student Svetlana Stepereva said in the northeast of the capital. "I want to get a jab and feel safe." This week President Vladimir Putin urged Russians to "listen to experts" rather than rumours about the virus and vaccines. Iran, battling the Middle East's deadliest outbreak of the coronavirus, has warned it could be hit by yet another wave of infections. "It is feared that we are on the way to a fifth wave throughout the country," President Hassan Rouhani told a meeting of Iran's anti-virus taskforce, warning the public to be careful as "the Delta variant has spread" in southern provinces. - Delta rises in Africa, Fiji - The Delta variant, first identified in India and now present in at least 85 countries, has driven outbreaks in places that had previously been able to mostly avoid the pandemic's ravages. Fiji, which went an entire year without recording any community coronavirus cases until Delta arrived in April, recorded its biggest-ever infection increase on Saturday. Authorities reported two deaths and warned of more to come as the virus threatens to overwhelm the South Pacific nation's health system. Africa has also been largely spared the worst of the pandemic, but infection numbers have increased in the continent for six weeks running, driven by the Delta variant. Deaths rose by 15 percent across 38 African countries to nearly 3,000 in the same period. "The speed and scale of Africa's third wave is like nothing we've seen before," Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization's regional director for Africa, said this week. South Africa, the continent's worst-hit country, posted a new record of 24,000 cases on Friday. "We are indeed... in the eye of the storm of the third wave," Deputy Health Minister Joe Phaahla said. Meanwhile in Italy 300 healthcare workers have lodged a legal challenge against the requirement that they get vaccinated against coronavirus, according to media reports. "This isn't a battle by anti-vaxxers but a democratic battle," constitutional lawyer Daniele Granara, who helped build up the case, told the Giornale di Brescia newspaper. Short link: Azerbaijan on Saturday handed over to Yerevan 15 Armenian troops captured last year in the wake of an armed conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, officials said. Foreign ministry in Baku said the move was part of a Russian-mediated deal and followed Yerevan's decision to release to Baku maps of minefields in the conflict zone. Fighting broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia in September 2020 over Nagorno-Karabakh, claiming more than 6,500 lives over six weeks. The war ended in November with a Russian-brokered ceasefire under which Yerevan ceded swathes of territories -- in and near Karabakh -- it had controlled for decades. "On the initiative of the Russian Federation, Armenia submitted to the Azerbaijani side maps of about 92,000 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines planted during the occupation in the Fizuli and Zangilan regions" which were returned to Azerbaijan last year, the ministry said in a statement. "The Azerbaijani side handed over to Armenia 15 people of Armenian origin." A senior Azerbaijani diplomat told AFP the 15 men were captured by Azerbaijani troops in December last year. A similar deal was negotiated between Baku and Yerevan last month by Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvil, the United States' and European Union diplomats. Seven Azerbaijani troops and 18 civilians have died and 110 have been wounded by mines in and near Nagorno-Karabakh since the ceasefire, the Azerbaijani government says. Both Azerbaijani and Armenian forces planted mines during a bloody conflict in the early 1990s. Aliyev said in May that Azerbaijan was ready for peace talks with Armenia, while Pashinyan later announced the two ex-Soviet nations were holding discussions on the delimitation and demarcation of their shared borders. Ethnic Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan as the Soviet Union collapsed, and the ensuing conflict has claimed around 30,000 lives. Short link: Egypts '3rd of July' Naval Base 'reflects progress in vital sectors': Abu Dhabi crown prince Ahram Online, , Saturday 3 Jul 2021 The base, which stretches over 10 million square metres, will secure Egypts northern and western borders Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan hailed the inauguration of the 3rd of July Naval Base in Egypts northwest coast on Saturday as a reflection of progress in the countrys vital sectors. Accompanied by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, Al-Nahyan also the deputy supreme commander of the UAE armed forces, attended the inauguration of Egypts largest naval base in Gargoub area along with two grandsons. Head of Libyas Presidency Council Mohamed Al-Menfi as well as senior Egyptian officials, including Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Minister of Defence and Military Production Mohamed Zaki, attended the inauguration. I was pleased to witness this milestone and I'm confident in Egypts continued development, the crown prince tweeted. Al-Nahyan added that the inauguration of the 3rd of July base represents an achievement that reflects progress in vital sectors in the country under the leadership of my brother Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. The 3rd of July base, which stretches over 10 million square metres, is meant to secure Egypts northern and western borders, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement. The naval base will also safeguard Egypts economic capabilities, secure shipping routes, and maintain maritime security by using combat groups from ground military units, submarines, and air forces, Rady added. El-Sisi, the visiting leaders, and Egyptian officials attended the military drill "Qader 2021" in the base following the inauguration. The base takes its name after the day Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was ousted following days of public protests against him and his now banned Muslim Brotherhood group in 2013. https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/416493.aspx By Ken Endo, KYODO NEWS - Jul 3, 2021 - 16:28 | All, Japan, World A good interference is hard to come by. A government might be able to properly deal with issues in its own country, but there are only limited options for what it can do when carnage and oppression are taking place in remote nations. Does that mean we should just ignore them? What is happening in Myanmar imposes that question on us. Since the Myanmar military's coup in February, over 800 people have been killed in crackdowns by the military and hundreds have gone missing. Security forces have been arbitrarily detaining and torturing people. It is abnormal in the first place for a military, existing to defend the country, to slaughter its own people. Besides, what those citizens demand are just fundamental rights, such as the right to take part in free and fair elections, as well as freedom of assembly and speech, which the military has taken away through the coup. Their reckless actions are inexcusable and unjustifiable. That said, Japan has been weak to show its diplomatic presence against what is going on there and even worse, seems to be lending a hand to the military. The situation is nearly identical to its response to the Tiananmen Square incident that occurred more than 30 years ago in Beijing. It is already known from disclosed diplomatic records that the Japanese government systematically supported right after the incident China's Communist-Party ruled government, which was responsible for the massacre of its own people, and later lifted sanctions ahead of others so that it would not fall into a predicament. The action by the Japanese government greatly helped the Communist Party-ruled Chinese government and spoiled it as a result. The Japanese government boasts of its "own channel of communication" with the Myanmar military, but it is not willing to stop atrocities by using this channel. Japan, as one of the leading donor countries to the Southeast Asian nation, is supposed to exercise its influence through actions such as a total suspension of aid. But Japan is anxious about pushing Myanmar closer to China and ruining its positive bilateral relations, if it imposes sanctions together with the United States and European nations. The military regime appears to take advantage of Japan's concern. China is not the only concern of the Japanese government. Japan's hands seem to be tied over Japanese companies' rights and interests developed in partnership with the Myanmar military. The Myanmar military is also an industrial conglomerate and a major recipient of aid from Japan, with senior officers making personal profit out of it. The post of the Japan Myanmar Association chairman is currently filled by former Posts and Telecommunications Minister Hideo Watanabe. His son Yusuke, secretary general of the association and vice president of Japan Myanmar Development Institution Inc., is an enthusiastic supporter of the military. In addition to the institution, many Japanese firms including general contractor Kajima Corp. and trading house Marubeni Corp. are involved in massive projects related to aid to Myanmar. That is how Japan's political business circles and the Myanmar military have turned into a politico-economic complex that shares the same interests. In early May, I took part in a support rally for the democratization of Myanmar in Sapporo, northern Japan, on the urge of an acquaintance. I was amazed that participants at the rally were predominantly young people. Many of about 900 Myanmar residents in Hokkaido are technical interns under the government-sponsored training program, and I believe at least one third of them must have been there. While protests are suppressed in their home country, those young people denounced the clampdown by the military. They sought the release of democratic leaders and called on the Japanese government to intensify pressure on the military regime by clearly showing their desire for democracy. Such demonstrations were carried out across Japan. In the world of diplomacy, it must be impossible to reflect such voices in policies as they are. There is a wide range of national interests that should be protected, including interests of Japanese companies. There is always criticism of arbitrariness in human rights diplomacy, such as questioning the reason for choosing to tackle the human rights issue in Myanmar while human rights are violated in a vast area from Russia to Sierra Leone. However, we must at least avoid lending a hand to injustice when economic profits are produced through inhumane massacres. Japanese taxpayers very much lack awareness (over how their tax money is spent). Japan has provided over 100 billion yen ($900 million) a year in assistance to brutal military-ruled Myanmar, while their loans are often written off. Although new loans have been suspended, projects which are already under way are continuing. I also believe we should list up companies which maintain relations with the Myanmar regime and put them under surveillance. Kirin Holdings Co. cut its joint-venture partnership with a Myanmar firm, which provides welfare fund management for the military. The Japanese government should press other companies to follow suit as well. Lastly, as technical interns from Myanmar accepted by the Japanese government are in effect turning into asylum seekers who are likely to face persecution if they go back home, the government has to secure their living and places for them to stay. The government can do many things right now in addition to extending their visas, such as finding temporary accommodation for them and mediating their re-employment. Authoritarianism is rampant across the globe. What is happening in Myanmar will serve as a touchstone for Japan, a country seeking to maintain freedom and democracy, with respect to how the country can progress from now on. (Ken Endo is a professor at Hokkaido University's Graduate School of Public Policy. Born in Tokyo in 1966, he earned a doctorate in politics at the University of Oxford and was a researcher at Harvard Law School, and a visiting professor at Institut d'etudes politiques de Paris as well as at National Chengchi University in Taipei. He is also the author of numerous books, including "Togo No Shuen" (The End of Integration), and a commissioning editor of eight volumes on Japan's security.) Related coverage: Firm led by former Japan minister in JV linked with Myanmar military U.N. raps Myanmar military over coup, violence against protesters Japan's lower house slams Myanmar coup, calls for return to democracy KYODO NEWS - Jul 3, 2021 - 21:16 | World, All China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Saturday the Indo-Pacific strategy led by the United States is aimed at countering Beijing in a group and claimed the strategy "should be dumped at a trash heap." Speaking in a forum on global security issues discussed under China's initiative, held at Tsinghua University in Beijing, Wang warned the strategy adopted by the United States, Japan and other countries is forming a siege against Beijing. Apparently referring to the Group of Seven industrialized countries and the Quad grouping of the United States, Japan, India and Australia, Wang also said China opposes a framework of cooperation to "fuel rivalry" and "an action to accelerate division." As the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has been increasingly promoting relations with Taiwan, Wang claimed the United States is encouraging Taiwan's independence. Regarding Japan's decision to release treated radioactive water into the sea from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant announced in April, Wang urged Tokyo not to discharge the water without the consent of neighboring countries and international organizations. In the speech made two days after China celebrated the 100th birthday of the ruling Communist Party on Thursday, he said, "Today's China is no longer the same country of 100 years ago." Related coverage: China unlikely to try seizing Taiwan in next 2 yrs: top U.S. general G-7 to launch infrastructure plan to counter China's Belt and Road Pentagon issues directive to revitalize alliances to counter China New Delhi: Former Congress Delhi chief Arvinder Singh Lovely, who had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nine months ago, rejoined his old party Congress on Saturday. Lovely's return to the Grand Old party is being seen as big philip for the Congress ahead of the by-polls for the 20 assembly seats. At that time, I had also said that it was not a happy decision for me. It was a weak moment for me. But then after, I had a chat with Ajay Maken and sort the differences, said Lovely in a press conference at the AICC headquarters. Lovely faced a lot of flak from senior Congressmen for joining the BJP. Reacting to the criticism, he had told the Indian Express that he had been patient with the party even after he was removed as the Congress state unit president in 2015, and that he could not wait any longer. In 2015, the Congress lost when Maken was the chief ministerial face of the party. Instead, I was asked to step down and he was promoted. I did not say anything despite this and stayed on, Lovely had said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Jakarta: Indonesia has inked a billion-dollar deal to buy 11 Sukhoi Su-35 jets from Russia, an official said on Saturday. The contract, signed by both countries representatives in Jakarta on Wednesday, is worth a total $1.14 billion, Indonesia defence ministry spokesman Totok Sugiharto said. "Two units of Sukhoi jets will be delivered in August 2018," he told AFP. Another six jets would be delivered 18 months after the contract comes into effect, and the final three a further five months later, he said. The deal comes after Indonesia said in August that it would seek to trade palm oil, coffee and tea for Russian fighter jets, saying it wanted to capitalise on international sanctions on Moscow. The EU and US have targeted Russia with sanctions for alleged meddling in the US presidential election and its annexation of Crimea. Also Read: Watch | Defence Minister Sitharaman flies in Sukhoi 30 jet in 30-minutes sortie However, Indonesias trade minister said the sanctions could be good news for his country as Russia is forced to seek new markets to import from. Indonesia and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding to exchange 11 Russian-made Sukhoi fighters for key commodities in Moscow early August. It was not announced Saturday in what form payment would be made. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Delhi Police have registered a case against a leading TV channel journalist after a complaint of rape by a woman, a senior Delhi Police officer said on Saturday night. Additional Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) BK Singh said the woman told them that she met the journalist in 2016 and he offered her a job in the channel which she joined in April 2017. "She alleged that she was raped by the man on June 9 last year at his residence on the pretext of marriage and several times later on," the officer said. The woman claimed that in October last year she learned that the man was already married and had two children, Singh said. She filed a complaint on February 13 and a case was registered on Saturday night at the Tughlak Road Police Station, the officer said. Her statement was recorded before a magistrate but no arrest has been made. Chennai: The Madras High Court has warned that exemplary costs would be imposed for frivolous PILs which do not concern the public at large. The court issued the warning while dismissing a plea from social activist 'Traffic' K R Ramaswamy, recently. In his petition, Ramaswamy cited his representation to the President of India, Chief Justice of India, High Court CJ, the chief secretary and home secretary seeking action against officials, who have allowed the erection of banners along the road from the DGP office in Rajaji Salai to Anna Circle on Mount Road. Counsel for Ramaswamy submitted that criminal action should be taken against officials who had allowed the erection of banners. On behalf of the government side, the court was informed that all the banners were removed. The first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose dismissed the PIL, stating that the plea was devoid of any "material particulars." "Such vague and frivolous writ petitions which consume the Court's time should be discouraged with exemplary costs." "It is warned that in future exemplary costs shall be imposed for frivolous so-called public interest litigations, which do not concern the public at large," the bench said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The BJP on Saturday alleged that the multi-crore PNB scam involving billionaire jewelry designer Nirav Modi happened during the UPA rule and the Congress was spreading lies. The BJP fielded Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to counter the Congress charge that the scam took place in 2017 under the Modi government when the letters of understanding were signed by the Punjab National Bank in favour of Nirav Modi. She said Nirav Modi may have been able to run away from the country, but the government is taking action against him. "We are not conspiring to help scamsters flee the country, the BJP government is catching them instead," she told reporters. She accused the Congress of spreading lies on the issue. Sitharaman also alleged that it was Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who attended a promotional event hosted by Nirav Modi. She also cited the example of a government director of Allahabad Bank, who in 2013 had raised objections to the financial restructuring of Gitanjali Gems, saying he was asked to resign and his dissent was not even recorded. Central probe agencies CBI and ED yesterday continued their crackdown in the Rs 11,400-crore bank fraud case involving Nirav Modi and family, registering a fresh case against his maternal uncle Mehul Choksi, The CBI has alleged that the new FIR pertains to 143 LOUs worth over Rs 4,886 crore fraudulently issued to three companies of Choksi -- Gitanjali Gems, Nakshatra and Gili -- during the period 2017-18, officials said. The agency had earlier registered a separate case involving Rs 280-crore fraud, which has now been expanded to cover LoUs worth Rs 6,498 crore issued to accused companies of Nirav Modi and Choksi. An LoU is a letter of comfort issued by one bank to branches of other banks, based on which foreign branches offer credit to buyers. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: CBI has arrested Gokulnath Shetty, the then Deputy Manager (now Retired) of Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Manoj Kharat, SWO (Single Window Operator) PNB, and Hemant Bhat Authorised Signatory of the Nirav Modi Group of Firms. They will be produced before CBI special court in Mumbai on Saturday. Even as the verbal duel between the BJP and the Congress is going on incessantly over the issuance of loans to diamond merchant Nirav Modi, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday said that a majority of the Letters of Understanding (LoUs) in the Rs 11,400-crore scam were either issued or renewed by the Punjab National Bank (PNB) during 2017-18. The CBI had on Thursday claimed that Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi had ripped off PNB to the tune of Rs 4,886.72 crore during 2017-18 by getting 143 LoUs issued through the bank. The FIR registered against Choksi on Thursday reads, Accused Bank officials Gokulnath Shetty and Manoj Kharat in connivance with accused companies and directors during 2017-18 defrauded PNB to the tune of Rs 4886.72 crore in issuance of fraudulent and unauthorised LoUs in favour of foreign branches of different India-based banks and purported LCs (Letters of Credit) in favour of foreign suppliers of the accused companies. Funds raised were meant to be used for payment of import bills of accused companies whereas it was dishonestly and fraudulently utilised for discharging the earlier liabilities on account of buyers credit facility by overseas branches of Indian banks, said the FIR. CBI sources said that many old LoUs were renewed in 2017 and they were investigating the dealings that took place between 2014 and 2017. Also Read | Congress or BJP, who is responsible for the PNB scam? PNB Fraud Case LIVE UPDATES: # The finance ministry is working with the Prime Ministers Office to resolve the Rs 11,400 crore Punjab National Bank scam and the government will try to extradite and punish Nirav Modialleged to be behind the fraudMinister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said on Saturday. (PTI) # Meanwhile, raids by the ED in connection with its money laundering probe against diamond czar Nirav Modi and others in the alleged Rs 11,400-crore bank fraud continued for the third day today with the agency saying it seized Rs 25 crore worth diamonds and jewellery, taking the total seizure value to Rs 5,674 crore, the agency said. # PNB's investigation reports revealed that logs in swift were used by many officials including Gokulnath Shetty by using passwords in the capacity of authoriser enabling fraudulent Swift messages.Involvement&connivance of more staff members & outsiders can't be ruled out: CBI # Kapil Sibal challenges BJP to debate on the issue of PNB scam. Haa UPA ke time me hua, inki wajah se hua, inka galat bayani ki wajah se hua. Mai inko challenge karta hu debate ke liye: Kapil Sibal, Congress #PNBScam pic.twitter.com/bs1tNzlkmb ANI (@ANI) February 17, 2018 # BREAKING: Special CBI Court sends all three PNB Officials in police custody till 3rd March # In between all the political slugfest, ED conducted further searches at 21 locations across India in #NiravModi case & seized diamonds, gold, precious stones/ metals & jewellery worth Rs 25 crore (Book Value). Total seizure till now is Rs 5674 Crore: Enforcement Directorate # This Rs 22,000 Crore scam cannot have been done without a high-level protection. It must have been known by the people in government beforehand otherwise it is not possible. PM will have to come forward and answer questions: Rahul Gandhi This Rs 22,000 Crore scam cannot have been done without a high level protection. It must have been known by the people in government beforehand otherwise it is not possible. PM will have to come forward and answer questions: Rahul Gandhi #PNBFraudCase pic.twitter.com/tPDTpxBa7D ANI (@ANI) February 17, 2018 # I intend to file a civil and defamation case against the Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her colleagues who are spreading the defamatory allegations, I also intend to take action against the sections of media who are spreading the same: Abhishek Singhvi, Congress # BJP is spreading a false, defamatory, distasteful news through its Defence Minister & other ministers. What the Defence Minister said is false. Neither I, nor my wife or my children have any relation with Mehul Choksi or Nirav Modi: Abhishek Singhvi, Congress # In its remand application, CBI claims that the fraud is estimated at Rs 6000 crores, much more than Rs 280 crores reported by the bank. CBI also mentioned that Nirav Modi firm's authorised signatory Hemant Bhatt is not co-operating in the investigation. # Meanwhile, CBI to seek the custody of 3 Punjab National Bank for 14 days for further investigation on the grounds that some important documents are yet to be recovered, CBI wants to find the modus operandi of crime & ascertain the exact magnitude of crime PNB Scam. # PNB scam: BJP hits back at Congress, says opposition party spreading lies. Sitharaman also alleged that it was Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who attended a promotional event hosted by Nirav Modi. Read full story here # Madhya Pradesh: Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducting raids at a Nakshatra jewellers showroom of Gitanjali Group in Bhopal. Madhya Pradesh: Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducting raids at a Nakshatra jewellers showroom of Gitanjali Group in Bhopal #PNBScam pic.twitter.com/s6odSCzPWU ANI (@ANI) February 17, 2018 # Three Punjab National Bank officials arrested by CBI today produced before Special CBI Court in Mumbai. 3 Punjab National Bank officials arrested by CBI today produced before Special CBI Court in Mumbai #PNBFraudCase pic.twitter.com/UVaLVe7B7d ANI (@ANI) February 17, 2018 # Congress has made few more shocking claims about the big banking scam that questions directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Watch what the party has to say about Nirav Modi and Mehul Bhai, both key accused in the PNB Scam: # Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) summons the PNB management and Finance Ministry officials to appear before it. # Indian Banking Association will hold meeting with Chiefs of all the PSU banks through video conferencing from its headquarters in Mumbai later today: Sources # CBI arrests three in connection with issuance of Letters of Understanding # Why is PM Modi refusing to disclose who all travel with him on official tours? Is this the kind of 'Ease of Doing Business' the PM talks about?: Kapil Sibal, Congress # Humaare desh ke jo chowkidar hain, woh pakode banaane ki salah de rahe hain. Aaj ki paristithi yeh hai ki chowkidar so raha hai aur chor bhaag gaya hai (The custodian of our country is asking people to make fritters. The situation has stooped to such a level that while the custodian sleeps the thief has absconded): Kapil Sibal, Congress. # Raid underway by ED officials at a Gitanjali Gems store in Durgapur, West Bengal # CBI arrests Gokulnath Shetty, Ex-Deputy Manager of Punjab National Bank # Gitanjali Gems store in Patna was raided by ED officials late Friday night For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam, who last year merged his faction with that of Chief Minister K Palaniswami, has said that he had acted on a suggestion from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking at a party office-bearers meeting at Theni on Friday, the AIADMK coordinator said that the issue came up during a courtesy meeting he had with Modi in New Delhi last year. "He (Modi) said that you (Panneerselvam) could join (merge the faction) to save the party," the deputy chief minister said, without specifying the exactly when the conversation took place. The merger of the two AIADMK factions took place in August 2016. Panneerselvam, who had become chief minister of the state following the death of his predecessor J Jayalalithaa in December 2016, said he told the prime minister he did not want any cabinet position and can settle for a party post. But the prime minister wanted him to join the ministry headed by Palaniswami, he said. The deputy chief minister said he had conveyed the same to two of his cabinet colleagues from the Palaniswami camp prior to the merger, and that they also insisted he accept a minister's post. Also Read | Congress or BJP, who is responsible for PNB scam? what we know so far "That is why I am a minister today. I have no desire to be a minister. Amma (Jayalalithaa) made me MLA four times and chief minister twice. That honour itself is enough for me," he told the gathering. Panneerselvam took over as chief minister twice-- in 2001 and later in 2014-- when Jayalalithaa was convicted in two different cases. In 2014, Jayalalithaa and her confidante Sasikala were convicted in the Rs 66.66 crore disproportionate assets case. Panneerselvam, who revolted against Sasikala and her family last year after allegedly being forced to make way for her elevation to the chief minister's post, charged that her family members tried to work for his defeat in the 2016 polls. Sasikala, however, could not become the chief minister due to her conviction in the graft case. "If anyone else had faced this amount of crisis and problems, they would have committed suicide or would have left the party. (But) I tolerated everything for Amma," he said. Meanwhile, senior AIADMK leader and Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar declined to comment on Panneerselvam's remarks about Modi's suggestion on merging his faction, saying the remark could have been made during a one-on-one meeting between the two. He, however, said the party would welcome anyone making suggestions for the AIADMK's well-being. "If someone says govern well, take forward Amma's rule and if that family (of Sasikala) is not required, we will see the postives in it," Jayakumar told reporters in Chennai today. The BJP's state unit also declined to comment on the development. Party's state unit president Tamilisai Sounderrajan said that "during a conversation, the prime minister may have said something but I don't have a right to give an opinion on that." "He (Modi) might have given suggestion, there could have been an exchange of ideas, you should only ask him (Panneerselvam)," she said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Saturday said he was disappointed by the Supreme Courts verdict on Cauvery water dispute. The apex court on Friday reduced Tamil Nadus water share in Cauvery River to 177.25 TMC and awarded an additional 14.75 TMC to Karnataka. Reacting to the top courts verdict, CM Palaniswami said, The Cauvery Verdict giving TN 177.25 TMC of water has come as a disappointment to us. The Chief Minister, however, welcomed Supreme Courts decision of constituting a Cauvery Tribunal within six months and appreciated its remark that no state can claim ownership of a river. At the same time the constitution of Cauvery tribunal within 6 weeks & when the court said that rivers can't be claimed by a single state is welcomed by us, the Chief Minister said. Also Read | Cauvery Verdict: SC reduces Tamil Nadu's water share, Karnataka gets additional 14.75 TMC Earlier on Friday, the apex court ruled that that water is a "national resource" and no single state can claim exclusive ownership to a river. The top court in its ruling said that 20 TMC of groundwater in Tamil Nadu had not been accounted for and needed to be seen. Cauvery, a 765-km long river is called the Ganga of South and originates in Karnatakas Kodagu district and flows into Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry. SC made it clear that the increase in the share of Cauvery water for Karnataka has been done keeping in view the fact that there is an increased demand of drinking water by Bengaluru & also for many industrial activities. Since this is an inter-state dispute, I dont want to say that its a win for one state and loss for another, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said. Verdict is not fully in accordance with our plea but we have got some relief, he added. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: With the onset of the Nagaland polls in the country, both the national parties BJP and Congress, who had released their manifestos on Friday, claimed to give the best to the people of the state. BJP, in its manifesto, announced that it would give a free trip to Jerusalem to 50 of its lucky draw winners, while the Congress has claimed that it would give subsidised trip to Jerusalem to the people. The Nagaland Baptist Church, which has already made its way into Nagalands electoral politics, has asked the people to be aware of any attack on the Christian community. The Naga Peoples Front did not address any religion in its manifesto but speaks extensively about a solution to the Naga talks and improving the states failing infrastructure. Under the section of Senior Citizens in its manifesto, BJPs Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju and Nirmala Sitharaman promised to set up a senior citizen board to select 50 people through a lucky draw for a free trip to the Holy Land of Jerusalem. According to the manifesto of the Congress party, By an act of the state government, a board will be established to facilitate minorities to visit the Holy Land (Jerusalem) at a subsidized cost. Congress, which is contesting 18 seats in the upcoming elections, said, The BJP is the political arm of the RSS and the Hindutva brotherhood driven by a devilish resilience to persecute all minorities. The single objective of this nexus of evil is to create a Hindu Raj. The NPF has pledged their soul to this force of evil to loot and plunder Nagaland. Also Read: PM's words don't mean anything: Rahul's jibe at Modi over Naga peace accord The BJP manifesto, in response to both Congress and the Baptist Church, said, The BJP is a pro-people, people-centric, pro-active development centred secular party with its ideological principles of Integral Humanism as propounded by its philosopher and guide Shri Deen Dayal Upadhyaya and stand strong and committed for the harmonious co-existence of all communities and faiths within the country and with the global community. On the Naga political issue, the BJP sided Prime Minister Narendra Modis signing of the Framework Agreement of 2015, while the NPF said that it remained committed to the realisation of a common Naga homeland and shared Naga future through integration of contiguous Naga inhabited areas. Meanwhile, the Congress had said Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi initiated discussions, while former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi made it a national issue and offered for negotiation without any precondition. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Bengaluru: Mohammad Haris Nalapad, son of NA Haris, Congress MLA from Shanti Nagar Bengaluru and his friends attacked a 24-year-old youth Vidvat at a restaurant in Bengaluru on Saturday late night over a trivial issue. Vidvat received grievous injuries and was immediately taken to Mallya Hospital where his condition is said to be stable. Police have filed an FIR and started an investigation. As per the primary information, Vidvat was having dinner with his friends around 10 pm. Nalapad was also having dinner in the same restaurant with his friends. An argument ensued when Nalapad confronted Vidvat for putting his legs on a chair. (Vidvat is said to have fractured his leg sometime back so he had put his legs on the chair). After a verbal exchange, Nalapad and his friends started hitting Vidvat. They did not stop there and followed Vidvat at the hospital where they again attacked him. Meanwhile, G Parameshwara, President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee informed that Mohammed Haris Nalapad has been suspended from the party for six years. Dinesh Gundurao, working President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee said, Strict action to be taken against people responsible. There won't be any sort of protection whether it's a person in Congress or outside. Mohd Haris Nalapad was involved too. We've decided to expel him from Congress. Strict action to be taken against people responsible. There won't be any sort of protection whether it's a person in Congress or outside. Mohd Haris Nalapad was involved too. We've decided to expel him from Congress: Dinesh Gundurao, Working Pres K'taka Pradesh Congress Committee pic.twitter.com/LMs7HN7pef ANI (@ANI) February 18, 2018 Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wrote on Twitter, Offenders should be punished to the full extent of law regardless of who they are. No less, no more. Offenders should be punished to the full extent of law regardless of who they are. No less, no more.@CPBlr will take action as per law and bring the guilty to book. https://t.co/H0Km8zauVz Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) February 18, 2018 "I don't know where he is currently. Whoever does wrong is wrong, be it the son of an MLA or anyone else. I have always advised my son to never do anything wrong. I will see that my son does not do anything like this again," said NA Haris, Father of Mohammed Haris Nalapad. New Delhi: Shares of Punjab National Bank continued to reel under pressure for the third consecutive day after the detection of Rs 11,400-crore fraud, slipping over 3 per cent in morning trade on bourses. The stock hit its 52-week low on both BSE and NSE today after it opened on a bearish note and fell 3.27 per cent to Rs 124.15 on BSE. Similarly on NSE, the stock dropped to a low of Rs 123.40. Meanwhile, shares of PNB Housing too slipped 1,36 per cent to a low of Rs 1,182.60. A fortnight after the scam was first reported, PNB Chairman and Managing Director Sunil Mehta yesterday said it has the capability to recover the dues from Modi and promised to take action against all wrongdoers. As the Enforcement Directorate conducted multiple searches at establishments linked to Modi, seizing diamonds, jewellery and gold worth Rs 5,100 crore and sealing six properties, the finance ministry said recovery would be made and nobody would be spared. PNB has already suspended 10 officers and referred the matter to CBI for investigation. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind welcomed Iranian President Dr Hassan Rouhani on Saturday at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on the last day of his three-day visit to India. President Rouhani and PM Modi will be holding bilateral talks on several issues including the crucial Chabahar Port which India is helping Iran to develop on the Gulf of Oman for trade with Afghanistan and Central Asia. India is understood to invest $ 85 million for equipping Chabahar Port in South-East Iran. PM Modi will be hosting lunch for President Rouhani on Saturday while President Kovind will host a banquet for him. India has also expressed interest in the Farzad-B gas field, and sources told PTI that there were commercial discussions on to find a "win-win" solution while Iran said it is ready to simplify visa procedures and hoped India will reciprocate to facilitate easy movement of people between the two countries. President Rouhani began his three-day India visit after his arrival in Hyderabad on Thursday evening where he said Iran has a plan for the fraternity for India. He will also deliver a speech at the Observer Research Foundation later in the day. #WATCH Live from Delhi: PM Modi and Iran President Rouhani issue a joint statement https://t.co/DyLYtyqxTr ANI (@ANI) February 17, 2018 For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Full freedom has been given to locals commanders of the army along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir to effectively retaliate any act of violence by Pakistani troops, Army sources said on Thursday. They said the Indian Army has been inflicting heavy casualties to Pakistani troops while replying to Pakistani shelling along the LoC in the last few weeks. The local commanders now have been given full freedom to retaliate to any Pakistani misadventure, the army sources said, adding the Army is resorting to coordinated fire assaults in replying to any Pakistani shelling along the LoC. Also read: In tactical operation, Indian Army kills 138 Pakistani soldiers in 2017 Following the attack on the Sunjuwan military station in Jammu, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman warning Pakistan had said the neighbouring country "will pay for its misadventure". Six Army personnel and a civilian were killed in the terrorist attack on the Sunjuwan military station. The attack on the camp came days after four Army men were killed in Pakistani firing in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir. On his return from a three-day trip to Nepal, Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat was today given a detailed briefing about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Also read: Pakistan shells areas along LoC, IB in Jammu The Army sources claimed that a total of 20 Pakistani Army personnel were killed this year while the number was 138 in 2017. The sources said senior commanders of Pakistan Army have been frequently visiting Pakistani posts in the last few weeks in the wake of aggressive response by India to Pakistani actions. They said Pakistan has increased the alert levels at all its posts along the LoC due to Indian actions. "We are inflicting heavy pain on Pakistani side," said an army official. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Both the Congress and the ruling BJP are busy blaming each other for the countrys biggest banking scam worth over Rs 11,000 crore, while the key accused are still on the run and the government has no clue about their whereabouts. Diamond czar Nirav Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi, who, the Congress claims were close to Prime Minister Marendra Modi, allegedly defrauded the Punjab National Bank by making fraudulent transactions of over Rs 11,300 crore through 151 letters of understanding. The BJP says the PNB bank fraud happened during UPAs tenure and the party was trying to clean Congresss mess. The Congress, however, says it all happened right under the nose of Indias Chaukidar - PM Modi. Punjab National Bank MD Sunil Mehta said the cancer started in 2011 and came to his notice in the third week of January this year. However, the FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) shows 148 of the total 151 Letters of Understanding (LoUs) were issued under the Modi government in 2017. What Congress claims Congress has trained all its guns on Prime Minister Modi and accused him of hosting Mehul Choksi, Managing Director of Gitanjali Gems' and one of the prime accused of the scam, at his Lok Kalyan Marg residence in 2015. Congress has also shared a video that purportedly shows PM Modi addressing Mehul Choksi as Mehul Bhai. Apart from Mehul Choksi, the party said, Nirav Modi also accompanied Prime Minister Modi during his Davos visit to attend the World Economic Forum last month. The Congress has also shared a picture of Prime Minister Modi with Nirav Modi which is said to be clicked a day before the CBI registered its FIR. Congress leader Kapil Sibal alleged that the market capitalisation of listed companies in the gems and jewelry business is pegged at Rs 41.66 billion, while its gross current debt stands at Rs 94 billion. This shows that the banks gave him loans more than the overall value of his businesses. Sibal said Nirav Modi has bought fewer assets and took more loans since PM Modi took came to power in 2014. "They were aware of all this. But they turned a blind eye. They were aware that the country was being looted," Congress said. BJPs defence After Congresss allegations, the ruling party quickly came in the damage control mode and tried to pin the blame on Manmohan Singh-led UPA government for the multi-crore PNB scam. The party fielded none other than but Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to counter Congresss charges. Sitharaman said the country's biggest banking scam happened during UPA's rule and Modi government was cleaning the mess spread by Congress. She said the key accused Nirav Modi and his family may have been able to escape but the government is taking action against him. The Defence Minister cited ex-Allahabad Bank director Dinesh Dubey and said he had warned the UPA government against giving loans to Mehul Choksis Gitanjali Gems but he was removed from his post. What ex-Allahabad Bank director Dinesh Dubey claims Dinesh Dubey was the director of Allahabad Bank Director in 2013 and allegedly asked to step down after he raised the objections to the financial restructuring of Mehul Choksis Gitanjali Gems. Dinesh told a private news channel that had the UPA government listened to him, the scam could have been stopped. The UPA government allowed the scam but NDA let it flourish 10 times and let the accused flee, he told ABP News. Bengaluru businessman alerted PMO in 2016 A Bengaluru based businessman named Hari Prasad claimed he alerted the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) about the fraudulent intentions of Mehul Choksi but PMO didn't act against him. His letter to the PMO clearly stated the fact that Mehul Choksi had taken massive bank loans worth almost Rs 9872 crore but his assets are way below than the amount. He had warned that the loans given to him will soon become NPAs. Click Here To Read The Letter Sent To PMO by Prasad. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Ahmedabad: Protesters blocked roads and held rallies in several parts of Gujarat on Sunday, including capital Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, and Patan in Mehsana district against the failure of the authorities concerned to prevent suicide by Dalit activist Bhanubhai Vanakar on Friday, police said. The protests were held after police detained Dalit leader and independent MLA Jignesh Mevani, and over 70 others, in Saraspur area of Ahmedabad this morning when they tried to stage demonstrations over Vanakar's death. City crime branch officials claimed that Mevani did "not behave properly" with the police during his detention. However, the MLA tweeted he was pulled out of a car by police in a "very uncivilised manner". Vanakar (62) had set himself ablaze outside the Patan Collectors office on February 15 seeking allotment of land to a Dalit family. He died of burn injuries at a private hospital in Ahmedabad the next day. His body is still lying at Gandhinagar civil hospital as his kin refused to accept it. Earlier on Saturday, Mevani appealed to Dalits to gather at Sarangpur circle this morning for protests. Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) J K Bhatt said Mevani did not co-operate with police for maintaining peace in the city. "Many Dalit leaders of the city had assured us that peace will not be disturbed during protests. Unfortunately, Mevani didnt give any such assurance. So, as a precautionary measure, we have detained him," Bhatt told reporters. He said police also detained around 70 people from Sarangpur and Vadaj areas of Ahmedabad city. "Mevani and other detainees will be released at a proper time," the JCP said, adding two companies of anti-riot Rapid Action Force (RAF) and three companies of the State Reserve Police (SRP) have been deployed in the city. Though the state government yesterday announced that it will accept the key demands of Vanakars family, including allotment of land to Dalits, Mevani had sought that the government issue a circular conceding the demands. After his detention, Mevani claimed through his tweet that police misbehaved with him when he was on his way for "a peaceful protest at Ambedkar statue in Sarangpur". Mevani, who represents Vadgam (SC) seat in Banaskantha district, claimed he was detained after being pulled out of his car. He also accused the police of damaging the car keys when he was heading to Sarangpur. Responding to his allegation, Bhatt cited a video clip circulating on social media which purportedly shows Mevani confronting a policeman and trying to sit in his car after pushing him away. "You can see how Mevani behaved with the policeman who was only doing his duty. Mevani's behaviour was not proper. No matter what he did, police showed absolute restraint," Bhatt said, adding that violence will not be tolerated. Since Mevani is a sitting MLA, the crime branch will send a report to the Speaker of the Assembly, Bhatt said. After the news about Mevani's detention spread, some unidentified people set a car on fire in Vadaj area of the city, police said. The states police control room said protesters tried to block roads in Patan, Gandhinagar and in Unjha town of Mehsana district, which is the hometown of Vankar. Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel had yesterday announced constitution of a judicial commission under a retired high court judge or form an SIT to investigate Vanakars death. Patel had said that a member of the family of the deceased will be given a government job. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the three-day Magnetic Maharashtra: Convergence 2018 concave in Mumbai on Sunday, said officials. After inaugurating the states first-ever Global Investors Summit at the MMRDA Grounds in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Modi will interact with corporate chiefs at high tea, along with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The conclave is said to be one of the biggest event of its kind after the Prime Ministers Make in India initiative launched in February 2016 in Mumbai. The conclave, which goes by the tagline #MadeForBusiness, will intend to sign near about 5,000 MoUs, wherein an investment of Rs 10 lakh crore (nearly 156 billion USD) is expected, which will generate employment for 35 lakh people. Fadnavis said ahead of the conclave, In past couple of years, Maharashtra has achieved a new trajectory in bolstering the state's industrial output. This is evident in multiple reports released by reputed financial bodies that places the state ahead of the rest in Ease of Doing Business, as also statistics such as 50 per cent of infrastructural development of India being clocked in Maharashtra. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to share his day plan of the event. Will deliver the inaugural address at the Global Investors' Summit - "Magnetic Maharashtra: Convergence 2018 tomorrow. Everybody is aware of Maharashtras vital role in Indias economy. The Summit will showcase the rich investment and business potential in the state. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 17, 2018 Tomorrow I would be in Maharashtra to take part in various programmes. At the programme tomorrow afternoon, the ground breaking ceremony of the Navi Mumbai International Airport will take place. The 4th container terminal at JNPT will also be dedicated to the nation. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 17, 2018 Apart from the business conclave, an exhibition with flagship projects of the state government will be held till February 23. The flagship projects to be displayed include Mumbai Metro, Mumbai-Nagpur Super Communication Expressway, Mumbai Coastal Road, Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link, and the Navi Mumbai International Airport. The foundation stone for the Navi Mumbai International Airport will be laid by PM Modi on the same day. Also Read: LIVE Tripura Election 2018 | Polling begins for 59 out of 60 constituencies, EVM, VVPAT malfunctioning reported from two booths Devendra Fadnavis described the concept of Magnetic Maharashtra in four main pillars, employment, sustainability, infrastructure, and future industries. He also said that the government is focusing on building future-ready state which features consistently among top world destinations for industrial innovation and smart manufacturing. With the onset of the summit, the state government hopes to strengthen Maharashtras position as gateway for all industrial development in the country where the best minds, industries, government machinery converge to co-create. The summit will host a competition titled Magnetic Maharashtra Start-Ups under 30, with prizes of Rs 50 lakh, Rs 30 lakh, and Rs 20 lakh for top three innovative start-ups, as an idea to motivate and support young entrepreneurs. Reliance Industries Ltd Chairman and MD, Mukesh Ambani, Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic, Tonino Lamborghini SpA President Tonino Lamborghini, Edward Monser, President, Emerson Electric Co, Hande Diltemiz, country manager, Global production, India, H&M, Cho Hyun-Joon, chairman, Hyosung Group, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, group chairman and CEO, DP World, are among some of the participants who have agreed to be a part of the conclave. Apart from top Indian ministers and officials, representatives of foreign governments like Karin Roding, Sweden's State Secretary to the Minister, and Bardish Chagger, Canada's Minister of Small Business and Tourism, Waterloo, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant will also be participating. The event, co-organised by Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation and CII (Confederation of Indian Industry), will also showcase automobiles, auto components, defence, food processing, IT/ITES, electronics, heavy engineering, pharmaceuticals, and other sectors where scope for development is available in the state. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Markets regulator Sebi has initiated investigation in the matter of Fortis Healthcare, which has landed in a controversy over alleged regulatory lapses in transfer of funds to some promoter-linked firms and asked the company to furnish the information by February 26. The company has received a communication from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) dated February 16, confirming that an investigation has been instituted in the matter of Fortis Healthcare, the company said in a regulatory filing to stock exchanges on Saturday. Sebi has asked to furnish information and documents as mentioned therein by February 26, 2018, it said. "The company is in process of collating the said information and will be sharing the same with Sebi in due course. The financial implication/ compensation/penalty and quantum of claims has not been referred in the aforesaid letter and hence cannot be ascertained," it said. Also Read: Fortis Healthcare promoters Malvinder, Shivinder Singh resign from company's board Fortis Healthcare was issued notices by the stock exchanges yesterday following a media report claiming that the company's promoters, the Singh bothers, took at least USD 78 million (about Rs 500 crore at current exchange rate) out of the publicly-traded hospital company they control without board approval about a year ago. Replying to the notices, Fortis Healthcare said its wholly-owned arm Fortis Hospitals had deployed funds to the tune of Rs 473 crore as secured short-term investments to group firms of its promoters. Individually, Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh held 11,508 shares each in Fortis Healthcare Ltd as on December 31, 2017 out of total 51,86,17,631 shares of the company. However, the total promoter group holding through different entities is 34.43 per cent. Also Read | Fortis case: Paswan says family should approach consumer court for adequate compensation For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Gaza City: Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in Gaza, the medical sources have stated on Sunday. Reportedly, four soldiers were also wounded when an improvised explosive device blew up along the border with the Palestinian enclave. The explosion on Saturday, which left two of the Israeli soldiers severely injured, was one of the most serious incidents on the border of the Hamas-ruled enclave since the Islamist movement and Israel fought a war in 2014. In response, Israel's army said it attacked "18 terror targets belonging to the Hamas terror organisation" in two waves of air strikes. "Eight targets were attacked in a military compound near Deir el Balah, which belongs to the Hamas terror organisation, including weapon-manufacturing and training infrastructures," a statement released early Sunday read. An earlier statement said the fighter jets had targeted "six military targets in Gaza belonging to Hamas, including: a terror tunnel in the Zaytun area and military compounds near Deir el-Balah and Khan Yunis". The army also reported that a "launch was identified from the Gaza Strip at Israeli territory", with a projectile hitting near a home in a southern Israeli community. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a security conference in Munich called the Gaza border incident "very serious" and pledged to "respond appropriately". A Palestinian security source said the Israeli air strikes hit three bases belonging to Hamas in the east of the blockaded Gaza enclave. Two Palestinians were injured in the raids, Palestinian medical sources said. Earlier in the day, the army said "two soldiers were severely wounded, one moderately and one slightly" when an improvised explosive device blew up along the border fence with Gaza. None of the soldiers lives were in danger, a spokesman clarified. In response Israeli forces said a tank quickly opened fire at an "observation post" in southern Gaza, causing no injuries on the Palestinian side. Palestinian security sources said the explosion took place east of the city of Khan Yunis. Israeli army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said a "rogue group" had claimed responsibility for the blast, likely indicating one of the more radical Islamist groups who are present in Gaza. But he insisted that "from our point of view Hamas is responsible" and said the explosive had been planted during a protest arranged by the group on Friday. Israel holds the Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas responsible for any fire coming from the blockaded coastal enclave. The Israeli army responds automatically to any strikes on its territory, generally targeting Hamas facilities. Hamas armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, in a statement said they had fired at the Israeli jets overhead. But Conricus said there was no truth to the claim. Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008, and the last conflict in 2014 was waged in part over tunnels from Gaza that were used to launch attacks. Israeli aircraft hit Hamas targets in the southern Gaza Strip repeatedly in early February, after it said Palestinians there fired a rocket into the Jewish state. Tensions between the Palestinians and Israel have been high since US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state in December. Netanyahu will visit the White House next month, a senior US administration official told AFP on Friday. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Mumbai: The Mumbai unit of the Nationalist Congress Party on Saturday staged a protest outside the Brady House branch of the Punjab National Bank in south Mumbai's Horniman Circle area in connection with the Rs 11,400 crore scam that has rocked the bank. The protest, led by Mumbai NCP vice president Ashok Dhatrak, wanted an assurance from bank officials that the money of ordinary depositors was safe in the wake of the fraud. The party's state spokesperson Clyde Castro said that its functionaries were not allowed to meet bank officials, adding that the party shouted slogans against the bank as well as diamond businessman Nirav Modi who is at the centre of the scam. He said that Dhatrak, who led the protests, and five others who participated, had accounts with the Brady House branch of the PNB. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Days ahead of the announcement of his political party on February 21, Kamal Haasan on Sunday met actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth at his residence. The meeting between the two contemporary superstars has once again set off the speculations of their possible alliance in politics. However, Kamal Haasan termed the meeting as a courtesy call and said it was not a political one. It was a courtesy call and not a political meeting. I came to inform him about my political tour. He wished me good luck, Kamal Haasan said after the meeting. On being asked if he will join hands with Rajinikanth, Haasan said, only time will tell. Reacting to the meeting with Haasan, Rajini said, Kamal Haasan has started his political journey. He came to invite me for the launch of his party. I have extended my wishes to him. Kamal isn't coming to politics for fame, money or power, but to do good for the people of Tamil Nadu. In cinema, his style was different, my style was different. It will be the same in politics, but our aim remains to do good for the people, Rajinikanth said. #TamilNadu: Earlier visuals of Kamal Hassan leaving from Rajinikanth's residence after their meeting, in Chennai. pic.twitter.com/EpvdDMS8rb ANI (@ANI) February 18, 2018 Earlier this month, Haasan had said that there is a hue of saffron in the Rajinikaths politics and therefore, a political alliance with him is not possible. While speaking at the Harvard University in US, he had said, There is a hue of saffron in Rajni's politics. If that doesn't change then I don't see an alliance with him. We are good friends but politics is different. Both Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth have announced their entry in the politics and call themselves as the agents of change who dream of creating a "corruption-free Tamil Nadu. Kamal Haasan is expected to announce the name of his political party on February 21 at Rameswaram and launch a state-wide political tour called "Nalai Namadhe" which means tomorrow is ours. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Bareilly : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said India is giving a befitting reply to the nefarious activities of Pakistan. Singh, who was in Bareilly to attend a programme at Rohilkhand University, also said talks and terrorism cannot go hand in hand. "India is giving a befitting reply to the nefarious activities of Pakistan. Talks and terrorism cannot go on concurrently," he told news reporters. Replying to a question on withdrawal of cases against stone pelters in Kashmir, he said it is being done only in "cases of first time offenders caught for the first time". "The government does not want to keep someone confined in the jail. Some of them have come back to the mainstream. But action will be taken against anyone who indulges in wrong tactics," he said. When asked about the Punjab National Bank scam, he said "every paisa will be realised and the culprits will be caught". For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Delhi Police, on Friday, registered two FIRs against the students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) after the students took the staff as hostages and gheraoed the administration block over the compulsory attendance row. Angry over not being able to meet the Vice-Chancellor to discuss the attendance issue, some students on Thursday morning gheraoed the administration block of the university, and at midnight, took two senior officials of the university as hostages, along with the other staff. A police official said, Based on two separate complaints filed by the officials, two FIRs have been registered with the Vasant Kunj North Police Station. An additional FIR has been filed against students who blocked the road near the administration block, demanding the withdrawal of the ruling of compulsory attendance by the university. The students, on Friday, moved the case to the Delhi High Court, which asked them to not obstruct the Vice Chancellor or the staff from entering the premises of the administrative block. Justice VK Rao said the interim order will be in force for the next three days, starting on Saturday. However, the judge added that the university should not preclude the students from protesting peacefully at the Sabarmati lawn, which is an alternative area of protest. Also Read: JNU professors held hostage by students over attendance row The court also issued notices to the Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union (JNUSU) on the universitys plea and sought their response by February 20. The pleas of the university claimed that the students violated the High Courts 2017 order, which restricted the protests within 100 meters of the administrative block. JNUSU president Geeta Kumari stated that the strike would continue, but a council meeting would be held to determine the future course of action. She said, We did not gherao the administrators on Thursday or prevent any administrative official from leaving the admin block. Students only gathered peacefully, demanding that the V-C meet them and address their concerns instead of shooting arbitrary rules and disciplinary notices at them. The protest was called after the JNU V-C arbitrarily called off a scheduled meeting of the Academic Council. No attempt was made to stop the Rector, or any other administrators or teachers, from coming and going in and out. The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers Association (JNUTA) had a general body meeting on Friday in which it passed a resolution to withdraw the 75 per cent attendance norm and asked the Vice Chancellor to convene the AC meeting, stating that they will protest, too, if their demands are not met. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Banihal: An Assistant Sub-Inspector of the CRPF was found dead on Saturday under suspicious circumstances in a stream along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, police said. The body of ASI Harinder Singh, posted with the 177th battalion of the CRPF, was found in the stream at Kelamore in Ramban district, a police official said. He said the officer was posted in Sopore township of north Kashmir's Baramulla district. The ASI was undergoing a course at the Humahama Subsidiary training centre in Srinagar and was reported missing from duty on February 14, the official said. "An autopsy was being conducted by a team of doctors and the body will be handed over to the CRPF after legal formalities," he said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday lashed out at the Central Government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the PNB bank fraud. Gandhi questioned prime minister's silence on the issue saying a scam of such a big scale could not have taken place without top-level protection and asked PM Modi to explain why it had happened and what steps were being taken to ensure the banking system was safe in India. "The fact of the matter is that the prime minister has, through his actions, destroyed the financial system of this country. He has demonetised the economy. He has taken money from people's pockets and put it into the banking sector and now his friends and cronies are stealing it from the banking sector and the prime minister is not saying anything," he charged. The Congress Steering Committee adopted a resolution asking the prime minister to tell the nation the reasons for the failure of the fraud detection ability of the entire banking sector and the finance ministry. The Steering Committee said the "biggest bank scam" has exposed the complete failure of "regulatory mechanism" and "fraud detection ability" of the banking sector and the failure of oversight by the Reserve Bank of India and the finance ministry. "The manner in which thousands of crores of rupees of public money was looted with impunity and the complete failure of entire risk management system tells its own story of favours extended and protection granted," it said. Taking a jibe at PM Modi Gandhi said that instead of spending an hour-and-a-half explaining to children how to take exams, the prime minister should explain to the people of India what is going to be done to Nirav Modi and "what is he going to do to make sure that the banking system is safe". He also wondered why the defence minister and social justice minister were briefing on the issue whereas it is the job of the FM and the PM. "It must have been known to the people in government beforehand. Otherwise, it is not possible because the amount is so huge," he said. (With PTI inputs) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Begusarai: A mob assaulted a man and injected acid in his eyes leaving him blind for allegedly eloping with his employers wife here following which a person has been arrested in the case, police said on Saturday. The assault took place at an eatery in Pipra Chowk late last night in which the man, a driver by profession, was left critically injured, Deputy Superintendent of Police B K Singh said. The 30-year-old man, a resident of Samastipur district, became blind after the incident, doctors attending him at a hospital here said.In a statement before the police, the victim said he used to work as a tractor driver at Barauni village under Teghra police station and started an affair with his employers wife. On February 6, he and his paramour fled from the house following which her husband lodged a complaint with the police charging him with kidnapping his wife, the DSP said. However, she came to Teghra on February 16 and recorded her statement in a local court that asked her husband, a farmer, to take her to his house. Also Read: Muslim man throws acid on married woman after she denies his marriage proposal in Jaipur Mall It was not immediately known why she had returned and what she said in the court. Her brother-in-law rang up the driver last evening claiming that she wanted to live with him and he should come to Teghra police station to take her back with him, the police official said. Barely a kilometre from the police station, the driver was accosted by a group of around 20 people who took him to the eatery and severely assaulted him. The DSP said they also injected acid in his eyes with a syringe. They later dumped him near Hanuman Chowk under Bhagwanpur police station area of the district. A passer-by admitted him to a hospital at Begusarai.One person was arrested and the police were searching for other attackers, the DSP said. Also Read: Uttar Pradesh: 9-year-old girl raped, burnt alive in Kaushambi; rape-survivor attacked with acid in Farrukhabad For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. London: Nearly 5 million British nationals could be banned from traveling to Europe, as they have overdosed on the corona vaccine manufactured in India. In fact, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has not yet recognized the vaccine Covishield made by the Serum Institute of India, although it is as effective as AstraZeneca. Those vaccinating the Covishield can be prevented from entering the EU border while checking batch numbers on digital covid passports. EU Digital Covid Certificate allows people who have been vaccinated with both doses of the vaccine so that they can travel to Europe without warranty or test. The vaccine currently recognized by EMA include Pfizer-Biotech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine manufactured in Europe. Nine European countries have recognized the Covishield. Covishield has been flagged off in Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Iceland, Estonia, Ireland, and Spain. India has requested the 27-country European Union to consider allowing Indians to travel to Europe. Earlier, many European countries had also banned the use of Covishields due to blood clots. Pakistan Corona watch: Daily cases, death surge again Saudi Arabia health deptt recommends the measures to stop spread of COVID-19 Florida building collapse, Death toll now reaches to 22 Indore: A case of crime has recently come to light from Madhya Pradesh. In fact, three months after having a love marriage here last Thursday night, the couple committed suicide by hanging themselves. In this case, the police suspect that the first wife hanged herself and then the husband hanged himself. Investigations are now on to find out if the husband first strangled his wife to death and then hanged himself. The couple reportedly sent a suicide message to their group in Sironj before the accident. The two had told this to acquaintances living in Indore. The acquaintances had informed the police. As soon as the police went to Govind Nagar and found the husband hanging from the snare and his wife's body lying on the ground. Banganga police have launched an investigation into the case. What is the whole matter: Yes, it is being reported that Jagmohan Patel and Muskan, who live in New Govind Nagar, committed suicide last night. Both are residents of Sironj in Vidisha district. The duo posted their suicide note on Sironj's WhatsApp group before committing suicide. After reading the note, acquaintances living in Sironj informed their acquaintances in Indore. The police then received information about the same and the informers rushed to New Govind Nagar along with the police. When he came here, he saw his husband's body hanging from the snare, while his wife's body was lying nearby. Meanwhile, police have recovered a suicide note in which Jagmohan Patel has written about harassing his in-laws and wife's boyfriend, demanding Rs 5 lakh and threatening to kill them. Police now say that the investigation is being conducted on the basis of suicide note and the culprits will not be spared at any cost. What is written in the suicide note: The note says, "I am Jagmohan Patel, my wife Muskan's father Raju Mali, mother Vinita Mali, Muskan's grandmother Krishnabai, brother Golu and Muskan's boyfriend Sanjeev Kushwaha made plans together. All of them called me to Sanjeev's house at 3 pm on April 21, 2021. Everybody asked me for five lakh rupees. When I refused, everyone hit and threatened to kill me. Sanjeev and father-in-law Raju threatened me that if they went to the police, they would kill you and your family, because Muskan's father had taken one lakh rupees from Sanjeev. Muskan's father supported Sanjeev. Sanjeev said, Leave the smile with me or I will kill you. Muskan and I were married of their own accord so these people harassed both of us a lot. I am committing suicide because of all this.'' Also Read Saudi Arabia health deptt recommends the measures to stop spread of COVID-19 CM Tirath Singh Rawat offers to resign months after taking oath Florida building collapse, Death toll now reaches to 22 Saudi Arabian health authorities have recommended measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. The ban does not apply to citizens, diplomats, health workers and their families. As part of this, Saudi Arabia on June 23 banned expatriates from traveling to the Kingdom from 20 countries to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Travel will reportedly be banned from the UAE, Egypt, Lebanon, and Turkey, as well as the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Japan. The ban also applies to travelers who transited through any of the 20 countries in the 14 days before a planned visit to the Kingdom. Many passengers had been using Dubai as a transit hub from countries where there are no direct flights to Saudi Arabia, an option that is now no longer available. The new action comes amid a global surge in cases of COVID-19 linked to variations in the original coronavirus, first detected in England, South Africa and Brazil, and fears that vaccines being rolled out worldwide may be less effective against them. Health officials in the Kingdom warned this week that stricter measures would be necessary to curb the spread of the virus if the public continued to flout regulations on social distancing and a ban on large gatherings. Saudi Arabia reported 310 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, almost four times the number a month ago. Florida building collapse, Death toll now reaches to 22 Covid Vaccine: Argentina setting daily record on Covid inoculation Israel hits Gaza with airstrikes after more incendiary balloon launches New Delhi: Twitter India has failed to respond to the notice issued by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information and Technology. Sources said, this has been reported. The micro-blogging site was given a 48-hour period to respond in writing why they blocked the Twitter account of IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's account. On June 25, Twitter again came under scrutiny for blocking Union Law and Justice, Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad for violating the Copyright Act of the United States. The action against Ravi Shankar Prasad had taken because of the video which he posted on Vijay Diwas in 2017 and allegedly used copyright edited music 'Maa Tujhe Salaam'. Let us tell you that Ravi Shankar prasad posted a video on 16th December 2017 when India was celebrating Vijay Diwas which was a tribute to those who sacrificed their lives during 1971. In this war, India defeated Pakistan and Bangladesh came into existence as a free country. The background music of the video had 'Maa Tujhe Salaam' which was voiced by AR Rahman and produced by Sony Music. Stable credit outlook for tractor industry: Statement by ICRA Shehnaaz Gill reveals reason behind loosing weight, sayd "only slim girls get work" Fashion Photographer Kevin Caicedo Mosquera is known for perfection and precision among celebrities By Nayara Figueiredo SAO PAULO, July 1 (Reuters) - Strained trade relations between China and Australia have prompted Chinese importers to buy more U.S. beef, making room for Brazil to increase exports to the United States, trade data show. The trend helps JBS SA, Marfrig Global Foods SA and Minerva SA, which have multiple plants approved to ship products to the United States and could benefit from more export permits. In the five months to May, Brazilian beef shipments to the U.S. market rose 165.6% to 33,800 tonnes, according to Brazilian beef lobby Abiec. Exports surged 186% in May alone, making the United States the third biggest foreign buyer of Brazilian beef. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show the United States sold 48,292 tonnes of beef to China from January to April, up sharply from 3,255 tonnes in the same period of 2020. "We expect the U.S. will direct part of its meat to China to offset the reduction in exports from Australia to that country," said Lygia Pimentel, director of agribusiness consultancy Agrifatto. "With this, Brazil ends up gaining space in the U.S. market." Brazil's pork export to the United States may also benefit from the trend, she said. JBS has 12 units authorized to export to the United States and is looking at ways to expand that trade, the company told Reuters. Last week, Brazil's Agriculture Ministry cleared a Marfrig plant in Rondonia state for exports to the United States. That unit and another one in Rio Grande do Sul are now awaiting approval from U.S. authorities to begin exporting. Marfrig said it already exports fresh and processed beef to the United States from four plants in Brazil. Rival Minerva was authorized last week to export cooked and frozen products to the U.S. market from a facility in Sao Paulo state, the company's sixth plant cleared for beef exports to the United States. (Reporting by Nayara Figueiredo Writing by Ana Mano Editing by Jonathan Oatis) The sun shines though the distinctively shaped leaves of marijuana plants during police raid in the remote northern Hhohho region in Swaziland, The prospect of legalized cannabis in Africa, unimaginable less than a decade ago, is accelerating, driven by the potential for much-needed revenue and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Generations of Africans have faced the wrath of colonial era and morality laws surrounding cannabis use, with many involved in cultivating and selling the plant jailed, forced to operate underground, or had their livelihoods destroyed. But as governments search for more sources of revenue, this once-closed space is opening up, albeit not necessarily for smallholder growers or local consumption. Developments in Western markets, where legalization is spreading rapidly, and the prospect of cashing in on the fast growing multi-billion dollar sector, are contributing to the sweeping reforms on the continent. At least 10 countries in Africa are enacting some form of legal framework for the product, while many others are pondering a move in a similar direction. Legislators and preachers think licensing cannabis growing will make young people resort to marijuana consumption, but no one wants to invest millions of dollars to sell leaves to broke youth in the slum. Africas legal marijuana industry could be worth as much as $7.1 billion by 2023 according to Prohibition Partners, a research and consulting firm specializing in the legal cannabis industry. This projection focused on the legal and regulated cannabis markets in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Nigeria, Morocco, Malawi, Ghana, eSwatini, and Zambia. Opening up Africas cannabis markets In 2017, Lesotho became the first nation to legalize cannabis on the continent, followed last month by Morocco. Before the May decision by Moroccan lawmakers to authorize the medical, cosmetic, and industrial use of cannabis, as well as providing a regulatory framework, the country was already the worlds top exporter. Its thriving illegal industry sent an estimated $13 billion worth of pot to Europe annually, and employed close to 1 million people. Morocco is likely to wake up other sleeping African giants such as Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Nigeria, and also drive up Africas legal cannabis market projections as more transactions are mainstreamed. Story continues By improving regulation and legal environments, African countries are counting on investment and technology to put their arable lands and relatively cheap labor to work. Along with establishing industries to process and export cannabis products or exporting raw products, the states stand to earn revenue from granting local licenses, and taxing the sector. The African continent, especially the countries that lie along the equator, have a very big opportunity to contribute to cannabis innovations, not only in medicine, but through other sectors such as paper production, eco bricks, and plastics, says Isaac Imaka, a director at Seven Blades, one of the companies to apply for a cannabis license in Uganda. It is appalling that as usualcountries are choosing to lag and decide to be slow in issuing regulations to guide the issuance of licensing, he says. The lack of knowledge among those that are supposed to make the decision has affected the speed with which countries like Uganda and Kenya should have taken up the opportunity. A man holds a jar full of cannabis buds at a 2018 expo in South Africa. A man holds a jar full of cannabis buds at a 2018 expo in South Africa. Moral arguments against cannabis use The Covid-19 pandemic is, surprisingly, lifting a lid on the moral arguments against cannabis. Ugandas first lady, Janet Museveni, and a section of former and current cabinet ministers, for example, have opposed attempts at legalizing the product, calling it satanic and ruinous to the future of our children A report indicates that the country has more than 2.6 million users. In Kenya, major efforts to push for some form of legalization have been met with resistance centered on religion, negative public perception. Imaka says that African countries should put a premium on licensing operators, in order to weed out speculators and license hoarders. They could also ensure that licensees are producing value-added cannabis products for export and controlled use within the country. By doing this, he argues, countries will be able to raise much-needed revenue and also create jobs. Legislators and preachers of morality think licensing cannabis growing will make students and young people resort to marijuana consumption, but no one wants to invest millions of dollars to sell leaves to broke youth in the slum, Imaka says. While it is not backed by any science, discussions about cannabis as a Covid-19 treatment have gone mainstream, with some promoting the product as a way to relieve some of the effects of the virus. In Uganda the health ministry was compelled to issue a public statement warning the public against using the plant to medicate the effects of the virus. In June 2020, South Africa commenced a trial of marijuana as part of the six herbs that could be effective in fighting against Covid-19. Foreign investment means growing cannabis businesses Criticized for being slow by enthusiasts and players like CBD wellness brand Goodleaf, South Africathe continents most-industrialized economyis setting itself to take the lion share of the African legal cannabis market with varying estimates putting the countrys domestic market for cannabis and related products excluding consumer cannabinol (CBD) products at about $2 billion. The country has drafted a master plan for the industrialization and commercialization of cannabis, which has been touted as an instrument to support economic growth, create jobs, and even tackle poverty. The plan focuses on both hemp and cannabis (commonly called dagga in southern Africa) with plans to make the country competitive in the sector. Demonstrators hold placards during a 2017 march calling for the legalization of cannabis in South Africa. Demonstrators hold placards during a 2017 march calling for the legalization of cannabis in South Africa. Outside South Africa, African countries exploring legal cannabis are not looking at developing local industries or tapping into and formalizing local markets on the continent. Instead they are looking to serve the hungry markets opening up, mostly, in the West. As governments change their approach to cannabis on the continent, multi-million dollar deals are being made. On June 3, Goodleaf, which has become one of South Africas pioneer commercial cannabis brands, merged with Highlands Investments from neighboring Lesotho, in a deal valued at about $45.2 million. Two months earlier, Lesotho-based MG Health, a licensed cultivator and manufacturer of pharmaceutical-grade cannabis extracts and products, made history by becoming the first Africa-based cannabis firm to earn coveted EU Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certification. This means the company can make deals in the EU market. Growing interest in cannabis licenses In Uganda, more than 90 companies, both local and foreign, have applied to the government for licenses to allow them to grow marijuana on a commercial scale. Navigating the political and moral landscape is key as enthusiasts and entrepreneurs make a business case for the product. For example, Sudhir Ruparelia, Ugandas richest businessman, last year wrote to president Yoweri Museveni making the case for the product and drawing the line to appease any concerns about domestic consumption. We are ready and willing to leverage our expertise in commercial agriculture to grow this golden crop on a large and for-export-only scale, he wrote. Others arent waiting. Leveraging tech, people in African countries where cannabis is illegal are also coming out of the underground and launching illegal startups under the radar of the authorities. One such entity is TashaCookies& Stash which uses Twitter and Instagram to market its edibles and pills, and Whatsapp to connect with buyers for deliveries. Ubuy Uganda, an e-commerce store, also imports cannabis cosmetic products from the US and other markets for its customers in the country. Countries like Kenya and Tanzania, which have massive underground operations, have been cautious to open up despite grassroots movements pushing for the same. While prospects for legalizing local trade and consumption are unlikely in much of Africa, the trends point to more of the continent opening up for business in the sectorat least with the rest of the world. Sign up to the Quartz Africa Weekly Brief here for news and analysis on African business, tech, and innovation in your inbox. Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief, our free daily newsletter with the worlds most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: NEW YORK, July 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Juan Monteverde, founder and managing partner at Monteverde & Associates PC, a national securities firm rated Top 50 in the 2018-2020 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report and headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City, is investigating Raven Industries, Inc. ("RAVN" or the "Company") (RAVN) relating to its proposed acquisition by CNH Industrial N.V. RAVN shareholders will receive $58.00 in cash per share they own. The investigation focuses on whether Raven Industries, Inc. and its Board of Directors violated securities laws and/or breached their fiduciary duties to the Company by 1) failing to conduct a fair process, and 2) whether the transaction is properly valued. Click here for more information: http://monteverdelaw.com/case/raven-industries-inc. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you. Monteverde & Associates PC Logo About Monteverde & Associates PC We are a national class action securities litigation law firm that has recovered millions of dollars and is committed to protecting shareholders from corporate wrongdoing. We were listed in the Top 50 in the 2018-2020 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report. Our lawyers have significant experience litigating Mergers & Acquisitions and Securities Class Actions. Mr. Monteverde is recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in Securities Litigation in 2013, 2017-2019, an award given to less than 2.5% of attorneys in a particular field. He has also been selected by Martindale-Hubbell as a 2017-2020 Top Rated Lawyer. Our firm's recent successes include changing the law in a significant victory that lowered the standard of liability under Section 14(e) of the Exchange Act in the Ninth Circuit. Thereafter, our firm successfully preserved this victory by obtaining dismissal of a writ of certiorari as improvidently granted at the United States Supreme Court. Emulex Corp. v. Varjabedian, 139 S. Ct. 1407 (2019). Also, over the years the firm has recovered or secured over a dozen cash common funds for shareholders in mergers & acquisitions class action cases. Story continues If you owned common stock in the Company and wish to obtain additional information and protect your investments free of charge, please visit our website or contact Juan E. Monteverde, Esq. either via e-mail at jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com or by telephone at (212) 971-1341. Contact: Juan E. Monteverde, Esq. MONTEVERDE & ASSOCIATES PC The Empire State Building 350 Fifth Ave. Suite 4405 New York, NY 10118 United States of America jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com Tel: (212) 971-1341 Attorney Advertising. (C) 2021 Monteverde & Associates PC. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Monteverde & Associates PC (www.monteverdelaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shareholder-alert-monteverde--associates-pc-announces-an-investigation-of-raven-industries-inc--ravn-301325317.html SOURCE Monteverde & Associates PC GENEVA, July 2 (Reuters) - U.N.-sponsored talks aimed at paving the way for elections in Libya in late December failed to find common ground, the deputy of the U.N. mission in Libya said on Friday night after weeklong talks near Geneva. Raisedon Zenenga, Assistant Secretary-General and mission coordinator of the U.N. Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), told the closing session: "The people of Libya will certainly feel let down as they still aspire to the opportunity to exercise their democratic rights in presidential and parliamentary elections on 24 December. This does not bode well for the credibility and future relevance of the LPDF (Libyan Political Dialogue Forum)." "I encourage you to continue to consult among yourselves to pursue a workable compromise and cement what unites you," he said. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Ahmed Elumami in Tripoli;) NEW YORK (AP)For her tour this fall to promote her memoir Going There, Katie Couric is anticipating not only the interest of her fans but a return to something like a pre-pandemic world. Book events have remained mostly virtual even as movie theaters and concert halls have begun reopening. Courics 11-city tour, announced by Little, Brown and Company and Live Nation, will be in person, and well beyond the scale of book stores and libraries and other typical settings for authors. She opens Oct. 28 at Bostons Orpheum Theatre, two days after Going There is released, and her itinerary also includes the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan, Atlanta Symphony Hall and the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. Special guests, to be announced, will join her at each stop. Given the challenging period weve been through, Im so excited to be out in the world, creating a sense of community and a place where we can all get together for meaningful conversations and have some fun, too, Couric said in statement. The tour will be produced by Live Nation, the concert promoter that previously worked on an author event scaled even higherMichelle Obamas tour for her 2018 memoir Becoming. Two of us set off in the storm, bound and determined to find him. But hours later, we returned to the office drenched, defeated and grieving our ruined pairs of shoes. There was nothing more we could do than go home and pray that he would surface safely very soon. It would be three more days before the rain would lift. As we would later learn, it was 72 treacherous hours that our friend had zipped himself away in a tent, hoping to keep himself and few worldly belongings from getting soaked. When he finally did appear and the tears and the hugs settled down, it would be the last night he would spend without a roof. This was a turning point. Helping people survive with food, showers, clothing and a bit of troubleshooting was no longer enough. The people we worked with were valuable treasures of God that should not be left to the mercy of the elements. Our plan hatched quickly. Money cobbled together from our pockets kept him in a hotel for a few weeks. A local landlord graciously agreed to take a chance on him, even though he hadnt a dime to his name on the day he signed a lease. Our church connections rallied the basics he would need to set up a home. And thankfully the combination of disability and a local work program for aging adults arrived to pay the bills soon after. It is said that the mettle of a man is determined by how he carries himself during good times and tough times. And on that score, Freeman Funk was more impressive than any public servant I have ever met, Jones said in a 2016 Free LanceStar story about Funks death. Freeman, a Vinton native, was first hired as Fredericksburgs city engineer in 1952. The 1947 Virginia Tech graduate was an assistant professor at North Carolina State College before heading to Fredericksburg. He became Fredericksburgs third city manager in 1955 when L.J. Houston retired. At the time of his hiring, Fredericksburg had a population of 12,000 and a 13-member City Council. Funk was ousted as city manager in 1978 and went on to work as an engineering consultant and served on the boards of six area civic groups. He was appointed to City Council in 1993 and was elected to the seat the following year. He served one term. Fitzgerald was a Missouri native and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines, where she taught elementary school and was instrumentalalong with her husband, Barryin the founding of a local community newspaper there. Miller said hes also looking forward to handling new revenue generated by both the cigarette tax and changes to marijuana laws, as well as continuing the countys partnership with the Navy base at Dahlgren. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} And, Miller said hes excited to return to local government and directly assist the elected officials and staff in serving the county residents. Miller succeeds Neiman Young, who resigned in January. Travis Quesenberry, county engineer and the county administrator before Young, filled in on an interim basis during King Georges budget preparation this spring and the recruitment process for a full-time county administrator. The county employed a government consulting firm, The Berkley Group of Bridgewater, to conduct a national search. The Berkley team interviewed candidates, then selected finalists for the Board of Supervisors to interview, according to a county press release. Miller, who received his masters in public administration from the University of Colorado School of Public Affairs, began his career in government in Louisville, Colo., where he served as staff analyst and assistant to the city administrator. He worked as city administrator in Lamar, Colo., from 199499, then came to the East Coast to serve as the first city administrator of Bay Minette, Ala., until 2006. A lot of times youll drive by houses that are being built, and windows are the last thing going in, he said. Lead time is way out. Usually builders would allow four to five weeks for windows. Now its almost six months. They used to build a home in 90 to 100 days. Now six months is kind of the minimum. He said builders are struggling to keep up with changing costs as they figure out how to price their projects. Some have told him they have to raise prices every week while others have confided that theyre losing money. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Its wild times, Toalson said. Builders are doing their best to set customers expectations, but its tough. Toalson said he hopes supply chains will catch up to demand by fall or early next year. The drop in lumber prices is one possible portent of this. Dan Sandoval, president and CEO of Republic Homes in Spotsylvania, said one way his company has been dealing with the issue is to include an escalation clause in contracts for the more than 30 custom homes it expects to build this year. Prior to the pandemic, we did not, he said. I do not know of any contractor that did. More than 300 Afghan soldiers have crossed into Tajikistan as the Taliban captured more territory in northern Afghanistan, the Tajik Border Service said on July 3. The retreat is the third time in two weeks that Afghan soldiers have fled into Tajikistan, after the militants took control of several border areas and seized Afghanistan's main border crossing with Tajikistan in June. The Tajik Border Service said the situation became "complicated" after several villages and a border post in the northwestern part of Afghanistans Badakhshan Province fell to the Taliban, forcing more than 300 Afghan soldiers to flee into Tajikistan's Shamsiddin Shohin region. The Afghan soldiers were allowed to enter Tajikistan based on "humanism and good neighborliness," according to a statement. The Taliban have taken control of dozens of districts from government forces in recent weeks as U.S.-led international forces withdraw from Afghanistan, raising concerns that the Western-backed government in Kabul and Afghan security forces may collapse. The Taliban sweep across northern Afghanistan has put several districts bordering Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the militants' hands, presenting a possible security threat to the two Central Asian countries. Tajik officials are preparing for a possible influx of refugees, while Uzbekistan last month announced military drills along the border. The head of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian-led military alliance that includes Tajikistan, told reporters on July 3 that there is growing concern about the situation and additional support to "fortify the Tajik-Afghan border" may be needed. "There is clear understanding of the need to provide assistance to Tajikistan in ensuring the security of the Tajik-Afghan border," CSTO Secretary-General Stanislav Zas said, days after he met with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon about the situation. Russia has a military base in Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic. As U.S. forces exit Afghanistan, Washington is also looking for strategic Central Asian partners. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in Washington with the top diplomats of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan on July 1, with Afghanistan high on the agenda. In recent weeks, U.S. media have suggested that American officials are looking to reposition some forces in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan for "over-the-horizon" operations to keep track of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda given the two countries' proximity to Afghanistan. In addition, U.S. media reports that Washington is asking Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to temporarily house some 9,000 Afghans who worked with the U.S.-led international forces in Afghanistan, pending approval of their permanent residency visas to be relocated to the United States or European allies for their safety. With reporting by RFE/RL's Tajik Service and TASS Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 60F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 60F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Clear to partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 61F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 61F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Eide says that he suspects there could potentially be more companies other than Wincorp and Pure Prairie that participate in an auction of Simply Essentials but would not disclose what companies those may be. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Obviously, I hope theres 100 people participating, Eide joked. But, we do expect the possibility of at least one other (company) But you never know. The hearing over the sale will take place on July 16, and if any objections from Wincorp are accepted, the auction would take place in late July with the anticipation of a sale being approved on Monday, Aug. 2. Following the sale, its up to the new owners of the plant when it will be back up and running, but theres optimism that it would be sooner rather than later. Tim Fox, the executive director of the Charles City Area Development Corporation, is hoping that the building could be up and running shortly after the sale in August. Hopefully August, Fox said of when Simply Essentials could be operating again. Were just hoping for that building to get up and running again soon. Eide maintained that itd be up to the new owners on the timeline of the facility reopening. Concerns about the water levels in Clear Lake were raised last week when many could see that the water levels were well below average for Clear Lake. But according to Scott Grummer, a fisheries biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the water levels at Clear Lake, at least for now, are not a reason for concern. The concern sets in when its feet below (the lake spillway levels), not inches, Grummer said. So its not a significant concern at this moment. Grummer said that the rainfall from last week has already done a lot to rectify the situation and calm those concerned. Before the rainfall last weekend, we were around six inches below the lake outlet level, Grummer said. But after the rain from last weekend, we are within two inches. Drought conditions may not have had a considerable impact on Clear Lake, but it has plagued other Iowa areas to a much more significant level. According to Grummer, at Spirit Lake in western Iowa, the lake is around 16 to 17 inches below the outlet level. In public remarks to the Iowa Farmers Unions Lunch & Learn webinar series on June 24, Rasmussen rattled some of Iowas political and ag leaders by wondering if a new state initiative to sequester carbon was just another subsidy scheme rather than a serious attempt to address climate change. His proof? Gov. Kim Reynolds newly named carbon sequestration panel has no environmental-group representation, reported the Iowa Capital Dispatch, June 26, but plenty of ag-group members, including one of the guvs biggest Big Ag campaign contributors. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} And that was just part of what he said; throughout much of his 16-slide presentation, Rasmussen questioned heaps of ag theology. For example, he asked the group if climate change is at least partial proof that our mission to feed the planet is, in fact, degrading the planet. Shortly thereafter, Rasmussen crossed the metaphorical Rubicon of farm politics: he dished dirt -- literally -- on ethanol. His entire quote, again, courtesy of the Iowa Capital Dispatch, was pure political heresy to Big Ag. Please log in to keep reading. Enjoy unlimited articles at one of our lowest prices ever. In stair-step fashion, as the age range climbs, the percent of residents rolling up their sleeves to get a dose of protection also steadily increases. About 66% of Danville and Pittsylvania County residents in their 70s are fully vaccinated. To address the issue with younger adults not taking shots, the local health district is working on an "education strategy," Garrett said. "The key strategy will be pushing out education on the COVID-19 vaccines, so that everyone can make an informed decision," he told the newspaper. Tracking Throughout the pandemic, the Virginia Department of Health has aimed to provide detailed information based on where a person lives. This is performed to show a community-by-community snapshot of the current state of the pandemic with cases, deaths and vaccinations. Sometimes with the fast reporting a new avenue for health officials brought about by COVID-19 that means a routine review process may be delayed by weeks or months to ensure the data is properly categorized. When health officials pour over data, they may discover some information was listed in the wrong locality. That number of detained migrants at the Belarus border is three times higher than the previous daily record, Lithuanian officials said. CCTV footage released by the Lithuanian border guard showed migrants jumping over a fence separating Belarus and Lithuania and either crawling, walking or running to the Lithuanian side. According to the Baltic News Service, the most of the migrants have already sought asylum in Lithuania and include citizens of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Iraq and Syria. Lithuania has set up tent camps to accommodate the growing number of migrants. Mantas Adomenas, Lithuanias vice minister for foreign affairs, said the main problem was identifying migrants who arrive with no documents. Were now talking about how to identify them, give them documents so that economic migrants can be returned to their country of origin, Adomenas told broadcaster LNK Lithuania. A total of 822 migrants crossing in from Belarus have been detained in Lithuania so far this year, up from 81 in 2020, the Baltic News Service said. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen paid a visit to Vilnius, Lithuanias capital, on Friday, and vowed to help the country, a former Soviet republic, cope with the influx of migrants. Her Slovenian-based holding company, which received the funds, was among the four companies also ordered to stand trial. Marogna says the money was compensation for legitimate intelligence work and reimbursements. Prosecutors say she spent the money on luxury purchases that were incompatible with the humanitarian scope of her company. In a statement Saturday, her legal team said Marogna had been prepared for months to provide a full accounting of her work and fears nothing about the accusations made against her." Also indicted were the former top two officials in the Vaticans financial watchdog agency, for alleged abuse of office. Prosecutors say by failing to stop the Torzi deal, they performed a decisive function" in letting it play out. The lawyer for the former office director, Tommaso di Ruzza, said he had only seen the Vatican press statement about the allegations but insisted that his client has always acted in the most scrupulous respect of the law and his office duties, in the exclusive interest of the Holy See." The former head of the office, Rene Bruelhart, defended his work and said his indictment was a procedural blunder that will be immediately clarified by the organs of Vatican justice as soon as the defense will be able to exercise its rights." Unfortunately, the only consistent trend we are seeing is less demand, Wright said Friday. That is why we are working so hard to reach people where they are (through) community resource fairs and vaccination events. On July 10, the county health department will sponsor a Bring Summer Back vaccine event at Freedom Park at 121 N. Edgewood Road in Eden from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., complete with free food, vendors and COVID-safe amusements, as well as a $25 Visa gift card as a reward for getting the jab. Gift cards will also be presented to anyone who drives a person to get their vaccine. And the Aging, Disability and Transit service will provide free rides to and from the event to residents in the Eden areas from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. We are still hoping to put more needles in more arms, Wright said. The gift card giveaway is part of a state pilot program that utilizes federal dollars to stimulate interest in the vaccine. Rockingham County was provided with about 300 cards, Wright said. Schedule your appointment at rockinghamcountydhhs.org or call (336) 342-8140 After several weeks of hovering around 1% or just beneath, the infection rate for Rockingham had bounced back up to 1.4% on Friday, county health records showed. Some students have said they doubt any Board of Trustees, regardless of its makeup, can be truly representative of the nearly 30,000 people enrolled in courses at UNC-CH. The Board of Trustees has one student representative, who this year is Lamar Richards, UNCs first openly gay Black student body president. Clark said to be useful at all, the board needs to have more students and in general members with a wider range of views, opinions, ideas and experiences. It also needs younger members, she said. We cannot connect with someone that went to Carolina 40 years ago, she said. I think thats racist and ageist, said Greensboro-based real estate developer Marty Kotis, who is joining the Board of Trustees after two four-year terms on the UNC System Board of Governors. I dont want someone to look at me as a 52-year-old and judge me based on my age. I certainly dont do that in my business; I dont judge people on their skin color or their age. GREENSBORO Put down the guns and pick up the gloves. Thats what organizers of Rumble in the Buck, an event aimed at deterring gun violence, are asking from the community. Last year, (Greensboro) hit a record with our murder rate, said Anthony Morgan II, a local activist and one of several organizers for Rumble in the Buck. We need this. On Friday night, first-time fighters and seasoned sparrers came together at Fanta City Event Center on West Market Street to not only entertain, but to educate to show the community that using guns isnt the way to solve problems. In 2020, 61 people were killed in Greensboro a record that shattered the citys previous high of 45 in 2019. So far in 2021, the number of killings is on track to match the previous year. Looking at the violence in our communities, Morgan said, and coming out of the pandemic, I think its important to have things where the Black community and not only the Black community, but the whole community can come together, have fun and be able to put on a show. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Rescue workers are digging through rubble and debris looking for signs of life after last week's building collapse in the town of Surfside, just north of Miami, Florida. On Thursday, June 24, around 1:30 a.m., an estimated 55 condominiums fell to the ground, most of them with residents asleep inside. As families wait in agony for updates on missing loved ones, there are ways you can ensure they don't face this situation alone. Organizations are on the ground to help. Here is how you can support them even from miles away. To donate to organizations featured click here or the button below. Donate money or personal care items The American Red Cross is helping displaced residents find safe places. The group is also offering emotional and spiritual support to the survivors. The restaurant may have been experiencing reduced earnings after Sun Holdings bought that location and 40 other IHOP restaurants in October 2020 from another franchisee that went bankrupt in the spring of 2020, Miranda said. Some of these people had been there for a long time, Miranda said of the employees who were owed back pay. In the middle of the pandemic, it was hard to find other jobs. In its statement, Siembra NC featured the story of Rosa Gonzalez that went viral in social media on May 1 after co-worker Vanessa Becerril posted a video on TikTok showing a group of IHOP employees walking out of the kitchen in the middle of their shift. The group took that action after Gonzalez was denied pay she was owed for 80 hours of work, Siembra NC said. In less than 48 hours, Becerrils video had received millions of views and public demands that Gonzalez be paid were being posted all over the restaurants social media, Siembra NC said. As a result of the pressure, a regional manager soon delivered a paycheck to Gonzalez, paying her for all the hours that she worked, the organization said. A week later, the remaining employees marched together to the restaurant to collect their paychecks, including wages they had been denied from previous months, the organization said. So theyre huddled together for warmth, and theres all these stray street dogs and puppies that are curled up with them, she said. So youll see like 12 boys and eight puppies. These puppies follow the boys around because theyll find food for themselves and the dogs, and theyll snuggle them up at night. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Lackey turned her attention to what could be done in the Triangle. She noticed a connection between foster children and animals and decided to establish a home base to further those connections. With its myriad possibilities, she said creating a sanctuary was the obvious answer. It started with me saying, What if we started an animal sanctuary? and my husband being very supportive and passionate about it, said Lackey. We moved forward with getting the land and it kind of went from there. Not only will the sanctuary include a mobile spay and neuter facility and an ICU, but they plan to build a horse barn and arena that will allow for equine therapy. Lackey is dedicated to providing opportunities for children and adults to experience the emotional therapy animals can provide. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} The president knew about the issues we wrote about, he said. He talked about some of the things that hes done to continue working for LGBTQIA+ people, both in politics or in the government and in the church. Haywood believes that gay rights are closely tied to the systemic racism that has become the topic of many conversations in the last year. He said through his work at St. Johns he sees the impact of policy that fails to protect people of color and members of the LGBTQIA+ community, an abbreviation that also includes intersex and asexual people. Everyday we see how bad policy, bad politics and centuries of abuse and oppression have impacted queer folks, but also queer folk of color and how disproportionately they are impacted, he said. Haywood, who is openly gay, became the fifth pastor of St. Johns MCC in February 2018. It is known for being an LGBTQ-affirming church. He said his church is also very diverse and that, when tapped to lead his congregation, he wondered whether he was the right person to do so as a white man. I felt like we were not in a space where we needed another white person up there in the box making noise, he said. There is no sanitation, there is garbage around, excrement, urine, Hernandez, who fled her home after a gang killed one of her sons and threatened her. I came blindly, fleeing what had happened to me. Mexico's governmental National Human Rights Commission issued a warning weeks ago about the conditions at the camps. Municipal authorities in Tijuana say they want to close it down, but many of the migrants and asylum-seekers fear if they go somewhere else, they might lose their chance at getting into the United States. Biden has abandoned a policy that forced asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court. He has also eased a pandemic-related ban on seeking legal asylum. Shortly after taking office, Biden exempted unaccompanied children from Title 42, named for a section of an obscure 1944 public health law that allows authorities to deny entry to prevent the spread of disease. The big camp of asylum seekers that once existed farther east along the border in Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville, Texas, was dismantled in March. But amid a fresh rush of people to the border, local shelters in places like Tijuana ran out of room. PHILADELPHIA Women didnt believe me, either. Ill skip the details to protect the innocent along with the guilty. But heres the abridged version: It was supposed to be one of the best times of my life, and it mostly was except for the touchy-feely guy who just wouldnt let up. I told the women around us, some who had even witnessed it. He made me uncomfortable, I said. Good lord touchy-feely, uncomfortable we didnt even have the language back then to call it what it was. He was nice, harmless, many of the women insisted. The implication: Why was I making a big deal out of a little attention? At one point it got so bad that a woman in a position of power to do something was alerted, only for me to get a phone call. He and I were scheduled to be at the same event, but hed chivalrously sent word that if I was uncomfortable, hed skip it. I could hear the sympathy for him in her ask. I felt trapped not believed so I acquiesced. Id deal. I can taste the anger and disgust rising up in the back of my throat anytime I think about it. So, I try not to think about it. Chad Fagundes is Mens and Outreach Pastor at Koinonia Church. He can be reached at chad@kchanford.com or 559-582-1528. Bartsch said the proposal calls for an "extensive trail system" that will maintain residents' access to open lands around Mount Helena. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} He said he and his wife are proponents of the arts. They intend to name the development's streets after prominent local artists and commission those artists to produce art installations that will reside within the subdivision's trial system. As for potential traffic impacts and mitigation, Bartsch said he will leave that to the experts, the city engineers currently reviewing the proposal. "This development is in line with the city's master plan; it's on their map," he said. "We're proud of the fact we're helping the city move forward with that vision." He also pointed to the need for affordable housing in the area and said the subdivision will help to alleviate that desperate need. In order for a major subdivision such as this to receive approval from the Helena City Commission, it must go through multiple reviews. The first is a completeness review that simply ensures all the parts necessary for a subdivision application are in place. DECATUR Holidays, family gatherings and the occasional boys night out for wing nights may have flown the coop for a while. Restaurants throughout the country are having a difficult time justifying serving their favorite appetizer. Decatur resident Shishi Carter, 26, ordered a lunch meal of chicken wings at TKGs Wing Heaven on South Franklin Street in Decatur, only to be told the restaurant had sold out. I didnt really think of it at first, she said about the shortage of wings. I eat here a lot. Carter accepted the option of boneless wings, but she isnt fooled. Chicken wings are wings, she said. They taste different. Carter and other wing lovers are likely to find the same problem elsewhere. Kathleen Garmon, owner of TKGs Wing Heaven, receives a shipment of wings three times a week. She often runs out before the next order arrives. With prices so high, were not running a high level stock right now. Garmons customers arrive in search of wings. Of course, were the wing house, Wing Heaven, she said. People just love wings. The high prices of wings during the first half of the year is nothing new to restaurants, according to Garmon. This started last year, Garmon said. According to an Associated Press report, the chicken wing shortage and high prices are due to a variety of issues. One of the factors: outbreaks of COVID-19 in meat-processing plants forced many of them to temporarily close, straining the supply chain. Another issue was the winter storm Uri that hit Texas in February. Many poultry farms shut down because of the bad weather. Chicken wings are shipped to restaurants in various sizes. The Knights of Columbus Hall in Decatur serves only the jumbo wings during Thursdays wing night. We average 500 pounds in three hours, said manager Vince Gogerty. The process of preparing the wings, which includes sauces and cooking, has not changed, just the price of the product. The first wing night seven years ago cost the KC Hall approximately $80 a case, according to Gogerty. It was $156 this week, he said. It doesnt matter what size you are getting. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Gogerty communicates with the supplier as the prices continue to rise. He was told the blame is given to the lack of process employees and drivers. The KC Hall passed the prices on to their customers. But we only raised it a dollar, Gogerty said. Its now six for $9. Customers continue to attend Wing Nights at the KC Hall on North Street. Religiously, Gogerty said. We dont start until 5:30. People will actually come here at 4 oclock to grab a table. Wings may not be in the restaurants name, but Dboes Chicken and Waffles, on North Woodford Street, is a popular stop for the chicken appetizers. Owner Darrell Holloway keeps wings on the menu to keep his customers happy. Theres no profit, theres nothing in it for me, he said. Holloway said he even raised the prices, but that didnt deter the customers. Just to cover me a little bit, he said. But they are so high its ridiculous. The jumbo wings and boneless wings are on the menu at Dboes. However, Holloways customers have their favorites. And he does not try to entice his customers to try anything else. I dont think that would go over well, he said. I sell a lot of bone-in wings. Craig "Woody" Wilson, the owner of Sliderz Bar and Grill along U.S. 36 in Decatur, bought a case of chicken wings for $65 a year ago. Now its $172, he said. He averaged $4 for six to eight wings per pound for jumbo wings. The sauce, preparation, oil and various employees add to the cost of the meal. Wilson is also the owner of BC Wings, which is temporarily closed. Because thats all we sell is wings, he said. We took the summer off. Its cheaper to be closed. Sliderz no longer offers a wing night special. I still sell wings, but I dont make a ton of money on them, Wilson said. Although the prices have gone up and the supply has gone down, customers still want their wings, the restaurant owners say. They make them in so many different versions of something simple, Wilson said. Plus, its just guys at the bar with traditional bar food. Contact Donnette Beckett at (217) 421-6983. Follow her on Twitter: @donnettebHR Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Leonard said the first cases were reported in northern Virginia, about two months ago, before reports began cropping up in other parts of the state as well as Maryland, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. If you look at the areas where its spreading, geographically, theyre all relatively similar theyre kind of in the valleys and mountains, Leonard said. And the same songbirds that are ... in northern Virginia and Kentucky were dealing with the same species. Where the disease currently exists, its not rampant, its not like bird Ebola or anything, its not going crazy, he added. But its still affecting a significant number of birds. Although some media outlets have reported cases of the disease in Tennessee, the state government did not appear to have issued any statements about it as of Friday. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency could not be reached for comment late Friday. The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, meanwhile, has recommended that Virginians take down and clean their feeders in areas that are seeing the sick birds. Under Virginias recently approved adult-use cannabis legislation, existing medical marijuana operators will be able to obtain multiple adult-use licenses if they pay a $1 million fee to the Virginia Cannabis Equity Loan Fund and the Virginia Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund, and if they submit plans for diversity, equity and inclusion. Across the country, we see [legalization] is a matter of when, not if, Dooley said. Green Thumbs philosophy, Dooley said, is to establish itself in communities as a reliable partner. In this case, the company sought and received approval from the Virginia Board of Pharmacy to take over Dharmas operations. We announced our plans May 3 and, for the past two months, we have been working with the Virginia Board of Pharmacy to get the approvals, Dooley said, adding that some corporate folks have been in Abingdon working with the existing workforce. We essentially just got 30 new team members, Dooley said. Were excited to build out. With the license, we can open up to five stores, and we look forward to expanding. BRISTOL, Va. U.S. Sen. Mark Warner met with Southwest Virginia leaders Friday afternoon to marshal interest in capitalizing on new federal legislation designed to spawn U.S. competition with China. More than 40 city, county, education and business leaders learned details about the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, a $250 billion bill to fund research and manufacturing to compete with China in high-tech areas like semiconductor manufacturing. The bill was passed by the U.S. Senate and is awaiting a vote by the House. Among its provisions, the legislation would establish 18 federally funded tech hubs around the country aimed at growing new industries to compete with China. Under a Warner-authored provision, at least six of these hubs would be required to be established in small or rural communities. I think at least one of those should be in Southwest Virginia, Warner said. Weve got a great workforce, weve got smart people, and Ive got to see if I can convince the administration to bring one of those tech hubs here. The other part of the bill centers specifically on U.S. manufacturing semi-conductors. Not a word in the courts decision exonerates Cosby of his crimes. The court did not question his guilt in any way. But the Constitution must be followed even when it means that guilty people go free. It is easy in hindsight to question DA Castors decision in 2005 not to prosecute Cosby because of what he considered evidentiary difficulties in obtaining a conviction. Of course, had Castor not made that decision, Cosby would not have had to answer questions at his deposition, and perhaps without that testimony he would not have been convicted in his 2018 trial. Perhaps, because of the #MeToo movement and the revelations of sexual assaults by prominent figures, especially in the entertainment industry, a prosecutor would come to a very different assessment today. But the unique facts of the Cosby case do not in any way reduce the ability of police and prosecutors to seek justice and accountability when famous people are accused of rape. In this case, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had to determine only whether a promise had been made to Cosby that he would not be criminally prosecuted a promise upon which he relied. Once the court found that there had been such a promise, it had no choice but to enforce the Constitution and overturn the conviction. There is a cost to having a Constitution that protects the guilty as well as the innocent. But it is the only way that all of our rights can be secured from abuses by the government. Erwin Chemerinsky is dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law and a contributing writer to Opinion. By then, Goff was developing an identity, which chef John Fleer of Rhubarb pointed out while politely declining to hire him. He said, You already have your own thing, Goff recalled. Youre not moldable; you have a thing you already do. Fleer was right, and Goff was soon brought on as partner and executive chef of a new project called King James Public House, located across the street from the woods where Goff once slept on a dingy mattress. The restaurant opened in early 2014 under the ownership of Peter Slamp of Zambra and a group of investors. It was the perfect fit at first. THE RISE AND FALL OF KING JAMES It was at King James where Goff truly came into his own. It was a kitchen where Goff could indulge his love of British food and fascination with the sort of culinary history found in Escoffiers Le Guide Culinaire. He also came to terms with his new status as a southern chef and began delving deep into the history of the South, devouring work by Toni Tipton-Martin and Michael Twitty and perusing the Foxfire Series, a collection covering the heritage of Southern Appalachia. HICKORY After more than nine years serving as the executive director of the HPS Education Foundation Inc., Sandi Whisnant Fotheringham is retiring. During a recently planned meeting of the foundations board of directors, past and current members of the board surprised Fotheringham with an outgoing celebration, recognizing her for exemplary dedication and service since the initial meeting during October 2012, in which Fotheringham led to develop the foundation, eventually establishing the 5013 nonprofit status in May 2013. Fotheringham worked closely with the original officers of the board of directors, as she would oversee all operations of the foundation, coordinating future fundraising and marketing endeavors, while building an awareness of service to the HPS classrooms. Collectively, with the entire board of directors, they determined the mission, developed an action plan, elected officers and began to cultivate the charitable foundation of community, businesses, and parents in partnership with Hickory Public Schools. Over the years, the HPS Education Foundation has awarded nearly $200,000 in grants to teachers in addition to relocation awards for the recruitment of teachers to Hickory Public Schools. A damaged stained glass window inside 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, after the building was bombed was a reminder the dangers that many African Americans faced in their daily lives, even in places of worship traditionally considered places of safety. Alabama Department of Archives and History. Donated by Alabama Media Group. Photo by Tom Self, Birmingham News. Calls for change grew after World War II. African Americans risked their lives on the front lines, just like their white brethren. Yet the horrific treatment they returned to made it feel as though one war zone was traded for another. Leading the charge in Birmingham were the churches. In the northeast part of town is the place where it all began the Historic Bethel Baptist Church. Visit the exhibits in the auditorium that delve into the life of the fiery Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth, who pledged his life to the cause of desegregation. Reflect on the courage of the Shuttlesworth family and the Bethel congregation at the "Ghost Frame"all that remains of the parsonage after white supremacists bombed the church on Christmas Eve of 1956. Shuttlesworth and his family emerged from the rubble, unharmed, and continued their desegregation efforts with renewed fervor. Back in downtown Birmingham are two other churches with significant pieces of the story to tell. Stand in the basement where early Project C Movement meetings were held at St. Paul United Methodist Church. The 'C' stood for 'confrontation,' though all methods used were nonviolent. Still present is a podium believed to be used by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at one of the meetings. Take a moment to reflect under the Wales Window at 16th St. Baptist Church; a gift from the country of Wales after the September 15, 1963 bombing by white supremacists took the lives of four young girls during Sunday school. The stained glass image depicts a Black man with his arms spread wide, one hand pushing away symbolizing the Black community's efforts to stop oppression and injustice. The other hand is palm-up and open symbolizing the unfathomable ability to forgive in the face of so much hate. These churches offer visitor services such as tours and can be contacted directly for scheduling. Amaravati, July 3 (PTI): Police in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday detained eight Bangladeshi nationals, who had illegally entered India. The Railway Protection Force detained four of them in Rajamahendravaram while the Vijayawada city police apprehended the rest while they were proceeding by the Howrah-Vasco da Gama Express. Police were on an alert following the recent parcel bomb explosion in Darbhanga railway station in Bihar, and on a tip-off, intercepted the Bangladeshis, sources here said. During inquiry, police found out that the Bangladeshis clandestinely entered India through a pipeline. They had no official documents, including passports, but carried fake aadhar cards, PAN cards and voter IDs with an address in Bengaluru. According to police sources, the Bangladeshis claimed they stayed in Goa from 2017 to 2019. After the Covid-19 outbreak last year, they went back to their native country. They returned to Goa in June this year. We have completed only a preliminary inquiry and a detailed investigation has begun, North Zone Assistant Commissioner of Police Shanu Sheikh said in Vijayawada. Along with the fake ID cards, police confiscated mobile phones from the foreigners. A case has been registered against them. PTI DBV NVG NVG Representative image Kathmandu [Nepal], July 2 (ANI): The student union affiliated to the opposition alliance in Nepal has continued to stage demonstrations to protest against the dissolution of Parliament. On Friday, the protestors burnt an effigy of caretaker Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli near the Parliament. The student union has been on road since May, after the dissolution of Parliament for the second time in less than a year. They have been engaging in scuffles with Police as they stage demonstrations. On Friday afternoon, the student union burnt an effigy of KP Sharma Oli near the Parliament while chanting anti-government slogans. " KP Sharma Oli, who has a mindset of the autocratic ruler, has been ruling nation by issuing ordinances, dissolve parliament where people's representation use to be and working on the basis of whims and own wills," a protest leader said. The opposition student alliance also has vowed to continue their protest in the coming days. They have called on for a torch march for Saturday throughout the nation against the incumbent protest. During the protest, protestors chanted slogans against Oli as well as sitting President Bidhya Devi Bhandari demanding to scrap the unconstitutional move. In less than three months of its reinstatement, the House of Representatives of Nepal was again dissolved in May after a high running political drama over the nomination of a new Prime Minister. Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on the recommendation of the cabinet on May 21 dissolved the House of Representatives calling for fresh elections in November. Office of President at that time had issued a release announcing the dissolution of the house for a second time as per Article 76 (7) of the Constitution of Nepal, on the recommendation of the cabinet. The next election will be on November 12 and 19 as per the recommendation of the Cabinet. Article 76 (7) of the Constitution states "If the Prime Minister appointed according to clause (5) fails to get the vote of confidence or if any member fails to be appointed as Prime Minister, the President shall, on the recommendation of Prime Minister, dissolve the House of Representatives and fix a date to conduct another election within six months." (ANI) Bangladesh receives first consignment of the COVID-19 vaccine doses from US (Photo Credit: Twitter/ Earl R. Miller) Dhaka [Bangladesh], July 3 (ANI): Bangladesh received the first consignment of COVID-19 vaccine Moderna from the US on Friday through the COVAX initiative. The first consignment of 1.2 million out of 2.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine gifted by the US arrived in Dhaka. In a tweet, US Ambassador to Bangladesh said, "JUST ARRIVED: The U.S. gifted 2.5 million doses of the @moderna_tx COVID19 vaccine to Bangladesh through COVAX. The United States and the American people are proud to support the vaccine alliance for a safer & more secure world." Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Malik received the vaccine from US Ambassador Earl Miller at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport as a US Air Force cargo flight carrying the jabs reached the airport at 11:30 pm (local time), Dhaka Tribune reported. Meanwhile, the second consignment of 1.3 million doses of Moderna vaccines is expected to reach on Saturday morning. On January 21, Bangladesh received its first-ever Covid-19 vaccine consignment as India sent 20 million doses of inoculates as a gift. Bangladesh has so far received 12 million vaccines from the Serum Institute of India (SII). (ANI) Covaxin coronavirus vaccine has overall efficacy of 77.8 percent against symptomatic cases, while the indigenously developed jab showed an efficacy of 65.2 percent against the highly transmissible Delta variant of COVID-19, vaccine maker Bharat Biotech said citing the Phase 3 clinical trial data. "Phase 3 clinical trials of Covaxin were an event-driven analysis of 130 symptomatic COVID-19 cases, reported at least two weeks after the 2nd dose, conducted at 25 sites across India," the company's statement said. The data, however, is yet to be peer-reviewed. Labeling its research as "India's largest-ever COVID-19 vaccine trial", the company added that the overall efficacy figure was arrived at after 24 volunteers who were given the vaccine tested positive for COVID-19 out of a group of 130 confirmed cases. The efficacy analysis of Covaxin also demonstrated the effectiveness of 93.4 percent against severely symptomatic COVID-19 infections, the company said. The safety analysis showed "that adverse events reported were similar to placebo, with 12 percent of the subjects experiencing commonly known side effects and less than 0.5 percent faced serious adverse events". The company also claimed that the overall rate of adverse events observed "was lower than that seen in other COVID-19 vaccines". On the other hand, the efficacy was 63.6 percent for patients who had asymptomatic COVID-19 infections. "Covaxin is the first to report promising efficacy against asymptomatic infections based on qPCR testing that will help in reducing disease transmission," the statement said. Dr Krishna Ella, Bharat Biotech's chairman and managing director said, "The successful safety and efficacy readouts of COVAXIN as a result of conducting the largest ever COVID Vaccines trials in India establishes the ability of India and developing world countries to focus towards innovation and novel product development. We are proud to state that Innovation from India will now be available to protect global populations." Story continues Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) director-general Balram Bhargava echoed his Ella's statement. He said, "I am delighted to note that Covaxin developed by ICMR and BBIL under an effective public private partnership, has demonstrated an overall efficacy of 77.8 percent in India's largest COVID phase 3 clinical trial thus far. Our scientists at ICMR and BBIL have worked tirelessly to deliver a truly effective vaccine of highest international standards. "Covaxin will not only benefit the Indian citizens but would also immensely contribute to protect the global community against the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus. I am also pleased to see that COVAXIN works well against all variant strains of SARS-CoV-2. The successful development of COVAXIN has consolidated the position of Indian academia and Industry in the global arena." Also See: Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN has 77.8% efficacy in Phase 3 trials, says report: All you need to know COVID-19 Delta Plus variant cases rise to 51, Maharashtra reports first death; all you need to know Explained: How new version of Oxford-AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine can help blunt Beta variant Read more on India by Firstpost. New Delhi, Jul 3 (PTI) A French judge has been appointed to lead a 'highly sensitive' judicial investigation into alleged 'corruption and favouritism' in the Rs 59,000 crore Rafale fighter jet deal with India, French investigative website Mediapart reported. Following the development, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come forward and order a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Rafale deal. 'Corruption in the Rafale deal has come out clearly now. The stand of the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi has been vindicated today after the French government has ordered a probe,' he told reporters at a press conference. However, there was no immediate reaction from the Indian government or the BJP. The Mediapart said the probe into the inter-governmental deal signed in 2016 was formally opened on June 14. 'A judicial probe into suspected corruption has been opened in France over the 7.8-billion-euro sale to India in 2016 of 36 Dassault-built Rafale fighter aircraft,' the Mediapart reported on the latest development on the controversial deal. It said the investigation has been initiated by the national financial prosecutors' office (PNF). The judicial investigation has been ordered by France's national financial prosecutors' office, following Mediapart's fresh reports in April of alleged wrongdoings in the deal as well as a complaint filed by French NGO Sherpa that specialises in financial crime. 'The highly sensitive probe into the inter-governmental deal signed off in 2016 was formally opened on June 14th,' the media report said. Mediapart journalist Yann Philippin, who filed a series of reports on the deal, said a first complaint was 'buried' in 2019 by a former PNF chief. 'The judicial investigation was finally opened following the revelations of the investigation #RafalePapers of @mediapart and a new complaint from @Asso_Sherpa. A 1st complaint was buried in 2019 by the former PNF boss, Eliane Houlette,' he tweeted. Story continues In April, Mediapart, citing an investigation by the country's anti-corruption agency, reported that Dassault Aviation had paid about one million Euros to an Indian middleman. Dassault Aviation has rejected the allegations of corruption, saying no violations were reported in the frame of the contract. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had inked a Rs 59,000-crore deal on September 23, 2016, to procure 36 Rafale jets from French aerospace major Dassault Aviation after a nearly seven-year exercise to procure 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for the Indian Air Force did not fructify during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime. The Congress accused the government of massive irregularities in the deal, alleging that it was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the UPA government during the negotiations for the MMRCA. Prior to the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the Congress raised several questions about the deal and alleged corruption but the government rejected all the charges. PTI MPB KJ Representative Image New Delhi [India], July 2 (ANI): India and Slovakia on Friday discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, culture, science and technology and people to people contacts in virtual interaction. The Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan held virtual consultations with Ingrid Brockova, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia, read a press release of the Ministry of External Affairs. Both the ministers discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including ways to strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, culture, science & technology and people to people contacts. Multilateral issues, including cooperation at various fora such as the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) were also discussed, read the release. Moreover, they agreed to continue efforts to further step-up and broaden engagements between India and Slovakia. (ANI) The victory torch at Trivandrum, Kerala Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], July 3 (ANI): The Swarnim Vijay Mashaal (victory torch), lit for the year-long 50th-anniversary celebration of the 1971 India-Pakistan war, arrived at the Pangode Military Station, in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. As per a statement, the victory flame was received by Brigadier Kartik Seshadri, Station Commander, at the Pangode War Memorial and tribute were paid to the war heroes by laying a wreath at the memorial. 'Swarnim Vijay Mashaal' (Victory Flame) started from the eternal flame of the National War Memorial at New Delhi and reached here after traveling a distance of over 2500 kilometers and felicitating the War heroes and their next of kins who were part of the 1971 war. Senior Officers and soldiers of the Military Station were present on the occasion. (ANI) Illinois officials will pick the first $1 million winner in its COVID-19 vaccine lottery on July 8. Three $150,000 college scholarship winners also will be drawn that day. The $10 million vaccine promotion in Illinois, called "All In For The Win," is designed to thank people who already have received at least one dose of vaccine and as an incentive for people who have not gotten a shot to get one, according to Gov. J.B. Pritzker. "It's our way of saying to those who haven't been vaccinated, 'Please join us,'" the governor said in mid-June. "Vaccines are incredibly effective, and they keep you protected, but they also make your community safer. It's great that your grandma or grandpa has been vaccinated, but you can make them even safer by getting vaccinated, too." The Illinois Lottery will handle the drawings, which will continue throughout the summer. All Illinois residents who have been vaccinated are automatically entered to win. The prize money will be paid from federal grants Illinois has received to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The $1 million drawing on July 8 will be among three $1 million jackpots and 40 $100,000 cash prizes. After July 8, three winners of $100,000 cash prizes will be chosen every Monday between July 12 and Aug. 16 from a statewide pool. On Aug. 12, 22 winners from regional drawings will be picked. Two winners will be drawn from each of the 11 regions in Pritzker's Restore Illinois reopening plan. Two $1 million cash prizes will be drawn Aug. 26 from a statewide pool. Three $150,000 scholarship winners will be drawn from a statewide pool July 8. On Aug. 26, 17 Illinois students ages 12 to 17, one from each Restore Illinois region and six additional students from a statewide pool, will receive $150,000 scholarships. The students can use the scholarships at public and private four- and two-year colleges, vocational and technical schools across the United States and some schools abroad. Scholarship awards must be used before a student turns 26, and can't be used for K-12 educational expenses. You must be an Illinois resident 18 or older to receive cash prizes and between 12 and 17 for scholarship awards. You must have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Illinois, except for vaccines administered at certain federal facilities. People who received vaccine at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs facilities will be included in the lottery. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Eligibility doesn't depend on immigration status. People who are incarcerated in Illinois Department of Corrections facilities who have been vaccinated are eligible for the lottery. Employees of the governor's office, lieutenant governor's office, Illinois Lottery, designated employees of the Illinois Department of Public Health and employees of designated state vendors aren't eligible to win. About 7.5 million Illinoisans have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. That represents 59% of the state's total population. Among the population 18 and older, 7.06 million Illinoisans, or 71.7% of the adult population, have received at least one dose. About 440,000 Illinoisans between 12 and 17 have received at least one dose. Entries for people who get their first shot after July 1 will be added to the pool for drawings. Winners who don't wish to accept a prize may decline when they are contacted by the Illinois Department of Public Health. Winners can choose to remain anonymous. For winners from communities with populations of 20,000 or more, the locations of winners' hometowns will be published. For winners from smaller communities, only the winners' home counties will be published. Taxes will automatically be deducted from winnings. Outstanding obligations to the state and child support commitments will be deducted from prizes if winners owe any such debts. Illinois Isn't the only state to offer incentives. Illinois' promotions have included thousands of free tickets to Six Flags and free target rounds at the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta. It's unclear how successful these incentives have been in leading to more vaccinations. The Associated Press reported recently that Ohio's vaccine lottery, worth millions in incentives, came to a close in June while the state struggled to meet 50% vaccinated despite early success. Incentive programs also fell short of their goals in West Virginia and Colorado, while other states including Oregon and California have seen some success. West Virginia included pickup trucks and hunting rifles in its giveaways. People filling up their tanks will have to pay a little more at the pump, beginning in July 2021 as the Illinois gas tax rises again. Illinois' state gas tax rises a half cent Thursday, increasing from 38.7 cents per gallon to 39.2 cents per gallon. The tax on diesel fuel will rise to 46.7 cents per gallon. This will be the third time since 2019 the gas tax has risen in Illinois and it is all tied to the $45 billion, multiyear state capital infrastructure bill Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed that summer. Illinois saw its gas tax double in 2019, from 19 cents per gallon to 38 cents per gallon, a measure designed to help fund transportation projects such as road and bridge repair and public transit to the tune of $33 billion. The tax increased to 38.7 cents per gallon in 2020. Annual increases in the gas tax, determined by the consumer price index, will continue indefinitely. However, increases are capped at 1%. Illinois' taxes on gas rank among the highest in the United States. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} According to the American Petroleum Institute, Illinois has the third highest tax hit at the pump in the country, behind only California and Pennsylvania. Using API's data, Illinois will average 71.06 cents per gallon in gas taxes. California also had a rise in its motor fuel tax this summer. Its rate rose 0.6 cents per gallon on June 14, bringing the state's total gas tax to 51.1 cents per gallon. According to data from AAA, on July 1, Illinois had the 10th highest overall gas prices in the nation and the highest in the Midwest, with the next-highest states nearby being Michigan and Indiana. The state average is just below $3.37 a gallon in Illinois, and is just over $3.12 nationally. In addition to the state motor fuel tax, people filling up at the pump also have to pay a federal gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon. Some municipalities have added additional taxes to pay for local road projects. "The needs we have for infrastructure are significant inside the city, and so this is helpful," said Patrick Urich, city manager in Peoria, where there is an additional 5-cent-per-gallon tax. City finance director Jim Scroggins said the money from the tax increase will allow Peoria to do more road work by adding "about $1.5 million per year" on top of the $2.5 million the city normally receives from the state motor fuel tax. "That extra $1.5 million will allow us to do more roads for sure," Scroggins said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 John Foster Dulles John Foster Dulles (February 2, 1888-May 24, 1959) like his younger brother Allen Dulles, was an American diplomat. A Republican, he served as secretary of state under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959. He was a significant figure in the early Cold War era, advocating an aggressive stance against communism throughout the world. Like his brother Allen Dulles, John graduated from Princeton University with an outstanding record of accomplishments. Following graduation John attended the George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. Passing the bar exam, John joined the New York law firm of Sullivan and Cromwell, where he specialized in international law. The entire family was involved in government service with his younger brother serving as director of Central Intelligence under Eisenhower, and his younger sister, Eleanor Lansing Dulles, was noted for her work in the successful reconstruction of the economy of post-war Europe during 20 with the State Department. Beginning with World War I, John Dulles tried to join the U.S. Army, but was rejected because of poor eyesight. Instead, Dulles received an Army commission as major on the War Industries Board. Dulles later returned to Sullivan and Cromwell and became a partner with an international practice. Recruited by the secretary of state, Dulles was sent to Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama to determine the countries relationships with Germany. He kept his cover as a lawyer, but in reality, was to gather information on these Latin American countries. Dulles advised the United States to support Costa Ricas dictator on the grounds he was anti-German. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} He also encouraged the United States to keep good relations with Nicaraguas dictator. In Panama, Dulles offered a waiver of the tax imposed by the United States on the annual canal fee, in exchange for a Panamanian declaration of war on Germany. In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Dulles as legal counsel to the United Stated delegation in the Versailles Peace Conference. Dulles made an early impression as a junior diplomat. He argued against imposing crushing reparation on Germany. Afterward, he served as a member of the War Reparations Committee at Wilsons request. Dulles was a prominent Republican and a close associate of Gov. Thomas E. Dewey of New York, who became the Republican presidential nominee in the elections of 1944 and 1948. Dulles established the Republican desire for calling for the establishment of a Jewish commonwealth in Palestine. When Eisenhower became president in January 1953, Dulles was appointed as his secretary of state. As secretary of state, Dulles concentrated on building up the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and forming other alliances. The purpose of building strong relationships with allies was to control the Soviet expansion. Dulles backed up his words to the Communist nation by threatening massive retaliation in the event of war. Dulles was also heavily involved in the 1950s with the containment of communism in Vietnam. Dulles believed that communism was Godless terrorism. Dulles developed colon cancer and was forced to resign his position in government. Dulles died at Walter Reed Hospital on May 24, 1959, at the age of 71. Dulles was interred at Arlington National Cemetery. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} You can read Adams' letter in its entirety on the Library of Congress' website. A direct link to the letter, which includes other vivid descriptions of the celebrations, can be found at tinyurl.com/adamsfourthletter. The celebrations continued to grow and spread over the years. In 1783, as peace returned to the nation in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, North Carolina's Alexander Martin became the first governor to issue a state order to celebrate the Fourth of July. The Moravians of Salem heeded this, and first celebrated the Fourth that year with church services, music and a torchlight procession through town. Q: I was taught in elementary school that during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" you were not supposed to put your hand over your heart unless you were in the military or a Boy Scout or Girl Scout. You would stand with hands at your side or crossed in front or back. What is correct? K.K. Answer: Putting your hand over your heart is correct, according to the U.S. Flag Code, which contains the rules for how to behave when the national anthem is played. But speaking in general terms, Smith said some aspects of Article 55 could be open to interpretation. For example, regarding the videos in which Gifford takes cobras into his yard or driveway to record videos, the law focuses on how the snakes must be housed and transported. The way Article 55 is written, when youre transporting an animal, it should be in an escape-proof and bite-proof container, Smith said. Beyond that, Smith says, My interpretation is going to be different than yours, than law enforcement, but I would say law enforcement can read this and come up with a pretty good judgment there. Other venomous snake handlers, including Chris Eichele of Cameron, who once operated his own snake rescue, said any responsible owner would keep a snake enclosed when its out of its cage rather than let it crawl free. That way, he said, if the snake gets off the tongs, its in your garage and not in the neighborhood. The Raleigh Police Department has offered no details on how or when the zebra cobra escaped or how many of the serpents shown in the TikTok videos remain in Giffords basement. A goal of public safety OAK ISLAND At least one child was rescued from the waters off North Carolina as rip currents continue to pose a risk for swimmers ahead of the holiday weekend. Oak Island Water Rescue said it responded to a beach at about noon Thursday after receiving reports that a child was pulled from the water and onto the sand. It turns out, beachgoers had saved one or more children from a rip current, the rescue group wrote in a Facebook post. Officials didn't share the condition of the child but said: "Thankfully tragedy was averted." Oak Island, roughly 35 miles southwest of Wilmington, is among the parts of the North Carolina coast where dangerous waters remain a risk on Friday, according to rescuers. The National Weather Service warned of the potential for rip currents through Friday night in coastal Brunswick, Carteret, New Hanover, Onslow and Pender counties all in the southeastern part of the state. There are also alerts for Hatteras and Ocracoke islands on the Outer Banks, a series of barrier islands off the shores of North Carolina. The areas are also at risk for longshore currents, which run parallel to the beach and have the potential to pull swimmers into rip currents and near piers, according to forecasters. Congress cant act soon enough. Because horse slaughter is illegal in the United States, some of the thousands of mustangs chopper-chased into a confined area this summer and fall will end up in Canada or Mexico, where slaughterhouses are plentiful and unimaginably cruel. The inhumanity toward these terrified wild creatures demands that we open our eyes. With apologies in advance: Horses bought at auction typically are crammed into double-decker trucks without water for a journey that may last as long as 24 hours. Footage obtained by the San Antonio Express-News several years ago showed horses being beaten and prodded toward the kill booth, repeatedly stabbed in the neck to paralyze them, and then hung by one back leg while their throats are slit. Their deaths are slow and excruciating, their fear and panic immense. If such images arent enough to warrant immediate action, then we can hardly think of ourselves as a humane species. Congress should force the bureau to park its helicopters and allow new practices to take shape. Surely a nation of entrepreneurs and animal lovers can figure out ways to preserve and protect these iconic symbols of freedom and wild beauty. Humans and horses share a unique bond that can be traced back several million years. The suffering we are about to witness and by our passivity, endorse is a betrayal of something deep and ancient and profound. The wailing of tortured horses may be beyond earshot, but the fact of it should rattle our bones. No more. Kathleen Parkers email address is kathleenparker@washpost.com Go shopping Ask the school for a list of supplies your daughter will need to bring. Then take a family trip to the store, and let her pick out her own backpack, crayons, pencil box and whatever else she'll need. Meet the teacher Most schools are pretty open to this, so it shouldn't be too hard to schedule a time when you, your spouse and your daughter can see the classroom and meet the teacher. This will give everyone a chance to connect and will give your daughter a relatively low-stress way to check out the classroom without being distracted by 24 other kids, many of whom may be crying. At some schools, kindergarten teachers make home visits. That's nice, but there's no substitute for seeing the actual classroom. Time for bed Your daughter has probably been sleeping in for most of the summer, and she needs some time to adjust to new sleep and wake-up times. So start as far in advance as you can. Trying to institute a major change the night before is a surefire way to ensure a very stressful day for everyone. Take a ride The Falcon and the Winter Soldier While its an action series, theres enough here to warrant a spot in the list. The problem? Is it a limited series or a true drama series? Marvel says more could come. But theres also WandaVision. Thats in the limited series category. Bridgerton The bodice-ripping drama broke a lot of barriers, but its also a soap opera. It brought attention to its stars but doesnt seem to have the staying power for five or six seasons. Look for smaller returns, mostly in behind-the-scenes categories. Lovecraft Country A wild ride, this sci-fi horror series succeeded where others havent. It hit the ground running, then looked for as many American Horror Story hallmarks to color its world. The Boys This deserves to be in one of the categories (comedy, perhaps?) but it may not have the gravitas to go up against The Handmaids Tale, The Mandalorian or This Is Us. LIMITED SERIES The Queens Gambit and Mare of Easttown are going to be the gorillas in this mist. WandaVision has a good shot, too, particularly since Marvel is the new force in town. But then? WASHINGTON (AP) Nearly 20 years after invading Afghanistan to oust the Taliban and hunt down al-Qaida, the U.S. military has vacated its biggest airfield in the country, advancing a final withdrawal that the Pentagon on Friday said will be completed by the end of August. President Joe Biden had instructed the Pentagon to complete the military withdrawal by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States, but the Pentagon now says it can finish the drawdown a little earlier. In fact, the drawdown is already largely completed and officials had said it could be wrapped up this weekend. But a number of related issues need to be worked out in coming weeks, including a new U.S. military command structure in Kabul and talks with Turkey on an arrangement for maintaining security at the Kabul airport, and so an official end to the pullout will not be announced soon. A safe, orderly drawdown enables us to maintain an ongoing diplomatic presence, support the Afghan people and the government, and prevent Afghanistan from once again becoming a safe haven for terrorists that threatens our homeland, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said. WASHINGTON (AP) As the last U.S. combat troops prepare to leave Afghanistan, the question arises: When is the war really over? For Afghans the answer is clear but grim: no time soon. An emboldened Taliban insurgency is making battlefield gains, and prospective peace talks are stalled. Some fear that once foreign forces are gone, Afghanistan will dive deeper into civil war. Though degraded, an Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State extremist network also lurks. For the United States and its coalition partners, the endgame is murky. Although all combat troops and 20 years of accumulated war materiel will soon be gone, the head of U.S Central Command, Gen. Frank McKenzie, will have authority until September to defend Afghan forces against the Taliban. He can do so by ordering strikes with U.S. warplanes based outside of Afghanistan, according to defense officials who discussed details of military planning on condition of anonymity. U.S. officials said Friday that the U.S. military has left Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years. The facility was the epicenter of the war, but its transfer to the Afghan government did not mark the U.S. military's final withdrawal from the country. Two officials say the airfield was handed over in its entirety. They spoke on condition they not be identified because they were not authorized to disclose the handover to the media. The National High School Finals Rodeo rides into Lincoln this month and there is still a need for volunteers and RVs for contestants' families to rent. There are 175 volunteer shifts needed to check in RVs, sell tickets, take tickets at the gates and help with parking during the event, July 18-24, at the Lancaster Event Center. Volunteers have a chance to earn free tickets to rodeo events, souvenir T-shirts and meals. Groups that fill 20 shifts can earn $1,000 and work toward free space rental and facility services for future group events. Signup is encouraged by Wednesday so volunteers can attend a brief Zoom training on Thursday. Sign up at NHSFRLincoln.org/Volunteer. About 12 families are also still seeking RV campers to rent during the rodeo with check-in starting noon July 15. Drop-off is encouraged between July 8-14. RV owners typically charge about $100 a night to rent units to contestant families, and $500 is a moderate deposit amount. Those willing to rent their RVs can visit the NHSFR Lincoln RV Rentals Needed Facebook group or call the Lancaster Event Center office at 402-441-6545, option 0 and ask for RV rental coordinator Alex Nervig. That would make for an 800-mile trek into Louisiana. He had traveled in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa, swimming the Mississippi River four times, before getting cornered between two interstates and drawing a crowd of hundreds in a St. Louis suburb last July. Since that was dangerous for both bear and audience, Missouri wildlife officials tranquilized the bear and had him relocated. He got in a spot in a bunch of highways on the July Fourth weekend, recalled Jason Sumners of the Missouri Department of Conservation. He was released not far from St. Louis, in the northeast corner of the Ozark Mountains, Sumners said. Facebook fans tracked the bear south through Arkansas, as well. He was an odd bear, said Kline. He seemed to prefer farm fields and groves to forests, and never went for the easy pickings of trash cans and dumpsters. This bear never bothered anybody or anything, not one time, she said. He walked through towns, through convenience store parking lots, and never bothered anyone. RACINE COUNTY Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast (GSWISE) announced an investment of $5,000 from SC Johnson to support girl scouting in Racine County. This grant will make it possible for GSWISE to bring the girl scout leadership experience to more girls. Girl scouting began in in Racine County in 1919 when five troops began meeting independently of one another at different churches throughout the county. Today, nearly 1,200 girls in Racine County are girl scouts. The program continues to stay true to its mission to build girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place, as evidenced by some of the highest award projects completed by Racine County girl scouts this year. Through the highest awards program, girls identify a global, national or local issue and then develop a project to address it. Open to girl scouts in grades four through 12, the program teaches girls how to design and execute service projects that produce measurable and sustainable change. Girl scouts who receive one of the highest awards demonstrate achievements in leadership development, project planning and taking action to make a positive, sustainable impact in the community. The three levels gold, silver and bronze represent increasing levels of independence and complexity. Awards MOUNT PLEASANT An Illinois man allegedly stole three computers worth a combined $1,859.97 from Best Buy at 2710 S. Green Bay Road. Nicholas B. Waters, 27, of North Chicago, was charged with a felony count of retail theft intentionally taking between $500-$5,000. According to a criminal complaint: On July 9, 2020, an officer was sent to Best Buy at 2710 S. Green Bay Road for a retail theft. Loss prevention stated that two men entered the store and left with three laptop computers valued at $1,859.97. One of the suspects, later identified as Waters, was seen pushing the computers out of the store in a shopping cart. An investigator was able to determine whose car was seen at the crime scene. He went to speak to the owner who said that she loaned the car to Waters. The investigator then tried to speak to Waters but wasnt able to. He learned that Waters was also a suspect in a theft of Dyson vacuums from a Target in Vernon Hills. Waters has also been arrested in the past for thefts at Targets in Illinois and West Allis. "It could happen," Molbeck said of stationing lifeguards at Zoo Beach this summer. "It's an area we'd like to go back to." Lack of lifeguards means lack of safety According to Wisconsin state law, at least one lifeguard is needed for a pool/water attraction with a surface area of 2,000 to 4,999 feet that has at least 60 patrons. For 61 to 136 patrons, there should be at least two lifeguards. The number of lifeguards required rises with the number of patrons. That means lifeguards at pools are paying attention to many things at once, Rognsvoog said. More lifeguards would mean more pairs of eyes to keep everyone safe. "You can never have enough eyes on a child in a pool," Rognsvoog said. The lack of lifeguards also means the YMCA has to close a few attractions, especially at the SC Johnson Aquatic Center, 2800 Ohio St. "We get complaints that they aren't open," Rognsvoog said. "I want you to have fun and be here, but I can't turn something on and have it be unsafe." Sometime in March, cement barriers were placed in front of the Erickson Truck-n-Parts' entrance on Frontage Road, blocking the only way the owners could get in and out. The village is mum about what's going on, even after one of the Ericksons was cited for trespassing on his own property. An attorney representing the Ericksons wrote in a letter to a Mount Pleasant official: "In Catch-22 fashion, my client has been directed to clean up its property, but its owners and employees are not allowed on the premises." Im the fix-the-damn-roads governor, so I talk infrastructure with everybody, including the president," she said. In recent flooding, she said the state saw under-invested infrastructure collide with climate change and the freeways were under water. So this is an important moment. And thats why this infrastructure package is so important. Thats also why I got the president rocky road fudge from Mackinac Island for his trip here," she said. Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow also said she spoke with the president about the infrastructure package as they toured the cherry farm, noting that her phone signal dropped to one bar and that the proposed broadband buildout was needed. Biden's host at King Orchards, Juliette King McAvoy, introduced him to the two Guatemalan couples, who she said had been working on the farm for 35 years. He told them he was proposing a pathway to citizenship for farmworkers. Biden then picked a cherry out of one of their baskets and ate it. He later bought pies at the farm's market, including three varieties of cherry. Before leaving Michigan, he stopped in at Moomers Homemade Ice Cream in Traverse City, where he bought Cherries Moobilie cones for Stabenow and Gary Peters, Michigan's other Democratic senator. But for himself it was vanilla with chocolate chips in a waffle cone. No reasonable expectation A Dominion spokesperson declined to comment on the issue, and EnergySolutions did not respond to a request for comment, but both companies filed briefs this week seeking to block NorthStar from participating in the case, saying the company has no legal standing. Although it seeks to cloak its claims in the interests of Wisconsin ratepayers, NorthStars interest is nothing more than a desire to have a business role in the decommissioning, attorneys for Dominion wrote. Dominion says under the conditions of its purchase agreement, the PSC cannot require it to open the sale to competitive bids. Tempting though that discussion might be from a public policy standpoint, it is not and cannot be an issue to be determined in this docket, they write. EnergySolutions says NorthStar has no reasonable expectation of acquiring rights of first refusal and that the companys participation would add no value to the PSCs evaluation of the sale. 1. Yes. Its a common-sense bill that should be implemented. Pass it without changes. 2. Yes. The bill should pass, but some of its stipulations should be modified or dropped. 3. No. Unless significant changes are made, it doesnt deserve lawmakers support. 4. No. The original bill is dangerous. Democrats should walk out again to block it. 5. Unsure. Its had to say without knowing what final form the bill would take. Vote View Results Killeen, TX (76540) Today Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low 71F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low 71F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Ambassador Branstad is scheduled to provide remarks during lunch. A former Governor of Iowa and Iowa House member, Branstad served as Ambassador to China from 2017-2020 after being appointed by President Donald Trump. We are excited that Ambassador Branstad will be able to join us this year and share his expertise on topics influencing our states agricultural industry and economic growth, said DED Director Anthony L. Goins. We hope everyone who shares in our mutual vision to grow the state will join Gov. Ricketts and us in Kearney this year to strategize for the way forward. The summit officially will kick off on the evening of Aug. 3 with a reception and banquet hosted by the Nebraska Diplomats. During that event, numerous diplomats and Nebraska businesses will be recognized for their contributions to the states economic success during the previous year. The banquet is a chance to pay tribute to the community and business leaders who continue to drive progress in our state and make an impact throughout their regions, said Nebraska Diplomats President Tim OBrien. We hope many of our summit attendees will also consider RSVPing for the diplomat banquet. Fourth of July in Kearney isnt focused on the patriotic pomp of parades, flags and picnics. Its all about fireworks. Born and raised in Cleveland, the only fireworks I grew up with were the kind cities set off at night. Once in a while, somebody whod traveled out of state came out with sparklers or a Roman candle, and we lit them and enjoyed them for their brief life, but then they were done. They were quiet, too. Mondays editorial page in the Omaha World-Herald had a sobering reminder of the true expense of fireworks. Not just the hundreds of dollars some people fork over for these toys, but the noise and aggravation. The World-Herald said there were 1,800 complaints in Omaha last year about fireworks, and about 60 fireworks-related injuries. Im not alone, obviously, but everyone is too timid to try to do anything about it. I also am curious about the parked semis selling fireworks this time of year, with huge 75% off splashed across the sides. If their wares are 75% off the day the trailers open, are they really 75% off? Seventy-five percent off what? Torres said the city can apply for only one project per year. He said the Historic Fortney project is shovel ready, which is a requirement. He added the citys responsibility is the monitoring of the reporting side and communicating with Wrobel to make sure the grant is in order. City Clerk/Treasurer Lori Polhamus said the city has done a community development investment grant application in the past with the Viroqua Food Co-op. She said the money goes to the city and the city would pay the Historic Fortney, with the quarterly reports coming from the city until the grant is fulfilled. Alderpersons approved a contract amendment with the third-party vendor PSN for credit card payments for the police department. It will allow the police department to process debit/credit card payments. A user fee will be passed along to the customer. Cheryl Purvis, utility clerk, who spoke on behalf of the police department, said if onsite training is needed, she would do that. The Viroqua Utilities Department currently uses PSN for utility payments. Purvis said it takes time to get PSN implemented, and they wanted to be ready for when the police department moves from East Broadway Street to its new location on Nelson Parkway. Polhamus said PSN may be implemented at City Hall in the future. Sparklers To show what sparklers can do to clothing, Olathe fire officials touched a lit sparkler to a white sweatshirt made of 100% polyester. It melted the fabric instantly. "Where that fabric melts, that can actually melt to your skin," Wassom said. In 2019, sparklers were the leading cause of fireworks injuries to children younger than 5, according to the Consumer Products Safety Commission. One 3-year-old "was playing with a sparkler that his mother had lit for him. He twirled it around and burned himself," the commission reported. "I don't think a lot of mothers and fathers understand that," Tavalali said. They probably don't know either, she said, how hot sparklers can get as hot as volcanic lava by some estimates, and hot enough to melt gold, Tavalali said. Adults "just give them to their children. They give multiples to their children," she said. "You've seen that before where a kid has several sparklers in their hands and they burn down pretty low and sometimes those stems are not as long as they should be." Sparklers themselves are not the risk, said Bhavsar. MISSION, Kan. The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients jumped by nearly 27% over the Fourth of July weekend in a hard-hit area of Missouri where immunization rates are low, leading to a temporary ventilator shortfall and a public call for help from respiratory therapists. The operation came to light after an investigation that began when a teenager at the behest of his parents reported vape sales among students at a Waukesha high school. Eight people were ultimately charged in the Huffhines case, including Tyler, his brother Jacob, 25, and mother Courtney, 44. Five others who were allegedly employees of the operation either making vapes or transporting them were also charged. Jacob Huffhines, who had two previous drug-dealing arrests, was on probation at the time of his arrest on the THC vape case. His probation was revoked and he is now in prison as he awaits trial on the new charges. Courtney Huffhines posted $100,000 bond the same day she made her initial appearance in court in October 2019. The other five defendants, who are facing less serious or fewer charges, are all out of custody on bond. Tyler Huffhines got a new chance for release when the case was shifted from Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Mary K. Wagner, who is retiring, to Judge Bruce Schroeder. Wagner had previously turned down requests to modify Huffhines bond. The COVID-19 pandemic upended nearly every aspect of most peoples lives, but one area that has thrived has been outdoor recreation. How did the coronavirus impact Dane Countys parks? The outdoors provided that safety cushion. The outdoors has always been there for that and theres so many known health benefits for being outside that it became the destination where people would go. People found out about all of these places. There isnt a place in Dane County now that you can go to that people probably do not know about. Its been just truly amazing. We estimated that our visitation went up another million during the pandemic, from 3 million to 4 million. Any plans after retirement? Marsh said he plans to eventually move back to the family farm in Door County, but that may not be for another year or so. Until then, Marsh plans on spending time with his wife, Dawn, children Bryce and Casey, and their dog, Nikki. Were going to get outdoors, were going to bike and hike, were going to fish, all the things we love to do. But with my work schedule, its been a little tough to fit in. After I have that break for a little bit Im going to try to get back involved to support what I have a passion for our public spaces. Thats why I wanted this, Traxler said of pursuing the new ordinance. Its not only statutorily required, it is obviously, in my opinion, the right thing to do. Traxler said the old ordinances also focused on outdated practices, focusing on DC houses or loitering for the purpose of prostitution when most people who solicit sex now do so online. Traxler said many other communities, including Pleasant Prairie, have updated ordinances, noting I wasnt reinventing the wheel. He said he contacted the city attorney, who was supportive, and LaMacchia signed on to sponsor the change. We need to get the sex traffickers off the streets, its a huge, huge issue right now, LaMacchia said, saying he worries these young kids are so vulnerable right now with what is going on in the world and that the ordinance was a way to combat that. LaMacchia said his fellow council members were 100 percent supportive. Wish You Well, a retail bakery and cafe featuring bagels, pies and cookies recently opened in downtown Lancaster. The bakery at 47 N. Queen St. has a rotating menu of baked goods, including bagels served on Saturdays and Sundays. It also offers pies, cinnamon buns, bialys and quiche. The shop has five seats at a window counter but emphasizes grab-and-go ordering. The menu will eventually be expanded to include sandwiches and salads. Wish You Well is owned by Meghan Young, who is assisted by her partner Sebastian Schuck. A Penn Manor High School graduate, Young previously worked at cafes and bake shops in Philadelphia. Most recently she rented commercial kitchen space in Lancaster city and offered weekly bake sales and online ordering. Wish You Well replaces Harvest Moon Bagel Co., which closed in May. Where can you walk along both a river and a bay; explore the history of subjects as diverse as duck hunting, canal boats and the War of 1812; plunge your fork into a tender crab cake; and confront a colorful wall of vintage Pyrex cookware? It's all just over an hour south of Lancaster in the small city of Havre de Grace, Maryland. The top attraction that inspires my frequent day trips to Havre de Grace or HdG, as the locals abbreviate it is the water. This is the city where the Susquehanna River ends its 444-mile journey from upstate New York by flowing into the Chesapeake Bay, and Havre de Grace's three-quarter-mile wooden boardwalk promenade that leads along those waters offers a relaxing, scenic and stress-relieving stroll (with plenty of benches for water-gazing). Along the wooden boardwalk are historic placards that encourage walkers to look out over the water and imagine the events of May 3, 1813, during the War of 1812. That's when British naval forces attacked the city with rockets and came ashore to burn dozens of the town's buildings. The HdG visitor center has a narrated diorama that offers an overview of the attack. Dining and downtown A variety of local eateries offer lots of menu choices in HdG. The Tidewater Grille, 300 Franklin St., and MacGregor's Restaurant, 331 St. John St., offer American menus with patio and deck dining overlooking the water. A guide at one of the local museums directed me to The Bayou, a decades-old restaurant at 927 Pulaski Highway (Route 40). I really enjoyed my broiled crab cake, which was lightly crispy on the outside and filled with sweet, juicy lump crab meat on the inside, and my tasty side of stewed tomatoes. Before leaving town, be sure to treat yourself to some delicious homemade ice cream at a charming parlor called Bomboy's, 329 Market St. The downtown HdG business district, with streets such as St. John and Washington streets and Pennington Avenue, are filled with interesting eateries, gift and antique shops and art galleries. Antique malls in town include the Seneca Cannery, 201 St. John St., located in a former tomato cannery built in 1871. If you love mid-century modern accoutrements, be sure to visit the JoRetro vintage store at 137 N. Washington St. It's filled with clothes, books, record albums, telephones, globes and other bric-a-brac from the middle of the 20th century. Most impressive is its wall of colorful vintage Pyrex cookware and bakeware sets that will make collectors and fans go weak in the knees. Other attractions Fans of architectural history can grab a pamphlet at the visitor center describing many 19th-century homes, churches and other buildings along the Lafayette Trail in HdGs historic district. The Marquis de Lafayette, the Revolutionary War hero who passed through town in 1874, is credited with suggesting the city's name by remarking on its similarity to the port of Le Havre, France. Take a detour from your walk on the promenade to check out three interesting museums in town. The Decoy Museum captures the history of duck hunting in HdGs Susquehanna Flats, and is chock-a-block with colorful, wooden decoys carved by local artisans over generations. The Maritime Museum charts the history of the area's waterways, but also of the Conestoga Indians (who also made Lancaster County their home) and of the Underground Railroad in Maryland. And the Susquehanna Museum at the Lock House, 817 Conesteo St., has lovely walking grounds, and traces the history of the canal boats and lock system of the Susquehanna & Tidewater Canal the remnants of which you can see along the river in Wrightsville. Families love to check out the 1827 Concord Point Lighthouse and the Keeper's Dwelling across Concord Street, both of which are open to visitors on weekends May through October. Havre de Grace has its performance venues as well, offering live music and stand-up comedy: The State Theater, 325 St. John St., and the Cultural Center at the Opera House, at 121 N. Union Ave. If you'd like a side of woods with your bay waters, visit Susquehanna State Park, off Route 161 before you get to the downtown area. The park has lovely hiking trails and spots to fish, along with a campground and picnic area. A series of historic buildings in the park includes the Steppingstone Farm Museum, which families can tour on the weekends to see antique farm equipment and demonstrations of farm life by volunteers. A list for the future Every time I leave Havre de Grace, I put something else on my list to check out on my next day trip. Based on recommendations from friends, I'll eventually sample the Creole-inspired Sunday brunch at Creole de Graw restaurant on North Union Street, and check out the beers at Hopkins Farm Brewery on Rider Lane and the vintages at the Mount Felix Winery on Level Road, both off Route 155 on the way into town. Id love to experience the Havre de Haunts ghost tours in the fall, and the warm-weather weekend festivals that will take me back along the water views that make Havre de Grace my happy place. Visitor information Visitor center: Pick up a town map at 450 Pennington Ave. Parking: There's plenty of free 30-minute to three-hour parking throughout the city's downtown. To access the Promenade, park free in the lot of the marina next to Millard Tydings Park off South Washington Street, where there are public restrooms and the Promenade Grille for a quick meal. Or, you can enter the boardwalk from the other end, parking along Concord Street near the lighthouse. Information and events: explorehavredegrace.com. Susquehanna State Park: lanc.news/SusquehannaStateParkMD. As Desiree Myers, 25, and her mother got out of the car to visit the Brookshire Community annual yard sale in Manheim, a thought crossed her mind. How weird would it be if I found a wedding dress here? Myers of Hagerstown, Maryland, said to her mother as they got out of the car. Thats exactly what ended up happening for the bride-to-be on June 5. The day before, Myers had gone wedding dress shopping in Maryland with her maid of honor and soon-to-be mother-in-law. She was looking for a modest dress but was frustrated because she couldn't find anything at the local shop that suited her. So, she decided to go to a boutique in Lancaster County the next day while she was in the area visiting her family. Myers was looking for a dress with a higher neck line, lace with different layers, a moderate sized train, a little bit of a sleeve and something that wouldnt require a lot of alterations. Aware that many shops require appointments, she checked the Lancaster County boutique's website and it said nothing about making an appointment. But as she approached the store front with her mom, they saw a sign on the door saying, Appointments only. Although slightly disappointed, she remembered that Brookshire Community had their community yard sale the first weekend of every June. So, she decided to take a break from the wedding shopping and instead go yard-saleing. Ive always enjoyed yard-saleing, Myers said. Especially with my mom. She parked in the first spot she found and they started walking towards the closest lawn, where Mary Gruber, 58, in a perfect series of circumstances, had put her wedding dress out for sale. Gruber, of Penryn, has been spending every winter in Maine with her husband for many years, and this past September they discovered there was a piece of property for sale close to where they normally stay. Grubers job had been going through transitions and she needed to reapply for the job she already had. After reapplying, going through the interview process and retaining her job, the couple spontaneously decided to make the move to Maine. I always said Ill know when its time to leave work and go somewhere else, Gruber said. As Gruber prepared to move, she began cleaning out her house in preparation for two yard sales - one that she would be having in her front lawn, and another at a friends lawn. Her best friend came over to help with cleaning out the house and Gruber found her perfectly sealed wedding dress in a plastic bag and box. Together, they opened up the box and took a knife to the sealed plastic bag, revealing a nearly 40-year-old wedding dress in perfect condition. "[It] looked like the day I wore it, Gruber said. Although Gruber was hesitant, she decided she would try to sell her wedding dress at the yard sales, but no one was interested during the first yard sale. She piled everything she hadnt sold into her car to take to her friends home in Brookshire Community, a 55-and-older community in Manheim. As she prepared for the yard sale the next morning, she realized she had left the wedding dress in the basement. She wiggled it into the front seat, partially on her lap. It fit just barely, Gruber said. I could see just enough to drive. Gruber sat her wedding dress out on the lawn in a white cardboard display box that was about the size of a large suitcase with a sign that said make an offer. As Myers and her mom approached the first yard sale, they saw a huge white box. Is that what I think it is? Myers remembered saying to her mom. The box sat there trying not to blow over, and not a single person looked at it until 10 a.m. when Myers and her mother walked up and stopped by the wedding dress giggling. Whats so funny about the dress? Gruber thought as she walked over to the potential buyers. Myers looked into the display window of the wedding dress box and could tell she really liked the neckline. She also noted that she could see lace on the dress, and she wanted a wedding dress made entirely of lace. When Gruber walked over to see if Myers and her mother were possibly interested in buying her wedding dress, she offered to take it out of the box. Myers mom welled up with tears, Gruber said. When Mary first pulled it out of the box, Myers said, I was like, this is the one. Myers and her mother told Gruber about how they had been shopping for a modest wedding dress and wanted to visit a boutique in Lancaster, but the boutique required appointments and Myers was only here for the weekend. Gruber told them, You know, God brought you here. Myers was able to try the dress on in the house of the woman who had hosted the yard sale where Gruber had set up shop. As soon as Myers was wearing the dress, the women outside were knocking on the door, asking to see it on her. She looked beautiful, Gruber said. I couldnt believe it... It fit her. [I] basically decided that I wanted it right there in some stranger's spare room, Myers said. Its such a crazy story. The dress surprisingly fit and will only need minimal alterations, Myers said. She is planning to have it taken in a little bit and add a little sleeve underneath the lace sleeve. Aside from those minor alterations, she said the dress was perfect. To think about how people spend hundreds, thousands on a dress... to be able to find it all in one box, I felt like it was just packaged there for me, Myers said. Gruber said that both her and her husband feel that this is one of many signs from God that it is time to move. Myers will be marrying Thomas Harris on August 24, which is also Grubers deceased in-law's wedding anniversary. We just so need to thank God, Myers said. On my way up that morning, I was just praying. I really want to find a wedding dress that I don't have to piece together to try and make it look modest but that it's just already gorgeous. Phil Colvin, Lancaster County Government's emergency management director, is in Miami to assist with search and rescue efforts after a condominium building collapsed last week. Colvin, who also volunteer's with Mount Joy Fire Department, is there with his dog Lucy, who is one of the nation's few "live find" search and rescue dogs. Colvin is in Florida as a member of Pennsylvania Task Force One, A FEMA disaster response task force comprised of police, fire and EMS agencies from around the state. The task force arrived at the site on Thursday and is currently operating in a relief capacity, waiting on assignment. "As needed they'll start to stitch us in and get us into the work site," he said. Last Thursday, a condominium building in Miami collapse. The death toll currently stands at 20, with another 128 missing. The Associated Press contributed to this report. After leasing from Upper Leacock Township the last two decades, Veritas Academy has purchased its building at 26 Hillcrest Ave. in Leola for $3.2 million via public auction. The purchase, finalized June 22, comes at a time of steady growth for the Christian private school, prompting discussions around whether to relocate or remain a tenant until an opportunity to buy presented itself, school officials said. We want to use it as a home for the school for a long time, said Jonathan Daughtrey, the schools executive director of administration. The 47,000-square-foot facility was originally built in 1955 as Leola Elementary School in the Conestoga Valley School District. County property records show Upper Leacock Township purchased the building from the school district for $1.6 million in 1999. That same year, Veritas Academy moved into the facility from St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Manheim Township, where it was located since its founding three years prior. Most recently, Upper Leacock Township offices, Steps to Success Daycare, the Leola branch of the Lancaster Public Library and Veritas Academy occupied the Hillcrest Avenue facility. The library closed permanently during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the daycare has relocated to 18 Quarry Road in Leola, leaving the township and academy as the remaining occupants. In recent months, Veritas officials learned of the township's desire to sell the building, presenting the school with a unique opportunity to bid on the building. On April 27, Veritas secured the winning bid for the 12-acre property. The township has since moved its offices to 161 Newport Road. Immediate plans for the building include replacing its archaic HVAC system, then adding classrooms and renovating the gymnasium. Veritas has experienced steady growth the past several years, particularly since last year, Daughtrey said. Enrollment, he said, has climbed 10 to 15%. The school now serves more than 270 students in preschool through 12th grade The school, which has generally operated with one class per grade, is looking to expand to two classes per grade. Its already begun with a second kindergarten and first grade class this school year. Veritas plans to launch a capital campaign raising funds for the renovations. A campaign goal hasnt been set, Daughtrey said. It also was approved for a $260,000 open-end mortgage, county property records show. An open-end mortgage is a type of loan that a borrower can access portions of over a specified time. Daughtrey said the extra loan is to use for renovations if necessary. The school recently completed an initial campaign raising money for the building purchase. Daughtrey didnt disclose how much was raised, but he said it was more than expected. Even now, he said, families have lent a helping hand, going as far as moving furniture inside the building and pulling weeds. Its an older building. Theres a lot of work to be done, he said. But, so far, I just think our community has come together to really make this happen. The building purchase, Daughtrey said, should not directly impact tuition, which, according to the schools website, ranges from $970 for preschool two mornings a week to $11,220 for grades seven through 12. RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) Protests against President Jair Bolsonaro spread across Brazil on Saturday, a day after a Supreme Court justice authorized a criminal investigation into his response to allegations of potential corruption involving a vaccine deal. Demonstrators gathered by the thousands in more than 40 cities to demand Bolsonaro's impeachment or greater access to vaccines against COVID-19. If we have a minute of silence for each COVID death, we would be quiet until June 2022," read a poster held aloft by a man in Belem, the capital of Para state. More than half a million Brazilians have died, by official count. In Friday's decision, Supreme Court Justice Rosa Weber said the investigation is supported by recent testimony in a Senate committee investigating the governments handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prosecutors will investigate whether Bolsonaro committed the crime of prevarication, which entails delaying or refraining from action required as part of a public officials duty for reasons of personal interest. Weber didnt rule out the possibility other potential wrongdoing could be investigated. The inquiry comes after Luis Ricardo Miranda, the chief of the Health Ministrys import division, said he faced undue pressure to sign off on the import of 20 million vaccines from Indian pharmaceutical Bharat Biotech. He said there were irregularities in the invoices particularly a $45 million upfront payment to a Singapore-based company. Miranda testified before the Senate committee June 25 along with his brother, Luis Miranda, a lawmaker who until recently was allied with Bolsonaro. The Mirandas said they brought their concerns directly to Bolsonaro, who assured them he would report the irregularities to the Federal Police. However, the Federal Police never received any request to investigate, a Federal Police source with knowledge of investigations told The Associated Press. He spoke anonymously for lack of autorization to speak publicly The secretary-general of the presidency, Onyx Lorenzoni, confirmed Bolsonaro met with the Mirandas, but claimed they presented fraudulent documents. Bolsonaro ordered the brothers investigated, he said. Bharat has denied any wrongdoing with respect to vaccine supply. Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing or knowledge of corruption, and told reporters on June 28 he cant know what transpires within his ministries. The Supreme Court decision greenlighting an investigation came in response to a request filed by three senators. A majority of senators on the investigating committee previously told the AP that, once their inquest concludes, they would vote to recommend Bolsonaro be indicted for prevarication. The crime carries with it a prison term of between three months and a year, plus payment of a fine. In Rio de Janeiro's protest, 63-year-old retiree Terezinha Zanata said the government had mismanaged violence, the environment and Indigenous rights. This in addition to the disregard for the pandemic issue, she said, complaining of slugging vaccine campaign and a president who long minimized the seriousness of the disease. Associated Press journalist Lucas Dumphreys contributed to this report. Anglo-Americans Claim Global Russian Cyber War Campaign Against Just About Everyone July 2, 2021 (EIRNS)Britains National Security Cyber Center (NSCC) issued a statement jointly with the U.S. National Security Agency, the FBI and other U.S. agencies yesterday which in effect claims that Russia is engaged in a cyber war against the whole world. The joint advisory Russian GRU Conducting Global Brute Force Campaign to Compromise Enterprise and Cloud Environments, these agencies issued reveals the tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) used in this campaign which has targeted both private and public sector networks from at least mid-2019, claims the NSCC in a statement. Global targets include government and military, defense contractors, energy companies, higher education, logistics, law firms, media, political consultants or political parties and think tanks. The advisory includes a list of steps network administrators can take to secure their networks against this alleged campaign. The U.S.-U.K. joint statement claims that this operation is run by a unit of Russian military intelligence (the infamous GRU) called the 85th Main Special Service Center (GTsSS), military unit 26165, which they say is running widespread, distributed, and anonymized brute force access attempts against hundreds of government and private sector targets worldwide, they write in the Executive Summary. The 85thGTsSS directed a significant amount of this activity at organizations using Microsoft Office 365 cloud services.... This campaign has already targeted hundreds of U.S. and foreign organizations worldwide, including U.S. government and Department of Defense entities. While the sum of the targeting is global in nature, the capability has predominantly focused on entities in the U.S. and Europe. As usual, no evidence is presented that would validate their accusations, and in fact, despite implying they are making the Cybersecurity Advisory available, the Anglo-American intelligence agencies provide nothing more than an 8-page Executive Summary. Furthermore, according to Sputnik news agency, Russia has repeatedly asked for evidence of malicious cyber activities that have been attributed to Russia, such as the SolarWinds hack, from the U.S. and never received any. Western officials have spent the better part of the last decade accusing Russia of a host of hacking activities, but have come up short in the evidence department, Sputnik reports. While the countrys intelligence services almost certainly engage in secretive cyberactivities on a par with those of the U.S. or the U.K., the allegations against Russia have often gone beyond the pale of ordinary espionage, with U.S. officials going so far as to claim that Moscow hacked the 2016 elections to get Donald Trump elected, or accusing Russia of planning to freeze Americans and their families to death in their homes. The Russian Embassy in Washington rejected the NSCC/NSA accusations. We strictly deny the involvement of Russian government agencies in attacks on government and private facilities in the United States and abroad. the Embassy said in a statement posted on its Facebook page. We emphasize that fighting against cybercrime is an inherent priority for Russia and an integral part of its state policy to combat all forms of crime. A wide range of law enforcement instruments is used for its implementation. Given the global nature of cyber threats which recently have increasingly become a challenge to strategic stability, the most effective way to combat them is to ensure active interaction between relevant state agencies of the two countries. The Russian Embassy points out that cybersecurity was one of the issues discussed at the June 16 Geneva summit, and concludes with the hope the American side will abandon the practice of unfounded accusations and focus on professional work with Russian experts to strengthen international information security, and in this context, on joint efforts to combat cybercrime. Besides, its high time to put things in order on the American soil, from where constant attacks on critical infrastructure in Russia emerge. Sputniks July 1 report on the Anglo-American advisory points out that many governments cyber activities include the ability to spoof an attack coming from any country, and writing: Last year, veteran cryptographer and NSA whistleblower Bill Binney told Sputnik that the United States has a cyber suite known as the Marble Framework which allows U.S. intelligence to spoof attacks to make them seem like theyre coming from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, or a host of Arab countries. Are the Oath Keepers Run by the Government? July 2, 2021 (EIRNS)Revolver News writes that one question can crack the entire story of the Capitol Hill insurrection on January 6, 2021: What relationship do the FBI and Army Counterintelligence have with Stewart Rhodes? Revolvers exclusive feature, Federal Protection of Oath Keepers Kingpin Stewart Rhodes Breaks The Entire Capitol Insurrection Lie Wide Open, identifies Rhodes as the bafflingly still-unindicted PERSON ONE found in so many of the 500+ January 6 charging documents, compares his past behavior to that of known FBI agents, and concludes that the evidence they have assembled overwhelmingly suggests Rhodes is a federal operative of some kind. Indicting and investigating him would, in their view, reveal to the world what really happened on January 6, and that is why, to this day, he remains free. EIR has learned from its own contacts over recent months that the structure of the Oath Keepers which Rhodes founded was extremely top-down. This is reported by a board member of the Oath Keepers, who told BuzzFeed that Stewart Rhodes is the Oath Keepers.... Its his organization, and he can do what he wants to do. It seems that January 6, 2021 was not the result of an intelligence failure, but rather the result of an intelligence set-up. In the planning for January 6, Rhodes had repeatedly called for his supporters to prepare for violence. An example: I do want some Oath Keepers to stay on the outside, and to stay fully armed and prepare to go in armed, if they have to. ... So our postures gonna be that were posted outside of D.C., um, awaiting the Presidents orders. ... We hope he will give us the orders. We want him to declare an insurrection, and to call us up as the militia. He spoke of this potential call from Trump as overriding D.C.s gun laws. He said that the Oath Keepers had a Quick Reaction Force just outside the D.C. borders. He sent his followers a post titled WHAT WE THE PEOPLE MUST DO, including calls for civil disobedience, gathering in the capital, and storming the Parliament (in a reference to Serbia). He [President Trump] needs to know from you that you are with him ... if [Trump] does not do it now while he is commander in chief, were going to have to do it ourselves later, in a much more desperate, much more bloody war. Lets get it on nowwhile he is still the commander in chief. If 69-year-old county workers are arrested for entering the Capitol through an open door and leaving within 30 minutes; if 60 years worth of sentences are demanded in the case of someone who did not actually use bear spray against a Capitol Police officer; if over 500 people have been indicted, how on Earth could the leader of the Oath Keepers, who coordinated his groups activities on January 6 along with multiple calls to be prepared for violence, be walking scot-free? In fact, it was claims that the Oath Keepers would use violence to storm the U.S. Capitol that were used to justify the March decision to continue the deployment of National Guard troops in D.C. Is the Oath Keepers organization just a honeypot trap? What is the real background of Rhodes, whose official story has him joining the army just after high school, being discharged due to an injury, shooting himself in the left eye (blinding it), then working through community college, to university, to landing a spot at Yale Law School? Revolver also looks at his involvement in the 2014 Bundy Ranch episode, where he called for armed supporters to come to Nevada to defend a farm family against the federal government, only to abandon them by claiming that Obama was going to use a drone to kill them all. When the going got tough, Rhodes got going, although numerous peopleincluding the entire Bundy family and some of its supporters who smelled a rat in Rhodeswere arrested. The article is extensive and deserves reading. The conclusion is that the Justice Department must explain why Rhodes has not been charged with the conspiracy he directed, and for which his underlings were charged as being participants. If the Revolver allegations are trueand EIR has not independently verified the cited documentsit could be a powerful flank against the destruction of free speech. Japanese automaker Honda plans to design and manufacture its own electric vehicles (EVs) in the coming years. Company officials say they will begin building their own electric vehicles after two EVs made by American automaker General Motors (GM) go on sale in 2024. Its absolutely our intention to produce in our factories, said Honda of America Executive Vice President Dave Gardner. He added that Honda has developed battery manufacturing technology from building gas-electric hybrid vehicles. Honda and GM have been partners in making hydrogen and electric powered vehicles. Earlier this year, the companies announced that GM would build two sport utility vehicles (SUVs): one Honda sport SUV and one Acura SUV. Both would use GMs electric vehicle design and battery system. The company said the Honda SUV would be named the Prologue. Both SUVs will have bodies, interiors and driving elements designed by Honda. Honda then plans to manufacture most of its own electric vehicles. The company has not decided if it will use GM parts. Gardner said Honda expects to sell between 40,000 and 150,000 Prologue EVs a year. But he did not predict when those numbers would be reached. In April, the company said it plans to stop producing gasoline-powered vehicles in North America by 2040. Honda wants 40 percent of the vehicles it sells in North America to be powered by batteries or fuel-cells by 2030. The company also wants 80 percent of all the vehicles it sells to run on batteries or hydrogen by 2035. Earlier, Honda had planned to meet stronger government fuel economy and pollution requirements by adding hybrid vehicles. But government actions across the world meant to fight climate change have moved the company more toward fully electric vehicles, Gardner said. Electric vehicles made up less than two percent of new vehicle sales in the U.S. last year. But experts predict huge growth as automakers develop new models. Car industry advisor LMC Automotive expects 359,000 to be sold this year. They also expect sales to reach 1 million in 2023 and 4 million in 2030. That is about 25 percent of yearly new vehicle sales. Im Jonathan Evans. Jonathan Evans adapted this story for Learning English from an article by the Associated Press. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story intention n. the thing that you plan to do or goal you want to reach; an aim or purpose battery n. a device that is linked to a machine that stores and supplies electricity hybrid n. something that is formed by combing two or more things such as a car that runs on both electric and gasoline power interior n. the inner parts; the inside of something such as a car or house July 4, 1776 is the day the Continental Congress officially approved the Declaration of Independence. Celebrations began soon after with parades, public readings and other events. Fighting in the nations war for independence had already begun. But it was not until 1870 that the U.S. Congress passed a law to set July 4th as the national observance of Independence Day. The law was updated in 1938 and again in 1941. Recently, another holiday to mark American independence was established by the U.S. Congress. The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act observes the end of slavery in the United States. The U.S. now officially observes 11 yearly holidays. State and local gatherings for Independence Day and other holidays are as old as the country itself. The Pulitzer Prize winning historian Eric Phoner said national holidays were a way to unify the nation after the Civil War. The Civil War consolidated national power in all sorts of ways, and national holidays are an illustration of that, he said. Some observers point out that Independence Day has been caught up in the countrys divisions from a very early time. In the 1780s and 1790s, two political sides argued over who should get credit for writing the Declaration of Independence. The document famously declares that all men are created equal. The Democratic Republicans led by Thomas Jefferson thought that he should get the credit while supporters of a strong central government, the Federalists, said others helped too. In the years before the Civil War, Black Americans were often not included in official July 4 events. Instead, they would celebrate on July 5. The Black writer Frederick Douglass gave his well-known speech, What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July, on July 5, 1852, at an anti-slavery gathering New York. There is discussion in the U.S. about whether it is right to observe July 4 as Independence Day. The debates involve questions about the countrys beginnings and the ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence. Some say the meaning of July 4 continues to change over time. They note that Franklin Roosevelt and George W. Bush were among the presidents who honored the military in Independence Day speeches. Last year, former President Donald Trump gave a speech at Mount Rushmore in the state of South Dakota. At the time, the coronavirus health crisis was intensifying but there also were protests across the country. The Mount Rushmore memorial includes huge sculptures of the faces of four American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Trump praised those leaders and criticized people who would damage or deface statues representing the nations founders. At the time, then presidential candidate Joe Biden released a video. In it, he said that the country had not yet lived up to the promise of equality. He noted that Jefferson was a slaveholder. America is no fairy tale, Biden said. It struggles with two forces, he said: The idea that all men and women all people are created equal and the racism that has torn us apart. Im Mario Ritter Jr. Hillel Italie wrote this story for the Associated Press. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. __________________________________________________________ Words in This Story consolidate v. to make something stronger and more secure illustration n. an example that makes an issue easier to understand sculpture n. a piece of art that is made by carving or molding clay, stone, metal, etc. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. Many Chinese students at Australian universities have created an environment of self-censorship, a rights group says. Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that works for human rights. It said teachers are avoiding criticism of the Chinese government. And Chinese students are staying quiet in fear of harassment. In a report released on Wednesday, the group said some parents in mainland China had been questioned by Chinese police about the activities of students in Australia. And Hong Kong police had questioned a returning student about pro-democracy activities. The group said self-censorship has worsened. It notes that universities have used online classes using internet video services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chinese students are joining classes from behind Chinas Great Firewall, a system of internet censorship. The reports writer Sophie McNeil told Reuters this change limited the academic freedom of all students. She said, "It erodes Australia's academic freedom. McNeil said, in one example, an online class removed material about the protests in Tiananmen Square which resulted in the deadly attack on student protestors by the military in 1989. Universities Australia is a non-profit group that supports higher education in that country. It said universities believe in academic freedom. It advised any students or employees to go straight to their university if they are being repressed or threatened. Australias education minister Alan Tudge said the report raised deeply concerning issues. He said the government would take advice from a parliamentary committee on intelligence and security. He said in a statement that any interference with Australian universities by foreign groups cannot be accepted. The Chinese embassy in Australia answered the report. It said Human Rights Watch has become a political tool for the West to attack developing countries. It said, It is always biased on China. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 40 percent of all international students in Australia were from China. That means Chinese students made up 10 percent of all university students in the country. Almost one third of university earnings came from international student payments. Human Rights Watch spoke to 24 students with pro-democracy opinions attending Australian universities. Eleven of the students were from mainland China and 13 were from Hong Kong. The group also spoke to 22 academic employees. The rights group found three cases in which students families in China had been warned by police over a students activity in Australia. A student not identified in the report told Human Rights watch, If you protest against CCP abroad, they will find people you love to make you pay. Even if you are in Australia. CCP is the Chinese Communist Party. The student said he posted anti-government material on the social media website Twitter. He said Chinese police had warned his parents last year. A student from Hong Kong made a report with Australian police after four men with face coverings and speaking Mandarin appeared outside his house. They chased him with sticks after he spoke at a democracy event. The student slept in his car then moved to a new house after the incident. The report found threats by Chinese classmates loyal to the government were more common. These included threats to expose personal information online, known as doxing, and threats to report a students opinions to the embassy. Human Rights Watch said more than half of students who experience threats did not report it to their universities. McNeil said, They believed their universities cared more about maintaining relationships with the Chinese government and not alienating the students who were supportive of the CCP. The report said half of the academic employees that Human Rights Watch spoke to said they self-censored in the classroom. McNeil said many academics avoided discussing China in the classroom. Im Gregory Stachel. Kirsty Needham reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. _____________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story censor v. to examine books, movies, or letters in order to remove things that are considered to be offensive, immoral, or harmful to society harass v. to annoy or bother (someone) in a constant or repeated way academic adj. of or relating to schools and education erode v. to gradually destroy (something) or to be gradually destroyed by natural forces (such as water, wind, or ice) bias n. a tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others that usually results in treating some people unfairly abroad adv. in or to a foreign country maintain v. to keep (something) in good condition by making repairs or correcting problems alienate v. to cause (someone) to feel that she or he no longer belongs in a particular group or society "The beating heart of Rome is not the marble of the Senate, it's the sand of the Colosseum," the Roman senator Gracchus said in the 2000 Oscar-winning movie Gladiator. The Colosseum is an ancient structure built more than 2000 years ago. The Romans used the huge, rounded building as a performance space. Thousands of people could be seated in the open-air theater to watch a show or public activity. Performances included competitions by professional fighters, called gladiators, most of whom were enslaved. They often fought other gladiators but also could face prisoners or dangerous animals, like lions. Executions also took place there. The Colosseum is the largest building that the Roman Empire produced. It is also Italy's most popular ancient structure. More than 7.6 million people visited the Colosseum in 2019. But its own beating heart is the underground passages and rooms where prisoners, animals and gladiators waited to enter the field above their heads. Now, that underground area, known as the hypogeum, is open to the public after lengthy repairs. More than 80 archaeologists, architects and engineers worked on the 15,000 square-meter area for two years. Tods, the Italian clothing company, supported the work. Its chairman, Diego Della Valle said the effort aimed to "bring back to the center of the attention a monument that the whole world loves." The theaters balconies used to hold up to 70,000 people who would come to watch the gladiator fights, executions and animal hunts. Before the hypogeum was built, the space could also be filled with water to re-enact sea battles. Now a new 160 meter walkway permits visitors to see the hypogeum. It is the second part of a three-part process that started eight years ago, with Tods promise of $30 million to pay for the project. Tods is also supporting several similar projects in the country. "It is...important for relevant companies to make themselves available to the country, understanding what they can do for the country," Della Valle said. "This is about important pieces for Italy, monuments that are well-known all over the world, he added. The first part of the project included cleaning the outside walls of the Colosseum. That was completed in 2016. The final part includes renewing the area where the public would watch the events. Workers are putting in a new lighting system and creating a new visitor center. The project is expected to be completed in about three years. Separately, the Italian government has decided to provide the ancient Roman theater with high-technology flooring, which is expected to be in place by 2023. Im Caty Weaver. Reuters news agency reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. ___________________________________________________________ Words in This Story marble n. a kind of stone that is often polished for use in buildings and statues sand n. very small pieces of rock found on beaches and in deserts archaeologist n. a scientists who studies past human life and activities by studying ancient bones, tools, buildings and other products of culture architect n. a professional who designs buildings balcony n. a raised surface that is connected to the side of a building and surrounded by a low wall or rail relevant adj. relating to a subject in an appropriate or useful way Minutes before a judge sentenced Javier Antunez to state prison on Friday for causing a DUI-related collision that seriously injured six people, one of the victims read an emotional impact statement and described how the crash on Highway 154 nearly killed her. Judith Hall, a District Attorney's Office investigator who sustained severe injuries in the 2019 collision, stood up from the back row of the courtroom in Santa Maria, calmly walked to the witness stand, took a seat and read her impact statement. Judge John McGregor stared intently at Hall the entire time. Antunez, 46, a former Sheriff's Office lieutenant custody deputy, sat silently at the defendant's table with a cane, occasionally bowing his head. "[Antunez] made the decision to drink and drive, even though he knew better," Hall said as she fought back tears. "He decided to not only change his life but also destroy mine." Former Santa Barbara County sheriff's lieutenant pleads guilty to DUI charges A former Santa Barbara County sheriff's lieutenant has pleaded guilty to DUI-related charges involving a three-vehicle collision on Highway 154 that seriously injured six people. After the statement, McGregor sentenced Antunez to six years in prison, including three years for driving under the influence, causing injury, and three years for a great bodily injury enhancement for the three-vehicle collision on Sept. 14, 2019, just east of the entrance to the Cachuma Lake Recreation Area. Antunez pleaded guilty to both counts on March 29 after initially pleading not guilty on Nov. 13, 2019. The remaining charge, driving under the influence with a blood alcohol content of .08% or greater, was dismissed in a plea agreement. His blood alcohol content was .083%, according to court records. Additionally, Antunez was ordered to pay restitution, which has yet to be determined. He was given credit for one day of time served. The conviction also counts as a felony strike, requiring him to serve at least 85% of his sentence. Shortly after 7 p.m., a 2008 BMW driven by Antunez collided head-on into a 2009 Toyota pickup truck carrying Hall and three other passengers, according to the California Highway Patrol. A third vehicle, a 2017 Jeep, rear-ended the Toyota in the collision. Hall was celebrating her granddaughter's birthday, and the Toyota's occupants were headed to the Chumash Casino Resort for a concert. The collision injured all four occupants of the Toyota, including Hall, Enrique Calderon Mendez, Dolores Gutierrez and Evelia Dominguez; and Esther Trejo-Takembaiyee, a supervisor with the County Probation Department, who was Antunez's passenger. The impact also obliterated Antunez's femur, which has not completely healed, forcing him to walk with a cane, according to court documents. On the witness stand, Hall said the force of the impact separated her skull from her spine, describing what her doctor called a "bloodless internal decapitation." Citing her doctor, Hall said such an injury either instantly kills a person or renders them paralyzed, yet somehow she survived. In addition, Hall said the collision resulted in a collapsed lung; several broken bones, including vertebrae, ribs, sternum, clavicle and foot; missing teeth; and the removal of parts of her organs, including 30 centimeters of her small intestines and 15 centimeters of her colon; and more than a dozen hours of surgery. She added that medics had to revive her three times on their way to the hospital. Several rounds of surgeries have left her skull fused to the spine with "rods, plates and screws" that will have to be replaced in 30 years, according to Hall. "I was like a broken rag doll," Hall said. "I will, for the rest of my life, be disabled. [Antunez] is lucky I didn't die." Hall pleaded with McGregor to sentence Antunez to at least 18 years in prison due to his position as a senior deputy and her severe injuries. She rebuked Jonathan Kline, a state attorney assigned to the case to avoid an appearance of a conflict of interest, and said Antunez would have received a harsher sentence had he been prosecuted locally. Josh Lynn, Antunez's attorney, asked for the lower term of six years due to his client's lack of a criminal record and his exemplary 22-year career with the Sheriff's Office, among other factors, according to a June 29 court filing. McGregor was bound by the plea agreement and called the sentence "normal" for this type of case. "Nothing that I can say or do today can ease your pain that you've undergone and will undergo," McGregor said. "I hope you find a way through this. There is no question that you will." The case is scheduled for a restitution hearing on Aug. 27 in Superior Court of Santa Maria. Reopening Lompoc The City of Lompoc on June 21 announced the reopening of the city hall lobby and recreational community centers throughout town. Facility and park rentals have also resumed programming. For more information, visit www.cityoflompoc.com/government/departments/recreation Lompoc City Council chambers are open to the public for in-person attendance at monthly council meetings, absent restrictions on occupancy or need for social distancing after Gov. Gavin Newsom on June 15 retired the Blueprint for a Safer Economy tier system that was used to protect Californians during the pandemic. Further, the indoor mask-wearing mandate is no longer enforced for those who have been vaccinated, according to Public Health officials. City Council meetings also will continue to be broadcast live on Comcast Channel 23 and the radio at KPEG 100.9 FM, and livestreamed at www.cityoflompoc.com Virtual attendees who would like to comment at meetings during oral communications or on a specific agenda item are invited to call 805-875-8201 before the close of public comment on the agenda item. Commenters are provided 3 minutes. Leading up to the Tuesday, July 6, meeting, comments may be submitted via email to s_haddon@ci.lompoc.ca.us no later than 4 p.m. on that day. The community is encouraged to visit the city of Lompocs COVID-19 information and resources webpage at: https://www.cityoflompoc.com/community/coronavirus-local-information-and-resources. +4 Lompoc Unified School District goes solar at Cabrillo High School; Buena Vista Elementary next The installation of a solar array at Cabrillo High School is estimated to be complete at the end of summer, giving way to a second green proje Trevor Burrus is a research fellow in the Cato Institutes Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies and editorinchief of the Cato Supreme Court Review. He wrote this for InsideSources.com. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Under interrogation, DeLuna claimed he was at the gas station with a friend, Carlos Hernandez, who actually committed the killing. But police said they couldnt find any evidence of a Carlos Hernandez living in Corpus Christi, and even DeLunas court-appointed attorney doesnt seem to believe him. DeLuna was convicted and sentenced to death. Then The Phantom jumps forward 14 years. While researching the use of the death penalty in Texas (where then-Gov. George W. Bush confidently declared that the state had never put an innocent man to death), Columbia Law School professor James Liebman discovered that not only was Hernandez a real person, but three years before the Lopez murder, Hernandez was a suspect in another womans murder for which the wrong person was arrested. The wrongly accused (another Latino man) was eventually released, but Hernandez was never charged. So the idea that Corpus Christi police didnt know of Hernandezs existence was absurd. One unconfirmed theory was that Hernandez was an informant that the police department wanted to protect. Whether thats true or not, the inescapable and infuriating conclusion of Forbes film is that one Latino man was pretty much the same as another to the largely white police officers and prosecutors, especially when the victim was also Latino. When the pandemic gripped the U.S. last spring, business owners across the country found themselves trying to calculate the toll that the fast-evolving public health crisis was taking on their bottom lines. Levi Kellogg and Adrian Holtzman, the owners of downtown Madison head shop Classy Glass and glassblowing school Madison Glass Academy, quickly discovered there were too many unknowns to do the calculation on their own. Public health recommendations seemed to be changing daily as scientists learned more about this new virus. The two didnt know how long theyd need to stay closed, but they figured that, at least their glassblowing school, where students squeeze into a basement room and blow into long tubes to shape molten glass glass, it was likely to be quite a while. They also didnt know whether the products on their shelves from pipes to CBD products might be contaminated with the virus. Dear Editor: A Future made in America? How about a future made in Wisconsin? President Joe Biden visited La Crosse earlier this week to address the nations infrastructure, clean energy, electric vehicle (EV) needs, and the proposed 500,000 EV charging stations as part of his bipartisan American Jobs Plan. The proposed initiatives are an important step forward in our nations transition to zero-emissions vehicles, and it demonstrates U.S. leaderships commitment to a zero-carbon economy and willingness to once again compete at the global level. This also presents an opportunity for Wisconsin to take the helm and become an industry leader in EV adoption. Just yesterday, over 70 Wisconsin utilities and municipalities met virtually to discuss barriers and opportunities to EV adoption in the state. As one participant mentioned, the mecca of Wisconsins tourism industry is in the much-fabled land Up North, the majority of which is rural. Wisconsin currently lacks EV infrastructure in those traditional tourist areas to meet current and future demand. But imagine if you could simply hit the road in your electric vehicle, towing your boat to your favorite Up North fishing destination, all the while knowing you have access to charging stations. "We've had several challenges from weather, sorrow, pain. And I think that the president coming will bring some unity here for our community, support, like our governor, our mayor, all of us together," he said. Concerns remained that the still standing portion of the complex could also collapse and work at the site appeared to have paused early Thursday. During a meeting with families Wednesday, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Raide Jadallah said officials are concerned about the stability of that portion of the building. "What we know is that the columns on the east side of the building are kind of, of concern, not compromised, but just right now of concern," Jadallah said. "Hypothetically, worst-case scenario: If these columns are truly really bad, we are worried they could collapse right back into the parking garage." Families were asking if they could add tensions rods but he said structural engineers say that is not possible. Although it seeks to cloak its claims in the interests of Wisconsin ratepayers, NorthStars interest is nothing more than a desire to have a business role in the decommissioning, attorneys for Dominion wrote. Dominion says under the conditions of its purchase agreement, the PSC cannot require it to open the sale to competitive bids. Tempting though that discussion might be from a public policy standpoint, it is not and cannot be an issue to be determined in this docket, they write. EnergySolutions says NorthStar has no reasonable expectation of acquiring rights of first refusal and that the companys participation would add no value to the PSCs evaluation of the sale. There is no reason to give credence to NorthStars pretense that, as an out of state, non-public utility vendor, it is a legitimate advocate for the public interest, rather than a disappointed competitor looking out for its own business interests, the company wrote in its filing. Claims disputed EnergySolutions also disputes NorthStars claims that it can do the job for less. Neither company has fully closed a commercial reactor. But Downtown Ald. Mike Verveer, 4th District, said he and others were assured the routing was an initial concept to help with a federal funding application and that it would be revisited, which led to a unanimous council vote with no discussion. Also, he said he was under the impression that stations would be similar in scale to those now on the Square and State Street. BID members are concerned about an eastbound station on the 200 block of State Street and a westbound station on the 300 block. The scale and station locations may interfere with views of storefronts, create safety hazards in emergencies, attract negative behaviors and require trees, planters and other street amenities to be moved, they say. Downtown also hosts hundreds of community events each year, and buses will need to be rerouted for the events to survive, the BIDs letter says. A BRT that has to be rerouted more than 70-plus times a year is not a good plan, the letter says. Why not choose an alternative, close-by route that does not require riders to find another bus stop when events are held. This is something thats long overdue, said Harper Donahue, city human resources director. The changes at the federal level sparked more motivation at the local level. After the amendment is introduced Tuesday, it will go to the Finance Committee where it will be discussed at a July 12 meeting. The Finance Committee will make a recommendation to the council, which is due to vote on the measure July 20. Donahue said he would be surprised if there was not unanimous support for the amendment, as he has not heard any opposition to it. Juneteenth commemorates the day thousands of slaves in Texas were freed more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation recognizing Juneteenth as a holiday or day of observance, with Wisconsin first recognizing it in 2009. It has yet to be added to Wisconsins nine federal public holidays, though Gov. Tony Evers did include making it one in his 2021 budget proposal, a provision that was removed by the Legislatures budget committee. The same year, the states hospitals reported $236 million in bad debt, which occurs when patients not approved for charity care dont pay their bills. UW Health makes every effort to determine a patients ability to pay and the payment options available to them ... before considering any bad debt collection agency options to recover the cost of provided care, said Russell of UW Hospital. We do have many payment and financial assistance options available to our patients, said Adams of St. Marys. If a patient has a specific concern about their ability to make a payment, they should contact our customer service team who can work with them on an appropriate resolution. In 2019, UW Health reported $16.4 million in charity care and $15.5 million in bad debt. St. Marys had $4.8 million in charity care and $2.4 million in bad debt. Meriter had $3 million in charity and $3.9 million in bad debt. Peterson said hospitals need to do more to connect vulnerable patients with coverage. You cant just tell a patient who has mental health issues to go down to the county and apply, he said. Its not going to happen. This State Journal editorial ran on July 3, 1921: One hundred and forty-five years ago this Fourth of July, a group of downeast Yankees put their heads in a noose by signing the Declaration of Independence. That document gave birth to the United States. It forever ended rule of Americans by kings. To it we owe our political independence and republican self-government. When the Declaration of Independence was signed July 4, 1976, the battles of Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill had been fought, and Washington had taken charge of the Continental army. With that much of a start toward independence, it would seem the declaration would have gone through speedily. But Congress was nearly as slow in those days as now. The first resolution of independence was introduced July 7. It was debated, referred to committee, and nearly a month went by before it was adopted. As a Catholic, I was disappointed but not surprised to hear Bishop Donald Hying publicly favor the Catholic Churchs efforts to withhold communion from pro-choice Catholic politicians. It continually amazes me that the churchs middle managers, which is what bishops are, refuse to acknowledge that the most effective way to end abortion is to allow artificial birth control. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 24% of all abortions are performed on Catholic women, which is more than for other religions. So it appears that the Catholic Churchs policy forbidding artificial birth control may be directly responsible for a significant number of the abortions it claims to oppose. No woman wants an abortion, but every woman wants and is entitled to control over her reproductive life. As soon as the Catholic Church stops trying to have it both ways, abortions rates will drop considerably. A federal judge in April agreed with the environmental groups that the government hadnt adequately examined all of the impacts with its 2017 environmental review. Its really good news for wildlife that the sheep experimental station is basically down to its headquarters area, and theyre not going to be grazing sheep in the Centennial Mountains, said Erik Molvar, the Western Watersheds Projects executive director. The sheep station is operated by the Agriculture Departments Agricultural Research Service. The sheep station supports research using domestic sheep owned by the University of Idaho, some of it involving sheep grazing at higher altitudes. Specifically, Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald E. Bush ruled the government hadnt sufficiently examined the projects potential effects on grizzly bears and bighorn sheep, and didnt objectively analyze alternatives. Bush ruled the government did adequately examine the effects on sage grouse. The sheep station uses grazing allotments not belonging to the Agricultural Research Service. Bush ruled that the government didnt adequately examine direct and indirect effects of sheep grazing on those allotments. This is all unprecedented, said Jamie Holt, lead fisheries technician for the Yurok Tribe. Where do you go from here? When do you start having the larger conversation of complete unsustainability? Near the rivers source, some of the farmers who are seeing their lives upended by the same drought say a guarantee of less water but some water each year would be better than the parched fields they have now. Some worry problems in the basin are being blamed on a way of life they also inherited. I know turning off the project is easy, said Tricia Hill, a fourth-generation farmer. But sometimes the story that gets told ... doesnt represent how progressive we are here and how we do want to make things better for all species. This single-species management is not working for the fish and its destroying our community and hurting our wildlife. DuVals daughter dreams of taking over the family farm someday. But DuVal isnt sure he and his wife, Erika, can hang onto the land if things dont change. We had a plan on how were going to grow our farm and to be able to send my daughters to a good college, said DuVal, president of the Klamath Water Users Association. And that plan just unravels further and further with every bad water year. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Before becoming executive director of The Idaho 97 Project a newly formed group designed to counter what it considers extremism in state politics Mike Satz was a University of Idaho law school professor. Satz taught CRT, and he says no more than a handful of Idaho instructors taught the topic. While CRT is in an unyielding national spotlight, its not an isolated topic. Similar lines of critical study are applied to gender, religion and the law in general. This idea of critically assessing the law, it moves through all sorts of areas of law, Satz said. Its all about looking at these differences, and how does the law engage with people? How do our institutions engage with people? CRT is an esoteric graduate school- or law school-level discipline. In other words, theres a reason why educators talk about how CRT isnt taught in high schools, or elsewhere in the K-12 system. But as the CRT debate has gone national and turned bitter, a specialized field of study has become a catchall talking point. In a recent explainer story on CRT, Education Week reporter Stephen Sawchuk offered an excellent analogy from the K-12 world. BRUNEAU DUNES STATE PARK There will soon be another option for people wanting to explore the sky in Idaho, and it wont be far from one of the existing places to do so. Bruneau Dunes State Park is working on plans to build a second telescope. Its expected to open in spring 2023. Although the project is still in its infancy, the second telescope will likely be about 100 yards from the first one. The first observatory was built between 1999 and 2000 and included the telescope. Originally three telescopes were to be installed at the Steele Reese Education Center site, but only the one standing today was built. This new telescope, that was part of Gov. (Brad) Littles Building Idahos Future bill that just came out recently and I know that $950,000 was allocated here to the park to put in this second telescope, which is kind of a continuation of that original three-telescope project or dream, Park Manager Bryce Bealba said. The second telescope is not going to be the same as the first or even look like the original building, Bealba said. Itll be a modern telescope and sit in a clam shell housing, where the whole dome will roll back when opened. To the north, the Lava Fire burning partly on the flanks of Mount Shasta covered more than 37 square miles (96 square kilometers) but was 27% contained. Several thousand residents of Lake Shastina were allowed to return home late Thursday. The blazes erupted during an extreme heat wave in the U.S. West. The heat has since moderated but temperatures in the Mount Shasta area were still expected to reach nearly 100 degrees (38 Celsius) over the weekend. Arizona, New Mexico and Utah have been forced to battle wildfires and California is bracing for what some experts fear will be one of its worst fire seasons yet. Last year, California wildfires scorched more than 6,562 square miles (17,000 square kilometers) of land, the most in its recorded history. And just three years ago, a fire in Butte County in Northern California killed 85 people and largely destroyed the town of Paradise. This year, many of Californias national parks have restrictions on campfires, cooking and smoking because of fire risks in the hot, dry summer. The parks are bracing for large crowds over the holiday weekend. I dont understand the things that sometimes happen, Lucas said in a phone interview in Spanish. Last time, he used donations to pay a funeral home to have the bodies of his two cousins and the other man returned to Guatemala from Oregon. Lucas said the family is awaiting an autopsy report on Perez. Lucas said Perez had worked in the heat before and did fine. Perez had lived in the United States before, and returned about four months ago. He supported his wife, who stayed home in Ixcan, Guatemala, a town near the Mexico border. He liked to be in the United States," Lucas said. "In Guatemala, the economy is not good. There's a lot of poverty, so you look out for your welfare and your future. Reyna Lopez, executive director of a northwest farmworkers' union, known by its Spanish-language initials, PCUN, called the death shameful and faulted both the nursery and Oregon OSHA for not adopting emergency rules ahead of the heat wave. Spokesman Aaron Corvin said Oregon OSHA is exploring adopting emergency requirements, and we continue to engage in discussions with labor and employer stakeholders. President Joe Biden has several reasons to snub Idaho Gov. Brad Little. After all, it was Little who signed up to support a Texas lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of Bidens election victory in November over Donald Trump. It was Little who complained that Idaho wasnt getting enough federal coronavirus relief money. It was Little who chose to eliminate federal unemployment benefits in Idaho. It was Little who criticized the Biden administrations handling of the border with Mexico and vowed to send Idaho law enforcement there. It was Little who tweeted out a falsehood that Biden would eliminate 90% of red meat consumption (that tweet is still posted). It would seem that Biden has plenty of reasons to leave Little out of the presidents meeting this week with governors on wildfire. And you could probably easily forgive Biden for scoffing at Littles call now for a partnership when it comes to federal and state cooperation. Where has your cooperation been these past few months, ever since the Capitol insurrection attempt, Brad? you could hear Biden saying. I made people who probably wouldnt want to hear a sex trafficking story want to be part of it, because it was entertaining, King told David Kushner in November 2015 in Rolling Stone. Humor in general is something that everybody can relate to we can heal through laughter, King stated in the release. I tried to intertwine a serious topic with a sense of humor, and it became relatable to people even if they thought something like this only happens in movies, or could never happen to them. The humor made them want to dig deeper into the story, and they realized its something that could happen in their backyard I was their waitress. I was the girl they walked past in the grocery store or hotel lobby. This story is a reflection of the Internet, and in a sense it is the Internet, Bravo said in the release. Its a product of growing up with a phone in your hand and a computer in your face. But its also about finding freedom through writing without the use of filters. Zolas story is a love letter to how social media unites us. The proclamation only underscores the lack of a logical, coherent policy at the state level and [is] why I voted not to participate in the suggesting of a new name and standing on our original recommendation, PHCC board member Robert Haley said. The hypocrisy is just palpable, and so at this point it feels like we could easily argue with them and say, look, youve got your governor, the one that appointed you, is telling you that we should celebrate this man, and we named our community college after the counties that it represents, and you guys are making hay out of nothing, Williams said. I think as a board we should take that proclamation and make certain that the state is mindful of it and hold their hypocrisy up as a mirror and make them look at it. He did not give me much time to think over whether or not I wanted to request laicization myself, White said. Three weeks later he wrote to inform me that he had written to the Vatican, asking that I be removed from the priesthood. White said he was stunned by Knestouts latest actions. Every priest I know, and I know quite a few, is utterly flabbergasted by what the bishop has done, White said. The bishop is obliged to discuss the matter in person with me before petitioning Rome, and he never did that. White says there is no precedent to his case before the Vatican to be found, but history is rife with examples of priests who have committed despicable acts and were never laicized, remaining priests until they died. These days, very few Catholics believe there is a due process in the churchs legal system; its all about favors and who you know, White said. To be realistic about my prospects at this point, I have to accept that I could receive a letter from the Vatican any day now, telling me Im out. That will immediately leave me with no income, no health insurance and no pension. If it happens, I know that the Lord will provide. Bill Wyatt is a reporter for the Martinsville Bulletin. He can be reached at 276-638-8801, Ext. 236. Follow him @billdwyatt Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. In fact, the biggest problem we face in pulling together to form a more perfect union is mentioned right in the very first paragraph of the Declaration, even before that statement: When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Natures God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We have allowed politics to consume us, to bite off our thinking heads and devour our brains with the overbite of personal pursuits (both for dollars and rank) and potentially swallow our best interests in the same way that the whale swallowed Jonah. We only can hope the story ends as well. The Declaration of course spends most of its 1,308 words (by Microsofts count) decrying the sins of the King of England, whose ominous shackles the colonists avowed to shed to establish their new government to represent all people, to avoid the assemblage of totalitarian power and to share person-by-person in equal voice the responsibility for determining how we will govern ourselves. Men pray during the burial of a relative at Rorotan Cemetery which is reserved for those who died of COVID-19, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, July 1, 2021. New land around the capital city continues to be cleared for the dead and gravediggers have to work late shifts following surges in COVID-19 cases fueled by travel during the Eid holiday in May, and the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus first found in India. Credit: AP Photo/Dita Alangkara Sri Dewi stood in the graveyard with her family, waiting their turn to bury her brother. He suffered a stroke and needed oxygen, but there wasn't any in a hospital overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients. "We took him to this hospital, but there was no room for him," said Dewi. "The hospital was out of oxygen." The family finally bought an oxygen tank at a shop and brought the brother home, but he died later that evening. After a slow vaccination rollout, Indonesia is now racing to inoculate as many people as possible as it battles an explosion of COVID-19 cases that have strained its health care. But inadequate global supply, the complicated geography of the world's largest archipelago nation, and hesitancy among some Indonesians stand as major roadblocks. Fueled by travel in May during the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, and the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus first found in India, the most recent spike has pushed some hospitals to the limits. Over the past two weeks, the seven-day rolling average of daily cases rose from over 8,655 to 20,690. Nearly half of those who are PCR tested return positive results. Even those numbers are an undercount, with almost 75% of provinces reporting a testing rate below the recommended benchmark of 1 test per 1,000 people, according to the World Health Organization. A worker paints coffins made in anticipation of a surge of COVID-19 cases, at a local government building compound in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Saturday, July 3, 2021. After a slow vaccination rollout, Indonesia is now racing to inoculate as many people as possible as it battles an explosion of cases that have strained hospitals in the country. Credit: AP Photo/Trisnadi The impact is obvious across Java, Indonesia's most populated island. In mid-June, hospitals began to erect plastic tents to serve as makeshift intensive care units, and patients waited for days before being admitted. Oxygen tanks were rolled out on the sidewalk for those lucky enough to receive them, while others were told they would need to find their own supply. Away from the hospitals, new land continues to be cleared for the dead. Families wait turns to bury their loved ones as gravediggers work late shifts. Last year, Indonesia's highest Islamic clerical body issued a decree that mass gravesnormally forbidden in Islamwould be permitted during the pandemic crisis. While the surge has largely been concentrated on Java, it's a matter of time before it hits other parts of the sprawling archipelago, where the underfunded and understaffed health facilities are even more fragile and could collapse, said Dicky Budiman, an epidemiologist at Griffith University in Australia. Paramedics tend to people at an emergency tent erected to accommodate a surge of COVID-19 patients at a hospital in Bekasi, on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, June 28, 2021. After a slow vaccination rollout, Indonesia is now racing to inoculate as many people as possible as it battles an explosion of cases that have overburdened its health care system. Credit: AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim The government has been resisting imposing tougher COVID-19 restrictions for fear of hurting the economy, Southeast Asia's largest, which last year recorded its first recession since 1998. This week the government announced its strictest measures of 2021 starting Saturday, including work from home, the closure of places of worship and malls as well as limiting restaurants to delivery only. "We have agreed with the governors, mayors, to strictly enforce this emergency measures," said Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, who has been appointed to lead the pandemic response. Some health experts doubt the measures will be enough, given the overall lax enforcement. "Indonesia still doesn't have enough testing capacity, and isolation and quarantine strategies aren't effective ... there still isn't enough active case-finding," said Budiman. "The government should be concerned with three strategies: strengthening testing, quarantine and early treatment." Paramedics roll a man on a hospital bed past emergency tents erected to accommodate a surge of COVID-19 patients at a hospital in Bekasi, on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, June 28, 2021. After a slow vaccination rollout, Indonesia is now racing to inoculate as many people as possible as it battles an explosion of cases that have overburdened its health care system. Credit: AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim Without the willingness to enter a full lockdown, Indonesia's only way out is the vaccines. Like many other countries, Indonesia has fallen short of the shots it needs. By June 30, it had received 118.7 million doses of the Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccinesfar short of the amount needed to vaccinate 181.5 million people, or 70% of the population. Millions of additional doses are scheduled to arrive in the coming months, but will still not be enough to reach the target. The U.S. announced Friday it will donate 4 million Moderna vaccine doses through the U.N.-backed COVAX program as soon as possible. In addition, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi discussed U.S. plans to increase assistance for Indonesia's broader COVID-19 response efforts, according to National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne. Emergency tents erected to accommodate a surge of COVID-19 patients are seen at the parking lot of a government hospital in Bekasi, on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, June 28, 2021. After a slow vaccination rollout, Indonesia is now racing to inoculate as many people as possible as it battles an explosion of cases that have overburdened its health care system. Credit: AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim Indonesia is also working on developing its own vaccine, but even if it passes clinical trials, it isn't expected to hit production until next year. President Joko Widodo has set a goal of vaccinating 1 million people a day, turning stadiums, community centers, police stations and neighborhood clinics into mass vaccination sites. The government aims to double the daily rate starting in August. So far, only about 5% of the population have been vaccinated. Siti Nadia Tarmizi, a spokesperson for Indonesia's vaccination program, said that the regions with more cases will be a priority. Geography poses massive challenges in a country whose thousands of islands stretch across an area about as wide as the continental United States, and transportation and infrastructure are limited in many places. Government officials have said there are preparations in place such as training staff and working to secure a stable cold supply chain that's required for transporting vaccines. A woman sits inside an emergency tent erected to accommodate a surge of COVID-19 patients at a hospital in Bekasi, on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, June 28, 2021. After a slow vaccination rollout, Indonesia is now racing to inoculate as many people as possible as it battles an explosion of cases that have overburdened its health care system. Credit: AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim This aerial shot shows workers bury a COVID-19 victim in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Thursday, July 1, 2021. After a slow vaccination rollout, Indonesia is now racing to inoculate as many people as possible as it battles an explosion of cases that have overburdened its health care system. Credit: AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara A medical worker prepares to give a shot of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination campaign at Patriot Candrabhaga Stadium in Bekasi on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, July 1, 2021. The world's fourth most populous country is now racing to inoculate as many people amid explosion of COVID-19 cases that have overburdened its health care system, but progress have been slow due to limited global vaccine supply, the unpreparedness of the national health system and vaccine hesitancy. Credit: AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim Workers bury a COVID-19 victim at Rorotan Cemetery in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, July 1, 2021. New land around the capital city continues to be cleared for the dead and gravediggers have to work late shifts following surges in COVID-19 cases fueled by travel during the Eid holiday in May, and the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus first found in India. Credit: AP Photo/Dita Alangkara A man prays at the grave of a relative who died of COVID-19 during a burial at Rorotan Cemetery in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, July 1, 2021. New land around the capital city continues to be cleared for the dead and gravediggers have to work late shifts following surges in COVID-19 cases fueled by travel during the Eid holiday in May, and the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus first found in India. Credit: AP Photo/Dita Alangkara Workers dig new graves at Rorotan Cemetery which is reserved for those who died of COVID-19, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, July 1, 2021. New land around the capital city continues to be cleared for the dead and gravediggers have to work late shifts following surges in COVID-19 cases fueled by travel during the Eid holiday in May, and the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus first found in India. Credit: AP Photo/Dita Alangkara Family members weep during the burial of a relative at Rorotan Cemetery which is reserved for those who died of COVID-19, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, July 1, 2021. New land around the capital city continues to be cleared for the dead and gravediggers have to work late shifts following surges in COVID-19 cases fueled by travel during the Eid holiday in May, and the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus first found in India. Credit: AP Photo/Dita Alangkara Workers carry a coffin made in anticipation of a surge of COVID-19 cases, at the local government building compound in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Saturday, July 3, 2021. After a slow vaccination rollout, Indonesia is now racing to inoculate as many people as possible as it battles an explosion of cases that have strained hospitals in the country. Credit: AP Photo/Trisnadi A medical worker prepares to give a shot of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination campaign at Patriot Candrabhaga Stadium in Bekasi on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, July 1, 2021. The world's fourth most populous country is now racing to inoculate as many people amid explosion of COVID-19 cases that have overburdened its health care system, but progress have been slow due to limited global vaccine supply, the unpreparedness of the national health system and vaccine hesitancy. Credit: AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim Health workers give shots of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine during a mass vaccination campaign in Depo, West Java, Indonesia, Friday, June 25, 2021. The world's fourth most populous country is now racing to inoculate as many people amid explosion of COVID-19 cases that have overburdened its health care system, but progress have been slow due to limited global vaccine supply, the unpreparedness of the national health system and vaccine hesitancy. Credit: AP Photo/Dita Alangkara Workers make coffins in anticipation of a surge of COVID-19 cases, at the local government building compound in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Saturday, July 3, 2021. After a slow vaccination rollout, Indonesia is now racing to inoculate as many people as possible as it battles an explosion of cases that have strained hospitals in the country. Credit: AP Photo/Trisnadi Hesitancy and misinformation has hampered previous vaccination campaigns. Indonesia has had vaccination rates as low as 10% for routine shots for measles and rubella. "Vaccine hesitancy will really impact vaccination efforts," Budiman said. "Indonesia still doesn't have a strong communication strategy ... and some people still don't think this pandemic exists." He said the government needs to make "good and strong decisions based on science . ... or I fear we will find ourselves in a similar situation to what happened in India." Explore further Indonesia records its largest 1-day jump in COVID infections 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Credit: CC0 Public Domain South Africa on Friday recorded a record tally of new COVID-19 infections, with more than 24,000 cases in the continent's country hardest hit by the coronavirus, official figures showed. The latest infections identified in the past 24-hours surpass the peak of 21,980 in January and take the new cumulative total past two million. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases "reports 24,270 new COVID-19 cases... which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2,019,826,". South Africa's death toll from the virus reached 61,332 after another 303 deaths were registered on Friday. "We are indeed... in the eye of the storm of the third wave of the COVID-19 as we can see over the last 14 days, we have surpassed the levels of daily infections" seen during the first two waves, Deputy Health Minister Joe Phaahla told a news briefing earlier on Friday. South Africa is facing what president Ramaphosa described as a " massive resurgence of infection" driven by the Delta variant. Last week he reimposed restrictions for 14 days, banning alcohol, shutting schools, eateries and barring all gatherings, except for funerals, where numbers are capped at 50. The country's vaccination drive has been slow with around 3.2 million people having been immunised since February out of the 59 million population. Explore further S.Africa hardens lockdown to combat Delta variant surge 2021 AFP Grand River Solutions concluded there was not a preponderance of evidence to find (Elder) responsible for retaliation or sexual misconduct/harassment. The deadline for an appeal to the decision was initially June 11, but was extended to July 2 at 5 p.m. It is not known if an appeal has been filed. University spokesman Dave Kuntz said UM hires outside professional independent contractors, such as Grand River Solutions, from time to time for staffing needs due to high volumes of work, particular areas of expertise, or avoiding potential conflicts of interest. In a statement to the Missoulian, Elder said he took this accusation seriously and welcomed a full and thorough investigation. I fully support a womans right to come forward when she experiences sexual assault or violation, he said. I believe that should be encouraged. Unfortunately, we have seen this type of political theater far too often, and it takes away from talking about the real issues facing Missoulians. Montanas Title IX Office has not responded to requests for comment due to the ongoing nature of the investigation. Elders attorney did not respond to a request for comment. Email Jordan at Jordan.Hansen@Missoulian.com or Zoe at Zoe.Buchli@Missoulian.com. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 8 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 6 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Jordan Hansen Missoula City/County Reporter Follow Jordan Hansen Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today So we cant let our guard down, said Robert Molleda of the National Weather Service. "You still need to be watching this very closely. Once the structure is demolished, the remnants will be removed immediately with the intent of giving rescuers access for the first time to parts of the garage area that are a focus of interest, Jadallah said. That could give a clearer picture of voids that may exist in the rubble and could possibly harbor survivors. No one has been rescued alive since the first hours after the June 24 collapse. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said officials would resume the search and rescue on any sections of the pile that are "safe to access as soon as we are cleared. Some families had asked to be able to return to the building to retrieve personal belongings, but they will not be allowed to do so. At the end of the day, that building is too unsafe to let people go back in, DeSantis said. "I know theres a lot of people who were able to get out, fortunately, who have things there. Were very sensitive to that, but I dont think theres any way you can let somebody go up in that building given the shape that its in now. Calvan reported from Tallahassee, Florida. Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this report. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) A judge in Virginia swiftly rebuked a conservative groups effort Friday to remove a Black state senator from office over her role in a protest that ended with heavy damage to a Confederate monument. Few expected the petition of 4,600 signatures gathered by members of the Virginia Tea Party to succeed against Sen. Louise Lucas, a longtime Democratic legislator and a key Statehouse power broker. The judge quickly ruled that, under Virginia's Constitution, only the state Senate can expel one of its members. There is a process for that, Chesapeake Circuit Court Chief Judge John W. Brown said from the bench. This is not that process. The courtroom briefly served as a battleground for the nation's culture wars over race, history and policing that intensified last year after George Floyd's death in Minneapolis police custody. Our country was under absolute siege by these angry mobs, Virginia Tea Party Chair Nelson Velez told The Associated Press before the hearing. "We had an elected official, a state senator orchestrate a riot. But many saw the petition as well as a failed criminal case against Lucas as a vindictive political stunt against a powerful Black woman. The city of North Miami Beach ordered the evacuation of a condominium building Friday after a review found unsafe conditions. The city said in a news release that an audit prompted by the deadly collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside found the 156-unit Crestview Towers structurally and electrically unsafe. In an abundance of caution, the City ordered the building closed immediately and the residents evacuated for their protection, while a full structural assessment is conducted and next steps are determined, City Manager Arthur H. Sorey III said in the news release. The mayor of Miami-Dade County had suggested an audit of buildings 40 and older to make sure they are in compliance with the local recertification process after the condo building collapse last week that killed at least 22 people and left more than 120 still missing. After reviewing files, the city Building and Zoning Department sent a notification that the Crestview building was not in compliance. On Friday, the building manager submitted a recertification report in which an engineer hired by the condo association board found the property unsafe. The city then ordered all residents to evacuate immediately. It isnt often that a heat wave hits the Pacific Northwest without the Colstrip Power Plant running full tilt as air conditioners fire up, but thats what happened earlier this week when temperatures got hot enough to buckle streets in Oregon. The power plant that not long ago had 1,254 megawatts of capacity committed to Oregon and Washington customers was offering up about 41% of that amount. One of Colstrips surviving two units was down for scheduled maintenance. And, that wasnt where coal powers absence from the heat wave ended. There has also been 1,279 megawatts of coal power capacity retired in Washington and Oregon last year, an amount capable of powering more than a million homes. Its been a decade since conservationists and government officials in the Pacific Northwest started making plans to phase out fossil fuels. Those decisions are changing the kinds of energy sources on the table. With our Boardman coal plant retiring in October 2020, the Colstrip plant is the only coal plant left in our generation fleet, said Andrea Platt of Portland General Electric. Rhoad said he would consider both Bennigans on the Fly and MrBeast Burger to be ghost kitchens since they operate out of another dine-in restaurants kitchen. Tabatha Schoenberger, Red Robin general manager, said she didnt know what to expect when she learned that MrBeast Burger would set up a ghost kitchen within their restaurant. The initial days had their ups and downs, she said, as the team balanced Red Robin and MrBeast Burger orders and navigated a completely different cooking process for the new menu items. It was something new for our kitchen, she said. Were used to cooking (burgers) on a grill, and these are flat-topped patties, almost like Freddys, just smashed. We had the equipment it was just getting used to using it in a different way. Red Robin employees learned the new cooking style via training videos through MrBeast Burger, just as Holiday Inn employees did several months earlier with Bennigans. Finn said the host restaurant pays a periodic royalty fee to the ghost kitchen for such training programs and the use of their menu items. The royalties are based on the sales of Bennigans items from each period. South African regulators have approved Sinovac Biotech Ltd.s coronavirus vaccine, the first shot developed for the disease by a Chinese company to be sanctioned locally. The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority backed the double-dose CoronaVac candidate made by Sinovacs Life Sciences unit with conditions, according to a statement on Saturday. Those include satisfactory results of ongoing studies and periodic safety updates, SAHPRA said. The acceptance, which has similar terms to those given to other vaccine manufacturers such as Johnson & Johnson, comes as South Africa this week opened its immunization roll-out to people aged 50 and older. The country is facing a severe third wave as the more infectious delta variant of the disease becomes widespread and only about 6% of the national population has been vaccinated. CoronaVac is indicated for people between the ages of 18 and 59 years and has a provisional shelf life of two years when stored at 28 degrees Celsius (35.6-46.4 degrees Fahrenheit) and protected from light, the regulator said. SAHPRA also took into account the World Health Organizations emergency use listing report on the vaccine in giving its approval, according to the statement. Earlier this week SAHPRA Chief Executive Officer Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela said the regulator is moving faster on the emergency-use application for the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine after the producer submitted data. The agency has also received an application for the Sinopharm vaccine developed by China. South Africas new daily Covid-19 cases surged to a record 26,485 on Saturday, with 16,091 of these cases recorded in Gauteng. This increase represents a 27.3% positivity rate. This was announced by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, on Saturday. The record number of infections comes a week after President Cyril Ramaphosa placed the country under stricter lockdown. The total number of laboratory-confirmed coronavirus cases in South Africa is now 2,046,311. A further 175 Covid-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 61,507 to date. The Gauteng province accounts for the majority of new cases (61%), followed by the Western Cape (11%) and Limpopo (7%) provinces. An increase of 557 hospital admissions has been reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the current admissions to 13,846. As part of the fight against the virus, South African regulators have approved Sinovac Biotechs coronavirus vaccine. According to a statement on Saturday, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority backed the double-dose CoronaVac candidate made by Sinovacs Life Sciences unit with conditions. Those include satisfactory results of ongoing studies and periodic safety updates, SAHPRA said. The acceptance, which has similar terms to those given to other vaccine manufacturers such as Johnson & Johnson, comes as South Africa this week opened its immunization roll-out to people aged 50 and older. The country faces a severe third wave as the more infectious delta variant of the disease becomes widespread, and only about 6% of the national population has been vaccinated. CoronaVac is indicated for people between the ages of 18 and 59 years and has a provisional shelf life of two years when stored at 28 degrees Celsius (35.6-46.4 degrees Fahrenheit) and protected from light, the regulator said. SAHPRA also took into account the World Health Organizations emergency use listing report on the vaccine in giving its approval, according to the statement. Earlier this week, SAHPRA Chief Executive Officer Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela said the regulator is moving faster on the emergency-use application for the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine after the producer submitted data. The agency has also received an application for the Sinopharm vaccine developed by China. It also will make the state government more inclusive. When boards and commissions meet in Sacramento, members have to take a day or two off to travel, attend the meeting and return home. Thats difficult for many people, including those who work, care for young children or aging parents, or live in distant parts of the state. People in those circumstances often opt out of serving on state boards, which ends up limiting their diversity. That would be remedied if they could attend from home by logging on and participating remotely. California deserves and will benefit from an inclusive state government. Technology can help. The strength and resilience of the commercial real estate market has been tested many times over the last 100 years never more so than during these past 16 months as the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered countless strip shopping centers, shopping malls, retail centers, and restaurants. It is estimated that up to 25% of strip shopping centers will go bankrupt. The fallout continues with hotels and office buildings. Virtual meetings will permanently replace significant business travel, and many people will work from home exclusively. As every state in the nation, California especially begins to creep towards an economic rebound, commercial real estate must again play an essential role in that recovery. The Biden plan to eliminate the ability to defer taxes on property gains over $500,000 from like-kind exchanges of real estate, which is granted under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code, will cripple commercial redevelopment at a time when our communities need that investment more than ever. Israel defense minister offers to assist Lebanon Over 50 mass media representatives hurt during protest of opponents of LGBT march in Tbilisi Ukraine, US, Poland and Lithuania to hold military drills 'Armenia' bloc issues statement on occasion of Constitution Day MP elected based on Armenia ruling party's list is using swear words against residents of Tavush Province Turkey and Azerbaijan among countries with which Zelensky says friendship is favorable for Kyiv Rate of emigration from Armenia grows by 28% in second quarter of 2021 Armenia citizens can travel to Germany for tourism purposes Ural Airlines to launch direct flights to and from Nalchik and Yerevan starting July 8 Over 1,000 Afghan soldiers escape to neighboring Tajikistan after clashes with Talibs Turkish Air Force commander on working visit to Azerbaijan Armenia acting PM signs decision to set up inter-agency commission to solve irrigation issue Armenia acting economy minister attending Innoprom-2021 International Industrial Trade Fair in Russia Karabakh State Minister receives rector of Armenian National Agrarian University of Armenia Azerbaijani soldier fires gunshots at Armenian cross-stone in Hadrut (VIDEO) Digest: 1,595 soldiers bodies found in Nagorno-Karabakh, more on COVID-19 in Armenia and Artsakh Armenia Shirak Province residents shut down Yerevan-Gyumri road, demand not met Armenia trailer truck has major road accident, catches fire in Georgia Armenia MP: Gyumri-Yerevan road shut down again, there is no irrigation water Artsakh emergency service ex-official: Let Azerbaijanis be little careful when using those minefield maps Los Angeles-Armenians declared guilty of fraud Armenia MOD Military Police chief promoted to rank of Major General Armenia police chief promoted to rank of Major General Armenia Security Council Secretary to Stanislav Zas: Current situation can't be labeled as incident Armenia ex-MP, his property declared wanted Non-existing ranks are indicated in false testimonies against Armenian POWs in Baku Armenia Parliament Speaker congratulates Armenians on occasion of Constitution Day Armenia Constitutional Court to consider Friday the petitions challenging snap parliamentary election results Saudi Arabia calls for extension of OPEC + deal for 2022 Ukrainian figure highlights work of Union of Armenians of Ukraine in popularizing Armenia's culture Stepanakert: Azerbaijan tries to make Queen Elizabeth an accomplice to its "victory" in Karabakh Analyst: Life of Armenian teen stabbed in Georgia not at risk Australia senator pledges to recognize Armenian, Greek, Assyrian Genocides Armenia 1st ombudsperson: Azerbaijan continues grossly violating norms of international humanitarian law World's largest planetarium, built in Shanghai, opens on July 18 Armenia security service chief is bestowed Major General military rank Dead body of person, 30, who drowned in Armenia waterfall, is found Armenia ex-President Kocharyan congratulates on Constitution Day Analyst: Armenia, Azerbaijan leaders have committed criminally punishable crimes Telegraph: UK special forces may stay in Afghanistan after withdrawal of troops Judicial farce against Armenian captives continues in Azerbaijan 53 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Azerbaijan emergency ministry launches inquiry into Caspian Sea explosion Armenia marks Constitution Day Armenia President: Certain provisions of current Constitution do not provide best solutions Armenia acting PM: There have been profound changes in our constitutional awareness Armenia embassy in Moscow comments on statements of Russia public figure Major road accident in Armenias Kotayk, rescuers remove victim out of vehicle China astronauts spend nearly 7 hours in open space Clashes occur between transgender opponents, supporters in Los Angeles Black Sea Trade and Development Bank invites expression of interest for open tender for its headquarters Azerbaijan state oil company denies rumors of accident on its offshore platforms Turkey to provide Ukraine with corvette and drones US Embassy: We honor the tremendous partnership between the US and Armenia 7 people killed in Nigeria militant attacks Deputy Director of IAEA to visit Iran Tech week Artsakh 2021 conference kicks off in Stepanakert UN Committee calls on African countries to share experiences in combating migration At least 29 people killed in plane crash in Philippines Iranian Deputy FM appoints Ambassador to UK Biden does not rule out Russia's involvement in new cyber attack Plane crashes in south of Kazakhstan 89 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia: 5 citizens die Nikol Pashinyan congratulates Joe Biden on US Independence Day Armen Sarkissian sends congratulatory message to US President Joe Biden 96 illegal migrants rescued off coast of Tunisia Yerevan hands over minefield maps to Baku in exchange for return of 15 POWs Frank Pallone says they discussed US role in Armenian POWs release ECHR refuses to reopen case on death of Yasser Arafat Russia reports on destruction of 5 terrorists Karabakh emergency service: 4 more remains found, retrieved Armenia opposition member: Azerbaijan is going to take UNESCO to places Baku wants to 2 people injured in Syria Turkey, Russia exchange Syrian soldiers, militants Armenia acting PMs latest fabrications on Artsakh not agreed with Minsk Group co-chair countries, says Ashotyan Pashinyan to Lukashenko: Armenia-Belarus ties will continue as benchmark for interstate relations development Newborn boy found on Gyumri street Albania allocates $9.7m to purchase Turkey drones I Have Honor bloc member: Last snap parliamentary elections will be another period of hell for Armenia, Artsakh Armenia ombudsman: Azerbaijan authorities conduct is open contempt for entire international community Caucasus Heritage Watch calls on Azerbaijan to stop destroying Armenian cemeteries Armenia acting deputy PM Avinyan attends EBRD online meeting Israel carries out airstrike at weapons manufacturing site in Gaza Catholicos Aram I addresses Pope Francis on issue of Armenian captives in Azerbaijan Avagyan: Authorities should ask Russia peacekeeping commander to talk with Azerbaijan to return convicted Armenians US troops depart from their main Afghanistan base Armenias Sarkissian to Belarus Lukashenko: Friendship of our peoples will still be basis for increasing cooperation Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh Zas: Situation in southern Armenia does not comply with CSTO charter provisions 125 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Biden announces several key nominations UK teen allegedly kills 2 sisters in deal with the devil Armenia high-tech industry acting minister meets with Catalonia parliament speaker Newspaper: Armenia outgoing legislature majority faction MPs are dissatisfied EU to allocate over 1.5bn to Armenia for five programs Newspaper: It is known who will head Armenia "I Have Honor" bloc parliament faction Global food prices soaring at their fastest rate Hikmet Hajiyev's slip of the tongue - "Zangezur corridor" in exchange of a land route for Armenia towards Russia Bloomberg: US asks Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan to accept refugees from Afghanistan Armenian bailiffs killed in Sochi posthumously awarded Order of Courage by Putin The European Union (EU) will allocate more than 1.5 billion euros to Armenia in the next 5 years for five key programs, including the development of Syunik region, Masis Post reported. The document was presented Friday in Brussels, highlighting the initiatives that the European Commission intends to implement by 2025 in the member states of the Eastern Partnership. As for Armenia, the European Commission plans to: 1) Support 30,000 small and medium-sized businesses for a sustainable, innovative, competitive economy; 2) Promote socio-economic development and communication by supporting the North-South highway corridor; 3) Investments in information technology, science and technology, 4) Strengthen the resilience of the southern regions of Armenia. 5) Investing in green Yerevan for energy efficiency and the launch of more environmentally friendly buses. The first pilot project will provide 500 million in assistance to 30,000 small and medium-sized businesses. Recovery of the economy after the epidemic is a top priority for Armenia, the European Commission said, noting that by helping Armenian businessmen, the European Union will help create new jobs, develop and modernize businesses, and sustain Armenias long-term socio-economic recovery. In this regard, according to the document, priority will be given to entrepreneurs who work with nature-saving technologies, especially in the regions, as well as businesses run by women. The second project envisages supporting the socio-economic development of Armenia, emphasizing that one of the priorities of Armenias national agenda is the operation of the North-South corridor, which will provide access to international trade routes and markets. Improving transport infrastructure will allow closer ties between the regions, as well as Armenias connection with neighboring countries and the European Union, the European Commission said. EU investment in this area will focus on the as-yet undeveloped sections of the North-South highway, including the Sisian-Kajaran road. It is planned to allocate 600 million euros for the implementation of this project, which will be allocated for the construction of a new Sisian-Kajaran tunnel in the south. The third landmark program provides support for innovative technologies and science. Armenia has a strong information potential, the sector has grown by about 20% in recent years, but additional support is needed to reveal its full potential, the European Commission report states. The EU used to support e-government, but now new investments are needed to expand those services to regional and local levels. In total, up to 300 million euros are planned for this purpose. The fourth direction envisages supporting the strengthening of development in the southern regions of Armenia. The Syunik region in particular needs support, the report said, noting that the region has already had problems due to underdeveloped infrastructure, and has recently been hit by the war and displaced people need education. Following progress achieved in the northern regions of Armenia, the European Union will invest in strengthening the sustainable socio-economic development of Syunik. Priority areas may include housing, infrastructure, tourism, agriculture, education, healthcare, renewable energy, and support for local small and medium-sized businesses. For this purpose, it is planned to provide 80 million euros. The last, fifth direction refers to the capital, particularly the green Yerevan. Improving the quality of human life and improving air quality in Yerevan requires addressing waste management and energy efficiency, the European Commission said in the statement, adding that the European Union was ready to invest in a smart city package. In this context, it is planned to support the import of green buses, which will do less damage to the environment of the capital, will improve and modernize public transport. The agenda also includes improving the quality of life, including a number of programs aimed at waste management and waste treatment in Yerevan. In total, up to 120 million euros will be allocated for the implementation of these goals. At the same time, the document emphasizes that when the opportunity arises, the European Union is ready to support the post-war reconstruction of the South Caucasus, the transformation of the conflict, including the demining of war-torn areas, socio-economic development, peace and reconciliation. In addition to Armenia, the European Commission has identified similar programs for other Eastern Partnership member countries: Georgia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Ukraine. The proposed long-term policy objectives are to be discussed at an Eastern Partnership summit planned for December 2021. We want to set an agenda that responds to todays unprecedented challenges and opportunities, while at the same time being viable in the future, said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. All our initiatives will continue to be supported by democracy, good governance, the rule of law, which are so important to achieve positive, concrete results in our cooperation. YEREVAN. Acting Minister of High-Tech Industry of Armenia Hayk Chobanyan, who is in Spain within the framework of the 2021 Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona, met with Laura Borras, the speaker of the Parliament of Catalonia, the Ministry of High-Tech Industry of Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. The acting minister lauded the friendly position of the Parliament of Catalonia, both for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide as well as its position and the statements made during and after the 44-day Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war. "There are great opportunitieswhich have not been realizedfor the development of cooperation between Armenia and Catalonia, and this is a good opportunity to start new active activities in this direction," he added. Also, Chobanyan thanked the Catalan authorities for their friendly and supportive attitude towards the Armenian community of Catalonia. Borras, for her part, said that on May 27, the Catalan parliament unanimously adopted a statement calling on the Azerbaijani authorities to release all Armenian prisoners of war immediately. And on May 17, the speaker of the Parliament of Catalonia and other Catalan MPs had met with representatives of the Armenian community of Catalonia, during which many issues were discussed, including the possibility of declaring April 24 as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day in Catalonia. The tense situation in southern Armenia does not comply with the provisions of the CSTO collective defense charter and is considered a border incident. CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas told reporters about this, according to TASS. "It must be understood that the CSTO potential is used only in case of aggression, attack. Here [in Armenias case] we are dealing, in fact, with a border incident. Thank God, there are no casualties, no shootings. This is a border incident, it must be resolved, and we [the CSTO] are in favor of resolving it peacefully," he stated. According to Zas, there is no escalation of the conflict. "Now we do not have to talk about the situation getting worse in some way. It is not getting worse, and that is already good, is already a result. There is a lot of work to be done ahead to resolve this contentious issue at the very [Armenia-Azerbaijan] border, but it must be resolved at the negotiating table," Zas stressed. Also, he said that after Armenia applied to the CSTO in May, the organization held consultations on the situation in the country's border regions. "Such consultations were held at the level of defense ministers, secretaries of security councils, and I communicated with both the Armenian [acting] foreign minister and the [acting] defense minister. We were discussing the situation on the ground. Besides, we have already had a general discussion during the session of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers in Dushanbe," he said. Stanislav Zas assured that the CSTO is constantly monitoring the situation in southern Armenia. "No decision has been made on the setting up of a monitoring group, although, of course, the situation is being monitored," the CSTO chief said. The Armenian authorities should immediately petition to the commander of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, Rustam Muradov, with a request that he negotiate with Azerbaijan to return the convicted captives. Boris Avagyan, the former deputy director of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) State Service of Emergency Situations, told this to Armenian News-NEWS.am Saturday. "There are all legal grounds for the return of the boys. Yesterday the [Baku] court decision was read, and today they must be released and returned to the Republic of Armenia," he added. According to Avagyan, by sentencing these Armenian prisoners of war (POWs), Azerbaijan is trying to "prove" to the international community that they are in fact war criminals. "This is a specially staged [court] trial for the international community. They legalized by a court decision the keeping of the prisoners of war in custody for six months," Avagyan added. To note, by a verdict of the Baku Court on Grave Crimes on Friday, 14 Armenian POWs were sentenced to imprisonment; two of them were sentenced to 4 years in prison, and 12 othersto six months. The sentencing of Armenian captives in Azerbaijan is completely baseless, an artificial result of an artificial process. Their imprisonment is a punishment prohibited by international law. The Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, noted this in a statement which continues as follows, in particular: "Every 'trial' organized by the Azerbaijani authorities is accompanied by Azerbaijani media publications () that violate human dignity, rights. It is obvious that it is done specially and has an organized nature. Azerbaijani social media are also being filled with hateful discussions, calls to torture, kill captives (evidence is documented). It is obvious that these trials are a veil intended for the outside world. They are so that they havein Azerbaijana justification for not releasing the captives, and in the meantime they get as much military-political benefits as possible. The monitoring shows that in fact, political bargaining and human trafficking are taking place (). () the trials cause additional mental suffering, make more painful what the people are going through. All the available facts and the conduct of the Azerbaijani authorities are an open contempt for the entire international community, disrupting the system of international humanitarian law that was developed for decades. All [Armenian] captives [in Azerbaijan] must be released immediately and returned to their homeland without any preconditions." The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) dismissed the case brought by the widow and daughter of the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat asking to reopen the investigation into his death in 2004. Reported by MEMO. Following failed lawsuits in French courts, Suha and Zahwa Arafat filed a complaint with the ECHR in 2017 alleging that the former president of the Palestinian Authority was the victim of a premeditated assassination. However, in its ruling yesterday, the ECHR stated that there was no violation of the right to a fair trial and the complaint was manifestly unfounded. Three judges stated that after hearing the case at all stages of the proceedings, the applicants, with the assistance of their lawyers, were able to exercise their rights. In 2015, French judges closed the investigation into the allegations of Arafat's assassination without raising any charges. A French appellate court upheld the refusal to open the case, which led to the former leader's family appealing to the ECHR. On November 11, 2004, Arafat died in France under highly suspicious circumstances at the age of 75. Until now, doctors have not been able to establish the exact cause of his death. YEREVAN. During his open "party" on June 21, the capitulator aborted said that the negotiations on the Artsakh issue shall be continued under the principle of "secession for the sake of salvation." Armen Ashotyanvice-chairman of the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia and a member of the opposition "I Have Honor" bloc which won several parliamentary seats as a result of the snap elections on June 20stated this during a press conference Saturday, and referring to Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. "I am informed that these latest fabrications of the stateless scoundrel in connection with the Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] issue have not been agreed with any [OSCE] Minsk Group co-chair country. This means that once again this idiot will try to play a game on the Artsakh issue, where he will not have the support of the international negotiating community on this issue," Ashotyan added. According to him, the international community tends to consider the Artsakh issue resolved. "The West has one task left: how to see to it that the Russian peacekeepers leave the region. And the task for the Russian side is to strengthen in the region, to prolong the status component of the negotiation process for as long as it will be required to calm down the situation. As a result of these elections, the other crucial concessions expected from Armenia will also appear on the political agenda of the conspiratorial capitulator. It is about a framework agreement with Azerbaijan, including on [border] delimitation and demarcation issues, and with the deep and total freezing of the Artsakh talks," Armen Ashotyan said. YEREVAN. Armenia does not care that much that Azerbaijan is already negotiating with UNESCO with the agenda it wants; that is, Azerbaijan is going to take UNESCO to the places Baku wants to. Armen Ashotyanvice-chairman of the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia and a member of the opposition "I Have Honor" bloc which won several parliamentary seats as a result of the snap elections on June 20stated this during a press conference Saturday. "That is, Armenia is not so influential that it can work with even a humanitarian, apolitical structureUNESCOsuch intensity that, lets say, Guys, when you are going to go Fizuli [region of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)], enter Shushi [city], too, enter Dadivank [Monastery], enter the forests which are built entirely of medieval [Armenian] chapels, and [Azerbaijani president] Aliyev says, this should be annihilated because the Armenians added their writing [there] later. There is no solution even in this issue," Ashotyan added. In his opinion, the issue of Armenian prisoners of war in Azerbaijan is a forgotten issue for the incumbent Armenian authorities. "It is also a matter of impertinence when Aliyev favors a few people, the scum [i.e., Armenian acting PM Nikol Pashinyan] says, 'It is a very constructive step.' What constructive step? The issue of prisoners of war should not have been after November 9 at all; it was one of the points [on the trilateral statement on that day]. Yesterday our boys were being tried in Azerbaijan. What are the [Armenian] authorities doing? Did they make a noise? They are trying to reconcile us with this situation," Armen Ashotyan said. After serving almost three years of a three- to 10-year sentence for indecent assault, Bill Cosby walked out of a maximum-security prison last Wednesday a free man. His conviction was overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which ruled that the once-celebrated actors due process rights were violated. In a 79-page opinion, the court ruled that the prosecution violated Cosbys right against self-incrimination by using statements at trial that the 83-year-old actor made during depositions in a civil case. Cosby, once known as Americas Dad, was convicted on three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault in 2018 for drugging and assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004. It was the first major case of the #MeToo era. The courts decision reversing Cosbys conviction stems from a 2005 decision by then-Montgomery County district attorney Bruce Castor, who doubted Constands allegations would hold up in court. Castor determined that he could never win a criminal conviction, and so he decided to force Cosby into testifying in Constands civil case, said Tamara Rice Lave, professor of law and director of the Litigation Skills Program at the University of Miami School of Law. He did that by publicly stating that there would never be a criminal prosecution, which meant Cosby, in a civil case, could not invoke his Fifth Amendment right to silence. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that Castors decision not to charge the comedian was binding on his successor, who reopened the case and charged the former Cosby Show star in 2015. The ruling, which also bars a retrial of the case, drew mixed reactions, with #MeToo supporters expressing outrage and legal experts saying that the decision, while disturbing to some, is correct in that it demonstrates that everyone is entitled to the privilege against self-incrimination found in the Fifth Amendment. Its tempting to look at this ruling and say its unjust, that the world is falling in, Lave said. But we have to remember that our legal system of rules works because people follow the rules. If a prosecutor is allowed to do what happened in this case, why would anyone trust the system? Lave, who was a deputy public defender in San Diego for 10 years, said that she initially took on that role with the mindset of defending the innocent but quickly realized that serving in that capacity meant fighting for a system to make sure it is fair, to make sure it is balanced, she said. And thats what this case is about: ensuring balance and fairness and that there is no prosecutorial overreach. If the prosecutor had been allowed to get away with this, it would have been a shocking violation of constitutional rights. And everyone has constitutional rights, even people who are accused of terrible things. Lavewho handled cases that ranged from torture and rape to murder and sexual assaultand College of Arts and Sciences faculty members Louise K. Davidson-Schmich, Claire Oueslati-Porter, and Alex Piquero answer other questions surrounding the recent ruling. Could the ruling have any implications for a Harvey Weinstein appeal? The ruling has no impact on the Weinstein case. Cosby appealed on two grounds: use of his deposition statement and admission of uncharged misconducttestimony by alleged victims about prior drugging and sexual assault. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in Cosbys favor on the first issue, and so it never considered the second. Tamara Rice Lave, professor of law in the School of Law How much of a blow could the ruling be to the #MeToo movement, and will it discourage other victims of sexual assault from coming forward? Although this will be viewed by many as someone getting off on a technicality, I think that it may actually embolden and strengthen the #MeToo movement insofar as they can call attention to the perceived injustice. My sincere hope is that it does not discourage victims of sexual assault from coming forward, especially now given the increases we have seen in domestic and intimate partner violence during COVID-19-lockdowns. But this will take local, city, state, and federal leaders and partners to ensure that the resources and assistance that survivors need, not just in the legal system but in their lives, are protected and ensured. Fortunately, President Biden has earmarked substantial funding in this area, and I hope that these resources are expanded and scaled up to provide as much resource and support as needed now and into the future. Alex Piquero, professor and chair of the Department of Sociology Cosbys conviction was overturned due to a procedural discrepancy, not because Cosby was exonerated. There are larger issues regarding justice for sexual assault survivors. Incarcerating sex offenders is unlikely to end the problem of sexual violence in our culture. To change our cultures high rate of sexual violence, deeper systemic changes are needed. This is the work that Tarana Burke, who incepted the #MeToo movement, and many other activists and supporters are doing. Claire Oueslati-Porter, senior lecturer and interim director of the Gender and Sexuality Studies program It takes considerable courage for victims of sexual assault to come forward and name their attackers, especially when the perpetrator is a famous person. The news from Pennsylvania certainly wont make it any easier. However, it is important to note that, in this particular instance, Cosbys conviction was overturned not based on the facts of the matter but due to procedural errors in the handling of his case. The court decision does not dispute that he drugged and assaulted Andrea Constand and he did serve three years of his three- to 10-year sentence before the conviction was overturned. Louise K. Davidson-Schmich, professor of political science Jul. 3TIFTON Faculty members Kip Hall and Abul Sheikh topped the list of honorees at the recent service awards presentation at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Hall, an assistant professor of forestry in the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, received a plaque for 35 years of service to ABAC, and Sheikh, a professor of business and information technology in the Stafford School of Business, received a plaque for 30 years at ABAC. Employees honored for 25 years of service included Michelle Barton, Donna Campbell, Mary Beth Thornton, Anita White and Vickie Wilson. Honored for 20 years of service were David Byrd, Erin Campbell, Tammy Clark, Olga Contreras, Wendy Harrison, Marvin Holtz, Polly Huff, Joseph Njoroge, Jewrell Rivers, Donnie Thompson, and John Vanzo. Fifteen-year award recipients include Chandra Anderson-Casteel, Jimmy Ballenger, David Bridges, Tracy Dyal, Diantha Ellis, Brooke Jernigan, Chris Kinsey, Esthela Lopez Flores, Ray Lundy, Sheila McLendon, Ryan Myers, Jeannie Paulk, Brian Ray, Clayton Riehle, Frederick Shorter, Donna Sledge, Elizabeth Wilcox and Gina Wilson. Award recipients for 10 years of service included Janice Baty, Juan Gomez, Deidra Jackson, David King, Joy Lott, Hans Schmeisser, Richard Spancake, Nicholas Urquhart and Eun-Kyung You. Employees recognized for five years of service included April Abbott, Jerry Baker, Jay Baldwin, Kyle Basko, Christopher Beals, Suzanne Bentley, Scott Blount, Kristi Brown, Kennon Deal, Emily Dowd-Arrow, Justin Exum, Jessica Gandy, Nancy Hall, Marcus Johnson, Jamie Kinsley, Charlotte Klesman, Vanessa Lane, Deidre Martin, Sue Mastrario, Bridgett Mobley, Sandra Musselwhite, Erin Porter, Trena Prewitt, Margo Ransom, Joann Saylor, Kelly Scott, Josie Smith, Frank Strickland, Tamie Taylor, Jess Usher, Jennifer Walls, Joseph Weatherford, Brian Yost and Tim Youngblood. Because of the pandemic in 2020, the list of honorees covered both 2020 and 2021. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.). Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks said he "represented the will" of his constituents when speaking against the presidential election certification. Brooks told protesters to "start taking down names and kicking ass" hours before rioters breached the Capitol. Swalwell claimed on Friday that Brooks missed his deadline to file a response, but court filings show Brooks filed on time. See more stories on Insider's business page. Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks said he "represented the will" of his constituents when he told Capitol protestors to "start taking down names and kicking ass" just hours before rioters breached the Capitol, according to a recent court filing. The lawsuit against Brooks is a part of a larger suit against former President Donald, Donald Trump Jr., and Rudy Giuliani from California Rep. Eric Swalwell that alleges the defendants were responsible for thousands of rioters breaking into the Capitol building and disrupting the certification of the presidential election. Brooks filed a motion in Swalwell's suit to say he was acting within the scope of his employment during the speech. He cited his congressional district's support for Trump and said that it was only his desire to represent his constituents because of "overwhelming" evidence that many states experienced voter fraud. While several states have audited their election tallies, zero states have provided a scintilla of evidence to support widespread voter fraud. Swalwell alleges in his original complaint that Brooks was acting in his personal capacity when making a speech on January 6, but Brooks noted that his job requires him to make speeches in public and to push legislators to take positions on public policy. Swalwell claimed on Friday that Brooks missed his window to respond to the lawsuit and the courts needed to issue a default judgment against him, however, online filings in the court's PACER system show that Brooks filed his response several days before the June 27 cutoff. Story continues It took Swalwell several months to serve the original complaint against Brooks because Swalwell's team could not locate the representative, though Brooks denied hiding from Swalwell. "I am avoiding no one," he told CNN. "I have altered my conduct not one iota since Swalwell's politically motivated, meritless lawsuit was filed." Swalwell ultimately hired a private investigator to locate Brooks. The complaint was ultimately served to his wife at their home. "Well, Swalwell FINALLY did his job, served complaint (on my WIFE). HORRIBLE Swalwell's team committed a CRIME by unlawfully sneaking INTO MY HOUSE & accosting my wife!" Brooks said in a tweet. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Read the original article on Business Insider BAKU (Reuters) - Azerbaijan handed over 15 prisoners of Armenian origin to Armenia on Saturday in return for maps detailing the locations of 92,000 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, Azerbaijan's foreign ministry said. Ethnic Armenian and Azeri forces fought a bloody conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave last year that locked in territorial gains for Azerbaijan and was eventually brought to a halt by a Russian-brokered ceasefire. In a statement on Saturday, Azerbaijan said that mediation by Moscow had helped it to obtain minefield maps from Armenia covering areas in the Fizuli and Zangilan regions in Nagorno-Karabakh. It said it had released and handed over prisoners of Armenian origin who had served their sentences. It gave no details of who they were. (Reporting by Nailia Bagirova in Baku and Anastasia Teterevleva in Moscow; writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Kevin Liffey) By Daria Sito-Sucic SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Activists from more than 20 environmental organisations in the Balkans joined forces in Bosnia's capital on Saturday to campaign against hydroelectric dams in the region. Representatives from green groups in Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia formed an association with the motto "Let's Defend the Balkan Rivers" to pressure their respective lawmakers to ban dams. There has been a boom in the construction of mini hydropower plants throughout the Western Balkans over the past decade or so, helped by government subsidies for renewable energy projects and guaranteed contracts to buy the electricity produced. "The whole Balkans has been under attack," said Robert Oroz, whose organisation has been fighting to stop the Zeljeznica River in central Bosnia being dammed for four years. As the activists gathered by a river in Sarajevo, however, dozens of angry protesters who said they were employed by companies making parts for hydropower plants tried to disrupt a news conference to announce the new green association. "This movement in the Balkans is unique in Europe," said Anes Podic from the Sarajevo-based Eko Akcija. "If it was not for the activists, all our rivers would have long been set in concrete." Environmental activists are slowly becoming a respectable force in a region where no green political party has yet been registered. European Union member Croatia is leading the way, where the new mayor of Zagreb is a long-time green activist. In Serbia, some environmental organisations have formed alliances and are preparing to run in local elections next year. "Simply, the people have gathered around something which is not dividing them," said Serbian environmental activist Aleksandar Jovanovic Cuta. "The protection of nature is the only topic which makes sense to the people after 30 years of hopelessness," he said, referring to the period following the Balkan wars in the 1990s. (Additional reporting by Igor Ilic in Zagreb and Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade; Editing by David Clarke) Associated Press Tiny Slovenia took charge of the worlds largest trading bloc this week, and immediately shone a harsh spotlight on one of the European Unions most vexing problems: How to accommodate increasingly vocal member countries with very different visions of Europes future. Already, nationalist governments in Hungary and Poland are worrying their more politically mainstream partners in the 27-nation EU. Then on Thursday, Slovenias return to the European stage it took over the EUs rotating presidency for six months was marked by concerns about the right-wing governments record on media freedoms and its failure to nominate legal experts to the fraud-busting European Public Prosecutors Office. WASHINGTON - In a televised address in March, President Joe Biden offered a hopeful but tempered vision of where the country would be on the Fourth of July, saying there was a "a good chance" that "small groups will be able to get together" - and quickly adding, "That doesn't mean large events with lots of people." But on Sunday, a sea of 1,000 largelymaskless people will flow onto the South Lawn of the White House for an Independence Day party that marks the first large-scale event hosted by Biden as president, a barbecue that will serve as a marker of sorts for an America returning to normal. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. But as the plans for celebration have grown bigger, the coronavirus has evolved as well. A new, more contagious "delta" variant is now responsible for more than 1 in 4 U.S. infections, largely among people who have not been fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The spread of the delta variant is alarming health officials worldwide. The number of new coronavirus cases increased across Europe for the first time in 10 weeks, the World Health Organization said Thursday. In the United States, health officials in Los Angeles County are recommending that even vaccinated people wear face coverings indoors. The White House has announced it will scramble "surge response" teams to combat the highly transmissible variant. That backdrop for Sunday's celebration suggests the tensions that Biden's administration will face in coming months. The White House wants to take credit for ramping up vaccinations and overseeing a huge reduction in infections and deaths. But if handled poorly, that message could suggest the pandemic is over - a notion that is inaccurate, politically risky and potentially deadly. Some Biden allies warned that the country, and the president, must take care to avoid declaring victory too soon. "I do think that we're jumping the gun," said Ezekiel J. Emanuel, a professor of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania. "I think being cautious on that is really important, and focusing on what more we have to do is really important." Story continues Emanuel, who was on Biden's transition team, added, "We're not at victory. We can't say 'Mission Accomplished' yet. We want to just forget everything and go back to pre-2019, and I think it's going to be a mistake, and there are people who are going to pay with their lives for it." His use of the phrase "Mission Accomplished" was telling; President George W. Bush in 2003 announced victory in the Iraq War in front of a banner bearing that slogan, only to have the fight soon take a deadly turn resulting in many more casualties. The administration has made significant progress getting vaccines into arms, but the pace has now slowed to fewer than 1 million shots per day, well below the mid-April peak of about 3.5 million daily. Biden will not meet his goal of having 70% of adults with at least one shot by the Fourth of July - the country is on track to clear that by early August, according to a Washington Post analysis. "If you asked me, 'Are you glad you set that target?' I'd say that we probably got a few more [percentage] points of vaccinations out of simply having a goal that we could commit to and get people to work towards," said Andy Slavitt, who stepped down last month as White House senior adviser on coronavirus response. Still, White House officials worry that low immunization levels in some states could fuel new outbreaks in coming months. Vaccination rates are high on the coasts but lag in the Midwest and South. The anxiety, however, is not always reflected in the administration's public tone. "There's a disconnect between the cautious message of the White House covid response team - that vaccinated people are safe but we need to still take precautions - and then a very public display of large crowds," said Kavita Patel, a physician and nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution who served in the Obama administration. Defeating the pandemic is central to Biden's vision of his presidency, and any sign of delay or uneven success could be politically damaging. Beyond tangibly improving Americans' lives, Biden is seeking to prove that the federal government can still achieve great things. White House officials say that's exactly what's has happened so far. "Americans should feel great about what we have accomplished together as a nation over the last six months," Anita Dunn, a top adviser to the president, said in an interview. "This huge step back to normal is something that everybody should be able to celebrate in a united way." And Biden does appear to be reaping political benefits. Sixty-four percent of respondents in a recent Fox News poll approved of Biden's handling of the virus, including about 3 in 10 Trump voters. Dunn also maintained that the White House is hardly claiming unconditional victory. "This administration is not seeing July Fourth as a time to walk away from our efforts against covid," she said. "We're going to redouble those efforts to get the people who are not vaccinated to go get their vaccine, with new strategies to reach people who have, for whatever reason, not gotten it." Biden's event Sunday will be the largest to date at the White House during his tenure. Guests will include essential workers along with military families, and everyone will be required to take a coronavirus test, accordingtoWhite House press secretary Jen Psaki. Those who are fully vaccinated will not be required to wear masks. The president plans to address the gathering, and in the evening the traditional fireworks will be on display above Washington. President Donald Trump, who had a taste for patriotic pomp, held a pair of celebrations last year over the Fourth of July weekend, including the first-ever fireworks at Mount Rushmore. That event drew criticism from Biden's campaign and Democrats who said that Trump was sending the wrong message amid a surging coronavirus outbreak. Now it's the Biden administration that's on the receiving end of criticism, from at least some experts, that Americans are being given muddled guidance about what precautions they should take. "I keep thinking about the mistakes the Trump administration made with having unclear metrics or not sticking to them," Patel said, citing conflicting messages from Los Angeles County, which has reimposed an indoor mask mandate, and the CDC, which has not made such a recommendation. "I hate to say it, but I think we're seeing patterns repeat themselves." Some elected leaders are striking a more somber tone than the Biden administration, particularly in parts of the country where vaccinations are lagging and coronavirus numbers are creeping up. Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, for example, launched new public service announcements on Wednesday warning of the risks of the delta variant and urging Kansans to take extra precautions during the holiday weekend. "As we all begin to travel and gather with friends and family, it's critically important to keep our communities and loved ones safe," Kelly said in a statement. About 62% of Kansas adults have received at least one vaccine shot, according to The Washington Post's tracking. Perhaps the biggest looming question is whether the United States at some point might have to reimpose a national mask recommendation, particularly for indoors. In addition to Los Angeles County, Israel, an early leader in vaccinations, on Sunday reinstated an indoor mask mandate amid a renewed surge in cases. White House officials have said repeatedly that the CDC will independently make any determination on mask mandates, stressing that they want the agency to be free of the political interference that marked the Trump years. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky has signaled no change to the agency's current guidance that fully vaccinated Americans do not need to wear masks. "If you are vaccinated, you are safe from the variants that are circulating here in the United States," she said on NBC's "Today," adding that it is "exactly right" that vaccinated people do not need to wear masks. Speaking on a New York Times podcast that was published Thursday, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain echoed that view. "At this time, I don't think there's any reason to think that masking guidance will change," Klain said. To the extent that the Biden administration has succeeded in beating back the virus, the accomplishment has an ironic downside: Americans are now less focused on an issue that plays to Biden's advantage politically. Republican leaders say the pandemic's shrinking presence in the public discourse is opening space for voters to scrutinize other, less-positive aspects of Biden's record. "You go around the country, it's not what people are talking about," said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who is coordinating Republican efforts to retake the Senate. "You go to Florida, people aren't talking about it. It's not on the news." In a recent Gallup survey, just 8% of Americans listed covid-19 as the most important problem facing the country, down from a high of 45% in April 2020. Scott's team pointed to a recent survey of New Hampshire voters conducted by Saint Anselm College that showed several issues ranking higher than covid-19 among voters' concerns, including government spending, immigration policy, health costs and climate change. Starting immediately after the Fourth of July weekend, the White House will get outside help amplifying Biden's message. Priorities USA, a Democratic super PAC, will launch the first installment of a $2 million ad campaign including spots that tout Biden's response to the pandemic. "They're delivering for us," a narrator says. "Hundreds of millions of vaccines so that we can finally be together again." The online campaign will be aimed at voters in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, said Guy Cecil, the group's chairman, and will seek to reach first-time voters who backed Biden, as well as some who supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 but turned to Trump in 2020. Cecil lauded the Independence Day event at the White House, saying it was appropriate for the president to lead Americans in celebrating how far they had come. "It's fair to say the country has been through a lot over the last year and a half," he said. "Everyone needs a moment to take a breath and celebrate the progress that we've made." Even so, many Democrats say Biden cannot base his political message solely, or even mostly, on defeating the coronavirus. "For the long-term future of the Democrats, the single most important thing we need to do, and the single biggest opportunity we have, is not just to stay on covid, but to develop an economic profile," said Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster who worked on Biden's campaign. "We never win elections when we're not ahead on the economy." - - - The Washington Post's Michael Scherer contributed to this report. Related Content Missing at the beach this summer: employees I went to Las Vegas to test whether I was really ready for life on the other side of the pandemic The land was worth millions. A Big Ag corporation sold it to Sonny Perdue's company for $250,000. CENTRAL LAKE, Mich (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden weighed in on the suspension of sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson over marijuana use, saying Saturday "the rules are the rules." The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) confirmed Richardson's suspension on Friday after the sprinter known for brightly-colored hair and record-breaking speed tested positive for cannabis during her 100 meter U.S. trials in June. The women's 100 meter event at the Tokyo Olympics starts on July 30, two days after Richardsons ban ends but the adverse finding means her Olympic qualifying results at the trials, which offer automatic places to the first three qualified athletes in each event, are annulled. "The rules are the rules and everybody knows what the rules were going in," Biden said. "Whether they should remain the rules is a different issue, but the rules are the rules." Richardson's suspension provoked bipartisan critiques in Washington. Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on USADA to "strike a blow for civil liberties" by overturning the suspension. "Let her compete, Im pretty damn sure weed has never made anyone faster," Donald Trump, Jr., the former Republican president's son, said on Twitter. Cannabis is on the list of substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. USADA said it reduced the typical three-month ban to one month because Richardson used cannabis outside of competition and she had successfully completed a counseling program. Richardson told NBC's Today Show on Friday that the episode came as she was coping with her mother's death. "This incident was about marijuana, so after my sanction is up I'll be back and able to compete and every single time I step on the track I'll be ready for whatever anti-doping agency to come and get what it is that they need," she said. Biden said Saturday he was "really proud of the way she responded." (Reporting by Brad Heath and Trevor Hunnicutt; editing by Diane Craft) Associated Press When 16-year-old rising volleyball star Deven Gonzalez was pulled from the rubble of her Miami condo building, her initial reaction amid the shock was to tell firefighters that she had to compete in a major tournament in a few days. I said, Lets focus on you right now and not volleyball,' said club coach Amy Morgan, who described Gonzalez as extremely determined, passionate and unrelenting in pursuing her goals. Deven Gonzalez's father, attorney Edgar Gonzalez, is among the more than 120 still missing. RIO DE JANEIRO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - Protesters took to the streets in Brazil on Saturday demanding the impeachment of President Jair Bolsonaro and more vaccines to fight the coronavirus pandemic, as the country faces the world's second deadliest outbreak after the United States. On Friday, Supreme Court Justice Rosa Weber authorized the opening of an investigation into Bolsonaro over alleged irregularities in procurement of vaccine developed in India. The protests were originally scheduled for July 24, but were brought forward after evidence of irregularities related to that vaccine deal were presented before a Senate committee investigating the federal government's handling of the pandemic. Brazil's COVID crisis has been compounded by a slow vaccine rollout. "It was not denialism, it was corruption," said a banner held by 71-year-old Marilda Barroso in Rio de Janeiro. By 2 p.m. local time, protests had drawn thousands of people in at least 13 state capitals, according to local media reports. Demonstrations were scheduled to take place in 315 Brazilian cities and in 15 countries, local media reported citing the organizers of the acts. More protests were scheduled to take place in the afternoon, including in Brazil's biggest city of Sao Paulo. (Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello and Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Additional reporting by Sergio Queiroz; Writing by Ana Mano; Editing by David Gregorio) According to The New Yorker, Britney Spears called 911 the night before her conservatorship hearing. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images The New Yorker on Saturday published a lengthy report on Britney Spears' conservatorship. The report said Spears called 911 to report herself as a victim of conservatorship abuse. The star spoke publicly for the first time this week to request her 13-year conservatorship be discontinued. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Britney Spears reportedly called authorities the night before her bombshell conservatorship hearing. New details surrounding Britney Spears and her ongoing conservatorship were revealed on Saturday in a report by The New Yorker's Ronan Farrow and Jia Tolentino. On June 23, Spears appeared before a Los Angeles judge to publicly speak out against the 13-year conservatorship that left her "traumatized." She asked the judge to end her "abusive" arrangement initially set up in 2008. But the night before the hearing, Spears called 911 to report herself as a victim of conservatorship abuse, a source familiar with Spears and Ventura County law enforcement told The New Yorker. The report noted that emergency calls in the state of California "are generally accessible to the public, but the county, citing an ongoing investigation, sealed the records of Spears's call." Farrow and Tolentino reported that members of Spears' team became "nervous" about what the 39-year-old might say during the hearing and began "frantically" texting each other to discuss how to prepare if Spears went "rogue." Spears made several surprising statements during her hearing, like that her conservators - including her father, Jamie Spears - would not let her remove her IUD. "It's my wish and my dream for all of this to end," Spears said of the conservatorship during her testimony. "I just want my life back. The conservatorship should end. I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive." She added: "The people who did this shouldn't be able to walk away." Story continues Jamie Spears has denied having any involvement in his daughter's "personal affairs." Despite the large media attention and support from #FreeBritney fans, the judge denied Spears' request to remove her father as conservator. However, a judge did approve the request of the independent financial firm acting as conservator of Spears' estate to withdraw from the arrangement. "As a result of the Conservatee's testimony at the June 23 hearing, however, Petitioner has become aware that the conservatee objects to the continuance of her conservatorship and desires to terminate the conservatorship. Petitioner has heard the conservatee and respects her wishes," the court filing viewed by Insider said. Read the original article on Insider Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau on Friday condemned vandalism and suspected arson of churches following the discoveries of unmarked graves at former schools for indigenous children. Around 150,000 indigenous Canadians were forced to attend the Indian residential school system over a period of 120 years, with most schools run by the Catholic church. A government commission concluded in 2015 that the school system perpetrated a cultural genocide against indigenous populations. Since May of this year, over 1,100 unmarked graves of children have been discovered at the former schools. Ten Canadian churches were destroyed by fire following those discoveries, including several Catholic churches on indigenous lands in British Columbia. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Police are treating the fires as suspicious, although no arrests have been made in the disparate cases. Meanwhile police in Calgary, Alberta, announced that ten churches were vandalized on Thursday night. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. It is unacceptable and wrong that acts of vandalism and arson are being seen across the country, including against Catholic churches, Trudeau said at a press conference. I understand the anger thats out there.But I cant help but think that burning down churches is actually depriving people who are in need of grieving and healing and mourning from places where they can grieve and reflect and look for support. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde condemned the suspected arson attacks in comments to Canadas Global News on Wednesday. I can understand the frustration and the anger by people, and I would say that burning things down is not the way to proceed, Bellegarde said. I would say building things up would be the better way to proceed. Bellegarde added that to burn things down is not our way. More from National Review BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the international community on Saturday to build a "Great Wall of Immunity" to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. "We should face the imminent challenges together," Wang, who is also a member of the State Council, or cabinet, told the 9th World Peace Forum held at Tsinghua University in the Chinese capital. "The most urgent priority is to expedite the construction of the 'Great Wall of Immunity' to fend off the virus, surpass political discrimination and carry out international anti-pandemic cooperation." China, where the coronavirus first surfaced in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019, has supplied more than 480 million vaccine doses to other nations. Wang said it would keep working to improve the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in developing countries. By Friday, China had administered a total of 1.28 billion doses of vaccine. (Reporting by Shivani Singh and Colin Qian; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) A video released by the Coast Guard shows the dramatic rescue of two pilots from a downed aircraft off the Hawaiian coast Friday. The Boeing 737 inter-island transport plane was two miles south of the island of Oahu. The Coast Guard was called about a downed aircraft around 1:40 a.m. When a Coast Guard helicopter arrived, one of the cargo plane's pilots was on the tip of the aircraft's tail and the other was in the water on a cargo load, Hawaii News Now reported. "We first saw a man waving his hands from the tail of the airplane," Coast Guard Lt. Gleb Borovok told the news outlet. "Another man was floating on a bed of cargo." COAST GUARD RESCUES KAYAKER AIMING FOR HAWAII 70 MILES OFF COAST He said the crew initially planned to rescue the pilot in the water first but things changed when the tail of the plane disappeared and the man who was hanging on was in the water appearing to struggle. One of the pilots was airlifted to a hospital and the other was taken to shore by a Honolulu Fire Department boat and transported to a hospital. Both are in stable condition, the Coast Guard said. "Our crews often train closely with our counterparts in the Honolulu Fire Department for situations just like this one," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Masato Nakajima, a Sector Honolulu watchstander, in a news release. "That training paid off and we were able to quickly deploy response assets to the scene and recover the two people aboard the aircraft." CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The cause of the incident is under investigation. CAIRO (AP) Libyan delegates failed to agree on a legal framework to hold presidential and parliamentary elections later this year, the U.N. said Saturday, putting an agreed-upon roadmap to end the conflict there in jeopardy. The Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, a 75-member body from all walks of life in Libya, concluded its five days of talks in a hotel outside Geneva on Friday, the U.N. support mission in Libya said. Participants in the U.N.-brokered talks discussed several proposals for a constitutional basis for the elections, including some that were not consistent with the roadmap that set the vote on Dec. 24. Others sought to establish preconditions to hold elections as planned, the mission said. The U.N. mission said the LPDF members have created a committee tasked with bridging the gap among the proposals put before the forum. But the deadlock remained. It is regrettable, said Raisedon Zenenga, the missions coordinator. The people of Libya will certainly feel let down as they still aspire to the opportunity to exercise their democratic rights in presidential and parliamentary elections on December 24. The mission urged forum members to continue consultations to agree on a workable compromise and cement what unites them. It warned that proposals which do not make the elections feasible and possible to hold elections on 24 December will not be entertained. This is not the outcome that many of us had hoped for, but it is the better outcome given the options that were on the table, Elham Saudi, a forum member, wrote on Twitter. This only delays the battle, but does not resolve the issues. Over two dozen LPDF members criticized the U.N. mission for its proposal that the forum vote on suggestions that included keeping the current government in power, and only holding legislative elections. Richard Norland, the U.S. special envoy for Libya, accused several members of the forum of apparently trying to insert poison pills to ensure elections will not happen either by prolonging the constitutional process or by creating new conditions that must be met for elections to occur. Story continues We hope the 75 Libyans in the LPDF will re-dedicate themselves to allowing the 7 million Libyans throughout the country to have a voice in shaping Libyas future, he said. Christian Buck, director of Middle East and North Africa at the German Foreign Ministry, urged the LPDF members to stick to the roadmap to elections in December. Any postponement would open doors to dangerous scenarios, he tweeted, without elaborating. The government, led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, was appointed by the forum earlier this year in a vote mired in corruption allegations. Its main mandate is to prepare the country for December elections in hopes of stabilizing the divided nation. Libya has been plagued by corruption and turmoil since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. In recent years, the country was split between a U.N.-supported government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities based in the countrys east. Each side was backed by armed groups and foreign governments. The U.N. estimated in December there were at least 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries in Libya, including Turkish troops, Syrians, Russians, Sudanese and Chadians. In April 2019, east-based commander Khalifa Hifter and his forces, backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, launched an offensive to try to capture Tripoli. Hifters 14-month campaign collapsed after Turkey stepped up its military support of the U.N.-backed government with hundreds of troops and thousands of Syrian mercenaries. An October cease-fire agreement led to a deal on the December elections and a transitional government that took office in February. The deal included a demand that all foreign fighters and mercenaries leave Libya within 90 days, but that demand has yet to be met. Denmark are flying on the "wings" of support back home, said coach Kasper Hjulmand after their fairytale run at Euro 2020 continued with a 2-1 quarter-final win over the Czech Republic in Baku. First-half goals from Thomas Delaney and Kasper Dolberg were enough to see Hjulmand's men through into a last-four meeting with England or Ukraine at Wembley despite a second-half rally from the Czechs inspired by Patrik Schick's fifth goal of the tournament. The Danes have now scored 10 goals in winning their last three matches after starting the tournament with two defeats, the first amid shocking circumstances when Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch. "We won some games comfortably, 4-1 and 4-0, but this is also a way of winning a football game," said Hjulmand. "I'm very proud to be in the semi-finals with this team. "The wings people gave us is very important. We are very proud to give something back to Denmark and the people watching from home." Three weeks on from Eriksen's collapse, Denmark are dreaming of a repeat of 1992 when they won the European Championship despite not even qualifying. Then Yugoslavia's expulsion due to an outbreak of war gave the Danes a second chance and they are playing like a side inspired by the emotion of Eriksen's collapse and recovery. The Inter Milan midfielder was able to leave hospital after less than a week with a defibrillator fitted in his chest, but on the field Denmark have survived the loss of their star man for the past decade. "He's still a big part of this team and a big part of our road to Wembley," added Hjulmand on Eriksen. "That team is not something we built overnight, he has been part of the team for a very long time. "I wish he was here. I'm sending a lot of greetings to him and he's a big part of this result." - 'Exhausted' - After playing all three group games in Copenhagen and in front of thousands of travelling Danish fans in Amsterdam in a 4-0 thrashing of Wales last weekend, only a small pocket of supporters could make the 4,000 kilometre trip to Azerbaijan. Story continues Those that did make it were celebrating within five minutes as Delaney was left completely unmarked to head home Jens Stryger Larsen's corner. Denmark then sat back but were always a threat on the break and Tomas Vaclik twice had to stand up to deny Mikkel Damsgaard. Vaclik was powerless three minutes before half-time when Joakim Maehle added another assist to his fine tournament with a teasing cross with the outside of his right foot that Dolberg smashed home from close range. Czech boss Jaroslav Silhavy made two substitutions at the break and the introduction of Jakub Jankto and Michael Krmencik made an instant impact. Schick latched onto Vladimir Coufal's cross to join Cristiano Ronaldo as the tournament's top goalscorer. The Czechs' momentum soon fizzled out with both sides visibly jaded by their long journey east and the searing heat. "You could see how exhausted they were and I think we can all be proud of them," said Silhavy. "We are disappointed. There were some tears (in the dressing room). We were in the bubble for a long time, it was not easy but I think we managed something we can be proud of. "The fans must also appreciate our great performance." Vaclik kept his side in the game with a string of saves to twice deny substitute Yussuf Poulsen and then Maehle when one-on-one. However, with Schick forced off by a muscle strain, Silhavy's men lacked the goal threat to trouble Denmark through six minutes of stoppage time. kca/jc By Aidan Lewis RAS GARGOUB, Egypt (Reuters) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated a large naval base on Saturday 135 km from the border with Libya, flanked by close ally Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Libya's unity president. Egypt says the July 3 base will help it protect strategic and economic interests as well as helping guard against irregular migration as it boosts its naval presence on the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. At the inauguration, two Mistral helicopter carriers acquired from France were on display alongside a German-made submarine and two recently delivered FREMM-class Italian frigates. Naval forces performed exercises that included the firing of missiles, parachute jumps and an amphibious landing. Later, Sisi briefed guests at a private event about the giant hydropower dam being built by Ethiopia, which Egypt sees as a threat to its water supplies. The United Nations Security Council is likely to meet over the issue this week after talks repeatedly stalled. Egypt appreciates Ethiopia's development needs but negotiations should not "continue indefinitely" Sisi said, according to a statement from the presidency. The July 3 base, whose name marks the day in 2013 when Sisi led the overthrow of Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Mursi in 2013, is spread over more than 10 sq km and has a 1,000-metre naval quay with a water depth of 14 metres. It also has quays for commercial shipping. The eastern border became a key security concern for Egypt after Libya slid into turmoil after 2011, though it has beefed up its presence in the area. Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, where Sheikh Mohammed is de facto ruler, backed the eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar as conflict escalated in Libya after 2014, but Cairo has increasingly thrown support behind a United Nations-led effort to reunify the country. That process created a new three-man presidential council headed by Mohamed al-Menfi, who attended Saturday's inauguration. Egypt has also experienced tensions with Turkey which backed Haftar's rivals in Libya over maritime rights in the gas-rich eastern Mediterranean. However, Cairo and Ankara have taken cautious steps this year to mend relations. (Additional reporting by Mohamed Waly; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Elaine Hardcastle) The king is back on television. Elvis Presley fans can stop crying on their blue suede shoes, as digital media company Cinedigm is partnering with Elvis Presley Enterprises to create The Elvis Presley Channel, which will launch on television in early 2022. The Elvis Presley Channel will be comprised of Elvis Presley archival content and specials, as well as musical content from some of the most influential rock n roll artists that inspired the music industry, Cinedigm said in a press release Wednesday. DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION, BIDEN INAUGURATION PRODUCER UP FOR TWO EMMY AWARDS Residing in his Graceland mansion in Memphis and active from the 1950s through the 1970s, Elvis changed the face of rock music with his electric dance style and hits such as Blue Suede Shoes, Cant Help Falling in Love, and Jailhouse Rock. There are few individuals more iconic than Elvis Presley, he transcends time, genre and medium. The opportunity to build a branded channel around Elvis opens up streaming possibilities to an entirely new demographic in the fastest-growing segment of the ad-supported business. The channel will allow a whole new audience to experience Elvis, while also giving his fans a more in-depth look at their idol, said Erick Opeka, Cinedigm president. The channel will be available from traditional television providers, as well as streaming services such as Hulu, Roku, and Amazon. In addition to archival footage of famous Elvis concerts, the channel will feature documentaries about the musician and cities such as Memphis that shaped him and, by extension, rock n' roll music more broadly. Fans will also have the opportunity to see clips of other musical legends such as Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Cinedigm has been tapping into the business of creating television channels for legends in popular culture. In 2020, the company launched The Bob Ross Channel, which airs old episodes of the artists painting tutorials. Story continues Washington Examiner Videos Tags: News, Elvis Presley, TV, Memphis, Tennessee, Music, rock n roll Original Author: Charles Hilu Original Location: Elvis makes comeback on the small screen The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission on Saturday called for urgent measures to ensure "the safety and security of civilians" is made a priority in Tigray after eight months of conflict that has left millions facing famine. The region of northern Ethiopia, a country of about 110 million people, has been riven by fighting since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in early November sent the army to topple the dissident leadership of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). After declaring an early victory, the operation turned into a long-lasting and bloody conflict between pro-TPLF forces -- the Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) -- and the Ethiopian army. Confusing matters, the Ethiopian military was supported by troops from neighbouring Amhara regional authorities and the army of Eritrea, which borders Tigray. The conflict has been marked by numerous accounts of abuses against civilians, with reports of massacres, rapes and forced displacement. More than 400,000 people have "crossed the famine threshold" in the region and another 1.8 million people "are on the verge of starvation", a senior UN official estimated at a public meeting of the Security Council on Friday. NGOs and the World Food Programme (WFP) raised the alarm on Friday over the destruction this week of two bridges that provide vital road access after the TDF retook the regional capital Mekele. The Ethiopian government denied any responsibility after it was accused of destroying the bridges to prevent humanitarian aid arriving. "The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission expresses its deep concern about the situation of civilians in the Tigray region" and "urges that urgent measures be taken to ensure their safety and security," the independent but federal government-affiliated body said on Saturday. "The safety and security of civilians must remain a priority," it said. With electricity and telecommunications cut off and many roads impassable, it stressed the importance of "transparency and clarity on the current security and humanitarian situation". Story continues The commission called on all parties to respect the ceasefire, unilaterally declared on Monday night by the federal government and described by the TDF as a "joke". The pre-war TPLF government in Tigray on Friday pledged its support for the UN and organisations "working to provide vital assistance" to Tigrayans, saying it was "committed to facilitating humanitarian access". At the Security Council meeting, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo also urged the TDF on Thursday to "immediately and fully endorse the ceasefire". In Addis Ababa, the commission also said it was monitoring reports of "arrests of media personnel and residents of Tigray ethnic origin suspected of connection with the ongoing situation in the region", pointing to a "risk of ethnic profiling". sva/blb/pbr/pvh The Majors It was a mixed week for the majors in the week ending 2nd July. The DAX30 rose by 0.27%, while the CAC40 and the EuroStoxx600 ended the week down by 1.06% and by 0.18% respectively. Economic data from the Eurozone and the U.S delivered the majors with support in the week. From the Eurozone, inflationary pressures softened in June, according to prelim figures, while the Manufacturing PMI hit a record high. Economic data from the U.S was also positive, with labor market data supporting the FEDs more optimistic outlook. While the stats were skewed to the positive for the majors, however, rising COVID-19 cases across the world pressured the majors in the week. The Stats Economic sentiment figures for the Eurozone in focus on Tuesday. A pickup in economic sentiment in June provided some support early in the week. Midweek, German unemployment and Eurozone inflation figures were in focus. While unemployment numbers were market positive, inflationary pressures across the Eurozone softened in June. According to prelim figures, the Eurozones annual rate of inflation softened from 2.0% to 1.9%. On Thursday, manufacturing sector PMIs for June were positive, however. Spains manufacturing PMI increased from 59.4 to 60.4, with Italys seeing a modest fall from 62.3 to 62.2. Germanys manufacturing PMI rose from 64.4 to 65.1, which was up from a prelim 64.9. Frances manufacturing sector saw growth slow moderately, with the PMI falling from 59.4 to 59.0. This was up from a prelim 58.6. As a result, the Eurozones manufacturing PMI rose from 63.1 to a record high 63.4, which was up from a prelim 63.1. Eurozone unemployment figures for May were also upbeat, with the unemployment rate falling from 8.1% to 7.9%. Retail sales figures from Germany were also market positive on Thursday. Retail sales rose by 4.2% partially reversing a 6.8% slide in April. From the U.S After a quiet start to the week, consumer confidence figures impressed on Tuesday. The CB Consumer Confidence Index jumped to a 16-month high in June. Story continues Mid-week, ADP nonfarm employment change figures pointed to another sharp increase in hiring. In June, the ADP reported a 692k increase in nonfarm payrolls, following an 886k surge in May. On Thursday, the focus shifted to the weekly jobless claims and manufacturing sector PMI numbers. In the week ending 25th June, initial jobless claims fell from 415k to 365k. Manufacturing sector activity saw slightly weaker growth in June, however, with the ISM Manufacturing PMI falling from 61.2 to 60.6. While the stats delivered Dollar support, nonfarm payroll data at the end of the week was the key stat of the week. In June, the government reported a 662k increase in nonfarm payrolls following a 516k rise in May. In spite of the rise, the unemployment rate edged up from 5.8% to 5.9%. Economists had forecast nonfarm payrolls to rise by 570k and for the unemployment rate to fall to 5.7%. The participation rate held steady at 61.6% versus a forecasted increase to 61.7% The Market Movers From the DAX, it was a bearish week for the auto sector. Volkswagen fell by 1.90%, with BMW and Daimler declining by 2.18% and by 2.02% respectively. Continental led the way down, however, with a 2.58% loss. It was also a bearish week for the banking sector. Deutsche Bank fell by 1.71%, with Commerzbank sliding by 5.59%. From the CAC, it was a bearish week for the banks. BNP Paribas slid by 3.65%, with Credit Agricole and Soc Gen ending the week down by 0.84% and by 1.30% respectively. It was a mixed week for the French auto sector, however. Stellantis NV fell by 2.13%, while Renault rose by 0.71%. Air France-KLM ended the week down by 4.21%, while Airbus rose by 1.72%. On the VIX Index It was a 2nd consecutive week in the red for the VIX, marking a 5th weekly loss in 6-weeks. In the week ending 2nd July, the VIX fell by 3.52%. Following a 24.54% slide from the previous week, the VIX ended the week at 15.07. 3-days in the red from 5 sessions delivered the downside in the week. For the week, the Dow rose by 1.02%, with the NASDAQ and the S&P500 ending the week up by 1.94% and by 1.67% respectively. The Week Ahead Its a relatively busy week ahead on the economic calendar. At the start of the week, service sector PMIs for Italy and Spain will be in focus along with finalized PMIs for France, Germany, and the Eurozone. With the markets expecting a pickup in service sector activity, expect the numbers from Italy and Spain to draw plenty of attention. According to prelim figures last month, the Eurozones services PMI hit a 41-month high in June. On Tuesday, German factory orders and Eurozone retail sales figures will be in focus along with ZEW Economic Sentiment numbers. Through the 2nd half of the week, the German economy will remain in the spotlight, with industrial production and trade data due out. From the U.S, the markets preferred ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI on Tuesday and weekly jobless claims on Thursday will also provide direction. Chinas Caixin services PMI and inflation data due out on Monday and Friday will also need considering. Away from the economic calendar, central bank chatter and COVID-19 news will continue to influence. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: By Aditya Kalra NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Amazon.com Inc and India's Tata Group warned government officials on Saturday that plans for tougher rules for online retailers would have a major impact on their business models, four sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters. At a meeting organised by the consumer affairs ministry and the government's investment promotion arm, Invest India, many executives expressed concerns and confusion over the proposed rules and asked that the July 6 deadline for submitting comments be extended, said the sources. The government's tough new e-commerce rules announced on June 21 aimed at strengthening protection for consumers, caused concern among the country's online retailers, notably market leaders Amazon and Walmart Inc's Flipkart. New rules limiting flash sales, barring misleading advertisements and mandating a complaints system, among other proposals, could force the likes of Amazon and Flipkart to review their business structures, and may increase costs for domestic rivals including Reliance Industries' JioMart, BigBasket and Snapdeal. Amazon argued that COVID-19 had already hit small businesses and the proposed rules will have a huge impact on its sellers, arguing that some clauses were already covered by existing law, two of the sources said. The sources asked not to be named as the discussions were private. The proposed policy states e-commerce firms must ensure none of their related enterprises are listed as sellers on their websites. That could impact Amazon in particular as it holds an indirect stake in at least two of its sellers, Cloudtail and Appario. On that proposed clause, a representative of Tata Sons, the holding company of India's $100 billion Tata Group, argued that it was problematic, citing an example to say it would stop Starbucks - which has a joint-venture with Tata in India - from offering its products on Tata's marketplace website. Story continues The Tata executive said the rules will have wide ramifications for the conglomerate, and could restrict sales of its private brands, according to two of the sources. Tata declined to comment. The sources said that a consumer ministry official argued that the rules were meant to protect consumers and were not as strict as those of other countries. The ministry did not respond to a request for comment. A Reliance executive agreed that the proposed rules would boost consumer confidence, but added that some clauses needed clarification. Reliance did not respond to request for comment. The rules were announced last month amid growing complaints from India's brick-and-mortar retailers that Amazon and Flipkart bypass foreign investment law using complex business strcutures. The companies deny any wrongdoing. A Reuters investigation https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/amazon-india-operation in February cited Amazon documents that showed it gave preferential treatment to a small number of its sellers and bypassed foreign investment rules. Amazon has said it does not give favourable treatment to any seller. The government will soon issue certain clarifications on the foreign investment rules, Indian commerce minister Piyush Goyal told reporters on Friday. (Reporting by Aditya Kalra in New Delhi;Editing by Euan Rocha and Louise Heavens) Keith McCoy thought he was talking to a job recruiter. Speaking on a Zoom video call in May, the longtime Washington lobbyist talked openly about efforts to blunt the Biden administration's climate agenda on behalf of the nation's largest oil and gas company, ExxonMobil. In reality, it was not job interview. It was a sting conducted by Greenpeace UK, an environmental group more than 3,000 miles away. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. The release of the explosive, secretly recorded video has sent a shock wave across the Atlantic and through Washington as the White House and Congress debate a major infrastructure package - and the extent to which it should invest in clean energy that directly compete with oil companies like Exxon. McCoy, the company's senior director for federal relations, described how ExxonMobil selects senators on which to apply pressure. The oil firm's public support for a tax on carbon emissions, he said, was an "easy talking point" with little chance of ever passing Congress. "Nobody is going to propose a tax on all Americans and the cynical side of me says, 'Yeah, we kind of know that.'" The excerpts, aired this week by the British broadcaster Channel 4, have led to a rare mea culpa from the chief executive of the normally unapologetic Exxon. In a blog post Friday, CEO Darren Woods called the recorded comments "entirely inconsistent with our commitment to the environment, transparency and what our employees and management team have worked toward since I became CEO four years ago." He reiterated the company's public position in support of the Paris climate agreement and carbon pricing. The company declined to comment further. Already, one top Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Ro Khanna of California, is asking for Woods to testify in Congress broadly about the company's communication on climate change, while lawmakers named in the video are distancing themselves from the company. Story continues "It's a confirmation of what many on the Hill and around the country have suspected," Khanna, chair of the House Oversight Committee subcommittee on the environment, said in an interview on Friday. "And that is that the fossil fuel industry, and Exxon specifically, has been engaged in a misinformation campaign, manipulating public opinion to deny the impact of climate change." The clips arrive just weeks after Exxon spent millions of dollars in an unsuccessful effort to keep a slate of new independent directors off its board. Activist hedge fund leaders and pensions managers who pushed for the new board members say the company has failed to deal with climate change and plan for decarbonizing its operations. In the video, McCoy argued Biden's goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions are "insane." The president campaigned on making the country carbon neutral by the middle of the century. "We're playing defense, because President Biden is talking about this big infrastructure package and he's going to pay for it by increasing corporate taxes," he said in the recording. McCoy did not respond to requests for comment. McCoy also admitted that Exxon funded outside organizations that sought to stymie past government efforts to halt raising temperatures. "Did we join some of these 'shadow groups' to work against some of the early efforts? Yes, that's true," he said. "But there's nothing illegal about that. We were looking out for our investments." And he described targeting Senate moderates, as well as those up for re-election, even as several of the Democratic lawmakers named in the video - including Sens. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Mark Kelly of Arizona, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Jon Tester of Montana - say they never spoke with McCoy during the bipartisan infrastructure talks. "At no time during the bipartisan infrastructure negotiations did Kyrsten speak with or meet with this individual - nor would she be influenced by anything other than what is best for Arizona," Sinema spokesman John LaBombard said. McCoy claimed to talk every week to the staff of Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, but the senator's office said McCoy was aggrandizing himself during what he thought was a job interview. "Throughout his entire public service career, Manchin and those who work for him have always had an open door policy and a willingness to learn from those with varying and diverse opinions," his office said in a statement to The Washington Post. "But recently an Exxon employee greatly exaggerated his relationship and influence with Senator Manchin's staff in an attempt to advance his own career only to be misled by an activist organization with an agenda of their own." Progressive activists seized on the video to urge Democrats to ignore Exxon's concerns and pass major climate legislation. "It's time for President Biden to pick a side: Exxon or the American majority?" Varshini Prakash, executive director of Sunrise Movement, and Alexandra Rojas, executive director of Justice Democrats, said in a joint statement. Through much of the 1990s and 2000s, Exxon contended the science of climate change was too uncertain to act upon - even after its in-house scientists pioneered early greenhouse gas research decades prior. Now, the company admits climate change is real, presenting itself in ads as part of the solution with its research into algae-based biofuel. For months, Khanna's subcommittee has been planning to hold a hearing in the fall on the spread of misinformation about climate change, threatening to subpoena Exxon if it did not cooperate. "They have a self-interest to participate, to clear their name," he said. "If they refuse to participate, and if it comes to a subpoena, that would be a pretty big indictment and would undermine everything Darren Woods said." The recording raises questions about the ethics of using subterfuge to get sources to speak candidly - a practice condoned at times in British journalism but generally off-limits for mainstream American reporters. The tape was three years in the making, according to Lawrence Carter, a reporter at Unearthed, a Greenpeace UK affiliate. He began looking for ways to investigate the energy industry's lobbying on climate change after several oil majors, including Exxon, came out in support of the Paris climate accord, which calls for capping warming below 2 degrees Celsius. "With lobbying stories, so much of it is happening behind closed doors," said Carter, who orchestrated the recording, feeding questions to an interviewer Unearthed hired. "We felt going undercover was the only way we were going to really reveal (Exxon's lobbying)." "It's not something you would do lightly because it is an invasion of privacy," he added. Industry codes for British broadcasters and newspaper are more permissive than U.S. publications, according to Glenda Cooper, a senior journalism lecturer at City, University of London. Intrusions such as an undercover recording can be seen as a last resort for information deemed to be in the public interest. "It is seen as part of the investigative journalist's tool kit, if it can be justified," she said. "It's not the first thing that you do." Related Content Missing at the beach this summer: employees I went to Las Vegas to test whether I was really ready for life on the other side of the pandemic The land was worth millions. A Big Ag corporation sold it to Sonny Perdue's company for $250,000. Tourists waiting for the iconic Old Faithful geyser to erupt got a different sight: a man running through the area while waving an American flag. A 37-year-old traveled more than 2,000 from Maine to Yellowstone National Park last July, park officials said. While he was there, he ran through the Old Faithful thermal area multiple times to get the attention of tourists, the National Park Service said. On July 7, 2020, while wearing a raccoon skin hat and waving an American flag, (the man) ran out on the thermal area and up to the geyser of Old Faithful more than once, Yellowstone rangers said Friday in a news release. He then failed to appear for his court hearing on July 23, 2020, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Nearly a year later, the man was arrested in Maine and appeared at the Yellowstone Justice Center. He pleaded guilty to trespassing on Old Faithful and will spend 15 days in prison. The man was also ordered to pay a $200 fine in addition to $30 in court costs and a $10 fee. He is also banned from Yellowstone National Park. People from all over the world travel to Yellowstone to see Old Faithful, the National Park Service said. The geyser helped Yellowstone become the worlds first national park. Its one of nearly 500 geysers in the national park. The ground in hydrothermal areas is fragile and thin, and there is scalding water just below the surface, parks officials have said. Visitors must always remain on boardwalks and trails and exercise extreme caution around thermal features. People have been seriously injured from falling into the water in Yellowstone. In May, a visitor fell into scalding-hot water at Old Faithful while trying to take photos, the park said. In 2016, an Oregon man may have dissolved after trying to soak in a thermal area. Workers couldnt find any remains, and park rangers believe he dissolved from the dangerously hot water, the Associated Press reported. Last fall, a 48-year-old man was hospitalized with severe burns to a significant portion of his body from falling into scalding-hot water near Old Faithful Geyser, McClatchy News reported. Story continues Kayaker too drunk for Yellowstone tour fights with rangers and ends up banned A black goldendoodle named Delta is lost somewhere in Yellowstone National Park Tourists fed grizzly from their car at Grand Teton and the bear had to be relocated LYTTON, British Columbia (AP) A forensic team arrived Saturday in a Canadian town destroyed by wildfire to confirm reports that two people were killed during the blazes which forced residents to abandon their homes with just a few minutes notice several days ago. The Coroners Service in British Columbia said they will enter the devastated village of Lytton, located 95 miles (150 kilometers) northeast of Vancouver, only if it has been deemed safe. The roughly 1,000 residents of Lytton fled their homes Wednesday evening after suffering the previous day under a record high of 121.2 Fahrenheit (49.6 Celsius). One resident said he watched his parents die when a power line fell on them while trying to hide from the flames. Jeff Chapman told CBC News he and his parents, who were in their 60s, were preparing for a late afternoon barbecue when they saw smoke and flames approaching. There was nothing we could do," said Chapman. It came in so fast, we had nowhere to go. Chapman said he helped his parents take shelter in a trench that had been dug to repair a septic system. He covered the trench with some tin. Then he spent the next 45 minutes laying on the gravel of a railway track as the fire burned around him. When he returned for his parents, a power line had fallen on them. We just tried to save what we worked our whole life for, he said. It might not have been the best, but it was home. Those who escaped the fire scattered to evacuation centers across the province. John Haugen, acting chief of the Lytton First Nation, said many people are still in shock over losing their homes. For many its traumatic, he told Global News. They still havent been able to really wrap their heads around they have no home to go back too. The B.C. Wildfire Service says the fire burning near Lytton has grown to 32,000 square miles (83,000 square kilometers) in size. Another fire near Kamloops, B.C, forced officials to evacuate more than 100 homes Friday evening. The cause of the wildfire that devastated Lytton is under investigation. Earlier this week Premier John Horgan said he had heard anecdotal evidence linking the start of the fire to a train running through the community. The office of federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in an emailed statement that it would take necessary action should any potential non-compliance with Canadas rail safety laws and regulations be identified. Jul. 2A man shooting a crossbow at a flock of turkeys in O'Hara's RIDC Park could have caused catastrophic results, Game Commission authorities said Friday. "This is a highly populated area, and the fact that someone would do this is shocking," said Northern Allegheny County Game Warden Madison Kyle. She said the commission is seeking the public's help to locate the suspect, described as a white male about 6 feet tall with short brown hair. He was driving a red minivan at the time of the incident, which happened May 25 along Kappa Drive. Kyle said a window was broken at a business in the area after the suspect shot a crossbow from the driver's seat of his van. She did not identify the business. "Luckily, there was no one in the office and fortunately it was a double-paned window," she said. Damage estimates were not yet available, but Kyle said the window shattered from the force of the crossbow bolt, leading her to believe the suspect was well within the state's crossbow safety zone of 50 feet. Surveillance cameras caught the suspect driving past the business after work hours. "He spotted the turkeys and turned around," Kyle said. "He was dressed nice so he wasn't out hunting and got excited. He was stalking these turkeys with the intent of harvesting one." The business owner reported seeing the turkeys in the area for several days before the incident, Kyle said. She surmised that the suspect also had seen the turkeys traveling through the industrial park and packed his crossbow in case the opportunity arose to take a shot. "This is illegal in the state," Kyle said. "You can't stalk spring turkeys. You can't move to locate them. You have to be stationery and call them in." Kyle said the suspect broke several game laws and faces various citations that begin with a minimum of a $150 fine for an unlawful attempt on a turkey. He also could face a $200 to $500 fine for shooting from within the required safety zone, and he could owe restitution to the business for extensive damage. Story continues "I would really like to hold this person accountable," Kyle said. Anyone with information is asked to call the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Southwest Region at 724-238-9523. Tawnya Panizzi is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tawnya at 724-226-7726, tpanizzi@triblive.com or via Twitter . WASHINGTON Women working in the White House under President Joe Biden earn 99 cents for every $1 earned by male employees, according to an annual report released by the Executive Office of the President, a gap significantly narrower than under bothprevious administrations and the national average. Nationally, women currently earn an average of 80 cents for every dollar a man earns. The administration cited the adoption of a pay band salary structure as the "best practice for helping to achieve pay equity," according to the White House. The structure guarantees a set salary according to band level regardless of gender or race. The average salary for a woman in the Biden administration is $93,752 and $94,639 for a man, a difference of about 1%, the White House reported. Approximately 60% of White House staff are female. That's comparable to the average rate of women (56.2%) who participated in the labor force in 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. President Donald Trump's administration reported a 37% gender pay gap during his first year in office, compared to 16% during President Barack Obama's first year. The Biden administration is also historically diverse, according to the State Department. Members of racially and ethnically diverse communities make up approximately 44% of the 560 political appointees to the White House. Slightly under 40% of the U.S. population are part of diverse communities, per the fact sheet. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 38.4% of diverse populations are represented in the labor force. Since 1995, the White House has been required to report the salary and title of every employee to Congress. Contributing: The Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Women earn 99 cents for every dollar earned by men Biden White House Geraldo Rivera approved of Bill Cosby's release from prison after "grotesquely unfair" proceedings, adding that Harvey Weinstein may be next. Rivera, an attorney, said he wrote a note to himself in 2018 describing Cosby as a "sexual predator who left a trail of human misery and despair" while predicting that "his conviction will be overturned" because the judge "went way over the line in allowing unrelated victim testimony." "What they did to this guy was mob justice," he said on Fox News's America Reports with John Roberts and Sandra Smith. "First of all, the former state [district attorney] promised that they would not bring a criminal case against him if he testified in a civil deposition. That was an express agreement that he had with the former district attorney. That's No. 1. No. 2, to bring in five unrelated victims to testify against him was so grotesquely unfair that it just seemed to me that this was mob justice." WHY WAS BILL COSBY RELEASED FROM PRISON? A LEGAL EXPERT EXPLAINS "How is he going to get back these two years that he has lost?" Rivera asked, adding, "This never should have happened." When asked by John Roberts about how the accusers will get a sense of justice, Rivera said, "Our hearts go out to these victims." "They should have gone to a prosecutor when their cases were ripe for justice. I am sorry that they are not getting a sense of moral fulfillment now or rehabilitation or repair for the damage that this man probably did to them, but that's not the way the criminal justice system works," he continued. "In our system, there's an accuser, there's evidence, the evidence is testified by the defense, and then, the jury or the judge rules on it. In this case, they brought in people that were unrelated to this victim. Why just five? Why not 50? Why not all 50 that you say were harmed by this monster? ... In this case, [the prosecutors] embellished [Cosby's alleged wrongdoing] in a way that was wrongful." Story continues Cosby stood accused of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, who said that the encounter took place in 2004. Bruce Castor, known for his defense of former President Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial, was the district attorney of Montgomery County at the time, and he argued there was not sufficient evidence to convict Cosby on a criminal charge. He then made a deal with Cosby not to prosecute him on criminal charges in exchange for testimony in a civil proceeding. Cosby testified against himself in the civil case, and the depositions were unsealed in 2015, prompting the new prosecutor to use them to bring criminal claims against Cosby. Two trials were held, and during the second, five accusers testified against Cosby for unrelated incidents of alleged sexual misconduct. Cosby was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to three to 10 years in prison. On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court determined that the criminal conviction violated Cosby's agreement with Castor. Cosby was released, a move Rivera said could lead to similar developments in Weinstein's case. "This will be reflected in Harvey Weinstein's appeal as well," he said. "They may be monsters. #MeToo may have exacted righteous justice in both those cases, but it's not the way the criminal justice system works. ... Bill Cosby, I tell you: You can spit on him [and] do all you want, but he was unjustly convicted, in my opinion." Attorneys for Weinstein, who was convicted in February 2020 of first-degree sexual assault and third-degree rape following a trial in Manhattan Supreme Court, filed an appeal of his 23-year sentence this April. "Simply put, the prosecution tried Weinstein's character, not his conduct," Weinstein's lawyers wrote in the appeal. Weinstein, whose conviction was celebrated by the #MeToo movement, also faces pending charges filed in January 2020 by the Los Angeles District Attorneys Office, which alleges that he raped one woman and sexually assaulted another woman over a two-day period in 2013. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Weinstein's attorneys said they were encouraged by Cosby's release. "In reversing the conviction of Bill Cosby, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has demonstrated, once again, that no matter who a defendant may be and no matter the nature of the alleged crime, courts can be relied upon to follow the law and come to the correct decision," Juda Engelmayer, a spokesman for Weinstein, said in a statement. "This decision also reaffirms our confidence that the Appellate Division in New York will reach the similarly correct decision in Harvey Weinstein's appeal, considering the abundance of issues that cry out for a reversal." Washington Examiner Videos Tags: News, Fox News, Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, Due Process, #MeToo, Law, Media Original Author: Carly Roman Original Location: Geraldo Rivera applauds Bill Cosbys release after being 'unjustly convicted,' suggests Weinstein could be next Reuters HONG KONG (Reuters) -Shares of Hong Kong beverage maker Vitasoy tumbled 12% on Monday after a worker sent around a memo offering condolences to the family of a colleague who stabbed a Hong Kong policeman, prompting social media users in China to call for a boycott of the company. Vitasoy said in a statement on social media platform Weibo on Saturday that a staff member had circulated an internal memo that was widely shared online, describing it as "extremely inappropriate" and without authorisation. The employee's memo offered condolences to the family of a 50-year-old Vitasoy worker who had stabbed a police officer, 28, and then killed himself on Thursday, the anniversary of the former British colony's return to Chinese rule. Folks are hungry out there. And restaurants, despite industry challenges, are cranking out the meals. Over the past three months, revenues from Hamptons meals tax saw some of its highest levels in the past two years, said Ross Mugler, the citys commissioner of revenue. As of Wednesday, the last day of the fiscal year, Hampton reported $6.6 million in meals tax revenue for April, May and June, according to data compiled by the commissioners office. Its higher than the $4.4 million the city took for the same three-month period last year and more than pre-pandemic levels at $5.9 million during 2019 for the same time frame. For the fiscal year 2021, Hamptons total gross restaurant receipts exceeded $89 million, with the meals tax intake at $23.1 million. Hamptons charges consumers a 7.5% food and beverage tax on top of the states sales tax. The gross numbers and volume of restaurant sales, even with the constraints and picking days to close, even with the limited capacity back in March and April ... the volume has increase substantial for existing restaurants, Mugler said. Its the fast food, its the big box restaurants, its not really due to new restaurants. We have continued to see restaurants thrive. Food and beverage tax in Hampton is among the highest in the region, with Newport News and Portsmouth each at 7.5%, Norfolk at 6.5%, Poquoson at 6% and Virginia Beach and Chesapeake at 5.5% each. Williamsburg and York County, while at lower rates with 5% and 4%, respectively, add a 7% state retail and use tax to bills. In Hampton, meals tax revenue is used to help offset property tax rates, to cover tourism and other debt for the Hampton Roads Convention Center, Mugler said. Last year, the pandemic blindsided restaurants and hospitality businesses, forcing them to close or shift gears to offering take-out only and costing them untold millions in revenue. Some made it through; some didnt. Hampton residents may have used takeout to get through social distancing, but it didnt replace the atmosphere of dining out, city spokeswoman Robin McCormick said in an email. Story continues Phoebus saw openings, including The Bakers Wife, Charlottes Cafeteria, Fox Tail Wine Bar and an expansion for Scratch Bakery. Also, fast casual dining has expanded in Coliseum Central, she added. With mask mandates lifted, more people vaccinated and capacity limits on indoor dinning relaxed, business is cooking now that summer is underway. We have a fairly steady crowd for dinner. Up to a couple months ago it was the same people, but now that mask mandate is lifted, you are seeing a lot more people, said Randy Thomas, owner of Vanguard Brewpub & Distillery in Hamptons downtown. Its people coming and making it their business to support small businesses, said Scratch Baker owner LaShonda Sanford, who just opened a bistro in Phoebus. Its on-purpose spending at this point, they tell me. Carlyle Bland, who owns three restaurants in Hampton including Brown Chicken Brown Cow, Marker 20 and Venture on Queens Way said its a mixed bag. There is a lot of pent-up demand. We are happy and sad at the same time, Bland said. I dont have enough employees. Its just getting bodies. I think during the pandemic the economy went on. The restaurants closed and people got other jobs. His restaurants are operating under constrained hours and sales are not back up to pre-COVID levels, Bland said. Thomas said Vanguard also is down employees, nearly 50% compared with 2019 and there are other challenges. Pre-pandemic I had about 70 employees between full- and part-time. Even though we are back at full capacity, I cannot operate at full capacity because Im down staff. I think that was not being taken into account, Thomas said when asked about the citys gush over record meal taxes. Weve seen a shortage of chicken and chicken wings. Restaurants are facing a ton of challenges, staff challenges, rising food costs and competition with fast food (places). Thats our biggest challenge, keeping a menu that we can afford. Sanford said small business are being hit hard in general, especial with the new minimum wage scales. In Virginia, minimum wage increased to $9.50 in May and expects to increase to $11 by January. We have to get more employees. We can hardly find them. When we do find them, we have to pay them much more, Sanford said. I support minimum wage going up. I do support it for big box chains, but its really hard for small business to maintain those numbers for kids that we are trying to employ for the summer. We can hardly compete with that. Mugler agrees restaurants are under a lot of pressure now, but things are improving. I talk to a lot of friends, and we are just tired of cooking (at home), Mugler said. Its hard to find a parking space in Phoebus. Thats a great sign. Thomas said the pandemic gave his partners time to rethink what they were doing, so hes mostly optimistic for the future. We are going to come out of it on the backside, he said. Once everything goes back to normal, well be in good shape. Lisa Vernon Sparks, 757-247-4832, lvernonsparks@dailypress.com Yes, the year is already half over, but it's not too late for some spring cleaning in your Google account. You might want to consider uncluttering your account because as of June 1, Google Photos stopped providing unlimited storage. That means your account can only expand to 15 gigabytes beyond what you had as of June 1. Your Google account combines storage for Google Drive, Photos and Gmail, so you could regularly do some pruning in those programs to help avoid going over the limit. Otherwise, you can pay the $1.99 monthly rate for its Google One entry-level 100-gigabyte plan (you can also pot to save 16% by paying the $19.99 annual rate). Additional plans offer up to 2 terabytes. 5 tech tricks: Keep your phone number forever or get a higher Zestimate Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin July 20 mission: Space flight adds Mercury 13's famous Wally Funk to crew More modest data users can take some steps to stem bulk data buildup including updating your Gmail inbox, which can stealthily swell thanks to attachments and subscribed email lists. Google announced its new data plan back in November. Beyond Google, there are other storage options including online plans from Amazon, Apple, Dropbox and others, plus you can move photos and videos to external storage devices, too. Regardless, you might want to consider storing second or third copies of important photos and videos on an external drive or USB drive, just in case your computer or cloud storage service has issues. What else happened in tech? Facebook law. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle of the Northern District of Florida blocked a Florida law that would penalize social media companies for barring the speech of politicians. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he planned to appeal the law, which the judge said likely be ruled unconstitutional because it would have forced social media companies to allow speech even if it violated their rules. The technology industry challenged the law, which Florida lawmakers approved after Facebook, Twitter and YouTube suspended President Trumps accounts following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Story continues Twitch turns 10. The Amazon-owned service, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, has evolved from video game-centric site into a video streaming home for musicians and other creators to make a living. YouTube TV adds 4K, downloads. You can now watch 4K video and download videos to go on YouTube TV if you want to pay a bit more. The service will let you try the new 4K Plus feature, which also includes Dolby surround sound, for free for one month. After that, a current promotional fee gets you the upgrades for $9.99 monthly for one year before it bumps up to the regular $19.99 fee. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Game break Big video game makers Sony and Nintendo have made considerable acquisitions in recent days but the trend "might actually be a good thing," suggests Inverse's Tomas Franzese. If you weren't keeping score: Sony acquired Housemarque, developer of the PS5 game "Returnal," and Nixxes Software, which excels at bringing PlayStation games to PCs. Meanwhile, Nintendo snatched up Next Level Games, which developed "Luigi's Mansion 3." Publisher Take-Two Interactive made an acquisition of its own, facial animation and motion capture studio Dynamixyz, which had contributed to "Red Dead Redemption 2: and "NBA 2K21." Meanwhile, rumors persist that Sony might also acquire "Demon's Souls" developer Bluepoint, notes GamesBeat's Jeff Grubb. Meanwhile, at Microsoft, which added Bethesda Softworks' parent ZeniMax to its Xbox team last year, Xbox Head Phil Spencer told IGN that studios being acquired is a natural and healthy part of our industry. This week on Talking Tech On the Talking Tech podcast, we talk about the Alexa's new ability to read books along with your kids and TikTok's plan to rollout longer videos of up to three minutes. Contributing: Terry Collins, Jessica Guynn, Brett Molina and Rob Pegoraro This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Google data tips, Facebook law blocked in Florida in week's tech news RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Saturday to demonstrate against President Mahmoud Abbas, hoping to inject new momentum into a protest movement sparked by the death of an outspoken critic in the custody of security forces. Palestinian security forces and groups of men in plainclothes violently dispersed a similar protest a week ago, drawing expressions of concern from the United States and the U.N. human rights chief. There were no immediate reports of violence on Saturday. The Palestinian Authority was established as part of the peace process in the 1990s and governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It has grown increasingly autocratic and unpopular, and Abbas cancelled the first elections in 15 years in April when it looked like his fractured Fatah party would lose badly. He was largely sidelined during the Gaza war in May amid an outpouring of support for his rivals, the territory's militant Hamas rulers. Saturday's demonstration began with a few hundred protesters gathering in al-Manara Square in central Ramallah, where the Palestinian Authority is headquartered. The mother of Nizar Banat, the activist whose death last month sparked the protests, and other family members were welcomed with applause and gave brief speeches. The crowd then made a loop through downtown, gathering force as it marched until thousands could be heard chanting The people want the fall of the regime, and Abbas, leave, slogans used during the so-called Arab Spring protests that swept the Middle East in 2011. There was initially no visible security presence, but when the protesters marched down a main street leading to the headquarters of the PA they approached a line of riot police manning barricades. The protesters halted and sat in the street several meters (yards) away. Fatah meanwhile held a rally in the southern West Bank city of Hebron in which supporters waved the party's trademark yellow flags. The PA's official Palestine TV covered the Hebron rally and ignored the demonstration in Ramallah. Story continues State Department spokesman Ned Price said this week that the U.S. was deeply disturbed by reports that non-uniformed members of the Palestinian Authority security forces harassed and used force against protesters and journalists during last weekend's demonstrations. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said Thursday that Palestinian security forces had beaten protesters with batons and attacked them with tear gas and stun grenades. She said they appeared to have singled out female demonstrators, reporters and bystanders, many of whom said they were sexually harassed. She called on the PA to ensure freedom of opinion, expression and peaceful assembly. ___ Associated Press writers Imad Isseid and Nasser Nasser contributed to this report. Jeff Dean/AP When I interviewed J.D. Vance about his book Hillbilly Elegy five years ago, he conceded that his politics and his background made him a natural Trump supporter. But the reason, ultimately, that I am not, he said, is because I think that [Trump] is the most-raw expression of a massive finger pointed at other people. Its unclear if the massive finger was the middle one, but Trump, Vance said, gives the white working class an excuse to not look inward [and] to not ask tough questions about themselves and their communities. Fast-forward to Thursday, when Vance announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate from Ohio, and now he was the one pointing fingers at the elites in the ruling class in this country are robbing us blind Vance always had a populist streak. (After criticizing Trump, he went on to tell me that he resented how some liberal elites look down their noses at working-class whites.) But what he has flip-flopped on is more than just Trump, its also the politics of anger and grievance and victimhood. Vances transformation says a lot about our politics and the modern-day Republican Party. Vance is highly intelligent and well funded (Peter Thiel donated $10 million to a PAC supporting Vance). Ohio is a state that has elected establishment moderate governors like John Kasich and Mike DeWine (not to mention Sen. Rob Portman, whom Vance hopes to replace). And yet every member of the crowded primary field is rushing to out-MAGA their competitors. If market demand dictates campaign positioning, then its a race to the bottom. In todays GOP, bad money drives out good, and the worst get on top. Vance has either been radicalized or he has simply calculated that to win as a Republican, he needs to avoid angering Trump and embrace both his populist/nationalist politics of victimhood and his style. Im not sure which option is worse. J.D. Vance Launches Contradiction-Filled Campaign in Ohio Its also the latest sad example of how Trump has co-opted or corrupted an entire generation of potential young conservative stars. What would Marco Rubio or Nikki Haley have accomplished had Trump never emerged on the scene? How about Josh Hawley? Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, it seems to me, is the only rock star we have leftlargely because shes immune to the vicissitudes of the electorate. Story continues We can debate whether Trump has revealed character flaws or created them. The conservative movement could have benefited from a sane, serious, and successful young conservative like the guy I interviewed in 2016. As the Bulwarks Mona Charen wrote, Vance is an extremely bright and insightful man who could have been a fresh voice for a fundamentally conservative view of the world. If it werent for Trump, I could imagine a world where I would 100 percent support Vances Senate bid. He is, after all, a kid from the holler who joined the Marines, pulled himself up by his bootstraps, went to Yale Law School, became a business success in Silicon Valley, and authored a best-selling memoir. My upbringing was much less dysfunctional, but I can identify with him more than most. I live in West Virginia (albeit, far from coal country), and I grew up as the son of a prison guard in Western, Maryland. When they asked my elementary school class what we wanted to be when we grew up, the top answers were farmer and truck driver. Vances journey (from chaos and poverty to riches and fame) spanned a broader spectrum than mine, but I can appreciate his journey. His achievements are admirable, which is why it was both surprising and demoralizing to watch him transmogrify into a Trump supporter. He began to drift into the Trump camp, Charen lamented. I dont know why or how, but Vance became not a voice for the voiceless but an echo of the loudmouth. As evidence, consider his tweet from February that said, Someone should have asked Jeffrey Epstein, John Weaver, or Leon Black about the CRAZY CONSPIRACY that many powerful people were predators targeting children. Aside from mimicking Trumps penchant for CAPITALIZING RANDOM WORDS for affect, Vance was clearly attempting to normalize the QAnon conspiracy theory about child sex trafficking. On other occasions, he has mocked mask-wearing and proposed using governmental force to raise taxes on corporations as punishment for engaging in politics he disagrees with. We really need to be really ruthless when it comes to the exercise of power, Vance said last month. It hardly matters whether Vance is a Trump supporter, or just playing one on TV. I suppose its possible that Vance could win office and magically revert back to his old self. But its more likely he will trudge along the well-worn path of Senators like Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, and Tom Cottonother elites who have embraced MAGA populism. Even if Vance did reinvent himself (yet again), who would trust him? MAGA Cruelty Is Still the Point Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. DUBAI (Reuters) - The deputy head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog IAEA is to visit Iran for "routine" matters and no talks are planned, Iran's envoy said on Saturday according to state media, as the agency awaits a reply from Tehran on an expired monitoring deal. In late June, the International Atomic Energy Agency demanded an immediate response from Iran on whether it would extend a monitoring agreement that had expired. Iran said this week it was yet to decide whether to extend the deal. "(Massimo) Aparo...will visit Iran this coming week. His visit is in line with routine safeguards activities and within the framework of a comprehensive safeguards accord," Kazem Gharibabadi said, according to the state news agency IRNA. "Although we are in constant contact with the agency, no talks are planned for him in Tehran," Gharibabadi said. The planned visit by Aparo, the IAEA's inspections chief, comes days after diplomats said that Iran has been restricting U.N. nuclear inspectors' access to its main uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, citing security concerns after what it says was an attack on the site by Israel in April. This follows various moves by Iran that breach its 2015 nuclear deal with major world powers after the United States abandoned the agreement and re-imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Alex Richardson and Ros Russell) Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascon's office accused three people, members of the same family, of a scam involving illegal immigration services. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Three members of the same family are accused of scamming dozens of immigrants by providing them illegal immigration services, resulting in most of them unknowingly facing deportation proceedings, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said this week. Dist. Atty. George Gascon's office said Oscar Mauricio Gil, 63, his sister, Judith Gil, 67, and her daughter, Minerva Gil, 39, have been charged with multiple counts of grand theft and conspiracy to commit a crime. Judith Gil is also facing an extortion charge, the office said. The immigrant community should not be preyed upon and swindled out of their money from unscrupulous scammers, Gascon said in a news release Friday. The Gils were scheduled to be arraigned Friday, but the hearing was postponed until Sept. 9, a spokesman for the district attorney's office said. The office alleges that between 2008 and June of this year, the Gils conspired to illegally provide immigration services through a business they ran from their home called FJA and Associates. They filed "invalid political asylum cases" that led to deportation proceedings for the majority of the victims, the office said. The trio collected $101,128 from 38 victims, according to the district attorney's office. The district attorney's Notario Fraud Unit, Consumer Protection Division and the L.A. County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs continue to investigate the case. The county has set up a hotline (213) 974-1452 to report complaints. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A stream of cars passed by Lincoln Road Friday morning, honking horns and toting signs that read Happy 106! in silver glitter and maroon. And from a chair underneath a tent outside her home, one beloved Durham resident smiled and waved at well-wishers, her hands marked by both wrinkles and red-painted nails. Maggie Poole Bryant, North Carolina Central Universitys oldest living graduate, turned 106 on July 2. A small crowd of relatives, friends and NCCU alumni gathered outside her home, only a few feet from the universitys campus, to honor her. Durham County Sheriff Clarence F. Birkhead led the procession of cars, presenting flowers and sprinkling rose petals at Bryants feet. Others brought gifts and balloons. Passers-by even included fellow NCCU alumna Alice Logan who is 102 years old. Former N.C. Sen. Angela R. Bryant also Maggie Bryants first cousin once-removed read remarks on behalf of Gov. Roy Cooper. At her celebration, Bryant sat impeccably dressed in a gold suit embroidered with detailing and matching gold high heels. Pink lipstick and dangly silver earrings completed her look, her gray hair pulled up neatly in a bun. We were always taught to be at our best, she said, laughing. And I tried today, I dont know how much I made of it, but I tried to be my best today. The secrets to her longevity? She has several. Eat what your body needs and not what you want, she said. Her words of wisdom included the following: Respect and love everyone. Pray and read the Bible daily. Work, fun, rest, and like they say, if you dont use it you will lose it. Bryant, who was born in Rocky Mount, graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1934. She was named after her great-grandmother Margaret Faucette, one of the founders of Durhams White Rock Baptist Church in 1866. Bryant, a bright student, received a scholarship to attend NCCU then called the North Carolina College for Negroes, according to the program. Story continues She graduated in 1938 with a degree in history and library science, and went on to receive a Bachelor of Science and a masters degree. Bryant worked as an educator for 43 years, as an English teacher and librarian in Creedmoor and then in Kannapolis. She eventually returned to Durham to care for her aunts. A lifetime of changes From her front porch, Bryant has seen significant changes at the university over time. Its just magnificent to see it grow, because I never thought that I would see this, she said in an interview. ...It makes me feel so proud that I have been associated with it. Rev. Dr. Michael Page, director of external affairs at NCCU, told Bryant that she gives the NCCU community hope, and thanked her for her contributions to the university. You are our legacy, he told her. You are our gift. Andre Vann, archivist and historian at NCCU, said the university has tried to be intentional about recognizing their graduates. It means a lot that Bryants family chose to live so close to NCCUs campus. And I just think that if every institution would invest in our old alums like this, I think wed be a better institution, he said. Vann has known Bryant for years, and said shes almost like a grandmother to him. She has a memory like an elephant, he noted. So that is a lesson to itself, that if one stays curious about tomorrow, it helps I think with longevity, Vann said. But, he joked, Bryant has asked for no more birthday tributes until she turns 110. This internship is supported by the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund at the North Carolina Community Foundation. "Free Britney" sign. Rich Fury/Getty Images Jonathan Martinis, the senior director for law and policy at a center for disability rights at Syraucse University, explained to journalists Ronan Farrow and Jia Tolentino in a lengthy New Yorker piece that one of the most dangerous aspects of a conservatorship, like the one Britney Spears is under, is how guardians can prevent people from getting their own legal counsel. "The rights at stake in guardianship are analogous to the rights at stake in criminal cases," Martinis said, before drawing up a hypothetical situation in which Spears committed a crime. "Britney could have been found holding an axe and a severed head, saying 'I did it,' and she still would've had the right to an attorney. So, under guardianship, you don't have the same rights as an axe murderer." Per The New Yorker, Spears did try multiple times to bring on her own lawyers, but she was stifled. In one case, for example, a judge ruled she had no capacity to retain an attorney based on a report by a lawyer, Sam Ingham, whom several sources told Farrow and Tolentino seemed to be loyal to the conservatorship, as well as testimony from a psychiatrist. Read more at The New Yorker. You may also like Republicans on Jan. 6 select committee will reportedly try to blame Nancy Pelosi for the Capitol riot Rescue cat makes it to the top of New Hampshire's 48 tallest mountains Anti-woke zealots are trying to politically purge the military Indoctrination task force To Gov. Brad Little, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, and the conservative members of the Idaho state Legislature: Once again, youve all become hysterical in the construct of your mob mentality. Previously it was Sharia law (quelle horreur!), now its critical race theory a made-up idea of indoctrination in schools. What youre really afraid of is the possibility that students might learn that systemic racism exists past, present and most likely future. My question to you is, when does the book burning start? Jennifer Pedrali, Meridian Ted Epperly Ryan Davidsons comments regarding Dr. Epperly and the CDH Boards response to the pandemic demonstrate that he doesnt understand the evidence. The reason for wearing masks and social distancing were, primarily, to protect others from COVID-19 carriers. The evidence shows it worked. As of June 25, Idaho had 2,145 COVID-19 deaths 120 deaths per 100,000 residents. That ranks 41st out of 52 (counting D.C. and Puerto Rico) for U.S. deaths per capita. This is higher than Oregon at 66, Washington and Utah, but lower than Nevada at 158, Wyoming and Montana. Six Idaho counties have greater than two times Ada Countys rate of 95. Those include Gem at 204 and Owyhee at 256. Malheur County, Oregon, is at 206. New Jersey has the highest state death rate at 298 per 100,000. At that rate, Idaho would have 3404 more deaths, and Ada County would have 1,030 more. Whether lives saved were worth the temporary inconveniences and the ultimate mental and economic impacts, both negative and positive, are subjective opinions not moral failings. Linden Boice, Boise Related story lead image The Idaho Way Newsletter Equity Idahos new equity based Board of Education, in its rush to satisfy all sides of Idahos electorate, has managed to violate the most basic rule of definition. That is: In defining a word one must never include that word in the definition. The board found it necessary to do exactly that in its effort to satisfy the ultra leftist education community (especially the university gang), in the boards effort to satisfy the legislatures new statute limiting propaganda and mind control in Idahos classrooms. The boards definition of equity, the new buzz word of the Left, is a failure. The word, of course, has no meaning today. It was pulled out of thin air by the ultra left in its goal to destroy the word equality, which does have a clear definition. By kowtowing to the anti-American left, the board placates the effort to bend the minds of students to accepting a false history of our country and its heritage. This board has once again proven its inability to lead the most important mission of society: education of children. This group of political appointees should defend the teaching of real history, not the anti-American Leftist attempt to destroy it. Story continues Jim C. Harris, Boise Education The panel chaired by our lieutenant governor has been called a solution in search of a problem. This insults the word solution. Discussing the role race plays in our history is being presented as an either-or situation. This is a false narrative. Our racial past is part of our mosaic. It may make some people uncomfortable. What I am learning today I wish I had been taught in school 60 years ago. I ask the panel to suspend activities, inquire at a bookstore what people are reading and commit to learning about our racial history. The books Caste and The Indigenous Peoples History of the United States would be a good place to start. History can be unpleasant, but ignoring it continues the pattern and is a disservice to future generations. For example, Disney should not be our sole source of information concerning the Alamo. Spoiler alert, Davey Crockett owned slaves. To the panel, please educate yourselves before suppressing the education of others. How does not knowing large sections of our past history benefit the people of Idaho as they enter the global community? If not now, when? Mark J. Bussolini, Boise Dr. Epperly Central District Health Department board members bear the responsibility of making public health decisions for Ada County residents. Its a challenging labor of love, as I learned while serving on the CDHD board for 15 years. So Im appalled by the recent decision by Rod Beck and Ryan Davidson to remove a nationally recognized primary care physician, Dr. Ted Epperly, from the board. Dr. Epperly, who has trained hundreds of future family physicians many of whom now care for our Idaho friends and families brings decades of family medicine experience and public health expertise to the board. Commissioner Davidsons misinformed claim that science shows that masks were not necessary during the pandemic, demonstrates his own ignorance. Dr. Epperly, by bravely stressing the need to wear masks, saved lives. We owe him our gratitude for years of service on behalf of our county. I ask residents to vote commissioners Beck and Davidson out of office because they have prioritized their self interests over our health and safety. Martin Gabica, Boise Housing first Keep funding for New Path! It took more than 10 years of deliberation to conclude that housing first was the appropriate way to address chronic homelessness in Ada County. That decision was largely based on a cost-benefit analysis conducted by Boise State University. Later studies have shown millions in actual cost savings. Many solutions to homelessness that have been tried; each has shortcomings. There is not one perfect answer, and none of them is the quick fix that everyone might want. But New Path seems to work! New Path promised savings to the taxpayer. It has done that. Ada County wants to continue reaping the benefits of having New Path but would cut funding for the services making this possible. Thats just odious logic! Ada County should be rigorous in evaluating New Path, but facts should support any decision to cut its funding. Those facts should pertain to this project, not those from some in-the-clouds think-tank that has no information about this project. Big salary increases for county commissioners go down a little hard when they elevate a remote ideology above the facts and people who are right here and need help. Our commissioners sense of entitlement is showing! Gary Hanes, Boise HELSINKI (AP) Lithuania has declared a state of emergency due to an influx of migrants in the last few days from neighboring Belarus, as tensions between the European Union and Belarus escalate. Lithuania's Interior Minister Agle Bilotaite said late Friday that the decision, proposed by the State Border Guard Service, was necessary not because of an increased threat to the country of 2.8 million people but to put a more robust system into place to handle migrants coming in. Its very important to have a legal system and instruments ... to be able to swiftly make decisions in response to arising challenges, Bilotaite said during a government meeting Friday evening, according to the Baltic News Service. Belarus authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has warned that his country would retaliate against the latest EU sanctions on his regime by loosening border controls for undocumented migrants. The bloc tightened sanctions against Belarus after Lukashenko's government forced a passenger plane to divert and land and arrested a prominent journalist on the flight. Prime Minister Ingrida Simonytes Cabinet declared the emergency after border officials reported Friday that they had detained about 150 illegal migrants in the last day who had crossed over from Belarus, with whom Lithuania shares a 679-kilometer (422-mile) border. That number of detained migrants at the Belarus border is three times higher than the previous daily record, Lithuanian officials said. CCTV footage released by the Lithuanian border guard showed migrants jumping over a fence separating Belarus and Lithuania and either crawling, walking or running to the Lithuanian side. According to the Baltic News Service, the most of the migrants have already sought asylum in Lithuania and include citizens of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Iraq and Syria. Lithuania has set up tent camps to accommodate the growing number of migrants. Mantas Adomenas, Lithuanias vice minister for foreign affairs, said the main problem was identifying migrants who arrive with no documents. Story continues Were now talking about how to identify them, give them documents so that economic migrants can be returned to their country of origin, Adomenas told broadcaster LNK Lithuania. A total of 822 migrants crossing in from Belarus have been detained in Lithuania so far this year, up from 81 in 2020, the Baltic News Service said. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen paid a visit to Vilnius, Lithuanias capital, on Friday, and vowed to help the country, a former Soviet republic, cope with the influx of migrants. Your worries and your problems here in Lithuania are European worries and problems, von der Layen said in a joint news conference with Simonyte and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda. We really stand by your side in this difficult time. Von der Layen pledged assistance from Frontex, EUs border and cost guard agency, which said on Thursday said that it would deploy border guard teams not only to Lithuania but also to Latvia, a Baltic neighbor that also shares a border with Belarus. On Monday, Belarus foreign ministry announced that the government would suspend an agreement with Brussels intended to stem illegal migration into the EU. ___ Follow all AP stories on global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration A man was killed in Durham on Thursday after being stabbed, the Durham Police Department said Friday. Durham police have not released many details, including a suspect or the victims name, but investigators said the stabbing was not a random act and that theres no danger to the public, according to a release. Police said they responded to a call about a stabbing on the 2300 block of Charles Street at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. After arriving at a house on the street, officers found an adult male who had been stabbed to death, the police said. The police department said it is continuing to investigate. As of June 26, there have been 23 homicides reported in Durham. This is a developing story, and will be updated as more information becomes available. The picture is becoming increasingly clear of who is poised to take over the Trump Organization case in the Big Apple. Alvin Bragg, a former state and federal prosecutor who has boasted of suing former President Donald Trump and his administration more than 100 times is on the cusp of victory in the Democratic primary for the Manhattan district attorney race after his top rival, Tali Farhadian Weinstein, conceded the race Friday. If victorious, Bragg would become the first black DA in Manhattan. He had 34% of the vote, compared to Weinstein's 30%, as of June 23, according to the New York City Board of Elections. That margin would equate to about 7,000 votes, and roughly 40,000 absentee ballot votes have yet to be reported. READ: INDICTMENT AGAINST TRUMP ORGANIZATION AND ITS CFO Alvin Bragg, a former top deputy to New York's attorney general, is embraced after speaking to supporters in New York. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File) "This has been a long journey that started in Harlem. And today, that 15-year-old boy who was stopped numerous times at gunpoint by the police is the Democratic nominee to be Manhattan District Attorney," Bragg said in a statement obtained by CNN. "We are one step closer to making history and transforming the District Attorney's office to deliver safety and justice for all." In a statement of her own, Weinstein, who is a former federal prosecutor, acknowledged "important disagreements throughout the campaign" but stressed, "I am confident in Alvin's commitment to justice, and I stand ready to support him." Bragg would be the favorite if he wins the primary as Manhattan is heavily Democratic, and he would face off against Republican nominee Thomas Kenniff. The winner of the primary, which had eight candidates, will likely take over the investigation into the Trump Organization in which an indictment was returned by a grand jury this week. Trump's company and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, were charged Thursday for what prosecutors said was a 15-year effort to help executives evade taxes with off-the-books perks. Story continues CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER The case, which Trump has dubbed a "witch hunt," is led by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, who declined to run for a fourth term, and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Weisselberg, a 73-year-old accused of avoiding taxes on about $1.7 million in income, and lawyers for the Trump Organization pleaded not guilty. Bragg's record, as well as his own words on the campaign trail, would suggest he's eager to take on the case. "My approach to this case will be the same as mine to every case: follow the facts and deliver justice for New Yorkers," Bragg said. "That's what we did in the attorney general's office where I led the team that sued Trump and his administration more than 100 times, including successfully suing the Trump Foundation, removing the citizenship question from the census, and challenging the travel bans and other unlawful policies." Washington Examiner Videos Tags: News, New York City, New York, Trump Organization, Crime, District Attorney Original Author: Daniel Chaitin Original Location: Manhattan DA candidate who boasted of suing Trump 100 times poised to win primary VP Kamala Harris and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo browse in Books on the Square in Rhode Island. Andrew Harnik/AP Photo Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Thursday said a lot of retail jobs may not return. Raimondo told CNBC that retail jobs "might not be coming back, or coming back in the same numbers." The US added 850,000 payrolls in June, beating expectations. See more stories on Insider's business page. Many US retail and service-industry jobs that went away during the pandemic weren't expected to return, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said. "The real issue, I think, is that a lot of the jobs that folks lost are the kinds of jobs - let's say, for example, in retail or services industries - that might not be coming back, or coming back in the same numbers," Raimondo told CNBC on Thursday. Earlier, the Labor Department reported 364,000 jobless claims for the previous week, marking a pandemic-era low. Raimondo's comments came ahead of Friday's jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which showed the US adding 850,000 payrolls in June, beating expectations. But the future of work for retail employees and others remained more complex, as the world slowly returned to normal following the COVID-19, Raimondo said. "To be very honest, it's so hard to tell in the data" why people weren't returning to work, Raimondo said. Teenagers, for example, were taking fewer jobs in June than they had been in the spring, perhaps because the labor shortage allowed them to choose the highest-paying jobs. There's also been an uptick in "rage-quitting" among workers, including frontline retail employees. Others were using labor shortages to secure higher pay. Raimondo on Thursday said the US had to "lean into" job training and apprenticeships, in part because of the shrinking amount of retail jobs available. "Because the jobs that are being created in cybersecurity or in the digital economy and in the tech economy are there, and are good paying," she said on CNBC. "We need to make sure that the folks who are unemployed have the skills that they need to get those jobs." Read the original article on Business Insider Michael Cohen leaving a federal court in New York. AP Photo/Mary Altaffer Michael Cohen was imprisoned in 2018 but was allowed in May 2020 to serve out his sentence at home. Two months later, Cohen was returned to prison. Cohen is now suing the US, saying the Trump DOJ punished him for writing a book about Trump. See more stories on Insider's business page. Michael Cohen has sued the US government for $20 million in damages, accusing Donald Trump's administration of sending him back to prison for writing a critical book about the former president. Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and fixer, was sentenced to three years in prison in December 2018 after he was convicted of a string of crimes, including lying to Congress. Following an outbreak of COVID-19 at Cohen's prison in upstate New York, Cohen was released on furlough in May 2020 and permitted to spend the remainder of his sentence under home confinement in Manhattan. However, during negotiations about the conditions of his confinement in July, Cohen was returned to prison after refusing to agree to the terms of his imprisonment. Cohen had refused sign an agreement forbidding him from working on his book about Trump, Lanny Davis, a Cohen associate, told Mother Jones. Cohen's book, "Disloyal," was eventually published in September and contained scathing anecdotes about Trump. In one, Cohen described catching Trump staring at his teenager daughter, and asking: "When did she get so hot?" The Trump Organization reportedly sent Cohen a cease-and-desist letter in prison, claiming the writing of the book violated Cohen's nondisclosure agreement with the company. While back in prison, Cohen appealed government's decision, and a judge granted his release in late July. Cohen has been under house arrest since, and is due to complete is sentence this November. On Friday, Cohen sued the US government for $20 million in damages, NBC News reported. In the complaint, Cohen said he had endured "emotional pain and suffering, mental anguish and loss of freedom" after being returned to prison, NBC News reported. Story continues Cohen says government officials conducted "false arrest, false imprisonment, abuse of process, wrongful confinement, and retaliation" against Cohen, according to the outlet. Cohen's attorney, Jeffrey Levine, said in a statement carried by NBC News: "Mr. Cohen was the personal attorney to the President of the US and if he could be thrown in jail for desiring to write a critical book of the President one's imagination need not go far before realizing that such unacceptable and constitutionally violated conduct could be directed at any of us." "That is not hyperbole and not acceptable." The Justice Department did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider Michael Gove and his wife, Sarah Vine, are to divorce after almost 20 years of marriage - Paul Grover for the Telegraph Friends of Michael Gove insisted on Saturday night that he had been living at his family home throughout the pandemic, as they accused Labour of shameful smear tactics for suggesting otherwise. The comments came after the shadow home secretary said Mr Gove must clarify his household arrangements, following the announcement on Friday that he and his wife Sarah Vine are divorcing after 20 years of marriage. Nick Thomas-Symonds said although the Cabinet Office minister, 53, was entitled to a private life, he should clarify whether social distancing guidelines had been breached, because he had been key to drawing up government rules on how people behaved during the pandemic. Mr Gove and Ms Vine, 54, a prominent journalist, announced on Friday that they had agreed to separate and were finalising their divorce. Friends of the pair said no one else was involved and they had simply drifted apart. However, Mr Thomas-Symonds told Times Radio on Saturday that Mr Gove must respond to concerns that rules may have been broken. There is a question here about the household. What existed in those particular circumstances and whether any of the guidance in terms of social distancing was broken. He added: I think he needs to be clear about the position with regard to the rules and everyone around the country has had to follow the guidance in their particular circumstances of their personal life. That applies, with an even greater imperative, to those within government, those in public life, those who are in senior positions within government. Labour accused of baseless innuendo On Saturday night, a friend of Mr Gove and Ms Vine refuted any suggestion Mr Gove had breached guidelines. Michael has lived at home with Sarah and the children throughout the pandemic and indeed since they moved to that address, they said. No one else was involved in Michael and Sarahs separation. They have simply drifted apart after 20 years of marriage. Story continues The shadow home secretarys completely baseless innuendo is shameful, especially while a family is going through a difficult time. It is a sad reflection of the depths to which the Labour Party has sunk. On Friday, Mr Gove and Ms Vine were seen by neighbours leaving the house at different times before their announcement was made. Friends of Mr Gove and Ms Vine insisted that nobody else was involved in the split and the couple had simply "drifted apart". - Daniel Leal-Olivas / i-Images When they announced their split, a source close to Mr Gove dismissed rumours about his private life as utter nonsense and made up. Mr Gove became the second senior Cabinet minister in a week to split from his wife after it emerged Matt Hancock was having an affair with his aide, Gina Coladangelo. Some blamed the fallout from that revelation as the reason why the Conservatives lost the Batley and Spen by-election, a seat the Tories had been expected to win. Speculation surrounding Mr Goves marriage was fuelled last week when Ms Vine wrote a column in a Sunday newspaper in which she spoke of the difficulties of sustaining a political marriage. She wrote in the Mail on Sunday that Mr Hancocks behaviour may be shocking, but given the context it is entirely predictable. She said Westminster changes a person, adding how spouses of politicians remained the same person as when they married. But their politician men are not, she continued. Climbing that far up Westminsters greasy pole changes a person. And when someone changes, they require something new from a partner. Namely, someone who is as much a courtesan as a companion, one who understands their brilliance and, crucially, is personally invested in it. The problem with the wife who has known you since way before you were king of the world is that she sees through your facade. Mr Gove, one of Mr Johnsons most influential ministers, who has supported stricter lockdown measures, has been married to Ms Vine since October 2001. An Olathe man is guilty of second-degree murder in the death of his 75-year-old mother whose emaciated body was found by authorities two years ago in her Olathe home. The man had stopped taking her to the doctor when her physical and mental health declined. Raymond T. McManness, 54, pleaded no contest on Thursday in Johnson County District Court to charges of second-degree murder and physical mistreatment in the death of his mother, Sharon McManness. He was originally charged with first-degree murder. The charge was lowered as part of a plea agreement. In January 2019, Raymond McManness called police to the 300 block of South Cardinal Drive when he found his mother not breathing in her bed, The Star previously reported. Her primary caregiver, Raymond McManness, was criminally charged shortly after police found his mother severely malnourished and her home in severe disarray. Police noted Sharon McManness was very emaciated and had large open bedsores, according to court records. One bed sore was open to the bone, and the mattress was dirty. Police found no medications, no clean clothing, no working telephones and minimal food when they searched the home. Dog feces and urine was found throughout the house. And soiled clothes, that appeared to be cut off the victim, were found in a trash can in the driveway, court records said. Raymond McManness told police at the time that he checked on his mother twice a day. He said he had moved out six months earlier because his mother kept him awake at night, court records said. Sharon McCanness had dementia. During an interview with police, Raymond McManness said he was his mothers primary caregiver but couldnt provide authorities with a detailed medical history for her. He said she refused to be treated by doctors, according to court records. The medical examiners office found she had died from an infection due to open bed sores. She was malnourished and dehydrated, and weighed only 58 pounds at the time of her death, court records said. Story continues Weeks before she died, court records said, Raymond was told by the Kansas Department of Aging to take his mother to a doctor, the records said. According to court records, he told police he was busy due to the holiday season, and he was scared because he had not been taking adequate care of her. The no-contest plea is not a direct admission of guilt. Rather, pleading no contest is an acceptance of the criminal charges and a relinquishment of a persons right to be tried by jury. Under the plea, Raymond McManness is recommended to spend little more than 31 years in prison with sentences to run consecutively for the murder charge and the negligence charge. By Mubasher Bukhari LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - A Pakistani police constable has been arrested over the murder of a man who was acquitted of blasphemy charges last year, a police spokesman said. Ahmed Nawaz told Reuters that Muhammad Waqas was hacked to death on Friday in the central Pakistani district of Sadiqabad. He said the suspect, a 21-year-old man who joined the force just months ago, told investigators he killed Waqas because "he had committed blasphemy". Waqas was charged in a blasphemy case in 2016, accused of sharing content online that was insulting to the Prophet Mohammad. The Lahore High Court overturned the conviction in 2020, and Waqas was released from prison. "He remained underground for sometime even after his release and returned home a few weeks ago," the police spokesman told Reuters. Insulting the Prophet carries a mandatory death penalty in Pakistan, a predominantly Muslim country. While courts have pronounced death sentences for some of those convicted, Pakistan has never carried out an execution over blasphemy charges. Pakistan's blasphemy laws have long been criticised by rights groups, because they are seen as giving cover to vigilantes to attack those accused of the crime, whatever the courts decide. In July 2020, Tahir Naseem, a US citizen of Pakistani origin, was gunned down and killed as he stood before a judge in the northwestern city of Peshawar to answer blasphemy charges. The teen suspect, Faisal Khan, was lionized in street rallies by hardline religious groups, and police escorting him took selfies to share on social media to show support for his actions. In April, supporters of hardline religious group Tehrik-i-Labaik Pakistan clashed with security forces for weeks in cities across the country, taking police officers hostage and demanding Islamabad expel the French ambassador over the publication of cartoons in France depicting the Prophet Mohammad. (Reporting by Mubasher Bukhari; Writing by Umar Farooq, Editing by Ros Russell) Julian Niebauer, a 10-year-old transgender boy, takes part in a rally for transgender rights that drew about 75 people Wednesday,May 26, 2021 at the Capitol in Madison, Wis. He is from Middleton, Wis. Republicans who control the state Legislature are holding hearings Wednesday on legislation that would ban transgender athletes from competing in girls' and women's school sports a proposal opposed by nearly 20 groups, including the statewide body that oversees high school sports. MARK HOFFMAN/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL ORG XMIT: MJS2105261412061941 (Via OlyDrop) WASHINGTON The Biden administration acted to protect transgender people from discrimination during Pride month, but trans activists want the White House to go further to address issues of violence, economic insecurity and anti-trans sentiment in culture, even when the spotlight of Pride fades. It sounds good to have a White House convening on transgender equality, but what does that equality and equity actually look like? Will campaign promises continue to be broken, or will we really see a shift, beyond small victories that the administration claims, asked Sage Dolan-Sandrino, a 20-year-old trans youth activist and the inaugural Monica Roberts fellow at the National Black Justice Coalition. My direct ask to President (Joe) Biden is what his plans are culturally, financially and legally to actively combat the violence and housing inequity and instability that Black trans folk are experiencing, Dolan-Sandrino said. While Biden heralded as the most pro-LGBTQ president yet has been praised for his administrations work with trans people, activists hope he will take further action to make meaningful, broad-based, lasting change in their everyday lives. To Ruby Corado, founder of Casa Ruby in Washington, D.C., a nonprofit that provides housing and other services to homeless LGBTQ youth, there is an "epidemic of violence" and other issues for trans people that needs to be addressed. We have an epidemic in this country of homeless youth ... transgender youth face the highest rates of homelessness of any group, Corado said. We need to address the poverty in which trans communities are living. We need to address the phobia, the discrimination, the unemployment particularly for trans women of color," Corado said. Biden and trans rights This week the White House hosted a virtual discussion that included trans and nonbinary youth leaders and elected transgender officials like Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride and Virginia state Assembly Del. Danica Roem, both Democrats. Story continues The White House announced on Wednesday the creation of a new Interagency Working Group on Safety, Inclusion, and Opportunity for Transgender Americans that will include federal agencies and review policies that are upstream drivers of violence and poverty for transgender individuals, including homelessness, employment discrimination, violence and abuse, and bullying and rejection at school. In January, some of Bidens first actions upon taking office were signing executive orders allowing transgender Americans to serve in the military and preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, in a reversal of former President Donald Trumps policies on trans rights. The former president had rolled back rules that protected trans people from discrimination in homeless shelters, ceased the collection of data on LGBTQ youth in foster care, opposed allowing trans students to participate in sports and barred the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from using the word "transgender" in official documents, among other actions. More representation in government His Department of Education directed that Title IX prohibits discrimination against LGBTQ people. Biden also appointed Assistant Health Secretary Rachel Levine, the first openly transgender federal official to win Senate confirmation. I hope that my appointment symbolizes progress, Levine said during the virtual event Wednesday. As Vice President Harris has said, I recognize that I may be the first, but I am heartened by the knowledge I will not be the last. Rachel Levine, nominee for Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, testifies before her confirmation hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee in Washington, DC, on February 25, 2021. Corado hopes the Biden administration will appoint more transgender individuals to positions in the White House and across federal agencies who have the expertise and know-how to address the social illnesses faced by trans people. Theres more that can be done from a personnel perspective, with regard to political appointments of trans folks generally, and Black trans people more specifically, across agencies," David Johns said. Johns, executive director of the civil rights group National Black Justice Coalition, which works to end stigma against Black LGBTQ people and promotes policies to better their lives, wants to see legislation to address the mental health issues of Black LGBTQ youth, particularly those who are transgender. A 2020 study by the Trevor Project found that more than half of transgender and nonbinary youth have seriously considered suicide. Sixty-one percent said they had been prevented or discouraged from using the restroom corresponding with their gender identity. People walk down a makeshift modeling runway as they take a break from marching during the Brooklyn Liberation's Protect Trans Youth event on June 13, 2021, in New York City. That's on top of what we know about how LGBTQIA+ Black youth find schools to be hostile and unsafe spaces, Johns said. All of that has been now compounded by the novel coronavirus impact on economic loss. Queer people of color are more likely to be impacted by shifts in industry or in unsafe jobs if they have a job at this point. According to data analyzed by the Human Rights Campaign, LGBTQ people of color are more likely than their white counterparts to have lost work hours or become unemployed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Issues facing trans youth Johns and other activists also want to see the Senate pass the Equality Act, a Democratic proposal that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Biden had promised to sign the Equality Act into law within the first 100 days of his administration, but it faces an uncertain future in the equally divided Senate. We represent Americas future. The passing of the Equality Act is an investment in America, said Stella Keating, the first transgender teenager to testify before Congress, during the White House conversation on trans equality. She testified in favor of the Equality Act in March. Republican lawmakers across the country are ushering in new legislation to ban transgender women and girls from playing on sports teams according to their gender identities. Efforts to exclude trans people and, in some states, ban doctors from providing gender-affirming health care to minors, are an attempt to further dehumanize transgender people who are already some of the most marginalized in the country, according to leaders at LGBTQ organizations. A person spreads wings with the words "Black Trans Lives Matter" written on them during the Brooklyn Liberation's Protect Trans Youth event at the Brooklyn Museum on June 13, 2021, in the Brooklyn borough in New York City. Brooklyn Liberation organized a march and rally as an emergency action response to legislation to restrict trans rights across 34 states. According to the Human Rights Campaign, there have been over 250 bills introduced in state legislatures aimed at the LGBTQ community in 2021. For those Republican-led states launching an assault against transgender people, its about pandering to their bases and inserting politics into the lives of actual people, HRC President Alphonso David said. That's about fear and misinformation and using transgender young people as a political tools to gain some type of benefit. The anti-equality forces all over this country have tried to use LGBTQ people for their own political game, he said. There is no problem with transgender girls playing sports, there is no problem with transgender people using restrooms consistent with their gender identity, there is no problem with public school teachers teaching about LGBTQ issues. An epidemic of violence The best thing for the Biden administration to do to address the systemic poverty, education inequities, homelessness and health outcomes in trans communities, according to Corado, would be to declare a state of emergency over violence against trans people. How do you address these social issues? By bringing the resources. The same way you address the epidemic of COVID. The same way you address a levee breaking in New Orleans you are trying to save lives, Corado said. Our levee has been broken, and its no longer leaking. We are drowning in a system, and major repairs need to be done, Corado said. The Human Rights Campaign has tracked the violent deaths of transgender women, totaling 44 such deaths in 2020 and at least 29 so far in 2021. We want to make sure that the federal government is working collaboratively and cohesively in addressing violence that's affecting the trans community, David said. High economic instability According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, 1 in 5 trans people has experienced homelessness at some point in their lives. And 1 in 5 has reported discrimination when seeking housing. The NCTE also reports that more than 1 in 4 trans people have lost a job because of anti-trans bias. If we're denied housing and job opportunities because we are trans then what are our choices? We are forced to enter unsafe working conditions and sometimes the unsafe working conditions manifest as sex work, Dolan-Sandrino said. The reality is that trans people are forced out into the margins of society, and are forced to provide for ourselves in ways that are unsafe and unsustainable, just so that we can have a shelter, have a roof over our head, food on our plates and access the medical resources that are so necessary, she said. A report by the Movement Advancement Project, the National Center for Transgender Equality, the Center for American Progress, and the Human Rights Campaign from 2013 found that trans workers report unemployment at 14%, which was twice the rate of the general population. Meanwhile, more than 44% of trans workers who were working were underemployed, and trans workers are nearly four times more likely than the general population to have a total household income of below $10,000. Corado said she appreciates that the Biden administration has made a visible effort to connect with trans leaders and enact change, but it needs to go beyond the month of June, when LGBTQ Pride is celebrated. While we celebrated Pride across this country, there were trans people that died from this epidemic. I think we can definitely go past Pride and make good on the promise that we all are truly equal, because right now there are trans women and trans men who are dying from that violence, Corado said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trans activists want Biden to take on violence, bias, job barriers Jul. 3SALEM TWP. Police say a Salem Township man set fire to his own business Thursday, then fled the area. Michael Beck, 31, was apprehended on Friday in Dublin, Ohio, according to Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce. Beck is facing a number of charges, including arson, reckless burning, risking catastrophe, reckless endangerment, several counts of endangering the welfare of children and a count of criminal mischief. This all comes after police say Beck torched The Rage Room, a Salem Township business Beck owns that focused on letting customers smash objects to get out some aggression. According to an affidavit, the investigation began after calls came in just after 9 p.m. on Thursday from a woman identified as Madalyn Fisher, who said that The Rage Room had just been set on fire. "There's gasoline everywhere; there's men yelling all because of Malcolm," Fisher said. When officers arrived on scene, they found an individual named Malcolm Plevyak on scene, using multiple fire extinguishers in an attempt to put out the fire. Plevyak, according to reporting from the Times Leader's newsgathering partner FOX 56, is the owner of the property, while Beck owns the business. The affidavit says that the Salem Township Fire Company knocked down the fire within an hour. Officers interviewed a witness present on scene, an employee of the business that the affidavit only identified as "K.S." According to the affidavit, K.S. said Beck sent him a text message asking if all the customers had left for the day. K.S. said Beck went outside and was arguing with Plevyak, and then he said he heard Beck yell at his 10-year-old son, telling him to go home. Beck, according to K.S., followed his son home. Court records show Beck lived only a few houses down on the same street as The Rage Room. When Beck returned, K.S. said he had a five-gallon red gasoline container. K.S. said Beck told him and another witness that "they had a small amount of time to get out." K.S. and the other witness left the building. He said he attempted to plea with Beck to not set the building on fire. But Beck allegedly went to his home again and returned with matches. He said he saw Beck appearing to be setting the building on fire. State Police Fire Marshal Karrie Dodson determined the cause of the fire to be arson, the affidavit says. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol has captured all four of the armed suspects it had been looking for since they fled their car after a high-speed chase Saturday morning. The chase took place on Highway 64 in Chatham County. Officials said that around 8:15 a.m. on Saturday morning, a North Carolina trooper chased a vehicle for speeding 95 mph in a 65 mph zone. The chase ended east of Siler City about 15 minutes later when the vehicle spun out into the median. The suspects then ran away, leaving the vehicle behind. Saturday evening, the Highway Patrol identified two of the people it had arrested as Adrian Lowry, 24, of Jacksonville, Florida, and a juvenile. Lowry and the juvenile were taken to the Chatham County Detention Facility. Lowry has been charged with possession of a weapon of mass destruction, possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a stolen firearm and resisting a public officer. Marcus Brown, 19, of Jacksonville, was taken into custody late Saturday night, after he stole a WRAL News car and fled in it, according to Highway Patrol. Brown was pursued by troopers and crashed into a Highway Patrol car shortly after. He has been charged with fleeing to elude arrest with a motor vehicle, possession of a weapon of mass destruction and larceny of a motor vehicle. The fourth suspect, whose name has not been released, was arrested Sunday morning, according to Highway Patrol. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. NCSHP said several firearms were discovered during the investigation and will be processed with the help of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Highway Patrol did not say where the suspects were captured. A reverse 911 message went out to residents within a two-mile radius Saturday morning advising them to secure their doors, stay inside, and remain vigilant while a search was underway. NCSHP led the investigation with the help of the Chatham County Sheriffs Office, Randolph County Sheriffs Office, Wildlife Resources Commission and Carrboro Police Department. The 21st-century version of the Wild West wanted poster has become a social media staple for police departments. (Los Angeles Times illustration) The wanted poster on the Manhattan Beach Police Departments Facebook and Instagram pages featuring Matthew Jacques was bad enough. Wanted Wednesday, it blared in all capital letters over a mug shot of the Hermosa Beach bartender. Turn yourself in. And then, a warning to the public: Do not attempt to apprehend or detain this person. Call 911 in case of emergency. Then came the tweetstorm, a nasty barrage of online vitriol. hewill be caught maybe he thinks his charge is nothing or doesnt care, wrote one commenter. Another identified the bar where Jacques worked and his regular shift and urged readers: You can go get him there. But Jacques wasnt a wanted man. There was no warrant out for his arrest on Feb. 26, 2020, when Manhattan Beach police posted the wanted sign, according to court documents. The 42-year-old had missed several remedial classes after pleading no contest to a 2017 DUI. But he was no fugitive from the law. The 21st century version of the Wild West wanted poster has become a social media staple for police departments across the country. Theyre posted on law enforcement Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. Some departments have YouTube videos filled with stony-faced mug shots and pleas for help in identifying alleged suspects. Law enforcement officials say these social media posts "Wanted Wednesdays," "Turn Yourself In Thursdays," "Felony Fridays" have helped nab many fugitives. Some departments only use such social media campaigns for violent crimes, including murder, rape and assault with a deadly weapon. But others plaster suspects faces all over the internet on charges such as violating parole, missing a court date, drug offenses and theft. In many cases, the wanted posters and rogues galleries of suspects stay online long after the men and women in the mug shots have served their time or been cleared. The result can be lengthy public shaming. Such posts also can interfere with getting a job, renting an apartment, or even having future relationships. Story continues Wanted Wednesdays have become part of a wider discussion about whether its appropriate to post mug shots at all, or for media outlets to publish images of people who have simply been arrested not convicted especially for low-level crimes. The Associated Press announced June 15 that it will no longer name suspects of minor crimes or publish their mug shots. Punishment used to be a legal sentence that only a judge could give, said Sarah Esther Lageson, an assistant professor at the Rutgers University School of Criminal Justice. In practical terms, this feels like punishment, and its being doled out by police departments, Facebook, by people who share the content. It feels like, all of a sudden," she said, "that this punishment is coming from every direction all at once. As of June 23, the Anaheim Police Department had 16 Wanted Wednesday posters on its website. Alleged offenses included counterfeiting as well as murder; half were sex crimes with children as victims. All were undated. None indicated whether the suspect had been apprehended, cleared or was still at large. The most recent wanted poster on Anaheims Facebook page was posted Dec. 16. The department uses Wanted Wednesday social media campaigns sporadically, said Sgt. Shane Carringer, the departments public information officer, who described the results as mixed. We use it as a detecting tool, Carringer said. If a detective feels like some public awareness in their case might help in the apprehension of their subject, we put it up. If theyre captured and arrested, we take the photos down. Carringer said he remembered when law enforcement agencies used to hang wanted posters in post office branches, a practice thats much rarer these days. With modern conveniences, there are very few public places that just get visited anymore, he said. So this is how police departments bring awareness to subjects that are wanted in the community." As of June 23, the Anaheim Police Department had 16 Wanted Wednesday posters on its website. (Los Angeles Times illustration; Anaheim PD photo) The Moorhead, Minn., Police Department had 24 wanted posters on its website as of June 23. All of the suspects had allegedly committed felonies. Only two involved some kind of assault. The rest were largely probation violations or drug-related offenses. One woman was wanted for state lottery fraud. Two men were wanted for property damage. All of the posters warn: NEVER attempt to apprehend suspects yourself; doing so may be dangerous. Since May 2017, with help from the public and surrounding law enforcement agencies, we have been able to capture 119 featured felons, the Moorhead site boasts. You can understand police departments using social media to find people theyre looking for, said Faiza Patel, co-director of the liberty and national security program at the Brennan Center, a nonpartisan law and public policy institute. But when youre using these kinds of tools for low-level crime, Im not sure its justified, she said. The person hasnt been convicted. ... There are a lot of reasons to be really careful. Patel added that campaigns like Wanted Wednesdays also contribute to a culture of paranoia in this country. ... Even when crime is way down, people perceive its higher. Online mug-shot galleries of the wanted and at-large also can have long shelf lives, with little information about whether a suspect is alive or dead, has been apprehended or cleared of all charges, or of how recently the galleries have been updated. The Los Angeles Police Department, for example, does not use Wanted Wednesday social media campaigns, but it does have a mug-shot gallery of its most-wanted suspects on its website, with a search function that allows the public to find most wanted in your neighborhood. The gallery contains 222 images, no obvious crime dates and a warning with each description: This individual is considered armed and dangerous. Do not attempt to apprehend suspect yourself. If seen, contact your local police station ASAP. The LAPDs top 10 most-wanted list is only six men long. The crimes they are alleged to have committed are among the worst: murder and child molestation. The most recent offense happened in 2008. The oldest occurred 33 years ago. Perusing the galleries, it is unclear when either was last updated or whether the suspects are still at large. In an email, Capt. Stacy Spell, a department spokesman, said the LAPD is still in the process of looking into the 222 suspects with mug shots. Preliminarily, and this is subject to verification, we are still looking for the six people on the top ten list and we are still looking for help in apprehending them. The issue has also generated debate north of the U.S. border. Two months ago, a resident of the Canadian city of Lethbridge began circulating a petition demanding an end to the use of Wanted Wednesdays by the citys police service. The petition calls such social media campaigns an outdated public shaming approach that often whips up prejudice and blame and bypasses the presumption of innocence. Novelist Paul Butler launched the petition, which has 553 signatures so far. He had no idea that Wanted Wednesdays even existed until his wife pointed out one that depicted a very vulnerable First Nation woman who was clearly suffering. I was horrified, Butler said in an interview. It was just so blind to the obvious history of First Nation in Canada, the multigenerational trauma, the residential schools, the children being taken from their parents. ... It seemed so lacking in compassion, so out of proportion. The Lethbridge Police Commission is scheduled to address the issue at its June 30 meeting. While there are no immediate plans to discontinue publicly sharing information surrounding these individuals wanted on warrants of arrest, the police service said in a statement, LPS will be reviewing its use of this tool, along with its short and long-term communications strategies as part of its action plan to better service the community. In addition to using Wanted Wednesdays, the Baltimore Police Department also launched a social media campaign called "Public Enemy #1." The goal was to get the publics help in finding and arresting murder suspects. The Police Department dubbed Antonio Wright Public Enemy #1 in March 2017. He was 26 at the time, wanted in connection with a firebombing that killed two teenagers and injured six other people, including a 4-year-old and an 11-year-old. Wright turned himself in. His wife broadcast the arrest on Facebook Live, according to local media reports. My name is Antonio Wright, he says on the video. I did not commit this crime. Fifteen months later, he was acquitted of all charges two counts of murder and six counts of attempted murder. He was also later found not guilty of attempted murder in a shooting that happened just days before the fire. T.J. Smith, spokesman for the Baltimore police chief at the time, said the department was operating in good faith at the time [the designation] occurred. He was in fact wanted for murder. The warrant apprehension task force was looking for him. Baltimore only used Wanted Wednesdays and Public Enemy #1 designations to help find people who had outstanding warrants for violent offenses. We have to make sure were not overcriminalizing somebody ... ," Smith said. Just because you have a warrant doesnt make you a vicious animal. Wright was shot to death in December 2018. His Public Enemy #1 poster, blood red and sporting his mug shot, can still be found on the Police Departments Facebook page. And then there's the case of Matthew Jacques, the Hermosa Beach bartender. Jacques had pleaded no contest to a charge of driving under the influence on July 27, 2017, in Manhattan Beach. He was placed on probation, ordered to pay fines of more than $2,000, perform 29 days of community service, and complete a first-offender alcohol and drug education and counseling program. Jacques missed seven DUI classes, according to court documents, but told program officials ahead of time that hed be unable to attend. He failed to reschedule the classes in time, and when he called the program, he was told the court had issued a warrant for his arrest. So, he checked the online court docket, saw there was a Feb. 18, 2020, hearing about his bench warrant scheduled at Torrance Superior Court and showed up with his public defender. Judge George F. Bird found Jacques had violated his probation and ordered him to reenroll in the alcohol program, among other penalties. That same day, according to the court docket: bench warrant recalled and quashed. Eight days later, the Manhattan Beach Police Department posted on its social media accounts that Jacques was a wanted man. He wasnt. Jacques, through his attorney Ethan Surls, declined to comment. The post, he said in a written declaration, prompted an angry mob of strangers making disparaging and threatening statements about me. He was told to turn himself in. He called his boss and asked for time off because I feared that people would be coming in looking to try to physically restrain me and take me into custody. While he was gone, two strangers came looking for him at the restaurant where he worked, but they promptly left when they were told I wasnt there. The department didnt take the post down, but instead added a single sentence: **UPDATE** Mr. Jacques cleared his warrant. Thank you Jacques sued the city and the Police Department for defamation. They responded by filing a so-called anti-SLAPP motion, asking that Jacques suit be dismissed because the departments postings were protected by the 1st Amendment, the California Constitution and governmental immunity. That motion was denied. In May, the lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount and dismissed. Fifteen months after it was posted, the department took down Jacques wanted poster. Manhattan Beach Mayor Suzanne Hadley declined to comment on the suit or the Police Departments use of social media, instead forwarding questions to George Gabriel, the citys senior management analyst. You have asked about Wanted Wednesdays and Turn Yourself In Thursdays postings on social media, Gabriel said in an email. Such postings are valuable public safety tools. City has not posted such postings for several months. Thank you for your interest in our City. The ordeal left Jacques completely devastated, said Megg Sulzinger, who described herself as Jacques best friend. He couldnt go into work," she said. "He eventually lost his job because he could not go in for fear of retaliation." This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Colleen Wilson sits with Chrissy the baboon at the Animal Tracks sanctuary. Christine Hilberg Colleen Wilson is the founder of media company Pets on Q and the star of Netflix's "Pet Stars." Now pregnant, she had a maternity photo shoot with monkeys, a wolf, and others at a sanctuary. Wilson and her photographer Christine Hilberg recently shared details about the photos with Insider. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Colleen Wilson and Christine Hilberg are longtime friends and animal lovers. Colleen Wilson and Christine Hilberg pose with a wold at the Animal Tracks sanctuary. Christine Hilberg Wilson founded the Pets on Q media and booking company which works with animal influencers and Hollywood animals in 2017. Most recently, she and the company became stars of the Netflix series "Pet Stars." Hilberg, on the other hand, is a photographer, digital content creator, and fellow animal lover. She's also seen in the Netflix series alongside Wilson. Speaking with Insider, Wilson said her maternity photo shoot was almost entirely Hilberg's idea. Colleen Wilson holds a wolf pup at the Animal Tracks sanctuary during her photo shoot. Christine Hilberg "I'm not someone who likes to take pictures of myself, and I honestly just don't have many," Wilson said. "Also my husband is African, so doing maternity shots is not something that he's used to. He wasn't really interested in it." "But Christine was like, 'You have one shot at doing this, so let's do something fun,'" she continued. The friends decided to visit Animal Tracks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit sanctuary in California that takes in injured animals and those who have been involved in the illegal pet trade. Animal Tracks founder Stacy Gunderson, Christine Hilberg, and a wolf stand together. Christine Hilberg According to Hilberg, she wanted Wilson's photo shoot to "express who Colleen is" while also "falling in line with Colleen's goals in life." "I felt like Animal Tracks was the full package because we'd have beautiful Colleen with these super unique animals, and then on top of that, we have the ability to share these pictures that now bring awareness to this facility and to the animals," she told Insider. Hilberg and Wilson both noted that they wanted the photos to look natural. Story continues Colleen Wilson stands with Dennis Hopper the kangaroo at Animal Tracks. Christine Hilberg They chose not to bring lights or any other large camera equipment with them, as they wanted the animals to be comfortable. They also didn't want the setting to look "staged or forced," as Hilberg said. "At Animal Tracks, they don't force their animals to do anything, so all the photos are very natural and based on the relationships I've built with them over years of working there," Wilson said. "We didn't tell them they couldn't do anything because we were in their territory." They also chose to convey this natural vibe of their photos by shooting in black and white. According to Hilberg, the idea was inspired by photographer Nick Brant, who is known for his monochromatic wildlife shots. Doing so led to some sweet moments between Wilson and the animals. Colleen Wilson sits with Chrissy the baboon at the Animal Tracks sanctuary. Christine Hilberg As Wilson pointed out, most animals "are really curious." Dennis Hopper, the kangaroo at Animal Tracks, was one of them, as was Chrissy the baboon, who was previously a movie animal. "The baboon is very maternal, and she's always wanted to be a mom," Wilson said. "Whenever there are babies especially new monkey babies that come into Animal Tracks, she tends to take over the motherly role." "So she kind of knew what was going on, and she's noticed the changes in me," she continued. "She comes next to me, and she's just been extra gentle toward me lately." Hilberg recalled the moment when Chrissy even went as far as to touch Wilson's stomach: "It was a natural, really beautiful moment. When I was taking pictures of Colleen, especially with the monkeys, it was like family. It was like they were hanging out with their aunt." Wilson said posing with the wolf Raider was her favorite part of the photo shoot. Colleen Wilson poses with Raider the wolf at the Animal Tracks sanctuary. Christine Hilberg Raider was bred to be someone's pet and was sent to Animal Tracks as he got older. Wilson said she was at the sanctuary around the time of Raider's arrival, which made her photos with him all the more special. "I thought it would be the most difficult shot to get because he runs around and is excited about meeting new people and wants to play all the time," she said about Raider. "But he just posed next to me for like 30 seconds and then turned around and did it again. It was almost like he knew what we were doing." Wilson added that the animals she posed with are some of the ones that she's "bonded with the most" over the years. "They just happened to be some of the more dangerous animals," she said. "Being next to a big black wolf would be really scary for most people, but he's very magical and just the softest soul," she added. Hilberg, on the other hand, loved working with the capuchin monkeys. Christine Hilberg sits with two capuchin monkeys while photographing Colleen Wilson. Christine Hilberg "All those photos you see of Colleen with monkeys touching her tummy, there's probably two or three monkeys on my shoulders, too, and playing with my camera at that exact moment," Hilberg told Insider. "For someone like me who's always loved all sorts of animals, it was a dream come true," she continued. Still, Wilson and Hilberg noted that they wouldn't recommend taking photos with wild animals to other people. Their photo shoot, for example, required years of experience, "a lot of precautions," and "other people there for safety." A capuchin monkey reaches up to Colleen Wilson's baby bump. Christine Hilberg As Wilson noted, her previous experience working with Animal Tracks was necessary for a successful and safe photo shoot. She said she's even "picked up the animals' poop pre-pregnancy," and knows what she can and can't do around each one. "We could never walk into a sanctuary for the first time and expect those monkeys to swarm around her and touch her belly like they did," Hilberg said. "Colleen's worked really hard to gain their trust and give them respect, and even when I was there, it was the same thing," the photographer added. "I had to keep in mind they are wild animals. I don't get to touch them, grab them, or tell Colleen, 'Hey, go put the wolf on your left side!' You really have to respect their space and boundaries, and let them come to you." In fact, both women hope their maternity photo shoot inspires others to "go help Animal Tracks" and to stop buying exotic animals as pets. Colleen Wilson poses with a wolf pup at the Animal Tracks sanctuary. Christine Hilberg "What we're trying to raise awareness on is that these animals should not be owned as pets," Wilson said. "They were illegally owned, and they can't be released back into the wild now." And when it comes to Animal Tracks, Wilson said she's hoping to help the nonprofit as it works toward raising funds that will help it move to a larger facility and care for more animals. In the meantime, however, Wilson is preparing to give birth, and taking time to appreciate her unique maternity photoshoot. "I didn't expect to have a maternity shoot like this where I want to have prints and put them on my wall," she said. "I don't even have wedding pictures on my wall yet, and it's been like two years." To learn more about Animal Tracks, visit the group's website. Read the original article on Insider Protesters in coup-hit Myanmar marked the birthday of junta leader Min Aung Hlaing Saturday by burning his portrait and staging mock funerals. The nation has experienced mass protests and a brutal military response since the February 1 coup which ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Almost 890 civilians have died in a crackdown by the State Administration Council -- as the junta calls itself -- and almost 6,500 have been arrested, according to a local monitoring group. On Saturday, anti-coup demonstrators posted pictures on social media of a traditional noodle soup dish called mohinga, which is often served at funerals in Myanmar. "I made (mohinga) on his birthday because I want him to die soon," one Yangon resident told AFP. "Many innocent people lost their lives because of him. So, if he died, the whole country would be happy." In Mandalay, the country's second-largest city, some activists burnt pictures of the junta leader and set fire to fake coffins at mock funerals. "Because of this man, our Myanmar has many problems," a Mandalay resident told AFP. "He actually should not have been born. Therefore, we hold his funeral as we want to say he should be dead." Min Aung Hlaing turns 65 Saturday -- the age he would have been subject to mandatory retirement while he headed up the armed forces, as stipulated by the country's 2008 constitution. Some analysts believe that was a factor in his power-grab because he had not been able to see a path to higher office with the help of the military-backed political party, which was routed in an election last year. Before the coup, Min Aung Hlaing was considered an international pariah, condemned for presiding over the brutal 2017 crackdown on the country's stateless Rohingya population. He has been banned from Facebook for stoking hate speech against the persecuted minority, and UN investigators have called on him and other top army leaders to be prosecuted for genocide. Story continues But for years, he has steadfastly denied nearly all allegations of human rights abuses and says the military operations, which drove around 750,000 Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh, were justified to root out insurgents. He was tapped to lead Myanmar's armed forces in 2011, just as a previous generation of military leaders was transitioning the country to a parliamentary system after decades of junta rule. Min Aung Hlaing's regime has faced international condemnation and sanctions since the putsch, with concerns over mounting violence, political prisoners, internet shutdowns and a clawing back of press freedom. His State Administration Council on Saturday insisted it was working on achieving "enduring peace for the entire nation", according to a state-run newspaper. bur-lpm/axn Jul. 3CHARLESTON Dubbing a telephone and internet provider's response to "disastrous customer service problems" as "completely inadequate," the Public Service Commission of West Virginia has called for a plan to address its problems. The Public Service Commission of West Virginia has ordered Suddenlink Communications to show why it should not be required to take specific remedial steps to improve service to customers and why the commission should not impose penalties as authorized by state law. On May 6, Charlotte Lane, chair of the state PSC, met with representatives of Suddenlink to discuss the more than 1,900 quality of service complaints the commission has received, including delays in service restoration, billing errors, the inability to place orders for service or contact personnel regarding the status of service. Lane directed Suddenlink to provide the commission with a correction plan within 30 days. Suddenlink sent a letter to Lane on June 7 that contained neither a correction plan nor details of the steps that Suddenlink has taken to improve cable television service. "Suddenlink's response to our request for a corrective plan to its disastrous customer service problems was completely inadequate," Lane stated. To characterize over 1,900 complaints in a positive fashion as "'less than 1 percent' of its customer base, is particularly concerning," Lane added. The commission ordered Suddenlink on Thursday to file information within 30 days, including details on completed and projected improvement projects to its cable television service; specific outage information; the processes used to issue and track trouble tickets; customer complaint call logs; a copy of all Suddenlink's current franchises for cable television service in the state; metrics regarding training, personnel, office locations and hours of operation, according to a statement issued Thursday by the state PSC. Story continues The commission has scheduled two public comment hearings on Aug. 24 at 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. There will be an evidentiary hearing on Aug. 26 starting at 9:30 a.m. All three hearings will be conducted at the PSC headquarters in Charleston, and all hearings will be held in person and streamed live on the commission's website. Suddenlink offers cable television service to more than 300,000 households and small businesses and has over 133,000 cable television customers in West Virginia. The company provides service over a hybrid fiber optic-coaxial network with more than 8,500 plant miles and eight headends across the state. Additional information, including Thursday's order and Suddenlink's June 7 response to the state PSC, is available on the commission's website: www.psc.state.wv.us by referencing Case No. 21-0515-CTV-SC-GI. WASHINGTON On a grassy plot of the National Mall, in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol, thousands of voting rights supporters arrived on buses, on foot and even on horseback. The we the people at last week's rally on Washington, D.C., statehood and voting rights comprised a coalition of races, genders, generations and geography. From students to clergy to members of Congress, about 2,500 people descended upon the nations capital to defend what the late congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis described as the precious, almost sacred right to vote. Folded into that sentiment was the demand that the residents of Washington, D.C., must also be recognized as full citizens through statehood. District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser championed the call for statehood, while others decried voter suppression and a wave of legislation that followed the 2020 election. Lawmakers in 48 states have collectively introduced at least 389 bills that would curb or restrict voting. Days later, the Supreme Court would uphold Arizona's new restrictions on voter access. Democrats charge that the mostly Republican-led measures will disproportionately impact Black voters, young voters and communities of color. We, the engines of democracy, refuse to be silent, said Judith Browne Dianis, executive director of the Advancement Project, a national racial justice group, to the crowd. Together we will make our voices heard. We are not going back. Waving protest signs and clad in identical red T-shirts were 1,500 mostly Black and Latino workers with the hospitality union UNITE HERE. They traveled by bus from 21 states across the country for the rally. The group marched in chanting, We are Freedom Riders! and No justice! No peace! Image: Local voting rights activists join a Rally for D.C. Statehood, the last stop of Black Voters Matter Freedom Ride for Voting Rights bus tour, at the National Mall June 26, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong / Getty Images) Voting is fundamental to working peoples power, said UNITE HERE International President D. Taylor. Peoples lives and futures are at stake. No one should ever underestimate the determination of the people. Story continues Even as protesters urged bold action around making Washington, D.C., the 51st state and stronger protections needed at the ballot box, parts of the event unfolded with the vibe of a summer festival. Some attendees sat sprawled under the shade of wide leafy trees, while others tried to stay cool under rows of white tents that billowed like sails. There was folk music and spoken word, and the districts homegrown go-go music blared funky beats from speakers. The demonstration under a scorching midday sun was organized by Black Voters Matter, an advocacy and policy organization, and some 50 local and national civil rights, voting empowerment and social justice groups. The weekend action wrapped up BVMs Freedom Ride for Voting Rights, which paid homage to the 60-year anniversary of the original Freedom Rides of 1961 while providing education and outreach around 21st century voting rights. Kicking off on the new federal holiday Juneteenth, the nine-city tour aimed to increase support for federal voting rights legislation, build Black voting power and advocate for statehood for Washington, D.C., with a population of nearly 700,000 residents. Traveling aboard their signature fleet of coaches nicknamed the Blackest buses in America, the new Freedom Riders officially began in Mississippi, then motored through Southern states including Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas. BVM co-founders LaTosha Brown and Cliff Albright met with concerned residents, officials and partners to discuss issues impacting their communities. Their fight for voting justice and progress comes at an opportune time as policymakers, advocates, activists and fellow keepers of democracy converge around this critical issue. June brought major events on this front. There was a Senate hearing on Washington, D.C., statehood and a failed Senate procedural vote on the For the People Act to expand voting rights that drew no Republican support. This month also marked eight years since the 2013 landmark Supreme Court ruling in Shelby County v. Holder, which gutted portions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. That decision ushered in a new era of Jim Crow as states rushed to exploit the ruling and attack Black voting rights, Brown said. And with dozens of statehouses considering even more restrictions on ballot access, our communities continue to feel the impact today. The Department of Justice announced earlier this month that it filed a lawsuit against the state of Georgia, its secretary of state and the states election board over a new law critics say restricts access to voting; Gov. Brian Kemp signed the measure in March. The right of all eligible citizens to vote is the central pillar of our democracy, the right from which all other rights ultimately flow, Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a news conference on Friday. This lawsuit is the first step of many we are taking to ensure that all eligible voters can cast a vote, that all lawful votes are counted and that every voter has access to accurate information. Image: Black Voters Matter national rally in support of DC statehood, in Washington (Elizabeth Frantz / Reuters) The DOJ complaint contends that several provisions of Senate Bill 202 were adopted to purposefully curb voting rights based on race. The lawsuit alleges that the cumulative and discriminatory effect of these lawsparticularly on Black voterswas known to lawmakers and that lawmakers adopted the law despite this, according to a statement by the DOJ. The suit challenges several provisions, including one that bans government entities from distributing unsolicited absentee ballot applications and another regarding the imposition of fines on civic organizations, churches and advocacy groups that distribute follow-up absentee ballot applications. It also challenges deadlines to request absentee ballots; requirements related to state identification; limits on drop boxes for absentee ballots; barring churches and civic groups from providing food or water to people waiting in long lines to vote and more. The lawsuit asks the court to prohibit Georgia from enforcing these requirements. Kristen Clarke, the first Black woman to serve as assistant attorney general for the departments Civil Rights Division, vowed in her remarks at DOJ headquarters that the department will use all the tools it has available to ensure that each eligible citizen can register, cast a ballot and have that ballot counted free from racial discrimination. Laws adopted with a racially motivated purpose, like Georgia Senate Bill 202, simply have no place in democracy today, she said. The BVM team agreed. More than three months after we joined partners to file our own lawsuit against the state of Georgia for its voter suppression bill, it's encouraging to see the Department of Justice and the Biden-Harris administration stand with the people, Albright said. With this historic announcement, the federal government is taking an important step toward defending the rights of Black voters. This move will hopefully set a new precedent and send a strong message to state legislatures. Brown added, Weve always known that these voter restriction bills were unconstitutional at their core. The DOJ lawsuit is, Brown said, not only an affirmation of the work we do each and every day to protect voting rights; its a stern warning to other states. Any state or local governments pursuing voter suppression legislation must be prepared to defend Jim Crow in court, because we simply will not let this go. While Black men and, later, women were granted the right to vote through constitutional amendments, barriers such as literacy tests, intimidation and violence heavily restricted Black Americans from access to the polls for decades. The Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, outlawed discriminatory practices adopted by many Southern states. Today, as voting access is in jeopardy, BVM leaders said their "Freedom Ride for Voting Rights" tour was timely and impactful. Meeting former Freedom Riders who participated in the desegregation protests of the early 1960s, and a host of people representing different ages and races, also served as an act of unity and love. Still, the organizers pledged additional activism until victory is won. We are urging the Biden-Harris administration and members of Congress to continue to stand up for voters and protect our voting power through the passage of the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, Albright said. We need to dismantle all barriers that prevent free and fair access to the ballot box, Brown added. The fight continues. Follow NBCBLK on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. By Gustavo Palencia TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Lorena Garcia, a young woman from a rural village in western Honduras, has accepted that her 2-year-old son has lost his chance at the American dream. Now, she just wants him home. The boy, Wilder, gained international media attention when he was found alone on a roadside earlier in the week in Mexico's Veracruz state, half naked and crying, near a truck that carried migrants in suffocating conditions. The boy had been with his father, Garcia's husband Noel Ladino, in a bid to migrate to the United States. But that went awry under circumstances that have so far not been detailed. In an interview with Reuters, Garcia, 23, said she was desperate to be reunited with the toddler, who is in the care of Mexican authorities. "I want them to return him to me," Garcia told Reuters by phone on Friday. She said her husband and son went "looking for the American dream. But it was not possible," she said. Garcia said Ladino and Wilder left their home in Copan, Honduras, near the Guatemala border, with a human smuggler, or coyote, bound for the United States. The two reached southeastern Mexico, where father and son became separated. After Mexican immigration authorities circulated photos, Garcia identified herself to Honduran officials as Wilder's mother using a document that matched the vaccine records the boy carried. She said her husband was being held in Mexico. She spoke to him by phone on Thursday night but did not glean any information about Wilder. The National Migration Institute of Mexico has not yet established a date to transfer Wilder back to Honduras, though Garcia said she was told he would return in 15 days. "I just hope he comes back," she said. The family, which also includes a 6-year-old daughter, lives on 100 lempiras ($4.16) a day when Ladino can find work, Garcia said. "There is no work here to support oneself. He left because we have another girl, and here there is a lot of poverty," Garcia said. Story continues Ladino and Wilder hoped to reach Virginia where they have relatives and ultimately be joined by the mother and daughter. Ladino agreed to pay the coyote some 200,000 lempiras ($8,333 dollars) for the journey with wages he would earn in the United States and help from their relatives. Wilder went with Ladino because the couple believed traveling with a small child would improve his chances of being admitted to the United States. Hundreds of thousands of Hondurans, including families with children, have set off for the United States in recent years to escape poverty, violence and corruption. Many are turned back by Mexico or the United States. (Reporting by Gustavo Palencia; Writing by Cassandra Garrison and Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) PHOENIX (AP) They flaunted their participation in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol on social media and then, apparently realizing they were in legal trouble, rushed to delete evidence of it, authorities say. Now their attempts to cover up their role in the deadly siege are likely to come back to haunt them in court. An Associated Press review of court records has found that at least 49 defendants are accused of trying to erase incriminating photos, videos and texts from phones or social media accounts documenting their conduct as a pro-Donald Trump mob stormed Congress and briefly interrupted the certification of Democrat Joe Bidens election victory. Experts say the efforts to scrub the social media accounts reveal a desperate willingness to manipulate evidence once these people realized they were in hot water. And, they say, it can serve as powerful proof of peoples consciousness of guilt and can make it harder to negotiate plea deals and seek leniency at sentencing. It makes them look tricky, makes them look sneaky, said Gabriel J. Chin, who teaches criminal law at the University of California, Davis. One such defendant is James Breheny, a member of the Oath Keepers extremist group, who bragged in texts to others about being inside the Capitol during the insurrection, authorities say. An associate instructed Breheny, in an encrypted message two days after the riot, to delete all pictures, messages and get a new phone, according to court documents. That same day, the FBI said, Breheny shut down his Facebook account, where he had photos that he taken during the riot and complained the government had grown tyrannical. The Peoples Duty is to replace that Government with one they agree with, Breheny wrote on Facebook on Jan. 6 in an exchange about the riot. Im all ears. Whats our options??? Breheneys lawyer, Harley Breite, said his client never obstructed the riot investigation or destroyed evidence, and that Breheny didnt know when he shut down account that his content would be considered evidence. Story continues Breite rejected the notion that Breheny might have been able to recognize, in the days immediately after Jan. 6 when the riot dominated news coverage, that the attack was a serious situation that could put Breheny's liberty at risk. You cant delete evidence if you dont know you are being charged with anything, Breite said. Other defendants who have not been accused of destroying evidence still engaged in exchanges with others about deleting content, according to court documents. The FBI said one woman who posted video and comments showing she was inside the Capitol during the attack later decided not to restore her new phone with her iCloud content a move that authorities suspect was aimed at preventing them from uncovering the material. In another case, authorities say screenshots from a North Carolina mans deleted Facebook posts contradicted his claim during an interview with an FBI agent that he didnt intend on disrupting the Electoral College certification. Erasing digital content isnt as easy as deleting content from phones, removing social media posts or shutting down accounts. Investigators have been able to retrieve the digital content by requesting it from social media companies, even after accounts are shut down. Posts made on Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms are recoverable for a certain period of time, and authorities routinely ask those companies to preserve the records until they get court orders to view the posts, said Adam Scott Wandt, a public policy professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who trains law enforcement on cyber-based investigations. Authorities also have other avenues for investigating whether someone has tried to delete evidence. Even when a person removes content from an account, authorities may still get access to it if it had been backed up on a cloud server. People who arent involved in a crime yet were sent incriminating videos or photos may end up forwarding them to investigators. Also, metadata embedded in digital content can show whether it has been modified or deleted. You cant do it, said Joel Hirschhorn, a criminal defense lawyer in Miami who is not involved in Capitol riot cases. The metadata will do them in every time. Only a handful of the more than 500 people across the U.S. who have been arrested in the riot have actually been charged with tampering for deleting incriminating material from their phones or Facebook accounts. They include several defendants in the sweeping case against members and associates of the Oath Keepers extremist group, who are accused of conspiring to block the certification of the vote. In one instance, a defendant instructed another to make sure that all signal comms about the op has been deleted and burned, authorities say. But even if it does not result in more charges, deleting evidence will make it difficult for those defendants to get much benefit at sentencing for accepting responsibility for their actions, said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School. Some lawyers might argue their clients removed the content to lessen the social impact that the attack had on their families and show they do not support what had occurred during the riot. But she said that argument has limits. The words self-serving will come to mind, Levenson said. Thats what the prosecutors will argue you removed it because all of a sudden, you have to face the consequences of your actions. Matthew Mark Wood, who acknowledged deleting content from his phone and Facebook account that showed presence in the Capitol during the riot, told an FBI agent that he did not intend on disrupting the Electoral College certification. But investigators say screenshots of two of his deleted Facebook posts tell a different story. In the posts, Wood reveled in rioters sending those politicians running and declared that he had stood up against a tyrannical government in the face of a stolen election, the FBI said in court records. When diplomacy doesnt work and your message has gone undelivered, it shouldnt surprise you when we revolt, Wood wrote. His lawyer did not return a call seeking comment. Even though she is not accused of deleting content that showed she was inside the Capitol during the riot, one defendant told her father that she was not going to restore her new phone with her iCloud backup about three weeks after the riot, the FBI said. Stay off the clouds!" the father warned his daughter, according to authorities. "They are how they are screwing with us. Jul. 3HIGH POINT The community is invited to honor the Fourth of July holiday by paying tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. The Salvation Army of High Point will host its first "Field of Flags Ceremony" to honor men and women in active military service, veterans, and emergency first responders on Independence Day Weekend. The ceremony will be Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Salvation Army Citadel Corps, 121 SW Cloverleaf Place, High Point. The service is free and open to the public. Flags will be on display from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. that day for the public to view. The afternoon service will recognize sponsors and the men and women represented on the field, complete with special music, a short program and the sounding of taps. Local sponsors of the event include Thomas Built Buses, Elks Lodge No. 1155, Pennybyrn, the Carl & Linda Grubb Family YMCA and Truliant Federal Credit Union. For information call 336-881-5400. A group of Democratic senators are calling on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to address the nations ever-growing medical debt. Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT), Chris van Hollen (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) penned a letter to CFPB to share concerns about the cost burden many Americans could face as a result of COVID-19. While the COVID relief packages passed by Congress have helped to defray some of these costs through financial subsidies and coverage for COVID-19 vaccines and testing, consumers are still paying associated health costs for treatment of the disease, the senators stated. For those Americans who sought treatment out of their networks, they may bear the full cost of their COVID-19 treatments. A woman hangs a US flag in a fence in front of the US Navy Hospital ship Mercy on March 28, 2020 at the Port of Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images) A survey from LendingTree found that a majority of Americans (60%) have been in medical debt with costs averaging between $5,000 to $9,999. Leading causes were emergency room visits (39%), visits with doctors and specialists (28%), childbirth and related care (22%), and dental care (20%). The problem is that [most] medical debt is involuntary, Sen. Murphy told Yahoo Finance. Its not a choice. ER visits are the leading cause of medical debt. (Chart: LendingTree) The senators laid out a list of actions for the CFPB to take to address the issue. The suggestions includes prohibiting the furnishing of medical debt collection items to credit reporting agencies; requiring debt collectors to disclosure any applicable financial assistance or potential coverage plans; working with the IRS to issue an FAQ on Obamacares charity care provisions; require debt collectors to refrain from collecting or reporting on individuals if they state theyre in the process of appealing or disputing an insurance denial or billing, or applying for financial assistance; limiting the number of collection calls placed per consumer; do an additional analysis of medical debt complaints received; and issue a corresponding report for researchers and policymakers to use. Story continues "We have received the letter and are reviewing it," the CFPB told Yahoo Finance in a statement. "We will remain in dialogue with Congress regarding the issue of consumer debt for medical care." 'Those deductibles can lead to significant debt' Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the U.S. As of April 2021, roughly 21 million Americans holding $46 billion of medical debt faced collections, meaning that a third-party debt collector is trying to obtain the money owed. Jen Taylor, senior director of federal relations at Families USDA, a non-partisan consumer health care advocacy organization, characterized some of the practices by debt collectors as "industry abuses." "There are a number of ways in which the current system is too expensive, inefficient, and failing consumers who are still struggling financially from the worst health and economic crisis in a century," Taylor told Yahoo Finance. "We are pleased to see this letter and other recent actions by members of Congress and the administration to end surprise medical bills, remove the burden of medical debt, and prioritize protecting families from industry abuses." Murphy noted that while the the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) helped as millions of Americans lost employer-sponsored insurance amid the pandemic, more can be done. Sen. Chris Murphy speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on U.S. Policy in the Middle East, September 24, 2020. Susan Walsh/Pool via REUTERS "While the Affordable Care Act has been a gift to people during the pandemic with so much job loss and job shifting, its not surprising that there are people that are going big periods of time without coverage," he said. "Youve also seen the shift over the last five years to greater cost sharing and higher deductibles. Those deductibles can lead to significant debt." In 2019, the average individual deductible was $1,931 and the average family deductible was $3,655. Deductibles and premiums accounted for 11.5% of median household income that year, which was a 9.1% increase from the prior decade. However, they only account for roughly 9% of medical debt. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the many cracks that remain in our health care system into which people fall, sometimes plummet, regarding debt incurred for their health care, they wrote. It is timely to reexamine the burden of medical consumer debt. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Made with Flourish $10.3 billion in crowdfunding campaigns The Biden administration has begun taking steps towards addressing the issue of health care costs. Earlier this week, the White House advanced a bill that President Trump had implemented the No Surprise Act which would protect consumers from surprise medical costs and balance billing. While its good that we will have less surprise billing, medical debt is normally accumulated because you have to have health care interventions done that are mandatory to save your life, Murphy said. Therell be times at which somebody may be able to avoid a bigger bill than is necessary, but I dont think that legislation will have a dramatic downward impact on the number of people that have significant medical debt. In the meantime, Americans increasingly rely on the generosity of others. RIP Medical Debt, a New York-based 501 charity that uses donations to buy up peoples medical debt, recently announced a purchase of $278 million in medical debt owed by roughly 82,000 patients in the Tennessee and Virginia regions. Crowdfunding has become increasingly popular. (Chart: JAMA) Americans also use crowdfunding sites to raise money for paying off medical debt. A study from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that between May 2010 and December 2018, 26.7% of the 1,056,455 fundraisers on the crowdfunding site GoFundMe were for health-related costs. And those health-related campaigns sought a collective total of nearly $10.3 billion and raised about $3.7 billion. Thats really fascinating, but its not the solution, Murphy said. The solution in the long run is to a) get to a point where nobody goes into debt because of medical costs and b) make sure that we treat that debt differently than we do other consumer debt. Adriana Belmonte is a reporter and editor covering politics and health care policy for Yahoo Finance. You can follow her on Twitter @adrianambells. If you would like to share your story of dealing with medical bills and other health care costs, you can reach her at adriana@yahoofinance.com. READ MORE: Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit Reuters Videos Tensions between Moscow and French winemakers bubbled over on Monday, when France's champagne industry group called on its members to halt all shipments of the fizzy beverage to Russia over a new law, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, that forces foreign champagne producers to add the words "sparkling wine" to their labels.The law requires all non-Russian producers of sparkling wine to describe their product as such on the back of every bottle, but Russian makers of "shampanskoye" may continue to use that term alone. In response, France's Champagne Wine Professionals Committee said all shipments to Russia should be halted for the time being and said the name "champagne", which refers to the region in France the drink comes from, had legal protection in 120 countries.Charles Goemaere is the committee's director general.GOEMAERE: "It's tragic for the producers who are losing the legitimate right to use this name... It's also tragic for our business with Russia because, at least temporarily, Champagne wines will no longer be able to be exported to Russia because they no longer conform with the rules."The Champagne Committee also called on French and European Union diplomats to get the law changed.Meanwhile, Moet Hennessy, the maker of Dom Perignon, said on Sunday that it would comply with the law and begin adding "sparkling wine" to the back of bottles destined for Russia. Jul. 2The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday said it will hear a case challenging Maine's ban on public funding for religious schools, bringing a challenge to a state law from families in Glenburn, Orrington and Palermo to the nation's highest court. The families sued the Maine Department of Education in federal court in 2018 seeking tuition for their children to attend Bangor Christian Schools and Temple Academy in Waterville. The high court on Friday said the case was one of nine for which it had granted writ of certiorari, meaning it will hear arguments in its next term after the families lost at the district and appellate court levels. While the Supreme Court's conservative wing and justices' interest in cases involving religion have grown in recent years, the chances that the Maine case would end up before the court were still small. Justices agree to consider just one out of every 100 cases they are asked to review. The case challenges a state law under which towns without public high schools pay tuition so local students can attend a public or private school of their choice in another community as long as it's not a religious school. The three families' lawsuit sought public tuition for their children to attend Bangor Christian Schools and Temple Academy in Waterville. The Virginia-based Institute for Justice has represented the families in court proceedings and lead attorney Michael Bindas will argue their case before the Supreme Court. "Whenever school choice programs are adopted, opponents of choice argue that religious schools have to be excluded, or they run to court trying to challenge the program because they include religious schools," Bindas said Friday. "If the Supreme Court rules correctly in this case, then that argument from school choice opponents will finally be put to rest." Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey, whose office will defend the state education department, said Friday that Maine's law is constitutional because the Supreme Court has ruled that states can prevent the use of public funds for religious purposes. Story continues The state excludes religious schools from its tuition program "because the education they provide is not equivalent to a public education," Frey said. "Religious schools can and do advance their own religion to the exclusion of all others, discriminate in both the teachers they employ and the students they admit, and teach religious views inimical to what is taught in public schools." U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby rejected the plaintiffs' argument in June 2019, shortly after the U.S. Department of Justice, under the Trump administration, intervened on the families' behalf. The families then appealed to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. But before a three-judge panel could rule on the case, the nation's high court in June 2020 ruled 5-4 that a Montana program that makes donors to private school scholarships eligible for up to $150 in state tax credits, but prohibited the use of the scholarships at religious schools, was unconstitutional. The appellate judges in Boston agreed to consider how that case affected Maine's tuition law, making it the first instance of another court issuing a decision applying the Supreme Court's ruling in the Montana case. But the three-judge panel concluded on Oct. 29 that the state's requirement that public money fund secular rather than religious education does not violate Mainers' constitutional rights. The appellate court found that the Montana decision did not apply because the Maine program is not based on the religious "status" of the schools but the schools' "use" of public funds. Essentially, the court found Maine is within its rights to bar public money from paying for religious education. Lawyers for the three Maine families from the Institute for Justice maintained that the three-judge panel misapplied the Montana ruling, and asked the Supreme Court to weigh in. The Institute for Justice was involved in the Espinoza case as well as two other religious school choice cases that have gone before the Supreme Court, Bindas said. The Supreme Court has ruled in the institute's favor all three times. Earlier this year, another federal court found that Vermont's tuition program, which is similar to Maine's, was unconstitutional under the Montana ruling. A three-judge panel for the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals based in New York ordered the Green Mountain State to pay tuition to religious schools for students who lived in towns that did not have high schools. In April, the Vermont State Board of Education ordered the school districts of three students to pay the tuition for them to attend religious schools as part of a state tuition benefit that they were denied. In deciding which cases to take up, the Supreme Court often looks to resolve conflicting rulings in the nation's appellate courts which exist in the Maine religious schools case. Ten separate friend of the court briefs have been filed in support of the Maine families in the case, including one from the states of Arkansas, Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia, all of which allow public funding for religious schools. No date has been set for the sides to argue their case before the justices, but arguments are likely to take place in the late fall or early winter, Bindas said. Before then, both sides will submit briefings to the court. The hottest place on Earth had its warmest June on record this year. Death Valley National Park recorded an average temperature of 102.9 degrees in June, according to the National Park Service. Thats nearly 8 degrees hotter than whats typical. On June 17, it reached an even hotter peak. The heat wave that affected much of the West in mid-June peaked at 128 degrees in Death Valley on June 17, which broke the daily record by 6 degrees, the National Park Service said Friday in a news release. Seven days in the month set new daily records for high temperatures. Even the lowest temperature at the park that month was still above 100 degrees. At 3 a.m. on June 29, the temperature dropped to 104 degrees. Last summer was also a hot one for Death Valley, McClatchy News reported. From June through August in 2020 the meteorological summer Death Valley had an average temperature of 102.7, according to the National Park Service. It was the fourth hottest summer on record, following 2019, 2017 and 2016. The park, which sits on the California-Nevada border, usually averages 18 days that hit 120 degrees or more, officials said. Death Valleys dramatic landscape ranges from 282 feet below sea level to 11,049 feet above, the National Park Service said. Clear, dry air, and minimal plant coverage means theres little to block the sun from heating up the ground. Heat radiates from the ground back into the air. Hot air in the park rises and gets trapped by the surrounding mountains. Then it recirculates to the valley floor and the heating cycle continues, park officials said. The parks extreme heat attracts people seeking to experience a temperature hotter than they ever have before, park officials said. Park rangers say it is possible to visit Death Valley safely in the summer. Limit heat exposure by not walking more than 5 minutes from an air-conditioned vehicle. Death Valley isnt the only place experiencing record-breaking heat recently. Story continues Many parts of the West have shattered heat records, and temperatures have soared above 100 degrees for days on end. In Portland, temperatures reached 112 degrees Sunday, breaking the record-high of 108 degrees that was set the day before and the regions all-time high since 1940, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures in Seattle also reached an all-time high of 104 degrees, the first time temperatures were above 100 degrees for two consecutive days in the region. Videos show massive flooding in Zion National Park as roaring waters cause destruction Fresh baked cookies in a car? Park rangers in Arizona just did it in extreme heat Heat stroke or heat exhaustion? How to tell the difference as extreme heat grips US Max, Paddy, and Harry pose next to the Max statue in Keswick, Cumbria. (PA) A therapy dog has been immortalised with a statue after helping more than 10,000 people during the pandemic. Springer spaniel Max, aged 13, was honoured by his hometown of Keswick, Cumbria, on Friday with a bronze statue in Hope Park. The dog won the animal equivalent of an OBE, PDSA Order of Merit, in February for providing virtual therapy during lockdown. He became the first-ever pet to receive the honour, with the award previously being given to specially trained dogs working with emergency services. Read more: Girl, 9, fights off three masked men who grabbed her in field Therapy dog Max has helped more than 10,000 people during the pandemic. (PA) Owner Kerry Irving adopted Max in 2008 after becoming seriously injured in a traffic collision and suffering from severe depression. He trained him as a therapy dog in 2016 and during the pandemic, he broadcast him on Facebook Live to provide comfort to people. Photos of Max out on his walks quickly became popular on social media. The dog has since met more than 10,000 people through meet-and-greets, charity walks, appearances, and school visits and helped raise nearly 300,000 for several charities, including PDSA. Irving, who also owns two other springer spaniels called Paddy and Harry, said: Hope Park is the perfect location as Max has brought hope to so many people. Its incredible that our little boy, proudly wearing his PDSA Order of Merit, will now be sat there and remembered for generations to come. The statue was designed and made by local sculptor Kirsty Armstrong, and was unveiled by 12-year-old Keswick local Sophie. Read more: Britain's tallest man: 'It's no fun being 7ft 7ins' Kerry Irving poses with his three dogs Max, Paddy, and Harry. (Getty) Mayor of Keswick, Councillor Alan Dunn, said: Max is an extraordinary dog, hes Keswicks canine ambassador, and Im delighted to be able to help unveil this wonderful tribute to him today. Maxs gentle nature has touched so many people around the world, and his and Kerrys dedication to charitable work and helping as many people as possible is a true testament to the unshakeable bond between one man and his dog. Story continues The statue was paid for by a crowdfunding campaign, which raised 26,000 in a single day. Irving then donated the additional funds to vet charity PDSA. He said: The fact we were able to donate additional proceeds to PDSA too is wonderful, as its a charity that is very close to my heart. Im humbled by it all, and hope that Maxs statue will bring great comfort to all those who visit. The Oregon Ducks have been on fire as of late when it comes to recruiting. With a handful of talented players agreeing to come to Eugene over the past week, helping to raise Mario Cristobals squad all the way up to 9th in the nation, it seems that there isnt a high school prospect that the Ducks cant get. That ball could certainly keep rolling this weekend, with the announcement that two 5-star prospects are set to choose their future schools. Washington DL J.T. Tuimoloau and Texas OL Kelvin Banks have cut down their lists of prospective teams, and Banks announced that his decision will come on Monday, July 5th. Related After the recent string of success, the Ducks should feel confident going into the announcements. Tuimoloau, who is the No. 1 ranked defensive lineman in the nation, recently canceled his recruiting trip to the Alabama Crimson Tide after visiting Eugene. He is set to decide between the Ducks, the Ohio State Buckeyes, the USC Trojans, and the Washington Huskies. As for Banks, the dominoes are seemingly falling as high-end Texas recruits choose Oregon, and the 6-foot-5, 300-pound OL could be the next to fall. With 4-star lineman, Cameron Williams, and 4-star receiver Nicholas Anderson committing to the Ducks on Thursday, the pipeline from the Lonestar State to the PNW is firmly in place. Add to that the commitment of 4-star Texas QB Tanner Bailey, and there is no shortage of familiar faces to drive Banks to choose the Ducks. Related Another recruit from who we are waiting on a decision is 4-star WR Isaiah Sategna, who is also one of the top track athletes in the nation. He is currently deciding between Oregon and USC but has yet to release a date for his decisioin. The coming weeks could be massive for the Ducks, and their spot in the recruiting rankings should continue to rise. Stay tuned, a movement is taking place in Eugene. Story continues List Top U.N. officials warned the Security Council on Friday (July 2) that more than 400,000 people in Ethiopia's Tigray region were now in famine, and that there was a risk of more clashes in the region despite a unilateral ceasefire by the federal government. Acting U.N. aid chief Ramesh Rajasingham told the council that the humanitarian situation in Tigray had "worsened dramatically" in recent weeks "One of the most distressing trends is an alarming rise in food insecurity and hunger due to conflict. More than 400,000 people are estimated to have crossed the threshold into famine and another 1.8 million people are on the brink of famine. Some are suggesting that the numbers are even higher. Thirty-three thousand children are severely malnourished." The Security Council held its first public meeting since fighting broke out in November between government forces, backed by troops from neighboring Eritrea, and Tigray Peoples Liberation Front fighters with the northern regions former ruling party. Food aid destined for Tigray was held for four days at a checkpoint controlled by government-allied Amhara regional forces last weekend. Ethiopia on Friday (July 2) denied blocking the humanitarian aid, amid accusations it is using hunger as a weapon. Images obtained by Reuters on Friday also show a bridge used to deliver supplies into Tigray region destroyed. The pictures, taken by Planet Labs, visually confirm UN ground reporting, of the Amba Bridge over Tezeke River being damaged. The World Food Program raised the alarm at the destruction of two major bridges leading into Tigray from Gondar on Thursday (July 1). The Ethiopian government declared a unilateral ceasefire on Monday, which the TPLF dismissed as a joke. Uber has amassed a collection of stakes in other transportation and related companies, such as its piece of newly public Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi. Why it matters: These investments once were viewed as consolation prizes but now are worth more than $13 billion. Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free. Flashback: After plowing $2 billion into its Chinese operations, Uber sold its China business in 2016 for an 18% stake in Didi (it's now about 12%). The timing was important, a source close to the deal tells Axios. Uber had just raised $3.5 billion from Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund in May, and executives felt the company was in its strongest position to negotiate a favorable deal as it had showed it could easily raise large bags of cash to keep competing. This gave Uber a template when it considered its operations in Russia, which it eventually sold to rival Yandex. Uber has continued to make these sorts of deals since CEO Dara Khosrowshahi took over in 2017. While selling Ubers autonomous driving unit was unthinkable under former CEO Travis Kalanick, the company recently shed it in exchange for a sizable stake in Aurora Innovation. In turn, Aurora is now in the process of going public via a SPAC. Uber did the same with its flying taxi unit. Between the lines: The pandemics pressure on Uber to focus on its core businesses, coupled with the reality that self-driving cars will take much longer than predicted, made selling units focused on autonomous driving and bikes the smart move, says D.A. Davidson managing director Tom White. And unlike Yahoo's valuable stake in Alibaba, which largely propped up Yahoo's valuation as its core business decayed, Uber's ride-hailing and delivery businesses are very much alive and kicking. Still, White cautions that even though some of these companies are going public, Ubers stakes arent cash and aren't as liquid as they seem since they can't be easily offloaded without affecting the price. And the newly announced probe into Didi's cybersecurity operations by Chinese regulators could turn into a serious problem (it's already put a damper on its stock price). The bottom line: "While some of these investments are strategic and Uber will remain involved for the foreseeable future, others are likely to be significant sources of liquidity, Uber CFO Nelson Chai said on a Q1 earnings call with analysts. More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free A Vatican judge on Saturday indicted 10 people, including a Cardinal, on charges including abuse of office, fraud, extortion and embezzlement in connection to a London real estate scandal, AP reports. Driving the news: The indictments followed a two-year investigation into how the Secretariat of State manages its funds, which come from donations that investigators said were allegedly "used for purposes other than the charitable purposes for which they were intended," per the Vatican News. Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free Investigators said the Secretariat of State borrowed $200 million to invest in a property in London, but the "high-risk investment brought a serious loss to the Holy See," the Vatican News writes. The state of play: Those indicted include Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, the former chief of staff in the Vaticans Secretariat of State who was fired by Pope Francis as a result of the investigation, the New York Times notes. Becciu's lawyers released a statement that said the accusations were an "absolute falsity" and maintained he was a "victim of an organized plot hatched" against him. Becciu became involved in the investigation because he was allegedly behind the proposal to invest in the London property, per AP. Vatican prosecutors also say he tried to interfere with the investigation. Others indicted include two former officials from the Vatican's intelligence unit, more officials from the Secretariat of State office and Italian businessmen who handled the London investment, according to the New York Times. What's next: The first hearing for the case will be on July 27. Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free. By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -A prominent Italian cardinal was among 10 people sent to trial in the Vatican on Saturday charged with financial crimes including embezzlement, money laundering, fraud, extortion and abuse of office. Cardinal Angelo Becciu, formerly a senior official in the Vatican administration, as well as two top officials at the Vatican's Financial Intelligence Unit will go on trial on July 27 over a multi-million euro scandal involving the Vatican's purchase of a building in one of London's smartest districts. The trial will inevitably bring a swirl of media interest to the tiny city-state surrounded by Rome, and appears to underscore Pope Francis' determination to cure the rot in Vatican finances, even if it involves messy public hearings. Becciu, 73, whom the pope fired from his senior clerical post last year for alleged nepotism, and who has always maintained his innocence during a two-year investigation, becomes the most senior Vatican official to be charged with financial crimes. The pope personally gave the required approval last week for Becciu to be indicted, according to a 487-page indictment request seen by Reuters. The Vatican announced the indictments in a two-page statement. The charges against Becciu include embezzlement and abuse of office. An Italian woman who worked for him was charged with embezzlement and the cardinal's former secretary, Father Mauro Carlino, was accused of extortion. Becciu said in a statement that he was a victim of a "machination" and reaffirmed his "absolute innocence". Carlino's lawyer said his client was innocent, had been "acting under orders", and had saved the Vatican millions of euros. He said starting a trial so soon did not give defence lawyers enough time to prepare. Two Italian brokers, Gianluigi Torzi and Raffaele Mincione, were charged with embezzlement, fraud and money laundering. Torzi, for whom Italian magistrates issued an arrest warrant in April, was also charged with extortion. Story continues There was no immediate response to attempts to reach their lawyers, but both men have consistently denied wrongdoing. Four companies associated with individual defendants, two in Switzerland, one in the United States and one in Slovenia, were also indicted, according to the document. POLICE RAID The investigation into the purchase of the building became public on Oct. 1, 2019, when Vatican police raided the offices of the Secretariat of State, the administrative heart of the Catholic Church, and those of the Vatican's Financial Information Authority (AIF). The then-president of the AIF, Rene Bruelhart, a 48-year-old Swiss, and AIF's former Italian director, Tommaso Di Ruzza, 46, were charged with abuse of office for allegedly failing to adequately protect the Vatican's interests and giving Torzi what the indictment request called an "undue advantage". Di Ruzza was also accused of embezzlement related to alleged inappropriate use of his official credit card, and of divulging confidential information. Bruelhart said in a text message that he had "always carried out my functions and duties with correctness" and that "the truth about my innocence will emerge". Di Ruzza did not immediately respond to a voicemail requesting comment. In 2014, the Secretariat of State invested more than 200 million euros, much of it from contributions from the faithful, in a fund run by Mincione, securing about 45% of a commercial and residential building at 60 Sloane Avenue in London's South Kensington district. The indictment request said Mincione had tried to deceive the Vatican, which in 2018 tried to end the relationship. It turned to Torzi for help in buying up the rest of the building, but later accused him of extortion. 'ENORMOUS LOSSES' At the time, Becciu was in the last year of his post as deputy secretary of state for general affairs, a powerful administrative position that handles hundreds of millions of euros. All told, the Secretariat of State sank more than 350 million euros into the investment, according to Vatican media, and suffered what Cardinal George Pell, the former Vatican treasurer, told Reuters last year were "enormous losses". Torzi was arrested in the Vatican in June 2020, and spent a week in custody. According to the indictment request, Becciu is charged with five counts of embezzlement, two of abuse of office, and one count of inducing a witness to perjury. About 75 pages of the document are dedicated to Becciu. It says Becciu tried to "heavily deflect" the inquiry into Vatican investments, including the London building, and tried to discredit the investigating magistrates via the Italian media. Becciu continued to have influence over money transfers at the Secretariat even after he left the post, the document said. The main charges against Becciu involve the alleged funnelling of money and contracts to companies or charitable organisations controlled by his brothers on their native island of Sardinia. Another Sardinian, Cecilia Marogna, 40, who worked for Becciu, was charged with embezzlement. Her cellphone was not connected. The indictment request said she had received about 575,000 euros from the Secretariat of State in 2018-2019. She has said on Italian television that the money, sent to her company in Slovenia, was to ransom kidnapped missionaries in Africa. But the indictment request said much of it was used for "personal benefit", including the purchase of luxury goods. (Additional reporting by Elvira Pollina in Milan; Editing by Kevin Liffey) Jul. 2Wasco Mayor Alex Garcia has been charged with two misdemeanor counts related to alleged driving while under the influence of alcohol. The charges stem from a California Highway Patrol traffic stop at 12:23 a.m. May 22 on Highway 43, according to the Kern County District Attorney's Office. On Monday, Garcia pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor DUI charges of driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or more. He is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing in the Shafter Branch of Kern County Superior Court on Aug. 19. If convicted, Garcia could face up to six months in jail and a $390 to $1,000 fine, as well as suspension of his driver's license for six months and the requirement that he participate in a DUI program. Elected to the Wasco City Council in 2016, Garcia became mayor late last year and has a term that expires in 2024. Known as the first openly gay elected official in Kern County, Garcia recently earned a profile in the Los Angeles Times for his effort to fly the Pride flag at City Hall last month. Neither he nor his attorney responded to requests for comment Friday. You can reach Sam Morgen at 661-395-7415. You may also follow him on Twitter @smorgenTBC. The popularity of infrastructure is also why progressive Democrats call $6 trillion of additional spending (on social services and transformational Green New Deal projects) human infrastructure. Its like one of those game shows where you can cram as much stuff as possible into a shopping cart. So long as progressives can claim that the items on their wish list fit in the infrastructure cart, they think they can make it happen. But if the moderates fill a cart solely with the traditional stuff, it will make it infinitely harder for Democrats to claim a second cart is actually infrastructure, no matter the terminology. Last week, President Biden praised the moderates infrastructure deal as precisely the sort of bipartisan compromise he was elected to deliver. Then, a short while later, he stepped in it by announcing that he wouldnt sign the compromise deal unless Congress passed human infrastructure, too. Republicans threw a fit, saying (correctly) that such linkage was never part of the deal. The law is intended to get crisis patients into care as rapidly as possible, before their conditions can worsen and before they can put themselves or others in danger. It was passed because of the experience of state Sen. Creigh Deeds, who had sought emergency care for his son. Gus Deeds was sent back home after a regional mental health employee said he could not find a bed for him; hours later, the young man attacked his father and killed himself. Mandating placement for patients in this kind of extremis is well-intentioned. What wasnt anticipated was just how many patients would need such interventions, or how seriously these placements would overwhelm hospitals and staff. A legislative group known as the Deeds Commission is working hard to find solutions, and find them quickly. Speed is necessary because the General Assembly will meet in early August to determine what to do with the $4-plus billion that Virginia received from the American Rescue Plan. Support our troops Going into battle against COVID-19 without getting a free shot and wearing a mask where appropriate is like going into battle during the Vietnam War without a gun, bulletproof vest, a steel helmet and necessary malaria shots. During the Vietnam War, my generation lost 58,220 troops. During the present war against COVID-19, we have 10 times that many. As Americans, we have always supported our front-line troops. Those front-line troops today are our health care workers and first responders. Over 6,500 have died and 288,000-plus have contracted this deadly virus trying to save the rest of us. In a recent survey, 55 of our doctors and nurses say they are burnt out. We will win this war against COVID-19. Its the American way. However, the key is getting everyone possible vaccinated. For those good Americans who have chosen not to be vaccinated (for whatever reason), I ask: Suppose we all followed your example; can you even imagine how many hundreds of thousands more fellow Americans would have died or will die in addition to the 600,000-plus already lost? Its going to be loud the next couple of nights with Independence Day celebrations, and Midlands Humane Society wants pet owners to make sure dogs like Zeke are safe as the skies light up with fireworks explosions. Zeke is a 1-year-old male Labrador mix who is currently available for adoption at Midlands. Shelter staff members describe him as a sweet boy thats full of energy. He does well with other dogs after he meets them, but due to his high energy, it is recommend he go to a home with kids 8 and older. His adoption fee is $250, which includes microchipping, altering and age-appropriate vaccines. In other shelter news, Midlands is getting ready to open registration for its annual Wags & Wheels Car Show fundraiser outside Thunderbowl on Aug. 29. Midlands will also be hosting its annual fundraising gala in-person later this year after having to host the event virtually in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will be held Sept. 17 at its usual venue at the Mid-American Center. Kori Nelson, director of development and marketing at the shelter, said online registration and invites are now available at bidpal.net/mhsgala2021. Nelson said to check the Midlands Facebook page for more announcements concerning the car show and gala. In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, and more events that hap The city said the man sustained severe injuries to both hands as well as burns to his body. The Council Bluffs Fire Marshal's Office is looking into the incident because it is a fireworks related injury. In Iowa, patients are now younger and more seriously injured, and are usually the handlers of the fireworks rather than bystanders, the study found. The most significant change was an increase in amputations, mostly fingers. No amputations had been recorded since 2014, but 18% of patients with fireworks injuries at the two hospitals required amputations from 2017 through 2019, the study said. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Children have been disproportionately affected. Nearly one in every three patients treated at the two hospitals since 2017 was under the age of 18, up from one in five before legalization. Statewide, the injury rate for children between the ages of 5 and 14 rose 140% in the first three years of legalization. Injuries to the hands and burns are the most common, followed by injuries to the eyes and face. Not surprisingly, injuries are concentrated around the July 4 holiday weekend. CEDAR RAPIDS In a game of political musical chairs, what was shaping up as a three-way race for the Democratic nomination in Iowa Senate 33 now looks to be a two-person race, with one of the candidates opting instead to run for an open House seat in southeast Cedar Rapids. After Rep. Liz Bennett formally entered the race for the seat now held by Sen. Rob Hogg, a fellow Democrat who is not seeking re-election in 2022, community organizer Sammi Scheetz announced Thursday morning he would withdraw from the race and seek the partys nomination for Bennetts southeast Cedar Rapids House 65 seat. His decision was based on his respect for Bennett and belief she will be an excellent member of the Iowa Senate. Bennett, who had said earlier in the week that she was exploring a bid for Hoggs Senate seat, announced her decision at a Linn County Democratic Party meeting Wednesday evening. Iowans deserve a fair shot, Bennett said. The basic agreement in our society is that if you work hard, you should be able to succeed. Too many Iowans struggle with low wages, high medical costs, and underfunded public schools. Im running for Senate because now, more than ever, everyday Iowans need an experienced, progressive voice fighting for them. CEDAR RAPIDS Pareen Mhatre has lived in Iowa for nearly 21 years. But as she enters her final year at the University of Iowa, the biomedical engineering major fears she will have to win a lottery to stay in the United States. Even if I identify myself as an Iowan, I lack the sense of permanence and security, Mhatre said Thursday. She was just 4 months old when her parents brought her from India to Iowa City so they could attend the UI. For most of her life, Mhatre has been on an H4 visa as a dependent of someone holding a U.S. visa. However, because shes 21 and aging out of the immigration system, Mhatre must start the process of applying for an F1 student visa and then an H1B work visa, which is essentially a lottery system. Our existence in the country we think of as our home shouldnt come down to luck, Mhatre told a U.S. House panel during a hearing on the introduction of bipartisan legislation, the American Children Act, proposed to protect documented dependents of long-term nonimmigrant visa holders. The current legal immigration system has disadvantaged children like her, Mhatre and members of groups advocating for Indian Americans told representatives, because once they turn 21 they lose their dependent status and must start the immigration process all over again. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. On Oct. 6, 1971, city leaders gathered to witness the birth of Skyview Lake as a long pipe discharged water at the rate of 1,300 gallons per minute. Now, with Skyview Lake nearly a half-century old, we wonder if city officials had any inkling then of the impact the lake would have on the Nor The Union Pacific Railroad provided the livelihood for a good number of early North Platte citizens. Its machine shops and roundhouse fulfilled many social and community needs, along with providing shelter and safekeeping in emergencies. The railroad shops, built at an initial expense of about $300,000, represented the first brick buildings in town that were substantial in size. They would afford protection when Indian attacks and prairie fires threatened and would serve as the gathering place for the Indian Peace Commission and for meetings of the Freemasons. During one Indian scare, when settlers sought safety, a child was born in the loft of one of the shops. In the spring of 1868, women and children flocked to the 20-stall roundhouse on a report that the Indians were going to attack the town and kill the inhabitants. Men armed themselves for the expected attack. As the tale spread, it was supplemented and enlarged with all kinds of variations all of them frightening, none of them true. The expected attack never materialized. The Indians remained disgruntled at what they claimed was bad faith on the part of the settlers. According to Archibald R. Adamson, writing in 1910, a conference in North Platte was suggested to try to make a permanent peace. Most of his policy positions line up with popular Republican stances, including opposition to legalized abortion, defending religious freedom and embracing the Second Amendments right to keep and bear arms. Ridenour defended a statement on his website saying an armed society is a polite society. He said crime rates are far lower when people can legally carry firearms for all to see. I have had altercations with people (in which) they become very heated, and when they see Im carrying a sidearm, they calm down, he said. Nevertheless, I want to go through my life without ever having to draw a firearm, and I believe the majority of Nebraskans would feel the same. Ridenour says he supports the state and local consumption tax offered by state Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard as the best way to fix Nebraskas broken property tax system. State senators declined in the 2020 and 2021 sessions to advance Erdmans proposal, which would abolish property, income and state and local sales taxes. Low-income Nebraskans would receive rebates to blunt the new taxs impact. Its not a perfect system, but I believe it would be much more beneficial for Nebraskans to have a system like it, Ridenour said. Twenty local residents opposed the project before the City Council in April. Several said building on the old lagoon, located about 1 miles west of the Platte River forks, would put local and downstream water supplies at risk if the plant were built and then flooded. Person replied that the berm surrounding the old lagoon likely would remain and be improved as part of Sustainable Beefs construction plans. Golden Road runs below the berms for both the old lagoon and the citys current lagoon. Beef-plant leaders know these issues will have to be addressed when the redevelopment plan is presented, he added. The QGF funds balance, Person said, should be able to handle both its $500,000 half of Sustainable Beefs request and the initial $200,000 to help leverage state rail-park funds under LB 40. Continued robust sales-tax collections have put QGF in position to earn its maximum $650,000 in new annual funds by the time the 2020-21 fiscal year ends Sept. 30, he said. An additional $350,000 was freed up, he said, when Nebraskaland Days Executive Director David Fudge notified the city this week that the annual festival wont need the QGF line of credit the council gave it in June 2020. Nearly all of the COVID-19 patients in Alabama hospitals today have not been fully vaccinated, according to the states public health officials. The Alabama Hospital Association and Alabama Department of Public Health have launched We Can Do This Alabama, a new push to address this trend. Its in response to a recent survey which found that 94 percent of COVID-19 patients in state hospitals have either not been vaccinated or just got the first of their two shots. The vast majority of patients with COVID-19 that we have been seeing in our hospitals over the past two to three months were not previously vaccinated, said East Alabama Medical Center spokesman John Atkinson. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Indeed, just one-third of the states residents are fully vaccinated, according to ADPH. Part of the problem is that most citizens dont know that they should get vaccinated, too. Others get the first shot and dont go back for the second shot. We Can Do This Alabama encourages the vaccinated to seek out people who have not gotten their shot to encourage them to do so. It debunks some of the concerns that have been expressed about the vaccines, including how it was developed. More information can be found at wecandothisalabama.com. The Opelika City Schools Board of Education approved a raise for all school employees, including teachers, at its monthly meeting Tuesday. The decision will grant a 2% raise in salary to employees across the board, with teachers able to earn more than the 2% bump depending on their qualifications. [Teacher pay raises] are different based on years and on education, or what your highest degree is, said Chris Harrison, chief financial officer of Opelika City Schools. The change in salary comes after the Alabama Legislature passed an increased education budget of over $7.6 billion for fiscal year 2022 earlier this year, granting the state department of education the ability to increase the salary schedules of Alabama public school teachers. Pay raises for teachers will depend upon whether they have a bachelors degree, a masters degree, an education specialist degree, a doctorate, or no degree, as well as how long theyve worked in public schools, with pay bumps awarded in increments of three years up to 27 years of total experience. I helped a corrupt family seize all this control. We investigated the Britney Spears conservatorship for months. Heres the story, by @jiatolentino and me: https://t.co/eFbljZJ3tY Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) July 3, 2021 Ronan Farrow (with Jia Tolentino) has stepped into the ring of the Britney Spears conservatorship situation. The two journalists researched and investigated the situation for months. Among the revelations: Britney's longtime boyfriend Sam Asghari did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Britney does run her own social media on Instagram...kind of. "Spears, according to her management, typically writes the posts and submits them to CrowdSurf, a company employed to handle her social media, which then uploads them. In rare cases, posts that raise legal questions have been deemed too sensitive to upload. Shes not supposed to discuss the conservatorship, the team member said." On June 22nd, Spears called 911 to report herself as a victim of conservatorship abuse. Britney's team tried to get the court proceedings of the following day sealed, afraid about what Spears might say and they discussed how to prepare in the event that she went rogue. As Britney spoke, the lawyers had no reaction and just sat there. A family friend who helped secure the initial conservatorship out of concern for Britney's well being now regrets her testimony. "At the time, I thought we were helping. And I wasnt, and I helped a corrupt family seize all this control." Julianne Kaye, a makeup artist who worked with Spears in the early years, said she would have little breakdowns after the Justin Timberlake break up. She was constantly crying over wanting to be normal and began abusing cocaine, among other drugs. She also struggled with postpartum depression while abusing drugs and alcohol but no one attempted to help. Lou Taylor, a business manager who helped secure the conservatorship also attempted to do the same with Courtney Love and Lindsay Lohan. Not having her children around messed Britney up and she began behaving erratically and not sleeping. She asked her housekeeper to bring her own children to stay at her home. She used to ask me if I was happy, the housekeeper said. And I used to say yes. And she would say, I just want to be happy. I want to have a family. I want my kids to stay with me every day. Britney was not a danger to her children. The housekeeper said, As a mom, I can tell you: Britney was a good mom. She didnt want to hurt or do anything wrong with her kids. No. I was there, and I know all she wanted was to have her kids at least another night. The initial conservatorship was done under genuine concern for Britney after her 5150 and the Sam Lufti situation. Her court-appointed monitor said None of this was her fault. There were so many people involved in her life that caused all of this craziness with her. I dont have anything derogatory to say about her. . . . It was probably one of the saddest cases that Ive ever done in my entire life. The conservatorship was appointed in maybe ten minutes. No one testified, no questions were asked, Britney wasn't spoken to. California requires that conservatees be given five days notice before a conservatorship takes effect, which Britney wasn't given. Britney was under the impression that the conservatorship would only last several months. When Lynne began talking about how she hoped the conservatorship would be managed, Jamie bellowed, I am Britney Spears! In the early days of her conservatorship, Britney attempted to hire a lawyer to look out for her in place of her father and the court said she didn't have the mental capacity to do so. Lawyer Jon Eardley argued Britney was being denied her due process. In a court declaration, Eardley wrote It is obvious that the conservatorship was planned well in advance of its implementation as a tool to influence the custody proceedings in the family law court and for other illicit purposes. In another document, he stated that, the last time Spears attempted to call him, her phone was taken away from her, and that the number was disconnected the next day. Jamie, in the early days of Britney's conservatorship, wore Britney down, getting in her face and calling her a bad mother, fat and a whore. He controlled her by withholding access to her children. He fired everyone close to Britney, including her housekeeper, who recalled crying on the phone with Britney. "Anytime shes trusted anyone, the family has smeared their name and told her she was stupid to trust them." Britney gave a photographer friend a letter written in the third person after her conservatorship was made permanent and asked him to read it on TV. It said in part, "She was lied to and set up...her children were taken away and she did spin out of control which any mother would in those circumstances...[the conservatorship will continue] as long as the people are getting paid." The photographer was ordered to surrender the letter by lawyers and later read a copy of the letter on TikTok last year. The photographer later asked Britney's manager for a letter of recommendation for graduate school and was refused, saying any such document would serve as proof that Spears was of sound mind. Jordan Miller, administrator for BreatheHeavy, started a form of the Free Britney movement in 2009 and recalled receiving a call from Jamie Spears, "he told me he was going to destroy my ass," Miller said.* Around the same time, an Elle cover story celebrated the return of Brit, the one we loveblond, happy, and back on top. But the paparazzi were catching her crying in her car and walking around looking detached and distraught. A producer recalled Britney was more distant, less presentthere were no more jokes, no laughter. By the end, she was just led into the vocal booth. She never came into the room where we were. A make up artist for X Factor said in commercial breaks, Britney would sit with her head down in the corner, and shed just come when she was called, In sealed court records recently obtained by the Times, Spears said that she was limited to a $2,000 weekly allowance, no matter how much she earned. In 2012, she made 15 million from X Factor. One person on Spears team claimed that she was down to just a few million dollars when the conservatorship was established, and points to Spearss net worth now as evidence that it has looked out for her best interests. Every time Britney got close to someone who could change her life, they were cut off (an example being former boyfriend Jason Trawick). A friend of Spears said, They made her a zombie. That is not the same girl.* In 2014, Spears extended her Las Vegas residency in a two-year deal worth 35 million dollars. Jamie had been granted one and a half per cent of the gross revenues from the performances and merchandising. 2015 marked a change in Britney's Instagram: the overly joyful posts, modeling clothes or dancing alone at home. A member of her team said, Its detrimental to the brand. Trust me, if I had my way, thats not what she would be posting. But the point is that shes not the prisoner with no rights that some people in the Free Britney movement are trying to make her out to be. Recent court documents show that Jamies lawyers billed nearly 900,000 dollars for four months of work, from October, 2020, to February, 2021. The bill accounts for hundreds of hours of work by crisis-P.R. specialists who charged between five hundred and nine hundred dollars an hour to respond, they claimed, to media requests. In October, 2020, a makeup artist named Maxi, who is close to Sam Asghari said on a podcast that Spearss conservators had the final say about who Spears friends were, whether or not she could get married, and whether or not she could have a baby. Were talking about some Handmaids Tale-type things, Maxi said. Jamie's lawyers argued Jamie was too religious to order a IUD. People on Spears team suggest that further public court hearings will undermine Britney's claims. God bless her, I felt sorry for her. But at the same time, dont be telling tall tales, the member of her team said. Your problems, what was wrong with you, your shortcomingsdont keep trying to blame everyone else for it. Her team suggests Sam is taking advantage of Britney and Britney has a grave medical diagnosis behind the conservatorship arrangement that the public has no right to know and the public needs to mind their own business.The entire article is worth the read at the source It's never cool to kiss your employee but hey don't let ethics stop you from feeding your ego! Reply Thread Link So many people ignored that part of it and it's disturbing. Reply Parent Thread Link Those types of relationships are so common in the entertainment business that I think most people wouldn't think twice about it. If the roles were reversed tho the woman would probably get fired. Reply Parent Thread Link this is true in normal circumstances but I think things are different on movie sets, especially a well oiled machine like the marvel films. is taika really the employer here with all the power? i know cases of directors acting inappropriate with actors and actresses 100% exist but i dont think this is one of them. Its cringe but its not abusive. Reply Parent Thread Link i didn't know that the director was the employer of the actor. isn't the studio both their employers? Reply Parent Thread Link I think in retail-terms it would be like the studio is the Manager, and the Director is the Assistant Manager? Or something to that effect, at least that is my understanding (which is admittedly limited.) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link yeahhhhhhhhhhhh like if they weren't actually working together it wouldn't be as bad? but like...c'mon you're a director snogging your cast member that's weird huh. my line manager kissing me in public would be the equivalent Reply Parent Thread Link he's such a let down in general. Reply Thread Link I don't really know much about him, but I think a lot of people were really rooting for him as an outsider, an underdog, & someone who represented multiple under-represented groups, so his success in Hollywood was really gratifying. But then it seems like he revealed himself as someone just as eager to sell out & play the Hollywood game, just as greedy for fame and power and money and accolades and special treatment as all the other shallow people in showbiz. And it's really disappointing to people who thought he was different. Not to say he's a horrible person, but he just failed to live up to people's expectations. That's why I compared him to Lin-Manuel Miranda; there's a certain similarity. Reply Parent Thread Link Would you say LMM and him are similar? I definitely agree that they're both disappointments, but I don't think LMM was so much a clout-chaser as an annoying theater kid. Reply Parent Thread Link It can "go away pretty quickly" and then come right back at you like a boomarang if you slip up in public somehow. Reply Thread Link exactly, i mean look at chris pratt lmaoooo Reply Parent Thread Link The problem is you have a history of fucking your employees Beverly. Spoon feeding franchises to a narcissist is going to bite Disney in the ass. Reply Thread Link oh shit. he does? Who has he been with before? Reply Parent Thread Link His assistant I think Reply Parent Thread Link He was cheating on his wife with his personal asst during the last Thor (she was also real tight with Tessa). Brought her to all the award shows too while his producer wife sat in the nosebleeds. He's a fucking dick. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link His first wife was working on one of his first movies too when they met and got together. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link i'm sure he's not bothered the pics went public when they were blatantly playing up to the paps Reply Thread Link I doubt they knew they were being photographed. The paparazzi were probably taking pictures from far away with a long distance lens. Reply Parent Thread Link He's unbothered cause men can do whatever the fuck they want. Reply Thread Link if a female director had done that with a male cast member....fml she would have been fired and replaced in the span of a week Reply Parent Thread Link His face looks so punchable <3 Reply Thread Link the pics were funny tbh Reply Thread Link I know a lot of people were like rolling their eyes at Disney and Marvel for their apparent reactions to their photos, but like. The director of a multimillion dollar blockbuster kissing the star of said blockbuster in public while production is still ongoing is wild lol. I said it in posts about it before but I genuinely have no clue how the cast and crew of that movie got away with partying up a storm like they did Edited at 2021-07-03 10:30 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link I doubt Disney/Marvel were concerned about him being her boss. They were most likely upset about the optics of three people kissing influencing their family/conservative-friendly image. Reply Parent Thread Link Marvel cast a rapist to be in their movies. They can stfu. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link The director of a multimillion dollar blockbuster kissing the star of said blockbuster in public while production is still ongoing is wild lol Y'know? I never understood why those pap pics were such a big deal but worded like that, it just clicked, lol. Reply Parent Thread Link It was all consensual. Put the focus back on Rita being a super spreader in the thick of the personal pepperoni pan pizza last year. Let these freaks have their fun now. Lol. Reply Thread Link this...i don't give a good goddamn that they were all drooling over each other, just start taking the pandemic seriously you bozos! Reply Parent Thread Link Personal pepperoni pan pizza I cannottttt Reply Parent Thread Link Would you prefer peppered pesto panini? Im here to please. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Book It Reply Parent Thread Expand Link for a second I thought you meant manspreading and was like "you go, girl!" @rita, and then I remembered. Reply Parent Thread Link Ive said it before but I really would love to hear stories from the crew on this set. I bet there was a lot of messiness going on fueled by Taika Reply Thread Link There's a good chance that Christ Bale would be pissy & frustrated by the unprofessional set. Unless the got Drunk Bale who likes a good time. Reply Parent Thread Link Working with him now. Things are very tight and I only see him for little bits at a time. His assistant basically speaks for him anytime Ive interacted with him. Reply Parent Thread Link I would love to see a oral history on it once the movies has been out for a few years and Disney maybe loosens their reigns. Or just for some messy crew member to anonymously spill the beans somewhere. Reply Parent Thread Link Keep it. I dont want your flop Akira Live Action film. Irrelevant to me. Go away. Reply Thread Link It is wild that we have more discussions on power imbalances in relationships but in situations like this, all nuance goes out the window. Like I know its easy to paint this as Disney being morally uptight, and to an extent I dont think thats untrue, but there are definitely issues with directors and their employees getting together. Like. Its frowned upon in the general workspace and working on a film is no different. Reply Thread Link ehmmm.... You're the director/producer and she's an actress.... you don't see anything wrong about it? Reply Thread Link I knew he was messy when I saw he hangs out with some of the vanderpump rules gang Reply Thread Link Wait what Reply Parent Thread Link Tom and Ariana were at his Jean Claude Pandemic birthday party last year. Reply Parent Thread Link Wait what x 2 Reply Parent Thread Link They were at his bday party right? Reply Parent Thread Link Despite the intensifying fight against global warming and climate change, which is supported by some of the worlds largest energy companies, Colombias president Ivan Duque is determined to expand the countrys coal mining. The strife-torn Andean nation is South Americas largest coal producer and the national government is seeking to bolster output as part of its plans to reactivate the economy after it shrank nearly 7% during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Duque intends to expand Colombias thermal coal production regardless of the environmental consequences and the governments obligations as a signatory to the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change. A key component of the agreement is that the 196 signatories, including Colombia, will implement greenhouse gas emission-reducing strategies to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius. It is recognized that this can only be achieved if thermal coal is removed from the global energy mix because it produces more carbon emissions than any other fossil fuel. U.S. EIA data shows anthracite coal emits 228.6 million pounds of carbon dioxide per million British thermal units produced, whereas bituminous coal pumps out 205.7 pounds when burned. Those emissions are nearly double the 117 million pounds of carbon dioxide emitted by natural gas, considered to be the cleanest of the fossil fuels, and around 40% greater than either gasoline or diesel. Bogota intends to expand coal production despite 94% of Colombias proven coal reserves, which amount to more than 5 billion tons, according to the U.S. Geological Survey being comprised of anthracite and bituminous coal, the most polluting types of fossil fuel. This is because coal generates 85% of mining royalties, making it a key driver of government revenue, and is Colombias second-largest export, after crude oil, accounting for 11% of export earnings. Related: Oil And Gas Rig Count Jumps As Oil Nears 3-Year High The desperation of the Duque administration to kickstart economic growth, regardless of the cost or its international obligations, is underscored by the ongoing weakness of Colombias economy. Despite lifting the strict lockdown instituted across Colombia in March 2020, to mitigate the spread of the pandemic and implementing a series of measures to promote growth, first-quarter 2021 GDP contracted by (Spanish) a worrying 9% compared to the previous quarter. Unemployment remains stubbornly high with the government statistics agency DANE reporting that nearly 16% (Spanish) of Colombians were unemployed at the end of May 2021. Those shocking numbers can be attributed to the impact of a third viral wave on the economy which forced many of Colombias major cities into partial lockdowns. That makes it difficult to see the Andean countrys economy expanding by 6.5% as its central bank predicts. Even the more modest 5% 2021 GDP growth forecast by the IMF appears difficult to achieve. The nationwide anti-government protests sparked by Duques inept attempt to hike taxes at the end of April 2021 sharply impacted the economy. Heavy-handed repression by authorities, with independent thinktank Indepaz reporting 44 protestors were killed by police and security forces, caused the protests to explode. Not only are they continuing into their third month, but anti-government protestors established roadblocks that prevented the transportation of food, water, medicines and other crucial supplies in Colombia. Those roadblocks were so significant by mid-May 2021 that Colombian onshore petroleum producers, including national oil company Ecopetrol, were forced to shut-in production. This sharply impacted Colombias economically crucial oil output, which is responsible for 3% of GDP, nearly a third of exports by value, and almost a fifth of fiscal income. According to data from Colombias petroleum regulator, the National Hydrocarbon Agency (ANH Spanish initials) petroleum output (Spanish) fell to a low of 650,884 barrels daily by 25 May 2021 and had only recovered to 696,672 barrels daily on 24 June 2021. Such a sharp decline in oil production will impact Colombias economic recovery and Bogotas fiscal income. While most roadblocks have been lifted, Colombias economy is struggling to reactivate because of heightened political turmoil as well as insecurity along with limited protests continuing in some cities. Related: OPEC: From Increasingly Irrelevant To Ultimate Market Mover That is only further fueling the Duque administrations desperation to boost economic growth and increase fiscal revenue, with some analysts estimating Bogotas budget deficit could blow out to more than 9% of GDP this year. Those events further emphasize the Duque administrations desperation to reactivate the economy and spark growth by any means available, explain why boosting coal output is perceived to be an important economic lever. Bogota is making good on its plans regardless of the global fight against climate change and Colombias obligations under the Paris Agreement. The energy ministry reported (Spanish) that first quarter of 2021 coal output soared by a whopping 52% compared to the previous quarter to 13.9 million tons, although that was 28% less than the 19.4 million tons produced a year earlier. Colombias energy minister Diego Mesa foresees increased production because of greater coal demand from China and India. This is despite globally diversified miner Glencore, through its Colombian subsidiary Prodeco, seeking to hand back the licenses for the open pit Calenturitas and La Jaguar coal mines in the department of Cesar. Glencore determined that after mothballing operations at the mines because of the pandemic it was uneconomic to restart the mines. Initially, the miner sought to keep Calenturitas and La Jaguar on care and maintenance, a plan initially vetoed by Colombias mining regulator the National Mining Agency (ANM Spanish initials). So far, the regulator has rejected Glencores requests to hand in those mining contracts, although a final decision is expected by mid-July 2021. Mesa expects Asian mining companies to consider acquiring the licenses and investing the capital required to recommence operations at the affected coal mines after the matter is settled with Glencore. Not surprisingly other major miners are seeking to reduce their carbon footprint by divesting their coal mining assets. As part of that strategy global mining giant BHP and Anglo American each agreed to sell their 33.3% interest in Cerrejon, Colombias largest coal mine, to Glencore for a total of $588 million. This will make Glencore sole owner of the controversial Cerrejon mine. The operation suffered a three-month work stoppage from the end of August 2020 until the start of December, sharply impacting Colombias coal output. Earlier this year, the OECD committed to an investigation into human rights abuses and environmental damage at the Cerrejon mine. The ongoing turmoil and uncertainty surrounding Cerrejons operations indicate that further stoppages could occur impacting Colombias coal production. The desperation of the Duque administration to reactivate Colombias economy and promote growth is easy to understand considering the harsh financial impact of the pandemic, the recent protests, and a ballooning government budget deficit. Nonetheless, by furiously expanding coal production Bogota is not only investing in what is fast becoming a stranded asset, which could eventually become a costly liability, but it is working against the Paris Agreement and the global fight to prevent climate change. Any expansion in coal production will likely only deliver a short-term benefit with many countries, including those Duques government has pinned their hopes on China and India, focused on phasing it out of their energy mix. The resources dedicated to expanding Colombias coal production could be better used to rebuild the crisis-driven countrys hydrocarbon sector which was sharply impacted by the 2020 oil price collapse, the COVID-19 pandemic, and turmoil triggered by recent anti-government protests. By Matthew Smith for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Surging U.S. fuel demand amid stagnant domestic crude oil production is drawing down American crude inventories at the quickest pace in nearly 40 years. The record-fast decline in U.S. oil stockpiles has started to reflect in the crude oil futures market, where the American benchmark, WTI Crude, has surged by 50 percent so far this year. The U.S. oil price has also started to narrow the discount at which it trades relative to the international benchmark, Brent Crude. Re-openings in many U.S. states and the start of the summer driving season have sent gasoline consumption in recent weeks to the highest since the pandemic started. Domestic airline travel is also bouncing back, though passenger throughput at airports is still at some 80 percent of pre-pandemic days. The higher fuel demand in the United States is tightening the market, and these bullish factors for oil consumption have started to become evident in the U.S. oil futures market. Strong demand recovery in the U.S. has been the key reason for rallying WTI oil prices. This week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a crude oil inventory decline of 6.7 million barrels for the week to June 25. This was the sixth consecutive weekly drawdown in crude inventories. In the past four weeks, the decline on a rolling basis of all U.S. crude inventories, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), has been at a pace of 1.15 million barrels per day (bpd), according to estimates from Bloomberg based on EIA data. The latest four-week drop in inventories was the biggest such fall on a rolling basis in EIA data going back to 1982. Excluding the SPR, commercial crude oil inventories stood at 452.3 million barrels for the week ending June 25. Thats 15.2 percent lower than in the same week last year, and 3.4 percent lower than in the same, pre-pandemic, week in 2019, EIA data showed. Inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma the designated delivery point for NYMEX crude oil futures contracts are also falling, further supporting the futures market. Crude stocks at Cushing fell by 1.5 million barrels in the week to June 25, and stood at 40.3 million barrels. This is a decline by 11.7 percent compared to this time last year and a drop of 23.3 percent compared to the same week in 2019. Refineries are now operating at 92.9 percent capacity, slightly off the 94.2-percent capacity at this time in 2019, but a massive increase compared to the 75.5-percent capacity utilization at the end of June 2020. Thats because U.S. demand is returning. According to GasBuddy data, U.S. gasoline demand on Wednesday, June 30, surged 7.53 percent from the previous Wednesday, the highest Wednesday demand since the summer of 2019. This was also 7.48 percent above the average of the last four Wednesdays, due to the higher travel numbers ahead of July 4. Airline travel is also back. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration screened 2,167,380 people at airport security checkpoints nationwide on Sunday, June 27, which was the highest checkpoint volume since the start of the pandemic, TSA Public Affairs spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said this week. Related: OPEC: From Increasingly Irrelevant To Ultimate Market Mover While demand is rebounding, U.S. crude oil production has remained relatively flat at around 11 million bpd in recent months, as the shale patch continues to exert previously unheard-of discipline in capital spending on drilling activity. The restraint from U.S. producers is tightening the market at times of soaring demand and narrowing the discount of WTI to Brent. A tightening in inventory at the WTI delivery hub continues not to only support WTI timespreads, but also the narrowing in the WTI/Brent spread, which is now trading at a discount of around US$1.60/bbl, ING strategists Warren Patterson and Wenyu Yao said this week. This discount is the narrowest since October 2020. Time spreads are also showing how tight the market is. The premium of the September WTI contract was as high as $1.30 compared to the October contract early on Friday, as the backwardation in the curve deepened, signaling tighter immediate supply. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Operations in Mexicos long awaited Zama field fail to take off as Pemex once again holds up development of the oil region by halting the drilling of an appraisal well. High hopes for Mexicos oil industry are now uncertain due to slow progress and repeated scandal surrounding the countrys state-run petroleum company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex. The drilling of the Asab-1 appraisal well would determine how much of the Zama field falls under Pemex ownership, and how much is owned by Talos, who discovered it in 2017. Despite being instructed to establish a unitization and unit operating agreement (UUOA) for joint operation of the field by the Energy Ministry Sener last year, both Pemex and Talos hope to operate the project individually. Varying evaluations have been carried out on the Zama oil field, some suggesting that Talos is the majority stakeholder, and others saying Pemex is. Asab-1 is essential in determining the Zama boundaries to settle this argument once and for all. By failing to drill the well, it is unlikely that any UUOA is signed, further delaying operations in the region. While Pemex hopes its most recent evaluation, deeming it the majority owner of the field, will give it the authority to become the fields operator, the outlook is not certain. Commissioner Hector Moreira Rodriguez of Mexican regulator CNH believes that so long as the unitization process is delayed, no production will take place on either side of the discovery, and I think this has a very large cost for the nation. This comes at a time when Pemex is facing increased scrutiny over several of its practices. For example, the companys environmental standards have come under fire recently. This month, the Natural Gas Intelligence (NGI) accused Pemex of sliding in two key environmental indicators. The report suggests that Pemex has increased the quantity of excess methane it burns off, also known as gas flaring. Production of high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO), a heavily polluting energy source, has also risen. In quarter one of 2021, Pemex is thought to have burned off as much as 50 percent more natural gas than in the same period of 2020, despite failing to increase its oil production. This goes against environmental aims set out in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), that came into place around a year ago. The new practices seem to go in line with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's (AMLO) energy policy, which has come under attack by environmental activists since he came into office in 2018. Mexicos Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) appeared to be transitioning towards less-polluting energy options, such as natural gas. However, since AMLOs inauguration, he has encouraged the use of fuel oil and diesel by the CFE. As well as environmental concerns, the lens has been pointed towards Pemex as just last week AMLO requested Dutch energy company Vitol to reveal the name of the Pemex official to whom bribes were paid. Vitol revealed at the end of 2020 that it had agreed to pay $164 million to U.S. and Brazilian authorities, following bribes made in Mexico, Brazil and Ecuador to obtain business over the previous five years. Mexicos once thriving oil and gas sector has stagnated in recent years, with Pemex battling against international supermajors for a stake in Mexicos world-renowned oil industry. The failure to explore the Zama field to determine ownership and commence operations, as well as recent scandals, threatens AMLOs plan to restore Pemex to its former glory. By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Most people don't know it, but EVs are not as clean as gasoline cars right off the bat. In fact, due to the impact of mining many materials used in EV batteries, it takes quite a bit of driving before you are doing less harm to the environment than gas cars. This was the topic of a new Reuters analysis piece by Paul Lienert, which sought to point out exactly how long you have to own and drive an EV in order to reach parity with a gas vehicle. The analysis was performed using "data from a model that calculates the lifetime emissions of vehicles" developed by the Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago. The necessity for the analysis is obvious, because "...making EVs generates more carbon than combustion engine cars, mainly due to the extraction and processing of minerals in EV batteries and production of the power cells," said Jarod Cory Kelly, principal energy systems analyst at Argonne. The time it takes for how long EVs need to be driven to make up for that gap varies. It varies on factors "such as the size of the EV's battery, the fuel economy of a gasoline car and how the power used to charge an EV is generated," the analysis notes. In a Tesla Model 3, for example, the article points out you'd need to drive 13,500 miles before you're doing less harm to the environment than a gas-powered car. Reuters used the model, which took into account how power was generated in different countries to reach its conclusions: Reuters plugged a series of variables into the Argonne model, which had more than 43,000 users as of 2021, to come up with some answers. The Tesla 3 scenario above was for driving in the United States, where 23% of electricity comes from coal-fired plants, with a 54 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery and a cathode made of nickel, cobalt and aluminum, among other variables. It was up against a gasoline-fueled Toyota Corolla weighing 2,955 pounds with a fuel efficiency of 33 miles per gallon. It was assumed both vehicles would travel 173,151 miles during their lifetimes. But if the same Tesla was being driven in Norway, which generates almost all its electricity from renewable hydropower, the break-even point would come after just 8,400 miles. If the electricity to recharge the EV comes entirely from coal, which generates the majority of the power in countries such as China and Poland, you would have to drive 78,700 miles to reach carbon parity with the Corolla, according to the Reuters analysis of data generated by Argonne's model. EVs "generally" emit far less carbon than ICE vehicles over a 12 year life span, according to Michael Wang, senior scientist and director of the Systems Assessment Center at Argonne's Energy Systems division. The question then becomes - especially for vehicles like Teslas, which are notorious for quality control issues - can your EV make it to 12 years? Analysis performed by Reuters using Argonne's GREET model concluded that the "typical break-even point in carbon emissions for EVs was about 15,000 to 20,000 miles" depending on which country the vehicle is in. Other past analyses have been less optimistic. For example, University of Liege researcher Damien Ernst had said in 2019 that the "typical EV would have to travel nearly 700,000 km before it emitted less CO2 than a comparable gasoline vehicle," before eventually revising his estimates lower. The analysis follows last month when we published an article reporting that EVs may offer a negligible difference from ICE vehicles in CO2 emissions. It was the topic of a blog post by natural resource investors Goehring & Rozencwajg (G&R), a "fundamental research firm focused exclusively on contrarian natural resource investments with a team with over 30 years of dedicated resource experience." The firm, established in 2015, posted a blog entry entitled "Exploring Lithium-ion Electric Vehicles Carbon Footprint", where they called into question a former ICE vs. EV comparison performed by the Wall Street Journal and, while citing work performed by Jefferies, argue that there could literally be "no reduction in CO2 output" in some EV vs. ICE comparisons. Their analysis "details the tremendous amount of energy (and by extension CO2) needed to manufacture a lithium-ion battery." Because a typical EV is on average 50% heavier than a similar internal combustion engine, the analysis notes that the embedded carbon in an EV (i.e., when it rolls off the lot) is therefore 2050% more than an internal combustion engine. By Zerohedge.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Crime-and-courts topical Bailey Boswell pleads for judges to spare her the death penalty GWYNETH ROBERTS, Lincoln Journal Star Bailey Boswell, left, listens alongside defense attorney Jeff Pickens as Corrections Director Scott Frakes, not pictured, testifies at Boswell's sentencing hearing on Thursday in Saline County District Court. WILBER, Neb. For my daughters sake, please dont take my life, said a sobbing Bailey Boswell on Friday as she pleaded to receive a life sentence for murder. She needs a mommy, she added. They were the first public comments Boswell made since being detained in the slaying and dismemberment of Sydney Loofe, a Lincoln Menards clerk she met via a dating app, Tinder, in November 2017. Friday marked the conclusion of a three-day trial to submit evidence about whether Boswell, 27, should become the first woman in Nebraska sentenced to death. Boswells 54-year-old boyfriend, Aubrey Trail portrayed as her sugar daddy in testimony this week was sentenced to death last month. Hearing begins to determine if Bailey Boswell should be sentenced to death or life in prison If Bailey Boswell is sentenced to death, she would be the first woman to receive the death penalty in Nebraska. Boswell was convicted in the slaying of Lincoln store clerk Sydney Loofe. Boswells brief statement in court was an emotional high point in a proceeding that focused mainly on her background, which deteriorated from being a bubbly star athlete in Leon, Iowa, to engaging in group sex, stealing antiques and pulling other scams with Trail, who has spent most of his adult life in prison for forgery and other charges. On Friday, a forensic psychologist testified that Boswell was unable to resist Trails demands because she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after being sexually assaulted at least twice during college and being pimped out by an abusive boyfriend. Kirk Newring, an Omaha psychologist who testifies often in court, said it appeared that Trail informed Boswell of his decision to kill Loofe and that Boswells role was minor. Evidence that Bailey Boswell was guilty of killing Sydney Loofe was overwhelming, jurors say Jurors on Wednesday convicted Bailey Boswell of first-degree murder in the death of Sydney Loofe. They said the evidence provided by prosecutors overwhelmingly showed Boswell was guilty. But the lead prosecutor in the case, Doug Warner of the Nebraska Attorney Generals Office, tore into the testimony, pointing out that Boswells photographs and text messages indicated that she enjoyed a good life with Trail. That included lavish gifts, a car, trips to Las Vegas and an apartment with new furniture, as well as $400,000 in cash, swindled from a Kansas couple in a scam involving rare coins. One video, taken from Boswells cellphone, showed her fanning herself with a wad of cash, then dropping the money on her body. Did you ever hear Ms. Boswell object to that lifestyle? Warner asked Newring. She enjoyed the fast money lifestyle, Newring answered. (But) she didnt know how to get off the ride. Were you aware of a plan by Ms. Boswell and Mr. Trail to make her look like a victim? Warner asked. The psychologist said he wasnt, adding that his examination of Boswell extended only up to the point when Loofe was lured to the Wilber apartment shared by Boswell and Trail. Newring said he was told not to ask Boswell about her involvement in the murder. Aubrey Trail sentenced to death in abduction and slaying of Sydney Loofe Aubrey Trail was sentenced to death Wednesday for the abduction and slaying of Lincoln store clerk Sydney Loofe. Prosecutors submitted a 4-inch-thick three-ring notebook of letters, text messages and pictures sent to and from Boswell in jail, as well as copies of pages from a jail library book in which Boswell and Trail exchanged messages. Even in recent months, she was communicating with Trail through an intermediary, prosecutors said. There were also sex letters Boswell sent from jail to a handful of men, apparently in an attempt to make money, and transcripts of collect phone sex calls she made from jail, also in an apparent attempt to get money deposited in her jail account. Todd Lancaster, Boswells lead defense attorney, objected several times to the submission of the letters and transcripts, saying they were irrelevant because they were dated months and years after the murder. He presented evidence that Boswell was threatened by Trail and would be punished if she disobeyed. Also submitted Friday were statements by his ex-wife and other women who encountered Trail who said they feared retribution from him, despite not seeing him for years. Several character letters were also presented to bolster the argument that Boswell deserved a life sentence because of her young age, lack of violence in the past and domination by Trail. One was sent by Boswells 5-year-old daughter, Nahla. Also submitted was a letter Boswell wrote from jail to a local pastor. Nebraska has no policy on housing female death row inmates but may need one soon "As Nebraska has never had a woman sentenced to the death penalty, such a policy has not been necessary," Scott Frakes said in a letter to the top prosecutor in Bailey Boswell's murder case. Unlike Trail, Boswell had not spoken in court, or to authorities, before Friday. In a high-pitched voice, cracking in tears at times, she said she was sorry for everything that happened to Sydney Loofe and expressed regret. When I was with Aubrey, I was in a very bad place, she said. Boswell said Trail offered her a way out of an abusive relationship with a boyfriend who had trafficked her for massages and sex via a website called Backpage. At first, I was grateful to (Trail). Later, I was afraid of him afraid to even question him, she said. He threatened to kill her daughter and family if she didnt comply with his commands, she said. Boswell said she believes that she could help other young women in prison turn their lives around but that executing her would harm her daughter. When she is old enough to understand, she will have to live with the fact that her mother was convicted of murder, Boswell said, barely audible through the sobs. She needs a mommy. Trauma allowed Bailey Boswell to be 'dominated' by Aubrey Trail, defense attorney says Bailey Boswell was sexually assaulted in college, pimped out by an abusive boyfriend, and then used and controlled and dominated by career criminal Aubrey Trail, her attorney said Thursday. At one point during Newrings testimony, the psychologist was asked if Boswell had any violent ideations. None, he said, other than that if she gets the death penalty, shed like to go to the front of the line and get it over with. Her attorneys maintain that several mitigating factors exist that warrant a life sentence, including that her brain wasnt fully developed to understand the consequences of her actions. They also point to Trails testimony that Boswell was out of the bedroom when he choked Loofe to death and that she only helped dispose of the body and clean up. Newring testified that Boswell felt so devalued after being sexually assaulted during college that it didnt bother her to give massages and sexual favors to make money for an abusive boyfriend. The escort ads on Backpage eventually led Boswell to meet Trail, but the defense and prosecutors differed on who Boswell or Trail initiated the sugar daddy lifestyle that followed. The three-judge panel, consisting of District Judges Vicky Johnson of Wilber, Darla Ideus of Lincoln and Peter Bataillon of Omaha, is expected to announce its sentencing later this summer, after final, written arguments are submitted in August. State law requires them to weigh the mitigating and aggravating factors of the crime, such as if Boswell was under the domination of another person or if the murder was exceptionally depraved. They also must decide if a life or death sentence would be proportionate with similar murder cases. Cohen noted that the Department of Homeland Security was created soon after the al-Qaida terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The new department brought together a number of federal agencies tasked with addressing the nations safety and security, responding to criticism that intelligence and law enforcement groups failed to share critical information that might have foiled the 9/11 plot in advance. Since then, Cohen said, DHS has built an effective system to detect and prevent foreign terrorists from entering the United States. It has secured the civil aviation system and smoothed information-sharing among DHS, local law enforcement and the military. But the threat today, he said, comes from disaffected people who become radicalized by consuming inflammatory misinformation online some of it planted by foreign intelligence services. This is a threat environment that involves individuals or very small groups planning mass casualty attacks, Cohen said. Their ideology isnt always deeply rooted, he said. Many are angry people who shop around online until they find something that resonates with them. He called it salad-bar extremism. Sitting around and trying to dissuade them from their ideological views (is) less effective, Cohen said. Some western Iowa residents were without water services Saturday because of a fire at a nearby water facility the day before. A fire at Regional Waters facility north of Avoca, Iowa, on Friday disabled its ability to pump water to some of its towers that supply areas of northeast Pottawattamie, Shelby and Harrison Counties, according to a press release from the Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Agency. Residents were asked to boil and conserve water until operations returned to normal. Emergency drinking water was made available from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday for residents experiencing a temporary outage, the agency announced on its Facebook page. The bottled water could be picked up from the Minden Fire Station or Avoca Fire Station by those in the impacted areas. The agency also urged Pottawattamie County residents to register their emergency water needs at pcema-ia.org. Future distributions will be scheduled based on identified needs and system restoration status. Washington state authorities have linked about 30 deaths to the heat, with more reports coming in each day this week. I think, over time, we will understand that the numbers are only going to climb," said Dr. Steve Mitchell, director of Harborview Medical Center's Emergency Medicine Department in Seattle. "I know, in my experience, that Im expecting to see much larger numbers than what we are currently able to report because of talking to EMS colleagues who were experiencing twice as many calls for help that day. There were 1,792 emergency room visits for suspected heat-related illness since June 25, the Washington state Department of Health said Thursday. Of those visits, 21% required people to be admitted to the hospital. Monday had the most emergency room visits, with 702, the health department said. It was the hottest day of the heat wave in many areas, with Seattle, Portland, Oregon, and other cities smashing all-time heat records. It reached 108 F (42 C) in Seattle, and 116 F (47) in Oregon's largest city. With this latest heat emergency, when we were dealing with it, the only thing comparable at Harborview and in the region that weve experienced recently was actually the early days of COVID," Mitchell said. The Arizona Constitution allows voters to repeal any law passed by the Legislature at the ballot box by collecting signatures from 5% of the people who voted in the last general election. If the signatures are certified, the law is placed on hold until the next general election. Ducey hailed the budget package he signed Wednesday for enacting historic tax cuts that will give tax relief to all Arizonans and help keep the state tax structure competitive. He had railed about the surcharge in Proposition 208 in March, telling a business group he hoped the courts or the Legislature would gut it. C.J. Karamargin, the governor's spokesman, said it remains to be seen if the opponents of the tax cuts can gather the needed signatures. But the legislation that they seem to be targeting is part of the accomplishments of one of the most successful Arizona Legislatures in recent memory," Karamargin said. Why anyone would want to overturn that, I guess you'd have to ask them." The state budget Ducey signed Wednesday phases in a flat tax of 2.5% for nearly everyone, eliminating the states progressive taxation system that ranged from 2.59% for the first roughly $54,000 of income to 4.5% for income above about $327,000. Also submitted was a letter Boswell wrote from jail to a local pastor. Unlike Trail, Boswell had not spoken in court, or to authorities, before Friday. In a high-pitched voice, cracking in tears at times, she said she was sorry for everything that happened to Sydney Loofe and expressed regret. When I was with Aubrey, I was in a very bad place, she said. Boswell said Trail offered her a way out of an abusive relationship with a boyfriend who had trafficked her for massages and sex via a website called Backpage. At first, I was grateful to (Trail). Later, I was afraid of him afraid to even question him, she said. He threatened to kill her daughter and family if she didnt comply with his commands, she said. Boswell said she believes that she could help other young women in prison turn their lives around but that executing her would harm her daughter. When she is old enough to understand, she will have to live with the fact that her mother was convicted of murder, Boswell said, barely audible through the sobs. She needs a mommy. I thought the letter was unnecessary and unfortunate, Peterson said. It couldve been easily addressed with a phone call, and Im not sure why it wasnt. Nebraska has a good relationship with the federal authorities here, he said, and they work together in the area of human trafficking. In some cases, youll have criminal activity with a federal penalty, or the federal options are stronger, he said. But, in this particular case, our penalty provisions were as strong as necessary for a case like this. Sasse spokesman James Wegmann repeated in an emailed statement that combatting sex trafficking has long been a priority for the senator. We have full faith in the work folks on the state level and in the courts are doing, the statement said. Because the victim was recruited and moved from another state, the goal was the make sure that the DOJ was aware of the interstate nature of the case and ensuring that county and state folks get the help they need from the federal level in this and other trafficking cases. Attorneys and investigators from the state and Furnas County worked together on the investigation, Peterson said. He said the case represents a lot of what he and others have been trying to accomplish over several years. DES MOINES A federal appeals court on Friday threw out a Trump-era Environmental Protection Agency rule change that allowed for the sale of a 15% ethanol gasoline blend in the summer months. The decision deals a significant blow to the ethanol industry and corn farmers who grow the crop from which the fuel additive is made. They had anticipated increased ethanol demand through year-round sales of the higher blend. Most gasoline sold in the U.S. today is blended with 10% ethanol. Corn farmers and ethanol refiners have pushed for the government to allow the widespread sale of a 15% ethanol blend. The Trump administration made the change to fulfill a campaign promise to Midwest farmers. The EPA under President Donald Trump announced the change in May 2019, ending a summer ban on the E15 blend. Provisions of the Clean Air Act have prohibited the sale of certain fuels with a higher volatility from June 1 through Sept. 15 to limit smog. Congress has allowed 10% ethanol, and the EPA in its 2019 ruling revised the interpretation of the exemption to federal law to include the 15% ethanol blend. Ethanol supporters contend that using more of the corn-based renewable fuel is better for the environment and helps meet federal climate change goals. The Washington Post has reported that the U.S. is working on plans to evacuate some of the Afghans who worked with our government over the last 20 years, especially our interpreters and translators. In spite of the heated and partisan debate about immigration in our country generally, one thing is clear here: These Afghans should be welcomed to the United States and treated as partners and heroes. During my own overseas deployments I gained an appreciation of the value of local partners in the counterterrorism fight. From our relentless search for kidnapped Americans to raids on terrorist strongholds, Afghan interpreters stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Americans, assisting with tactical questioning and comforting non-combatants. Afghan cultural advisors provide essential context and advice, keeping American soldiers safe and preventing missteps that could fan the flames of insurgency. Afghans have done this knowing that the Taliban and al Qaeda would seek revenge at the first opportunity. But they also appreciated perhaps in a way most of us cannot the hope and opportunity our nation represents. They placed their faith in us. Parkway Terrace Developed: Mostly built from 1915-1925, between 27th and 33rd Avenues, Lincoln Way to Irving Street. Primary developer: Fernando Nelson and Sons Fernando Nelson placed curved ornamental benches to serve as welcoming entryways on the corner lots of Parkway Terrace facing Lincoln Way. Over the years, some of the property owners have kept the benches in their original state, while others have buried them under lawn hillocks, fenced them in, or adorned them with potted plants. Nelson promoted Parkway Terrace as a residence park with building restrictions and advertised that he would sell the homes only to whites. Some of the properties, especially those bordering Golden Gate Park, are visually striking, with hints of country hunting lodges, tudor cottages, and castle battlementsall perched on small rises from the sidewalk. The lower-priced and humbler offerings of the development are closer to Irving Street. Nelson built himself a house in the development at 2701 Lincoln Way. More: A Jewel Restored: Fernando Nelsons House in Parkway Terrace by Inge Horton, 2015 Parkway Terrace on Outside Lands San Francisco podcast Fernando Nelson (1860-1953) by Richard Brandi, 2002 Fernando Nelson: Father of the Richmond District by John Freeman, 2007 Contribute your own stories about western neighborhoods places. Catching the Radio Waves The Wireless World's Early Days by Bart Lee (Reprinted courtesy of GGNRA ParkNews) "Sherman is sighted." On August 23, 1899, U.S. Lightship no. 70 San Francisco announced the arrival of the U.S. Army troopship Sherman to the crowd assembled at the Cliff House. In the crowd were reporters from the San Francisco Call, who relayed this information to a city awaiting the return of its hometown regiment from the battlefields of the Spanish-American War. The lightship, miles out at sea in deep fog, relayed this message via wireless telegraphy (radio) through the fog to the Cliff House. This San Francisco radio success was the first nineteenth-century working use of radio outside of England. The 1899 San Francisco wireless transmission represented a first in the United States in several categories: first Coast Guard use, journalistic use, maritime use, ship-to-shore message, and amateur transmission of message traffic by radio. Capturing the Sparks By today's standards, spark technology was primitive. A large coil transformer took the ship's dynamo voltage and raised it to very high potential that sparked when switched with a telegraph key. That spark made radio waves. On shore, seven miles away, a wire caught the radio waves, which traveled down to a simple tube of metal filings to the ground. When a wave came in, the filings shorted out and sent an electrical pulse from a battery to a landline telegraph paper-tape inker. This type of spark system remained in use through the World War I, by which time newer technologies had been developed. By the 1930s, radio use was routine in both the maritime service and in international work, where it competed with cables. Technological developments made it possible for large shore stations to stay in touch with vessels and aircraft wherever they were, including the "ends of the earth," the north and south poles. This world-wide network comprised commercial and maritime stations, including those of the navies and governments of the world, as well as dozens of nations broadcasting to each other on the "short waves." These high frequencies were first explored by amateurs, and many more amateurs continued to use them to experiment and communicate worldwide. A Century Commemorated The 100th anniversary of radio was celebrated in 1999 at San Francisco's Cliff House. On August 28, the National Park Service and San Francisco historians commemorated the historic moment. The Perham Foundation, the California Historical Radio Society, the San Francisco National Maritime Museum, and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, assisted by the San Francisco Amateur Radio Club, presented displays and talks, and the United States Coast Guard Cutter Point Brower recreated the Morse code radio transmission to the Cliff House. Microwaves and satellites are commonplace today, but the early days of maritime communication were equally sophisticated and exciting in their own way. Our modern wireless world grew from these modest beginnings. Read about more wireless history in the western neighborhoods! Images: "Transport plays her searchlight on a grand pyrotechnic display" (at the Cliff House); San Francisco Examiner, August 24, 1899. Contribute your own stories about western neighborhoods places.! With just two days to go before the deadline for South Africas former President Jacob Zuma to hand himself over to police, he has asked the countrys highest court to review its decision to sentence him to 15 months in jail. On Tuesday, the Constitutional Court found him guilty of contempt after he ignored the courts ruling that he should attend an inquiry looking into corruption while he was president. In court papers filed on Friday, Mr Zuma has asked for the order to be "reconsidered and rescinded", the AFP news agency reports. He had been advised that "it will not be futile to make one last attempt to invite the Constitutional Court to relook its decision and to merely reassess whether it has acted within the constitution or, erroneously, beyond the powers vested in the court by the constitution". He has also appealed to the high court to get the Constitutional Courts decision to be delayed while it considers his request for a review. BBC correspondent Andrew Harding called Tuesdays ruling a scathing and hugely significant judgement against the former president. The Constitutional Court did not simply find him in contempt, but spelled out the many ways in which Mr Zuma had lied, sought to mislead the public, and ultimately tried to "destroy the rule of law". Mr Zumas advisors have said that he will always abide by the law. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, Minister for Employment and Labour Relations has called for a sectorial and holistic approach to the fight against child labour. He said to facilitate the effective implementation of the National Plan of Action Phase II (2017-2022) for the Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour, a comprehensive and holistic approach was needed for the identification, withdrawal and provision of remediation services to children that fell victim to the practices of child labour. A statement by the Ministry and copied to the Ghana News Agency said the approaches required the institutionalization and effective monitoring of referral system that ensured that children, engaged in child labour activities were identified, withdrawn, rescued, and protected. Mr Awuah made the call while addressing participants of the European Union (EU) sponsored High-Level Conference Dubbed, "Sustainable Cocoa Dialogue" in Accra on Wednesday, June 30 this year. He reiterated that the different actors within the public and private sectors had roles to play in the fight against child labour, adding that the surest way to defeat the menace was to link efforts coherently. He urged the EU and other Development Partners to critically consider the Ghanaian cultural setting in the fight against child labour. The Minister re-affirmed government's commitment to use the education approach in the fight child labour to win the fight by 2025 as part of efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8.7 Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video One of the two Field Officials of the 2021 Population and Housing Census, riding a motorbike died in a road crash on the Zebilla-Saaka stretch of the Bolgatanga-Bawku-Pulmakom road in the Upper East Region. The two officers identified as Mr Faisal Issah, a nurse by profession and Ms Gifty Abane, a teacher by profession, were on their way to Googo and Tambiugu communities, suburbs of Zebilla to gather census data. Mr Issah who had picked Ms Abane on the motorbike ran into a faulty stationary vehicle which was parked off the main road for repair works. According to Mr Felix Geli, the Regional Statistician of the Ghana Statistical Service during an interview with the Ghana News Agency the accident occurred on Wednesday, June 30, 2021, at about 0630 hours. He said Mr Issah died instantly after the crash, while Ms Abane sustained injuries and was receiving treatment at the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital. Mr Geli said preliminary investigations revealed that the faulty vehicle had a tyre burst and was parked off the road while it was being worked on and the enumerators ran into it. He said Ms Abane was stable and would be discharged soon. The Regional Statistician noted that with the exception of the unfortunate accident, the exercise was running smoothly and the officers were on the field collecting data. We have covered institutions with boarding houses, hotels and guest houses, those on transit and the prisons among others, he said. Mr Geli noted that the census was key to national planning and implementation of development projects and therefore it was imperative for all citizens to support and cooperate effectively with the census officers. He urged the public to provide accurate data to aid in the proper planning and execution of development projects, to address challenges confronting the country. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Nana Boakye, NPP National Youth Organizer, has thrown support for a demonstration by the opposition National Democratic Congress regarding the death of three persons in Ejura. Some members of the NDC have reportedly indicated they will embark on a street protest to register their displeasure with the unfortunate circumstances at Ejura in the Ashanti Region. But the Police is said to prevent them from going on the demonstration. Speaking on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo', Nana B condemned the Police decision stressing demonstration is a democratic tool. He urged the security force to allow for the NDC demonstration. "I have heard that the Police say they won't allow them. I disagree! If they want to embark on their demonstration, they should be allowed. If it's the route that will be confusing and will make the policing difficult, sit down with the organizers and tell them to choose one route for us to help you'', he told host Kwami Sefa Kayi. He, however, rebuked the NDC for politicizing the Ejura incident, saying, "why do we do this to ourselves? So now we're dragging this matter, this criminal act, onto the arena of partisan politics and discuss it anyhow, then the person who committed such crime will be walking freely". Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference, Most Rev Philip Naameh, has urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to be swift in addressing national issues just as he speedily does on international matters. According to him, the Presidents constant late address on critical happenings in the country cannot be allowed to fester. He described the President's behaviour as worrying He was commenting on the recent tensed situation in Ejura Sekyedumase, following the loss of lives of three people and the hospitalization of several others as a result of injuries sustained in a stand-off between the youth in the area and a joint police cum military team in an interview with NEAT FMs morning show 'Ghana Montie. Soon after, it took quite a while before government officials came to speak about Kakas death and the shooting that claimed two lives. They dont need much information before they can officially express concern and commiserate with bereaved families when the news is out there. The President's statement came too late, he bemoaned. Watch video below Three persons lost their lives under tragic circumstances at Ejura in the Ejura Sekyedumase District of the Ashanti Region a few days ago.The trio died in the space of 48 hours with youth activist Ibrahim Mohammed, 45, also known as Macho Kaaka dying on June 28 from injuries he sustained in an attack a day before.The killing of Mohammed sparked protests on Tuesday, June 29, in Ejura leading to clashes between some residents and security personnel which resulted in the death of two persons (Abdul Nasir Yussif and Muntala Mohammed) who were among six persons who were shot in the skirmish.Though government issued a statement on the incident, it was released after the tension had already escalated. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Police is poised to provide the necessary security for the safety of the planned demonstration by the youth of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Tuesday, July 6, in Accra. In a message posted on its Facebook page, the Police said the decision followed a meeting Mr James Oppong-Boanuh, the Inspector-General of Police, held with the organisers of the planned demonstration, at the Police Headquarters in Accra on July 2. It said all matters relating to the march were discussed and agreed, including the routes and COVID-19 protocols. It would be recalled that the NDC in a letter to the Inspector-General of Police, dated Wednesday, June 30, and signed by Mr George Opare Addo, its National Youth Organiser, declared the Partys planned demonstration, dubbed: A March for Justice Demonstration and Street Protest. This is to notify you that the NDC through its Youth Wing will hold a demonstration and street protest dubbed, A March for Justice in Accra, on Tuesday, 6th July from 0800 hours in the morning to mid-day, the letter said. This letter is sent your way in line with the Public Order Act. The Act (491) stipulates that the Police be notified under section (1) of any special event within the meaning of the Public Order Act. The letter said that the protest was to demand justice for "all persons killed and brutalized by state-sponsored thuggery and/or adventurism by police and military forces". It said the planned protest was also to seek social justice for the unemployed youth. The protest would follow these routes: "One chapter would start from Madina, the other from the Accra Business District, the third from Osu and the last from Lapaz. We will all meet at the Jubilee House to present a petition to the President of the Republic, to the Inspector-General of Police at the Police Head Office and the Speaker of Parliament at Parliament Houses, it stated. We are willing to meet with the Police for further discussions on the subject matter. The Police had earlier expressed their unwillingness to provide security for mass protestors in view of the threat such activities posed as COVID-19 super spreaders. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Recently reunited couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez took their kids to Universal Studios together. (Photo by Chris Weeks/FilmMagic) Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are moving through all the relationship steps following their recent reunion . The couple, who were engaged more than a decade ago and split up in 2004, found their way back to each other in April, following Lopezs high-profile breakup with her then-fiance Alex Rodriguez . Since raising eyebrows with their reunion, the two have been spotted vacationing together in Montana and Miami, as well as having date nights in Los Angeles. Now, the duo has taken things a step further by bringing their kids together, according to photos published by Page Six . On Friday, July 2, Lopez brought her and her former husband Marc Anthonys 13-year-old twins Max and Emme to Universal Studios Hollywood, where they were joined by Affleck and his son Samuel, 9, who he shares with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner. Affleck is also dad to Violet, 15, and Seraphina, 12, who did not join on on the days activities, which included exploring a themed land modeled after The Simpsons. Back in January, Affleck spoke with Variety about how he now prioritizes his relationship with his kids above all else. "I no longer have the ability to do something when I'm bored halfway through it and hate it," he explained. "I just can't do it. It's not worth it to be away from my kids. If I'm going to travel, there had better be something really satisfying that I think they'll see at some point, hopefully. Although my kids are like, 'Dad, we don't want to watch your movies.'" Lopez also talked about the importance of spending time with her children in a 2020 interview with WSJ Journal . "Were providing this awesome life for them, but at the same time, they need us," Lopez explained. "They need us in a different way. We have to slow down and we have to connect more. I dont want to miss things." Fortunately for Affleck and Lopezs children, it seems theyre very much welcome to join their parents on their latest adventures. Read more on Yahoo Entertainment: Excitement is building in England after their Euro 2020 last-16 win over Germany, a result which left them with a theoretically favourable path to the final as they look to win a first major tournament since 1966. However Ukraine, who stand in their way in Saturday's quarter-final in Rome, are hoping to pull off a shock victory and advance to the last four of a major competition for the first time since the break-up of the Soviet Union. AFP Sport looks at the main men in the yellow and blue going into the game at the Stadio Olimpico: The legend: Andriy Shevchenko The former Ballon d'Or winner is Ukraine's all-time leading scorer and one of the greatest players of his generation. He was the captain of the last Ukraine team to make a quarter-final, at the 2006 World Cup when they lost to Italy. Now he is the coach of a side that only just scraped out of their group as one of the best third-placed sides by virtue of a single win over North Macedonia and then defeated Sweden in the last 16 with a goal right at the end of extra time. Now aged 44, Shevchenko took over in 2016 and has overseen some impressive results which suggest his team cannot be underestimated. They topped their qualifying group ahead of Portugal and beat Spain in the Nations League last October. In March they held France to a draw in Paris in World Cup qualifying. Now Shevchenko returns to Italy, where he enjoyed such success as a player with AC Milan, while Ukraine's opponents will bring back memories of a frustrating spell with Chelsea. The star player: Oleksandr Zinchenko The 24-year-old Zinchenko plays at left-back for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City but in midfield for his country, a position that enabled him to score the opener against Sweden in Glasgow with a fine strike before he set up Artem Dovbyk's last-gasp winner. Zinchenko is a star in Shevchenko's side as a rare Ukrainian playing in one of Europe's big five leagues, but he is also symbolic of the nation's wider struggles. Story continues The former captain of Shakhtar Donetsk's youth side never played for their senior team as he moved with his family to Russia when conflict broke out in Ukraine's Donbas region. He ended up playing for Ufa, 1400 kilometres to the east of Moscow. After playing for Ukraine at Euro 2016 when still a teenager, he earned a move to City and has gone on to establish himself at the Etihad Stadium since an initial loan spell at PSV Eindhoven. The captain: Andriy Yarmolenko The 31 year-old is another familiar face to fans of the Premier League as he has been at West Ham United since 2018. A right-winger who likes to come back inside onto his favoured left foot, Yarmolenko has captained Ukraine at the Euro and scored a stunning goal in their opening 3-2 defeat against the Netherlands before netting their opener in the 2-1 win over North Macedonia. Born in Russia, in modern-day Saint Petersburg, Yarmolenko made his name at Dynamo Kiev, coming through their academy and playing for their first team for almost a decade before moving to Borussia Dortmund, where he spent just a single season. Man to watch: Ruslan Malinovskyi The 28-year-old attacking midfielder set up the equalising goal in the thrilling 3-2 defeat to the Dutch and then missed a penalty against North Macedonia. He was dropped from the starting line-up against Sweden but there is no doubt he is a player capable of producing a moment of magic. The one-time Shakhtar Donetsk player will be on familiar ground in Italy too, having moved to Serie A in 2019 when Atalanta signed him from Belgian side Genk. Malinovskyi has been a star in the Atalanta side that has finished third in each of his two seasons in Italy. He is clearly settled in Bergamo, where local media reported earlier this year that his partner Roxana was to open an upmarket clothing boutique in the city. bur-as/mw The bright white region of this image shows the icy cap that covers Mars south pole, composed of frozen water and frozen carbon dioxide. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/Bill Dunford Two research teams, using data from the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter, have recently published results suggesting that what were thought to be subsurface lakes on Mars may not really be lakes at all. In 2018, scientists working with data from the Mars Express orbiter announced a surprising discovery: Signals from a radar instrument reflected off the red planet's south pole appeared to reveal a liquid subsurface lake. Several more such reflections have been announced since then. In a new paper published in the American Geophysical Union's Geophysical Research Letters, lead author and graduate student Aditya Khuller of Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration with Jeffrey Plaut of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), describe finding dozens of similar radar reflections around the south pole after analyzing a broader set of Mars Express data. But many are in areas that should be too cold for water to remain liquid. The question of whether the signals are liquid water or not is also being considered by a team of scientists led by ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration postdoctoral scholar Carver Bierson. Their research was also recently published in AGU's Geophysical Research Letters and determined that these bright reflections might be caused by subsurface clays, metal-bearing minerals or saline ice. Mars Express is the second-longest-surviving continually active spacecraft in orbit around a planet other than Earth, behind only NASA's still-active 2001 Mars Odyssey. As Mars Express orbits Mars, it continues to provide important data on the red planet's subsurface, surface and atmosphere. Onboard this spacecraft is an instrument called the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding, or MARSIS for short. This instrument uses a radar sounder to assess the composition of the subsurface of Mars. MARSIS has been collecting data around Mars since 2004, including the south pole, allowing scientists to build a three-dimensional view of the south polar region. "We wanted to look beneath the south polar ice and characterize the old terrain lying underneath using MARSIS data," said Khuller. In other recent studies using MARSIS data, researchers have found areas where the reflections below the surface are brighter than that of the surface, which is not what scientists would expect. "Usually, radar waves lose energy when they travel through a material, so reflections from deeper down should be less bright than those from the surface," said Khuller, who is concurrently on an internship at JPL under Plaut's direction. "Although there are a few possible reasons for unusually bright subsurface reflections, these two studies concluded that a liquid water component was the cause of these bright reflections, because liquid water appears bright to radar." The colored dots represent sites where bright radar reflections have been spotted by ESAs Mars Express orbiter at Mars south polar cap. Credit: ESA/NASA/JPL-Caltech Frozen time capsule The radar signals originally interpreted as liquid water were found in a region of Mars known as the South Polar Layered Deposits, named for the alternating layers of water ice, dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide) and dust that have settled there over millions of years. These layers are believed to hold a record of how the tilt in Mars' axis has shifted over time, just as changes in Earth's tilt have created ice ages and warmer periods throughout our planet's history. When Mars had a lower axial tilt, snowfall and layers of dust accumulated in the region and eventually formed the thick layered ice sheet found there today. The areas originally hypothesized to contain liquid water span about 6 to 12 miles (10 to 20 kilometers) in a relatively small region of the Martian South Polar Layered Deposits. Khuller and Plaut expanded the search for similar strong radio signals to 44,000 measurements spread across 15 years of MARSIS data over the entirety of the Martian south polar region. Unexpected 'lakes': A muddy picture? The new, expanded study from Khuller and Plaut revealed dozens of additional bright radar reflections over a far greater range of area and depth than ever before. In some places, they were less than a mile from the surface, where temperatures are estimated to be minus 81 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 63 degrees Celsius)so cold that water would be frozen, even if it contained salty minerals known as perchlorates, which can lower the freezing point of water. "We're not certain whether these signals are liquid water or not, but they appear to be much more widespread than what the original paper found," said co-author Plaut, who is also the co-principal investigator of the orbiter's MARSIS instrument. "Either liquid water is common beneath Mars' south pole, or these signals are indicative of something else." Additionally Khuller noted a 2019 paper in which researchers calculated the heat needed to melt subsurface ice in this region, finding that only recent volcanism under the surface could explain the potential presence of liquid water under the south pole. "They found that it would take double the estimated Martian geothermal heat flow to keep this water liquid," Khuller said. "One possible way to get this amount of heat is through volcanism. However, we haven't really seen any strong evidence for recent volcanism at the south pole, so it seems unlikely that volcanic activity would allow subsurface liquid water to be present throughout this region." Khuller and Plaut's next steps in this line of research are to investigate their discovery of a second, deeper layer under parts of the south pole of Mars, which scientists think represents an older buried terrain called the Dorsa Argentea Formation. It is thought to have been modified by ancient glaciers once present across the region, and they intend on trying to more accurately determine its composition and age. Explore further Study looks more closely at Mars' underground water signals More information: Aditya R. Khuller et al, Characteristics of the Basal Interface of the Martian South Polar Layered Deposits, Geophysical Research Letters (2021). Aditya R. Khuller et al, Characteristics of the Basal Interface of the Martian South Polar Layered Deposits,(2021). DOI: 10.1029/2021GL093631 C. J. Bierson et al, Strong MARSIS Radar Reflections from the Base of Martian South Polar Cap may be due to Conductive Ice or Minerals, Geophysical Research Letters (2021). DOI: 10.1029/2021GL093880 Michael M. Sori et al, Water on Mars, With a Grain of Salt: Local Heat Anomalies Are Required for Basal Melting of Ice at the South Pole Today, Geophysical Research Letters (2019). DOI: 10.1029/2018GL080985 Journal information: Geophysical Research Letters This handout photo courtesy of BC Wildfire Service shows two plumes of smoke from the Long Loch wildfire and the Derrickson Lake wildfire, British Columbia, on June 30, 2021. The Canadian military was on standby Saturday to help evacuate towns and fight more than 170 wildfires fueled by a record-smashing heat wave and tinder-dry conditions as the government in Ottawa warned of a "long and challenging summer" ahead. At least 174 fires were active in the western province of British Columbia, 78 of them sparked in the last two days, officials said. Most were caused by intense lightning storms. The fires were north of the city of Kamloops, 350 kilometers (220 miles) northeast of Vancouver. "We saw 12,000 lightning strikes, roughly, yesterday," said Cliff Chapman, the director of provincial operations for British Columbia Wildfire Service, according to public broadcaster the CBC. "Many of those lightning strikes were hitting near communities, (as) was seen in the Kamloops area." While the immediate blame for the scorching heat has been placed on a high-pressure "heat dome" trapping warm air in the region, climate change is making record-setting temperatures more frequent. Globally, the decade to 2019 was the hottest recorded, and the five hottest years on record have all occurred since 2012, according to climate.gov. "The dry conditions and the extreme heat in British Columbia are unprecedented," Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said Friday. "These wildfires show that we are in the earliest stages of what promises to be a long and challenging summer." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met Friday with an incident response group that included several ministers, after earlier speaking with local, provincial and indigenous leaders. "We will be there to help," he told reporters. The response group said it would establish an operations center in Edmonton, with up to 350 military personnel providing logistical support to the region, according to Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan. Military aircraft are also being deployed. Roughly 1,000 people have fled the wildfires in British Columbia, with many others still missing. The British Columbia medical examiner's office said there had been 719 deaths in the past week, "three times more" than the average number recorded over the period. Lisa Lapointe, the province's chief coroner, said the extreme weather was likely "a significant contributing factor." This handout photo courtesy of BC Wildfire Service shows the Sparks Lake wildfire, British Columbia, seen from the air on June 29, 2021. The village of Lytton, 250 kilometers (155 miles) northeast of Vancouver, was evacuated Wednesday after a fire flared up and spread quickly. Nearly 90 percent of the village was torched, according to Brad Vis, an MP for the area. "We really just had to get out there and we had no choice," resident Gordon Murray told CBC. "We grabbed the pets that we could find. We had to leave one behind. We grabbed our wallets and got in the car. We didn't have time for anything else." On Tuesday, the village set a Canadian record of 49.6 degrees Celsius (121 degrees Fahrenheit). Wide area affected The heat wave continued to spread across central Canada on Saturday, also affecting the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as well as parts of the Northwest Territories and northern Ontario. "A dangerous long-duration heat wave will continue," bringing "very warm temperatures over the next couple of days," Environment Canada warned in bulletins for British Columbia. Lytton resident Jeff Chapman told the CBC he saw his parents die in the fire that engulfed the town. With only minutes to react, the elderly couple sought shelter in a trench in their backyard, as Chapman ran for safety at nearby rail tracks. From that vantage, he said, he saw the fires sweep across and destroy most of the town. British Columbia also warned of flooding from melting mountain snowcaps and glaciers. Further south, the US states of Washington and Oregon have also suffered record temperatures. The death toll in Oregon from heat-related causes has hit 94, the state's medical examiner said late Friday. Three wildfires in drought-hit northern California have scorched nearly 40,000 acres (16,200 hectares), including a popular tourist lake preparing to welcome visitors for the July 4 holiday weekend. Evacuation orders were in place along stretches of Shasta Lake. Around 40 structures were destroyed. Explore further Approximately 1,000 evacuated as Canadian fires engulf town 2021 AFP Local top story Upper Township teenager records songs with Grammy-nominated local producer Steve Freeman, For The Press Grammy Award-nominated producer Luke Witherspoon III, left, is working on Meabh Stanfords first professionally recorded album, make it be me, at his private studio in Absecon. Edward Lea, Staff Photographer Stanford, 16, of Upper Township, writes her own music and performs her songs on guitar and piano. Steve Freeman, for The Press The six songs on Meabh Stanford's first EP are inspired by literature and movies. Steve Freeman Meabh Stanford, 16, of Upper Township, plays piano on her first professionally recorded album "Make it be Me". June 23, 2021 ABSECON Meabh Stanford makes alternative pop music, but in a studio here recording her original songs for the first time, she does not come off as a clueless puppet with a powerful producer making all her decisions. By Stanfords third day in the studio, the 16-year-old is comfortable enough to take charge over how her lead vocals should sound and what she should record as far as backing vocals to enhance the overall recording for her new album, make it be me. She sang along to songs she wrote and accompanied herself on either guitar or electric piano. Stanford, of Upper Township, said she thought she sounded too robotic during a section of the lead vocal. She asked engineer Dane Estler, 39, of Atlantic City, if she could record something an additional time if she was not 100% happy with it. Grammy-nominated producer Luke Witherspoon III, of Atlantic City, sat next to Estler at the recording console and agreed with what Stanford wanted to do. Stanfords vocal coach and mentor, Stevi Leigh, who was an artist herself, knows Witherspoon and introduced him to Stanford. I played my songs for him, and he saw lots of talent and lots of potential, and he agreed to work with me, and I was very thankful for that because he is immensely talented, Stanford said. Hes a great guy. When Stanford returns to Ocean City High School as a junior in the fall, she may have the best story about what she did on her summer vacation. Her six-song concept EP, or extended-play recording, should be available on most music streaming services next month. Witherspoon was nominated for a Grammy in 2018 for his co-production work on the song Go Thru Your Phone on the best R&B album nominee, Gumbo, by PJ Morton, one of the keyboardists for Maroon 5. Witherspoon decided to produce Stanford because of her songwriting talent, he said. Her writing is very mature for her to be 16. Her writing is like she is 24 or 25. The nature of her writing is amazing. I am not shocked because both of her parents, I believe, are teachers, Witherspoon said. I see a bright future for her. Stanford started writing songs when she was 8, but she says she didnt start taking it seriously until she was about 12. She took voice lessons and was challenged to write her own songs. Grammy-nominated producer puts on all-star concert in Stockton art gallery GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP Music producer Luke Witherspoon III treated Stockton University students entering the last week of the fall semester and community members who made it Wednesday to the Stockton Art Gallery. Besides piano and guitar, Stanford plays flute and is in the Ocean City High School jazz and marching bands. Recording artists of Stanfords age who write their own songs typically come up with lyrics that sound like diary entries. Stanfords EP features six songs inspired by either literature or movies. Glory Days is based on Kurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-Five. Keira Knightley Is Anna Karenina is based on the 2012 film adaptation of the Leo Tolstoy novel Anna Karenina. I Can Still Hope is based on William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet. I Still Remember is based on Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner. Her songs Oh, Hyacinth Part I & II are based on the Greek myth of Apollo and Hyacinth. When I read a great story, I want to get my thoughts down and show how it touched me, Stanford said. It can be confessional because when you relate to a story, it can be an outlet for you, too. Since Stanford was 12, she has been performing live, doing covers of famous songs. She has performed on the Ocean City Boardwalk, outside the Grass Roots Music Store in Ocean City and at open microphone sessions at Starbucks in Ocean City. Stanford met Leigh, of Total Package Talent Development, in 2017. They have worked together ever since. Meabh (pronounced like wave with an m) shows promise, Leigh said. Once you see a gift in a person, it was my duty to see it be carried out. Her songwriting was very advanced. She knew exactly what she wanted. ... I saw a belief system in herself that she wanted to persevere. She wrote the six songs shes recording for her EP between eighth grade and this past January. Stanford said she thought being in a recording studio would be a lot more stressful than it turned out to be. You have to do lots of takes and stuff like that. I thought I would get a lot more frustrated with myself, but it has been going pretty smoothly. I havent been getting too angry with myself. It has been a fun experience to have. Its not like something like this happens every day, Stanford said. He (Witherspoon) understands the vision I have for the songs. Thank you for reading The Press of Atlantic City. Please consider supporting The Press with a subscription. GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP As a result of New Jerseys gradual reopening over the past few months, many are seeing the long-awaited return of lifelong summer traditions. For the township, that meant the return of the Fourth of July parade in Smithville, which claims to be the largest in the state. On Saturday, thousands lined Smithville Boulevard and East Moss Mill Road after the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the event in 2020 and nearly did the same this year before state officials eased restrictions. We look forward to this every year, said 70-year-old Kathy Schultz, who lives in the nearby Four Seasons development with her husband, Phil. Its like our Norman Rockwell holiday. It goes back to years ago. Its like, everybodys out, the flag raising, and its our country. Its important. Spectators were treated to the usual sights at the parade, including emergency service vehicles from local agencies, veterans and live music from the Atlantic City Fire Departments Sandpipers Pipes and Drums. Some said it felt great to be there because it simply felt normal again. Crash in Galloway involving intoxicated driver leaves 2 seriously injured GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP A motor vehicle crash involving an intoxicated driver left two people wi Its good to be back to normalcy, said Phil Schultz, 68. Its just good to be back. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Its really a win for all angles, she said. The visiting students get paid the same as the locals, she said, arguing it would be a mistake to see the program as supplanting local workers. The company and other shore businesses said they could not hire enough local workers to meet their needs. We have a small local year-round population that cant support the swell of visitors in the summer, she said. Wildwood High School graduates 50 kids a year. We need 1,500. This is the second summer for Ojay Black of Cuffie Ridge, Jamaica. He plans to visit New York when he is done working in Wildwood, both to see the city and to visit relatives. Many students opt to travel, and several of those interviewed had their eye on New York City. Among them is Anda Valeanu, of Romania, who grew up in a tiny town before moving to the capital in Bucharest. She loves fashion, she said, and is eager to see New York. Valeanu worked at the pier last year, one of a handful of international students to work on the Boardwalk that summer. Cape May County to give updates on summer work program for international students The Cape May County Chamber of Commerce will host a webinar on Monday with updates on the fe I liked it last year. I made a lot of friends here, she said. I felt like I was safe here. Valeanu is working toward a doctorate. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The NTSB said in a tweet that it will send a team of 10 investigators. The plane is a 46-year-old Boeing 737-200, a much earlier version of the 737 than the Max, and one that U.S. airlines no longer use for passenger flights. There are fewer than 60 737-200s still flying worldwide, according to aviation-data researcher Cirium. The Boeing 737 first flew in the late 1960s and is the most popular airline plane still in production. Boeing has delivered more than 10,500 of them and has unfilled orders for about 4,000 more, almost all of those for the latest version of the plane, the 737 Max. Over the years, about 200 737s have been destroyed in crashes and several hundred others have been involved in less serious accidents and incidents, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. For a jet that has been in production for so long and is being used so extensively, 203 hull-loss accidents can be considered a very good safety record, said Harro Ranter, who runs the database. He said the planes accident rate improved dramatically from the first models to more recent ones that preceded the Max. WWE PULLS LUGER DOCUMENTARY FROM THIS WEEKEND'S PREMIERE WWE has pulled all trailers for the planned 7/4 debut of Icons: Lex Luger and all signs are the documentary will not be premiering this weekend. As PWInsider.com has reported, there has been a hold on all forthcoming WWE documentaries and all planned premieres and even production work on WWE Docs was halted this past week. Even though the Luger documentary was announced and promoted this past week, it appears that even that doc has fallen under the recent edict. The release date was timed for the anniversary of the biggest WWF angle of Luger's career in 1993, when he flew in on a helicopter at the end of a WWF event on the deck of the U.S.S. Intrepid in New York City to "save the day" by bodyslamming then-WWF Champion Yokozuna to prevent him, playing the foreign menace villain heel, from embarrassing the United States on Independence Day. This led to Luger chasing Yokozuna from that event through Summerslam 1993 and Wrestlemana X. Prior to that run, Luger was predestined to become a star from the moment he debuted after being trained by Hiro Matsuda in Florida, soon becoming a member of the Four Horsemen for Jim Crockett Promotions. When that promotion graduated to PPV, Luger was one of the main event stars of that era, chasing then-NWA World Champion Ric Flair for several years, during which WCW always seemed set on replacing Flair with either Luger or Sting, but failed to get either competitor over to the point where they overshadowed Flair in either performance or importance in the eyes of the audience. When Flair was fired the promotion in 1991, Luger was immediately ascended to the top position, but quit a year later to pursue working for the WWF. Luger's most shocking involvement in the pantheon of professional wrestling was probably his decision to secretly jump back to WCW from the WWF, walking out on the first episode of Monday Nitro on TNT, legitimately shocking the entire world. That jump set the stage for anything truly happening during the Monday Night Wars with Luger eventually even getting another short run with the WCW World title during a program with Hulk Hogan. Later in life, after WCW shut down, Luger would be forever linked to the death of Miss Elizabeth, who he had been dating when she died of an accidental overdose. He would return to wrestling on independent events and short appearances for TNA, but later dealt with health issues that left him partially paralyzed. Luger has remained a regular at convention events and has fought to regain his mobility. He published an autobiography several years ago. Previous WWE Icons documentary subjects have been WWE Hall of Famers Yokozuna, Beth Phoenix and Rob Van Dam. Unless there is a last minute change in decision-making, the Luger edition won't debut this weekend and there's no clear cut indicator currently as to when it will. If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here! That's because when levees are constructed, and they physically will block water, of course, which is their purpose, but then if a flood map were to be changed to show that there's no longer flooding behind this levee where it used to flood, then inevitably, development will happen, Heistand said. Houses, stores, whatever kind of development, the land use will not be encumbered by the floodplain regulations that used to encumber those locations. And so, it invites development. And then that development implies that they're safe when they're only as safe as the levee is strong. Flood maps along the Rock River are being reviewed again after sitting for years. The maps update where flood waters need to discharge in a 100-year flood, which engineers say hasn't happened yet on the lower Rock River. Mayors of the cities are asking the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for guidance on how to mitigate risks and develop areas in the floodway, which city officials say is unnecessarily expanded. Three judges on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued Friday's decision. They said it's clear from federal law that Congress balanced wide-ranging economic, energy-security, and geopolitical implications and that the wording of the law reflects a compromise, not simply a desire to maximize ethanol production at all costs. They concluded Congress did not intend to allow ethanol blends higher than 10% to be widely sold year-round. They said the EPA overstepped its authority. The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, the trade group for the petroleum industry that challenged the EPA decision, said the court simply followed government's interpretation of the law in effect for 30 years. There is no ambiguity in statute and the previous administrations reinterpretation overstepped the will of Congress, said AFPM President and CEO Chet Thompson. The Iowa Corn Growers Association said it will continue to work with the Biden administration, Congress and state officials to maintain consumer access to E15 year-round. "It does not make sense to reinstate barriers that could inhibit market access to a cleaner-burning fuel choice that combats climate change, said Carl Jardon, a farmer from Randolph, Iowa, and president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association. In Bettendorf, Community Development Director Mark Hunt said the city inspects residential rental units on a four-year cycle. Buildings that dont meet the standards of an inspection, usually on infractions such as a not-working smoke alarm or a missing handrail, the city gives the property owner a reasonable amount of time to replace it, Hunt said. Then, the city follows up until the property owner can pass the inspection. Bettendorf city inspectors are not structural engineers, Hunt said, but if they did see structural integrity concerns, the city would mandate the property owner to hire a structural engineer and ask for a report. Then, the city would make sure the repairs were signed off on by the engineer, he said. The Chief Building Official can deny or withdraw rental permits if the owner doesnt meet code, according to Bettendorf Housing Code, but Hunt said the city tries to work with property owners to make sure its up to code in a timely manner. For the most part people, in my experience, are trying to take care of the property and trying to keep people safe, Hunt said. According to police, Cahill walked into the credit union, implied that he was armed and demanded the teller give him money. Cahill fled after getting an undisclosed amount of money. However, officers were onto Cahill early in the investigation. Cahill also is charged with first-degree theft for stealing a delivery truck from the Hilltop Groceries and Spirits store, 1312 N. Harrison St., at 9:45 a.m. on June 9. That charge also is a Class C felony that carries a prison sentence of 10 years. He is to be arraigned on the robbery and theft charges July 22 in Scott County District Court. Cahill also had outstanding warrants for failure to appear in court on a Davenport charge of unauthorized use of a credit card and a warrant out of Bettendorf for possession of a controlled substance-second. Cahill also is wanted in Rock Island County on three counts of failure to return from furlough, a Class 3 felony under Illinois law that carries a prison sentence of two to five years. A Port Byron man was sentenced to six years in prison Friday for six charges of possession of child pornography. Cody Lee Redman, 26, was arrested by Illinois State Police on April 24, 2019, after a search warrant was executed at 6:30 a.m. in Port Byron. States Attorney Dora Villarreal recommended the highest possible sentence of seven years, while public defender Michael Wassell recommend Redman receive probation with required mental health treatment. Rock Island County Judge Norma Kauzlarich said she didnt give Redman the highest sentence because she felt he deserved credit for having no previous criminal record, not even a traffic ticket. She said she chose to give him more than probation, however, in order to avoid discounting the seriousness of his crime. The sentence is day for day, meaning each day served counts for two days towards the sentence, and Redman will also receive credit for time served in the Rock Island County Jail. Hes been in jail for just over two years, and has a little less than one year left to serve. Smith was arrested June 3, the same day Sioux City police said the woman from South Sioux City, Nebraska, was reported missing a day after her car was found abandoned with her purse and cellphone inside. Police focused on Smith, who was an ex-boyfriend of the woman. Under questioning, Smith admitted that he had hidden in the back of the womans vehicle for more than three hours and used a toy replica of a handgun to force the woman into his vehicle, where he blindfolded and bound her and held a towel he had soaked with homemade chloroform over her face, police said. The woman told police she lost consciousness and awakened alone in a storage shed at Smiths home, but was able to escape, despite being bound. Smiths trial has been scheduled for Aug. 17, although that date is likely to change. Smith remained in jail on a $250,000 bond. Quad-City Times Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Mill Creek watershed planning meeting set for July 8 The Rock Island Soil and Water Conservation District recently was awarded a Watershed Planning Grant for the Mill Creek Watershed in lower Rock Island County. A meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m., July 8 at Sherrard High School, 4701 176th Ave., to provide an overview of the project, introduce key people and organizations involved, share past conservation success stories from Copperas Creek Watershed, provide an update on the next steps for the project, and inform how the community can become involved and share ideas. Utilizing a watershed approach is an innovative tactic to reducing nutrient losses from agricultural landscapes. This effort is a partnership between the Mill Creek Steering Committee, Rock Island County SWCD and University of Illinois Extension. RSVP to attend the meeting to rstewart@rockislandswcd.org or call the Rock Island Soil and Water Conservation District at 309-581-3007. Florida man arrested in Moline A Florida man was arrested after Moline Police responded to a report of shots fired around 4 a.m. Friday. As I watched the news last night and today (June 25), I wondered why our vice president went to El Paso and not where the majority of immigrants cross over the border; why she didn't go to to see the horrific "holding cages" these immigrants are being held in; or why didn't she speak with the people that live on the border that have found immigrants who have died on their properties or ruined their properties or homes? The congresswoman from Texas that compared Texas to Ellis Island obviously does not know her history. My grandparents immigrated from Germany, but my grandfather had to have a sponsor and someone to live with and a job. Also, thousands of immigrants were turned away and had to return to their foreign country. Anyone with a disease was turned away. So why is it that the immigrants who have Covid are not only admitted to this country, but then bused to other parts of our country? Our children were kept out of their schools for a year, yet the teachers were willing to teach the immigrants English. Yesterday, I got to read a book that is being handed out to 4th graders and I was appalled. The pictures were so graphic I could have been reading Playboy or worse. Is your school teaching your child to be a racist? The parents are rebelling; maybe you should too. I do believe our country is in a downward spiral. Will we ever recover? RAPID CITY | Jeannette and Ron Hill are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary on July 8, 2021. They were married at the Wheat Ridge United Methodist Church in Colorado and moved to Rapid City in 1984. They are long-time members of the Rapid City United Church of Christ and also enthusiasts of the Black Hills, national, state and local parks, animals, nature and many clubs and activities. Congratulations, you are beloved. After receiving notice that there would be a date set for trial, Tilsen said he went to his lawyers. Im tired of this. Every Native person is tired of this. Everyone in our community has a story like this, he said. The only way to have justice in this particular case is to drop all charges, because if you dont then youre letting that prosecutor, who says hes a friend of the Native community violate his own laws. If we dont stand up and get these charges dismissed, it means that they can continue doing that to all of us, not just me, everybody in [the Indigenous] community. In the court documents filed Friday, Tilsen claims his remarks to the media following the agreement were protected by the First Amendment and were valid and legal. The documents claim Vargo's decision to reinstate Tilsens charges were directly connected to his protected speech and were reinstated as punishment for it. Tilsen's attorneys also claim the delay in executing the agreement and then reinstating the charges violated Tilsen's right to a speedy trial. The motion contends that the new demands effectively force Tilsen into silence on issues he believes in, which he has a constitutional right to express, court documents show. "I went out on the line and when it was over, I was going to go back to bed. Well, we no more got into our bunker than they started putting in the rockets and stuff again," he said. "I had two really good buddies, Phil and Bill, so, Phil and I went out to get into the fighting position and there was one of our guys who had been all blown to crap laying there on the ground. Phil and I got into our hole. From there, they just started hammering us." Phil and Fitzmaurice had to move to another bunker, and Fitzmaurice credits Phil for saving his life. "I wouldn't even be here if Phil hadn't shot a bunch as we came out," he said. "We come running and they blew the main bunker. The other guys got buried, but Phil and I got into the fighting position and headed to another bunker." Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} While at the new bunker, he and Phil joined at least one other soldier as the firefight against the Viet Cong continued to escalate. The enemy troops launched three hand grenades towards the Americans. Fitzmaurice able to throw two of the grenades back, but one remained. It was a literal ticking time bomb. Fitzmaurice quickly covered the grenade with his flack jacket to protect his friends from the imminent blast. David Zehntner only planned to live outside of Wisconsin during the pandemic but ended up finding a home in Rapid City. Zehntner moved to the city in September 2020 and found an apartment after staying at an Extended Stay America hotel. At some point I just threw up my hands and said screw it, I can work from anywhere in the world, he said. I will go anywhere Sweden, Hong Kong, wherever I need to go, Im going to do it. I started doing some research and it turned out at the time that South Dakota was the freest place on the planet. Zehntner loaded his truck with most of his belongings and drove a little over 400 miles to Sioux Falls. I stopped and saw the falls, they were awesome by the way, he said. He looked at the map to see what else was around and decided to head to Rapid City. Zehntner said he did more research into the area, discovered that there was no income tax, found an apartment on Main Street he liked and decided this was where he wanted to live. While we are seemingly getting better at not being racist, we are getting worse at not being politically autocratic. Whether we have truly democratic or republican minds and hearts determines whether we have racist hands and feet. Today, Republicans seem to have little idea what real republicanism means, and Democrats seem to have little idea what real democracy means. Has anyone stood up and argued we need to teach critical constitutional theory, the idea that our political, business, and cultural leaders have long been steeped in ignorance, and even today bathe themselves regularly in ugly partisanship and roiling anger? Our handsome and seemingly intelligent leaders are hypocritical and autocratic in most of what they say, do, and think. How on earth are our leaders going to stop being racist, if they have stopped being American, stopped reading history, and stopped upholding the Constitution? Kimball Shinkoskey, Woods Cross, Utah Do what is right CASPER, Wyo. A judge sentenced a Maine man to serve 15 days in jail for running onto Old Faithful geyser as part of what authorities say was a stunt to gain attention. Aaron E. Merritt, 37, pleaded guilty Thursday to trespassing on a Yellowstone National Park thermal area, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for Wyoming. He has already spent four days in jail, meaning he will still have 11 days to serve behind bars. Magistrate Judge Mark Carmen also banned Merritt from Yellowstone and fined him $200. On July 7, 2020, Merritt ran up to Old Faithful multiple times while wearing a raccoon skin hat and waiving an American flag, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. He also failed to appear for a court hearing a few weeks later. Yellowstone National Park has rules and regulations in place to protect park resources and help keep visitors safe, Acting United States Attorney Bob Murray said in a statement. This case ended with federal charges and time in prison, but it could have been much worse. If Mr. Merrick had fallen through the thermal feature, he would have most likely lost his life. Former officer Andrew Delke pleaded guilty to manslaughter over the death of Daniel Hambrick, 25, in 2018 as part of an agreement with prosecutors. Delke will serve a three-year prison sentence. As part of the agreement, he wont pursue parole or appeal the case. Delkes defense team said he will likely serve a year and a half in jail with standard credits. The hearing turned volatile as Hambricks mother, Vickie, gave a lengthy statement as family members and others applauded. Other supporters, outside the courtroom in the hallway, banged on the door in support. Delke was about to face trial for a first-degree murder charge, but on Thursday, his attorney announced he had agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter. U.S. hits Myanmar with new sanctions WASHINGTON The Biden administration on Friday hit 22 senior Myanmar officials and family members with sanctions over the governments crackdown on democracy protests after the coup. The action was accompanied by the removal of sanctions on three Iranian industrial executives whom the Trump administration penalized for supporting Irans ballistic missile program. Other than certain agribusinesses, employers must provide all employees certain paystub disclosures. Failure to properly pay wages can lead to fines, damages or jail. Employers can be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor if the value of the wage earned and not paid is less than $10,000, and if it is a second offense or the value is $10,000 or more, the employer can be guilty of a Class 6 felony. Businesses who violate the law also can be liable for liquidated damages, interest, and potentially a civil penalty of $1,000 per violation. Employees also can bring an individual or collective action against the employer who fails to pay timely wages. If there is a knowing violation by a company, the business can be liable for treble damages. Employees have three years to file a cause of action. Possession of marijuana is legal in Virginia under certain circumstances. Federal law still prohibits possession or use of marijuana. Employers who conduct drug testing need to determine their policy on marijuana use. Whereupon the tragedy of the truce soon reached its horrible nadir. The result of the standoff was inevitable: a civil war that raged another 11 months from June 1922 to May 1923 and claimed another 2,000 Irish lives. John Rodden has taught at the University of Virginia and often writes about Irish history. Contact him at: jgrodden1@gmail.com John Rossi he is a retired professor of history at La Salle University in Philadelphia. Contact him at: rossi@lasalle.edu In November of 1774 six months before shots were fired at Lexington and Concord James Madison reported that enslaved people in a neighboring Virginia county had met to choose a leader for when the British troops arrived. As American patriots prepared to wage a war for their liberty from the British crown, the enslaved weighed which side offered the best prospect for their personal freedom, acting accordingly and dramatically. Far from being bystanders in the Declaration of Independence, Black people in America free and enslaved played a pivotal part in the leadup to its signing and a defining role in how we view that document today. If you love the Declaration of Independence, you have to thank Black people, says Woody Holton, a history professor at the University of South Carolina and the son of former Virginia Gov. Linwood Holton. Long estranged from this holiday born during my ancestors enslavement, I embraced the new Juneteenth national holiday last month as our true independence day. But my phone interview with Holton has me viewing the Fourth of July with more pride and less detachment. Our ancestors fight for freedom presaged Americas and gave true meaning to the sanctimonious pronouncements of enslavers. We didnt stop there. In 2019, we started going court by court across the commonwealth to release any financial judgments against poor patients. Some of these liens had been in place for 20 years. Today, we successfully have canceled nearly 80,000 past judgments. Why did we do this? Because it was the right thing to do. A health crisis should not lead to a financial crisis that follows patients for years. As a result of these actions, VCU Health System has been noted as a leader in bringing financial security and affordability to those whom we serve. In a 2020 article that appeared in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Kaiser Health News quoted a Georgia State University law professor who is an expert in hospital billing as saying that VCU Healths changes will relieve patients of an incredible financial and emotional burden. In addition to these actions, earlier this year, VCU Health System launched an online price transparency self-estimator tool for patients to supplement our already established hotline at: (804) 828-0966 These allow patients to get a personalized estimate of their likely out-of-pocket cost for a needed health care service, based on their insurance coverage. We also provide estimates to uninsured patients of their options for financial assistance. The work of realizing the declarations ideals goes on. And it often is accomplished by the very groups of people who were excluded from it at our founding. For these ideals to endure, there is work for all of us to do. That work can begin with reflection, to both understand the complexity of our past and to gain a better understanding of it. Museums and historic sites recognize that the past matters, and not just for the pasts sake. This summer, more than 100 museums partnered with the youth-led group Civics Unplugged to create an online newsfeed of activities, programs, podcasts and virtual meetups to honor the Civic Season from Juneteenth to July Fourth. We hope you will think of Civic Season as a new kind of commemoration, one that encourages us to reflect on events and moments in our past that help us understand the challenges before us and guide us in shaping a better future for us all. This weekend at Monticello and around the nation, we will commemorate the 245th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. These resonant ideals of freedom and equality, enshrined in the declaration and shaped over the course of our history, provide an important standard for our nation to keep before us. Let us invite this conversation on the Fourth of July as we commemorate our founding let us consider the type of country we aspire to be, reflect on how a better understanding of our past will aid us in building a better future and continue to have these conversations every day, and especially on Independence Day. As is customary, the dealer ran a credit check on Ramirez. But when the report arrived, it contained an alert noting that Ramirezs name matched the name of someone on a list of specifically designated nationals, maintained by the Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), who threaten the national security of the United States. Needless to say, this all was a surprise to Ramirez. In fact, the OFAC list was an add-on TransUnion product that had a history of producing false positives. When he subsequently requested that TransUnion send him his credit file, what Ramirez received did not include any mention of the OFAC alert; that appeared in the mail the next day. Ramirez soon filed a class action against TransUnion. The class was comprised of 8,185 people nationwide, including Ramirez, to whom TransUnion simply had sent a mailing during the applicable time period. Of this number, 1,853 had their credit reports transmitted by TransUnion to potential creditors. The District Court in San Francisco nonetheless ruled that all 8,185 persons in the class had standing and awarded each of them statutory damages of $984.22, combined with punitive damages of $6,353.08, for a class total of just more than $60 million. The elected body could also see further change after the election if Hicks or Bishop wins the two council members would still have two years left in each of their terms, meaning an appointment would need to be made to complete the remainder of the winners unexpired term. This years election also comes amid a rocky period for town council, which has over the past years seen multiple clashes between several members and Hicks. Last month, council voted 4-2 to reprimand Hicks over a number of activities several council members deemed inappropriate and said undermined the publics trust in town government. Bishop joined Hicks in voting against the measure, with the former saying he found several problems with the reprimand resolution itself. If elected mayor, Bishop said hed like to continue pushing for greater transparency in town government. He said hed like to help tear down notions that the town enjoys secrecy and wants to be available to the community. While Bishop acknowledges that the mayor often doesnt vote on matters (almost always in the case of a tie), he said the position is still tasked with providing valuable input on issues. A Wythe County doctor who closed his practice earlier this month has a July 6 court hearing to consider a hospital employees application for a protective order against him. Carolyn Kaye Brisset obtained an emergency protective order against Wytheville urologist Dr. Paul John Roberto Jr. on June 18. That order expired on June 21, and she was granted another temporary protective order. At the scheduled July 6 court hearing, a judge will decide whether or not to extend the order and, if so, for how long. In court documents, Brisset listed online as Wythe County Community Hospitals director of surgical services said she was seeking protection because of Robertos workplace behavior. Dr. Roberto has made statements about committing suicide and then added he would not go alone, she wrote. Brisset said Roberto had slammed his fists on her desk, yelled and made the surgical team fear his volatilityto the point where they believe he would come in and shoot them. His escalation yesterday has exceeded boundaries and his statements were threatening, forebody (sic) and nothing short of intimidation, Brisset wrote. I truly fear for my safety and life. Today is Friday, July 2, 2021. Let's get caught up. Here's what you should know today: President Biden met with first responders and comforted families during a visit to the condo collapse site in Surfside, Florida; Boy Scouts of America reaches $850 million agreement with the victims of sex abuse; and the World Series champion L.A. Dodgers will visit Biden at the White House today. Keep scrolling for today's top stories, this date in history and celebrity birthdays. TOP STORIES 'Waiting is unbearable': Biden consoles Surfside families SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) President Joe Biden drew on his own experiences with grief and loss to comfort families affected by the Florida condo collapse, telling them to never give up hope even as the search for survivors paused early Thursday, a week after the building came down. Addressing some of the families touched by the tragedy, Biden spoke in deeply personal terms as he offered his prayers and support in the private meeting. Our state mental hospitals are full and the pandemic has brought an already stressed system to a crisis point. The impact of overcrowding at Virginias nine state psychiatric hospitals has renewed calls for the state to build more hospitals. The lack of an inpatient bed means some adults and children in crisis are waiting indefinitely in emergency departments for an available psychiatric placement. If subject to an involuntary commitment order, they may be waiting in handcuffs with a law enforcement officer required to be present. This is not the way we should treat someone living with a serious illness. There is an immediate need for solutions, but Virginia already has one of the highest numbers of state psychiatric beds per capita. No two individual crisis events are the same, and placement in one of the states hospitals is only one of several ways to treat someone in a mental health crisis. State hospitals are the most expensive option, with the most restrictive conditions for mental health care. Instead of adding more state hospital beds, we should make better use of the ones we have, while expanding the tools available for appropriate care and support in local communities. And yet, the principle is the same: Children do not lose their rights to free speech every and any time an adult or an administration is offended by that speech. Justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the majority, noted that while a school may very well have an interest in student speech (as the court in Tinker acknowledged) it cant suppress pure speech with which it disagrees except in very specific, narrowly drawn situations. The fact that Brandi Levys language would have gotten a bar of soap stuffed in her mouth in most decent families was irrelevant to whether that speech was entitled to constitutional (if not grammatical or pedagogical) respect. The majority also held that if speech could be considered threatening, bullying or otherwise dangerous and disruptive, it could be subject to punishment even if uttered off campus. The point that Breyer made was that parents are the ones who should be monitoring their childrens behavior, and the fact that the Levy parents were so obviously unsuccessful in raising a dignified and respectful child did not mean that it was the schools place to do so in loco parentis. The Real Americans think they really are the Real Americans and discount anyone who doesnt look like them. (Think of how Trump so drastically cut immigration and refugees, even though, demographically speaking, America needs more young people.) The Just Americans are performing a service by making us think more deeply about our history, but ultimately their dogmatism is also making it harder for Americans to talk to one another because not every problem fits their narrative that racism is the overriding problem. There are too many things that Just America cant talk about for the narrative to get at the hardest problems, Packer writes. The narrative cant talk about the main source of violence in Black neighborhoods, which is young Black men, not police. The push to defund the police during the protests over George Floyds murder was resisted by many local Black citizens, who wanted better, not less, policing. The problem, he writes, isnt that there are four different factions, because there have always been different factions throughout our history. The problem is they seem less and less willing to agree on even basic principles that once we all seemed to agree on. Is America a force for good? Just Americans question that. MLK Jr.s famous dream that the day will come when we judge each other by our character and not by the color of our skin has been turned on its head! Enter the sheer lunacy called Critical Race Theory (CRT). At the very core of this mutated ideology is the demand that if your skin is white, you are intrinsically an oppressor and are perpetrating systemic racism. Anyone who disagrees with this premise is simply a racist needing re-educating. CRT trashes the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by cutting at the very root of equality and justice. Divinity treats us all alike. God has created ALL human beings equally with the same privileges period (a very common sense matter unless you subscribe to CRT which seeks to establish the very evil it claims to eradicate). The immense progress this country has made in race relations is rapidly on track to be obliterated if CRT is left unchecked. Make no mistake, CRT advocates are spread throughout our education system in Virginia and they have been given the green light from Richmond to covertly administer this poison to our children. Parents: be vigilant, educate yourselves, push back - your childrens hearts and minds are under attack. Binh Phuoc, Binh inh, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau all found new infections, meaning a total of 51 provinces and cities have been hit amid the ongoing fourth wave of infections. The total number of cases in Viet Nam has now exceeded 18,000. HCM City has reported more than 4,500 cases since the beginning of the fourth wave, and the number is predicted to rise as people who later tested positive for the virus had visited 55 out of the 130 hospitals in the city. The situation in Binh Duong Province is also tense with the number of cases on the rise and local leaders asking for help from the Ministry of Health. The province on Thursday asked the ministry and the Pasteur Institute in HCM City to send health experts and medical workers soon to speed up the epidemiological investigation, contact tracing and testing. It also asked the ministry to dispatch doctors and nurses to treat COVID-19 patients. Production maintained Bac Giang and Bac Ninh, two of the worst-hit COVID-19 localities in the country in the past two months, have resumed most manufacturing activities. According to Le Anh Duong, chairman of Bac Giang Province People's Committee, 222 companies with 55,400 employees had resumed operations after two months of disruption. More than 5,700 local cases have been reported in the province in the latest COVID-19 wave since April. In July, industrial areas in the province will resume full operation. The province, home to the lychee fruit, has also sold 200,000 tonnes of lychee, with pandemic prevention measures in place for truck drivers and traders. In neighbouring Bac Ninh, 997 companies with 255,000 employees have resumed operations. The province has recorded more than 1,300 cases in the fourth wave. Nguyen Huong Giang, chairwoman of the provinces Peoples Committee, said if the province suspended the operations of local industrial zones, 450,000 workers would be laid off. In that case, the economic consequences would be serious, affecting the supply chain on a large scale, she said. The move to maintain production was made with anti-pandemic measures strictly imposed. Companies provided three meals a day within their factories to prevent contagion and arranged accommodation for employees on site. Some 40 working groups to support companies were set up by local authorities. All schools are ordered to be prepared in case enterprises need spaces for workers to stay. Thanks to this, the production chain was maintained, Giang said. More than 220,000 people have been vaccinated in Bac Ninh Province, including more than 138,000 workers. In July, Bac Ninh will start construction of the VSIP2 Industrial Zone and present a certificate of an investment of more than US$300 million. The groundbreaking ceremony for another industrial zone, Thuan Thanh 1, will also take place. Many areas of Bac Ninh have reported no new cases in the past 21 days. Digital transformation and technology Last Saturday, Minister of Information and Telecommunications Nguyen Manh Hung said the pandemic could be a blessing in disguise for the countrys digital transformation cause. For instance, he said, if localities could connect vaccination information with electronic health records, all Vietnamese citizens would have electronic health records this year. In fact, the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications had the electronic health record system ready for localities to use when vaccinating citizens, he said. He cited another example regarding e-government, saying the country had been working on this for 20 years. It took Viet Nam 10 years to put public services online, but 78 per cent of people still use in-person services. If we take advantage of the social distancing period and stop using in-person services, I think it would only take a few months for people to be used to using online services. That process would take 10 years in normal circumstances, he said. The same thing could be applied to education, healthcare and e-commerce, the minister said. Technology had also helped tremendously in anti-pandemic activities, he added. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Government had established a national technology centre for COVID-19 prevention and control. Nguyen The Trung, Chairman DTT Technology Group, a member of the Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, said technology was of great help to his team in tracing cases and their contacts and other anti-pandemic activities. The virus had changed over time, so we must also be as quick and swift to fight it, Trung said. We dont try to use technology here just because its something trendy, but because we think we can raise the pandemic prevention and control capacity; our goal is to be quicker in everything compared to yesterday. Since the first wave of COVID-19 occurred in Viet Nam in 2020, the team's ability to trace and zone off virus contacts had improved remarkably. Previously, it took the team a week to trace and zone passengers from a flight, now it only takes a few minutes with the health declaration system and computer programmes that can automatically contact people at risk of infection, he said. In 2020, authorities required two weeks of social distancing in Ha Noi to curb the virus, but this year the time for Ha Tinh Province was only three days. We worked day and night to analyse data and track cases contacts. Its very normal for me to receive a phone call or text message at three or four in the morning. And in a few minutes or an hour, we have to deal with the problems that arise, Trung said. Its also normal for government officials who are in charge to attend COVID meetings at day and stay up to work at night with us, he said. Vaccine on the way The Government has announced it would provide VN7.6 trillion (US$332 million) to buy 61 million doses of AstraZeneca and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines. The money will come from the State budget and the COVID-19 vaccine fund. The Ministry of Health will use the money to buy, through the Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company (VNVC), 30 million doses made by British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and 31 million doses produced by American drugmaker Pfizer. To date, the country has received more than 4 million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine, including 2.5 million doses from the COVAX Facility, more than 400,000 doses via VNVC and more than 1 million doses donated by the Japanese Government. The Government aims to secure 150 million doses this year to inoculate 70 per cent of the population. About 350 volunteers in Hung Yen Province on Friday received the first shot of the homegrown Nano Covax vaccine in the third and final stage of human trials. The phase 3 injections will be implemented in six districts of Hung Yen Province with 4,000 people. About 3.8 million people have been immunised so far, including more than 2.57 million doses in June alone. As many as 204,000 people were given both shots. Ward plans to study plant hormones to determine if THC production can be arrested as CBD production increases. Researchers believe this could help reduce the number of plants per acre, as well as control when CBD is produced. The study will include Hurricane Hemp Florence and a hybrid variety. After this year, well know more on a molecular level of whats going on with the production levels of CBD and THC, Ward said. Once we know this, we can start writing a production guide for growing hemp in South Carolina. South Carolina hemp facts Industrial hemp was first grown in South Carolina in 2018 when the South Carolina Department of Agriculture gave permits to 20 farmers to grow the crop as part of a pilot project. In 2021, 213 permits were issued in South Carolina. In 2020, the S.C. Department of Agricultures Hemp Farming State Plan received approval from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The state Department of Agriculture works with the Clemson Cooperative Extension Service and Clemson Department of Pesticide Regulation to provide information for industrial hemp growers. During COVID, Saunders said, First Reliance was the most profitable state-based bank in South Carolina. Saunders said banking locally should have the same emphasis that is given to buying locally. Saunders said in the last 30 to 40 years the industry has lost 68 percent of the local banks in South Carolina due to consolidation. He said 60 percent of all small-business loans and 80 percent of agricultural lending is done by local banks. The banks purpose is to make the lives of our customers better, Saunders said. First Reliance also believes in giving back to the communities it serves, Saunders said. Before COVID, its employees in Florence were giving 500 volunteer hours to the community. He said the bank gives one percent of its net profits to charities. Some of those charities are United Way, Boys and Girls Club, Boy Scouts, and Alzheimers organizations. Education is high on the banks list of community activities. Saunders said bank employees go into the public schools to teach students how to save and manage money. He said it is interesting to see how many people dont know how to manage money. Saunders leads by example. Fenters said she is involved with SAILS, which was established by two female physicians that she has partnered with to do clinical research. They examine patterns in opioid prescribing to determine if people in the healthcare profession are asking the right questions of patients before prescribing these drugs to them. She said they need to ask everyone before prescribing opioids if they have you done drugs or been in a risky situation. Too many people are dying for us not to be super aggressive, she said. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} As a doctor, she has witnessed opioid addiction first hand. She said many of those with opioid addictions receive pills from a medical provider. She said as doctors they have to do a better job of screening patients. She said a person coming in for a kidney stone doesnt need to be prescribed a 30-day supply when only few pills are needed. When I first became a physician, I had three patients come in for overdoses, she said. Fenters said she couldnt understand how so many people from good homes were overdosing. She said opioids affect people from all walks of life. FLORENCE, S.C. A new face will lead the admissions office of All Saints Episcopal Day School. The school announced Thursday that Melissa Jordan would succeed Beth Hopewell, the retiring director of admissions. I have great admiration for the All Saints mission and have witnessed firsthand how the school builds strong foundations for all students, Jordan said. I love this school community and am filled with excitement for the upcoming school year. Head of School Evan Powell said Jordan is passionate about the school and its mission of providing an excellent academic program embedded with social and spiritual growth and development. Melissas intellect, integrity, and kindness will extend our school family, our relationships, and our recruitment efforts, Associate Head of School Ashley Stokes said. She exudes tremendous energy, joy, and enthusiasm for the work ahead. FLORENCE, S.C. When he landed in Vietnam in the summer of 1968, Roosevelt Wallace said, the air changed. The aroma in the air could only be described as raunchy, he said. There is nothing to relate to it, Wallace said. It didnt help that the weather was hot and humid, temperatures rising to 110 to 115 degrees at times. It was very difficult to adapt, Wallace said. He said there was never a quiet moment. You could always hear gunfire, nearby or in the distance. And the enemy was undistinguishable from the allies, he said. You didnt know who was who, Wallace said. A lot of women were Viet Cong. A lot of women got killed in firefights. Wallace was a rifleman with the 25th Infantry in the United States Army. He said their job was to go out and set up an ambush, about seven or eight of them together. They would be out all night. Roving patrols would move all night from one location to another. He said they would move around with about 60 or more pounds of gear strapped to them. The first couple of nights out, Wallace said, they didnt encounter any fighting. Todays column was going to be about earmarks and pork-barrel spending. Or why the governor decided to go against the legislature and veto a bunch of spending that lawmakers wanted. And how when any South Carolina governor picks a battle with the General Assembly, particularly over how it wants to spend money, the governor generally loses because we live in a legislative state where intransigence and stubbornness continually catapult us to the bottom of lists. But youve probably heard that kind of blather before. So instead, consider this: What we really need to be doing this weekend as we celebrate the countrys declaration against tyranny is to find a quiet spot to read and then seriously consider the 1,339 words of our Declaration of Independence. Better yet: Sit down as a family and read it out loud together. Just six months ago, a bloodthirsty mob misused and misappropriated the fundamental principles enshrouded in American freedom by trying to rip apart our democracy in favor of the very tyranny which our forefathers fought in the fields of Camden and Kings Mountain, the swamps of the Lowcountry and forts from Ninety Six to Sullivans Island. A midyear financial review is often a good idea. This year, its almost essential. With people going back to offices, travel resuming and Congress making significant changes to various laws affecting your finances, consider taking some time to check in on your money. You might be able to make some smart moves to reflect the new realities. 1. Budgeting See where your money is going now. Using a budgeting app or taking a close look at recent bank and credit card statements can help. Then think about expenses you may face in the near future. 2. Debt forbearance Forbearance on federal student loans is scheduled to end this fall, with monthly payments resuming in October. If those payments would be a hardship, contact your lenders to see if income-driven repayment plans or other measures would help. 3. Flexible savings accounts An Omaha property and storage business owner who sparked several debates at City Hall died Thursday in a small-plane crash in Iowa, his brother said Friday. Dave Paladino, 54, and a young relative were killed in a plane crash in Lamoni, Iowa, just before 8 a.m. Thursday. Lamoni is located near the Iowa-Missouri border, about 145 miles from Omaha and straight south of Des Moines. Tony Molinaro, a spokesman with the Federal Aviation Administration, said a single-engine Cirrus SR-22 had crashed west of the Lamoni Municipal Airport. Kevin Paladino said Friday that his brother was flying the plane from Omaha to a lake property in Iowa. After taking off, Kevin Paladino said, his brother realized something was wrong with the plane. As he landed at the Lamoni airport, the plane went off the runway and crashed, he said. "We're all in shock," he said. "It's quite a loss." Dave Paladino was married with two sons and a daughter. The plane, which was manufactured in 2004, is registered to Airmark Group LLC in Valley, Nebraska. According to an initial FAA report, the "aircraft attempted to land but took off immediately and appeared to stall on departure resulting in a crash." RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) A streamlined permitting process for hog farmers who also want to convert methane from waste ponds into energy will begin after Gov. Roy Cooper signed the legislature's annual agriculture bill into law Friday. The Democratic governor decided the measure will be enacted, despite dozens of environmental, civil rights and community groups urging him to veto the bill due to general permit language for biomass operations contained inside. Cooper had until July 11 to act on the measure or it would become law without him. The farm measure was one of 11 that Cooper signed into law Friday, but he provided no statement on the measure with that announcement. He also vetoed a bill that would have ended additional federal unemployment benefits created during the pandemic. The farm measure directs the Environmental Management Commission, a part of the Department of Environmental Quality, to develop a general permit for animal farm operations that allow the owner to construct and operate a farm digester system. NEW YORK (AP) All three candidates who are still in the running in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary have filed legal actions seeking the right to review the ongoing ranked choice vote tally. Civil rights attorney Maya Wiley filed a lawsuit Thursday in state court in Brooklyn seeking to preserve her right to challenge the election results and asking for all of the ballots that were cast or attempted to be cast to be saved. This is a wide open race and as is standard procedure, my campaign filed a petition to preserve the right to challenge the results should we believe it is necessary, Wiley said in a statement Friday. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and former city sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia filed similar legal actions on Wednesday. That was the day after New York City's Board of Elections posted vote totals for the June 22 primary that erroneously included test data and then retracted them. Revised vote counts posted Wednesday showed Adams, a former police captain and state senator, leading Garcia by 14,755 votes. Wiley was practically tied with Garcia, falling just 347 votes behind in the ranked choice analysis. PHOENIX (AP) They flaunted their participation in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol on social media and then, apparently realizing they were in legal trouble, rushed to delete evidence of it, authorities say. Now their attempts to cover up their role in the deadly siege are likely to come back to haunt them in court. "This is SolarWinds with ransomware," he said. He was referring to a Russian cyberespionage hacking campaign discovered in December that spread by infecting network management software to infiltrate U.S. federal agencies and scores of corporations. Cybersecurity researcher Jake Williams, president of Rendition Infosec, said he was already working with six companies hit by the ransomware. It's no accident that this happened before the Fourth of July weekend, when IT staffing is generally thin, he added. "There's zero doubt in my mind that the timing here was intentional," he said. Hammond of Huntress said he was aware of four managed-services providers companies that host IT infrastructure for multiple customers being hit by the ransomware, which encrypts networks until the victims pay off attackers. He said thousand of computers were hit. "We currently have three Huntress partners who are impacted with roughly 200 businesses that have been encrypted," Hammond said. Hammond wrote on Twitter: "Based on everything we are seeing right now, we strongly believe this (is) REvil/Sodinikibi." The FBI linked the same ransomware provider to a May attack on JBS SA, a major global meat processer. For the stand the EU takes today -- that homosexuality is natural and normal and should be morally and legally the equal to other forms of sexual expression -- flatly contradicts those Christian beliefs and values that Europe itself reflected at the EU's infancy. Do values change? Or are people simply converted to new faiths, new beliefs, new ideas and new "values" that contradict the old ones that were taught and believed for centuries? If tolerance is, as Michel declares, an EU value, is the canopy of tolerance not wide enough, and the big tent of tolerance not large enough, to include the Christian values Orban espouses, though they contradict the EU values that Rutte and others declare? Is not Hungary being subjected to EU discrimination for the moral offense of holding on to beliefs that differ from the new EU consensus? Is the EU's liberalism so intolerant of dissent it would expel an EU member who does not embrace its 21st-century teachings on LGBT rights? Not until this century in the USA was homosexuality declared a constitutional right. Justice Antonin Scalia famously dissented from that decision. After she left rural Mexico for the United States, Pinon spent a few years in Texas before arriving in Kearney at age 23. One of the first things she did after rolling into Kearney was to find a place to wash clothing and bedding. The laundromat she found was in the strip mall next door to The Cellar Restaurant in north Kearney. I saw lots of people going inside, Pinon said, so she approached the door and asked to talk to the owner. She waited outside until Dick Poston emerged and told her he could meet with her the next day. It was the beginning of Pinons 16-year stint at The Cellar. Pinon has had a variety of jobs since, on assembly lines, in housekeeping and occasionally dipping her toe into retail. Now and then she organized craft fairs and cosmetic sales events, including in Shelton, where she raised her daughter, Nadia. Pinon said it was a thrill watching her daughter receive so many opportunities as she grew up. Nadia attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney and became a cheerleader, said her mom. I tell Nadia to be grateful for what you have because nothing comes easy, Pinon said. According to the federal government, the odds of being struck by lightning in a given year are around one in 500,000. As they launch their long-shot campaigns for governor, Joshua Kuhn-McRoberts, Robert Bond and Kim West each hope to be the one. Democrats West and Kuhn-McRoberts, and Bond, an independent, share many of the same views about incumbent Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, who they hope to unseat in the 2022 election. Everybody has suffered as a result of your failure to lead in this time of need, said West, a Des Moines attorney, who may have the catchiest campaign slogan: Iowa needs a new Kim. In this time of need, when we needed a governor most, you have been absolutely ineffective, he said about Reynolds. McRoberts, who is from Waukee and works for the Iowa Finance Authority, is presenting himself as a compassionate disrupter who isnt afraid to change the status quo and reject the radical ideas of the far-right wing conservatives that have moved Iowa back, not forward. For Bond, also from Des Moines, its a matter of being the change he wants. RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) The leader of an Indigenous-led advocacy organization has gone to court to seek dismissal of charges against him related to a protest during President Donald Trump's visit to Mount Rushmore last July. NDN Collective President Nick Tilsen claims prosecutorial misconduct and violations of his rights to a speedy trial and free speech. Tilsen was among protesters arrested during Trump's visit and agreed to participate in a diversion program rather than face time in prison if convicted of charges against him. Tilsen claims the Pennington County States Attorneys Office state backed out of the agreement after he spoke to the media about it in March. In his motions for dismissal, Tilsen claims his remarks to the media were protected by the First Amendment. The documents claim the state's decision to reinstate Tilsens charges were directly connected to his protected speech and were reinstated as punishment for it, the Rapid City Journal reported. The reversal of Bill Cosbys sexual assault conviction shocked people across the country, and Cosbys release after serving several years in prison leaves no onedefendants, victims, or the publicwell-served. While some have criticized the Pennsylvania Supreme Courts decision, we agree with those who say the fault lies primarily with former Montgomery County district attorney Bruce Castor and, more broadly, the unequal distribution and lack of transparency in nonprosecution agreements and prosecutorial declination decisions. The Cosby case once again demonstrates that the prosecutor is at her most powerful when she declines to exercise her power to seek criminal charges. Courts have repeatedly held that the prosecutors decision not to prosecute a defendant is largely unreviewable. That means that most of the time, we will only have the political process to rely on to constrain nonprosecution decisions. But the political process doesnt mean much if the prosecutor operates in darkness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the wake of this case, Castor has insisted that he never entered into a nonprosecution agreement with Cosby; but as he was making that decision, he nonetheless informed Cosbys attorney that he would issue a press release announcing his offices intentions to forego prosecution and he spoke plainly with Cosbys attorney about the pending civil proceeding that was on the horizon. Castor believed his definitive stance would ensure Cosbys participation in subsequent civil proceedings. With criminal prosecution off the table, Cosby would have no cause to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. To a third-party observer, this arrangement certainly sounds like an agreement. But Castor declined to label it as such, and even worse, he failed to memorialize it in a manner that preserved the parties intentions. As a result, Castors negotiations came back to haunt him when a new district attorney announced her intention to move forward with Cosbys prosecution. To the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, this decision set in motion the trial that would effectively violate Cosbys constitutional rights. It was one thing for a new prosecutor to view the facts differently from her predecessor. But it was quite another for the DAs office not to abide by the representations that had induced Cosby to relinquish his Fifth Amendment rights. Advertisement Subscribe to the Slatest Newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. The Cosby case highlights how infrequent formal nonprosecutions agreements are outside of the corporate and white-collar contexts (which raise their own issues), and how unfairly distributed they can often be. We are hard pressed to think of nonprosecution agreements for sexual assault and other serious or violent crimesexcept of course for Jeffrey Epstein, who received such an agreement for sex-trafficking charges from former U.S. Attorney and Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta. The vast majority of defendants in these and less serious casesdisproportionately low-income and people of colornever receive any such opportunity. Prosecutors enjoy the discretion to decline prosecution, but how the prosecutor conveys a declination of charges matters as much as the bare fact of a declination. The Cosby case further shows why prosecutors should be careful to document their declination decisions in writing. Indeed, given the circumstances, we believe Castor should have made his intentions clear to all affected parties before he finalized and memorialized such an agreement. Had he done so, we almost certainly would not be where we are today. Advertisement To his credit, Bruce Castor eventually advised the subsequent DA of his conversations with Cosbys criminal attorneys. Had Castor not issued a press release describing his declination of charges, Cosby likely would have invoked his Fifth Amendment rights in civil proceedings. But Castor did his own office and the public a great disservice. The scope of immunity he intended to confercomplete transactional immunity for all related crimes or merely use and derivative use immunity for the statements Cosby made during the civil caseremained unclear, as did the nature of the conversations he conducted with Cosbys attorney. The public was unaware of Castors full intentions, as were the civil attorneys representing Cosbys victims. Advertisement Moreover, because none of this was in writing (other than a much-analyzed press release), the defendant remained wholly dependent on the prosecutor to advise later prosecutors of what had transpired. Cosbys original defense attorneythe one who reached this understanding (but not an agreement!) with DA Castorhad died by the time the new DA revived the prosecution. Imagine for a moment the defendant in question wasnt someone as powerful or wealthy as Bill Cosby. Would we want any defendant to rely on a former prosecutors memory as to what transpired? Advertisement Whats worse, when the district attorneys office fails to act in a transparent manner, especially as to historically underprosecuted crimes such as sexual assault, it undermines its own legitimacy and the publics trust in the criminal justice system. Consider Justice Kevin Doughertys concurring and dissenting opinion, which was also joined by Chief Justice Max Baer. (Editors note: Judge Max Baer is no relation to author Miriam Baer.) Justice Doughertys opinion speculates in a footnote that Castors decision may have rested on undisclosed abuses of power, given Castors shifting explanations of what he intended. To be sure, the opinion cites no specific evidence of a corrupt motive or deal. But the fact that two jurists on Pennsylvanias highest court have publicly entertained such a thought is instructive. Opaque processes damage far more than the single prosecution. They undermine the integrity and trustworthiness of the prosecutors office and weaken the criminal justice system. Prosecutors offices should learn from this episode, lest they fall into the same traps. Advertisement We should also be cognizant of the facts that led Castor to decline prosecution in the first place. According to the courts opinion, the major impetus for Castors decision was not just that he thought a conviction would be hard to winsomething that can be true in many acquaintance-rape cases due to the lack of physical evidence and eyewitnessesbut also because he deemed Cosby accuser Andrea Constand uncredible and unreliable. Even more problematic is a quote Castor purportedly made to the press at the time that, while the state would charge people for criminal conduct, it would not charge people with making a mistake or doing something foolish. Statements like these illustrate harmful prosecutorial gatekeeping of sexual assault, particularly for women who are deemed imperfect victims. Advertisement We strongly agree that prosecutors should refrain from pursuing cases where the evidence is lacking. But there is no good reason for failing to transparently document a prosecutors assurances of nonprosecution when those assurances are designed to induce a defendant to relinquish her constitutional rights. Whether a prosecutor calls it an agreement or not, she should create and preserve a crystal-clear record that explains what she is doing and why. Especially in prosecutions such as this one, she should seek the input of her peers and of affected victims and stakeholders. If she isnt comfortable with this level of deliberation and transparency, she might want to ask herself why. Given the high stakes for defendants, victims, and the public, prosecutorial powerto charge or not chargecan only serve the public good if it is carefully and transparently exercised and consistently and fulsomely documented. Police in Massachusetts arrested 11 men Saturday after a bizarre hours-long standoff that led to a partial shutdown of Interstate 95 and a stay-at-home order for the surrounding area. The standoff with the men in tactical gear who claimed to be part of a Moorish American group ended up lasting almost nine hours. In the end, it was resolved through a combination of negotiation and tactical measures, Massachusetts State Police Col. Christopher Mason said. The bizarre series of events started at around 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, when a state trooper saw two cars pulled over on I-95 with their hazard lights on in Wakefield. The officer saw men refilling their gas tanks with their own fuel and stopped to see if they needed help. The officer quickly realized the men were all wearing military-style uniforms and were armed with long rifles and pistols. The men refused to provide identification and their firearm licenses so the state trooper asked for backup and the men fled into nearby woods. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The men claimed to be part of a group called Rise of the Moors that does not recognize our laws, police said. The group describes its members as Moorish Americans dedicated to educating new Moors and influencing our Elders, according to its website. Officials said they were headed from Rhode Island to Maine for training. Their self-professed leader wanted very much known their ideology is not anti-government, Mason said. Our investigation will provide us more insight into what their motivation, what their ideology is. The scene, from a distance, looking northbound on Rt 95/128. https://t.co/WXEWjCvmdk pic.twitter.com/kkY3nHkJbt Mass State Police (@MassStatePolice) July 3, 2021 Advertisement While the standoff was going on a member of the militia hosted a livestream on the groups YouTube page, insisting they had not been violated any laws and were not trying to cause any trouble. We do not intend to be hostile, we do not intend to be aggressive, he said. Were not anti-government, were not anti-police and were willing to give them any information they need so that way we can continue with our peaceful journey. The man said they made the stop in the middle of the highway to avoid making any unnecessary stops while carrying weapons and they were traveling to their private land. Another member of the group says in the video that they are foreign nationals. The group was carrying a Moroccan flag. Advertisement Experts were quick to say that the men appear to adhere to the Moorish Sovereign Citizens, a movement that emerged in the early 1990s. The Southern Poverty Law Center describes it as an offshoot of the sovereign citizens movement, which has broad anti-government beliefs. Adherents see themselves as part of a sovereign nation and claim they arent subject to U.S. law. Both the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center have characterized it as an extremist movement. It was very fortunate that no one got hurt today, Mark Pitcavage, senior research fellow at the Anti-Defamation Leagues Center on Extremism, tells the Washington Post. Law enforcement refused to get to go into a lot of detail about the group and its beliefs. Im not going to talk about what their forum is, and what their ideology isI think theyve been pretty vocal on social media about who they are and what they espouse. Im not going to propagate thatthey can define that for themselves, Mason said. Some wondered whether the standoff was part of a plan for the group to make itself better known. These guys have hijacked social media and mainstream media in Massachusetts, to get their word out, former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis told a local CBS affiliate. Its very unusual unless the group has a plan; unless the group has been thoughtful about merging on the public scene. If that was their plan today, theyre achieving that goal. Belgian police officer punished for death of Slovak Andre Desenfants received a disciplinary punishment. The second highest-ranked officer of the federal police in Belgium, Andre Desenfants, received disciplinary punishment for failure in case of the death of Slovak Jozef Chovanec. News website Belgische Rundfunk reported that he will receive a 10-percent salary decrease for two months. Chovanec was arrested in February 2018 at the airport about 60 kilometres away from Brussels. He reportedly behaved aggressively onboard a plane board. He shoved a flight attendant because he could not sit on the seat he had chosen. A Slovak died after being detained at a Belgian airport. He might have fallen victim of police violence Read more The captain of the plane refused to take off until the airport police arrived. The Sme daily reported last August that there was footage from the airport at Charleroi where a police officer was giving a Nazi salute above the lying Chovanec and another policeman pushed on his chest for 16 minutes, which resulted in Chovanecs death. The airport police are under the authority of Andre Desenfants. After the video was leaked, he said he had not seen it until then. Internal documents backed up his claim, but representatives of the government said that it does not excuse him. Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden and Justice Minister Vincent van Quickenborne originally proposed to put suspend him from the service for several months, which was successfully objected by Desenfants. Belgische Rundfunk reported that a decrease in salary is also considered a serious disciplinary punishment. 29. Jun 2021 at 11:02 | Compiled by Spectator staff After coming off a hard fought victory in the top trot last week, Nows The Moment came right back and scored an easy gate to wire win in the $25,000 Open Handicap trot at Plainridge Park on Friday afternoon. Driver Mike Stevenson made it clear he would dictate the race and had Nows The Moment on the point immediately after the gate released the field. With a loose lead and little resistance from behind, Nows The Moment cut quarters of :27.1, :57 and 1:26.3 at three quarters, where he held a two length advantage over the pocket-sitting Joey Bats (Kevin Switzer Jr.). Turning for home Joey Bats tipped out and tried to cut into the margin, but there was no catching Nows The Moment as he cruised down the stretch to a two length victory in 1:54.1. It was the 25th career win in only 91 lifetime starts for Nows The Moment ($6.40) who now has $389,172 earned for owner Sonya Mac Donald. Alex Mac Donald trains the winner. The following race was the undercard $20,000 Winners-Over Handicap trot and Winding Hill (Shawn Gray) scored his third consecutive win after grabbing the lead by the half and never looking back to register his season's best effort, timed in 1:55 2. Winding Hill ($4.20) went over $300,000 lifetime with the win, now boasting $303,265 for owner Diane Whittemore. The 37-time winning 10-year-old is trained by Marissa Chadbourne. Bruce Ranger has been on a tear of late at Plainridge Park and Friday was no exception. Ranger piloted four winners during the day and extended his lead as the top dash winning driver at the current meet. Ranger won with Dream Chapter (1:57.2, $2.40), Moni For Lindy (1:54.3, $2.60) and Marquis Lafayette (1:55.3, $3.20) in races two three and four to complete the natural hat trick, and then added Walltocousins (1:57.2, $4.20) to fill out the grand slam. With those four tallies, Ranger now has 78 wins for the meet, 11 ahead of the second place Shawn Gray (66). Domenico Cecere trained all three horses that Ranger drove in the natural hat trick sequence, thus giving him that same distinction on the conditioning side. And he also led all trainers on Friday after those three stable members visited the winner's circle. Once again there was no single unique winning combination in the Wicked Hi-5 Pentafecta on Friday and as a result, when live racing resumes at Plainridge Park on Monday (July 5) at 4 p.m. there will be a $20,381 carryover on that wager in race six. (Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts) Woodbine Mohawk Park hosted the first two-year-old Gold Series event of the 2021 season on Friday evening and the freshman pacing fillies turned in a pair of impressive performances. Speak Your Mind was the first two-year-old to don an Ontario Sires Stakes blanket this season with a commanding front-end effort in the first $100,600 Gold division. The daughter of Artspeak-Lu Lu Q seized control just after the :28.4 opening quarter and proceeded to lead the field of seven through a :58.2 half and 1:27.1 three-quarters on her way to a 1:55.3 victory. Speaker Nancy, another daughter of first crop sire Artspeak, was three-quarters of a length back in second and Marykeeponburnin was one and one-half lengths behind in third. Fan favourite Stonebridge Thalia was fourth. She had a bit of an attitude when we started out but as time went on, boy she picked it right up and moved from, like I group them in ability when I am training them down and she was in about the third set initially and she moved up to the second set and then moved right up to the top set the last three weeks she trained and was not out of place at all, said trainer Dr. Ian Moore. Shes a nice made filly and looks good and shes very racy, she warmed up right on the bit tonight. Cambridge resident Moore trains Speak Your Mind and his son Tyler Moore of Guelph, ON drives the filly for Frank Cannon of Sanford, FL. Cannon, who bred and co-owned Lu Lu Q through her racing career, offered up $6,000 for Speak Your Mind at last falls Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. Franks very happy. His phone has been blowing up he said, everybody wanting to know about a $6,000 filly, said Moore. Were all pleased. Speak Your Minds stablemate I Love Ongait clocked the majority of the fractions in the second $100,600 Gold division before being collared in the stretch by Prohibition Legal. In rein to James MacDonald of Guelph, Prohibition Legal stalked the pacesetter from the outer lane before accelerating down the stretch to a one length win in 1:54. I Love Ongait settled for second and Better Double Flip closed well to be third. Im just really, really proud of the filly. She was one of those horses that never did anything wrong all the way training down and its really nice to see her bring it to the racetrack and do it in her first race, said trainer Nick Gallucci. I wasnt too keen when I saw the half in :57 and the 3-5 favourite on top and mine coming first-over from fifth, but good horses can overcome that kind of stuff and Im just really proud that she was able to do that. Bred and owned by Millar Farms of Stouffville, ON, Prohibition Legal is a daughter of Big Jim-Catch A Wish. The eleventh foal from $260,829 winner Catch A Wish, Prohibition Legal is a full sister to $313,770 winner Fan Court and has five other half-siblings who earned more than $100,000 in their racing careers. Shes built more like her Mach Three brother Foot Soldier, said Stouffville resident Gallucci, who trained both Fancourt and Foot Soldier for Millar Farms. Obviously shes got the stride and everything going for her that way, and obviously the desire. I wasnt really expecting to see her get another gear first-over, but like I said, training down she never did anything wrong and she was always digging. We never asked her for everything she had until tonight. I think that if we can get her through her two and three-year-old years she could be the best horse Ive ever trained. Ive never had a horse that can come off a helmet like that. She can change her gear so fast and its kind of surreal that she can do it so early in her career. Prohibition Legal and Speak Your Mind will look to burnish their Gold Series resumes when the two-year-old pacing fillies meet up for Leg 2 on July 13 at Georgian Downs. On Saturday, July 3 the two and three-year-old pacing colts will square off in their first Gold Series Leg at Woodbine Mohawk Park. (OSS) To view results for Friday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Friday Results Woodbine Mohawk Park. Be My Baby Now and Chulo broke their maidens in style at Eldorado Scioto Downs, winning the $150,000 Next Generation divisions for two-year-old trotters on Friday (July 2). Confidently driven by Chris Page, Be My Baby Now won the filly division in 1:57.4. Initially the pair got away sixth from post four, but two breakers going into the first turn moved them up into fourth. Martysmagicmoment (Ray Paver) set quick early fractions of :27.4 and :56.4 with favourite Aunt (Kayne Kauffman) sitting in the pocket and Oftom (Anthony MacDonald) third. The field tightened up as they went to the three-quarter pole in 1:27, but there was no change in position among the top four horses yet. Oftom was the first to pull with Be My Baby Now catching that cover. As the field straightened out, Be My Baby Now took over the lead off cover. Aaron Merriman and Reichers Lady took a hard left and came up the passing lane to finish second while Moments Created (Kurt Sugg) got up for third. Sent off at 2-1, Be My Baby Now paid $6.80 to win. Be My Baby Now is by What The Hill and out of the Raffaello Ambrosio mare Baby Bella. Bred by Stephanie Smith-Rothaug, she was sold at the Ohio Select Yearling Sale for $47,000 to owners Burke Racing, Weaver Bruscemi, Knox Services and Hatfield Stables. Stakes season in now in full swing, said Page. The Next Generation is my second favourite race of the year besides the OSS (Ohio Sires Stakes) final. Winning it for the Burke connections, my main account, makes it even better. Chulo shipped in from New Jersey after winning a qualifier at Magical Acres to take the colt division in 1:57. Parked and pressing on from the nine-hole, driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. got Chulo to the lead after the :29.2 opening quarter, but yielded to the pocket behind Rose Run Xtreme (Don Irvine Jr.) by the :58.2 half. Coming off Chulo's back, Dan Noble pulled Creatine Star and brushed to the lead heading to the 1:27.2 three-quarters. Chulo moved into second with Rose Run Xtra (Chris Page) just to his outside. Wrenn then took Chulo up the passing lane to win by a half length over Creatine Star. Rose Run Xtra held on for third while Voyageoficeandfire (Anthony MacDonald) was fourth. Chulo, also by What The Hill, out of the Majestic Son mare Chula was bred by Renee Spahr and is leased by Buckstone Land Livestock. Going off at odds of 7-1, Chulo paid $16.80 to win. The final two divisions of the Next Generation, for pacers, will take place Saturday (July 3). The field of nine filly pacers are in race six, while the colt and gelding pacers are in race 10. First post is 6:15 p.m. (Eldorado Scioto Downs) Woodbine Mohawk Park would like to inform the horse racing community of its upcoming training schedule. Training will be offered on Wednesday (July 7) and Saturday (July 10). The Wednesday training day will be split into three sessions with a maximum of 50 horses in the first two sessions and 48 in the final session. The Saturday training day will offer two sessions, each for a maximum of 50 horses. Sign-up will be required to train at Woodbine Mohawk Park and trainers are limited to a maximum of 10 horses per day. The training session times are listed below: Session One: 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Session Two: 9:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Session Three: 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. (Wednesday only) The sign-up links for each day next week are listed below: Training Wednesday, July 7 Training Saturday, July 10 All Paddock COVID-19 protocols will be in place for training hours, including the requirement to have all people wearing a mask. Only trainers and essential licensed personnel will be permitted through the Security check point and all individuals are reminded to complete the COVID-19 screening form before arriving. (Woodbine) Wilderness Road State Park, in Lee County near the Kentucky line in the southwestern tip of Virginia, has one simple and overriding mission. It tells the story of the hundreds of thousands of brave and sometimes desperate souls who used wagons, horses or their own two feet to travel the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap, into Kentucky and beyond, in the late 1700s. The settlers went in search of cheap, fertile land, driven by the promise of creating better lives. Billy Heck, the parks manager, said you cant overestimate how driven these settlers were. The story we share is of the 300,000 people who traveled from eastern Virginia and other places to Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina in search of new lives and freedom, he said, noting that many of them had been indentured servants whod finally fulfilled their commitments. When park visitors hear about how many westward-heading settlers were killed by Native Americans, bears, rattlesnakes, the elements, starvation and disease, many ask why in the world the families attempted the often brutal passage, Heck said. So we cant let our guard down, said Robert Molleda of the National Weather Service. "You still need to be watching this very closely. Once the structure is demolished, the remnants will be removed immediately with the intent of giving rescuers access for the first time to parts of the garage area that are a focus of interest, Jadallah said. That could give a clearer picture of voids that may exist in the rubble and could possibly harbor survivors. No one has been rescued alive since the first hours after the June 24 collapse. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said officials would resume the search and rescue on any sections of the pile that are "safe to access as soon as we are cleared. Some families had asked to be able to return to the building to retrieve personal belongings, but they will not be allowed to do so. At the end of the day, that building is too unsafe to let people go back in, DeSantis said. "I know theres a lot of people who were able to get out, fortunately, who have things there. Were very sensitive to that, but I dont think theres any way you can let somebody go up in that building given the shape that its in now. Calvan reported from Tallahassee, Florida. Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this report. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 You just have to be mindful of the dangers that being on the water can bring, Lee said. We just want to make sure that everyone is boating sober and safe. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} According to N.C. Wildlife, there were 159 non-fatal boating incidents on North Carolina waterways in 2020 with 29 fatalities. Of those, eight were alcohol-related with four of them coming on Lake Norman. Our efforts are to reduce the number of alcohol and drug-related incidents on the water, Lee said. One life lost is one too many. This is the 12th year that the nationwide initiative of Operation: Dry Water has taken place, and it is believed to be an effective way of preventing alcohol and drug-related accidents on Lake Norman and beyond. (N.C. Wildlife) has certainly done a good job of making the public aware of the effort that theyre taking here, Sample said. People know that theyre going to find them if theyre not operating a boat responsibly, whether due to alcohol or ignorance. N.C. Wildlife also took the time to remind the public that may be looking to go out on Lake Norman over the holiday weekend that they want people to be safe. An early pioneer for PIO presence in the fire service, Buzalsky shared his methods and enthusiasm with colleagues while teaching his coined program 7 Cs to Managing the Media to police and fire agencies in Oregon and Washington for the past 20 years. Its been an honor and a privilege to serve the Portland metro media market and my many communities to help Tell the Story after a tragic event, and by getting important and credible messaging out in a timely manner, he is quoted in the press release. As firefighters, we learn to climb ladders, handle hose lines and provide lifesaving care, he said, which are obviously part of the mission, but equally important to our communities is keeping them informed, something that is all too often neglected, and a job I loved to perform. The Daily News Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. +2 City, residents clean Alabama Street homeless camp to improve conditions More than half of the entrance to the Alabama Street homeless encampment, once stacked with garbage, furniture and pallets, was clear on Tuesd PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center Spokesperson Randy Querin said between June 25 and Monday the emergency room had several visits due to heat-related illnesses, but could not give an exact number. He said one of the patients was admitted overnight for additional care. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Nice guy Chuck Hendrickson is the director of the nonprofit Love Overwhelming that provides services to encampment residents like transportation to take showers and launder clothes, as well as find permeant housing. He described Majerus as a nice guy. He put a smile on peoples face, Hendrickson said. The Evergreen Terrace Gospel Chapel Pastor Luke Keilwitz said the church held a memorial Tuesday for Majerus at the encampment because he was part of our congregation. Future prevention The encampment has been located on city property on Alabama Street, near Oregon Way, for about 1 1/2 years and Longview and county officials are working to develop a formal plan for the unregulated encampment. Hendrickson said his staff provided encampment residents with water and transportation to cooling shelters hosted at area churches during last weekends heat wave. Google is working on a new Chrome feature that is going to automatically direct users away from websites that are not secure and are still using HTTP. Users will be directed towards sites that use HTTPS instead of HTTP. Google has long been a proponent of using HTTPS and it had started marking all HTTP sites as not secure on the Chrome browser since 2018. Starting with the release of Chrome 86 last year, Google also started warning users about insecure forms on HTTPS sites as well to prevent users from sharing sensitive information like banking details. According to a new post on the Chromium Gerrit website, Google is planning to add an HTTPS-Only Mode to Chrome. Once this HTTPS-Only Mode is available on Google Chrome, a new toggle to Always use secure connections is going to get added to Chromes security settings under the Advanced tab. If you toggle this on, Google is going to upgrade all navigations to HTTPS and is also going to warn you before loading any website that does not support it. The new code describes it as HTTPS-Only Mode Setting that adds a setting under chrome://settings/security to opt-in to HTTPS-Only Mode. Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome OS, Android. As is the case with most new Chrome features, this new mode will initially be hidden behind a flag in chrome://flags. (9to5Google) This HTTPS-Only Mode will be toggled off (disabled) by default, however, Chrome already defaults to using HTTPS if you do not specifically type http:// or https:// while entering a websites URL in the address bar. For some reason, if an HTTPS version of the website you are looking for is not available and Chrom has to use the HTTP version, it is going to show you a warning page first. Sites that you allow to bypass the HTTPS-Only Mode will be saved by Google so Chrome is not going to ask you again, or warn you again, the next time you visit those sites. As is the case with most new Chrome features, this new mode will initially be hidden behind a flag in chrome://flags. This HTTPS-Only Mode for Google Chrome is currently under development and in all probability will roll out till Chrome version 93 or 94 are rolled out. Chrome 93 is scheduled to release in August and Chrome 94 is expected in September. California chipmaker Broadcom settled an antitrust investigation with US authorities over allegedly abusing its position in certain markets. US regulators on Friday announced an antitrust settlement with Silicon Valley chip maker Broadcom, accused of abusing its clout in the market for set-top boxes for internet or streaming television services. Broadcom pressured AT&T, Charter, and Comcast and other service providers into agreements that precluded them from buying chips from its competitors, according to the Federal Trade Commission. "America has a monopoly problem," FTC Bureau of Competition acting director Holly Vedova said in a release. "Today's action is a step toward addressing that problem by pushing back against strong-arm tactics by a monopolist in important markets for key broadband components." A consent order approved by the FTC to settle the complain requires Broadcom to no longer make customers source components exclusively from the company. No monetary penalty was announced. "While we disagree that our actions violated the law and disagree with the FTC's characterizations of our business, we look forward to putting this matter behind us," Broadcom said in response to an AFP inquiry. The company based in San Jose, California, said the consent order worked out with US regulators is similar to a settlement announced late last year with the European Commission regarding the same chips. Executive vice-president Margrethe Vestager at that time said producers of set-top-boxes and internet modems, telecom and cable operators as well as consumers would benefit from increased competition between chipmakers. "We are pleased to move toward resolving this Broadband matter with the FTC on terms that are substantially similar to our previous settlement with the EC involving the same products," Broadcom said. "We are equally pleased that the FTC investigation into our other businesses has been closed without action." Commission chair Lina Khan did not take part in the vote to accept the settlement deal with Broadcom, according to the FTC. The prominent advocate of breaking up Big Tech firms was sworn in as chair of the FTC agency in June, ramping up the potential for antitrust enforcement. "Today's complaint reflects the commission's commitment to enforcing the antitrust laws against monopolists, including in high-technology industries," Vedova said. Explore further EU probes whether US Broadcom hindered competition 2021 AFP Local_news Cleanup focuses on marsh in wake of shipwreck oil leak Megan Carter relaxed in a beach chair at midmorning Friday in the sands along the St. Simons Sound, the culprit of Thursdays large oil leak looming over her young children and many other kids as they played in the surf. The visitor from Virginia was happily unaware of the Glynn County Health Department oil pollution advisory following a significant oil discharge from the half-submerged shipwreck of the Golden Ray. While the dwindling remains of the ship framed the background of her waterfront view from St. Simons Islands Hamilton Avenue beach, the waters sparkled with sunlight and the sands were clean. I did not know that, Carter said, referring to the health departments alert that fuel may be present in local waters and tar balls could appear on shorelines. It makes me a little anxious. Its not good news. As of Friday, however, it appears as if the beaches of St. Simons and Jekyll islands were spared the worst of the most recent oil release from the shipwreck, said U.S. Coast Guardsman Michael Himes, spokesman for Unified Command. The discharge came as an ugly footnote to another successful milestone in T&T Salvages ongoing ordeal to remove the shipwreck from the sound. Salvors completed an eight-week operation Thursday to cut away another humongous chunk of steel from the Golden Ray. The 255-foot-tall VB 10,000 crane vessel powered the cutting chain through the final remnants of connecting steel at around daybreak. The VB 10,000 then hoisted the 3,640-metric-ton section from the water and moved it away from the vessel. That is when oil began leaking from the shipwreck, Himes said. However, the leak began on the incoming tide and appeared to dissipate before the water receded, Himes said. Most of the oil that escaped the operations layers of pollution prevention teams spread into inland waters, he said. Unified Command and environmental groups reported large fuel sheens dappled with oil globules Thursday on the waters near the shipwreck. It happened during a flood tide (Thursday), Himes said. So were seeing more impacts on the marshes than on the beaches. The county health departments advisory cautions that oil globules and fuel sheens are possible in waters and on shorelines near the shipwreck during this Fourth of July weekend. Should a beachgoer get tar balls on their skin, the health department advises the use of soap and clean water to remove it. The health department says harsh detergents, solvents, or other chemicals to wash oil from skin or clothing could be harmful. Beachgoers should get out of the water if they see a sheen of oil on the surface , the caution states. Those who encounter oil sheens or tar balls are asked to call the U.S. Coast Guard National Response Center at 800-424-8802. Those encountering possible shipwreck debris on shorelines should call the debris hotline at 912-944-5620. This is the second time in recent weeks the health department has issued an oil pollution advisory as a result of leaks from the shipwreck. Tar balls did wash up on Jekyll and St. Simons island beaches during the oil discharge in early June. We had (cleanup teams) on the beach last night past sundown, Himes said. But we have not seen the level of impact on the beaches that we saw that last time. Salvage operation officials have had water and shoreline cleanup patrol teams out in force to combat the leak, Himes said. Cleanup crews are finding significant amounts of oil within inland marsh grasses, combatting it with a sphagnum moss spray, Himes said. The moss spray binds to accumulations of sticky fresh oil on marsh grasses, coating the oil to prevent harmful contact with wildlife, he said. The moss is applied with a device that blows it out of PVC piping from 50-gallon drums, Himes said. It coats the oil until natural processes such as sunlight and bacteria diminish it, he said. Repeat applications are applied in some spots. Himes said the marsh grasses prove resilient to contact with oil provided it does not get into the roots. Treatment operations are happening along the marsh grasses, Himes said. This specialized equipment looks pretty much like a leaf-blower with a hose attached to it. Its a natural organic product that sticks to the oil and allows the natural breakdown process to occur. Overhead flights and water patrols detected no new oil sheens on the waters Friday, Himes said. Cleanup teams used absorbent boom and boats outfitted with oil skimmers on the waters Thursday. Crews also employed current busters, large V-shaped craft pulled by boats at either end to envelop and collect fuel sheens and globules, Himes said. We recovered what we could on the water, Himes said. The oil migrated to the marsh, and that is what we are addressing now. The VB 10,000 is holding the 73-foot-long Section 3 aloft inside the 1-mile perimeter environmental protection barrier (EPB) that surrounds the shipwreck. The barrier has oil retention boom on the surface and sturdy mesh netting below. Within the next few days, the VB 10,000 will lower Section 3 onto a dry dock barge, Himes said. The barge will transport the section to a dismantling site on the East River in Brunswick. Once the section is on the barge, salvors will likely spend another day or two securing it to the barge for the transport, he said. Salvage crews were reducing weight in the section Thursday and Friday by washing away accumulated sediment and removing vehicles and mobile interior deck sections, Himes said. Tugboats are spraying jets of seawater to wash out the sediment; a crane equipped with a grappling arm is plucking vehicles and deck sections from Section 3. This weight shedding operation is taking place to help stabilize the ship for transport, he said. Once the weight shedding is complete, theyll have the dry dock barge out to receive the section, Himes said. Then theyll start sea fastening it. Its going to take a couple of days. But weather permitting, the section could transit out of the EPB as soon as the end of the weekend. The 656-foot-long Golden Ray overturned on its port side Sept. 8, 2019, while heading out to sea with a cargo of 4,200 vehicles. Section 3 was the fifth section to be cut away from the shipwreck since cutting began in November. Its departure will leave about 227 feet of the shipwreck remaining in the sound. The county health departments advisory also cautions anglers not to eat fish or other seafood caught in areas where fuel sheens are present. No fuel sheens were visible Friday in the waters off of the St. Simons Pier. That was good news for Allison and Billy Gregory, vacationers from Byron. By noon Friday, the couples crustacean traps had filled an ice chest with blue crabs for the nights dinner. I heard about the leak, but I havent seen anything out of the ordinary, Allison Gregory said. Everything seems normal to me. The crabs are everywhere and weve caught a bunch. Were very excited. Gregory did, however, speak with a man who apparently had a different story after swimming at the beach Thursday. I talked to a gentleman who went swimming around here yesterday, she said. He said it felt like he had baby oil all over him after he got out of the water. During the holiday weekend, boaters are prohibited from navigating within 300 yards of the EPB that surrounds the shipwreck, Himes said. The normal barrier is 200 yards. His life and literature reflect the wanderings of his people. He was born in the Pale of Settlement, the one area of Russia where the Czars allowed Jews to live. Like so many Russian Jews, he, was part of the great 19th century Eastern European Jewish migration to the United States. In the same way that Mark Twain described 19th century life along the Mississippi River, so too did Sholom Aleichem bring to life the culture of the Jewish shtetls (impoverished villages) that doted the landscape of western Russia. Just as in the case of Mark Twain, Sholom Aleichem was a master in the use of irony. His literary descriptions are so exact that his readers, often think that they know more about his characters than they, his characters, know about themselves. Sholom Aleichems characters are never pretentious, they hide nothing from us, and (in the original Yiddish) speak to us in the language of the street. Unlike so many of our modern politicians and intellectuals, Sholom Aleichem never looked down at the masses, and he understood that poverty does not mean ignorance. He found wisdom deep within the soul of those who suffer. Sholom Aleichem transformed folk culture into a high aesthetic tradition by carefully wrapping deep insights in in the simplest of terms rather than wrapping simple insights into the most complex of terms. Sholom Aleichem succeeded in transforming the French saying: La simplicite fait la beaute (simplicity creates beauty) into the language of poor and the daily life of the shtetl. Though the contagious Delta COVID-19 variant has not been identified in Brazos County as of Friday, the countys health district said this week that increased holiday travel and relaxed virus prevention protocols could present the opportunity for the variant to be introduced in the region soon. Hospital officials have identified the variant at some childrens hospitals in Houston. Numerous health experts have said the variant is more contagious than the primary COVID-19 strain. Brazos County Health Educator Mary Parrish said the current vaccines have proven effective against the variant. A scientific consensus has yet to emerge about whether the Delta variant causes more severe symptoms than does the original strain. We encourage people, if they havent yet done so, to get vaccinated this weekend, Parrish said. The Delta variant does spread very easily, and we have seen with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines that they are very effective in preventing infection. People should still use caution, especially when gathering in large groups. As much as Jack Lester was known for Lesters Clothing Store and expanding Bryans boundaries, his son wants people to remember his dads philanthropic spirit. Jack W. Lester Jr. died June 26 at the age of 81. A life celebration will take place at 3 p.m. today at First United Methodist Church in Bryan. Burial with military honors and Masonic burial rite will be in Restever Memorial Park under the direction of Hillier Funeral Home of Bryan. Jack was a local pillar in the community for many years, as well as the largest-hearted person Ive ever met, his son, Lance Lester, said, noting most of that giving was done quietly, with his father not wanting any recognition. The one project he did support publicly was the annual Christmas in the Park in College Station, which he founded and fully funded for the first few years. Most people knew his gruff exterior shell; they knew his sense of humor and took it way too literally at times, Lance Lester said. What they didnt understand was truly what his heart was and that he would give the shirt off his back for anybody. Bryan Texas Utilities General Manager Gary Miller said that if a sale is finalized, TMPA will become a solely transmission owning company. He said that TMPA would continue to own its large substation at the Gibbons Creek power plant site, and the connecting transmission lines, which leave that substation and go into Bryan-College Station and then up to North Texas where the other three TMPA member cities are. When leaders were discussing selling the mine land, Register said he ran a couple ideas past other TMPA board members, including a proposal to hold onto the land until the value increased so it could be sold for a greater profit in the years to come. He also asked if the city of Bryan could receive its share of 22% of proceeds from the sale in land rather than in money. Both suggestions were turned down. At a special meeting at the end of last month, the Bryan City Council approved a change to the agreement it holds with the other member cities of TMPA to permit the TMPA board members to sell the land if they see fit, rather than having to run any potential proposals by all four city councils. The city councils of the other member cities had previously approved the same change. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} SALEM, Ore. (AP) Hundreds of deaths in Canada, Oregon and Washington may have been caused by the historic heat wave that baked the Pacific Northwest and shattered all-time temperature records in usually temperate cities. Oregon health officials said late Wednesday more than 60 deaths have been tied to the heat, with the state's largest county, Multnomah, blaming the weather for 45 deaths since the heat wave began Friday. Keep scrolling for photos from the record-setting heat wave British Columbia's chief coroner, Lisa Lapointe, said her office received reports of at least 486 "sudden and unexpected deaths" between Friday and 1 p.m. Wednesday. Normally, she said about 165 people would die in the province over a five-day period. "While it is too early to say with certainty how many of these deaths are heat related, it is believed likely that the significant increase in deaths reported is attributable to the extreme weather," LaPointe said in a statement. Like Seattle, many homes in Vancouver, British Columbia, don't have air conditioning. "Vancouver has never experienced heat like this, and sadly dozens of people are dying because of it," Vancouver police Sgt. Steve Addison said in a statement. Richwood, TX (77531) Today Scattered thunderstorms early, then mainly cloudy overnight with thunderstorms likely. Low near 75F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early, then mainly cloudy overnight with thunderstorms likely. Low near 75F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. This EDA investment will help to diversify the regional economy by renovating the eighth floor of the St. Francis medical center to accommodate expansion of vocational training programs in health care as led by the Academy of Medical Sciences, one of six academies within Grand Island Senior High that provides students hands-on training in various programs, Martinez said. Last year, a partnership between Grand Island Public Schools and CHI Health St. Francis was announced where the eighth floor of the hospital tower will be transformed into a learning lab encompassing 20,522 square feet. The $5.92 million project will be known as the Grand Island Senior High Academy of Medical Sciences at CHI Health St. Francis. It will provide juniors and seniors with training and exposure to a variety of health care careers. Expected to be ready for the 2022-23 school year, the lab will serve more than 450 area high school students. Organizers describe it as school within a hospital. The project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the South Central Economic Development District. EDA funds SCEDD to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment and create jobs. This project is funded under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which provided EDA with $1.5 billion for economic assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for and respond to the coronavirus. EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance, which is being administered under the authority of the bureaus flexible Economic Adjustment Assistance program, provides a range of financial assistance to eligible communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Tomjack said GIPSs summer enrichment programs arent necessarily about studying. Were also looking at things like student well-being, she said. We try to build in some fun as well as academics. Late last week students at Westridge Middle School wrapped up their school-guided Summer Academy. Their last day involved testing bridges made during a math activity and sampling Chinese snack foods as a follow-up to stories read in English language arts class that focused on Chinese culture. Summer enrichment programs seem beneficial benign at worst. But some educators see little value in having students involved in activities all summer. In a Harvard Graduate School of Education interview, Challenge Success co-founder Denise Pope said summer shouldnt be about keeping kids busy, particularly in organized, orchestrated settings. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} We know that kids need a break, Pope said. They need time for free, unstructured play. They need downtime. They need time to be not in an adult-driven or an adult-led situation; they need time for kids to lead and take initiative and create their own games and play and be with nature. The 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence knew what they were getting into. As we celebrate the 4th of July 245 years later with flags and fireworks, its easy to forget that these patriots risked death to give a new nation life. If youve never read the Declaration of Independence in its entirety, this is a good time to do that. More than two centuries later, its still a good read. These rebels, who would be accused of treason by Great Britain, wrote the document in a reasoned manner, attempting to convey to the world that their cause was a just one. At its most basic, its a demand for a divorce, with one party explaining why this marriage cant be saved. Whats fascinating, though, is how the list of complaints about the king of England not only cited justification for the break-up, but also telegraphed the principles the new nation would insist upon in establishing its own governance. The entire document was a bold statement, speaking truth to power. As it established its own future, this new nation would have to find a way to guarantee free speech, particularly in regard to criticizing government. The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option. MORRIS, Ill. Enough progress has been made on a fire at a northern Illinois building containing 100 tons of batteries that thousands of residents can finally return to their homes three days after they were evacuated, officials said Friday. Firefighters in Morris poured 28 tons of cement on the burning batteries to smother hem, according to Chief Tracey Steffes, who previously warned that water or foam could cause the batteries to explode. He said the use of the cement a tactic that, as far as he knew, had never been tried before appeared to be working and that there was no longer any active burning at the building. He said firefighters were monitoring the site because the batteries don't require oxygen to burn and thus could ignite again. At the same time, officials believe it's safe for the 3,000 to 4,000 people who were evacuated from about 950 homes to return to their residences, both because of how effective the cement was and because of the air quality in the community. We have air monitoring in place, 11 sites being monitored ... and it's looking very, very good, the (air) quality, he said. The fire started Tuesday at what city officials believed was a long-abandoned paper mill. But when firefighters arrived, they found the batteries. That leaves more than $5.3 billion in reserve. The hope in many states is that the federal government will wipe out their huge unemployment insurance trust fund debts. If not, some of that $5.3 billion might be used here to cover some of Illinois hole, sparing employers a gigantic tax hike. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Elgie Sims has been telling me for weeks that he was confident the new state budget would result in a credit rating upgrade. Sims is not only a budget expert (joining the Senates budget staff after graduating from college in 1993), but hes also a bond lawyer. He knows what the industry is looking for, and he and many others did what they could to deliberately produce a well-received budget. Illinois has been one step away from junk bond territory since the Rauner days, so, no matter what you think of the New York rating agencies, the urgent importance of upgrades cannot be overstated. We stayed the course, we did not do anything irresponsible with that federal money, we paid down all that debt, which Sims said is exactly what the ratings agencies wanted to see. She said while her service was during peacetime, she went through her share of training to prepare for war. "When I was in Germany, they went out in the field, and we were practicing against different sections of the unit, your own people. It was at night, and it was like a SWAT team. You're out there and making sure that you don't get shot or whatever, but it's all in practice. ... They were training you just in case you had to go to war. That's what that was preparing us for, Hampton said. She is grateful to have made it back from her military service alive and not be involved in war. Im very grateful. Its a dangerous thing. Its very dangerous. You may come back, you may not come back, said Hampton, who had four brothers who served in the U.S. Army. Her son, Kelvin, is a U.S. Navy veteran. She said while she was not involved in war, she was not exactly injury free. "Well, while I was there, I stepped in a hole and ended up injuring my back. From firing the weapon, you got tinnitus in your ears and things like that. But, overall, I was OK. When I came out, I was able to get benefits from the military for recurring back pain and tinnitus in my ears," Hampton said. Her probation term may end after two years with the consent of her probation officer and mother. The incident that involved both Johnson and Goodwin occurred on Aug. 15, 2019 near the intersection of Russell Street and Chestnut Street in Orangeburg. A man reported a vehicle struck his vehicle. The man claimed that the driver of the other vehicle, Goodwin, told him not to call the police because she didnt have any insurance. While Goodwin and her three passengers sped off, someone inside of the vehicle fired at the mans vehicle, according to an Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office incident report. None of those shots struck the driver or passengers of the other vehicle, but one hit a pedestrian. The pedestrians friend drove him to the Regional Medical Center for treatment. Goodwin and her passengers each faced two counts of attempted murder. Charges are pending against 22-year-old Tyrone Raja Witherspoon, of 2618 Felderville Road, Santee. A juvenile was also charged in the incident, but the status of the charges are unknown. As part of Goodwins plea agreement, prosecutors dropped the attempted murder charges and a criminal conspiracy charge. Funny is stepping down as national alumni association president after serving four years. He noted that during his time as president, alumni membership has increased from 1,900 members to 2,730 members. New chapters have also been formed. Enrollment up Trustee Donnie Shell said applications for the fall are up 18%, freshman applications are up by 21% and readmissions applications are up 92%. Current student enrollment is 39% ahead of this time last year. Total graduate applications are up 80% and total admitted are up 60%. Current graduate enrollment is up 38%, compared to 2020. Through June 29, about 1,424 total students have enrolled for the 2021-2022 year, with about 437 being freshman. About 30 students have transferred to the university and 27 had been readmitted. Currently, about 7,176 applications have been received by the university and 2,220 of these students have been accepted. About 22.5% of those students who are admitted end up enrolling in the university. Sunday support meetings Alcoholics Anonymous: 10 a.m., 500 W. Wolcott; 10 a.m., 508 Wyoming Blvd.; 10:15 a.m., 917 N. Beech; noon, 500 S. Wolcott; 6:30 p.m., 500 S. Wolcott; 7 p.m., 804 S. Wolcott; 8 p.m., 917 N. Beech. Unless otherwise noted, all meetings are open. Casper info: 266-9578; Douglas info: (307) 351-1688. Alcoholics Anonymous A Sufficient Substitute: 10 a.m., 500 S. Wolcott. Info: 266-2969. Narcotics Anonymous: Noon, 500 S. Wolcott, 12-24 Club; 6:30 p.m., 500 S. Wolcott, 12-24 Club; 8 p.m., 15th & Melrose at the church. Web site: urmrna.org. Mission serves free meals open to all Wyoming Rescue Mission will host a special Independence Day meal at 11 a.m. Monday, July 5, in the Park Street Center Dining Hall, at 230 N Poplar St. Guests and community members alike are invited to attend, as is anyone who is hungry and would like a festive, filling meal. On Sunday, July 4, the Mission will serve its brunch and dinner during its regular weekend hours: 11 am and 5 pm. All are welcome to attend these meals as well. Lawyer Paul Mones, who represents hundreds of abuse victims and supports the restructuring agreement, said plaintiffs attorneys pushed the BSA and local councils as far as they could. We believe this is the best that could have been done, he said, while acknowledging that abuse survivors could still vote to reject the agreement. Zalkin and other critics note that the councils have more than $1.8 billion in unrestricted assets but are contributing only $600 million to the victims fund. Mones pointed out, however, that many council properties have land-use or donor restrictions making them unavailable to compensate abuse victims. Regardless of how much the BSA and the local councils contribute or how much insurance companies might be forced to pay, no amount can compensate the abuse victims for their suffering, Mones said. This is not a victory for anybody, he said. We are dealing in the aftermath of a disaster in these peoples lives, and we are trying to build things back with whatever raw materials we have left. Businesses around the world rushed Saturday to contain a ransomware attack that has paralyzed their computer networks, a situation complicated in the U.S. by offices lightly staffed at the start of the Fourth of July holiday weekend. It's not yet known how many organizations have been hit by demands that they pay a ransom in order to get their systems working again. But some cybersecurity researchers predict the attack targeting customers of software supplier Kaseya could be one of the broadest ransomware attacks on record. It follows a scourge of headline-grabbing attacks over recent months that have been a source of diplomatic tension between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin over whether Russia has become a safe haven for cybercriminal gangs. Biden said Saturday he didn't yet know for certain who was responsible but suggested that the U.S. would respond if Russia was found to have anything to do with it. If it is either with the knowledge of and or a consequence of Russia then I told Putin we will respond, Biden said. "Were not certain. The initial thinking was it was not the Russian government. It really was about access to health care, access to certain limited types of health care. In a rural state you may have to travel to the larger communities or out of state, said Rep. Eric Barlow, R-Gillette, who was a co-sponsor of the legislation. The bill also amends the number of members on the board of optometry from three to five. Additionally, the bill modifies examination requirements and requirements for continuing education for optometrists. Im confident the way the bill is structured and having the licensing board and the continuing education requirements that well get both access to health care and safety of patients, Barlow said. When I told Duncan and Zwonitzer that I was writing about this bill, both of their immediate comments were about how messy and drawn out passing this legislation was. That was a messy, ugly fight, Zwonitzer said. It was one of the ugliest battles weve had in the state. Medical bills can be that way. Theyre rarely a slam dunk, Barlow said. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. Lofgren is chairwoman of the Committee on House Administration, which has oversight of the U.S. Capitol Police. She has been a member of the House since 1995 and is an immigration attorney and immigration law professor who participated in the impeachment process for three presidents Trump, Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon, the latter as a congressional staffer. She said making the Capitol safer is not a substitute for what happened on Jan. 6th: She said: Who paid for it? How was it organized? We need to find that out to keep the country safe. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Schiff is chairman of the House Intelligence committee and best known as the leader and public face of Trumps first impeachment for his actions involving Ukraine. He has served in the House for two decades and prior to entering Congress served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles and as a state senator. He expressed dismay on Twitter that only two House Republicans voted for the select committee: An attack on the Capitol. The Article I branch of our government. Our temple of democracy. If Republicans wont support that, what will they support? Only what Trump wants. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Education is essential to our community and the sovereignty of all Native people, Ridgley said Monday. I thank Governor Polis and Colorado legislators whove taken this important step to improve our access to colleges and universities while simultaneously striking down harmful school mascots that promote racist, derogatory stereotypes against American Indians. At least five high schools in Wyoming still use American Indian mascots or as names for their sports teams. Two of them are on the reservation and have deep ties to the communities there: Wyoming Indian and St. Stephens Indian School. Wyoming Indian, we did that as a community, Dresser said. It shows the strength of the community and the tribes. Cheyenne Centrals mascot, however, is an American Indian, and Worland High and Star Valley High both depict an American Indian as the face of their sports teams. They think theyre honoring us, but theyre not, Dresser said. Its 2021; when you use caricatures as Native American Peoples, its harmful for individuals. While Wyoming hasnt banned Native American mascots or offered a discount for Native American college students, Dresser hopes to have similar conversations with Wyoming lawmakers soon. This just shows Colorados view on the tribes, he said. Theyre honoring us by fulfilling a lot of the treaties. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. JACKSON When Kate Birmingham looks at the cracked stucco, fading pink exterior walls of one of Mormon Rows trademark relic residences, its easy for her to imagine the homes history. John Moulton homesteaded the property, proving up the substandard farmland surrounding the structure about the time he met Bartha. She traveled to Mormon Row to act as a midwife to her sister, who was married to Johns brother. John and Bartha married in 1917 and soon had four children to raise. They belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints how Mormon Row got its name. A century ago, before becoming Grand Teton National Park, the area also was known as the town of Grovont. The couple raised their family in a tiny homesteader cabin before building the Pink House and before the arrival of electricity a modern convenience that came in the 1950s. One of the most compelling stories about the people who lived here is that they really persevered, said Birmingham, the parks branch chief of cultural resources. They lived here year-round, and the crosswinds on Antelope Flats in the winter are pretty brutal. It is disconcerting that the person making the argument is associated with a program dependent on government funding, suggesting there might be bias in the assertion of the cornucopia of revenue to be received by state government if we, went full socialist. Putting the full socialist comment aside, the obvious retort to Colschs capacity argument is, who are you to decide what my capacity is; what I need and dont need? The proponents of the Colsch argument err in another way. They assume (and want you to assume) that revenue lost from the collapsing mineral industry must be replaced. That assumption is not necessarily valid. This states economy has changed. The government that was erected to assist, regulate and oversee the extractive industries needs to change also. Not only are there government missions and functions that may no longer be necessary given the changes in Wyomings economy, there are efficiencies waiting to be implemented for those missions and functions which are still important. A worthwhile task would be to differentiate between what is necessary and what is not; to identify and implement efficiencies that will save precious taxpayer resources. This task should precede any tax increases. Wyoming is experiencing some tough times but no tougher than others we have lived through. Wyoming doesnt need to go, full socialist. We may not even need to raise taxes if enough outdated or unnecessary government functions are discarded and enough operational efficiencies are identified and implemented. Ray Hunkins is a retired attorney and rancher who was the Republican nominee for the office of Wyoming governor in 2006. He can be reached at ray@rayhunkins.com. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 7 WHY do we do the things we do? Whats fuelling our choices? Both introspective, soul searching questions are at the heart of Lisa-Anne Juliens first novel If You Save Me published by Kwela Books. The novel revolves around four men and a little girl and spans three countries: T&T, the UK and South Africa. It centres arounds Carl, a South African, London-based surgeon who performs living donor liver transplants. the Government should not come at this 11th hour, weeks before the expiration of the Commissioner of Polices contract, to make substantial changes to the selection process for the CoP and deputy commissioners when it had three years to do so. Trinidadian Akil Inniss, who was stuck in the United States due to Trinidad and Tobagos border closure, will never get the chance to return home as he contracted Covid-19 and died of the virus last month. Inniss left Trinidad a week before the borders closed in March 2020 to go to New York to seek medical attention. It is easy to talk and criticise others when your belly and the bellies of those that concern you are filled. I would like our politicians to know that in helping the less fortunate and needy in this pandemic you are not doing anyone a favour. Sometimes the black sheep is the only one telling the truth. As I read the Express Editorial dated Sunday July 4, that phrase came to mind. The editorial chose to defend the Ministry of Healths medical team, unceremoniously attacked the Leader of the Oppositions stance of questioning the competence of the medical team in their response to Covid-19 over the past 15 months. Watershed Management Group recently partnered with residents along the ditch and staff members at the Gregory School to plant about three dozen locally sourced velvet mesquite saplings where the forest used to be. Property owners are watering those plants for now, but eventually the trees could be irrigated with harvested rainwater or flows from the ditch. I really appreciate the people who are working to try and make this happen, Maywood said. Seeking answers At the moment, the restoration group is searching for a technician who can inspect the old irrigation system, determine why it stopped working and figure out how or maybe if it can be fixed. Thomas thinks the works may have been clogged by debris or inadvertently severed by construction along Pantano Wash, possibly for the Chuck Huckelberry Loop. Extended drought or groundwater pumping closer to the head of the ditch might also be to blame. Spicer said they hope to be able to get the water flowing again, even sporadically, to help the mesquite forest, but a lot of unanswered questions remain, including how they will pay for any work that needs to be done. While Gerald and LaBaer are concerned about the Delta variant, neither think it will likely overwhelm the states hospitals with COVID-19 patients. They both said that overall immunity is high enough in Arizona to avoid this. About 50% of Pima County and 43% of Arizona is vaccinated, according to the CDC, as of Friday. Weve seen the vaccination rate in Arizona slow quite a bit, LaBaer said. We are still getting vaccines into arms daily, but not at the rate we were. The more people we get vaccinated, the less we have to worry about these variants. The slowing vaccination rate doesnt make us especially vulnerable to the Delta variant due to a large number of people who have recovered from COVID-19, even though the strength of their immune response may vary more widely than if they had been vaccinated, Gerald said. Gerald and other health experts in the state want to know the number of vaccinated people who were previously infected. With these data in hand they could better assess the states vulnerability to new variants because they could determine the number of people who have not been infected or vaccinated. But the plan has hit some speed bumps at the city of Tucson, and Kozachik has vowed to invoke the Gateway Corridor ordinance to stop the project. In May, a city zoning examiner denied TEPs request for a special exception land-use permit to build the new Vine substation, which would be built on the north end of the UA Banner campus and next to the Jefferson Park Neighborhood and link the two major sections of the Kino line. The examiner said he could not determine the line proposals compliance with other area development plans because the line route in and out of the substation hadnt been determined. Barrios said TEP will refile the for the permit after it has filed its final route with the ACC. But Kozachik said TEP will still have to deal with the Gateway Corridor ordinance prohibition on overhead power lines. The ordinance that we have mandates underground utilities on Gateway Corridors and that's what Kino is and it goes all the way to River Road, he said. So they need to square that circle and decide whether they want to pursue that alignment with that understanding. Still, rangers had seized an undisclosed number of guns and cited people for things as minor as a cracked windshield. Other charges involved marijuana and methamphetamine possession. For decades, the Rainbows have complained that law enforcement assigned to patrol them have used any excuse to pull them over and search them. Prince said she and another woman were searched on their way into the gathering, and her friend's marijuana stash was seized. New Mexico this week legalized the recreational use of marijuana, but it's still illegal on federal land. They pulled people over and took all their weed, Prince said. Pulled over a couple of grandmas. The gathering normally boasts a giant bakery, hauled up mountainsides by hand and constructed out of metal barrels. Volunteers crank out as many as 8,000 dinner rolls per night from their perch in the woods. It takes about 35 of us to make the magic happen, said long-time Rainbow member Darrell Schauermann of Taos. There are perils that can come with camping in a remote spot at high altitude. PHOENIX When two police officers found Dante Butzberger sitting in a walk-in closet at his familys Scottsdale home, the 14-year-old refused to leave. Dyslexia and ADHD had made his time in eighth grade so miserable that not even the police could convince him to attend school. His mother, Dolores Tropiano, had called police out of frustration and desperation. Her son hated middle school, and faculty would not provide the extra in-class help she knew he needed. Left with no other options, Butzbergers mother contacted an attorney to force the Scottsdale Unified School District into action. It worked. The teenager got the help he needed in the form of a 504 plan, a federal civil rights protection designed to give students with disabilities equal access to public education. The plans are typically for students who dont qualify for special education but have conditions such as ADHD or anxiety that still interfere with learning. Plan benefits range from extra time on exams to less homework, and 504s can even shield students from expulsion. The double time on tests was the most helpful thing I ever received, said Butzberger, now 18 years old and an incoming high school senior. If I was rushing to do all those tests, I do not see myself being as successful as I was. Trumps efforts to overturn Bidens victory has been roundly rejected by courts at every level, including by judges appointed by the former president. Trumps attorney general has also said there was no widespread fraud in the U.S. that would have changed the results of the election. Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Washington, said she tuned in for part of Mastriano's presentation Wednesday. I dont know the ins and outs. I dont know whos going to pay for an audit. I dont know how extensive it might be, Bartolotta said. I do know that there are millions of Pennsylvanians who have questions and concerns and there is a lack of trust. She said she was not sure what the next step might be. But, she said, she wanted to ensure the cost is not borne by state taxpayers. I want to be absolutely certain that anything were doing if anything gets done is done in a legal way and is constitutional, Bartolotta said. RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) The Palestinian Health Ministry says Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man Saturday evening during clashes in the occupied West Bank. Also Saturday evening, Israeli aircraft struck several militant sites in the Gaza Strip in response to incendiary balloons Palestinians launched from the territory to Israeli farmland across the frontier, the military said. Local media reports said a Palestinian man was seriously wounded in the airstrikes. The ministry identified the slain man as Mohammad Fareed Hassan, 20, from Qusra village near Nablus city. The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported that Hassan was shot in the chest as residents confronted settlers who stormed the village from a nearby settlement. It said Israeli troops accompanied the settlers. Palestinians have been holding weekly protests against the expansion of Israeli settlements at several locations of the West Bank. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want it to form the main part of their future state. Nearly 500,000 Israelis live in more than 130 authorized settlements and dozens of outposts across the occupied West Bank. Opinion: Some letters writers say the fireworks should be cancelled because it is so dry and there have been so many fires. Share your thoughts in a letter. tucson.com/opinion The following column is the opinion and analysis of the writer: Tomorrows the Fourth here and sure as drought we Tucsonans will appreciate the fireworks that will bring us together with oohs and aahs, followed by the inspirational brush fires. We may even find time to think fondly of our Founders for a second or two, in spite of their dithering on human bondage, because, at the very least, renouncing the rule of monarchs and granting ourselves the right to free expression, the task of perfecting our very own union, and the freedom to be Unitarians, Scientologists, Southern Baptists, Buddhists, Hassidic Jews or even a heathen, damned to perdition, is a fairly good bargain worth toasting. Independence Day falls on Sunday this year, meaning every patriot in the Old Pueblo will wake to the sound of roosters crowing followed by church bells clanging, beckoning our neighbors to their haciendas of worship in every barrio and burb. Mine eyes have seen the Glory and well hear it down the street and across our valley, the soft murmurs of We standing together singing hymns of praise and God Bless America. Well pray for our Country and beseech our Gods for rain. E Pluribus Unum, pax vobiscum. Food truck roundups and new food trucks ready to hit the streets with tasty bites in Tucson, Arizona, Sahuarita, Vail and more For many people, societal biases and quasi-legal obstacles can be barriers for trying medical marijuana, even if their primary care doctors recommend it. Thats where people like Bill Meeks, a Tucson cannabis coach, come in. Two companies added some flavor to their food preparation businesses Friday. Old World Spices and Seasonings of Overland Park, Kansas, announced that it has acquired Ponca City-based barbecue sauce firm Head Country. The companies will pursue wider availability of Head Country products, together with meeting the increased demand for the award-winning line-up of barbecue sauces, seasonings and marinade that have helped Head Country make its mark in the south-central United States. Head Country production and distribution will continue without interruption at its Ponca City plant, which employs 35 people. A regional favorite for nearly 75 years, Head Country has been the market share leader in Oklahoma for decades with barbecue sauces, seasonings and marinade. It is the third-largest market share leader in the south central region, the fifth-largest in Dallas and in the top 10 nationwide. Old World Spices and Seasonings, which started in 1977, is a manufacturer of custom-blended spices, private-label seasonings, dry food products and sauces. Between its manufacturing facility in Concordia, Missouri, and its headquarters in Overland Park, Old World employs 135. All of those guys have the ability with the right amount of marketing and promotionsto make a small-town museum like Wagoners into a national treasure. Furnas, who works for Halsey, said the museums flair, coupled with its exclusive displays of musical and historical contents, is already a nationally worthy exhibition. By bringing this (museum) here, people can point to their own city council or the mayor and say, yeah, we get it. We understand it. This is why its here. This is the place that brings people to town and says we know our music history. Furnas said. It hasnt been an easy feat to get the museum to the pristine caliber its in now. Rewind a few years back and Wagoner Mayor Albert Jones (AJ) would be the first to tell you the museum wasnt well attended. The carpets were old, and many historical items were not well organized. Thankfully, a few dollars later, the museum went through a total facelift. The carpet was ripped out and new exhibits were brought in, among other things. Most notably, the museum was split in two parts: The Jim Halsey country music collection of individuals and groups he managed and the early history of Wagoner from 1887-1907. Jeff Stava, manager of TCF Greater Tulsa and chief operating officer of the Tulsa Community Foundation, said, Tulsa community leaders believe that direct air service to key, major markets is important for economic development and tourism for Tulsa and the Tulsa region and are committed to ensuring we get those connections for our community. The LLC wants to raise $15 million in public and private funds over a three-year period to support nonstop flight efforts, Stava said. Other cities Tulsa is targeting are New York, Seattle and San Francisco. Were trying economic development impact in the region with the federal dollars, Sallee said. Air travel, tourism are industries that have been impacted. Anything we can do to assist in the recovery and utilize the federal funds, we want to do that. The airport is certainly in my district (Tulsa County District 1), and Ive been a big advocate on air travel and investment that American Airlines continues to make in north Tulsa County, Sallee continued. To attract carriers from across the country to do direct flights to Tulsa is a game-changer in a lot of ways, not just for tourism but for the business climate. It makes a statement. It tells the world Tulsa is open for business, and it opens new opportunities for many industries. When it first opened to the public in 1975, the Pedestrian Bridge began at 29th Street and Riverside Drive and ended abruptly in the middle of This is particularly impacting our lower level tent sites on A & C loop and could potentially impact our aqua park wibit [floating play area] on the lake, the post reads. With this being said, we anticipate to still be able to remain open during this unfortunate event. Flooding at Keystone Lake has also created hazards for holiday boaters. Floating debris flowing across the lake has been reported in Facebook posts by the Highway 48 Marine boat service and the Edgewater RV Park. In mid-June, the Grand River Dam Authority confirmed blooms of blue green algae in the Horse Creek area of Grand Lake. The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality recommends avoiding all contact with water containing blue green algae, which can be toxic. Pets and children should be closely watched in areas where blue green algae is spotted. In the water, blue green algae can resemble thick pea soup, green paint or bluish, brownish, or reddish-green paint, according to the GRDA statement. With COVID-19 cases on the rise across the state, health officials are urging Oklahomans to take some precautions as they celebrate the Fourth of July. The Oklahoma State Department of Health released two sets of guidance for vaccinated and unvaccinated Oklahomans to help mitigate virus transmission through the weekend. We hope you take this time to relax with family and friends, said Dr. Lance Frye, health commissioner for the state of Oklahoma, in a news release. However, we want everyone to be cautious when gathering this weekend, especially if you have not been vaccinated, as some areas across the state are seeing an uptick in recent case numbers. Fully vaccinated people dont need masks when gathering indoors or outdoors with other fully vaccinated people, according to CDC and Health Department guidance, unless required by businesses or local laws, but vaccinated people can still wear a mask, especially when attending a crowded gathering with unvaccinated people. Take the celebration outside, especially if vaccinated people are meeting with unvaccinated people, health officials said. The Health Department and the CDC recommend that unvaccinated people wear masks if they plan to gather indoors with people outside their household. With that accomplished, he added, its time for us to basically reinvest and improve the health care of our population. Cliff got the job because he has a diverse background from the physician standpoint, Warren said. He has a diverse background from an entrepreneurial standpoint. It was obvious to us that he gets the fact that, really, consumers are driving the health care decisions, and we need to do all we can to be the patients one-stop shop for all things health care. Robertson said another goal for his first few months is to begin to understand what Saint Francis might be able to do differently that could better meet the needs of the community. For that he will turn to the community itself. My commitment to Tulsa and really the eastern half of the state of Oklahoma is: I will be out there; Ill be present, and Ill be meeting with community leaders, business leaders, as much as I can just to learn from them what their challenges are, Robertson said. Weve got an incredible mission to serve those that are the most underserved, and that does not go away. But we also have to serve other parts of the community and do that right and do that well. Byhalia Connection also has said the pipeline route was not driven by factors such as race or class. The company denied accusations of environmental racism that emerged after a Byhalia Connection land agent said during a community meeting that the developers took, basically, a point of least resistance in choosing the pipelines path. Project officials had reached deals with most landowners on the planned pipelines route to use their land for construction. A few holdouts were taken to court. The pipelines lawyers sought eminent domain, long invoked by governments to claim private property for public-use projects. Lawyers for the holdouts argued that eminent domain could not be used in the case of a private company seeking to build an oil pipeline in Tennessee. In April, Byhalia Connection said it was going to pause the legal action after the Memphis City Council began considering an ordinance that would have made it harder for the company to build the pipeline. No vote has been held on the ordinance, which was one of several strategies meant to put public pressure on Plains and Valero. A pickup truck ensnared by a 6-foot privacy fence in a neighborhood yard east of downtown Tulsa spun its tires after the wanted driver had tried to flee from a U.S. Marshals Service task force duo in a Jeep. Trooper Brian Costanza got out of the Jeeps passenger side and positioned himself behind the pickup. His partner, a Tulsa County sheriffs deputy, said he saw the pickup begin to drive in reverse and worried for Costanzas safety, so he rammed it with the Jeep in the same moments Costanza reportedly fired at least 10 gunshots toward the cab. Two rounds struck William Aubrey Martin III in the back of his head, killing him, on June 27, 2019. Less than a month later, OHP troopers and McAlester police chased a shoplifting suspect at high speeds and wound up in a residential neighborhood, where a trooper spun out his vehicle, sending it into a yard. After getting out of his cruiser, Trooper Garrett Gray pointed his pistol at the driver, Mark Anson Schoggins, as the two made eye contact. Another trooper told Schoggins to stop, but Gray shot him three times in his chest through the windshield when Schoggins vehicle accelerated forward. Were excited about what we see in the new museums look, including big windows to embrace the beauty of the surrounding Osage Hills; an open upper-level patio that will face west; open gallery space to display the permanent collection in an appropriate fashion, and more than 13 miles of walking/bike trails that will ultimately connect with trail networks throughout the city. The new Gilcrease rises from the wooded hills of Tulsa as a natural complement to its surroundings, a work of man and nature, not man alone. It is part of the world that surrounds it, an organic node of art in one of the loveliest settings in our state. Its a building that the people of Tulsa can treasure almost as much as what is held within. Its a monument to those who planned, funded and designed it. Congratulations, all. To get to that vision, the museum will close to the public Monday. Groundbreaking likely will take place in winter 2022. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. Thats a long time. We will miss Gilcrease, but the absence will only be temporary, and it will be followed by a new, spectacularly beautiful replacement that will serve our community and its collection for generations to come. Vietnams University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) is considering awarding some US$1 million worth of scholarships to foreign students in the coming time, the schools headmaster has said. A total of 170 scholarships worth $1 million will be granted to international students in the academic year 2021-22, said Prof. Dr. Su Dinh Thanh, the UEHs principal. These scholarships include 100 undergraduate scholarships, 50 scholarships for masters degree and 20 fellowship scholarships. They will be granted during the official training period of the academic year, including funding of 50 to 100 percent of the tuition and boarding costs depending on the type of partial, full or excellent scholarships. Such scholarships will be given to foreign students who are admitted into training programs taught in Vietnamese or English at the UEH, but they are not exchange students or those nominated for training under treaties. In addition, scholarship winners must be those who have yet to receive any scholarship in Vietnam. Foreign students do not need to prepare application for such scholarships, since the UEH will directly select qualified candidates from their enrollment documents and grant appropriate scholarships for them. Excellent scholarships will be kept unchanged throughout the official study period, while full and partial scholarships will be subject to upgrade or downgrade depending on academic achievements of the beneficiaries of such scholarships, Dr. Thanh said. This policy aims to motivate students to strive for better schooling results to maintain their scholarship levels during their study at the school, the principal added. The UEH, established in 1976, has been detached from the Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City since 2000 to operate under the administration of the Ministry of Education and Training. As shown on its website, the university has been recognized in the Top 1000 Best Business Schools globally, and in 2020 it was ranked in the Top 5 National Universities by several prestigious international publications in Vietnam. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Here are todays leading news stories: COVID-19 Updates -- The Vietnamese Ministry of Health on Saturday morning confirmed 239 new local cases of COVID-19, including 215 in Ho Chi Minh City, increasing the countrys tally to 18,360, according to the Ministry of Health. -- Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City will collect more than 100,000 samples for COVID-19 testing from students and teachers participating in the national high school exam graduation this year. -- Vietnams Ministry of Transport has decided to suspend domestic flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Thanh Hoa, Quang Nam from July 4 and between Ho Chi Minh City and Thua Thien Hue from July 5 as COVID-19 infections surge in the southern metropolis. -- Two patients in Ho Chi Minh City and one in the northern province of Bac Ninh have recently died from coronavirus-related complications, raising Vietnam's COVID-19 death toll to 84, the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control reported on Friday night. Society -- Two people were killed and one other injured after a truck overturned and crashed into a mountainside in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong on Friday. -- A 50-year-old woman was confirmed dead after a house in an isolated alley in Thu Duc City was engulfed in a conflagration on Friday. -- Police in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh on Friday have initiated legal proceedings against a 37-yeard-old man for raping two young girls earlier this month. Business -- MUJI, a Japanese retail company which sells a wide variety of household and consumer goods, announced its first flagship store in Hanoi will open on Saturday in Vincom Center Metropolis. World news -- South Africa registered more than 24,000 cases of COVID-19 on Friday, its highest tally of new infections since the pandemic began, as a third wave of the virus spread through a population in which just 5 percent have been vaccinated, according to Reuters. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Police in the southern Vietnamese province of Binh Phuoc said on Friday that they had arrested four Chinese nationals who made illegal entry into Vietnam, thanks to reports from some local residents. Local people in Hung Chien Ward of Binh Long Town, Binh Phuoc discovered four strangers with suspicious signs and reported them to local authorities on Thursday evening. Hung Chien Ward's police officers then came to inspect the four strangers and found that they are Chinese. After detaining the four Chinese people, the officers discovered an allegedly-related four-seater car parked in the same neighborhood. Upon the functional forces inspection, the car driver, 42-year-old Tran Van Toan hailing from southern Kien Giang Province, said that an unknown person had hired him to come to Hung Chien Ward from southern Binh Duong Province to pick up the four Chinese. The driver and the Chinese group later tested for COVID-19, with all of their results returning negative. They have been sent to a centralized quarantine facility in the locality. This is not the first time police in Binh Phuoc have detected cases of Chinese people entering Vietnam illegally. They have arrested more than 70 Chinese people in over ten cases of unlawful entry since the beginning of this year. The border jumpers, aged between 16 and 30, came from the Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, and Hunan. The majority of them said that they had made illegal entry into Vietnam from the northern border region, before traveling by road to southern provinces, taking a car to Binh Phuoc and seeking to travel to Cambodia to find work. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnams business hub Ho Chi Minh City, which has recently topped the country in new daily COVID-19 infections, has allowed many retailers of essential goods to resume operation with strict epidemic prevention rules applied. After days of suspension, many traditional markets, supermarkets and shops in the city have welcomed their customers again since Friday, after being confirmed by competent agencies as meeting epidemic prevention and control requirements. Before business resumption to provide essential goods for the public, these outlets have disinfected their premises and taken other safety precautions under instructions of local health authorities. Employees currently working at the re-opened retail points are those who are not related to any previously confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases, or those who have tested negative for coronavirus. Within Friday, about 10 outlets of essential goods, reopened to serve the shopping demand of customers. A representative of MM Mega Market An Phu Center in Thu Duc, a municipal city of Ho Chi Minh City, said the facility resumed operation on Friday, two days after lockdown due to COVID-19 outbreaks. The supermarket received not so many shoppers on the re-opening day, while prices of goods at An Phu have been kept stable, even for commodities in high demand, said Nguyen Duc Toan, executive director of the supermarket. An Phu is trying its best to fulfill online purchase orders that have soared recently, Toan added. AEON Vietnam, another large retailer, also received customers again at the AEON Mall Tan Phu Celadon in Tan Phu District on the same day, after several days of suspension. Similarly, many outlets of Vinmart and Co.opmart, as well as five convenience stores of Saigon Co.op, Bach Hoa Xanh and Satrafood, resumed business on Friday. By the end of Friday, 105 traditional markets, including one wholesale market, and 65 supermarkets and convenience stores had been shut down temporarily due to the COVID-19 impacts, according to statistics of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade. In a report issued on Saturday morning, the Ministry of Health confirmed 239 new COVID-19 cases, all domestically detected, of which 215 cases were recorded in Ho Chi Minh City. The new cases have taken the countrys tally of patients to 18,360, including 7,395 recoveries and 84 deaths, since early 2020. The city, where nearly 5,000 COVID-19 cases have so far been confirmed, has recently led the country in daily new infections, with hundreds of new patients reported every day. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Authorities in northern Bac Giang Province have found one COVID-19 case among thousands of workers at a company in Van Trung Industrial Park, Viet Yen District after they underwent mass testing early this week. Luxshare ICT Ltd., an assembler of Apples AirPods wireless earphones, in Van Trung Industrial Park had its workers tested for COVID-19 on June 29 in preparation for the resumption of its operations, which have been suspended since Bac Giang became a COVID-19 hotbed in Vietnam in early May. Poor testing organization resulted in a sea of workers standing side by side, with no social distancing, at the company on the testing day. Before the operation suspension, the Vietnamese AirPods maker had hired about 22,000 workers. Functional forces did not announce the number of workers attending the COVID-19 testing session on June 29. Of the tested workers, V.V.T., 31, hailing from Yen Dung District, had his result return positive for the coronavirus, Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, deputy director of the Bac Giang Department of Health, said on Friday afternoon. \t\t Workers wait for COVID-19 testing at Luxshare ICT Ltd. in Van Trung Industrial Park in Bac Giang Province, Vietnam, June 29, 2021. Photo: Mai Huong / Tuoi Tre \t\t T. had tested negative for the pathogen twice on May 18 and 29 and received his first jab of COVID-19 vaccine on June 3, according to Huong. T. began to lose his sense of smell on June 13 before participating in the mass testing session on June 29 and being confirmed to contract the virus. His infection, however, poses an extremely low risk of transmission, according to Huong. The medical center of Viet Yen District and Luxshare ICT Ltd. have traced people who had come into interaction with the patient, with 34 direct contacts having been found in his residential area and the company so far. All of the related people tested negative for the virus on Thursday evening, Huong said. Huongs health department has proposed the provincial Peoples Committee impose a penalty on Luxshare ICT Ltd. for its poor testing organization while warning other companies across the province against such violation on social distancing and pandemic prevention, Huong added. \t\t Workers wait for COVID-19 testing at Luxshare ICT Ltd. in Van Trung Industrial Park in Bac Giang Province, Vietnam, June 29, 2021. Photo: Khac Duong / Tuoi Tre \t\t Vietnam had documented 18,360 COVID-19 cases as of Saturday morning, with 7,395 recoveries and 84 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health. The country has recorded 14,901 local infections in 52 provinces and cities since a new outbreak began on April 27. Bac Giang Province, with 5,658 confirmed COVID-19 cases, has been the hardest hit of any Vietnamese locale during this current wave. The provinces Viet Yen District is currently following strict social distancing measures under the prime ministers Directive No. 15. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Authorities in south-central Binh Thuan Province have decided to organize home-quarantine for people who impatiently left the provincial general hospital that is currently sealed off over suspected COVID-19 cases before permission. The Binh Thuan Department of Health on Friday evening issued an announcement on the escape of some patients and their caregivers from Binh Thuan General Hospital, which has been suspended from operating since June 23 after two cases allegedly contracted the coronavirus in its obstetrics department. The hospital earlier had planned to allow 309 patients and their 229 relatives to return home on Thursday afternoon, but then, they were forced to remain inside its campus following the detection of suspected infections. All of those patients and caregivers had their real-time PCR test results return negative at least twice on Wednesday and were eligible to leave the hospital, according to the provincial health department. However, some of them were impatient while waiting for the hospital discharge procedure and climbed the fence to exit the hospital at around 4:20 pm on Thursday. Seeing the dangerous action, the hospital security guards intended to open the gate for those people. The hospitals management board quickly came to the gate to directly persuade the people to return to their rooms and continue waiting so that the hospital could arrange their discharge orderly and safely. Some then returned to their rooms, while others continued to climb the fence, despite being prevented by police officers and the security guards. The hospital security guards once again had to open the gate for these people. The incident has raised concerns over virus transmission among local residents. In order to ensure pandemic prevention and control, local authorities have decided to isolate and monitor the above cases at home for 14 days according to specific addresses and phone numbers provided by the hospital. Vietnam had documented 18,360 COVID-19 cases as of Saturday morning, with 7,395 recoveries and 84 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health. The country has recorded 14,901 local infections in 52 provinces and cities since a new outbreak began on April 27. Bac Giang Province, with 5,658 confirmed COVID-19 cases, has been the hardest hit of any Vietnamese locale during this current wave, followed by Ho Chi Minh City with 4,936 and Bac Ninh Province with 1,611 infections. With 14 local coronavirus cases detected ever since, Binh Thuans Phan Thiet City, Tuy Phong and Ham Thuan Bac Districts are currently following social distancing measures under the prime ministers Directive No. 15. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Over 200,000 workers in the Vietnamese northern province of Bac Ninh have so far resumed work and been subject to global positioning system (GPS) tracking to ensure COVID-19 prevention and control, local authorities have said. As of Thursday, more than 255,000 workers of nearly 1,000 enterprises in Bac Ninh had been allowed to return to work after the province had basically put the pandemic under control. All the workers have received COVID-19 vaccination, which helps protect them from coronavirus infection and maintain uninterrupted production operations, said standing deputy chairman of provinical Peoples Committee Vuong Quoc Tuan on Thursday. These enterprises, which are expecting to recover 100 percent of their designed production capacity, will control their workers by requesting them to wear GPS tracking rings to ensure epidemic prevention effectiveness. Workers are required to register their daily travel routes with their enterprises. If they do not wear the rings or fail to follow the roadmaps, the tracking device will notify their employers of such violations. In order to prevent infection risks, enterprises arrange different meal times for workers and require them to comply with travel directions at work. Since June 30, all workers have been carried by shuttle buses from home to work and vice versa, without using private vehicles. Enterprises leaders and experts are allowed to use personal vehicles to travel between localities not subject to social distancing under the prime ministers Directive 16, provided they strictly follow epidemic prevention rules. Provincial authorities also ask landlords who rent out accommodations to workers to install surveillance cameras at their facilities, and check the presence of workers at 9:00 pm every day, among other measures. Every enterprise is required to organize weekly COVID-19 testing for 20 percent of its workforce. Workers in Bac Ninh see their life more difficult than before but their basic living conditions have still been maintained, as enterprises paid them up to 85 percent of monthly wage during their work suspension, deputy chairman Tuan said. Local authorities always provide due care for poor workers, disadvantaged people and workers in quarantine facilities, the official added. Despite the pandemic, local enterprises in industrial parks registered a total production value of nearly VND550 trillion (US$23.9 billion) during the first six months of 2021, a year-on-year increase of 11 percent, according to statistics. The provinces export turnover in the period reached more than $16.2 billion, up 16 percent from a year earlier, while its import value was recorded at $11.6 billion, up 28 percent. The first half of the year also saw Bac Ninh contribute about VND5.2 trillion ($226 million) to the state budget, up 24 percent versus last year. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Netflix has cancelled 4 comedy titles The Crew, Mr. Iglesias, Bonding, and Country Comfort in one fell swoop. Both The Crew and Country Comfort had aired one season, while Bonding and Mr. Iglesias had aired two. However Netflix has closed a development deal with The Crew lead Kevin James to develop a single-cam comedy series as a starring vehicle. Netflix continues business with Gabe Iglesias with third of a series of his stand-up specials scheduled to shoot soon. It has also closed on a development deal with Rightor Doyle, star of the dark comedy Bonding. Source: Variety South Australian travel show South Aussie with Cosi is switching to Seven after a decade on Nine. Hosted by Andrew Cosi Costello, the self-funded show was reportedly offered astronomical opportunities at Seven including production funding. The show currently airs at 5:30pm Sundays, strategically leading into the important 6pm news, winning its local slot. Seven Adelaides general manager, Andy Kay, told The Advertiser, Cosi had an ability to connect with audiences. He will also be working with us on some of our signature programs and we look forward to working together to develop ideas and program concepts. A Nine spokesman said, We wish Cosi all the best and we will continue to work with local talent and producers to broadcast programs that resonate with our audience. Advertisement It will screen on Seven from 2022. Local East Texas to celebrate Independence Day with fireworks, fun, music and food Cara Campbell / Tyler Morning Telegraph File Multicolored fireworks burst in the sky during Celebrate America at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Tyler on July 3, 2019. Across East Texas, residents will have several opportunities to celebrate Americas Independence Day this week and on Sunday with fireworks and fun. At Lindsey Park, the city of Tyler will host the annual Fourth of July fireworks celebration Sunday. The park is located at 12557 Spur 364 West in Tyler. Gates will open at 2 p.m. and the fireworks show will begin after dark (around 9:15 p.m.). The park gate, located off Spur 364, is the only entrance. Admission is free. Vendors and food trucks will arrive at 2 p.m. DJ Chris Choice will provide live entertainment. Lindsey Park will be closed to the public on July 4 until 2 p.m. Alcohol, smoking and private fireworks are not allowed in the park. Attendees should arrive early for good parking opportunities, and carpooling is highly recommended to help alleviate traffic congestion. Parking will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. Parking is not allowed on soccer fields and parking along Spur 364 will be allowed once all the parking lots are full in Lindsey Park. People parking on the streets should turn off their vehicles. Officers will assist in directing traffic and parking. Tyler Transit buses will also be available, running every 10 to 15 minutes to transport attendees to the park at no charge from Tyler Armed Forces Reserve Center, located at 13592 State Highway 31, and Tyler Junior College West Campus, located at 1530 S SW Loop 323. Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, located at 13590 State Highway 110 in Tyler, will host its annual Celebrate America fireworks show on Saturday with gates opening at 6:30 p.m. There will be games for kids, live music by the band 6 Miles to Mixon and food vendors (Kona Ice, Pokey Os, Ted Kamel Foods, Poke-in-Da Eye BBQ and Texas Taco). The fireworks show will begin at dusk. The event is family-friendly and free to the public; however, parking is limited. On Saturday, the city of Bullard will host the annual Blast Over Bullard featuring food, live music, fireworks and a bike parade at the high school on Saturday evening. This event, which has brought out thousands of people each year, offers local food and retail vendors along with activities for all ages, including the annual Kids Bike Brigade. The annual Kids Bike Brigade includes kids ages 4 to 11 decorating their bikes and electric vehicles with patriotic colors and items. The kids then ride around the event. Gates will open at 5 p.m. Registration for the bike brigade ends at 6 p.m., kids line up at 6:45 p.m. and the brigade begins at 7 p.m. Winners will be announced at 7:15 p.m. For the bike brigade, there will be first, second and third place winners for the most patriotic and unique decorations. Fireworks are set to begin at 9:30 p.m., and the event concludes at 10 p.m. Participating food vendors include DJs Food Kitchen, Tacos El Guero Gil, Ted Kamel Foods and Chick-fil-A Broadway Crossing. Marvin United Methodist Church in downtown Tyler will host a patriotic sing-along with readings from foundational American texts at 4 p.m. Sunday in the church sanctuary. The free concert featuring the chancel choir and orchestra and members of the churchs core worship team. Attendees will hear works from John Williams and Mack Wilberg. Marvin UMC is located at 300 W. Erwin St. The Lake Jacksonville Association will host a flotilla boat parade on Sunday starting at 10 a.m. at Lake Jacksonville by the dam. A fireworks show will start at about 9:15 p.m. that night. The fireworks show is funded by the Lake Jacksonville Association members donations and gifts from local businesses and residents. Fireworks can be seen from the water or by land at the concession and huts area of the lake. The city of Palestine will host its 2021 Independence Day fireworks show on Saturday at Steven Bennett Park, located at N. Loop 256 at Moody Street adjacent to YMCA. The grounds will open for parking starting at 6 p.m., and the fireworks are scheduled to being around 9:15 p.m. The public can go early and hang out with their family and friends. The fireworks will be presented by American Fireworks and accompanied by music from 98.3 KYYK. Other Fourth of July events in Tyler include: July 2 at 9 p.m. 1836 Texas Kitchen (alternate date: July 3) July 4 at 9 p.m. Cascades Country Club (alternate date: July 5) July 4 at 9 p.m. Hollytree Country Club (alternate date: July 5) July 4 at 9 p.m. Willow Brook Country Club (alternate date: July 5) Tyler, TX (75702) Today Isolated thunderstorms this evening, then skies turning mostly clear after midnight. Low 72F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Isolated thunderstorms this evening, then skies turning mostly clear after midnight. Low 72F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3) With nothing obtained and losses incurred, the victims of the dating app scam have been left in the depths of despair. A fraudster tries to convince, seduce, and even instruct a victim to steal money from her parents for investment. I would have ended myself if it wasnt for the consideration of my kids They are humiliated and devastated. They struggle in the pit of despair because their transactions were not protected by law. With tears streaming down her face, H.L.T. (39 years old, Hai Phong city) remembered how she got swindled out of 6 billion, which she had accumulated for many years to ensure the future for her two young children, by a Tinder account named Jacky. When the time was ripe, early in December 2020, I was prevailed upon by Jacky to invest in MMCoin. I seemed so blind to the scam that I made daily transactions of up to billions of Vietnamese dong. Around the end of March, in the moment I turned disenchanted. Then there came the realization that I had deposited over 6 billion VND." From a person with a stable job rendering handsome income, L.T. has become a debtor in nothing flat. Late nights of crying alone in her own room are due to a massive loss of both money and love. The single mother said she many times wanted to commit suicide because of her inability to face this grievous truth. My parents house was mortgaged, even my sister had to prove her income to be able to borrow money from the bank, all to provide for my investment. I also many times took payday loan with 5% interest per day to have money deposited into my account in the hope that I can then withdraw the amount I have invested. However, everything went all in vain. I was painfully aware that I had been tricked. I not only lost my savings, but also made my parents and sister debtors Many times I couldn't accept that fact. If I didn't think about my children, I would have killed myself, she continued. Despite the same situation, another victim named N.T.H.M. (37 years old, Hanoi) chose to suffer in silence for fear that the truth would be unbearable for her parents who are in their autumn years. Therefore, she daily silently endures the bitter resentment and secretly joins groups of victims of similar affairs to find a way to reclaim the money worth an apartment on the outskirts of the city. Meanwhile, H.T.T.A. (24 years old, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City) is in disquiet as the scammer threatened to publish her nudes online, which also was done to many other girls by foreign so-called boyfriends on Tinder. T.A. said that these hot photos are saved by scammers for when the victims discover they have been scammed, or ask to withdraw money, or stop investing ... The gullible can be easily inveigled into a nude photo exchange, falling into their trap. Depths of despair 2. H.L.T. fell so ill she needed to be hospitalized for treatment. Scams on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Skype... have grown omnipresent nowadays. The victims, therefore, are working together in closed groups to exchange and share their stories to find ways to bring the fraudsters to light, as well as to warn any other girls who are on the verge of being defrauded. This general consensus among the women also denotes a slim hope of getting their money back. From a legal perspective, lawyer Nguyen Van Hau, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, said that if the offenders are Vietnamese, they will be criminally responsible as Forex has not been recognized in Vietnam. However, if they are foreigners, it is dependent upon whether their country recognizes Forex or not, for this market is allowed in some countries, namely the US, UK, Italy, Cyprus, Australia, Canada, Japan, Malta, Indonesia, Switzerland, Germany and most countries in Central Europe, Eastern Europe. Meanwhile, Forex trading is banned in countries such as Belgium, North Korea, Malaysia, France, countries with strict Sharia law like Pakistan.... According to Hau, in the case of criminals operating in countries that recognize Forex, there is no agency to protect the interests of victims. Regarding foreign exchange, according to Clause 1, Article 28 and Clause 1, Article 36 of the 2005 Foreign Exchange Ordinance, only banks and authorized credit institutions can trade foreign currencies and provide foreign exchange services. Thus, citizens are not allowed to partake in buying and selling (investing) foreign exchange in any forms," he said. Data collected by victims has been sent to domestic and foreign authorities to denounce scammers. In addition, official Letter No. 5747/NHNN-PC approved by the State Bank of Vietnam on July 21, 2017, stated: Virtual money in general and Bitcoin and Litecoin in particular are not currencies and are not a means of payment legally in accordance with the law of Vietnam. Issuing, supplying and using virtual currency in general and Bitcoin and Litecoin in particular (unlawful means of payment) as currency or means of payment is prohibited. He added: Regarding illegal foreign exchange transactions, violating individuals and organizations will be sanctioned according to the provisions of Article 23 of Decree No. 88/2019/ND-CP dated November 14, 2019 of the Government regulating the handling of foreign currency penalties for administrative violations in the monetary and banking sectors. Violators, depending on the severity, may be subject to a warning or may be fined up to VND 250 million. Thereby, he also advised people to raise their vigilance, and not be lured into investing in virtual financial websites and trading floors. Currently, Vietnam does not recognize any type of virtual currency and cryptocurrency. Investors will bear risks when investing in virtual currency investment activities and virtual products. Some further information is that money transmitters transferring money at the request of fraudsters based on tricks, providing fake information to deceive users into transferring money and then appropriating this money, is considered signs of constituting the crime of fraud to appropriate property specified in Article 174 - Penal Code 2015 (amended and supplemented 2017). Ho Chi Minh City Police have granted access to the hotline phone number 0283.8413744 or 0693187680 in order that people can promptly report when property is being appropriated or scammed via the Internet. Nguyen Son Vietnamese women fall victim to deceptive men on Tinder dating app Many young Vietnamese women have fallen into traps set by men on dating sites. Vietnam is committed to developing its role in the production value chain through FDI and has been preparing for many years to improve the qualifications of its workers. Vietnam's economy has developed better than most other countries during the COVID-19 pandemic and is now in a very favorable position to lure foreign investment inflows after the China-US trade war and in the post-Covid-19 period. Vietnam welcomed the first wave of foreign direct investment (FDI) after it opened up to foreign investment in the late 1980s and the second wave of FDI after the country became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2007. At present, as a result of the US-China trade war, the third wave of FDI began when foreign investors started searching for alternative production bases outside China. Vietnam was one of the few countries that actually grew last year, with a GDP growth rate of 2.91%. This growth is attributed to the Government's successful efforts to contain the spread of the virus as well as the continuation of economic reforms aimed at improving FDI inflows. In 2020, Vietnams FDI attraction dropped by 25% year-on-year to $28.53 billion, an inevitable result considering the fact that global FDI fell by 42% last year to $859 billion, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The worst of the pandemic seems to be behind. Vietnam is once again heading for the recovery of growth as well as the return of FDI activities. Alternative destination for FDI For several years, Vietnam has been a destination for foreign investors looking for an alternative destination to China. Long before the US-China trade war broke out, Vietnam was successful in promoting itself as a new destination for manufacturing activities for export. For example, global apparel manufacturers such as Nike and Adidas moved their production bases to Vietnam in 2009 and 2012, respectively, followed by tech corporations such as Intel, Samsung, Panasonic, Nokia, Microsoft and LG and others in the following years. The trade war between Washington and Beijing, along with rising labor costs in China, makes Vietnam more attractive to potential investors. Statista estimates that production labor costs in China were $5.51 per hour in 2018, while this was $2.73 per hour in Vietnam. It makes perfect sense for foreign enterprises, including Chinese companies, to develop production bases in Vietnam to supply to the Chinese market since the two countries have joined a regional Free Trade Agreement. Natixis (France) conducted a study of seven emerging Asian economies in 2018 that found Vietnam to be the most attractive alternative manufacturing base option to China. The bank said that demographic characteristics, low wages, the business ratings of the World Bank and the overall logistics system all create competitive advantages for Vietnam. Mr. Phung Anh Tuan, the founder of VCI Legal, told Conventus Law that Vietnam is clearly a competitor for investment capital that previously was poured into Chinese projects. Vietnam needs to become a freer, more progressive and more open economy than China if it wants to compete for FDI. Although Vietnam cannot compete in terms of market size and consumer base with China, we must create a competitive advantage through investment conditions, a transparent legal system, and the predictability of policy to develop a globally connected market economy based on the rule of law." Sustainable economy In recent years, Vietnam has focused heavily on efforts to open markets and promote international trade relations after joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2007. Vietnam has continued to become a member of the "new generation" free trade agreements that form the largest global trade blocs in the world today, such as the CPTPP, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as well as free trade agreements with the European Union, Japan and South Korea. Tuan said: International investors benefit from protectionist measures applied by both domestic and international law. Vietnam is currently a member of more than 60 trade agreements of all scales and forms and is one of the most open economies in the world." Vietnam's position in the annual Ease of Doing Business ranking of the World Bank rose, from 91 out of 183 countries in 2010 to 70 out of 190 countries in 2019. Tuan said: The Vietnamese government is committed to protecting foreign investors, to the extent that domestic companies have complained that international companies enjoy more favorable policies than themselves. It is a contrast to the situation in China, where a lot of work needs to be done to 'open the door' to foreign investors." However, there is always room to do better, and Vietnam is still implementing new regulations and changes related to business registration, as current registration is still time consuming with many steps. The Enterprise Law 2020 has simplified the procedures and regulations governing the establishment of new businesses. The goal is to optimize the procedures and make it easy for foreign and domestic investors to do business. With a GDP growth rate of 4.48% in the first quarter of this year, the Government is relying on foreign investment to help drive growth to its full-year target of 6.5%. While continuing to see itself as a reasonable alternative destination to China, Vietnam has begun to shift away from low-tech manufacturing to high-tech and value-added manufacturing as well as to new economic sectors, 4.0 industry and digital transformation. Transition to high technology With a population of about 100 million, the Government of Vietnam understands that its ability to sustain a competitive advantage in the low-cost manufacturing sector can?????? CANNOT???? be prolonged. Thus, the Government has done its best to develop high-value-added industries such as electronics and software design, in order to put Vietnam in a position to quickly participate in the fourth industrial revolution. Electronics is one of the fastest growing industries in the country. Vietnams export value of electronics increased from $47.3 billion in 2015 to $96 billion in 2020, accounting for a third of the country's total exports. In the global ranking of electronics exporters, Vietnam rose from 47th in 2001 to 12th in 2019. Last year, South Korean tech giant Samsung broke ground on a $220 million research and development (R&D) center in Hanoi, the company's largest facility in Southeast Asia. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, FDI enterprises accounted for 95% of electronic goods export revenue in the first quarter of 2021, and there is little reason to doubt that this trend will change in the coming years. Vietnam is committed to developing its role in the production value chain through FDI and has been preparing for many years to improve the qualifications of its workers. For example, in April, Vietnam launched a pilot project with five Australian universities to offer online courses to Vietnamese students. This project puts Vietnam in the leading position in Asia in terms of online education system. Tuan said: "The fact that Vietnam does not pursue a policy of monopolizing industries through large state corporations, favoring domestic companies or forcing foreign technology transfer, the things that are often feared in China makes Vietnam an attractive destination for high-value FDI. The government has been working hard to build not only a world-class investment environment but also a leading labor force, in addition to a substantial domestic market. Lan Anh Vietnam needs new requirements for foreign investors Vietnam needs to be more selective when receiving foreign direct investment (FDI), and should set requirements, just as foreign investors do in exchange for being able to invest in Vietnam, experts say. Binh Duong Smart City of the southern province of Binh Duong was named in Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2021 at the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) in New York, the US, on July 1. A corner of Binh Duong Smart City (Photo: baobinhduong.vn) This is the first time Binh Duong was honoured as one of the seven communities worldwide having outstanding smart city development strategies after three consecutive years it was in the ICFs Smart 21 list, along with three Canadian cities, namely Langley Township, Mississauga and Winnipeg; Curitiba of Brazil; Moscow of Russia; and Townsville of Australia. The ICF Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2021, which are models of economic, social and cultural development in the digital age, will be featured throughout the ICF Summit in October. Representatives from the Top7 will take part in the programmes features including special Top7 Conversations and one of the Top7 will be named the 2021 Intelligent Community of the Year. Binh Duong Smart City is a new development that is transforming a traditionally agrarian, low-population region into the core of Vietnams southern key economic zone. With guidance from the city of Eindhoven, ICFs 2011 Intelligent Community of the Year, the new city has already developed an international university, six industrial parks, the regions first accelerator and a series of tech and digital fabrication labs. But its original population is not being left behind. Working with farmers associations, the project is delivering information on prices, markets and best practices, and training farmers in applying digital tools to agriculture. Binh Duong Smart City aims to build a more prosperous future for all. Amidst complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, this recognition helps Binh Duong further promote its image to the world. According to a report on socio-economic development in the first half of 2021, Binh Duong posted a gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth rate of 7.23-percent in the period. The provinces Index of Industrial Production (IIP) picked up 8.23 percent, while the total retail sale of consumer goods and services, and export turnover of goods surged 10.4 percent, and 47.2 percent, respectively. Binh Duong attracted 1.4 billion USD of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the period. Its State budget revenue rose by 22.6 percent./ Source: VNA HCM City to focus on AI in aim to become smart city by 2030 HCM City authorities plan to promote Artificial Intelligence (AI) as part of its effort to become a smart city with e-government, e-enterprises and an electronic society by 2030. Vietnam is in the opening stages of conducting a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign towards reaching community immunity, after which full production can resume, borders can open, and life can return to normal. Nguyen Thanh Long, Minister of Health, discussed the key points of the programme. Nguyen Thanh Long, Minister of Health. The Ministry of Health (MoH) chairs the organisation that controls the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign. How will this campaign be carried out? The vaccination will be carried out in all cities and provinces, as well as authorised vaccination places in communes and wards. In addition to traditional authorised vaccination locations, the campaign also covers mobile vaccination facilities at factories, schools, and other places to ensure access to vaccines in the most favourable manner. The campaign attracts the involvement of all ministries and agencies, especially the ministries of national defence, public security, information and communications (MIC); and transport. They will fully support the MoH in this important event. An important point is that the campaign will be carried out in all localities at the same time. We think that this is an extremely important factor, contributing to its success. Furthermore, we promote IT application in the vaccination campaign in line with the direction of the government, which has so far produced good results. The MoH develops electronic medical records for individuals; accordingly, each person can register for a vaccination appointment on electronic medical records, or via SMS messages. Based on the information, the system will inform people of the location and calendar for their vaccination, thus preventing queues and saving time. Also, health professionals use electronic medical records to manage vaccinators via a software system jointly developed by the MoH and the MIC. The MIC guides all vaccination facilities to apply this. The electronic medical records are also integrated with vaccination results and testing information. This is also the database for the upcoming application of a potential vaccine passport. Moreover, people can declare symptoms and post-vaccination side effects so that health facilities can manage and treat them in a timely manner. The target of the vaccination campaign is to cover 70 million of the population. Why is such a goal necessary? At present, many countries in the world set the goal of reaching community immunity this year or next. Vietnam aims to reach a similar goal by the end of 2021 to early 2022. In order to reach community immunity, it is necessary to vaccinate at least 70 per cent of the countrys population, thus enabling the country to bring localities to normal life. For this, the MoH built and submitted to the Politburo and the government a plan to buy 150 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and carry out the nationwide vaccination campaign, thus ensuring that the required number of people are able to access the vaccines. To ensure safety during the vaccination process, what preparations has the MoH made? Vaccination safety is an issue that the MoH pays special attention to. During the implementation of vaccinations here, not only for COVID-19 vaccines, but also other kinds of vaccines in the past, the ministry has always given top priority to safety. Compared to other countries, the difference in Vietnams vaccination is to carry out careful screening for all potential vaccinators. They will have a delay in vaccination if their health conditions fail to meet the requirements. Health facilities which give the shot have to meet the requirements on qualified infrastructure, equipment, and manpower; carry out screening and consultation, and then ensure safety during the vaccination in line with the MoHs guidelines. After getting the shot, people have to stay at health facilities for at least 30 minutes so that health professionals can monitor their condition, and so they can receive instructions for self-monitoring at home the following 24 hours and then the following three weeks. Emergency teams are always ready at hospitals to treat serious post-vaccination side effects to ensure the highest possible safety for inoculators. The MoH has set up a steering board for vaccination safety which gathers senior professors and health experts to support all units nationwide in ensuring safety of the inoculation. Source: VIR O Quy Ho Pass is an important traffic route connecting the two northern mountainous provinces of Lai Chau and Lao Cai; moreover, it is also a tourist attraction thanks to the majestic and green beauty of northwest nature. The beauty of O Quy Ho Pass. (Photo: ND) O Quy Ho Pass, which is also known as Hoang Lien, is located on National Highway 4D. Two-thirds of the pass belongs to Tam Duong District in Lai Chau Province and the rest is located in Sapa Town of Lao Cai. At an altitude of about 2,000 m above sea level and with a length of nearly 50 kilometres, the pass is considered the "king" of the passes in Vietnam and the destination for many travellers to conquer. There is a legend attributed to the indigenous HMong people about the origin of the pass's name. The legend said that once a fairy and a woodcutter loved together but could not live together. The man was turned into a black turtle under a waterfall on the top of the pass and the fairy missed her lover so turned into a bird that had been flying over the pass and crying out: O Quy Ho! O Quy Ho!. This romantic and tragic love story motif is quite common in many cultures, so people also seem to become more emotional when standing on the top of the windy O Quy Ho Pass and watching the pure sae and clouds embracing the deep blue mountains. The highest point of the pass is called "heaven's gate" that is covered with clouds almost all year round. It seems that people can touch the soft clouds. The weather on either side of the "heaven gate" will offer a unique experience to visitors thanks to its characteristics of altitude and wind direction. In the middle of summer, when the sun is shining brightly and the sky is clear on the Lai Chau side, people can clearly see the roads winding around the mountainsides, beside the bottomless abyss. Meanwhile, the Lao Cai side is foggy with rolling mountains hidden behind floating clouds. In winter, Sapa side is always colder, and even covered with snow and ice, while Tam Duongs part is warm to slightly cold. Those who are eager to travelling can ride a motorbike through the pass to feel the most dangerous and winding bends in the north. The road that used to be a "nightmare" for long-distance drivers has been repaired and upgraded to become an ideal place to admire the hills, corn fields, terraced fields sparkling in the sun, or the villages in the back of the sky. Source: Nhan Dan Happiness Road leads to spectacular pass Ha Giang, the northernmost province in the country, hosts various historical areas like Lung Cu Flag Pole and Dong Van Karst Plateau, a UNESCO Global Geopark. Downsville is running a GoFundMe fundraiser to help replace extraction tools, which the station would use for rescue operations. Not only is fundraising an issue, but departments are saying they are also in dire need of volunteers. I only have two members that live in Downsville, Bird said. It is just tough recruiting down here. I wish I knew why. Bird, who lives in China Spring, said it is important to try to have as many local volunteers as possible in a department because it cuts down on the response time. If it wasnt for volunteers around the community, it would kind of be chaos really, because it would take so long for the city of Waco to respond out here, Bird said. If it wasnt for the volunteers in the area, half of McLennan County would have burned up. Marchisio retired from a 30-plus-year career as a firefighter in San Diego County, which allows him to have the time to dedicate to being a volunteer, a privilege most in his department do not have. When an earlier generation of Republican appointees Sandra Day OConnor, David Souter and Anthony Kennedy showed they were mellowing into a moderate bloc, they took an unequivocal stance by reaffirming the core holding of Roe v. Wade. Their reasoning in Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992 committed the court to Roe as a super-precedent. Such moments pushed the law forward decisively (and conservatism lost). Not so with the courts decisions last month. In Fulton v. Philadelphia, the progressives, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts, merely stretched current doctrine to find that in this one instance, Philadelphia had discriminated against religion by requiring a Catholic adoption agency to work with gay couples. The decision didnt require the justices to endorse or reject the principle, established in a 1990 opinion by Antonin Scalia, that the state may burden religion that is, rein in its free exercise if done through a neutral and generally applicable law. On this weeks edition of the On Iowa Politics podcast: Continuous campaigning for president is... well, nothing new; cheaters never win, but winners can get cheated; and sending State Patrol to border patrol. The suspect approached the rabbi with a gun and a knife while he was talking on the phone, sitting on the steps of the school, according to prosecutors and Rabbi Dan Rodkin, executive director of Shaloh House. The suspect allegedly demanded the rabbis car keys, and Noginski ran across the street to a park where he was stabbed. According to the court documents, when police located the suspect, he pointed what appeared to be a firearm at them. Three officers drew their firearms and ordered the suspect to drop his weapon multiple times, authorities said. The suspect then lowered his weapon and threw it to the ground. The suspect kicked one of the officers in the stomach as he was being assisted into a transport vehicle for booking, police said. As soon as the school became aware of the stabbing, the facility went into lockdown and no children were ever in danger, Rodkin said in a Facebook post. Noginski is an Israeli citizen who came to the Boston area as an emissary to spread the Chabad message, Consul General of Israel to New England Meron Reuben told the Boston Herald. We are horrified by what has happened, Reuben said. Noginski, who spoke to Lubavitch.com from his hospital bed, has since been released from the hospital. The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a statement late Friday that it is closely monitoring the situation and working with the FBI to collect more information about its impact. CISA urged anyone who might be affected to follow Kaseyas guidance to shut down VSA servers immediately. Kaseya runs whats called a virtual system administrator, or VSA, thats used to remotely manage and monitor a customers network. The privately held Kaseya says it is based in Dublin, Ireland, with a U.S. headquarters in Miami. The Miami Herald recently described it as one of Miamis oldest tech companies in a report about its plans to hire as many as 500 workers by 2022 to staff a recently acquired cybersecurity platform. Brian Honan, an Irish cybersecurity consultant, said by email Friday that this is a classic supply chain attack where the criminals have compromised a trusted supplier of companies and have abused that trust to attack their customers. He said it can be difficult for smaller businesses to defend against this type of attack because they rely on the security of their suppliers and the software those suppliers are using. Children have been disproportionately affected. Nearly one in every three patients treated at the two hospitals since 2017 was under the age of 18, up from one in five before legalization. Statewide, the injury rate for children between the ages of 5 and 14 rose 140% in the first three years of legalization. Injuries to the hands and burns are the most common, followed by injuries to the eyes and face. Not surprisingly, injuries are concentrated around the July 4 holiday weekend. I think people believe that since theyve been legalized they must be safe, said Michael Takacs, professor of emergency medicine at UI Carver College of Medicine and one of the reports authors. You see other people buying them, or youre at a park or family gathering and other people are setting off fireworks so you want to be part of the celebration. It gives people a false sense of security. Researchers recommended new safety campaigns that target high-risk populations and highlight emerging trends, additional steps to stop children and intoxicated people from using fireworks, and more statewide research and reporting on injuries. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Authorities released photos related to the slaying of a man last month in the hopes of finding those responsible. Crime Stoppers said they are looking to identify the people in the photos in connection to the June 20 death of 29-year-old Raymond Ortiz Jr. Police responded around 8:40 p.m. to a fight and shooting in the area of Chico and Pennsylvania. They found Ortiz fatally injured and he died at the scene. (The Albuquerque Police Department) is seeking assistance in identifying the individuals in the photos, A release from Crime Stoppers said. Tips: Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 843-STOP or visit their website at crimestoppersnm.com. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... NEWARK, N.J. Americans enjoying newfound liberty are expected to travel and gather for cookouts, fireworks, concerts and beach outings over the Fourth of July weekend in numbers not seen since pre-pandemic days. Yet lingering restrictions, worker shortages and significant numbers of unvaccinated people mean some may not be as free as they would like to be. And there are fears that the mixing of large numbers of vaccinated and unvaccinated Americans at a time when the highly contagious delta variant is spreading rapidly could undo some of the progress made against the scourge. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Nashville is expecting as many as 400,000 people to stream into the city for its July Fourth celebration featuring country star Brad Paisley. In Massachusetts, the Boston Pops Independence Day concert is back, but the show that usually draws hundreds of thousands to the Charles River esplanade in Boston will be held 100 miles away at the Tanglewood music center. Beaches and lakefronts are expected to be packed as well. In Southern California, Huntington Beach is planning one of the biggest celebrations on the West Coast, a three-day festival that could bring in a half-million people. Elizabeth Driscoll plans to enjoy the festivities in Cheboygan, Michigan, including a parade down Main Street, a trip to a farmers market and a family party on a lake, all ahead of the fireworks display over the Straits of Mackinac. Last year, the parade and fireworks were canceled. You can feel it all over town, just an influx of people on the tourism side, and people who live here are out and about, she said. Theres good energy. At the same time, airlines have been struggling to get enough crew members to fly their planes. Pools and beaches have been hit with a shortage of lifeguards. And restaurants and bars in tourist destinations have had to scale back hours because of a lack of help. President Joe Biden has welcomed the holiday as a historic moment in the nations recovery from a crisis that has killed over 600,000 Americans and led to months of restrictions that are now almost gone. He plans to host more than 1,000 people at the White House first responders, essential workers and troops for a cookout and fireworks to mark what the administration is calling a summer of freedom. Im going to celebrate it, Biden said Friday ahead of the holiday. Theres great things happening. All across America, people are going to ballgames, doing good things. But he also warned that lives will be lost because of people who didnt get vaccinated. The U.S. is averaging about 12,000 new cases and 250 deaths a day thanks to vaccines that have been administered to two-thirds of the nations adults. But that is short of the goal of 70% by July 4 that Biden set. Vaccine hesitancy remains stubborn, especially in the Deep South and West, allowing the delta variant to spread throughout the country. AAA forecasts that more than 47 million people will travel by car or plane this weekend in the U.S., a return to 2019 levels and 40% higher than last year. That includes 3.5 million airline passengers. At the Newark, New Jersey, airport, travelers waited in long check-in lines Wednesday and encountered flight delays that tested their patience. Some were just happy to get on a plane after vacation plans were disrupted last year by COVID-19 restrictions. Rhetta Williams, a 54-year-old manager at a pharmaceutical company, was traveling to Charleston, South Carolina, for a family reunion with about 50 relatives that was postponed a year ago because of the virus. And were not going to be practicing any social distancing, she said, laughing. Zach Carothers, a 21-year-old computer science student, flew from South Carolina to Newark for a weekend at the Jersey Shore, where people have been flocking back. Its nice to get back to it after quarantining for so long, Carothers said, adding that he is looking forward to a vacation that will definitely have celebratory beers. While masks have been shed around the country even in indoor spaces, the Transportation Security Administration emphasizes that they are still required at airports and on planes a restriction not everyone is accepting gracefully. Airlines are reporting increasing cases of disruptive passengers refusing to wear masks. Fireworks are likely to draw some of the biggest crowds many communities have seen in months. Outdoor stuff remains, I think, pretty safe for unvaccinated or vaccinated people, said Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown Universitys School of Public Health. Probably a packed outdoor concert is not ideal, but short of that, outdoor activity is safe for people. Watching fireworks is fine. Moving the party indoors is considered less safe, at a time when some states have less than half their population fully vaccinated. Im concerned about most of the country, said Dr. Lynn Goldman, dean of George Washington Universitys school of public health. I think its premature to declare it over, especially because of what we see in other parts of the world. ___ Associated Press writers David Koenig in Dallas; Mae Anderson in Nashville, Tenn.; and Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed. Murphy reported from Indianapolis. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2021 Albuquerque Journal A monsoon pattern has arrived in New Mexico, just in time for the Fourth of July. The Independence Day weekend in Albuquerque is likely to be warm with daily afternoon showers. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Saturdays forecast from the National Weather Service office in Albuquerque shows a high of 89 degrees, with a 30% chance of rain. Isolated showers and thunderstorms are likely in the afternoon. Albuquerque could hit a high of 92 degrees on the Fourth of July, which will be mostly sunny in the morning. Afternoon thunderstorms are possible on Sunday, and the metro area has a 20% chance of rain. Winds of 5 to 10 mph could accompany any afternoon or evening thunderstorms. Sunday night is expected to be partly cloudy with a low of 65 degrees. On Monday, Albuquerque is expected to hit a high of 93 degrees. The metro area has a 30% chance of rain. Flash flooding is possible across the state this weekend if storms bring moderate to heavy rainfall. Theresa Davis is a Report for America corps member covering water and the environment for the Albuquerque Journal. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2021 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE The newly formed Citizen Redistricting Committee rejected a proposed rule Friday that would have required its members to disclose private conversations about proposed district maps. The chairman of the committee, retired Supreme Court Justice Edward Chavez, had proposed the prohibition on undisclosed ex parte communications as part of the groups new rules of procedures. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ But it drew criticism from conservative activists and left-leaning community groups alike, with concerns raised about whether it would discourage participation from people who cant make it to a formal public meeting to testify. Committee member Lisa Curtis, an attorney and former Democratic state senator, said the rule went well beyond what had been outlined in the state law establishing the committee. Furthermore, she said, it isnt appropriate to treat the groups work as a judicial proceeding. I want to have an open door policy with the public, she said. Only one committee member State Demographer Robert Rhatigan, an independent joined Chavez in support of the restriction. He and Chavez said the rule was intended as a transparency measure. Its a matter of just being as open as possible with the communities, Chavez said. The proposed rule would have prohibited committee members from engaging in private communication with someone outside the committee about a proposed district plan or part of a plan. If such a communication happened, it would have to be reported to the chairman and disclosed at the next public meeting. Chavezs suggested rules of procedures were adopted, but without the ex parte provision. The debate surfaced Friday in the committees first public meeting. The group has faced criticism for a lack geographic and cultural diversity among its seven members a point acknowledged by committee members Friday and touched on during extensive public comment. The committee nonetheless is pushing forward with its work, including plans to hold a series of public hearings around the state this year. The group is required by law to propose three sets of maps for congressional and legislative districts, based on 2020 census data. Its proposals will be taken up in a special session late this year by legislators, who will be free to pick one of the suggested maps or amend them. Also Friday, the redistricting committee: Adopted an agreement with the Redistricting Lab at Tufts University to establish an online portal to accept public comment and allow people to build and submit their own maps. Directed staff to extend the application deadline by one week for New Mexico attorneys who want to apply to represent the committee. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Two Las Cruces City Council candidates, dissatisfied with the winner of the last mayors race, have complained in these pages (June 18 Journal) about their citys ranked-choice-voting system, adopted by the council in 2018 and used in cities around the country. They have got it all wrong. Ranked-choice voting (RCV) is a system where voters select more than one candidate in a multi-candidate field, and, if no one gets a majority when all the first choices are tabulated, an instant run-off process begins. The candidate in last place is eliminated and the second choices of those who voted for him (or her) are distributed among the remaining candidates. The process repeats until one candidate has passed the 50% threshold. There are many benefits of this process. First, the winner is someone that has eventually gotten a majority, and whom most voters can live with, even if he or she was not their first choice. Campaigning itself becomes more positive because candidates may lose voters second or third choice if they stray from the issues and attack opponents too much. In 2019, Mayor Ken Miyagishima eventually got 55% of the vote. Contrary to the allegations of the council candidates in their op-ed, he actually faced their favored candidate nine times, with the last a literal head-to-head of the two highest candidates who received the most support. Their candidate received 45%. The large number of candidates, 10, in 2019 made for a cumbersome process, but there were no back-room deals or spoiler candidates, as suggested. The system was transparent, and candidates were encouraged to make alliances with other candidates. Isnt that what we want from our elected officials? And RCV actually is a solution to spoiler candidates who split the vote in a regular election, throwing it to a less popular choice. In a RCV election their votes are redistributed, not thrown out. To avoid frivolous candidates, Las Cruces, like Albuquerque, should require a minimum number of petition signatures to qualify for the ballot. Ten candidates for mayor is too many. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Another major benefit of RCV is that it reduces costs for hard-strapped municipalities. Albuquerque is budgeting $1.5 million for possible run-offs in this years election just for City Council races. Thats money that could be saved for extra police protection, free lunches for seniors or kids at community centers. The Las Cruces County Clerk estimated a regular run-off for the mayors election would have cost $100,000 not something we consider negligible when it comes to smaller municipalities. No matter their municipality or ZIP code, New Mexicans treasure their freedom to vote for the candidate of their choice. Ranked-choice voting has expanded that choice, and voters are responding by showing up to vote in larger numbers in ordinarily low-turnout elections. Las Cruces saw a 12% turnout increase in 2019 when using ranked-choice voting. A Common Cause exit poll from the 2019 election showed 53% of voters liked the system and would support its use in the future. This popularity came even before knowing the results. Thats important. Faith in the electoral system should not be contingent on whether your candidate won or lost. Instead, it should be based on its accessibility, security and ability to produce a winner with 50% +1 of the vote. Ranked-choice voting measures up on all these counts. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... The late Sen. Carlos Cisneros of Questa was one of the Legislatures experts on the challenges of public works projects in New Mexico. And while he worked for years to improve a process too often plagued by piecemeal funding, inadequate planning and flawed execution, he was the first to admit it was a work in progress. And, to illustrate that, the long-serving Democrat who died unexpectedly in 2019 often told the story of the $7 million Cabresto Lake Dam upgrade in northern New Mexico a project that wasnt delivered on time, was over budget and, as a Legislative Finance Committee report in December 2014 pointed out, did not reflect effective planning, management or oversight. But the kicker, which Cisneros would deliver after a pause to make sure his audience was paying attention: After all that, the dam still didnt hold water. Thats because the earthen structure was built on a porous landslide and ultimately would require expensive upgrades, including liners to keep the water from essentially seeping out from under the dam. Yes, there has been progress in the system, including this year finally getting transparency on who sponsored what project, but obviously not enough. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ New Mexico continues to struggle with infrastructure projects, as spelled out in a new LFC report that focused on water projects. For example, the Village of Maxwell south of Raton received $1 million in state capital outlay money to drill two new water wells in 2014. One well tapped a deep aquifer for future use. A second well to access the existing water supply fell $30,000 short, and the village never secured the money needed to electrify the well and make it operable. Its not an isolated story, and one that highlights a fragmented state system for funding New Mexicos water infrastructure. Many New Mexico communities are already behind the curve, with significant as-yet-unfunded capital needs, looming or immediate threats to water supply or quality and limited financial, technical and administrative capacity to address water-related challenges, despite significant state support, the LFC report states. Translation: we havent been able to get our act together to make sure these communities have the infrastructure they need to ensure a reliable supply of clean water. Thats atrocious and inexcusable in 2021. Yet we are spending money. New Mexico provided $876 million in grants and loans for water projects from mid-2016 to mid-2020. But the LFC report said communities often pursue money from an uncoordinated state system that may in fact discourage them from leveraging federal dollars to improve water infrastructure, and that design plans or construction reports are often missing from funding reviews. Three of 10 state-funded water projects studied by the LFC still were not complete. The problems arent limited to water. The state has about 3,000 local capital outlay projects on the books. Only 300 to 400 of them exceed $1 million, meaning they often stay below the radar. And many are predicated on more than one source of funding, increasing the chances they wont get done. The LFC report recommends the Legislature create an interagency team to vet capital outlay projects and task the Environment Department with reporting back on water project progress. That would be a good start. Because we cant afford to keep spending millions on dams that wont hold water. This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2021 Albuquerque Journal Lawsuits filed in state and federal courts allege that a security aide at V. Sue Cleveland High School groped three students on the pretext of searching the boys for contraband. The three lawsuits, all filed against Rio Rancho Public Schools on behalf of three boys, allege that George Archuleta inappropriately touched each of the students on multiple occasions. Archuleta has denied the allegations, according to a response to one of the lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Archuletas attorney, Carlos Quinones of Santa Fe, did not immediately respond to voice and email messages seeking comment on Friday. The lawsuits were filed by the parents of current or former Cleveland High students on behalf of their sons. Beth Pendergrass, a spokeswoman for Rio Rancho Public Schools, said the district does not comment on pending litigation. She acknowledged Archuleta worked for the district from September 2009 to March 2020. Jerry Walz, an attorney for the school district, said Friday he could not comment on a case in active litigation. All three of the suits were filed in state court in the 13th Judicial District Court, which covers Sandoval, Cibola and Valencia counties, between March 15 and June 29. The initial lawsuit was transferred to U.S. District Court in May. The other two suits remained in state court on Friday. All three of the suits allege that Archuleta groped the boys during purported searches for contraband. Todd Bullion, one of three attorneys representing the boys and their parents, said RRPS has a policy that allows security aides to search students believed to possess drugs or weapons. But Archuleta had no reason to think any of the boys possessed contraband, he said. There was no cause to conduct any searches of any of these kids, Bullion said Friday. The suits allege that no contraband was found during any of the searches. The suits also contend that the searches were illegal because Archuleta lacked reason to believe the boys possessed contraband. As Archuletas employer, the district was responsible for his conduct and had a duty to keep the students safe at school, the suits contend. The suits seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. The initial lawsuit, filed March 15 on behalf of an 11th grade Cleveland High student, alleges that the boy was in the ninth and 10th grades when Archuleta inappropriately groped him during purported searches. One such search allegedly occurred in a secluded room, the suit alleges. The second suit, filed June 10, alleges that on at least three occasions between August 2019 and March 2020, Archuleta put his hands in the boys pockets and groped him. The third suit, filed June 29, alleges that Archuleta fondled the boy on multiple dates between January 2019 and June 2021. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... WAKEFIELD, Mass. An hourslong standoff with a group of heavily armed men that partially shut down Interstate 95 ended Saturday with 11 suspects in custody, Massachusetts state police said. The standoff shut down a portion of I-95 for much of the morning, causing major traffic problems during the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Authorities said the interstate is now reopened and the shelter-in-place orders for Wakefield and Reading were lifted. The standoff began around 2 a.m. when police noticed two cars pulled over on I-95 with hazard lights on after they had apparently run out of fuel, authorities said at a Saturday press briefing. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ At least some of the suspects were clad in military-style gear with long guns and pistols, Mass State Police Col. Christopher Mason said. He added that they were headed to Maine from Rhode Island for training. You can imagine 11 armed individuals standing with long guns slung on an interstate highway at 2 in the morning certainly raises concerns and is not consistent with the firearms laws that we have in Massachusetts, Mason said. In a video posted to social media Saturday morning, a man who did not give his name, but said he was from a group called Rise of the Moors, broadcast from Interstate 95 in Wakefield near exit 57. We are not antigovernment. We are not anti-police, we are not sovereign citizens, were not Black identity extremists, said the man who appeared to be wearing military-style equipment. As specified multiple times to the police that we are abiding by the peaceful journey laws of the United States. The website for the group says they are Moorish Americans dedicated to educating new Moors and influencing our Elders. Mason said he understood the suspects, who did not have firearms licenses, have a different perspective on the law. I appreciate that perspective, he said I disagree with that perspective at the end of the day, but I recognize that its there. Mason said he had no knowledge of the group, but it was not unusual for the state police to encounter people who have sovereign citizen ideology, although he did not know if the people involved in the Wakefield standoff was a part of that. The men refused to put down their weapons or comply with authorities orders, claiming to be from a group that does not recognize our laws before taking off into a wooded area, police said. Mason said the suspects surrendered after police tactical teams used armored vehicles to tighten the perimeter around them. Police initially reported nine suspects were taken into custody, but two more were taken into custody in their vehicle later Saturday morning. Two suspects were hospitalized, but police said it was for preexisting conditions that had nothing to do with the standoff. Police and prosecutors are working to determine what charges the members of the group will face. The suspects were expected to appear in court in Woburn on Tuesday, Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Border officials found dozens of migrants in two separate stash houses on Wednesday in Sunland Park and El Paso. U.S. Border Patrol spokesman Joel Freeland said agents found a total of 65 migrants. He said 43 individuals were trying to hide inside a home in Sunland Park and another 22 in a home in central El Paso. The groups were mostly from Ecuador but also included people from Nicaragua, Mexico and El Salvador. Our El Paso Sector integrated targeting teams continue to disrupt human smuggling by transnational criminal organizations in our region, El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez said. We will continue to work together with other agencies to rescue these migrants from these deplorable living conditions where they are held for long periods of time. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Freeland said all the migrants found on Wednesday were single adults and all 65 were returned to Mexico in accordance with Title 42 a pandemic-period policy that prohibit entry into the U.S. based on a serious danger of the introduction of (a communicable) disease into the United States. Implemented in March 2020, Title 42 has been used to swiftly expel to Mexico undocumented border-crossers who come from coronavirus-impacted areas. Freeland said the El Paso Sector has seen a significant increase 261% of single adults crossing the border illegally in 2021 compared with 2019. As of the end of May 2021,the El Paso Sector has encountered 86,536 single adults, he said. Instagram Celebrity The 'Jersey Shore' star has reportedly submitted legal documents early this year to end her union with Chris Larangeira after just over a year of marriage. Jul 3, 2021 AceShowbiz - "Jersey Shore" star Angelina Pivarnick has started the process of ending her marriage to Chris Larangeira after months of split speculation. The reality TV regular quietly filed for divorce in January (21) after just over a year of marriage, reports Us Weekly. It's unclear if Larangeira was ever served with the paperwork or if Pivarnick is planning to proceed with the legal action, as the pair has apparently tried to make the relationship work in the months since, even posing together on the red carpet at the MTV Movie & TV Awards in May. Pivarnick also celebrated her birthday last month (Jun21) with a photo of the two on her Instagram Story timeline. The couple's marriage struggles have been well documented on the latest season of "Jersey Shore: Family Vacation", with Thursday's (01Jul21) episode featuring Pivarnick admitting that, although their romance wasn't "amazing," they are currently in a good place and are "working on things." Pivarnick and sanitation worker Larangeira became engaged in 2018 after a year of dating. Last month, Angelina Pivarnick complained about her sex life with husband. "It's like, we'll fight and then whoever starts the fight won't want to bang," she revealed. "So he don't want to bang, I don't want to bang, no one wants to bang." "I'm not perfect by any means," she added. "I'm not the most perfect wife ever. I yell at him, I'll belittle him sometimes. I feel like we're both wrong. But see how I'm admitting it to you? He won't ever admit that he's wrong." In the confessional, she further explained, "Our sex life is nonexistent at this point and honestly, I don't know if we can get the spark back in our relationship. And that's not a good thing." British GQ Music The Nirvana and Foo Fighters member refuses to be praised as a 'good drummer' because he can't read music and has been lifting beats from disco musicians. Jul 3, 2021 AceShowbiz - Rocker Dave Grohl refuses to accept he is a "good drummer" because he's been lifting beats from disco legends ever since Nirvana's classic album "Nevermind". The former Nirvana musician, who now fronts the Foo Fighters, has long been praised for his skills behind the drum kit, but Grohl insists he doesn't deserve any of the credit because he has always borrowed from icons of the disco genre - but fans have never noticed. In a recent chat with superproducer Pharrell Williams on the rocker's latest TV series "From Cradle to Stage", he explained how he first picked up the sticks during his youth. "I wanted to be a drumline kid. But I can't read music. I couldn't then, still can't now," he shared. "All I wanted to do was be in a line of drummers all playing drums." "I was decent, (but) I wasn't your level," Pharrell told Grohl, prompting the "Best of You" hitmaker to push back, "Stop saying that I'm a good drummer because I'm the most basic f**king drummer." He continued to a shocked Pharrell, "If you listen to Nevermind, the Nirvana record, I pulled so much stuff from The Gap Band and Cameo and Tony Thompson (from Chic) on every one of those songs. "It's all disco! That's all it is. Nobody makes the connection." Realising the drum beat did sound familiar on Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit", a shocked Pharrell replied, "That's straight-up Gap Band!" And Grohl insists he hasn't been trying to hide the fact that he was heavily inspired by disco music. "I told Tony Thompson that," he recalled. "He came to my house for a barbecue with somebody and I was like, 'Man, I just want to thank you because I owe you so much, I've been ripping you off my whole life,' and he goes, 'I know!' " WENN/Joe Alvarez Movie The Ancient One of Marvel Cinematic Universe is reteaming with the 'Grand Budapest Hotel' filmmaker for a top secret project which will be filmed in Spain. Jul 3, 2021 AceShowbiz - Tilda Swinton is reuniting with Wes Anderson for his next movie. The Hollywood star has revealed she and the legendary director will film the top-secret flick in Spain, though the location has nothing to do with the story. "It's not about Spain," Tilda told Variety. Wes isn't willing to "share any details" about the motion picture at this time. However, the movie's filming location is in Chinchon on the outskirts of Madrid, much to the delight of the town's mayor Francisco Javier Martinez. "This is very important to this city," he told TV6 News. "It's true that we used to be the usual place for countless filmings, but the excellent American productions have been screened here for many months, which gave us life, category, and promotion opportunities." "We have been with Parador, hotels, and country houses. Mediation, negotiation will take over everything. The theatre will become their centre of action, and they can even shoot there." Tilda and Wes' next movie, "The French Dispatch", is set for release later this year (21). The star-studded live-action comedy-drama - which also stars the likes of Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Timothee Chalamet, and Saoirse Ronan - is set in the 1950s and follows a group of journalists at an American newspaper bureau in Paris, though filming is currently taking place in Angouleme in South West France. Their previous credits together include "The Isle of Dogs" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel". WENN/Ivan Nikolov Celebrity The 'Reservoir Dogs' actor reveals he first met his wife at a party held to celebrate his 'Taxi Driver' co-star and reunite with her again at another bash held in De Niro's honor. Jul 3, 2021 AceShowbiz - Actor Harvey Keitel owes his marriage to Robert De Niro after meeting his now-wife and reconnecting with her years later at parties for his "Taxi Driver" co-star. The "Reservoir Dogs" star first set sight on Canadian actress and writer Daphna Kastner back in the 1980s when they both attended a bash in Italy, held in De Niro's honour. "I met my wife in Rome at a party for Robert," Keitel recalled on America's "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert". "She allowed me to take her to dinner at the (high end restaurant Dal Bolognese Roma)." "Then I called her back again a second night. She came and we had dinner together a second night. And then I asked her if she would like a drink in my hotel room - and she said, 'No, thank you.' And I spent a lot of money on her. It was a good restaurant!" They didn't stay in touch after the nightcap rejection, but crossed paths again 17 years later at another event for De Niro - and this time, Keitel managed to work his charm to eventually land her as his wife. Remembering how they reconnected, the actor said, "There was this girl who I bought two dinners for at the Dal Bolognese 17 years ago and it was my wife, Daphna. And we stayed together." "And seven weeks later, I was going to a film festival in Italy and I asked her to come with me. She said, 'Yes,' and on the flight, I said, 'What do you think about getting married?' She gave a great answer: she said, 'OK.' " And it wasn't just their meetings which are tied to De Niro. "The topper was, we get pregnant about a year later, and our son is born on Robert De Niro's birthday!" Keitel smiled. Keitel and his second wife Kastner wed in 2001. He was previously married to "The Sopranos" star Lorraine Bracco from 1982 to 1993, during which they had a daughter named Stella, and he also shares a son with former girlfriend Lisa Karmazin. WENN Celebrity The Howard University is under pressure to fire the 'Cosby Show' alum as the dean of College of Fine Arts following her controversial support for former TV co-star. Jul 3, 2021 AceShowbiz - Executives at America's prestigious Howard University are facing calls to fire Phylicia Rashad as a faculty member after applauding Bill Cosby's release from prison. The veteran actress faced a backlash on Wednesday (30Jun21) after celebrating Pennsylvania Supreme Court officials' decision to overturn her former "The Cosby Show" co-star's 2018 sex crimes conviction and set him free, citing legal technicalities during his trial. "FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected!" she posted on Twitter, alongside a photo of a smiling Cosby. Rashad later returned to insist she stands with sexual assault survivors for speaking out, claiming she didn't mean to be "insensitive" with her post, but she did not apologise or retract her support of the disgraced comedian. Her tweets earned her a rebuke from Howard University chiefs, who chastised her for lacking "sensitivity towards survivors of sexual assault," but the public criticism wasn't enough for many students and alumni of Washington, D.C.'s historically black institution, who took to social media to demand her ousting as Dean of Howard's College of Fine Arts. "Hold her a** accountable," one student posted online. "I'd take a non-famous dean who believes (sex assault) victims over a celebrity dean who does s**t like this." "You need to step down now!" vented another, as a third tweeted, "#ByePhylicia You're done." And a graduate of the private college wrote, "I think it's good that Phylicia Rashad spoke up and showed us she's not qualified to be the Dean of the College of Fine Arts. It's really on Howard to do the right thing and rectify the situation." Howard University bosses have yet to indicate whether they plan to take any further action against the actress, who played Cosby's TV wife from 1984 to 1992. Instagram/WENN Celebrity The Virgin founder is expected to go to space before the Amazon boss as he announces he will take a test flight on July 11, nine days before Bezos' trip to space. Jul 3, 2021 AceShowbiz - Sir Richard Branson is planning to beat Amazon boss Jeff Bezos into space by nine days. The Virgin founder will take a test flight into space on 11 July (21) to "evaluate the customer space flight experience" - nine days before Bezos' maiden voyage into orbit. Introducing himself as "Astronaut 001" in a Twitter clip, Richard said, "I have always been a dreamer, my mum taught me to never give up and to reach for the stars." "This July, our dream will become a reality and we are really excited to share that moment with you all." The Virgin Galactic Unity 22 mission will be the company's first to carry a full crew of two pilots and four mission specialists in the cabin. It will take off from a spaceport in New Mexico and the crewmembers will be assessing the "cabin environment, seat comfort, the weightless experience and the views of Earth that the spaceship delivers" in the commercial cabin. Richard adds that Virgin Galactic "stands at the vanguard of a new commercial space industry, which is set to open space to humankind and change the world for good." The 70-year-old tycoon also plans to make an "exciting" announcement once he returns from the trip. "When we return I will announce something very exciting to give more people the chance to become astronauts because space does belong to us all, so watch this space," he shared. Bezos is due to head into space on 20 July via his Blue Origin company, taking his brother Mark and Wally Funk, an 82-year-old woman who has spent six decades trying to reach space. The trio will also be joined by an anonymous bidder who has paid $28 million (20 million) for the privilege. Concord Productions/Instagram/WENN Celebrity In addition to telling the director to 'stop commenting' on the late martial artist, Shannon Lee writes that she is 'really f**king tired of white men in Hollywood' trying to tell her who her dad was. Jul 3, 2021 AceShowbiz - Bruce Lee's daughter Shannon Lee has responded to Quentin Tarantino's comment about her dad. After the "Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood" director's criticisms at the late martial artist went viral, the "Be Water" star urged him to "reconsider impact" of his words. "Mr. Tarantino, you don't have to like Bruce Lee. I really don't care if you like him or not. You made your movie and now, clearly, you're promoting a book," the 52-year-old actress wrote in a guest column in The Hollywood Reporter on Friday, July 2. "But in the interest of respecting other cultures and experiences you may not understand, I would encourage you to take a pass on commenting further about Bruce Lee and reconsider the impact of your words in a world that doesn't need more conflict and fewer cultural heroes." Elsewhere in her op-ed, Shannon pointed out that she is "f**king tired" seeing "white men" trying to tell about Bruce. "While I am grateful that Mr. Tarantino has so generously acknowledged to Joe Rogan that I may have my feelings about his portrayal of my father, I am also grateful for the opportunity to express this: I'm really f**king tired of white men in Hollywood trying to tell me who Bruce Lee was," the mother of one stressed. Shannon spent most of her post criticizing "white men in Hollywood" for calling her father "arrogant and an a**hole when they have no idea and cannot fathom what it might have taken to get work in 1960s and '70s Hollywood as a Chinese man." She stated, "I'm tired of white men in Hollywood mistaking his confidence, passion, and skill for hubris and therefore finding it necessary to marginalize him and his contributions." Shannon additionally claimed that Quentin never even met her father. "Why does Quentin Tarantino speak like he knew Bruce Lee and hated him?" she questioned, noting that she felt "weird." However, she added that the director "happily dressed the Bride in a knock-off of my father's yellow jumpsuit and the Crazy 88s in Kato-style masks and outfits for 'Kill Bill,' which many saw as a love letter to Bruce Lee." "But love letters usually address the recipient by name, and from what I could observe at the time, Mr. Tarantino tried, interestingly, to avoid saying the name Bruce Lee as much as possible back then," Shannon elaborated. "If only he'd take the name Bruce Lee off his lips now." In her lengthy response, Shannon stressed that Quentin's continuing criticisms of Bruce "are not welcome right now." She penned, "At a time when Asian Americans are being physically attacked, told to 'go home' because they are seen as not American, and demonized for something that has nothing to do with them, I feel moved to suggest that Mr. Tarantino's continued attacks, mischaracterizations and misrepresentations of a trailblazing and innovative member of our Asian American community, right now, are not welcome." Quentin irked Shannon after he addressed his controversial depiction of Bruce in his latest movie "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" during a chat on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast. "Where I am coming from is I can understand his daughter having a problem with it. It's her f**king father. I get that," the 58-year-old filmmaker at the time said. "But anybody else, oh suck a d**k!" Instagram Celebrity Meanwhile, Brandon Blackstock, who shares two kids with the former 'American Idol' winner, reportedly has contested their prenuptial agreement as he claimed it is 'invalid.' Jul 3, 2021 AceShowbiz - Kelly Clarkson is ruling out any possibility of reconciliation with her estranged husband. The former "American Idol" winner, who is currently in a divorce battle with Brandon Blackstock, was unveiled to have made a request to be awarded a single status by a judge. The legal documents were filed by the 39-year-old's lawyer Laura Wasser on Friday, July 2. According to TMZ, the "Since U Been Gone" songstress asked a judge to grant her a dissolution of her marriage, leaving aspects of her divorce settlement for a later date. The outlet further reported that Kelly's now-estranged husband has challenged their prenuptial agreement and claimed that it is "invalid." The judge has yet to make a decision on the matter. The "Because Of You" hitmaker filed for divorce from her husband in June 2020, after nearly seven years of marriage. She has since been granted primary custody of their two kids, 7-year-old River and 5-year-old Remington. Brandon, on the other hand, has been awarded temporary spousal support. Although it is considered likely to become permanent, it would only last until 2023, half of the length of their marriage. In March this year, "The Kelly Clarkson Show" host told Gwyneth Paltrow that she "can't even imagine" getting married again after her split from Brandon. "You've been married for two years. I mean, coming from someone who's literally amidst a divorce, I can't even imagine doing it again," she said on her show. After the ex-wife of Chris Martin said that "it just takes time," Kelly replied, "I'm actually in that place where I think a lot of people, I've heard, that go through divorce, it's almost like you start dating yourself again, like you actually make time for you again, and I love dating me." She further emphasized, "I'm actually not looking for it." ABC/Lou Rocco TV The conservative columnist, who announced her exit from the ABC daytime talk show days prior, reportedly has 'had enough' with people 'being cruel to her the entire time she's been there.' Jul 3, 2021 AceShowbiz - Meghan McCain might have hard times while working on "The View". Just one day after the conservative columnist went public with her sudden exit, a new report suggested that she has been feeling "miserable" since joining the ABC daytime talk show. "[Meghan has] been wanting to get out, especially since she now lives in the DC area with her family. She doesn't want to come back to New York and be a part of that show," a source told Page Six. "She's been miserable since she started." A separate source, meanwhile, divulged that "ABC begged for her to stay, [and] she said, 'No - I'm done! I'm not staying anymore.' " Meghan allegedly even "turned down" an offer to be a contributor on ABC News. The source then added, "She's just had enough. She doesn't need it anymore - she really doesn't need it." The insider further argued, "The number of people who exit the show, it's a joke. It's a game there. It's under the news division and... they thrive off women fighting. Everyone leaves there with their hair on fire. It's really vicious." Another insider chimed in, "People have loved hurting her and being cruel to her the entire time shes been there." Meghan announced her departure from "The View" on Thursday, July 1. "I'm just going to rip the bandaid off," the 36-year-old said. "This is going to be my last season here at 'The View'... It is not easy to leave, I just feel like it's the right decision for me." "It took a lot of thought and counsel and prayer, and talking to my family and my close friends," the daughter of late Senator John McCain continued. "COVID has changed the world for all of us and it changed the way, at least for me, the way I am looking at life, the way I'm living my life, the way I want my life to look like." San Antonio loan officer Matthew Mazzocco pleaded guilty Friday to a misdemeanor charge related to the US Capitol insurrection. A dozen Capitol rioters have already pleaded guilty, out of more than 510 defendants. And prosecutors are filing new cases at a steady clip -- including in the past week against members of right-wing groups, QAnon supporters and people who allegedly smashed media equipment. At least 13 Capitol rioters have pleaded guilty so far, according to CNN's latest tally. These guilty pleas have largely fallen into two categories. The first group includes rioters like Mazzocco who aren't accused of violence and might avoid jailtime by pleading guilty to a single misdemeanor. The other category includes defendants with ties to extremist groups who are pleading guilty to felony charges, could face years in prison, and are now helping prosecutors. Taken together, it's clear that the Justice Department has been working toward resolving some of the cases in short order. Prosecutors have told judges that more plea agreements are expected in the coming weeks. Sentencing hearings are scheduled for this summer and fall. During a plea hearing on Friday, Mazzocco admitted that he knew it was illegal to enter the Capitol when he breached the building on January 6. His sentence will be decided by a federal judge on October 4. As part of the plea agreement, he agreed to pay $500 to cover some of the damage to the Capitol, which has become the standard fine for rioters pleading to misdemeanors. The Justice Department's investigation into January 6, when supporters of former President Donald Trump breached the Capitol building in hopes of stopping Congress' certification of the November 2020 election, has grown to be one of its largest investigations ever and a major law enforcement effort to address domestic terrorism. There are more than 500 defendants, hailing from 43 states and Washington, DC. The-CNN-Wire & 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. CHICO, Calif. -The decision on Chico's homeless resting site will be moved to a magistrate judge on July 12, according to Councilmember Sean Morgan. The judge said the restraining order banning evictions will be extended. The resting site that opened on June 25 at the airport can shelter up to 571 people as the city of Chico attempts to settle a lawsuit. The city of Chico was tasked with developing a solution for housing the homeless when a federal judge placed an eviction ban in Chico on April 23. When officials were given three weeks to find a solution, it was extended to June 25. The restraining order remained in effect through Friday as it has now been extended as the decision of the homeless resting site is now expected on July 12. This is a developing story. Action News Now will keep you updated with new information on-air and online. BUTTE COUNTY, Calif.- Firefighters are currently battling the Lava Fire in Siskiyou County. Paradise Police Department Sergeant Robert Pickering and Officer Tyler Mayhugh have been working at the scene of the Lava Fire. We were grateful when everyone was helping out that we tried to help other people when we were in need, Pickering said. On Friday, Pickering and Mayhugh helped with street closures near the fire. It's mostly smoky haze and kind of a thick smoke fog, we are on the perimeter, on the edge, we haven't seen much of the disaster area, Pickering said. Four officers from PPD have been on scene at the Lava Fire this week. PPD is not the only agency assisting with the fire. Around 20 firefighters from CAL FIRE Butte County are working on the frontlines of the fire. We have five engines and two dozers from the Butte unit up in Siskiyou County helping with the fires up there, Public Information Officer for CAL FIRE Butte County Rick Carhart said. Its a real benefit being able to move resources from one part of the state to another while keeping resources in Butte County here and available, Carhart said. Pickering says hes glad to be able to help others the same way people came together for his community during the Camp Fire. We obviously went through it 2 years ago and we greatly appreciated everyone who helped us out for an extended period of time, Pickering said. Pickering said that he has seen the Butte County Sheriffs Office, Probation Department and Orland Fire Department helping with the Lava Fire. Former trustee of Bombay Parsi Punchayat & Director of India's Oldest daily in print, Mumbai Samachar, Muncherji N Cama passed away today after a brief illness. IMAGEXX Awards 2021 to attend - REGISTER NOW This Nationalist BPP has turned down the offer of Adar Poonawala who wanted to vaccinate the Parsi community ahead of other Indians who had to wait for their turn. On July 01,2021, Mumbai Samachar had entered its 200th year of publication. The newspaper was passed through several hands and was finally taken over by the Cama family in 1933. GAMEXX Awards 2021 Early Bird Discount Extended Last Date - Wednesday, June 30, 2021 - ENTER NOW Cama use to help all the less fortunate who were dealing with educational and medical problems, and was also a part of several charities for poor. For 24 years, LOreal Paris has been a partner of the Cannes Film Festival, always bringing womens beauty and glamour to the forefront. This year, in a time marked by societal change, the brands presence will be anchored around womens representation and empowerment, with the launch of a dedicated award for a promising female director - a concrete reflection of support for women in cinema. For this edition of the Festival, which also marks the 50th anniversary of the brands iconic tagline, Because Youre Worth It, LOreal Paris will welcome an all-star lineup of its celebrity spokespeople to Cannes, who will walk the red carpet on the brands behalf and come together to celebrate a diverse and inclusive vision of beauty. LOreal Paris spokespeople in attendance at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival will include iconic actresses and rising talent from around the world, including: Leila Bekhti Cindy Bruna Gemma Chan Luma Grothe Liya Kebede Andie MacDowell Helen Mirren Soo Joo Park Camille Razat - New spokesperson for 2021 Nidhi Sunil Yseult - New spokesperson for 2021 LOreal Paris presence at Cannes is an opportunity to showcase the brands beauty expertise and latest innovations, while also honouring the wider community of creative women, says Delphine Viguier-Hovasse, Global Brand President, LOreal Paris. We missed last years edition and are delighted to continue our role as the Official Makeup Artist of the Festival. Along with our brand spokespeople, we will have 30 makeup artists on-site who will create 300 unforgettable makeup looks from the opening to the closing ceremony, and every day in between. It will be a much-awaited moment of togetherness and empowerment for everyone involved. This year, LOreal Paris is launching the Lights On Women Award, which will honour one rising female filmmaker in partnership with the Short Films competition of the Cannes Film Festival and the Cinefondation. The winner will be hand-picked from a selection of the Short Films competition and from international film schools short films programs. The final choice will be determined and announced by Academy award-winner and LOreal Paris spokesperson Kate Winslet - the Awards first Juror - during a special prize ceremony at the Jeune Cinema dinner in Cannes on July 16. This award will seek to address the under-representation of women in film, which remains a major issue in the creative industry. Moreover, 2021 is a landmark year for LOreal Paris, as the brand celebrates the 50th anniversary of its iconic tagline, Because Youre Worth It. The first advertising message to ever highlight self-confidence from a female perspective. This world-renowned tagline is a powerful message that has united consumers around the brand. Today, Because Were Worth It means empowering women whatever their age, whatever their origin, to believe in their beauty and sense of worth. This is a message that resonates at the Festival, as talented film-makers from around the world gather in Cannes to celebrate creativity and champion womens talent in cinema. MullenLowe Group Sri Lanka announced the appointment of Sean Pompeusas Associate Vice President and Business Director and Jude Jayaprekas has Creative Director at Lowe Lintas, with effect from 1st July 2021. Both Sean and Jude have been an integral part of the MullenLowe Group Sri Lanka, contributing to making the Group a formidable force in the advertising industry. In his new role, Sean will be heading the Lowe Lintas business and will be responsible for its overall operation. Jude is being mandated with the responsibility of further developing and sustaining the overall creative product of the company. Lowe Lintas will focus on being an agile and future ready entity delivering solutions using data and analytics for its clients. An embodiment of MullenLowe Groups challenger mentality, Lowe Lintas, Sri Lanka was established as an independent operation under the MullenLowe Group Sri Lanka. Since then, the challenger agency has won over an enviable portfolio of clients and grown from strength to strength by delivering hyper-bundled, multi-disciplined solutions in an agile and cost-effective manner. The encouraging results delivered by the agency have necessitated the appointment of senior leadership members to steer the company to its next phase of growth. The appointments are part of the Groups continued strategic efforts to invest in both business and human capital through the ongoing global pandemic. Commenting on this, Virat Tandon, Group Chief Executive Officer, MullenLowe Lintas Group, from the Groups regional office in Mumbai, India, said, Our faith and the potential in the market is what brought about the establishment of the local LoweLintas office. Operating independently, the agency has built a strong portfolio of local and international brands within the past 20 months. I have been working closely with our local senior leadership team to identify ways in which we can support them to accelerate their pace of growth. The appointment of two of our experienced team members, Sean and Jude, to LoweLintas underscores our commitment to our operations in Sri Lanka. We will continue to deliver additional investments and resources to the company, as it gears itself for the next phase of its growth journey. Having joined MullenLowe Group Sri Lanka as an Account Director in 2015 (when the agency was known as Lowe LDB), Sean moved on to become Client Service Director in 2016 before being promoted to the role of Associate Vice President and Client Service Director in 2018. He has been actively involved in engaging with the industry and nurturing local talent. Sean has been part of the organizing committees of several key industry events including Cannes Young Lions, Adfest Young Lotus and Young Spikes. He has also served as the Project Lead and Jury Member of the Cannes Lions Young Marketer Sri Lanka competition. Jude had come onboard the agency as a Senior Copywriter in 2011 and went on to become Creative Group Headin 2015 and Associate Creative Director in 2018. With close to 40 years of experience in the advertising industry between them, Sean and Judepossess a wealth of knowledge across a diverse mix of categories including Banking & Finance, Insurance, Telecommunications, FMCG, Food & Beverage, Fashion & Retail, Real Estate, Education, Automobile and Hospitality. Indias longest running newspaper Mumbai Samachar has entered its 200th year yesterday, on July 1. Founded in July 1822 as Bombay Samachar by a Parsi scholar Fardoonji Murazban, the publication exchanged various hands over the last 2 centuries. Since 1933, the Cama family has remained its publishers and Mr Hormusji N Cama serves as the director of the newspaper. Its office is located in a red, art deco building at Horniman Circle in Mumbais Fort area. Today, Mumbai Samachar operates offices from five centres including Mumbai and has over 200 staff members. Mr Nilesh Dave is the Editor of the single edition newspaper. IMAGEXX Awards 2021 to attend - REGISTER NOW Mumbai Samachar was first published on 1st July 1822. The format of the publication was three small quarto sheets of 10 by 8 inches, and a half sheet supplement containing a total of 14 pages. Mumbai Samachar is not just Indias but Asia's first newspaper to have entered its 200th year. To be part of a publication that has witnessed history spanning two centuries, feels humbling. Over the last two years, not just Mumbai Samachar but the entire print media industry faced heavy losses due to the pandemic. Yet, we did comparatively well because of the trust our readers have in us. Throughout the journey of two centuries, our newspaper faced many challenges, some big and some small but we came out of it successfully, says Mr Nilesh Dave, Editor, Mumbai Samachar. GAMEXX Awards 2021 - Last date for submitting entries - Monday, July 26, 2021 - ENTER NOW The Mumbai Samachar was published as a weekly till 1832, a bi-weekly till 1855 and a daily since then. It became one of Western India's premier newspapers and is read by a large segment of the Gujarati-speaking population in India and abroad. Today Mumbai Samachar too, like many other news publications, has harnessed the power of digital media. Reporting events objectively, in a fair and honest manner has been at the heart of Mumbai Samachars editorial policy. We do not sensationalize news and value journalism ethics highly. On the completion of the mega milestone, we have planned to organise literature programmes, cultural activities, book fairs and social awareness programmes through the year. Our aim is to work towards the betterment of the Gujarati community, preserving our values, culture and literature, concludes Mr Dave. The 2021 wheat run is officially underway for Zeorian Harvesting and Trucking, owned and operated by the husband and wife team of Jim and Tracy Zeorian. The couple headed south to Medicine Lodge, Kan., with their first load of equipment on June 13 and were eager to sink their header into some wheat. Crop conditions werent necessarily ideal in Medicine Lodge, but after years in the business, Jim and Tracy have learned to take it all as it comes. By Tuesday, June 22, Jim and Tracy where on the move again shuttling their second load of equipment north to their next stop in Chase, Kan. Even though the harvest run is in its early days, Tracy is already beginning to feel the days run together. When you do this job, you start into harvest time and with harvest time you have no idea what day it is. All you know is the sun is shining and you work, Tracy chuckled. Jim and Tracy are just a two-man harvesting crew, so that means the couple must take advantage of every hour of daylight in order to get their jobs done. This equates to a steady string of early mornings and late nights. Amazingly, Tracy confesses she can maintain this pace without the need of much caffeinated assistance. I think it is just the go in me, she said. Tracy has grown up in the custom harvesting lifestyle and she and Jim have built a marriage and a life around the industry, too. Its the adrenaline and simply knowing the job must be done that keeps Tracy clipping along, she says. Moving days may very well be the longest of days. Again, with only Jim and Tracy as crew members, moving from one job site to the other requires back-to-back trips in order to get all the necessary equipment. After 39 years and hundreds of moves, Tracy attests she and Jim are a well-orchestrated moving team when it comes to shuttling loads. Peter Vitaliano says 2020 looked to be very positive for the dairy industry. But like most of agriculture, that optimism dwindled as COVID-19 tightened its grip globally. Numbers have since recovered somewhat as cooperatives cut milk production and export figures improved. When the pandemic hit, the industry was coming off several years of lower-than-average prices, but prices were decent in the second half of 2019, says Vitaliano, chief economist with the National Milk Producers Federation. Milk production increased at a rapid rate over the beginning of 2020, so when the pandemic hit, it was very difficult. He says with the food service industry basically shut down due to pandemic restrictions, markets for products like cheese were more limited. Vitaliano says it took time for the industry to shift gears to producing more items consumers could use at home. The supply chain needed time to switch over, he says. Over the past few months, more and more consumers have ventured out of their homes and into restaurants, providing a familiar market for milk products. Vitaliano says the export market is fairly strong, too. On the balance, however, theres still too much milk, he says. The dairy industry also benefited from government payments issued to farmers during the height of the pandemic, which Vitaliano says provided a major boost to all producers. How dairy farms did in 2020 and into 2021 largely depends on geography, says Christopher Wolf, a professor of applied economics at Cornell University. He says some farms did very well over the past year, while others suffered. Online access to our web content is free for current print subscribers. Your Subscriber ID is the six digit number above your name located at the top, right side of your bill. If you don't have your bill handy, just call our Circulation Department between 8 and 5 at 256-234-4281. How do I replace my daughters Social Security card? It was ruined during last weeks flooding and Ill need when its time to register for school.To replace a Social Security card for a child, youll need to gather documents proving your childs identity and citizenship or immigration statu Considering events of the past few weeks, it seems fitting to review what the Founders had to say in Americas core documents -- the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and then to compare those words with the public words and actions of our federal politicians. Of course, everyone is (or should be) familiar with these words from the Declaration: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.... (Emphasis added) In addition to that timeless wisdom, the Founders constructed and ratified the Constitution to limit the Governments power. They also had the wisdom to define individual citizens inherent rights in the Bill of Rights. Without these first ten amendments, which effectively closed potential loopholes that the founders knew from experience the government would seek to exploit, some historical commentaries opine that the Constitution might not have been ratified. Furthermore, its because of the Bill of Rights that the Constitution, and the power of We the People of the United States of America, quite likely would not have continued to exist as we have for nigh on two-hundred-forty-five years. What should be concerning to the citizenry -- the governed; you and me -- is how readily the words and actions of those we have elected violate the spirit of the principles set down for posterity in our founding. Even more alarming, more than a few in our elected government say or do things that violate their Oath of Office, to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.... Consider the following examples: Joe Biden stated in a public address from the White House, The Second Amendment, from the day it was passed, limited the type of people who could own a gun and what type of weapon you could own. To their credit, several fact-checkers have called out Joe Biden for his obvious misrepresentations about the Second Amendment, but I have not heard him or his spokespeople retract or clarify his statements in a way that could illustrate his fealty to the Constitution, rather than an insatiable lust for ever-more power. As the Attorney General of California, Kamala Harris once demanded a list of donors from a conservative non-profit organization. To their credit, the non-profits declined to submit to her demands because they believed to do so would be a violation of their (and their donors) First Amendment Constitutional rights. On Thursday, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its decision affirming the rights of the non-profits over the governments contrived rights. Does it not make one curious that those in power routinely -- nearly constantly must be told to get back! and must be reminded that the Constitution limits their power, not the peoples rights? The person who most clearly defines the Democrats' dour view of the Constitution came from Barack Obama when he was still Candidate Obama, a Senator from Illinois. As a Senator, he would have already taken the Oath of Office; as a proclaimed Constitutional Scholar, he had had a crystal-clear understanding of the limits the Constitution imposes on the government. Obamas problem with the constitution was that he obviously regretted its constraints on government: Generally, the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties, says what the states cant do to you. Says what the federal government cant do to you. But it doesnt say what the state or federal government must do on your behalf. Damn right! The Constitution of the United States of American most definitely limits what the government can and cannot do. Now, for those who have spent a great many years learning to decipher politicians especially Democrat politicians -- carefully crafted pronouncements, the warning signals should be flashing brightly. The former President, as a candidate for the Office of the President of the United States, was expressing his regret that the Constitution would limit him. Listening carefully, we can clearly see, hear, and understand these politicians disdain for the Constitution; that is, for the liberties guaranteed to the people and not to their government (or their idea of government). Their words and actions make this clear and clearly reveal who they are. They want a living Constitution that can be crafted to their own political desires, that suits them and empowers them to dictate to those they intend to rule. They envision an ever-changing, never-ending list of demands that will further solidify their control. They are, therefore, disqualified for elected office. And yet, because elections have consequences, we have the government we chose -- and deserve. I am usually only in command of what is clearly obvious, but I honestly wonder: am I the only person who sees this? I doubt that can be true. We, as Americans, have been given a legacy of Freedom that has done more to liberate the worlds population and lift that population out of oppressive, generational poverty than any other nation in human history. But Freedom is no longer on the march. Instead, it is under attack, both here, within our borders, and by our enemies abroad. There was once a time when 56 men -- wealthy, white men -- pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to sign a document that would plant the seeds to establish a government founded in Freedom. They intended to and did -- guarantee the freedom and equal opportunity of every citizen to become as successful, as wealthy, and as powerful as these men were, should citizens choose to do so in their pursuit of happiness. What will we pledge to preserve the best of America? We must right the wrongs, yes, but we must also protect and defend our legacy of Freedom. Hopefully, it will become clear that those who hold elected office have violated their oath of office and have disqualified themselves from service. I believe so, and Here I Stand. Jeff M. Lewis is a self-employed small business owner and resides with his family in South Texas. IMAGE: We the People. Public domain image. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Most Americans celebrating the July 4th holiday today underappreciate or have forgotten that it was the sheer power of the ideas in the Declaration of Independence that was the determining factor for the Americans in winning the War of Independence. Additionally, most today have no idea how somber the occasion was when those 56 members of the Continental Congress committed themselves to signing the Declaration in July of 1776. They knew that taking pen to paper as a signatory was for each a death warrant for being a traitor to Great Britain. Thus, the first Declaration of Independence that was signed on July 4, did not have signatures from the committed delegates. Instead, there were two signatures on that first document: John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress and Charles Thomson, secretary of the Continental Congress. It took more than two weeks for the Declaration to be engrossed -- that is written on parchment in a clear hand. Many of the 56 delegates to the Continental Congress who had agreed to sign the document did so on August 2, but there were new delegates who replaced some six of the original delegates and there were an additional seven delegates who could not sign until many weeks later. At that time Great Britain was the dominant power in the western world, and the reality was that the untrained and underequipped American colonial army had almost no chance of defeating the British army and navy -- the most formidable military force in the world. So the 56-signatory Declaration was held in abeyance to protect the lives and property of the signers for release at a later time. General George Washington was in New York preparing its defense, when on July 6, 1776 a courier from Philadelphia arrived to deliver a copy of the two-signature Declaration of Independence that had been agreed upon by the Continental Congress several days before. Deeply moved by the power of the Declarations words, Washington ordered copies sent to all generals in the Continental Army and that chaplains be hired for every regiment to assure that, every officer and man, will endeavor so to live and act, as becomes a Christian Soldier, defending the dearest Rights and Liberties of his country. Like the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration was a true covenant of absolute commitment, with its last sentence invoking: with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor. A few days later, on July 9, after the meaning of the Declaration had sunk in, Washington called a halt to his troops battle preparations, and announced a respite and gathering in order to read the Declaration to his soldiers and townspeople. The crowd hustled down to what is now lower Manhattan where they could see the British ships at anchor in New York harbor. The occasion was also marked by a few rowdies pulling down a monument to King George III, severing the statues head. Under Washingtons command were about 18-19,000 men making up what was a rag-tag colonial army. They faced about 35,000 professionally trained and well-equipped British and German mercenary Hessian soldiers who had arrived on some 150 British ships. When conflict finally broke out on Long Island on August 27th, Washingtons men were quickly and soundly thrashed and forced to retreat. Washingtons troops would face two more devastating routs in the next two months, with nearly six times more casualties than the British suffered -- forced to leave New York in total and abject defeat. Washingtons greatest challenge then in marching in November to Philadelphia was maintaining the morale, confidence, and loyalty of his greatly diminished and discouraged troops, numbering only about 3,500 at that time. But for a gallant few, nearly all thought the Revolution was lost. Encamped near Philadelphia on the bank of the Delaware River, Washington pondered his next move. His faith and belief in the cause of independence sustained him, but he knew at this point only a decisive victory could bring about a reversal of fortune. That prayer was answered when reliable intelligence from a spy revealed that a large contingent of Hessians under British command were occupying Trenton only nine miles away. Washington immediately set to planning the famous crossing of the Delaware on Christmas night and the march to Trenton that followed. The surprise attack that ensued early the next morning was a resounding victory. And after another intelligence tip a few days later, Washington made a second successful surprise attack on the British encamped in nearby Princeton. Perceiving this dual miracle as a harbinger of more victories to come, and perhaps with many recognizing the power of providence and the vital importance in the ideas manifest in the Declaration, the Continental Congress ordered the reprinting and dissemination to all the colonies of the now famous 56-signature Declaration of Independence on January 18, 1777 -- some six months after the original document had been drafted and resoundingly approved. On balance, the colonial army lost more battles than it won, but the persistence of Washington over the next four and three-quarter years and the victory at Yorktown on October 17, 1781 brought an end to the war, the surrender of the British, and the complete independence of the United States. Washington remains the greatest president in the minds of many because of his fearless courage in battle, his incredible perseverance against unfathomable odds, and his attendant faith in the providence that provided protection and empowered him to achieve the impossible. As we reflect on the meaning of July 4th this year, we should celebrate and take heart that the same good ideas and principles -- natural God-given rights and obligations -- expressed in the Declaration of Independence -- that inspired Washington are as real today as they were then. And when these ideas and principles are acted upon by enough people, good will triumph over evil. Scott Powell is a senior fellow at Discovery Institute and author of the forthcoming Post Hill Press book, Rediscovering America , which develops the ideas in this article across 400 years of American history. You can reach him at scottp@discovery.org Image: Thomas Cizauskas To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. When Winston Churchill was First Lord of the Admiralty and proposed some much-needed reforms, the pushback he received claimed that the reforms ran afoul of naval tradition. Churchill snapped back, "Naval tradition? Naval tradition? Monstrous. Nothing but rum, sodomy, prayers, and the lash." More than 100 years later, it appears that the United States Navy is embracing that sodomy tradition. How else to explain that officers at a Naval Seabees unit allegedly forced everyone to attend a "Diversity Hike," while waving a "stars and rainbow-stripes" flag as they went? Matt Walsh first broke the news, which he received from a naval wife whose active-duty husband was one of the people forced on the march: A woman whose husband is active duty Navy sent me this. His command held a diversity hike in honor of Pride Month. Attendance was mandatory. They hiked while waving a rainbow American flag. pic.twitter.com/ctx66HNoi5 Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 29, 2021 In the flyer announcing the hike a flyer complete with not one, but two gay flags the reason given for the hike was "We will support our brothers and sister [sic] whom [sic] are a part of the Pride community." For attire, hikers were told to wear "Pride attire, colorful clothing." The only flag flying was this one, the stars and rainbow stripes: Indeed, the Navy was so proud of the march and the flag that it put up a Facebook post boasting that, "[i]n honor of Pride Month, Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 303 went on a Pride Hike at Sunset Cliff on June 25, 2021." It even highlighted the flag in its Facebook photos: You probably noticed, as many others did, that there's nothing in the flyer that Walsh posted to indicate that hike attendance was mandatory. However, if we believe the woman who submitted the information to Walsh, we can assume that it was one of those things common to any hierarchical organization in which those in command so strongly suggested attendance that it was tantamount to an order. Chris Menahan discovered that, in April, men in the same unit "had to hold up these humiliating signs telling one another not to commit rape." Sure enough, here are the photos: It turns out that San Diego's Construction Battalion Maintenance unit goes all out for Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) month, which really seems quite insulting to the men in the unit (or the aggressive lesbians?): I won't comment here on whether the military's switching from "don't ask, don't tell" to openly LGBT service was a good thing or not. However, I see absolutely no reason why the Navy, or any branch of the American military, should be celebrating the LGBT cohort. If people under the LGBT flag want to celebrate themselves, that's fine, but to make it official American military policy to revel in the fact that people go to bed with people of the same sex and with people of "every" "gender," or with people who can't figure out their own sex, is a joke. The military is about creating a force capable of defending this country at a moment's notice. It should never be about making people who constitute a minority of American sexual identity feel good about themselves. As for me, I take no pride in Pride. I'm opposed to belittling, injury, or discriminating against the LGBT spectrum, but that's it. I don't believe there's a constitutional right to same-sex "marriage" because that clashes with religious liberty (although I believe that states can authorize whatever civil unions they want). And I don't believe in what's currently going on under Joe Biden, which is the nation's bow-down to people suffering from gender dysphoria. And most of all, I don't believe in making people serving in the Navy go on Pride hikes under a gay flag, and that's true whether it's an official mandate to go on the hike or an unofficial, nudge-nudge "you'd better go" mandate. Our military should never march under any flag but the American one. Image: The Navy marches under the gay flag. Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit THREE ZERO THREE Mainbody Facebook photo. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. You may have missed it, but the person a heartbeat away from the presidency, Kamala Harris, finally visited the U.S.-Mexico border area recently. If you did miss it, its probably because Team Kamala cynically scheduled the trip on a Friday in the belief that most people would forget about it after the weekend. As it turned out, they had good reason to hide it. Instead of being yet another carefully choreographed media photo op, the trip was illustrative of everything we have seen thus far from the Biden administration on immigration: recklessness, weakness, radicalism and contempt for the American people and their interests. The question at this point is not so much what can be done about the Biden immigration enforcement collapse right now, but how many decades it will take, if ever, for the country to recover from the damage Biden, Harris & Co. are causing. Its that bad. Much like her recent gaffe-plagued diplomatic mission to Guatemala, Harriss El Paso odyssey was tainted before it started. The selection of El Paso as the venue had many scratching their heads, as the southernmost tip of Texas near McAllen is where the real crisis is happening almost 800 miles away. A member of Harriss own party, Rep. Henry Cuellar from Laredo, revealed the true motive when he said that the selection of El Paso was a politically safe move. Cuellar is now considered a pariah in many Democratic Party circles for daring to publicly call out the Biden administration for creating the border mess. In order to keep message discipline on the trip, Harris brought along friendlies like Rep. Veronica Escobar, whose district includes El Paso. She greeted the media on the tarmac in El Paso by welcoming them to the new Ellis Island, the capital of the border while Harris looked on approvingly. The comparison of El Paso to Ellis Island is historically inaccurate, as the latter welcomed legal immigrants who were thoroughly vetted for communicable diseases, quarantined if necessary, and often required documentation of the immigrants identity and country of origin. None of those things are happening with the consistency required along the southern border today. Calling El Paso the new Ellis Island also gives a terribly mixed message to foreign nationals seeking to come here. While in Guatemala, Harris strayed from the administrations narrative when she warned people in the Northern Triangle do not come to the U.S. border. Now she smiles when Rep. Escobar compares El Paso to the historic gateway to millions of immigrants a century ago. Many of the migrants at our border today are poor, undereducated and possibly carrying infectious diseases. Thanks to Harriss ham-handed messaging, they are confused as well. Once into her four-hour visit to various facilities in El Pasobut not the actual borderHarris spoke consistently with White House talking points, offering up a word salad of partisan comments that revealed their actual agenda. We inherited a tough situation, she said, blaming the Trump administration for the border crisis. In five months weve made progress. To describe what the Trump administration handed off to Biden-Harris at the border as a tough situation is valid only to someone who views our national sovereignty and the interests of the American people with utter contempt. Under Trump, initiatives like the Remain in Mexico policy and ending catch-and-release were highly effective at controlling the worst elements of our immigration problems. Similarly, to call what the current occupant of the White House has unleashed at the border progress requires a complete suspension of disbelief. Ignore the images of overcrowded facilities and overwhelmed border agents. In some warped, citizens-of-the-world-unite perspective, this is progress. For all the lefts caterwauling about Trump purportedly separating families and incarcerating children, the reality is that the Trump policies to deter migration likely saved many lives of those who chose not to make the dangerous journey north. They also spared untold numbers of girls from the horror of sexual assault that is common among those relying on human trafficking cartels to facilitate passage. By reversing virtually all of Trumps border protocols, Biden and Harris have opened the door to the death, sexual violence and mass detention that comes with the anti-borders agenda. Harris and Homeland Security Director Alejandro Mayorkas can talk like benevolent leaders of a migrant resettlement nonprofit, but it doesnt hide the fact that their policies are bringing unspeakable misery to the very people they claim to be helping, not to mention completely ignoring the negative impact these policies have on American citizens. There is nothing compassionate about that. Brian Lonergan is director of communications at the Immigration Reform Law Institute, a public interest law firm working to defend the rights and interests of the American people from the negative effects of mass migration. Image: Screen shot from shareable video posted on YouTube by The Guardian. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. As we celebrate the 245th anniversary of this great republic, it's important to remember the reason July 4 is called Independence Day. On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence from Great Britain's monarch, King George. Two days later, delegates from the thirteen colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson. It was a stunning and dangerously bold move for the colonists to assert their freedom from the British Empire, the most powerful country in the world at that time. However, from its beginning, the newly formed United States of America was emboldened by its ideals, not the least of which was religious liberty. The eloquently written Declaration set forth principles that were firmly grounded in faith. Numerous references to a higher power are found in the writings of the Founders. This famous passage makes it clear that their faith gave them the courage of their convictions: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Those words became the aspirations our country would be built around. Jefferson, who abhorred the tyranny being imposed upon the colonies, wrote of his sad but necessary duty to rebel. "There is not in the British Empire a man who more cordially desires a union with Great Britain than I do. But, by the God that made me, I will cease to exist before I yield to a connection on such terms as the Parliament proposes. And in this, I think I speak the sentiments of America." Writing in July 1776, referring to the momentous move by the colonists, John Adams, who would become our second president, wrote: "It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty." Various religions have influenced the course of history for thousands of years. Belief in something outside our mortal existence has been a necessary component in constructing a civilization out of a primitive landscape. Similarly, it was faith in God, instilled in the heart and soul of the early settlers, that gave them purpose and united them for the grueling challenges they faced. The power of prayer is more than a cliche; it's a spiritual transaction with one's creator that provides hope when earthly solutions don't seem possible. As our country grew toward its Manifest Destiny, the foundation of religious principles grew with it. In 1954, during the Cold War era, Americans wanted to distinguish the United States from the state atheism promoted by Marxist countries. Therefore, on Flag Day of that year, Congress added the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance, after "one nation." Seven years later, in one of the greatest inaugural addresses of the 20th century, President John Kennedy said: "We observe today, not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom[.] ... [F]or I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago. Those revolutionary beliefs for which they fought are still at issue around the globe; the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God." President Ronald Reagan said: "Without God there is a coarsening of the society. And without God, democracy cannot and will not long endure. If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, we will be a nation gone under." As we gather with family and friends to celebrate the many rewards of living in this freest of all nations, let us not forget to thank those who risked everything, including their lives, to provide us with this bountiful lifestyle, which we so often take for granted. What we inherited, as a birthright, was made possible by some of the toughest, bravest, and most visionary people in history. Yet Benjamin Franklin said when asked what type of government had been formed: "A republic, if you can keep it." Perhaps, if we hold on to the values of our religious heritage, Franklin's advice will keep us from losing what our forefathers achieved for us. Image: JSMed via Pixabay, Pixabay License. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. How do you make decisions in our new internet world? Most of us just go to Google and type in the question: "Is it safe to get the COVID-19 vaccine?" The overwhelming response is "Yes!" Every entry below has the same strangely similar results. "Side effects are minor and common." "Side effects are a sign that your vaccine is working properly." When you visit YouTube and do the same search, again, you see a consistent theme. "The risk from the COVID outweigh the risks from the vaccines," and "vaccine side effects are actually a good thing." Check for yourself. But when you go to an uncensored video website like Bitchute.com or Rumble.com, you see a totally different result: scores of doctors and scientists warning about the danger from the shots, and hundreds of videos from real people who have had horrific side effects from their injections, and most were at extremely low risk for dying from COVID. You are now presented with a dilemma: "whom do I trust with this potentially life-altering decision? Which is worse, the disease or the cure?" Ask yourself, which is more likely in our new world where government officials, news media, and social media have all teamed up to present only one side of an issue? When were the first incidences of information and videos being "fact-checked" and removed? When were the first cases of websites actually being "de-platformed"? When, in our history, have doctors and scientists been pressured, vilified, and even fired from their jobs for expressing their honest opinions about the most important disease facing our planet? If you think back, this all started with two subjects: Hunter Biden's ties to China before the 2020 election and the press conference by America's Frontline Doctors talking about effective treatments for COVID. What happened to the free exchange of ideas and information in the United States? Whom do you believe: doctors, scientists and real people telling their stories, or Big Techcontrolled media pushing a narrative to "get the vaccine so you can hug your grandmother"? Why are state governors giving million-dollar lottery tickets in order to get people to take the shot? If the public believed that the vaccines are safe and effective, then people should be lining up of their own free will. If you post a comment or video on Facebook about negative vaccine side-effects, your post is "fact-checked" and then deleted, and your account may be closed. On the other hand, if you knew there were truly safe and effective treatments for COVID, and even safe and effective preventative measures you and your family members could take, the whole issue goes away. You won't need the shot, and the "Emergency Use Authorization" for the vaccine injections would be no longer valid. But if you go to your same sources and type "hydroxychloroquine" or "ivermectin," you get a response dated Nov. 9, 2020: "A National Institutes of Health clinical trial evaluating the safety and effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has formally concluded that the drug provides no clinical benefit to hospitalized patients" and "WHO 'strongly' against hydroxychloroquine use for COVID-19." For ivermectin, you get articles on "Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19." Check for yourself. If you go to Bitchute with the same question, you are presented with the banned videos from America's Frontline Doctors explaining their experience with using HCQ and ivermectin to prevent and cure COVID. Rumble shows videos about studies from doctors and scientists about how effective they are. It seems that despite the concerted efforts of Big Tech, people are smart enough to figure out what's going on. This chart shows a dramatic rise in vaccinations followed by an equally dramatic decrease. Why have the vaccinations dropped off so sharply? Could it be that the word is getting out that the vaccines are not as safe as advertised, or that COVID is not much to worry about if you're under 70? Are you thinking of getting a COVID shot? Is your teenager being forced to take a shot in order to return to college? Do you have friends who are on the fence? A website has been set up that shows videos from real people explaining their stories about side-effects from getting the vaccines. It also asks people to submit their own stories. Oddly enough, the website is "1000CovidStories.com." Watch for yourself and make up your own mind. Determine for yourself if these stories are fakes or real. Then ask yourself and your friends, "Is it worth it to risk life-changing and even fatal side effects from a vaccine for a disease that is survived by 99.98% of people under 70?" To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Although the Supreme Court decision upholding Arizona voting rules made the front page of The Washington Post, July 2 even above the fold the lead story announced: "Prosecutors allege fraud at Trump firm." An accompanying front-page story (also above the fold) in the Post's July 2 edition gave Donald J. Trump's reaction to the Manhattan district attorney's action against his firm and the firm's chief financial officer, Alan Weisselberg. The accompanying article is worth noting in that it includes a falsehood by omission against the former president. This article, by Josh Dawsey, starts out by asserting that Mr. Trump "turned to a familiar playbook Thursday, attacking New York prosecutors who charged his company and chief financial officer with a raft of financial crimes by calling their charges politically motivated and an overreach designed to target him and his supporters." The falsehood by omission comes in the next paragraph. Trump, who has battled through decades of criminal investigations, bankruptcies and scandals, immediately used some of the same phraseology he employed during investigations into his conduct in the 2016 campaign and while he served as president. It is the last part of the paragraph that carries the lie by omission, but first shouldn't the reporter have informed readers what "criminal investigations" Donald J. Trump battled over "decades"? And although even casual observers of business matters might be aware that Mr. Trump has filed for bankruptcy relief, to what "scandals" does reporter Dawsey refer? When it comes down to covering Donald J. Trump, we get journalism by innuendo. Now let's focus on the last part of the paragraph, alluding to "phraseology ... employed [by Mr. Trump] during investigations into his conduct in the 2016 campaign and while he served as president." At this point, Dawsey quotes from a Trump statement in response to the action against his firm and Mr. Weisselberg. "The political Witch Hunt by the Radical Left Democrats, with New York now taking over the assignment, continues. It is dividing our Country like never before." Well, what were the "investigations into [Mr. Trump's] conduct in the 2016 campaign and while he served as president" if they were not witch hunts? Note that this reporter, a Washington Post employee of the rabidly anti-Trump Post-owner, Jeff Bezos, does not specify that the investigations into the conduct of candidate, and then president, Donald Trump were probes of phony accusations that the candidate was colluding with Russia's President Vladimir Putin, that he was "Putin's puppet," as Hillary Clinton, among other totalitarian tropesters, falsely spewed out and what was the investigation while Mr. Trump was president if not the phony, politically rancid impeachment brought by the vicious, partisan Nancy Pelosi and her lackeys, Representatives J. Nadler and A. Schiff (who probably would never have gotten elected to the House if his name was not the fictional name of the Manhattan D.A. on the NBC program "Law and Order" how many people thought they were electing the marvelous actor Steven Hill, the fictional "Adam Schiff," to Congress?)? The essential charge in Impeachment I was that Mr. Trump was acting as if he were in charge of foreign policy, when that policy is to be left to invisible bureaucrats at the National Security Council, who, ostensibly, are serving the president, not ordering him about. In brief, the probes of candidate Trump, and of President Trump, were indeed "politically motivated witch hunts." Continuing on the inside page, fake newsdisseminator Dawsey writes "that Trump," out of the White House, is "testing [his ability] to turn allegations against him into political rallying cries." The immediate paragraph above this assertion dredged up old accusations including this: "spreading falsehoods about the 2020 election that served as fuel for the mob that attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6. This quoted assertion is a matter of leftist opinion, not newsworthy fact. But here focus on the words "spreading falsehoods about the 2020 election." Isn't it remarkable that neither Dawsey nor, apparently, any media leftists can ever insert the term "falsehoods" to describe the "investigations" of candidate and then president and now citizen Trump? And speaking of investigations whatever happened to Special Counsel John Durham, who was to have gotten to the bottom of the political falsehood generally known as "the Russia hoax," the lie that President Trump was a tool of Russia? Maybe it is time to investigate apparent problems attending the Durham investigation of (whisper this) Democrat conduct during the 2016 campaign and while Mr. Trump was president. But that would take assertive action from congressional Republicans. Don't hold your breath. Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. According to an Iranian government website, 15 million eligible people sat out Iran's 2017 presidential election. For the 2021 presidential election, this number has doubled to roughly 30 million. Of this number, a significant proportion of those who voted in the 2021 presidential election cast blank or deformed ballots. Believe it or not, these invalid ballots contributed to 14% of the total votes, ranking second place in the final tally. What's even more amazing is that the Iranian government, known for its dishonesty and opacity, released these numbers. This is the same government that hid details about the downed Ukrainian plane in Tehran and about the death toll from the widespread uprising in mid-November 2019. Nor does anyone think Iran has been truthful and transparent regarding the number of people who have died because of COVID-19. Again, according to regime statistics, the presidential election participation in Tehran's capital was only 26 percent. It means that only one in four people eligible to vote in Tehran cast their ballots, and of that, 12 percent belonged to invalid votes. This situation is genuinely unprecedented. The non-participation of about 30 million people in the elections and the casting of about four million invalid ballots in the ballot boxes have broken the records of non-participation in this election and invalid ballots. In other words, about 58% did not participate in the election, which is the lowest turnout in all post-revolutionary elections. For the last many years, the regime has had to deal with protesters across Iran who have questioned the regime's legitimacy and threatened its survival. The regime must be deeply worried that so many people sat out the election or cast deliberately invalid ballots. From another perspective, given that the fix was already in when the supreme leader unilaterally disqualified candidates he disliked, can we even believe that 42 percent of the population voted for Ebrahim Raisi? After all, they knew the victory was a foregone conclusion whether or not they voted. That makes it reasonable to suspect that the 42% who "voted" for Raisi may also be a big lie. The Iranian opposition MEK, citing 1,200 reports from 400 cities in Iran and thousands of videos and photos from polling stations, declared that the Iranian regime's 42% figure is at least five times the actual number of votes cast for Raisi. Contrary to those who claim that the turnout in Western countries is also low, it should be said that turnout in Western countries is around 60 to 70%. Furthermore, non-participation in the voting process is considered a sin. The people in Western countries choose to vote or not, with no pressure or intimidation. In Iran, people are intimidated, harassed, and threatened to vote. Iranian people must be seriously unhappy not to vote. Khamenei's fatwa (religious decree) banning the purchase of COVID vaccines from America and Britain, combined with general repression and resistance activities in Iran urging people not to vote, seems to have been strong enough to push a major election boycott. The election boycott sends two clear messages. First, the people have absolutely no trust that voting will affect their future. Second, Khamenei's decision to disqualify the candidates at the outset of the election based on his desire to maintain complete control so disregarded the will of the people that they have completely disengaged from the government. Following the uprisings in November 2019, the Iranian regime has two distinct choices. The first choice is to go some way to listening to, and even acting on, the protesters' demands. That will decrease the regime's control and result in the people making greater future demands. The Iranian authorities will almost have to provide answers to the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in the summer of 1988, the Iran-Iraq war that resulted in more than one million deaths and billions wasted, Raisi's record on human rights, and his role in the 1988 massacre. In other words, this choice will effectively destroy the regime. The second choice is to ramp up violence and repression against the people. Khamenei chose the second scenario in the parliamentary elections in March 2017, when he disqualified most non-loyal candidates. This year, appointing Raisi to the presidency makes sense to the regime as another way to maintain complete control. Khamenei wants to gather all his loyalists under one umbrella and one repressive policy. However, what the regime could not control was the people's will, expressed through passive resistance, rather than action. They won the presidential election when they said no to Iran's forced choice. By doing so, they showed their determination to achieve a free and prosperous Iran. Image: Ebrahim Raisi "wins" the election (cropped). YouTube screen grab. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Have any questions? Please give us a call at 907-561-7737 (Image source from: Ndtv.com) Centre rushes teams to 6 states after rising Covid-19 Cases:- The second wave of coronavirus calmed down and things are under control in India. With restrictions lifted completely, the Centre is scared of a third wave after experts warned about it in October. The Centre now send six high-level multi-disciplinary health teams to six states of the country which have been reporting a high number of Covid-19 cases. The teams are sent to the states Kerala, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Manipur and Chhattisgarh to control the cases and implement special measures as per the instructions from the Union Health Ministry. These teams will study the challenges and the issues that are faced by the states. The teams will also strengthen the ongoing activities told the Union Health Ministry. The teams will have a clinician and a public health expert. The Ministry told "The team to Manipur will be led by Dr. L Swasticharan, Add. DDG & Director EMR; team to Arunachal Pradesh will be led by Dr. Sanjay Sadhukhan, Professor AIIH&PH; for Tripura Dr. RN Sinha Dir Professor, AIIH&PH; for Kerala Dr. Ruchi Jain, Public Health Specialist Gr. II, RoHFW; for Odisha Dr. A Dan, Public Health Specialist AIIH&PH and for Chhattisgarh Dr. Dibakar Sahu, Assistant Professor, AIIMS Raipur". These teams will support the health officials of the states and will tackle the pandemic. The officials will also check about the availability of the hospital beds, ventilators, oxygen and other medical facilities in the respective states. (Image source from: India.com) Indian Students to benefit through the UK's New Graduate Route:- All the Indian students in the United Kingdom will have an opportunity to stay in the country for a long time after the completion of their education. Priti Patel, UK Home Secretary opened a new graduate immigration route that will benefit thousands of international students to stay and work in the United Kingdom. They can look for opportunities at any skill level for two years after their education gets completed. As per the press release from the British High Commission, the statement said "For the first time, the vast majority of applicants to the graduate route will be able to apply in a fully digital way, using the UK Immigration: ID Check smartphone app. All the successful applicants will be issued an eVisa and they will be able to conveniently access this status whenever needed to prove their rights in the UK". The process is more convenient as the students can submit all the documents online. Prior to this, the students had to visit a Citizenship application service center to submit the documents or they have to resubmit the biometrics. All those who cannot use the application can apply online but they will have to visit an application center. There are more than 56,000 Indian students who are granted student visas in the UK last year which is 13 percent higher than the previous year. Police are hunting three men who tried to snatch a schoolgirl in Manchester. (Getty) A schoolgirl has fought off three masked men who grabbed her on a playing field in Manchester. The men tried to snatch the nine-year-old in Blackley on Thursday, but she freed herself and ran away, according to Manchester Evening News. Greater Manchester Police are now hunting the men involved, and patrols have been stepped up in the area following the incident. Authorities have launched an appeal for any information and said they would do 'everything they can' to locate the suspects. Two of the men are described as white, and the other one as mixed race. They were all dressed in dark clothing and were wearing face coverings. Detective Inspector Louise Edwards, of GMP's City of Manchester division, said: "This is a concerning incident and thankfully the child was able to run away from the men. "I would like to reassure the community that we are doing everything we can to find these men and have increased patrols in the area whilst we investigate. "We are keen to hear from anyone who may have witnessed this incident or seen any men in the area matching these descriptions. "Anyone with information should contact North Manchester CID on 0161 856 1146 quoting incident number 3201 of 01/07/21. "Information can also be reported online or by using the LiveChat function at www.gmp.police.uk. "Alternatively, call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111." A man has been charged with murder after a 60-year-old was stabbed in central London. Tedi Fanta Hagos, 25, of Ravenhill, Swansea, was charged with murder and possession of an offensive weapon on Friday and is expected to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday, Scotland Yard said. Police were called shortly before 8pm on Thursday to reports of a man stabbed at Oxford Circus, close to the junction with Regent Street. Officers, London Ambulance Service and Londons Air Ambulance attended the scene where a 60-year-old man was found with stab injuries. He was taken to hospital where he later died. The victim has not yet been named. The Met said his next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers. A post-mortem examination will take place in due course. Warren Buffett billionaire net worth You don't get to be one of the richest people in the world without knowing something the rest of us don't. Often referred to as the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett has a net worth of $101.6 billion, according to Forbes. Weirdly Similar: Weird Things Top Billionaires Have in Common Billionaire Status: The 25 Richest People in the US While Buffett is unquestionably a genius when it comes to business, his words of wisdom aren't just good for finding a hot investment. In fact, there are many Warren Buffett tips that anyone can use. Learn how you can apply Buffett's tips and hack your way to a wealthier life. Last updated: July 2, 2021 LONG BEACH, CA - OCTOBER 22: Businessman Warren Buffett speaks at the 2008 Women's Conference at the Long Beach Convention Center on October 22, 2008 in Long Beach, California. 1. Decide That Youre Going To Be Rich In order to be rich, you have to believe that one day you will be. According to the Huffington Post, Buffett once reportedly said, "I always knew I was going to be rich. I don't think I ever doubted it for a minute." For best results, set high expectations for yourself and work toward your goals and aspirations. "Then, make it clear to yourself, your family and friends that you have a commitment to become financially independent," said Randall "Dolph" Janis, an insurance agent at Clear Income Strategies Group. "Create your future with a plan, knowing when to get aggressive against knowing when to be conservative." Find Out: How Rich Was Warren Buffett at Your Age? 21 Life Hacks From Warren Buffett That Anyone Can Use 2. Start Saving at a Young Age By age 15, Warren Buffett had earned $2,000 delivering papers and selling magazine subscriptions, according to CNBC. He used $1,200 of his earnings to invest in a farm, forming a profit-sharing agreement with the farmer. The lesson? "Start saving money as early as possible, so that you get into the habit," said Brittney Castro, founder and CEO of Financially Wise Women. This is important whether you're saving to invest in a business or buy your first house. See More: Rich People Who Still Have Frugal Habits WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 05: Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett attends the Fortune Most Powerful Women summit at Mandarin Oriental Hotel on October 5, 2010 in Washington, DC. 3. Reinvest Your Profits When Buffett was in high school, he and a friend bought a pinball machine. According to Biography, the pair put it in a barbershop and quickly earned enough to buy more machines and install them in other shops. The friends eventually sold all the machines for a profit of $1,200. If you want your fortune to grow, the best thing you can do is keep reinvesting it in your business. Of course, you can enjoy the fruits of your labor, but don't spend it all in one place. Check Out: Hobbies of Warren Buffett, Mark Cuban and Other Successful People WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 19: Warren Buffett, chairman of the board and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, speaks in Gaston Hall at Georgetown University, September 19, 2013 in Washington, DC. 4. Graduate College Early Because of Buffett's sharp mind for business, it's no surprise that he managed to finish college in three years -- two at the Wharton School of Business and one at the University of Nebraska, according to the book "Icons of Business." Although college costs weren't nearly as high in Buffett's day as they are today, it's likely that he saved money by completing his education in three years instead of four. Today's college students can save by following his lead. For the 2016-2017 school year, the College Board estimated that the average cost of tuition at a private college was $33,480. If you attended a state school as a resident, you spent $9,650 per year. However, graduating early could save you even more when you factor in the cost of student loan interest paid out over the next 25 years. SAN FRANCISCO - DECEMBER 11: Billionaire investor Warren Buffett talks as Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton listens onstage at a fund-raising event December 11, 2007 in San Francisco, California. 5. Bounce Back From Rejection Ironically, Harvard Business School rejected Buffett after his interview. But instead of sulking, he headed to Columbia and met Benjamin Graham. Graham is a legend in the investment industry, and he became Buffett's mentor. Much of Buffett's incredible investing success could arguably be credited to Graham and the lessons he taught him. "Turned down? Who cares, keep going, it happens all the time," said Tom Scuccimarra, national sales manager at M&O Marketing. "You can't take it personally, and you can't let it push you off course of your dreams." Even if you get rejected from a school or job opportunity, it's important to keep moving forward. If Buffett had quit after Harvard dismissed him, he wouldn't be where he is today. Don't Miss: How To Turn Your Failure Into Financial Success Warren Buffett gets a personal tour of Benjamin Moore Paints' Clifton, NJ Distribution Center on Tues May 8, 2001. 6. Communicate in Person In 1951, when Buffett was looking for companies to invest in, he stumbled across GEICO. To investigate further, he rode a train to the company's headquarters. According to GEICO's website, the office was closed, so a janitor let him in. Luckily, a top executive was there, and they had a meeting. After, Buffett made one of his earliest stock purchases invested in GEICO. Today, the insurance company is a subsidiary wholly owned by Berkshire Hathaway. Follow Buffett's advice and don't underestimate the value of face-to-face communication. When you're trying to achieve a business or personal goal, sometimes a phone call or email just won't cut it. Warren Buffett down on the farm, Benjamin Moore's test farm that is, in Flanders, N. 7. Be Persistent When Buffett graduated college, he wanted to work on Wall Street. He offered to work for his mentor Graham, but Graham said, "no," wrote author James Altucher on his website. So, Buffett went back to Omaha -- but he still continued to pitch ideas to Graham. Eventually, Graham hired Buffett. If you get a "no" from a potential employer who you really want to work for, never take it as a final answer -- keep trying until you get a "yes." How To: Improve Your Chances of Getting That Job 404925 01: Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway talks to members of the media May 4, 2002 at the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. 8. Master Public Speaking Good public speaking skills can take you far in your profession. However, speaking in front of large groups can be terrifying for some -- even Buffett. In fact, Buffett admitted that used to throw up before public speaking. But instead of letting his fear cripple him, Buffett took the necessary steps to improve his public speaking skills. According to Forbes, he took a Dale Carnegie public speaking course and he learned that he could, in fact, speak in front of a group. Buffett went on to become an excellent orator. NEW YORK - JUNE 02: Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, waits to testify before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) at The New School June 2, 2010 in New York City. 9. Maintain Good Savings Habits According to the book "Icons of Business," Buffett returned to Omaha when Graham closed his partnership. Luckily, he had his finances in order. By being a good saver and avoiding debt, Buffett grew his savings from $9,800 to $140,000. He then went on to create Buffett Associates, Ltd. Paul Tarins, president and founder of Sovereign Retirement Solutions, said, "When evaluating your cash flow, you should understand that the more revolving debt you carry, the more you will diminish the amount that can be invested." By saving money and avoiding debt, you too can take advantage of business opportunities and pursue personal goals, such as retiring early. 404962 01: Warren Buffett (L) and Berkshire-Hathaway partner Charlie Munger address members of the media May 5, 2002 in Omaha, Nebraska following the annual shareholders meeting. 10. Find a Business Partner One could argue that Buffett wouldn't be successful without Charlie Munger, his billionaire right-hand man. According to the Economist, the pair met in 1959, and today Munger is the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. Business Insider reported that Buffett once wrote, "It took a powerful force to move me on from Graham's limiting views. It was the power of Charlie's mind. He expanded my horizons." Together, they took on some of Buffett's largest acquisitions, such as BNSF Corp. If you want to be successful, it's important to find a trusted partner -- be it a business acquaintance, friend or spouse -- who challenges you to be better. Related: The 14 Best Business Partner Duos of All Time NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 19: Warren Buffett attends 'Becoming Warren Buffett' World Premiere at The Museum of Modern Art on January 19, 2017 in New York City. 11. Be True to Yourself Berkshire Hathaway is located in a fairly average-looking building in Omaha. But since Buffett is worth close to $75 billion, many assume he works in more luxurious digs. "Your personal image is not the perception of how successful you are. Don't be someone you are not," said Janis. Buffett owns who he is -- a humble, grounded and notoriously frugal man. Flashy headquarters wouldn't suit him. You can follow this life hack by owning who you are; the people around you will view you as more authentic as a result. SUN VALLEY, ID - JULY 09: Warren Buffett (C), chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. 12. Live Frugally Whatever your goals are in life, living frugally gives you the latitude to accomplish them. Unlike other billionaires who live lavish lifestyles, Buffett is known for living modestly. In fact, Munger said during the 2014 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Q&A, "Frugality is basically how Berkshire happened." "There are things money can't buy," Buffett said at the same event. "I don't think standard of living equates with cost of living beyond a certain point. Good housing, good health, good food, good transport. There's a point you start getting inverse correlation between wealth and quality of life. My life couldn't be happier. In fact, it'd be worse if I had six or eight houses." NEW YORK - JUNE 26: Warren Buffet appears on the Charlie Rose Show in the Bloomberg Building June 26, 2006 in New York. 13. Invest In Yourself Part of Berkshire Hathaway's success is due to the fact that Buffett put his money where his mouth was and invested in himself. Tarins believes that's imperative if you want to succeed in business and life. "The best way to achieve wealth is always to pay yourself first," he said. "Many people are currently doing this by investing through their company's retirement plan. If you develop the habit of always paying yourself first, you will be extremely successful in acquiring wealth." TEFFEN, ISRAEL - SEPTEMBER 18: American billionaire investor Warren Buffett (R) gives a press conference with his business partner Charlie Munger at the Iscar Metalworking headquarters September 18, 2006 in the Teffen industrial zone in northern Israel. 14. Stick to Your Guns Berkshire Hathaway does not pay dividends. In fact, it paid out its only dividend in 1967, according to Investopedia. And Buffett claimed that he must have been in the bathroom when this happened. Buffett reportedly doesn't like dividends, partly because they are taxed as income. Not receiving a dividend from Berkshire Hathaway is probably a sore spot for many investors. Regardless, Buffett refuses to pay them. Sticking to your guns is a good life hack whether you're talking about investing in a business venture or allowing your teenager to go to that unsupervised party. WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 05: Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. 15. Be a Contrarian Investor Buffett is what you would call a contrarian investor -- meaning he's known for buying assets that aren't doing well and then selling them when they do perform. As he once wrote for the New York Times, "Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful." Being a contrarian or a value investor in life can take you far. Mitch Goldberg, president of investment firm ClientFirst Strategy, explained in a piece for CNBC that being a contrarian "requires identifying a company that will execute a plan to grow the business and at the same time has decent fundamentals ... so that if the plan takes longer to execute or if it doesn't work, you'll at least potentially have something of value that you could sell at a later date." You can follow this advice by being careful about where you spend your money and avoiding fads. NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 30: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. 16. Dont Invest Emotionally Many investors have the urge to sell stocks when the market is down. However, a popular piece of Warren Buffett advice is to put your emotions aside when making business decisions. Reminding investors to keep their emotions in check, Buffett told Forbes, "You're dealing with a lot of silly people in the marketplace; it's like a great big casino and everyone else is boozing. If you can stick with Pepsi, you should be okay." For best results in business and life, follow this Buffett tip and avoid making crucial decisions in the heat of the moment. Related: 8 Ways Your Emotions Are Killing Your Investments WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 14: Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett pauses prior to a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee November 14, 2007 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. 17. Make the Tough Calls Berkshire Hathaway's core business was originally textile mills, and Buffett maintained them for many years. In 1985, he sold the mill's equipment because they weren't making him any money. In fact, they were a drain on his company, according to Business Insider. The decision might have been tough for Buffett to make, but it was imperative to his success. Making the hard call is important in life, as well. For example, you might have to skip that expensive vacation and invest your extra dollars in a retirement fund, instead. OMAHA, NE - MAY 4: Berkshire Hathaway's CEO Warren Buffett answers questions at a news conference May 4, 2003 in Omaha, Nebraska. 18. Invest In What You Know Buffett is famous for holding Coca-Cola stock; he purchased a 6.3 percent stake in the company in the late 1980s. As of July 18, 2017, he owned an 8.73 percent share in the soft drink company. Buffett certainly knows Coke well -- he drinks up to five cans a day, and he once said, "I'm one quarter Coca-Cola." You can follow this advice by pursuing a career about which you're truly passionate. WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 13: Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, speaks during the Fortune summit on "The Most Powerful Women" at the Mandarin Hotel October 13, 2015 in Washington, DC. 19. Be Honest Buffett is known for his honesty. In a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letter, he admits to losing $873 million by purchasing Energy Future Holdings' $2 billion debt and calls it a "big mistake." Honest business practices build trust among colleagues, staff and even competitors. Moreover, investors then express confidence by offering more funding. The lesson? Be honest; it'll likely help your business -- and your personal life -- in the long run. Investing in what you know is also easier when you know more, and you can increase your knowledge by checking out 20 Warren Buffet recommended books. NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 27: Bill Gates and Warren Buffett speak with journalist Charlie Rose at an event organized by Columbia Business School on January 27, 2017 in New York City. 20. Give Back As far as philanthropy goes, Buffett is likely one of the most generous men in the world. And along with Bill Gates, he is donating over half of his wealth. In 2010, Buffett started the Giving Pledge with the Gates family, which encourages billionaires to commit to giving away a large portion of their money while they are living or in their wills. As of 2017, 154 billionaires had signed. However, giving back is important even if you're not a billionaire. Said Buffett, "If you're in the luckiest 1% of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99%." 2014, 21 Life Hacks From Warren Buffett That Anyone Can Use, CA, Chairman/CEO of Berkshire Hathaway speaks during the 2014 Most P, Laguna Niguel, October 8th, USA, Warren Buffett 21. Limit Your Activities One of the best pieces of Warren Buffett advice actually comes courtesy of his business partner. To explain Berkshire Hathaway's success under Buffett, Munger wrote in the company's annual shareholder letter, "Buffett's decision to limit his activities to a few kinds and to maximize his attention to them, and to keep doing so for 50 years, was a lollapalooza. Buffett succeeded for the same reason Roger Federer became good at tennis." Focus your efforts on whatever it is that inspires you, and you might just achieve a level of success even Buffett would admire. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 21 Life Hacks From Warren Buffett That Anyone Can Use VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Officials on Friday hunted for any missing residents of a British Columbia town destroyed by wildfire as the Canadian province's chief coroner said reports suggest two people have died as a result of blaze. Lisa Lapointe told a news conference Friday that a team is standing by to conduct an investigation in order to confirm the deaths, but its not yet safe to enter the area. The roughly 1,000 residents of Lytton had to abandon their homes with just a few minutes notice Wednesday evening after suffering the previous day under a record high of 121.2 Fahrenheit (49.6 Celsius). Officials said it was unclear whether anyone remained in the village 95 miles (150 kilometers) northeast of Vancouver due to a lack of cell service and because it wasnt safe to enter most of the area. We do know there are some people who are unaccounted for, said Mike Farnworth, the provinces public safety minister, though he said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Red Cross were working to locate people. Those who escaped the fire scattered to evacuation centers across the province. Tony Sam said it was chaotic driving through thick smoke to Meritt, B.C., about 36 miles (58 kilometers) southeast of Lytton. You could barely see driving through the smoke, he told Global TV. Both his house and his mother's home were destroyed. Its gone, he said. Nothing left of it. Noeleen McQuary-Budde didnt even have time to grab her shoes before piling into a truck with her husband an 11 other people to escape the flames. The whole village of Lytton went up in I would say 10 minutes," she said. We were watching it burn and just thanking Creator that we got out. In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged that the federal government will help rebuild and help people come through this. Trudeau said he had spoken with British Columbia Premier John Horgan and John Haugen, acting chief of the of Lytton First Nation and planned to convene an emergency response group. Another wildfire threat at Kamloops, 220 miles (355 kilometers) northeast of Vancouver, forced an evacuation of about 200 people Thursday night, but officials said they could return Friday. Kamloops also recorded a record his temperature this week of 117 Fahrenheit, (47.3 Celsius) but it had cooled down to around 90 (32) on Friday. I cant imagine what the firefighters are going through working in these conditions, said Noelle Kekula, a fire information officer for the British Columbia Wildfire Service. We are up for a real battle. The Wildfire Service said at least 106 fires were burning across the province, including dozens that started within just the past two days. Take shorter showers. Only use the sprinklers in the cooler parts of the day. Run the dishwasher less often. Recycle sink and shower water for plants. Turn off the water while your brushing teeth. I don't. Other. Vote View Results After our 2nd year of being in business, it did not take long to figure out that people absolutely love talking about health insurance! Kidding of course. However, for as much as people do not WANT to talk about it, the truth is that you MUST talk about it. Why? Read more Online Access for Print Subscribers. Do you have a print subscription with the Argus-Press? If yes, then click here to enjoy complimentary access to our Online Content! Chief of the Air Staff, R.K.S. Bhadauria, countered this, saying the IAf is not just a supporting arm but has a wider role New Delhi: The military turf war over the theaterisation of the armed forces heated up on Friday. As the Air Force expressed concern on the proposals, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Bipin Rawat on Friday called the Indian Air Force a supporting arm of the military, specifically the Army, just like the artillery and engineering services. However, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria, countered this, saying the Air Force is not just a supporting arm but has a wider role. The Air Force is required to provide support to ground forces. Do not forget that the Air Force continues to remain a supporting arm to the armed forces, just as the artillery supports or engineers support the combat units in the Army, said Gen. Rawat. They will be a supporting arm. But they have a charter. They have an air defence charter and supporting the ground forces in times of operations. This is the basic charter which they have to understand, he said. Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria said it is not a supporting role alone that the Air Force plays. Air power has a huge role to play in any integrated battle area. It is not an issue of support alone, and there are a whole lot of things that go into any air plan that is made, the IAF Chief added. Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria said the integrated theatre command is a much more complex matter. There are issues in terms of some of the options that are being discussed, he said, adding: We must get it right. It is the most important reform that has an impact on warfighting. There are many issues when you set up to integrate theatre commands and many of those issues should be upfront looked at very clearly. We should clearly understand how we are going to structure it. Sort out the principle and sort out important issues and thereafter implement it, he added. The defence ministry has set up a high-level committee which includes the three vice-chiefs of the armed forces and the Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff to thrash out differences on theatre commands among the three services and other ministries. The different theatre commands will integrate the assets of the Army, Air Force and Navy in a domain under one commander to give punitive response to any external threat. The IAF, however, has concerns over dividing its limited number of aircraft among different commands. Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria said that every service has its own doctrine and has the best knowledge of how to employ the capabilities and capacities to get the desired results. Whenever we have a system, which is integrated we must look at that entire doctrine. The abilities of the services must be brought in, and it must be a synergised result, he said. All the musicians have made the best of the pandemic, taken the restrictions imposed on them in their stride Four regions, four musicians, four questions, four perspectives yet a common thread of positivity and introspection running through them all. Regardless of their ages (Abhishek Raghuram is in his 30s, while Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty is touching 70), all the musicians have made the best of the pandemic, taken the restrictions imposed on them in their stride, dealing with the huge changes in their world with grace. One is left struck and impressed by their spirit of philosophical acceptance. Biggest takeaway from the pandemic It is not to take life for granted. That was the message that this writer walked away with after interacting with the four musicians. But for each individual, the lens through which they viewed their experience and reached this conclusion was different. If it was friendship for one, it was the body and its changing dynamics for another, and natures wisdom and the spirit of humanity that binds us for the remaining interviewees. As Pt Ajoy Chakrabarty, vocal maestro from Kolkata, reflected: For me, foremost, is the realisation of how ephemeral life is. So many great musicians have been snatched before their time. I have to admit, the amount of time I spent at home has been a huge blessing; its something I have never done before. Also, there is increased awareness of the need to help others, preserve Nature, respect others. Foremost, the pandemic has taught [me], Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar, dhrupad maestro from Delhi, about how precious good health, hygiene and, indeed, life is. My first reaction to the pandemic was that it's a very useful and wonderful time to spend with your Art. But, gradually I realised how important it is to have interaction with others, to have that human touch. Not through the screen but from a body reaction, Wasifuddin said. In one way, it is absolutely right that you do your art for yourself, but it is very important to get the audience feedback spontaneously, rather than only reading the applause on the screen, he explained. Pt Yogesh Samsi, the famous tabla maestro from Mumbai, warned: Its high time we realise we have to respect Nature, respect what we have got in terms of resources on this planet and learn to look after it, to respect and value it. The amount of abuse Mother Earth has gone through due to the onslaught by humanity be it social, economic, political or through technology. It has led to such an imbalance that probably it has led to a situation where Mother Earth is trying to heal itself. Across the globe, we have all been taught a huge lesson. Vidwan Abhishek Raghuram, the Carnatic vocalist who happens to be based out of Chennai, offered, The pandemic has brought in all of us a strong reassertion of the faith that humanity comes together in support of each other, for the larger cause, when the need arises. I also feel the pandemic has taught us to pick our real needs from what we have assumed them to be so far, almost irrationally! The most productive activity during the pandemic Riyaaz and retrospection emerged as common themes. My music. I spent 10-12 hours on my music, something I have never been able to do, was Chakrabartys reply. It coincided with Wasifuddin Dagars view and he said: Definitely, doing my own riyaaz, and what I had never done before, teaching online. Also learning to handle these modern gadgets of communication, like laptops and mobiles; I am still learning. For Samsi, it was having all the time in the world to think of my music almost like a rewind of my life. All the aspects I had difficulty in doing earlier, reviewing all I had learnt from abbaji (Ustad Alla Rakha Khan) these last few decades. Then pondering on it chintan, mannan karna, aur riyaaz karna. Apne khud ki sadhana, be it yoga or meditation I got to give a lot of time to myself, something that I had never done in the last 25 years, due to my professional travels. Abhishek Raghuram, too, spent a lot of time introspecting into his art and his career trajectory. With the changed routines, I have a lot more opportunity to retrospect clearly and deeply to my journey so far and my course ahead. This, I feel, has been very beneficial to me as an artiste, Raghuram said. Things most missed during the pandemic This time, the answers were very varied. Ajoy Chakrabarty really felt bereft at the loss of so many good friends from the world of the arts. Great musicians from the Hindustani and Carnatic music world have left us, he lamented. Wasifuddin Dagar was more situated in the present. He missed live concerts, panel discussions, normal human interaction other than with my family, travelling and, most of all, driving! Its therapy for me, he added, referring to this hobby. Yogesh Samsi longed for getting together with my students, teaching sessions, and meeting with intellectuals; satsang with like-minded people. Abhishek Raghuram rued the loss of the ability to meet and interact with co-artistes, friends and the larger family. Do you believe the music world will return to what it was, pre pandemic? No investment in the new normal, for these musicians, who were almost unanimous in rejecting the much-tooted idea. All four artistes replied to this question in the affirmative, although Ajoy Chakrabarty qualified his response with conditions. He said, Yes, though there will be changes; for one, I think the online stage will remain for good. Teaching online will remain too, though as far as I am concerned, I had always taught online, in fact have been doing so for the last 11 years, so thats not been new for me. Wasifuddin Dagar sounded more emphatic. He said, I am an optimist, what has become the new normal will again be replaced by the old normal, Inshaallah, but dont quite know when. I pray, soon! Yogesh Samsi felt the process will be slower, but eventually concerts will happen. We need to be patient, and not try to hurry things up, he said. In fact, my faith is that it will resume in a fashion larger and stronger than before. The world is as anxious as we are about the gap the pandemic has brought upon us, was Raghurams confident observation. Bonus responses: Lockdown or no, did these masters stoop to perform domestic chores? Wasifuddin shared candidly that the chore he has most hated doing was tidying his room, which he kept leaving for others to do! Abhishek endearingly said every chore he has had to do has been a pleasure, which he will miss once he again has less time! Shailaja Khanna writes on music, musicians and matters of music John Hickenlooper, when campaigning for his U.S. Senate seat, made a stop in Carbondale to address a crowd of voters. He spoke passionately about the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act, popularly known as the CORE Act, during the September event. It was one of the first campaign appearances he made alongside Sen. Michael Bennett, left, who was a co-sponsor to the CORE Act. Having arrived onto the market as the first modern-day Harley street model with double overhead camshafts and liquid cooling, the VRSC was made in several variants, starting with the widely-praised V-Rod and ending with the Night Rod and non-street legal Destroyer.The family quickly became a favorite for the global custom industry, with shops outside America finding the V-Rods particularly appealing for their projects.All the way over in Russia, a shop by the name Box39 has created an entire family of custom V-Rods using nothing more than in-house-made wheels, special paints, and other relatively minor changes to the stock bikes.The family is called Giotto , and weve already seen a number of its members taking the center stage in recent weeks here on autoevolution. This weekends Russian Harley build is the Giotto 5, a project based on a 2014 V-Rod and completed last year.For the 5 the shop went for 21-inch front and 18-inch rear wire wheels. Their copper-matte color (were not told if it wears a funky name like other colors use to) is a perfect match for the hue used on the plastic body kit that wraps around the fuel tank, airbox and radiator, and a perfect contrast for the black on the seat, fork, engine, and custom exhaust system.Like all other Box39 projects we talked about, the cost of this 2020 build is not known, and the ultimate fate of the finished project is equally as mysterious. But that doesnt matter one bit as far as this airplane goes. The Fairchild Republic (now Northrop Grumman) machine was introduced in 1972 not to look pretty, but to be an incredible support tool for the troops on the ground.Nicknamed Warthog in part because it is as ugly as the namesake animal, the Thunderbolt is a formidable war machine. It can carry 16,000 pounds (7,200 kilograms) of mixed ordnance dangling from its wings and fuselage, including drag and cluster bombs, mine dispensing munitions, missiles, and laser-guided bombs.The most incredible weapon it packs is however the 30 mm, seven-barrel Gatling gun called Avenger. Making an incredible sound when fired (check video below this text for more on that), it is capable of unleashing rounds in rapid succession from 4,000 feet (1,200 meters), hitting the target and an area of 40 feet (12 meters) around it.Two General Electric turbofan engines give it the needed power to climb to 45,000 feet (13,636 meters) and fly at speeds of up to 420 mph (676 kph) for as much as 800 miles (1,287 km) on a single outing.You can clearly see the engines located high up on the rear fuselage in this close-up pic (click main photo to enlarge) showing Warthogs as they retire from an exercise area. Deployed with the 25th Fighter Squadron , they took off from the Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska last week during the local Red Flag-Alaska 21 exercise.We find the amazing photo just perfect to highlight how beautiful these ugly machines are when seen by friendly forces. And the living proof is a glitch thats been around in the world of Android Auto ever since January 2021, the month when Samsung rolled out its latest flagship which, in theory, is supposed to provide a top-notch experience from one end to another.The Galaxy S21 is a high-end product, theres no doubt about it, but when it comes to Android Auto, its hitting just the same problems as all the other Android devices out there.One more prevalent bug that Galaxy S21 owners have been struggling with is a crash very often happening when unlocking the device. After months of investigation, however, Google and Samsung finally managed to figure out what went wrong, and a few weeks ago, they finally announced a fix And today, this fix is rolling out to Samsung devices.Needless to say, itll take a while for everybody to receive this fix, but once its available, it should finally bring things back to normal as far as Android Auto is concerned. The patch comes as part of the July 2021 monthly update and is already available for a number of devices, such as the Galaxy S21 in certain European regions.The rollout has already started and is likely to expand to more regions in the coming days, so it shouldnt take too long before the update becomes available for everybody.In the meantime, owners of other phones, including Google Pixels, also complain of similar problems on Android Auto, so itll be interesting to see if Samsungs fix can somehow be ported to make its way to other devices through system updates. For now, however, its definitely good news to finally see one of the most widespread problems on Android Auto getting resolved. The separate appeals were lodged by the alliances led by former Presidents Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian and two smaller groups that failed to win any seats in the Armenian parliament. They claimed to have submitted evidence of irregularities which seriously affected the outcome of the June 20 elections. A spokesman for Kocharians Hayastan bloc, Aram Vardevanian, again accused Pashinian of abusing his government levers, bullying opposition activists and resorting to hate speech during the election campaign and forcing military and security personnel to vote for the ruling Civil Contract party. Vardevanian said Hayastans appeal to the court includes video material and documentary evidence of fraud in official results from 109 precincts where 88,000 Armenians cast ballots on election day. He said the bloc also found discrepancies in documents used during voting in three dozen other precincts. Speaking at a news conference earlier this week, Kocharian questioned the legality of 200,000 of about 700,000 votes which the Central Election Commission (CEC) says were won by Civil Contract. Those votes accounted for about 54 percent of the total ballots cast. According to the CEC, Hayastan finished second with 21 percent of the vote, followed by Sarkisians Pativ Unem bloc that got 5.2 percent. None of the 22 other election contenders did well enough to be represented in the National Assembly. The CEC rejected on June 27 Hayastans and Pativ Unems demands to annul the vote results, saying that the opposition blocs failed to present evidence of widespread fraud. Pashinian has described the snap elections as free and fair. He has cited their largely positive assessment by European election observers mostly deployed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. One of Pashinians associates, Alen Simonian, dismissed the opposition appeals to the Constitutional Court as publicity stunts aimed at tarnishing the legitimacy of the ruling partys victory. Under Armenian law, the court has to examine the appeals and rule on them within the next 15 days. In case of agreeing to annul the official results, the court could order the holding of new elections or a second round of voting or change the CECs distribution of the new parliaments 107 seats. Using a complex legal formula, the CEC has given 71 parliament seats to Pashinians party and 29 seats to Kocharians bloc. The other opposition force is to get the remaining 7 seats. Four of the Constitutional Courts nine judges were installed by the outgoing parliament controlled by Pashinian. Hayastans Vardevanian demanded that one of those judges, Vahe Grigorian, recuse himself from the case. He said Grigorian cannot make impartial decisions because of having represented relatives of protesters killed during Kocharians rule in a high-profile trial of the ex-president. The soldiers were flown from Baku to Yerevan by a Russian military transport plane. The commander of Russian peacekeeping troops stationed in Nagorno-Karabakh, Lieutenant-General Rustam Muradov, was also on board. In a statement to the press made in the Armenian capital, Muradov said that earlier on Saturday he handed over to Baku Armenian maps detailing the location of thousands of landmines in two districts south of Karabakh recaptured by Azerbaijani forces during the autumn war. The Armenian and Azerbaijani governments confirmed the handover of the minefield maps. They both thanked Moscow for arranging the deal. Baku received similar information about Armenian minefields in another district around Karabakh before releasing 15 other Armenian POWs last month. That exchange was facilitated by the United States and Georgia. The latest deal raised to 103 the total number of Armenian POWs and civilians freed to date. Dozens of others are believed to remain in Azerbaijani captivity. Yerevan regularly demands their immediate release, citing the terms of a Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped the war in November. On the trail: Reviving an ailing trail in the Elkhorns Bakersfield, CA (93308) Today Mostly clear. Low 72F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Mostly clear. Low 72F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Stay up to date on COVID-19 Get Breaking News Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox. AAA Predicts Second-Highest Holiday Travel Volume in Years for Oregon, Coastline Published 06/30/21 at 2:26 AM PDT By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Manzanita, Oregon) AAA experts predict some 597,000 Oregonians will be traveling over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, and that travel volume is back up to pre-pandemic levels throughout the country. The Oregon coast is one of the big destinations but not the top one, the organization said. Nationally, more than 47.7 million Americans (14.4% of the population) will be making the trip, creating the second-highest Independence Day travel volume on record, trailing only 2019. The Independence Day holiday travel period is defined as Thursday, July 1 to Monday, July 5. AAA Travel is seeing an explosion in online traffic and bookings on its site, especially for hotels and car rentals for the summer travel season. Domestic travel and road trips remain the most popular. Central Oregon and the national parks in Utah and Yellowstone are the most popular destinations for road trips this 4th of July. For those flying, Hawaii, Las Vegas, and Disneyland are the top destinations. The other top road trips according to AAA's website bookings are Seattle and Montana. Still favorites but down the line in popularity are regional destinations such as the Oregon coast, Crater Lake, and northern California. AAA said the easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions, increased vaccinations, and lower unemployment are giving more Americans the confidence to travel for some fun and fireworks this year. People are eager to travel this summer after staying close to home for the last year-and-a-half. With pandemic restrictions easing and more people getting vaccinated, we saw a strong kick-off to the summer travel season over Memorial Day and that trend continues for Independence Day, said Doreen Loofburrow, Senior Vice President of Travel at AAA Oregon/Idaho. Although many aspects of daily life are returning to normal, the travel landscape has changed and AAA urges all travelers to do their part to help make travel as safe as possible. Throughout the nation, AAA said compared to 2019 numbers only 2.5% fewer Americans will be traveling over Independence Day. This represents an increase of nearly 40% compared to last year, when total travel fell to 34.2 million during the coronavirus pandemic. On the down side for those traveling to the Washington coast or Oregon coast, gas prices are the most expensive in seven years, AAA said. Oregon Coast Hotels for this event - South Coast Hotels - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW Below: various Oregon coast towns on the Fourth More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Campfire, Bonfire Bans on All Washington Coast, Part of S. Oregon Coast Published 07/02/21 at 5:25 PM PDT By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Washington Coast) The Oregon and Washington coast are a flurry of changing bans and warnings right now, just as the holiday weekend gets underway. Due to extremely dry conditions, all of Washington and its coastline just banned campfires and charcoal use earlier today, one part of the southern Oregon coast has banned all beach fires and campfires, some Oregon forests have prohibited them, while Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) and smaller municipalities are getting increasingly uneasy. More bans are likely on the way, so be cautious when you're visiting any destination in the Pacific Northwest. Fireworks are illegal on all Oregon beaches and state parks, and many communities around Washington and Oregon have banned them. For Washington State and its coast, Washington State Parks (WSP) just banned all wood and charcoal fires statewide and on the beaches starting at 5 p.m. Friday (July 2), and that now includes all fireworks on state park beaches. With extreme hot and dry conditions affecting the entire state, the campfire ban is necessary to help prevent accidental wildfires, WSP said in a release. All state parks and ocean beaches are under a level 3 burn ban or higher. Level 3 prohibits the use of wood fires and charcoal briquettes. Fireworks are prohibited at all state parks. Check local ordinances for firework restrictions on ocean beaches. Gas/propane self-contained camping stoves and portable gas/propane firepits are permitted in designated camping and picnic sites. See Washington fire updates. On the southern Oregon coast, all beaches from the south face of Cape Arago to the north end of Floras Lake have banned just about all flame sources, about a 20-mile stretch of beaches. The fire ban includes wood, charcoal briquettes, candles, tiki torches and other devices that emit flames or embers, according to OPRD. Propane stoves and other cooking devices that have a shutoff valve are allowed. The ban area includes Seven Devils State Recreation Site, Bandon, Whiskey Run Beach, Devils Kitchen, the Bandon State Natural Area and the remote beaches just north of Floras Lake. All bans are until further notice. On the rest of the Oregon coast and in state parks, campfires and beach bonfires are allowed, although OPRD is suggesting to err on the side of caution and forego the activity. See Oregon fire updates. New bans are coming fast and furious, so I wouldn't be surprised to see more on the coast or elsewhere, said Chris Havel, a spokesman for OPRD. Check before you go, or just skip the fire altogether to be extra safe. See Oregon Coast Weather - Washington Coast Weather If you create a beach fire where they are permitted, OPRD has the following rules: - 3'X3' or smaller - made of natural, untreated natural wood free of attached metal, nails, glass or plastic objects (e.g., not pallets) - started with non-petroleum-based products located in open, dry sand well away (at least 25 ft.) from any vegetation, driftwood, other combustible materials or beach access points - not located in dunes or in or near vegetation, small wood debris or log accumulations - not left unattended - not allowed to cause damage to facilities or natural resources extinguished completely with water (NOT sand) before users leave the area - not in seasonally restricted Western Snowy Plover habitat areas Don't start a fire unless you have the tools to put it out, OPRD said on its alerts. Keep plenty of water and a shovel nearby. Never leave a fire burning unattended. Oregon Coast Hotels in these areas - South Coast Hotels - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW Bandon: courtesy Manuela Durson More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Find a Glass Float, Win Three Nights on Central Oregon Coast Published 06/30/21 at 5:45 PM PDT By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Lincoln City, Oregon) As the Finders Keepers glass floats return to the central Oregon coast, Lincoln City's visitor center, Explore Lincoln City, is now hosting a vacation giveaway for its seven miles of sands. Lovers of Lincoln City can win a three-night stay at a lovely vacation home called Knot a Care, complimentary meals at The Grub's On and The Mist at Surftides and glass fusion lesson at Mor Art. Now you have an added reason to go look for one of those iconic glass floats: finding one and registering it enters you into the contest. After a 15-month hiatus due to COVID restrictions, the central Oregon coast town brought them back. Each year Lincoln City hides more than 3,000 glass floats along its sandy stretches, each one hand crafted by local artisans. And those visiting who find floats get to keep them. Our Finders Keepers program has created so many memories for visitors to Lincoln City for over 20 years now, said Ed Dreistadt, director of Explore Lincoln City. While we were able to come up with a creative way to keep Finders Keepers going virtually, we are excited about bringing Finders Keepers back with the added element of a grand prize drawing. Float Fairies covertly hide handcrafted glass floats along Lincoln City's seven miles of public beach, from Roads End on the north to Siletz Bay on the south. When visitors find a float, they're asked to register it with Explore Lincoln City by calling 541.996.1274, texting FLOATS to 866.943.0443, visiting the registration webpage or stopping by the Lincoln City Visitor Information Center at 801 SW Hwy 101 on the fourth floor. In addition to receiving a Certificate of Authenticity, with the new twist, they'll also be entered to win the vacation giveaway. Anyone who has registered their floats starting June 14th, 2021 have already been entered into the drawing. We will announce the winner January 7th, 2022 via social media. In the past, treasure hunters searching Oregon's coastline would find treasures from the East - blown glass Japanese fishing floats in gleaming shades of green and blue. These floats were used to float fishing nets and ranged in size from two inches to two feet. They were collected, admired, polished and the ultimate find for a dedicated beachcomber. They are still found on beaches on rare occasions, but they largely disappeared by the 80s. These days, the world's fishing vessels use buoyant plastic, making glass floats rare - except in Lincoln City. The Finders Keepers project began in 1997, when a local artist first thought of glass floats as an intriguing way to launch the new millennium. Lincoln City sponsored the project, hosting the inaugural season in 1999. Tourists came from around the country to search for their own brilliantly-colored, signed and numbered glass float. ExploreLincolnCity.com. MORE LINCOLN CITY BELOW Hotels in Lincoln City - Where to eat - Lincoln City Maps and Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Michael Fuljenz, president of Universal Coin & Bullion in Beaumont, has been named the 2021 Dealer of the Year by the Congressional-chartered American Numismatic Association. Fuljenz will be honored at an awards banquet at the organizations Worlds Fair of Money in Chicago on August 13. I am truly grateful for the Dealer of the Year recognition from such a renowned, national organization as the American Numismatic Association, Fuljenz said in a statement. All my professional and personal life, from teaching high school chemistry and physics to active involvement in the community and leading a prominent, nationwide rare coin and precious metals dealership, I have strived to provide both useful education and the highest quality products and service. Known as America's Gold Expert, for more than three decades Fuljenz has conducted counterfeit detection seminars around the country and assisted law enforcement agencies in solving numismatic-related crimes. He has won more than 60 prestigious national and regional honors for his consumer education and protection work in rare coins and precious metals, including awards from the Press Club of Southeast Texas, the Numismatic Literary Guild and has been honored as Humanitarian of the Year by Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas. He serves on the boards of directors of the National Coin & Bullion Association, Crime Stoppers of Southeast Texas and is a member of the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) and is a PNG Accredited Precious Metals Dealer. . Founded in 1994 and accredited by the Better Business Bureau, Universal Coin & Bullion is a rare coin and precious metals leader with collector and investor clients nationwide. Today, there are more than 60 employees in the companys Beaumont offices. The International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) has extended an invitation for membership to Jennifer Job, counsel for ExxonMobil in Beaumont. The IADC is the preeminent invitation-only global legal organization for attorneys who represent corporate and insurance interests. Job serves as the sole in-house counsel for the ExxonMobil manufacturing complex in Beaumont. She manages a broad range of issues including environmental and safety compliance, contractual matters, real estate, personal injury litigation, dispute negotiations and labor and employment. Job received her J.D. (magna cum laude) from Baylor Universitys Baylor Law School and her Bachelors of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Spindletop Rotary Club assisted in the purchase of an Arjo floor lift for Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital. The club received a $3000 district grant from Rotary District 5910 in 2020. Those funds were matched with local club funds to go towards the purchase of an Arjo floor lift for Christus in early 2021. On June 2, 2021, rotarians had an opportunity to see the Arjo lift in the medical intensive care unit. Arjo Account Executive Ty Foster demonstrated how the lift can comfortably and securely transfer patients weighing a maximum of 500 pounds. Christus Clinical Director Piper Moss explained that without the lift, it could take up to six technicians to move a patient. The new model of the Arjo floor lift is the only one in southeast Texas. The mission of rotary is to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders. Sherry Combs, community relations coordinator with Little Cypress-Mauriceville ISD, has retired after a 42-year career in communication roles in the area. Combs previously worked at West Orange-Cove CISD and LifeShare Blood Center, before ending her career with LCM ISD. With assistance from a crime tip, the Beaumont Police Department has obtained two aggravated robbery warrants for Beaumont man with the help of a crime tip. Beaumont PD said Joshua Devonte Gary, 24, is wanted for allegedly committing robberies on Tuesday in the parking lot of Parkdale Mall located at 6155 U.S. 69. Detectives were able to identify Gary with help of a Crime Stoppers tip, Beaumont police stated on social media Friday. Gary is still at-large, and if you have any information about his whereabouts, please contact the Beaumont Police Department at 409-832-1234. Gary may also be driving the same vehicle seen in the previous post, a green Honda with no front bumper. The Beaumont Police Department recently sought the publics help following the robbery of two people in the parking lot by releasing a photo of the car on social media. Beaumont PD previously said the man who committed the robbery wore a blue hoodie with black pants and had a U tattoo near his eyes. His hand was in the pocket of the hooded sweat top, and he pointed something that appeared to be a handgun at the victims, the Beaumont PD stated. He left the area in a green Honda with no front bumper, and a spare donut tire on the driver's side. Those who wish to remain anonymous may contact Southeast Texas Crime Stoppers at 409-833-TIPS (8477) or download the P3 TIPS app and submit a tip with a smartphone or tablet. All Crime Stoppers tips are anonymous and you could be eligible for a cash reward. meagan.ellsworth@beaumontenterprise.com Optimus Steel officially has announced its decision to invest $40 million in a new expansion for its Orange County facility on the banks of the Neches River. The decision was announced Friday in a notice from Gov. Greg Abbott, who praised the companys decision to create 55 new jobs by establishing a new rebar production line and metal coil facility. Optimus Steel joins the ranks of thousands of other companies that have chosen to invest in Texas because of our low taxes, reasonable regulatory environment, and strong workforce, Abbott said in a statement. Related: Company in talks with Orange Co. IDd as Optimus Steel The project is being supported by a $485,000 grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund. Optimus Steels potential expansion plans at its facility off Old U.S. 90, southwest of Rose City, were made public in November, when Orange County started considering possible abatements for the facility. The county ultimately approved an additional 490-acre reinvestment zone for the project. The terms of the abatement required the creation of at least 55 jobs, but initial estimates show up to 75 permanent jobs could be created during the lifetime of the new investment. Related: Orange County amends abatement policies Our commitment to business growth and development, workforce preparedness and infrastructure superiority has enabled Orange County to be the premier location for industrial growth, Jessica Hill, executive director of the Orange County Economic Development Corp., said in a statement. Optimus Steels ongoing commitment to Orange County, and their interest in further investment, further acknowledges our communitys willingness to encourage job creation, capital investment and economic success. The riverside facility on the border between Orange and Jefferson counties has been owned by Optimus since 2018 after being sold by Gerdau Ameristeel for $92.5 million. Optimus Steel, which produces a wide range of high-quality wire rods; coiled rebar; and billets at the Orange plant, is a subsidiary of Aceros Turia. Aceros Turia is based in Mexico and has a portfolio of seven companies throughout the United States, Mexico and Columbia. It has a U.S. headquarters in The Woodlands. Related: Orange County to consider Optimus Steel abatement The company previously announced that it was considering one other location for the possible investment. Thanks to the support of the Governors Office, we are pleased to be able to finalize our decision to further invest in our Orange County site, creating new jobs and investment for the Southeast Texas community and securing that sites future as a vital part of Optimus continued growth, Edward Goettl, vice president of Sales for Optimus Steel, LLC, said in a statement. Orange County Judge John Gothia told The Enterprise in December that the company seemed happy about the countys abatement package and that it could hear an investment decision by the end of spring. Like most things during the past year and global pandemic, the timeline extended longer than expected, but Gothia said help from state officials and local legislators helped push the deal to the finish line. We welcome Optimus Steels proposed investment in Orange County and thank Governor Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Patrick and Speaker Phelan for their commitment to bringing jobs and investment to the State of Texas, and Orange County, Orange County Judge John Gothia said in a statement. jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/jd_journalism MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The U.S. Supreme Court sided Friday with members of an Amish group in Minnesota who are fighting efforts by authorities to compel them to install septic systems, sending their appeal back to a state court for reconsideration in light of the high court's recent ruling in a religious freedom case. Families with the Swartzentruber Amish in southeastern Minnesota are fighting efforts by Fillmore County to require septic systems. Justice Neil Gorsuch noted that they're among the most traditional Amish groups in the country. The Minnesota Court of Appeals and a trial court both sided with the county, and the state Supreme Court declined to hear the case. The above editorial was published June 2 by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Its views are its own. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom. Community News Editor / Librarian Jeannie Maschino is community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has worked for the newspaper in various capacities since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989. She can be reached at jmaschino@berkshireeagle.com. The author says that vehicle rental poses another opportunity for scammers to separate us from our money. They are well aware that when we fly to a vacation spot, we almost always need to rent a vehicle. They are also aware that rental cars now are marketed at a significantly greater cost. Weekly rentals a year ago were available for under $250; the same rental cars today are running over $1,000. Frederick Douglass was a social reformer, author and orator who led the abolitionist movements in Massachusetts and New York after escaping from slavery in Maryland. He delivered this speech July 5, 1852, in Rochester, N.Y., while addressing the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society. Berks man is arrested on charges he set barn on fire on the property where his estranged wife lives The nations top immunologist, Dr. Anthony Fauci said getting vaccinate undeserveded against coronavirus is particularly important for African Americans and that now is a crucial time for that to happen in all underserved communities. Fauci spoke with actors Mark Tallman and RonReaco Lee, stars of the BET+ series, The First Wives Club, during an Instagram Live video where he also revealed tidbits about his personal life as well. A native New Yorker, Fauci explained if invited to the proverbial Black cookout, what one ingredient he would have to bring. Ever since I was a child growing up in New York City, hot dogs out of Nathans Hot Dogs to me is better than the best meal you could possibly have, said Fauci, who grew up in Brooklyns Bensonhurst neighborhood. So, I would bring hot dogs to the barbecue for sure. RELATED: COVID-19 Vaccine And The Black Community, A Tyler Perry Special And dont let anyone tell you Fauci doesnt have a taste for the finer side of music as well. His musical choice, in line with many, would be Motown. I grew up on Diana Ross and the Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Martha and the Vandellas, Fauci laughed. Its great to know that the nations virology czar wouldnt be the one responsible for bringing the unseasoned potato salad with raisins. Cookout contributions aside, Lee thought it necessary to clear up myths and misconceptions about whether a person who had been afflicted with COVID-19 still needs to take the vaccine. People say that if you had COVID or the antibodies, shouldn't need to get the vaccine, said Lee. Thats one of the questions that Ive been curious about. So many people feel like they dont need it because of this, that and the other. What info do people need? Fauci then broke the science down for him. If you get infected and recover, you certainly have a considerable degree of protection against the virus that you were originally exposed to, Fauci explained. The problem is that there are whats called variants circulating around, which are different variations of the same virus that prior infection may or may not give you as much protection, which is the reason why since its a little bit of a moving target, if you get vaccinated following recovery from getting infected, your level of protection goes way, way, way, way up. RELATED: COVID-19 In 2021: The Latest Updates, Facts And News Impacting The Global Black Community In short, with the protection offered by antibodies built up by exposure, vaccination would provide a significant extra barrier against being infected again by the original virus or any variants of it. Call ahead to confirm events. Due to COVID-19, many events have been canceled but hosting organizations might not have updated their entries. Email Blast Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Daily News Headlines & Events Email Blast Would you like to receive a digest of each day's headlines & events from The Daily News by email? Signup today! The Amplifier Headlines & Events Email Blast Would you like to receive a weekly digest of headlines & events from The Amplifier by email? Signup today! Daily News Hosted Events The Daily News is a proud host of community enrichment events. Join our Daily News Events mailing list to learn about the next event we are planning. Sign up now. Manage your lists Spearfish, SD (57783) Today Chance of an isolated thunderstorm early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Low 62F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Chance of an isolated thunderstorm early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Low 62F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Spearfish, SD (57783) Today Thunderstorms early, mainly cloudy overnight with a few showers. A few storms may be severe. Low 61F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Thunderstorms early, mainly cloudy overnight with a few showers. A few storms may be severe. Low 61F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. People have a natural instinct to worship, and in the absence of knowledge of the true God, or in rebellion against Him, people worship other gods. Anything can be made into an object of worship. Some people create an idol out of something or someone in their lives, others the natural world, and others worship evil forces. In the Bible, the followers of the one true God encounter other gods, or previously worshipped idols themselves. Sometimes the leadership of the nation of Israel tolerated and embraced the deities of other nations. One such deity who gripped Israel for a period of time was Baal. Despite having the power and support of the king of Israel and his wife, God used his prophet to demonstrate his power over this false god from the northern nations above Israel in the middle east. This false god led people astray, but God proved Himself. Who Was Baal? Baal was, to some extent, a rather generic name that various cultures applied to various deities in and around the land of Canaan. It could be used as a generic term for lord or master. It was applied to specific deities that influenced the Israelites at key points in its history. The Baal mentioned in the Bible was a universal fertility god and a storm god associated with bringing rain and dew in the Canaan area. The Phoenicians called him the Lord of the Heavens. Based on archaeological discoveries in Syria, there appears to have been a mythos around Baal, as the fertility god, in combat with the god of sterility, Mot, in a seven year cycle. Whoever won determined the state of the crops for the next seven years. Baal got credit for a good harvest cycle, and Mot disdain for famine. In the myths of the region, he became the dominant deity by defeating all other gods, including the creator god El. Worship of Baal waxed and waned through history, and extended as far as Egypt at one point. There was also a people group called the Ugarit who worshiped a god they called Hadad that most scholars believe was also called Baal in other languages. This god served the same function. Where Does Baal Appear in the Bible? Baal worship first makes an appearance in the Book of Numbers. In Moses account of the Israelites after they left Egypt, he recounts how there were several times when the Hebrews rebelled against the God who freed them from captivity. In one instance, the men began to have inappropriate sexual relationships with the women of Moab. The Moabites were the descendants of Lot, Abrahams nephew. When they let these women into their lives, they were not marrying them, and they began to embrace the Moabite gods; So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel (Numbers 25:3). A plague fell upon the Hebrew people at that time because of this sin. Eventually, the problem was solved, but the temptation to worship Baal followed the Israelites. One of the tasks God gave to Gideon after Israel settled the Promised Land was to go after the worship of Baal among the Hebrew people. After the death of Joshua, Israel fell into sin, and Midian conquered them. During this time, God gave Gideon from the Manasseh a task to bring Israel back to Himself. That night the Lord said to him, Take your father's bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down (Judges 6:25-26). God used Gideon to drive out Baal and the Midianites, though worship of Baal did return sporadically during the days of the judges. The worship of Baal seems to have been at its height during the times when Israel was two kingdoms and the prophets were active. One of the kings in the northern kingdom was Ahab, considered one of the most wicked men to reign over Israel during the course of its history. His wife was Jezebel, the daughter of the King of Tyre. Historically, whenever the ruler of Israel married foreign women, idol worship took hold. Not only did the worship of Baal rise during the rule of Ahab, but his wife Jezebel used her power to persecute the prophets of the God of the Hebrew people. The prophet Elijah had to go into hiding for a period of time. Though Elijah did help purge the prophets of Baal from Israel, Ahabs son also worshipped Baal. Jehu, the commander of Ahabs armies, ultimately wiped out Baal worship, though he did allow other types of idols during his reign in Israel. Photo credit: Getty Images/Javier Art Photography Who Worshipped Baal? People groups around and in Canaan worshipped some version of Baal for many years. Jezebel, Ahabs wife who heavily promoted Baal in Israel, was from the powerful pagan city of Tyre, the greatest city of the Phoenician empire. Claims from Roman sources asserted worship of Baal amongst the Phoenicians included child sacrifice. While this claim was disputed, archaeological evidence has backed this claim in recent years. Voluntary offering on the part of the parents was essential to the success of the sacrifice (Rawlison 347). According to records, the logic was that children were both pure and innocent, as well as the most important things to a parent, and therefore the sacrifice was more meaningful. Sacrifice by fire was common. There was also elements of blood drawing in the rituals related to Baal. During one encounter with a prophet of God, the Bible also describes the ritual self-flagellation involved in this worship. The Bible states that during the encounter with Elijah the prophets of Baal, And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. (1 Kings 18:28) Where Do We See God's Power over Baal? The Lord preserved Elijahs life for a reason. In the past, Israel was able to eliminate idol worship through collective repentance and the rise of a good king who would take down the symbols of the idols, enforcing Gods law. During the time of Ahab, there was a wicked king with no desire to enforce righteousness, and the prophets were being killed, unable to call the nation to repent. After a time of hiding, God called Elijah out to confront Ahab. Part of this confrontation included a showdown with 450 prophets of Baal. Elijah and these prophets built altars, sacrificed an animal, and were to call on their respective deities to provide the fire for the offering. Elijah went one step further and doused his altar in water. When the prophets of Baal called for fire, ...there was no voice, and no one answered. And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention (1 Kings 18:26b, 29). Elijah gave them hours to call down fire from Baal, but nothing happened. When Elijahs time came, Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God (1 Kings 18:38-39). The people of Israel killed the prophets of Baal, turning back to their true God. The fire of the Lord burned everything as soon as Elijah asked for it, where the prophets of Baal called for hours, but there was no one to hear them. After the death of Jezebel, the worship of Baal would see resurgences throughout Israel until the time of the exile centuries later. What Does Baal Teach Us about the Dangers of False Gods? It is interesting to note how the worship of Baal comes in cycles in the history of Israel, and it often comes when they invite sinful influence. Centuries after the proliferation of the worship of Baal, the Apostle Paul wrote to the followers of Jesus in Corinth, Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14). When the men of Israel began having relationships with women from pagan countries, they were unequally yoking the nation to cultures that did not recognize their God. Ahab married Jezebel, yoking Israel to Tyre, and idolatry easily crept in. The encounter with the priests also showed how futile the worship of false gods is. No matter what the priests of Baal did, nothing happened, because there was no one listening. An idol is inanimate. At best, worshipping a false god is worshipping a rock given a personality through human imagination. At worst, it is open rebellion against God by choosing to worship an evil entity an entity that does not have power over the earth, just to deceive. The Lord God lives, while Baal was made of stone. While people do not worship Baal today, it is common to worship nature, other gods, or even oneself. Recognizing the patterns of idolatry of old can help believers recognize the temptation in their lives. Sources Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Baal." Encyclopedia Britannica, Invalid Date. Coogan, Michael David. Stories from Ancient Canaan. Louisville: The Westminster Press, 1978. Rawlinson, George. History of Phoenicia. New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1889. Shrier, Priscilla. Elijah Faith and Fire. Nashville: Lifeway Church Resources, 2021. Wilmington, H.L. Wilmingtons Guide to the Bible. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1981. Related articles 5 Things Christians Need to Know about Idolatry Why Are We So Prone to Idol Worship? 10 Common Idols in Our Lives and How to Resist Them Photo credit: Getty Images/Tuned_In Bethany Verrett is a freelance writer and editor. She maintains a faith and lifestyle blog graceandgrowing.com, where she muses about the Lord, life, culture, and ministry. BOISE - The Idaho State Police Bureau of Criminal Identification has released their annual "Crime in Idaho" report for 2020. Nez Perce County According to the Report, crime in Nez Perce County was down 12.8% in 2020. Larceny, the most reported crime in the county (621 reports), was down 25% from 2019, while drug/narcotics related crimes (447 reports) were also down 17%. Other crimes that saw numbers decline in Nez Perce County in 2020 include: Motor Vehicle Theft - 59 reports (-1.67%) Destruction - 286 reports (-3.7%) Burglary - 145 reports (-8.23%) Fraud - 71 reports (-12.35%) Weapons - 14 reports (-26.32%) Sexual - 29 reports (-38.3%) Kidnapping - 1 report (-66.67%) Embezzlement - 1 report (-80%) On the contrary, reports of assault were up 10.37% in 2020 with a total of 362 crimes being reported. That number was up from 328 reports in 2019. Crimes that saw an increase in reports include: Counterfeiting - 36 reports (+56.52%) Stolen Property - 17 reports (41.67%) Sexual - 5 reports (+25%) Arson - 3 reports (+50%) Robbery - 4 reports (+100%) Clearwater County Overall crime in Clearwater County was up over 29% in 2020, with burglaries and destruction being a major contributor. Burglaries, the most common crime reported (96) were up 380% from 2019 when there were just 20 reports. Destruction reports were also up 141%, going from 17 reports in 2019 to 41 reports in 2020. Other crimes and the percentage of change as compared to 2019 include: Larceny - 58 reports (+23.4%) Assault - 67 reports (-12.99%) Drug/Narcotics - 37 reports (-47.14%) Idaho County In Idaho County, overall crime reports were down 17.97% from 2019, thanks to a significant drop in narcotics/drug related charges. In 2020, Idaho County had 129 narcotics related reports, which was down 28.73% from the 181 reports received in 2019. The number of fraud cases reported were also cut in half in 2020, going from 16 reports in 2019 to 8 reports in 2020. Other crimes and the percentage of change as compared to 2019 reports include: Sexual - 15 reports (+66.67%) Destruction - 45 reports (+9.76%) Larceny - 51 reports (+6.25%) Stolen Property - 2 reports (-) Sexual - 3 reports (-) Assault - 84 reports (-8.7%) Burglary - 18 reports (-28%) Counterfeiting - 2 reports (-33.3%) Fraud - 8 reports (-50%) Weapons - 2 reports (-60%) Pornography - 1 report (-66.67%) Motor Vehicle Theft - 4 reports (-71.43%) Statewide Numbers According to the Report, Overall in Idaho, Drug/Narcotic related crimes were down 10% from numbers in 2019, Extortion crimes saw the biggest percentage change jump from 2019 to 2020, seeing a 128% increase from 49 reported crimes in 2019 to 112 in 2020. Other crimes that saw the biggest jumps over the year include human trafficking (+66.67%), Animal Cruelty (+57.89%) and homicide (+50%). The most common crimes in Idaho were drug related, with over 19,388 drug/narcotics crimes being reported in 2020, which was down from 21,546 in 2019 (-10.02%). This report is a synopsis of statewide crime statistics gathered from law enforcement agencies across Idaho and includes such things as the Statewide Crime Profile, Crimes against Persons, Property, Society, the Arrest Profile, Hate Crime in Idaho, Law Enforcement Officers Killed or Assaulted, crimes categorized by jurisdiction and many other statistics. The 2020 Crime in Idaho Report has been released via the interactive Crime Dashboard. You can find the dashboard at https://nibrs.isp.idaho.gov/CrimeInIdaho. BOISE - Independence Day travelers will notice big changes at the pump as they fill up on their way out of town. According to AAA, Idahos average price for regular is $3.44, which is ten cents more than a week ago and 19 cents more than a month ago. Meanwhile, the U.S. average currently sits at $3.12 per gallon, which is four cents more than a week ago and eight cents more than a month ago. This Independence Day, motorists will pay the most to fill up since 2014. Heres a 7-year retrospective on July 4 gas prices: Higher fuel demand and soaring crude oil prices have placed significant upward pressure on gas prices, which are expected to rise throughout the weekend. AAA projects that 48 million Americans will travel for the July 4 holiday, with 261,000 Idahoans among them. Thats just 2.5% less than pre-pandemic levels and nearly 40% more than last year. Automobile travel will set a new record this year, as many Americans will choose the safety and convenience of a road trip over the COVID-19 restrictions associated with airline travel and other modes of mass transportation. Our research shows that most Americans wont make any adjustments to their travel plans until gas prices hit $3.50 per gallon, but given the many challenges that people have faced in the last year, we would expect the pain threshold to be even higher this time around, says AAA Idaho public affairs director Matthew Conde. With revenge travel and making up for lost time on everyones minds, we dont see many plans changing based on higher pump prices. Thursday afternoon and Friday morning will be the busiest times for July 4 travel, as commuters and travelers share the roads. July 5 will be the busiest day for return trips, because many Americans have Monday as an observed holiday this year. Below is a list of Idaho gas prices as of July 1, 2021 BOISE - The combination of low snowpack, lack of spring precipitation, and hot summer air temperatures are reducing stream flows and reservoir elevations, and increasing water temperatures across Idaho. These conditions have forced Fish and Game staff to modify normal operations in order to save fish and meet program goals. The most recent example involves sockeye salmon. In late June, Fish and Game determined that a passage emergency exists for Snake River sockeye. This resulted in a decision to haul trapped sockeye from Lower Granite Dam to Eagle Fish Hatchery, which is home to Fish and Games captive rearing program for the species. Transporting trapped Sockeye Salmon from Lower Granite Dam to Eagle Fish Hatchery will begin July 6. Under normal circumstances, these fish would complete an incredible, 900-mile journey from the Pacific Ocean to the Sawtooth Basin at the Sawtooth Hatchery near Stanley a journey that is valuable to Idahos sockeye recovery efforts. Our preference would be to allow these fish to complete that last leg of their journey on their own, because from a genetic perspective, those sockeye that make it back to the Sawtooth Basin have a level of fitness that we want in our captive breeding program, said Lance Hebdon, Fisheries Bureau Chief. But based on current river conditions, hauling these fish from Lower Granite Dam to Eagle is a necessary tradeoff to increase survival this year." Fish and Game made the decision based on increasing water temperatures throughout the Columbia and Snake River basins; low or delayed PIT tag conversion rates of Snake River Sockeye Salmon through the Columbia River; and low flows and high temperatures in the Snake and Salmon rivers above Lower Granite Dam. The combination of high temperatures and lows flows reduces the chances of adult Snake River Sockeye Salmon successfully migrating to lakes in the Stanley Basin. This isn't the first temperature-related issue that has affected Fish and Game's sockeye-related operations this year. The first issue occurred on April 30 when high water temperatures in the Upper Salmon River prompted the emergency early release of Sockeye Salmon smolts from Sawtooth Fish Hatchery. Observations of stressed fish and low dissolved oxygen levels in the raceways led to the decision to release the fish early in the day, before the river water warmed further. How heat wave has affected trout stocking, Chinook trapping As air temperatures continue to warm, some water bodies are approaching water temperature levels that are lethal to trout. Stocking trucks are being redirected to release fish into cooler waters if necessary. It iss normal practice for IDFG to stop stocking some waters in the heat of the summer, but in 2021 these conditions were encountered in some waters in June, which is unusual. In the current heatwave, the South Fork Salmon River water temperatures have been approaching the mid 70s. Increasing temperatures and declining flows prompted Managers on June 22 to begin moving summer Chinook Salmon trapped for brood stock in the South Fork Salmon River to cooler water at Rapid River Fish Hatchery holding ponds. The broodstock will be held at Rapid River Fish Hatchery until they are spawned, and the eggs will be transported to the McCall Fish Hatchery for rearing to smolt. Japanese scientists are scanning the possibility of using an anti-malarial drug called mefloquine. In a breakthrough study, a team of scientists from Tokyo University of Science (along with scientists from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Kyushu University, The University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, and Science Groove Inc.) have identified an anti-malarial drug, mefloquine (which is incidentally a derivative of hydrochloroquine), that is effective against SARS-CoV-2. Published: Frontiers in Microbiology. Lead scientist Dr. Watashi says, To identify drugs with higher antiviral potency than existing antivirals, we first screened approved anti-parasitic/anti-protozoal drugs. We found that mefloquine had the highest anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity among other tested compounds like quinoline derivatives (hydrochloroquine) laboratory human lung cells. Explaining the mefloquines mechanism of action, Dr. Watashi said, In our cell assays, mefloquine readily reduced the viral RNA levels when applied at the viral entry phase but showed no activity during virus-cell attachment. This shows that mefloquine is effective on SARS-COV-2 entry into cells after attachment on cell surface. Thus, to bolster mefloquines anti-viral activity, the scientists looked into the possibility of combining it with a drug that inhibits the replication step of SARS-CoV-2: Nelfinavir. Interestingly, they observed that the two drugs acted in synergy and the drug combination showed greater anti-viral activity than either showed alone, without being toxic to the cells in the cell lines themselves. Mathematical modelling of the effectiveness of mefloquine depicted predict that mefloquine could reduce the overall viral load in affected patients to under 7% and shorten the time-till-virus-elimination by 6.1 days, and thus is potential in treating real-world cases. Study is yet to succeed the clinical trials, but the world can hope that mefloquine becomes a drug used to effectively treat patients with COVID-19. Some approved drugs for COVID-19, like hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir, and interferon, have already been put to clinical use against SARS-CoV-2 without well establishing their clinical efficacies, due to the severity of the pandemic. Subsequent randomized trials have not been able to yield a consensus on the efficacy of these drugs. Only remdesivir has been approved for clinical use against severe COVID-19, although its efficacy is still being debated. VP urges international partnership to study developing a universal vaccine for various variants The Vice President (VP) of India, M Venkaiah Naidu has called for fast-tracking of genome sequencing of new COVID-19 variants to speed up finding suitable vaccines and drugs. Naidu visited CCMBs LaCONES (Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species) facility soon after his arrival in Hyderabad. He witnessed a presentation by Scientist-in-charge of LaCONES, Dr. Karthikeyan Vasudevan and visited National Wildlife Genetic Resource Bank, Assisted Reproduction Lab and animal cages at the facility. Addressing scientists and research scholars, he observed that sequencing, as an adjunctive tool, plays a critical role in identifying the emergence of new viral mutations and thus helps combat the spread of COVID-19. He also stressed the need for strengthening international collaborations by research institutions to study the feasibility of developing a universal vaccine that could neutralize various SARS-CoV-2 variants. Pointing out that the easy transmissibility of Coronavirus poses many challenges, he said the way in which it might infect new hosts or other species will be an important area of research. Mainly Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province & Ringing Trips to Bahrain The Biden State Department has just named career diplomat Jeffrey Feltman to be Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa. Given the geopolitical powder keg in the region and given the dark history of Feltman, especially in Lebanon and during the infamous CIA Arab Spring interventions after 2009, the relevant question is whether Washington has decided to explode the entire region from Ethiopia down to Egypt into a repeat of the Syria chaos only far more dangerous. And its not only the US which is active in the region . The group of African countries stretching from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia, astride the geopolitically strategic Gulf of Aden and Red Sea comprise the formal Horn of Africa. It is extended politically and economically often to include Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya and Uganda. This region is strategic among other reasons as the source of the Nile, Africas most important river, that flows some 4100 miles north to the Mediterranean in Egypt. The Horn of Africa is also a gateway to major world shipping flows via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean. The recent bizarre blockage of a huge container ship that blocked the canal for days, backing up a significant portion of world trade, is indicative of the regions importance. A political volcano The Horn of Africa is clearly being made the target of a new wave of covert and overt destabilization. Now that the Democrats again took control of the US Presidency, the interventions into the region that reached a high point in 2015, with the proxy US war in Syria and the installation of US-backed Muslim Brotherhood regimes in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya in the misnamed Arab Spring Color Revolutions, are apparently resuming, as a high Washington priority. The February 2021 UN appointment of Volker Perthes as UN Special Representative for Sudan and the June appointment by the Biden Administration State Department of Jeffrey Feltman as US Special Representative to the Horn of Africa signal what is being put into action. Feltman and Perthes worked closely together in black operations during the Arab Spring on the destruction of Lebanon and the destabilization of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Both were allegedly closely working with the CIA as well. In accepting his new post in April, coming out of semi-retirement, Feltman notably told Foreign Policy magazine that the region had the potential to spiral into a full-blown regional crisis that would make Syria look like childs play. Feltman said, Ethiopia has 110 million people. If the tensions in Ethiopia would result in a widespread civil conflict that goes beyond Tigray, Syria will look like childs play by comparison. He outlined his intended focus: In terms of an immediate focus, without question, there has to be attention paid to Tigray, adding that his other leading priorities were the Ethiopia-Sudan border dispute, and the tensions over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Here we have the preconditions for the destabilization of Africa and the entire region. Tigray war The Western powers, including the US Governments National Endowment for Democracy, have been quietly preparing the coming destabilization for several years. A key step was the 2018 regime change in Ethiopia. In a complex agreement the minority ruling coalition of Tigrayan ethnics agreed after months of well-organized protest to cede power to a broad coalition including their bitter opponents in the Oromo ethnic group. The Tigray in the north contains a minority of 6% in Ethiopia and the Oromo are the largest minority with 34%. In April, 2018 under major international pressure and clear NED regime change intervention, the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front who had ruled with an iron fist since 2012, were forced to step down and agree a transitional coalition until elections to be held in 2020. Abiy Ahmed from the broad ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front and first Oromo to be prime minister. He immediately began steps to replace the EPRDF coalition that has been dominated by the TPLF with a new Prosperity party under his domination. Here it gets complicated. One of his first acts as Prime Minister was a US-brokered move to end a 20 year war with neighboring Eritrea and sign a treaty which won the British-educated Abiy a Nobel Peace Prize. Eritrea fought a 30-year war until 1991 for independence from Ethiopia. Border disputes between the Tigray Region and Eritrea kept the two at war until the Abiy peace agreement. Suspiciously, Abiy excluded the Tigray TPLF from the peace talks. Now it is being claimed that Abiy had a sinister motive to move against the well-armed regional government in Tigray. Indeed he soon enlisted a willing Eritrean government to create a brutal two-front assault on Tigray forces. In August 2020 when Abiy broke the transitional agreement for national elections, the Tigray region ignored the indefinite postponement and held Tigray regional elections, resulting in armed conflict with the Ethiopian national army, which has since 2020 been joined by Eritrean forces against Tigrayans. The Tigray group accused Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy of moving to create an Oromo dictatorship. Oromo people were a principle target of Tigray rule before they stepped down in 2018. The transitional agreement, somewhat like that under Mandela in South Africa, was an agreement of national reconciliation despite past injustices. It also promised the Tigray region political autonomy and protection against foreign (i.e. Eritrean) forces. But rather than prepare for free elections to create a truly federal state as agreed, Abiy began purging, and persecution of many key members of the Tigray TPLF including army generals and businesses. This led the TPLF and majority Tigrayan elites to believe they were deceived into giving up power with false promises, as Jawar Mohammed, an architect of the reconciliation and a leading organizer of the 2016 Ethiopian protests, described it. This is the broad background to the present situation. Jawar, an Oromo, coordinated the protests from the US where his Minneapolis-based Oromia Media Network of satellite TV was based. After he returned to Addis Ababa in 2018 hailed a hero of the liberation movement, the Stanford-educated Jawar was jailed in September 2020 as a terrorist on a phony pretext by Abiy. Abiys bent for power was becoming clear. The damn dam As he consolidated power, Abiy also refused to negotiate a compromise on one of the most explosive issues in Africaconstruction of the huge Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) that, when completed has the potential not only to generate electricity for Ethiopia, but also to cut off vital water from the Nile to Sudan and Egypt. For Abiy the GERD dam is a symbol of his drive to create a national unity around his rule. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile that provides 85 percent of the Niles discharge, began construction in 2011 at an estimated cost of $4.9 billion. It is some 30 kilometers from the border with Sudan. Abiys regime has so far refused every attempt at negotiation on the dam with Egypt and Sudan. For around 100 million Egyptians, the Niles waters are their single source of livelihood. More than 90% of water in Egypt comes from the Blue Nile. Egypt has called for UN intervention which Ethiopias Abiy rejects out-of-hand. Abiy has begun filling the dam, a process that will take some 5-7 years, with no consultation on rate of fill or other vital features with either Sudan or Egypt. Egypt has threatened possible military action as has Sudan. Enter Jeffrey Feltman Into this explosive region now the Biden State Department has sent Special Envoy Jeffrey Feltman to deal with the Horn of Africa. Feltman has a murky, even dark history. According to French strategic analyst Thierry Meyssan who lived in Damascus, Feltman as US Ambassador to Lebanon in 2005 organized the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. He organized a UN commission that suggested Syrias Assad was involved with the crime, part of a US plan to split Lebanon from the protection of Syria. Feltman then organized a Color revolution, dubbed the Cedar Revolution, demanding Syrian military and security forces leave Lebanon. Feltman, working together with then-head of the German government-funded foreign policy think-tank, SWP, Volker Perthes, a Syria specialist, advanced the Obama-Clinton Arab Spring across the Middle East from Cairo to Tripoli and beyond. Their focus after 2011 was to topple Bashar al-Assad in Syria and turn the country into rubble with support from Erdogan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Their aim was to bring the Muslim Brotherhood (banned in Russia) into power across the Mideast. Feltman was then the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs under Secretary Clinton. The two, Feltman and Perthes, continued their regime change collusion under UN auspices after June 2012, when Feltman was appointed Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, a position he held until April 2018. Feltman at the UN had a $250 million budget to intervene where he saw a UN necessity, and Syria was at the top of his list. The UN post took focus away from Washingtons role in the Arab Spring destabilizations. He oversaw the recruiting of tens of thousands of Islamist mercenaries from Al Qaeda, ISIS (terrorist organizations, both banned in Russia) and other foreign terrorists to destroy Assad and Syria. It was part of a 2010 top secret Obama Presidential Study Directive-11 (PDS-11), calling for Washingtons backing of the secret fundamentalist Islamic Muslim Brotherhood paramilitary sect across the Middle Eastern Muslim worldand with it, the unleashing of a reign of terror that would change the entire world. Feltman, working quietly with Perthes who became UNs Special Envoy to Syria from 2015 to 2016 under Feltman, organized the Syrian opposition as well as financial support to recruit ISIS and Al Qaeda from abroad to destroy the Syrian regime aided by Turkey. The project hit a major roadblock after September 2015 when Russia, on request of the Syrian government, entered the Syrian war. In May 2021, the European Union renewed for one year its sanctions against any person or firm participating in the reconstruction of Syria, in accordance with the secret instructions issued, in 2017, by Jeffrey Feltman when he was serving as UN Under-Secretary General. The document was made public in 2018 by Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov. Now Feltman is back in the region as Envoy to the Horn of Africa. His old co-conspirator, Volker Perthes, since February, 2021 is officially UN Special Representative of the Secretary General for Sudan. To round out the old regime change team, Biden State Department has named Brett H McGurk to be National Security Council head for Near East and North Africa. When Feltman was organizing the Arab Spring and the destruction of Syria, McGurk served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iraq and Iran from 2014 through January 2016. McGurk previously worked as advisor in 2004 to Iraq Ambassador John Negroponte and General David Petraeus to organize the Sunni vs Shiite civil war in Iraq that led to the later creation of ISIS. And China The regrouping of the Feltman team now in the Horn of Africa region suggests prospects for enduring peace and stability there are grim indeed. As Feltman put it, the Horn of Africa could make Syria look like childs play. It remains to be seen how China, the country with the largest investment in not only Ethiopia, but also in Eritrea, Sudan and in Egypt, will react to the new US deployments in the Horn of Africa. Virtually all of the sea trade between China and Europe passes the Horn of Africa along the Red Sea on its way to the Egyptian Suez Canal. China has extended well over $1 billion in credits to construct the electricity grid from the GERD dam to cities in Ethiopia. Beijing was far the largest foreign investor during the Tigray TPLF rule with some $14 billion in various projects as of 2018. Since the peace agreement with Ethiopia, China has bought two major mines in Eritrea for gold, copper and zinc. Previously Beijing was the largest investor in Eritrea during the years of war with Ethiopia, and has invested in modernizing of Eritreas Massawa port to export copper and gold from Chinas mines there. In Sudan where Chinese oil companies have been active for more than two decades, China has a major stake in both Sudan and South Sudan. In Egypt where President El-Sisi has formally joined Chinas Belt and Road, there are major ties as well with Chinese investments into the Suez Canal region, container port terminals, telecommunications, light railways and coal power plants to as much as $20 billion. And just to add to the complexity, since 2017 the China PLA Navy has operated Chinas first overseas military base directly adjacent to the US Navy base at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti at the Horn of Africa. All this creates a geopolitical cocktail of ominous scale, and Washington is not bringing the most honest diplomats into the cocktail bar, but rather regime change specialists like Jeffrey Feltman. F. William Engdahl is strategic risk consultant and lecturer, he holds a degree in politics from Princeton University and is a best-selling author on oil and geopolitics, exclusively for the online magazine New Eastern Outlook On June 27, 2021 the US carried out additional strikes against targets along the Syrian-Iraqi border. The attacks were condemned by both the Syrian and Iraqi governments and represent not only a dangerous escalation by American military aggression in the region, but the continuation of US aggression in the Middle East spanning two decades regardless of who occupies the White House or Congress. A US Department of Defense statement dated June 27, 2021 regarding the US strikes would claim: At President Biden's direction, U.S. military forces earlier this evening conducted defensive precision airstrikes against facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups in the Iraq-Syria border region. he targets were selected because these facilities are utilized by Iran-backed militias that are engaged in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks against U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq. The statement would also claim: We are in Iraq at the invitation of the Government of Iraq for the sole purpose of assisting the Iraqi Security Forces in their efforts to defeat ISIS. And that: As a matter of international law, the United States acted pursuant to its right of self-defense. The strikes were both necessary to address the threat and appropriately limited in scope. As a matter of domestic law, the President took this action pursuant to his Article II authority to protect U.S. personnel in Iraq. While "assisting Iraqi Security Forces in their efforts to defeat ISIS" is the official excuse for US forces remaining in Iraq - the truth is that US forces have occupied Iraq illegally since the US-led invasion in 2003 which was deemed very much illegal by the UN. A 2004 Guardian article titled, Iraq war was illegal and breached UN charter, says Annan," would note: The United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, declared explicitly for the first time last night that the US-led war on Iraq was illegal. Mr Annan said that the invasion was not sanctioned by the UN security council or in accordance with the UN's founding charter. And despite claims that the US is in Iraq at the invitation of the Government of Iraq in a bid to justify its military aggression, the government of Iraq itself has unequivocally condemned the US strikes as a violation of the nations sovereignty. The New York Times in a June 28, 2021 article titled, Iraq Condemns U.S. Airstrikes on Iran-Backed Militias, would report: The Iraqi government on Monday condemned U.S. airstrikes on Iranian-backed militias near the Iraqi-Syrian border, and one of the targeted paramilitary groups vowed open war against American interests in Iraq. The New York Times also notes that the militias targeted by the US and characterized as Iranian-backed are actually on the [Iraqi] government payroll. Not mentioned by the New York Times is that these militias played a key role in the defeat of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS) in both Iraq and neighboring Syria. The New York Times mentions the US assassination of General Qassim Suleimani, commander of Irans Quds Force, which - under General Suleimanis leadership - also played a key role in the defeat of ISIS in both Syria and Iraq. General Suleimani was also in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government when the US carried out air strikes to assassinate the Iranian military commander. Washingtons claims of maintaining its military occupation of Iraq to assist in defeating ISIS is contradicted by its campaign of violence against Iraqs Iranian allies who are likewise assisting in the defeat of extremist forces - not only in Iraq - but also in neighboring Syria. Unlike the US, however, Iran is not allied with ISIS key state sponsors. In 2016, then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a leaked e-mail would mention key US allies - Saudi Arabia and Qatar - by name as providing clandestine financial and logistical support to ISIS and other radical Sunni groups in the region. Of course, the US itself was also funding, arming, training, and otherwise equipping extremist groups fighting alongside Al Qaeda and ISIS. An August 2017 New York Times article titled, Behind the Sudden Death of a $1 Billion Secret C.I.A. War in Syria, would mention reports that: ...some of the C.I.A.-supplied weapons had ended up in the hands of a rebel group tied to Al Qaeda further sapped political support for the program. The same article would claim that extremist organizations affiliated with Al Qaeda often fought alongside the C.I.A.-backed rebels and admitted that by the end of the US program these extremist organizations dominated the so-called opposition in Syria. Had the US been genuinely funding, arming, training, and otherwise equipping moderate rebels to the tune of billions of dollars, who was funding, arming, training, and otherwise equipping extremists even more - allowing them to eventually displace US-backed rebels on Syrias battlefields? The answer is that there never were any moderate rebels to begin with. The US set out arming extremist forces deliberately as part of its proxy war against Damascus. As early as 2007, journalists like Seymour Hersh in his article, The Redirection: Is the Administrations new policy benefitting our enemies in the war on terrorism?, would expose Washingtons preparations to do exactly that, warning (emphasis added): To undermine Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East. In Lebanon, the Administration has cooperated with Saudi Arabias government, which is Sunni, in clandestine operations that are intended to weaken Hezbollah, the Shiite organization that is backed by Iran. The U.S. has also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally Syria. A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda. Thus it is clear that not only did the United States give rise to Al Qaeda and ISIS across the region and specifically in Syria and Iraq, it did so deliberately. It is using the threat of extremism it and its regional allies sponsored to begin with as a pretext to remain in the region militarily and as a smokescreen behind which it is carrying out an escalating campaign of aggression against Iraq and Syrias allies who actually aided in Al Qaeda and ISIS defeat. The US attempts to cite international and US domestic laws in a bid to depict its ongoing aggression as self-defense regarding US forces stationed thousands of miles from American shores and who are in the Middle East as a direct result of an illegal war of aggression predicated two decades ago on deliberately fabricated accusations of weapons of mass destruction Washington claimed the Iraqi government possessed at the time. Today, the US is attacking militias paid by the Iraqi government - attacks protested loudly by the Iraqi government - all while claiming the US presence within Iraqi territory is at the invitation of the Government of Iraq. This ongoing US aggression along the Iraqi-Syrian border is a dangerous illustration of how despite claiming US forces are essential for stability and security in the region, the US is in fact the primary driving force of instability and a constant threat to security across the Middle East. It also illustrates how much more work Syria, Iraq, and their actual allies have ahead of them in both eliminating extremists the US simultaneously sponsors and claims to be fighting, and pushing out the United States otherwise perpetual military occupation of the region without triggering a war with a nuclear-armed aggressor.. Brian Berletic is a Bangkok-based geopolitical researcher and writer, especially for the online magazine New Eastern Outlook. On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security under Alejandro Mayorkas leaked yet another "internal bulletin" fearmongering about how "white extremists" may be planning to carry out mass shootings in the run up to July 4th. "Federal authorities are deeply concerned about the possibility of domestic terror and violence, including mass shootings, as the Fourth of July holiday approaches and the summer season gets fully underway," ABC News said. If you managed to read past ABC News' headline, you'd see the feds admit there's "no specific threat" and their only evidence of a possible threat is some online chatter (that was probably put out by their own agents working to entrap gullible saps and the mentally disabled). The bulletin came out just days after a black extremist shot a Daytona Beach police officer in the head. JUST IN - Othal Wallace, wanted for shooting a DBPD officer, was taken into custody early Saturday in a wooded area outside of Atlanta that is associated with the black nationalist militia NFAC. pic.twitter.com/YTGjK2gBJc Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) June 26, 2021 The last time Attorney General Merrick Garland, Mayorkas' partner in crime, issued a similar warning about "white extremists" was right after another black extremist went on a shooting spree targeting white men. AG Merrick Garland Declares 'White Extremists' Greatest Threat As Black Extremist Goes On Shooting Spree 'Targeting White Men' https://t.co/LKiC9XOqoz Chris Menahan (@infolibnews) June 16, 2021 Mayorkas has issued multiple of these fearmongering bulletins warning of imminent mass death and always leaks them to ABC News who reports on it every time as though it was the first time and never points out how their past leaks were total bulls**t. ABC News together with Mayorkas hyped the hell out of the notion that "Q-Anon extremists" were going to attack the Capitol on March 4 yet literally nothing happened. Glenn Greenwald recently detailed how they're issuing such fearmongering bulletins every few weeks. This appears to be the fifth such bulletin this year. Though no "white extremists" carried out any mass shootings as they were predicting, there were multiple mass shootings in Chicago over just the past week. From WGN 9, "Baby among 20 shot in Chicago as holiday weekend gets underway": A baby girl was among 20 people shot in Chicago as the holiday weekend gets underway. A 1-month-old baby girl was one of seven people shot Thursday night in Englewood. Police said three gunmen got out of a Jeep and started shooting in multiple directions around 8 p.m. on the 6500 block of South Halsted Street. The infant was shot in the head and taken to Comer Children's Hospital in critical condition. The other people who were shot ranged in age from 15 to 46. All of them were listed in good condition. Hours earlier, a 9-year-old girl was shot in the head in East Chatham in a double shooting around 2:45 p.m. on the 800 block of East 79th Street. A 61-year-old man was shot in the foot. Chicago police Supt. David Brown said they were caught in gang crossfire. The 9-year-old was in critical condition. "According to Chicago police, 172 children have been shot and 25 kids have been murdered so far this year," ABC 7 Chicago reports. Here's video of the mass shooting where a 1-month-old baby girl was shot in the head (it appears she's going to survive as her brain wasn't hit): Video of the mass shooting tonight at 66th/Halsted. Seven shot, including a one-month-old girl, by gunmen who emerged from a black Jeep Cherokee with rifles. #Chicago pic.twitter.com/39evfBmnN9 CWBChicago (@CWBChicago) July 2, 2021 HeyJackass is reporting there were 131 people shot in Chicago in just the past week: "A woman was killed and an 8-year-old girl and another woman were wounded early Thursday in Roseland on the Far South Side," ABC 7 Chicago reported. Two men (who were not white extremists) were filmed last week getting out of their car at a traffic light and opening fire on a vehicle ahead of them with "automatic weapons" (where is the ATF?). There were two mass shootings within two hours on Sunday: People are also getting carjacked and robbed all over the place: How many of these crimes and mass shootings were carried out by "white extremists"? The answer is zero. If it's not a "white extremist" doing the shooting, the feds couldn't care less. Perhaps community leaders in Chicago could get creative and start a crowdfunding campaign to pay so-called "white extremists" to come to their neighborhoods in the hopes the feds will finally pay them some attention? As it stands now, the feds are happy to just watch the slaughter from the sidelines while they focus on disarming middle America, entrapping "white extremists" and hunting down every last grandma who walked into the Capitol on Jan 6. Follow InformationLiberation on Twitter, Facebook, Gab, Minds, Parler and Telegram. Two different media watchdog outlets, Media Lens and Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR), have published articles on the complete blackout in mainstream news institutions on the revelation by Icelandic newspaper Stundin that a US superseding indictment in the case against Julian Assange was based on false testimony from diagnosed sociopath and convicted child molester Sigurdur Thordarson. FAIRs Alan MacLeod writes that as of Friday, July 2, there has been literally zero coverage of it in corporate media; not one word in the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, NBC News, Fox News or NPR. A search online for either Assange or Thordarson will elicit zero relevant articles from establishment sources, either US or elsewhere in the Anglosphere, even in tech-focused platforms like the Verge, Wired or Gizmodo, MacLeod adds. We have not found a single report by any serious UK broadcaster or newspaper, says the report by Media Lens. But in a sane world, Stundins revelations about a key Assange witness that Thordarson lied in exchange for immunity from prosecution would have been headline news everywhere, with extensive media coverage on BBC News at Six and Ten, ITV News, Channel 4 News, front-page stories in the Times, Telegraph, the Guardian and more. For those who still believe the media provides news, please read this, tweeted Australian journalist John Pilger regarding the Media Lens report. Having led the persecution of Julian Assange, the free press is uniformly silent on sensational news that the case against Assange has collapsed. Shame on my fellow journalists. As we discussed the other day, this weird, creepy media blackout has parallels with another total blackout on a different major news story which also involved WikiLeaks. In late 2019 the leak outlet Assange founded was publishing multiple documents from whistleblowers in the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) revealing that the organisations leadership actively tampered in the investigation into an alleged chlorine gas attack in Douma, Syria in 2018 to support the US government narrative on the allegation, yet the mass media wouldnt touch it. A Newsweek reporter resigned from his position during this scandalous blackout and published the emails of his editors forbidding him from covering the story on the grounds that no other major outlet had reported on it. Make no mistake, this is most certainly a new phenomenon. If you dont believe me, contrast the blackout on these stories with the mass media coverage on WikiLeaks revelations a few short years earlier. The press eagerly lapped up the 2016 publications of Democratic Party emails and actively collaborated with WikiLeaks in the publication of the Chelsea Manning leaks in 2010. Even the more recent Vault 7 leaks published in 2017 received plenty of media coverage. Yet now every WikiLeaks-related story that is inconvenient for the US-centralized empire is carefully kept out of mainstream attention, with a jarring uniformity and consistency weve never experienced before. If the media environment of today had existed ten or fifteen years earlier, its possible that most people wouldnt even know who Assange is, much less the important information about the powerful that WikiLeaks has brought to light. We also caught a strong whiff of this new trend in the near-total blackout on the Hunter Biden October surprise last year, which only went mainstream because it stood to benefit one of Americas two mainstream political factions. After the New York Post first broke the story we saw mainstream media figures publicly explaining to each other why it was fine not to cover it with reasoning that was all over the map, from its a waste of time to its just too darn complicated to its not our job to research these things to the Washington Posts notorious We must treat the Hunter Biden leaks as if they were a foreign intelligence operation even if they probably arent. Anyone who dared publicize the leaks anywhere near the mainstream liberal echo chamber was bashed into submission by the herd, and without any legitimate reason it was treated like a complete non-story at best and a sinister Russian op at worst. And then, lo and behold, in April of this year Hunter Biden acknowledged that the leaks could very well have come from his laptop after all, and not from some GRU psyop. And I think that whole ordeal gives us some answers into this disturbing new dynamic of complete blackouts on major news stories. Last year The Spectators Stephen L Miller described how the consensus formed among the mainstream press since Clintons 2016 loss that it is their moral duty to be uncritical of Trumps opponent and suppress any news stories which might benefit them. For almost four years now, journalists have shamed their colleagues and themselves over what I will call the but her emails dilemma, Miller writes. Those who reported dutifully on the ill-timed federal investigation into Hillary Clintons private server and spillage of classified information have been cast out and shunted away from the journalist cool kids table. Focusing so much on what was, at the time, a considerable scandal, has been written off by many in the media as a blunder. They believe their friends and colleagues helped put Trump in the White House by focusing on a nothing-burger of a Clinton scandal when they should have been highlighting Trumps foibles. Its an error no journalist wants to repeat. Once youve accepted that journalists have not just a right but a duty to suppress news that is both factual and newsworthy in order to protect a political agenda, youre out in open water in terms of blatant propaganda manipulation. And we saw the mainstream press shoved into alignment with this doctrine in the wake of the 2016 election. This shove was never the biggest story of the day, but it was constant, forceful, and extremely dominant in the conversations that mainstream journalists were having with each other both publicly and privately in the wake of the 2016 election. Even before the votes were cast, we saw people like Voxs Matt Yglesias and Axios editor Scott Rosenberg shaming mass media reporters for focusing on the Hillary Clinton email scandal, and after Trump hysteria kicked in it got a whole lot more aggressive. In 2017 we saw things like Clinton insider Jennifer Palmieri melodramatically lamenting the medias fixation on WikiLeaks publications despite the Clinton campaigns desperate attempts to warn them that it was a Russian operation (a claim that to this day remains entirely without evidence). Liberal pundits like Joy Reid, Eric Boehlert and Peter Daou (prior to his leftward conversion) were constantly browbeating the press on Twitter for covering the leaks at all. It ramped up even further when mainstream reporters like The New York Times Amy Chozick and CNNs Jeffrey Toobin stepped forward with degrading mea culpas on how badly they regret allowing the Russian government to use them as unwitting pawns to elect Donald Trump with their reporting on newsworthy facts about completely authentic documents. It was like a cross between the confession/execution scene from Animal Farm and the walk of atonement scene from Game of Thrones. Bit by bit the belief that the press has a moral obligation to suppress newsworthy stories if theres a possibility that they could benefit undesirable parties foreign or domestic became the prevailing orthodoxy in mainstream news circles. By mid-2018 we were seeing things like BBC reporter Annita McVeigh admonishing a guest for voicing skepticism about Syrian president Bashar al-Assads culpability in the Douma incident on the grounds that were in an information war with Russia. Its now simply taken as a given that managing narratives is part of the job. Again, this is a new phenomenon. Mainstream media have always been propaganda firms, but theyve relied on spin, distortion, half-truths, uneven coverage, and uncritically parroted government assertions; there werent these complete information barricades across all outlets. Youd see them giving important stories an inadequate amount of coverage, and some individual outlets would neglect inconvenient stories. But youd always see someone jump at the chance to be the first to report it, if for no other reason than ratings and profit. Thats simply not how things work now. A major story can come to light and only be covered by media outlets which mainstream partisans will scoff at and dismiss, like RT or Zero Hedge. The way the mass media have begun simply ignoring major news stories that are inconvenient for the powerful, across not just some but all major news outlets, is extremely disturbing. It means any time theres an inconvenient revelation, mainstream news institutions will just pretend it doesnt exist. Seriously think about what this means for a moment. This is telling whistleblowers and investigative journalists that no matter how hard they work or how much danger they put themselves in to get critical information out to the public, the public will never find out about it, because all mainstream news outlets will unify around blacking it out. You want to talk about a threat to the press? Forget jailing journalists and whistleblowers, how about all news outlets of any real influence unifying to simply deny coverage to any major information which comes to light? This is a threat to the thing the press fundamentally is. More than a threat. Its the end. The end of the possibility of any kind of journalism having any meaningful impact. The journalist who worked on the Stundin report says he spent months working on this story, and he would surely have expected his revelations to get some coverage in the rest of the western press. The OPCW whistleblowers would surely have expected their revelations to get enough attention to make a difference, otherwise they wouldnt have leaked those documents at great risk to themselves. Whats being communicated to whistleblowers and journalists in these blackouts is, dont bother. It wont make any difference, because no one will ever see what you reveal. And if thats true, well. God help us all, I guess. _____________________ The best way to make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list for at my website or on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, following me on Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud or YouTube, or throwing some money into my tip jar on Ko-fi, Patreon or Paypal. If you want to read more you can buy my books. Everyone, racist platforms excluded, has my permission to republish, use or translate any part of this work (or anything else Ive written) in any way they like free of charge. For more info on who I am, where I stand, and what Im trying to do with this platform, click here. Bitcoin donations:1Ac7PCQXoQoLA9Sh8fhAgiU3PHA2EX5Zm2 The Internet is headed toward total censorship of unauthorized content as well as individuals who consume or produce such content. Once you are identified as unsafe, you could be banned from Internet presence, denying access to Email and online accounts. TN Editor WEF partners with Big Tech and governments to police Internet, encourage coordinated action against unauthorized voices deemed harmful to collective psyche. The World Economic Forum announced June 29 it will initiate a new public-private partnership with Big Tech and governments around the world to identify and uproot all opinions from the Internet that it considers harmful. The WEF is one of those elitist organizations that wields enormous influence over the elected leaders of Western nations but which almost nobody in the general population has heard of. Its members are internationalist corporate honchos and technocrats who meet once a year in Davos with the stated goal of working to shape global, regional and industry agendas. It made a big splash last year with its highly touted Great Reset, which promises to use the pandemic as an opportunity to crash the worlds dollar-based, capitalist economic system and build back better under a more socialist and globally integrated system that mirrors the United Nations Agenda 2030 goals for Sustainable Development. Any politician you hear using the term build back better [Biden-Harris-Trudeau-Johnson repeat this mantra daily] you know has drunk the poisonous Kool-Aid of the World Economic Forum and its founder, Klaus Schwab [pictured below]. Schwabs latest venture is the so-called Global Coalition for Digital Safety that consists of execs from Big Tech and government officials with the goal of creating a global framework for regulating speech on the Internet, wiping it of so-called harmful content. [I could not help but think of thethat conducted the reign of terror during the French Revolution.] And who gets to define whats harmful? Why, the global coalition set up by the elitist WEF of course! The harmful content targeted by this Global Coalition for Digital Safety you can bet will be tailor made to entrap those who stand for limited government, traditional values and individual freedom. Those of us who still believe in such things will not be included in the WEFs definition inclusive, equality or diversity. The Global Coalition for Digital Safety is a public private platform for global, multi stakeholder cooperation to develop innovations and advance collaborations that tackle harmful content and conduct online, states the WEF on its website. Microsoft immediately announced it was on board with the WEFs plan to squelch free speech on the Internet. Chief digital safety officer for Microsoft Courtney Gregoire stated: Technology offers tools to learn, play, connect, and contribute to solving some of the worlds greatest challenges. But digital safety harms remain a threat to these possibilities. As the World Economic Forum is uniquely positioned to accelerate the public-private collaboration needed to advance digital safety globally, Microsoft is eager to participate and help build whole-of-society solutions to this whole-of-society problem. Facebook also seems excited to get started on finding new ways to groom users to start thinking about turning in their friends for wrongthink. The social media giant has begun sending cryptic messages to some users that read as follows: Are you concerned that someone you know is becoming an extremist? See screenshot below that one user received from Facebook today, July 1, and sent to this reporter. This program fits perfectly with the rhetoric coming out of Washington since Biden claimed the presidency. Biden and his attorney general, Merrick Garland, take every opportunity to talk about extremists on the right being the biggest threat to our democracy. This is a classic propaganda technique used to turn public sentiment against a targeted demographic. The Nazis perfected this, using the media to blame all of Germanys problems on Jews before they actually started rounding them up and making them disappear. The next phase in this evil plan is to encourage Americans to turn each other in to the online thought police. What happens next, after one has been reported to Facebook, Google or Microsoft? Will the tech giants turn those accused of thought crimes by their online friends and followers over to Bidens politicized FBI? This is exactly how it works in China. Readers of this blog know that China is the model being touted by those who believe in the Great Reset. Now their plans are right out in the open on the World Economic Forum website with this announcement of their Global Coalition for Digital Safety. The WEF states: With the growing challenge to counter health misinformation, violent extremist and terrorist content, and the exploitation of children online, there is an urgent need for more deliberate global coordination to improve digital safety. The Global Coalition for Digital Safety aims to accelerate public-private cooperation to tackle harmful content online and will serve to exchange best practices for new online safety regulation, take coordinated action to reduce the risk of online harms, and drive forward collaboration on programs to enhance digital media literacy. In the above quote, notice how sneakily the WEF lumps spreaders of health misinformation that would be anyone who expresses reticence about experimental mass vaccination programs, COVID lockdowns, mandatory mask wearing, etc. in with violent extremists, terrorists and child traffickers. How clever. The WEF has the audacity to claim its coalition will be impartial in policing the Internet. This is the same organization run by Schwab, who openly states that the pandemic should be exploited as a unique window of opportunity to fundamentally change the way the people live, work, do business and fit into society. The Forum is uniquely positioned to leverage its impartial platform and convening power to drive public-private cooperation amongst key stakeholders focused on improving safety online, the WEF states in its release about the new coalition. The WEF sets itself up as the global arbiter that defines terms like harmful content and misinformation. It also laments the fact that encrypted social media channels like Telegram and Signal are able to allow users to communicate free of censorship and spying. Here are its recommendations for key focus areas that now require coordinated action by governments and their Big Tech allies: 1. Share Best Practices on Safety Standards: Exchange knowledge on policies and practices for improving online safety, considering content policies, remedies, transparency reports, use of data, and new technologies 2. Address Balance of Privacy and Safety: Share best practices on addressing the growing tension between privacy and safety as harmful content on encrypted channels risks evading detection 3. Market Competition: Drive better alignment between regulations focused on safety and competition to foster market innovation and enable consumer choice 4. Cross-Jurisdictional Content Cooperation: Enable action on content that spans jurisdictions and requires greater coordination amongst countries (e.g. content created in one county but causing harm in another) 5. Definitional Alignment: Support work on consistent definitions for content categories, such as self-harm and cyber-bullying to enable standardized enforcement, reporting, and measurement across regions. If COVID taught us anything, its that Big Tech social-media platforms, in league with global power elites, defined for us what is allowed and not allowed to be said on the Internet. Posts that challenge the official narrative about the virus and the best way to respond to it were immediately censored, either tagged with warnings meant to discredit the posts or removed all together. The most typical reason for such censorship was that these posts violated community standards, which consist of mysterious, vaguely worded legalese that nobody reads. Big Tech corporations are also increasingly working in concert with governments around the world, including in the U.S. and the ruling Chinese Communist Party in China, to regulate what people are allowed to see on the Internet. But all of this control over the free flow of information is not enough for some of the global power elites. Now they are ready to take their Gestapo tactics to the next level. They want to turn us against each other. Dont let them do it. Now is the time for all freedom-loving patriots in nations across the world to wake up, rise up, recognize these tactics as divisive and anti-human, and unite against this pernicious group of global predators. Read full story here Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Albany Democrat-Herald. What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 814-368-3173 or email nfinnerty@oleantimesherald.com. NEW YORK (AP) Alvin Bragg, a former top deputy to New Yorks attorney general, was poised to become Manhattans first Black district attorney and to take over the investigation of former President Donald Trump after his closest opponent conceded in the the Democratic primary. The candidate trailing him by several thousand votes in the race, former federal prosecutor Tali Farhadian Weinstein, said in a statement on Friday that after several days of absentee votes being counted, it is clear we cannot overcome the vote margin. New York City's Board of Election has not publicly released updates on the count of absentee ballots. As a result, The Associated Press has been unable to call a winner in the race. This has been a long journey that started in Harlem, Bragg said in a statement, adding that 15-year old boy who was stopped numerous times at gunpoint by the police is the Democratic nominee to be Manhattan District Attorney. Bragg led Farhadian Weinstein by about 3 percentage points when voting ended June 22. In her statement, Farhadian Weinstein said she was particularly grateful to the legion of women who had the courage to share with me their experiences with crime and hope for a criminal justice system that sees and treats them differently; you inspired and shaped the vision of this campaign. I will always stand with you." With a win, Bragg would be virtually guaranteed to succeed District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who has been l eading an investigation of Trump and his company and is retiring at the end of the year. The Republican candidate in the general election will be Thomas Kenniff, a defense attorney, former prosecutor and Army Judge Advocate General. Democrats outnumber Republicans heavily in Manhattan. A former federal prosecutor who now teaches at New York Law School, Bragg would be Manhattan's first Black district attorney. A Harlem native, Bragg worked as a civil rights lawyer before entering government service. He currently represents the mother of Eric Garner in a judicial inquiry into his 2014 death after being placed in a police chokehold. Bragg, 47, defeated a big field of candidates including Farhadian Weinstein, three former assistants in the district attorneys office, Lucy Lang, Liz Crotty and Diana Florence, and three candidates who have never been prosecutors public defender Eliza Orlins, civil rights lawyer Tahanie Aboushi and state Assembly member Dan Quart. Bragg has prior experience investigating Trump. As the states chief deputy attorney general in 2018, Bragg helped oversee a lawsuit that led to the closure of Trumps charitable foundation over allegations he used the nonprofit to further his political and business interests. Prior to that, he led a unit of the state attorney generals office that investigates killings by police. Bragg said he was drawn to a career in law after having a gun pointed at him six times as a youth three times by police. In one encounter, amid the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s, Bragg said an officer stuck a gun in his face and wrongly accused him of being a drug dealer as he walked to get groceries for his father. Campaigning for district attorney, Bragg pledged a culture change in the office, prioritizing public safety and police accountability while declining to pursue many low-level offenses and de-emphasizing conviction rates. Bragg said he'd use data to spot racial disparities in the criminal justice system. In deciding which cases to pursue, Bragg said he'd want prosecutors to ask: Does this case make us safer. The Manhattan district attorney's office has spent two years looking at Trumps business dealings, including hush-money payments, property valuations, tax strategies and executive compensation. A special grand jury this week indicted the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg. They were charged with helping Weisselberg and other top executives evade taxes he should have paid on apartments, cars and tuition aid given him by the company. Vance, a Democrat, was widely expected not to seek reelection but he held off on making an announcement until after the Supreme Court ruled. Vance will lead the Trump probe until he leaves office. All eight Democrats running to succeed Vance have said they weren't afraid of taking on Trump, but they were also cautious not to appear like they were prejudging the case or making the matter a campaign issue. Vance will have been in office for 12 years when he steps side. His successor will be just the fourth elected district attorney in Manhattan in the last 80 years. Frank Hogan served for 31 years. Robert Morgenthau was in office for 34 years, until he was 90. Manhattan district attorney is one of the most high-profile prosecution jobs in the U.S., dramatized on TVs Law and Order and Blue Bloods. The office has a staff of 500 lawyers and a $125 million annual budget. A separate forfeiture fund bankrolled by Wall Street settlements and worth more than $800 million is used for grants to criminal justice and community organizations and big initiatives, such as testing backlogged rape kits. EASTON, Pa. (AP) A state trooper was justified in fatally shooting a 55-year-old man who choked him when the officer responded to a domestic assault outside the man's home in northeastern Pennsylvania, authorities announced Friday. The trooper, a seven-year veteran from the Belfast barracks, was on his way to work when he responded to a woman's screaming call to 911. Edward Shadder was assaulting a woman in the driveway when the trooper arrived, the Northampton County District Attorney's office recounted. The trooper got out of his car and ordered Shadder to halt, but Shadder ignored the directive. The trooper then used his Taser on him twice, but both times it was ineffective. The trooper then tried to subdue Shadder with a collapsible baton, but he wrestled it away and used it to hit and choke the trooper. The prosecutors' report said a neighbor could see Shadder on the troopers back, choking him, and could see the trooper was turning red. Shadder let go of the trooper and ran back toward the woman. The trooper then fired twice, hitting Shadder in the back. The prosecutor's office said the shooting occurred just 36 seconds after the trooper responded. Shadder was pronounced dead a short time later. Prosecutors said the trooper suspected he had been on drugs, and toxicology test results are pending. The trooper was not seriously injured. Both the trooper and Shadder are white, said Northampton County District Attorney Terence Houck. Houck said he is not releasing the trooper's name because he was cleared of wrongdoing. PHILADELPHIA (AP) On her fifth day of crying over the death of her friend to COVID-19 this year, Cheryl Edwards realized she was dealing with too much grief and sought counseling. She expected to talk about death. Instead, the therapist asked Edwards about the beginning of her own life. I didnt realize how damaged and hurt I was until I started talking about it, Edwards said. She forced me to dig deep within myself and I hated what I saw because I never dealt with it. The immense loss Edwards, 53, went through over the last year three of her friends died from the pandemic led her to confront the first loss in life she ever suffered, that of her parents who abandoned her at birth. Edwards isnt sure how she came into this world, or when or where, but on Aug. 14, 1967, she was discovered inside a pillowcase hidden under a dresser in a vacant apartment of an otherwise occupied West Philadelphia rowhouse. She was naked, weighed 5 pounds, 7 ounces, and the umbilical cord that once tied her to her mother was cut but still attached. The residents of the building who found Edwards mistook her for a chicken and threw her away in a trash bin behind the house that night. Her story might have ended there, if not for the actions of one observant neighborhood resident whose curiosity saved Edwards life. Until two years ago, when Edwards contacted The Inquirer to see if the paper had written an article about the day she was found, the details of her first hours on this earth were a mystery to her. Many still are. Theres no worse feeling in the world than not knowing who your biological parents are. Its such an empty, empty feeling, Edwards said. Some people dont know one parent, but to not to know who both of them are, its like I was dropped out of the sky. Nobody knows anything. But somebody knows something, she said. The site where Edwards was found is now a vacant lot. The word dreams is painted on the sidewalk in front of the Dupree Studios. Just a joy Edwards earliest memories begin around the age of 5, when she was a little girl growing up in Overbrook as the seventh child of the late Ernest Lee Sr. and Susan Edwards. I had the best childhood, she said. We always went on summer vacations and Christmases were phenomenal. On Christmas mornings, the Edwardses would assign each of their children a chair or a portion of the sofa where they would leave all of their gifts covered up with a sheet, to be unveiled in a glorious fury of holiday elation. Longtime foster parents, Susan Edwards was a homemaker who loved children and Ernest Lee Edwards Sr. was a landlord who also worked at a dry cleaners and delivered blood. The Edwardses had six biological children of their own before taking in Cheryl when she was 3 months old. She was the first of five nonbiological children the couple raised. Edwards sister Laurette McNear, 65, of West Philadelphia, the eldest of the Edwardses biological children, was 12 when her parents took Cheryl into their family. She recalls Cheryl being a very little but very happy baby. She was just a joy, McNear said. As she grew up she was just a fun person. She could laugh, oh my gosh could she giggle. We used to call her Shaky Shoulders because she would laugh and her shoulders would just be going up and down. Destroyed by her own story Edwards didnt discover her mom and dad werent her biological parents until she was 9, when they told her she was abandoned as a baby and they wanted to officially adopt her. I thought, OK, sure, as long as I dont have to go anywhere, Edwards said. I didnt want to leave them. The day her parents took her to a lawyers office to finalize the adoption paperwork was a school day and when Edwards returned to her fourth-grade class at Overbrook Elementary School that afternoon, her teacher who was aware of why she had been absent asked her to stand in front of her class and tell everyone what happened. I said, I was legally adopted today, and the whole class clapped, she recalled. Back then I felt special because it was different. Nobody else in my class had that experience, and I got to dress up that day and my mom did my hair. But two years later, someone turned Edwards own story against her, making her question, for the first time, what being adopted meant. In sixth grade one girl got mad at me for something and said, You old adopted thing, Edwards said. Im 53 years old and thats still with me. That one cruel comment hit Edwards like a stone thrown at a pane of glass, leaving behind fractures and questions that only grew over time. And last year, the glass finally shattered. A person close to Cheryl with intimate knowledge of her story used it against her in an argument by asking Do you even know who your parents are? That crushed my soul. I couldnt say a word. I couldnt speak, she said. It took me a long time to even tell him my story and I had no idea he would use it against me like that. Edwards decided at that moment she wanted to reclaim her story so it could never be weaponized against her again. I said this is the second person who destroyed me with this information, so Im going to spin and make it positive, she said. But I dont think I would have ever done it if I didnt go to counseling. Angelle Richardson, a family therapist and assistant professor of community and trauma counseling at Thomas Jefferson University who specializes in adoption and was adopted herself, said the ability to tell ones own story is so important and when thats taken away, it can be traumatizing. And trauma can affect someone throughout their life in ways they may not realize until they enter therapy, she said. To be able to sit with someone who is trained to walk beside you, to help you process, to be a mirror, and to be someone whos not going to judge you can be so empowering, Richardson said. It can be such a place of relief. Named by a nurse For decades, the only documentation Edwards had about her early life and adoption were letters from the lawyer her parents hired to help them through the process and a one-page document her mother gave her when she was 18 from a caseworker at Philadelphias Department of Public Welfare, the predecessor to the Department of Human Services. The three-paragraph memo that Ernest Lee Sr. and Susan Edwards received when they took Cheryl into their care states she was found by neighbors in a vacant second-floor room of a rowhouse, but it offers few details about her discovery beyond that. When she was brought to the hospital by police, doctors estimated she was between 12 and 24 hours old. She had an abrasion and bruises on her left arm and inflammation of her left eye. The nurse at the hospital took very good care of Cheryl, the unsigned document reads. It was one of the nurses who named her. Cheryl, which derives from French, means darling or beloved. Not having a name or any kind of connection to my birth parents still bothers me to this day. I dont even know my real birth date, Edwards said, quietly crying, when asked what it was like to learn a nurse named her. Who doesnt know when their real birthday is? Its just this big question mark. Still, to this day, its like Who am I? According to the memo, efforts made by police to locate Edwards birth parents were unsuccessful and there were no leads to their identity. Edwards parents never discouraged her from trying to find her birth parents, and at various points in her life, shes undertaken the task, only to reach one roadblock after another. I didnt have a name or anything to go on, so it was like going down a rabbit hole, she said. But she never let the unanswered questions from her past stop her from doing anything other than moving forward, she said. After graduating from Overbrook High School in 1985, Edwards received a bachelors degree in business administration from Gwynedd Mercy University and pursued a career as a secretary, working locally for companies like Dow Chemical and CompuCon. She married her now ex-husband in 1992 and two years later, she became a mother herself, giving birth to her only child, a son, who is now 26. I always wanted him to feel loved and wanted, said Edwards, who is close with her son. I think, subconsciously, I didnt want him to feel the hurt I felt. In 2017, Edwards relocated to College Park, Md., where she now works for a water-quality company arranging interviews and travel accommodations for prospective hires. It was through her jobs employee-assistance program that Edwards sought counseling this year and told her story to a stranger for the first time. Before that, Edwards often confided in her sister McNear, a social worker who counsels foster parents, about how difficult it was to walk down the street in Philadelphia and not know if the person she was passing by was her mother. I know how painful it is to carry that weight, McNear said. It was everyday knowledge that there was that part of her story missing. DNA dilemma Over the years, Edwards has often thought about doing an ancestry kit, like 23andMe or AncestryDNA, to learn about her heritage and see if she could be genetically linked with any living relatives. But she always gets nervous and backs off because shes not sure what the response will be if she discovers she has blood relatives. Im afraid of their reaction, not mine, she said. Will they be receptive? I dont want to be rejected again. Thats the underlying issue. Richardson, the therapist, said its a valid fear. If you think about it, she was, for lack of a better word, rejected from birth, and so her worldview is a worldview that encompasses rejection and abandonment, Richardson said. So why would I set myself up to be rejected again? Efforts to uncover information about Edwards birth parents and the first three months of her life either through the hospital in which she was taken, the Philadelphia City Archives, or any social service or foster care records proved futile. Afraid to look inside Edwards cant recall now what made her reach out to The Inquirer in 2019 to see if the paper had written an article about the day she was found. Every once in a while I get this overwhelming feeling where I have to find something and then I drop it, she said. According to the article, which appeared in the Aug. 15, 1967, Inquirer an edition that included stories about the ongoing Vietnam War and mayoral debates between incumbent James H.J. Tate and District Attorney Arlen Specter Edwards was discovered in a house in the Mantua section of West Philly. News reports from the time describe Mantua as a community of more than 20,000 people besieged by poverty, rats, and violence (a 1969 article in the Philadelphia Tribune said Mantua had the highest crime rate of any section of the city). But it was also during the 60s that Mantua became home to The Young Great Society, a grassroots nonprofit founded by Herman Wrice and Andrew Jenkins that created more than 60 occupational, educational, cultural, health, and other programs for youth and adults throughout the neighborhood, including a thrift shop, day care, and an orphanage. It was around 8 p.m. on Aug. 14, 1967, that a 15-year-old boy named James Drain who lived at 3616 Haverford Ave. went in to get his bicycle from a vacant second-floor room where he stored it in the building where he lived. When he opened the door, he heard a noise coming from inside. I heard something that sounded like a chicken, he told The Inquirer. I got scared and ran downstairs and called my mother. Identified in the article only as Mrs. Drain, 56, James Drains mother accompanied him to the room and discovered the pillowcase under the dresser. She too believed the noise coming from it sounded like the clucking of a chicken. Frightened, she called another resident of the building, George Ikard, 61. Ikard had heard noises coming from the room three days prior. But I never pay any attention, he said. I just want to listen to my ballgame. Once he finally did enter the room, at Mrs. Drains request, Ikard pulled the pillowcase and its kicking contents out from beneath the dresser and put it in the trash behind the building. He never looked inside. He was too afraid, he told a reporter. But one person was not. And that person saved Edwards life. Margaret Rogers, 50, another resident of the building, saw Ikard place the writhing pillowcase in the trash. Curious, Rogers went to the trash, pulled the pillowcase out, and discovered Edwards inside. Oh my God. Its a baby! she said. Rogers took Edwards into her home and heated up milk for her as Mrs. Drain called the police. Edwards was taken to Philadelphia General Hospital, while authorities searched for her birth parents. If you see the doctors at the hospital, tell them I want it, Rogers told The Inquirer reporter. To the best of Edwards knowledge, she never saw Rogers again. An urge to live As Edwards read the details of her own story for the first time, she was gutted. The thing that bothered me most was that I was thrown in the trash, she said. But Edwards also found people to admire in the story, like James Drain, the teen who went to get help instead of going about his business, and, of course, Margaret Rogers, who was the first person on this earth to care for her. I know shes probably long gone by now, but I owe her my life, Edwards said. When her thoughts turn to her birth parents, several scenarios come to Edwards mind. She wonders if her mother was young and terrified. She wonders if she was pregnant by a married man. She wonders if she was raped. She wonders about all of the possibilities, all of the time. As hurtful as this has been for me, over time Ive tried to put myself in her shoes. Its a womans choice to have a child. I wonder what her choices were, Edwards said. Did she just see no other way out, that this is all she could do? There had to be a reason, and its a reason Ill never know. An article from the Aug. 19, 1967, edition of the Philadelphia Tribune offered additional details about Edwards discovery. In that piece, Rogers name is listed as Margaret Rogers Booker and shes identified as a nurse who lived nearby on the 3600 block of Brandywine Street. O my God I just love the baby; she had an urge to live, she told a Tribune reporter. The quote hit hard for Edwards, who sees herself as a survivor and a fighter, but what hit her even harder was the last, unattributed line of the Tribune story. Doctors at PGH said the girl weighed 5 pounds. It is being detained there while police attempt to locate the childs mother, who is believed to be only 15 years old. When Edwards heard that detail for the first time recently, she openly wept for minutes on end. She was young, Edwards said, through her tears. Stigma for mothers Lori Bruce, a policy analyst and ethicist who serves as associate director of Yale Universitys Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, has studied infant abandonment and said that in all likelihood, Edwards birth mother felt as if she had no option. Many of these women feel that they do not have any sort of choice, she said. We see it happening across socioeconomic classes and across cultures, women can face intolerable social or economic consequences from being pregnant. Traditionally, theres this great stigma mothers are supposed to give everything to their children, but sometimes they dont have any more to give. From 2016 to 2020, 18 infants under 28 days old were abandoned in Philadelphia, according to the Philadelphia Department of Human Services. Its unclear if any of those cases involved a child being turned over through the states Safe Haven Law, a DHS spokesperson said, because the department does not have a separate data code for Safe Haven cases. Safe Haven Laws which, by 2008, had been passed in every state allow someone to relinquish an infant at a designated place like a hospital or police station without facing prosecution. But the laws vary widely from state to state when it comes to how old the infant can be, who can drop the baby off, and where the drop-offs may occur. In Pennsylvania, parents can relinquish infants up to 28 days old at hospitals, police stations, and EMS stations without facing prosecution, so long as the infant is not injured. While the city does not track Safe Haven cases, the state Department of Human Services 2019 Child Abuse Report said that between 2002, when the law was enacted, and 2019, 46 infants were relinquished statewide. Only five of those cases occurred in Southeast Pennsylvania. Bruce said the issue with Safe Haven Laws is they protect the infant, but not the mother. As legislatures created these laws, they often sought insight from existing power structures, like law enforcement and hospital administration officials, but rarely from the people who may be most affected by the laws at-risk women. As opposed to thinking about how can we help these women find a way to be stable enough that they wouldnt ever have to consider this horrific position, instead it was Lets fix this by helping those babies get into safe homes of people who have demonstrated economic and social security, Bruce said. The problem is that if women dont follow the letter of the law perfectly, they can be prosecuted, and sometimes they are. Connection found The Mantua house where Edwards was discovered in 1967 was demolished sometime between the fall of 2018 and the summer of 2019. The now-vacant lot is across the street from artist James Duprees vibrantly painted Dupree Studios. Today, many of the residents of this changing neighborhood, including students from nearby universities, werent even born in 1967. But every Philly neighborhood has at least one local armchair historian, someone whos stayed on the block, even as the neighborhood around them changed. A man in his 60s out walking his Yorkie recently knew just such a resident, who lives around the corner and a block from where Edwards was found. This is the guy, he said. If anybody knows anything, itll be him. From the start, Edwards knew it was unlikely any of the adults mentioned in news reports about her discovery would be alive today. The man who placed her in the trash, George Ikard, would be 115; the woman who pulled her from it, Margaret Rogers Booker, would be 104, and Mrs. Drain, who called the police, would be 110. But Edwards hoped James Drain, the boy who first heard her cry, might still be around. Hed be 69 today. The longtime resident came to the door and listened to a reporter share Edwards story. When he heard James Drains name he stopped cold. My name is Drain, he said. Lionel Drain. James, he said, was his cousin, and he died more than a decade ago. But up until his death, James Drain lived in that house on Haverford Avenue where he found Edwards all those years ago, Lionel Drain said. He vaguely remembered his cousin finding a newborn baby, and thinks he may have even received some kind of award for it. He said James Drain went on to have a daughter of his own, but he couldnt recall her name. Oh, theres one more thing, he said. James was adopted. Efforts to locate other relatives of Drain, or any relatives for George Ikard and Margaret Rogers Booker were unsuccessful. While Edwards was disheartened to learn shed never have a chance to meet the first person who found her, she was struck that she shared something so personal in common with him. Wow, thats really something, she said. James was adopted, too. Still seeking Until today, Edwards has shared her story with only a handful of people. She reached back out to The Inquirer this year to reclaim her story, to seek closure, and to tell others who have been abandoned at birth that they are not alone. I am a firm believer you go through things in your life for a reason, and you might go through things to help somebody else get through it, she said. I want people to know that even if you had a messed-up start, you dont have to end up that way. Edwards said she hopes her story reaches a young woman who may be pregnant and scared and not know what to do. This story is not just about me, its also about a mother who made a decision, and there are plenty of mothers who are in that same boat who dont really know what to do, she said. If you do find yourself pregnant, its not the childs fault. Give them a fair chance. I can honestly say Im glad whoever my biological mother was, she gave me a chance, the chance to let somebody find me. If her biological mother is alive today and reads her story, Edwards wants her to know she doesnt hate her. She would like to meet her, and hear her story, too. Theres a part of me, as hurt as I am, that still has a feeling for her, she said, because I am a part of her. Online: https://bit.ly/2SBceof Recent mosquito trap counts have spurred the City of Brandon to commence two evenings of fogging beginning tonight. Advertisement Advertise With Us Recent mosquito trap counts have spurred the City of Brandon to commence two evenings of fogging beginning tonight. Although dry in general, recent conditions have proved ideal for the propagation of the airborne bloodsuckers, which potentially carry West Nile virus. "We got that one heavy rain where we got a fair amount of rain, which created that standing water," said Perry Roque, the citys director of parks and recreation services. Warm, humid conditions followed the rains alongside temperatures that remained warm enough overnight for mosquitoes to develop. Mosquito eggs can lay dormant for years, hatching whenever Mother Nature delivers ideal conditions such as what Brandon recently experienced. "Everything just was ideal for us to have an emergence of adult mosquitoes," Roque said. "People were starting to notice them and we were starting to get the calls." Although word on the street supported fogging, it was the City of Brandons mosquito trap counts that triggered action. Fogging takes place whenever counts at five mosquito traps scattered throughout the city average more than 1,000 mosquitoes each over two days or when a single trap has more than 2,000 mosquitoes. A daily average count of 1,181 was recorded June 27 and an average of 1,122 was recorded the following day. Further, 3,068 mosquitoes were counted in Trap 2 near the City of Brandon Civic Services Complex on June 27 and 4,480 were counted in Trap 3 at the Brandon Municipal Cemetery on June 28. The 4,480-mosquito count is the highest the city has ever recorded at a single trap on record, which dates back to 2010. The City of Brandon also hit the fogging threshold last year. Prior to that, the threshold was reached in 2014. Fogging took place in both instances. The insecticide used in the fogging program is DeltaGuard 20EW, which Roque said is the same product currently used by the province and City of Winnipeg. The city shifted to this product a few years ago after the previous fogging chemical, malathion, was declared "potentially carcinogenic" by the World Health Organization. Although the new product has been considered by Health Canada "not likely to be a carcinogen to humans," residents are able to apply to the city for a 90-metre buffer zone around their properties. The city issued a call-out for applicants earlier this year, and have until 10 a.m. Saturday to apply in time to avoid this weekends fogging. Applications must be sent in annually. An application form can be downloaded from the City of Brandon website and emailed to parks@brandon.ca or sent by fax at 204-726-4256. As of Friday, Roque said hed received fewer than 10 applications, which is in the realm of what they typically receive. Beginning tonight at approximately 10 p.m., all areas south of Victoria Avenue (from Victoria Avenue to two miles south of Patricia Avenue and from 66th Street to 49th Street East) will be fogged. A city fogging truck makes a sweep through a residential neighbourhood in the southwest section of the city in 2013. (File) On Sunday, all areas north of Victoria Avenue (from Victoria Avenue to Sandison Road at the Brandon Municipal Airport and from 66th Street to 49th Street East) will be fogged beginning at approximately 10 p.m. Until this year, Brandon University was funded to keep an eye on the citys mosquito traps a service now undertaken by the province, with mosquitoes counted in Winnipeg. Despite this shift, Roque said their methodology has remained consistent. On that front, he also clarified that although mosquito fogging in the City of Winnipeg is triggered at a lower trap count than the City of Brandon uses, they use different traps so are not comparable. In addition to occasional fogging, the City of Brandons mosquito abatement program also includes an annual larvicide program in which potentially trouble areas are sprayed. This effort was doubled to include four staff members a few years ago. tclarke@brandonsun.com Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB WHAT CAN YOU DO? The City of Brandon offered a number of tips for what residents can do to minimize exposure to mosquito fogging as well as prevent the presence of mosquitoes and receiving a bite. This, in addition to applying with the City of Brandon for a 90-meter buffer zone around your property for fogging. Stay indoors during and immediately after spraying. Close all windows and doors and turn off air conditioning units and close vents to circulate indoor air. Bring laundry, toys and pets indoors before spraying occurs. Cover swimming pool surfaces when possible. Wash homegrown fruit and vegetables with water before cooking or eating. Rinse play equipment with water after spraying is completed. Dump out any containers of standing water and drink any eavestroughing. Fill in any low-ting areas and treat problem areas with biological larvicide. Use mosquito repellant and wear light-coloured clothing. Limit your time outside between the hours of dusk and dawn and use screened-in areas. The Brandon Sun Westman residents should prepare for another sweltering weekend, with Environment and Climate Change Canada issuing a new heat warning that covers most of the province. Advertisement Advertise With Us Westman residents should prepare for another sweltering weekend, with Environment and Climate Change Canada issuing a new heat warning that covers most of the province. This Friday update warned that dome of intense heat that shattered weather records across Western Canada has now moved into Manitoba. Henry Selinger cools off under a water feature at the Stanley Park spray park on an extremely hot Friday afternoon. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun) Environment and Climate Change Canada warning preparedness meteorologist Natalie Hasell told the Sun that, as of Friday morning, the heat dome was sitting on the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border, putting it in the direct path of communities such as Brandon, Russell, Neepawa, Dauphin, Minnedosa and Boissevain. "It is moving, but its moving very slowly," Hasell said on Friday afternoon. "Last Friday it was over B.C. Now its over us, although theres still part of it kind of over B.C. So it kind of anchored itself over there." A heat dome is created when strong high-pressure atmospheric conditions combine with weather patterns such as a La Nina, which results in vast areas of sweltering heat that get trapped under the high-pressure "dome." This weather phenomenon is responsible for smashing heat records across British Columbia earlier this week, with communities such as Lytton hovering close to 50 C before a fire broke out and consumed the village. However, Hasell maintains the Westman region will not be experiencing these extreme temperatures, with things expected to cool off and drop below 30 C in Brandon starting Monday. Janique LeClair, Cassie DeBaets and Taylor Olinyk cool off in a kiddie pool at The Groves in Brandons south end on a scorching hot Friday. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun) "Areas right by the American border, though, could remain quite hot, because the heat will stay over them for a bit longer," she said. Even with this cooling-off period in sight, Hasell implores Westman residents to remain vigilant this weekend by monitoring their health and the health of others in the wake of this heat warning. The meteorologist said special attention should be paid to the more vulnerable members of our society, including the very young, old, pregnant and those with underlying health conditions. "If you know of an elderly person who lives at home on their own, call them," Hasell said. "Find out how theyre doing, because you might be the only person to do that." Hasell said that members of the homeless population are also at risk right now, which is why Samaritan House Ministries staff are beefing up the availability of their Brandon shelter for the next two days. Samaritan House executive director Barbara McNish said they are planning to open up their overnight shelter from 12 to 3 p.m. this weekend, in addition to their usual hours of 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. While this 12 to 3 p.m. availability is usually reserved for weekdays, McNish said it was important to give their clients some respite this weekend now that temperatures in the city are supposed to hit highs of approximately 35 C and 33 C on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. "Its a little extra cost, but it will be worth it to help save somebodys life," said McNish, adding their shelter is hosting an average of 22 people a night these days. Outside of personal health, Hasell said Westman residents should also be on the lookout for changes in air quality, with major forest fires burning across the west coast. The widespread use of air conditioning also might put a significant strain on the provinces power grid, and Hasell said Manitobans own the most air conditioning units per capita in Canada. "Obviously the demand on the grid will be quite significant in these very hot temperatures. ... While Im not expecting there to be a great number of power outages, its entirely possible." In terms of what to expect for the rest of the summer, Hasell said that the most recent seasonal forecasts for July, August and September suggest above-normal temperatures for almost all of the province, with the heat wave Manitoba experienced in June providing a particularly bad omen. "Were used to having these really bad (weather) events in just July and August," she said. "So it wouldnt surprise me to see another major heat event happen somewhere in the province between now and the end of the summer." Any families looking to cool off this weekend could take advantage of the City of Brandons five spray parks, which are all open from 12 to 8 p.m. throughout the month of July. The Kinsmen Pool will also be open this weekend for public swimming from 1 to 4 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. For more information on these facilities, visit the "Summer Amenities" section at brandon.ca/parks-greenspaces. kdarbyson@brandonsun.com Twitter:@KyleDarbyson Advertisement Advertise With Us RitaBev Bone should never have made it to 65. Her lifes path has taken her over some pretty precarious roads. RitaBev Bone poses with her eagle feather and the documentary, Policy Baby, The Journey of RitaBev, the story of her pathway to healing. (Kimberley Kielley/The Brandon Sun) Homelessness. Sexual abuse. Addiction. Life as a foster child. By rights, she should be dead. But she isnt. Instead, her story is one of survival documented in a film by Susan Stewart and Michael Glassbourg with Jones (Bone) as the co-producer titled, "Policy Baby, The Journey of Rita/Bev." Originally from Keeseekoowenin First Nation, Bone was "apprehended" at two months of age from her parents, Rachel and Gordon Bone, in 1956. She was placed with a foster family who renamed her Beverly Jones. Her story is chronicled in the documentary. Bone said that she identifies as a "policy baby" because it was the policies of the Indian Act that took her from her home community and stripped her of her culture and identity. It wasnt a coincidence she began to reconnect with her culture at the age of 24, she said, as it was at this point in her life that everything in her life began to click. "Ive had dreams all my life as a little girl and I never told anybody, because they would have committed me or something," she said, adding this "blood memory" had been passed down to her, which prevented her new culture from making too much sense to her. She said that her father was a medicine man and it was "because of his image that I was given strength to put the bottle down, put the needle down, to come off the streets." That period was marred by a series of policies enacted in Canada that enabled child welfare authorities to take Indigenous children from their families and communities and place them in white foster homes in Canada, the U.S. and New Zealand. It is estimated that approximately 20,000 Indigenous children were taken from their families. The term Sixties Scoop was used by social workers in the British Columbia Department of Social Welfare to describe their departments practice of child apprehension. Foster programs and adoption policies were different in every province. Children such as Bone were apprehended during this time because in many cases, their Indigenous mothers werent married. By the mid-1980s, the practice was discontinued. Sixties Scoop children have launched multiple class-action lawsuits. Bones mother was a non-status woman living on the reserve. She was declared ineligible for any privileges that included medical care and education. At two months old, Bone was "apprehended" by Indian Affairs in Keeseekoowenin First Nation. She was placed in a non-Indigenous foster home. At the time of her apprehension, Indian Affairs was being aggressive in their removal of those from the reserve who were not "status Indians," Bone said. At five years of age, Bone was returned to the reserve, where she lived with her family, whom she didnt know. She couldnt speak the language and suffered sexual abuse. She yo-yoed back and forth for a number of years under the guidance of the child welfare system. Bone lived on the street and had her first child at 18 and another child at the age of 19. By the age of 24, she sobered up. At 28, she entered university and graduated four years later with a bachelor of social work degree. For the next 31 years, Bone worked in the field as a social worker, witnessing some of the harsh environments her mostly Indigenous clients lived in. The documentary is almost an hour long and weaves Bones life together in a tapestry of two cultures and the unstable ground she originated from to a pathway of healing. Bone hopes to offer the documentary as a segue between foster parents, foster children and adoptees as a pathway to their healing. "My goal is to work with other adoptees," she said. "What I want to do is an oral documentary with other adoptees. The core is having a spiritual foundation. What is our spiritual foundation? For me, its how I live. Everybody has to have a spiritual foundation. We all feed our spirit one way or the other. We stand on our spiritual foundation in our sharing." kkielley@brandonsun.com, with files from Tyler Clarke This week, after sixteen long months, I was able to rejoin a group of friends for our usual weekly lunch. Now, it wasnt the same entirely we had to show evidence of our vaccinations, but it was pretty close. In talking with these friends about the reopening, it became clear that we need a longer-term strategy to affect a successful transition from lockdown to normal. This week, after sixteen long months, I was able to rejoin a group of friends for our usual weekly lunch. Now, it wasnt the same entirely we had to show evidence of our vaccinations, but it was pretty close. In talking with these friends about the reopening, it became clear that we need a longer-term strategy to affect a successful transition from lockdown to normal. Some time ago, and reiterated recently by Dr. Roussin, it became evident that COVID was going to transition from being an epidemic or pandemic, both medical terms, to endemic. Whats the difference? Well, in simple terms, the term pandemic means an epidemic is happening globally whereas epidemic refers to an outbreak in one or several places. So, an epidemic can lead to a pandemic. Endemic, however, means that this is an ongoing disease/virus we will have to deal with for some time or, perhaps, permanently. In other words, it is being suggested that we just might have to get used to the idea that COVID, or some iteration or variant of it, could be with us for some time. Thats not a huge surprise we have been dealing with the common cold annually forever, and its just another coronavirus. Many of us get our annual shots to deal with variants of the flu. Again, theres nothing new here. Are we prepared to manage our own reactions to this endemic concept? Based upon my observations of Facebook and other social media, I think were a long way off from accepting COVID as a permanent part of our life. That being said, Im optimistic. Im not particularly interested in a debate about the roots of COVID. That discussion is neither especially interesting to me, nor remotely enlightening. We are here, so is COVID. Im also not committed to a debate about the vaccines. I believe in them, and others dont. Thats the choice we all face for our own reasons. Moreover, Im not entirely sure that a discussion over the vaccine is particularly worthwhile, at least for me. Everyone seems to own their own science, and I have mine. We have our own notions and ideas. Many of us access social media that affirms our beliefs, not informs them. I might, as well. So, rather than get into that discussion, which generally brings about more heat than it does light, it might be better that we simply accept each other and respect each others choices. Its tough to see how a broader reopening can occur as long as some thirty percent of Canadians dont intend to get vaccinated, regardless of the compelling arguments. So, this suggests COVID will be with us for some time. Further, as we see the lockdown/quarantine plans falter in countries like Australia, it is becoming readily evident that there are very few ways to deal with this pandemic. It seems to me as though we will face further waves until we are all either vaccinated or recovered. The vaccination ads I constantly see on my Facebook feed from the Province of Manitoba are not especially encouraging. Its hard to see how pastors or business executives are going to compel Manitobans (who are already skeptical) that these folks are not part of the problem as opposed to being honest arbiters of the truth. This is one of the first routines for a conspiracy theorist attack the messenger if the message disagrees with your argument. Todays column is more of a think piece than anything else. Im personally very optimistic about the reopening and hopeful that more people get their vaccines. I hope we dont face another lockdown or fourth wave, or fifth, or whatever may come next. Id love to be able to sit here and give that (telephone) number and say its good to go right now but we want to ensure it has all the capacity in place, all the boxes have been checked, so when we release that number, it can do the job. Because, frankly, the first number that went out there, we didnt quite anticipate the demand on the system. "Id love to be able to sit here and give that (telephone) number and say its good to go right now but we want to ensure it has all the capacity in place, all the boxes have been checked, so when we release that number, it can do the job. Because, frankly, the first number that went out there, we didnt quite anticipate the demand on the system." Vaccine implementation task force co-lead Johanu Botha For nearly a year and a half, Manitobans have been at the mercy of a rampaging coronavirus that has kept most of us from our families, separated us from friends, kept some of us from working together in collective office spaces, challenged and overtaxed our school systems and teaching staff while placing our children at risk, and pushed many government health workers to the breaking point. Our tourism industry and retail economy have taken large financial beatings while businesses large and small have been forced to cut staff through successive waves of COVID-19. There have been people angrily denouncing each new wave of restrictions by the Manitoba government, and with each wave, those angry shouts have grown louder. Meanwhile, lines of people have been forming at walk-in vaccination clinics and our uptake for vaccinations from most of our citizens has been strong overall, to the point that first-dose vaccinations are approaching 75 per cent and second-dose at 46 per cent as of Friday. In short, a large majority of Manitobans are tired of the pandemic, and they see COVID-19 vaccinations as the best protection from the virus currently available and the best chance we have for a return to some kind of pre-COVID-19 normal life. Thats a lot of pent-up demand. For the province to underestimate the popularity of its much-touted vaccination card which allows extra freedoms to those with two doses of the vaccine who have completed the mandatory wait period seems a bit daft, to be honest. Considering the fact so many seniors have been trapped like prisoners in care homes and residences across the province for months on end, unable to meet with loved ones unless its through a window or some kind of hastily constructed meeting room, it only stands to reason older Manitobans would have been most affected by the pandemic, and therefore, the most interested in a return to life and liberty even a semblance of it. "Im stuck in my own residence," said Brandon resident Charles Ostiuk in a conversation with the Sun this week. "My buddy, we got our shots the same day. We planned on sitting together in the very near future having coffee at the mall, but you cant even do that." Back on June 8, the day Premier Brian Pallister announced the creation of the vaccine card program, the province made public two phone numbers that Manitobans particularly those without internet access could call to request their card. Though we have heard reports of at least a few seniors having successfully ordered their cards via phone I took a phone call from one of them on Friday afternoon, as a matter of fact most of the accounts from seniors were hearing are from those who have had nothing but trouble. Those particular numbers are for the Insured Benefits Branch of the province, where citizens can call to manage their Manitoba health cards, among other benefits. The Sun tried calling the numbers several times to reach anyone on the other end of the line, and like we were told by at least two seniors, we were unable to get through. When the Sun followed up with the province, a Manitoba Health spokesperson told the Sun by email on Wednesday that the only official way to sign up for a vaccination card is through the online portal or the smartphone app. It was suggested that seniors who do not have internet access consider asking a friend or family member to assist them in applying for their cards, or wait until the province finalizes plans for a provincial phone number for those without internet access. We find the provinces lack of foresight appalling when it comes to senior access in this case, and we have to wonder why its so difficult to set up a telephone line to deal with it instead of letting the situation metastasize into a public relations headache. That said, we also have to give kudos to Progressive Conservative MLA Len Isleifson, who seems to be doing what he can to help seniors in his constituency. Not only was Isleifson the sole Brandon MLA to take our calls of inquiry ministers Reg Helwer and Cliff Cullen were not made available the Brandon-East MLA told us that as of Monday he would open his constituency office to help those who are struggling to get their cards, though they will have to make appointments with the office before visiting him to avoid breaking public-health regulations. "If people are having issues, they can certainly call our office, make an appointment, come down and see us, and we can log on the system and walk them through it that way if they dont have access to a computer," Isleifson said. If only all government operations were so helpful. Matt Goerzen, editor It was in this column back in 2013 that I made the public admission I had never found Australias hit comedic export, Rebel Wilson, particularly funny, despite her global domination. Thats not to say I wasnt impressed by her career achievements; I just didnt see what all the fuss was about. But I also feel the same way about the humour of Rove McManus, Peter Helliar, Paul Hogan and dear old Daryl Somers, though countless others would argue otherwise. Remember her? Rebel Wilson in 2016. Credit:AP Each to their own, or so I thought. It turned out quite a few readers felt the same way about Rebel, but clearly we were in the minority because today she is a fully-fledged global superstar. She has 9.9 million followers on Instagram, four times more than Kylie Minogue and two million more than Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size COVID-19 has ruined my plans to have a beer with Tim Freedman at his favourite Newtown pub. Fearing Queensland may shut its border, he has flown north early ahead of a gig. Im holed up in a hotel room in Cairns for five days waiting for one show, walking around the boardwalk like Dirk Bogarde in Death in Venice, he says. Such is life in 2021. But Tim, the frontman of Australian indie rockers the Whitlams, has managed to make the pandemic work for him. During the first lockdown he bolted to Broken Head, near Byron Bay, where he has a wedding venue that doubles as a holiday home, and cancelled the bands upcoming tour. He enjoyed the delights of the Byron Shire one of the most stunning spots in the entire world including surfing each morning with his daughter Alice as the country seemed to stand still. I said to Alice, Remember this week this is like it was in 1974. It was just beautiful out there with the fish and dolphins and eight other people. In a sense, COVID could not have struck at a worse time for 56-year-old Tim, who was just getting his mojo back after what he calls a slack decade. He hadnt written new music since his 2011 solo album, Australian Idle, and the Whitlams hadnt put out a record since 2006. Hed rock around the country with the band for a couple of months each year, playing hits like No Aphrodisiac and Blow Up the Pokies, or solo shows that paid tribute to Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman. I stepped out of the room, he says of his creative malaise. There was a time when there was an avalanche of viewpoints from everyone. Its called Facebook. I decided that I didnt really want to think about rhyming couplets for a while. Because when you write songs, you have to live them. You have to be obsessed by them. They cause a lot of clutter in your mind. So I stepped out of the room. When you write songs, you have to live them. You have to be obsessed by them. They cause a lot of clutter in your mind. So I stepped out of the room. I didnt mean for it to be that long. But circumstances arose where I felt comfortable not trying. I lost all my ambition. I was a single father, so that keeps you on the porch a lot more. Advertisement As the decade ended, so did the slackness. Tim says there was no magic moment that rekindled the flame, just sheer willpower. I sort of dragged myself back to the crease. I love doing tours and concerts and Im thankful to make a living out of it, and I knew it was going to start withering on the vine if I didnt stimulate it with new material. I willed myself to be ambitious, I willed myself to enjoy it again and I willed myself to write again. Its like any muscle; you have to exercise it. Its like a horse coming off a spell; itll never run that well the first two runs but itll run pretty good fourth or fifth out at Randwick. When the pandemic subsided, Tim hit the road, performing 76 solo shows between November and June. Tim wears Scotch & Soda jacket and jeans, Polo Ralph Lauren T-shirt, M.J. Bale belt, Marc Newson x R.M. Williams boots, Uniqlo socks. Credit:Hugh Stewart. Styling by Nadene Duncan. I pretended to myself that I was starting out afresh and that I needed to work hard and that I was at the bottom of the mountain, and in a way I was. We were working to pay the mortgage. I was riding into towns like Hobart and Launceston and Tamworth that hadnt had a performer for seven months. Dusting off the pianos, tuning them up. I felt like a frontiersman. Tim spent so much time on small stages in tiny towns that he had to slightly delay the release of the Whitlams new album, now due in January. But the upcoming Gaffage and Clink tour will showcase a number of its songs which, in true Whitlams form, bring dark humour to offbeat and ostensibly sad stories. Advertisement Theres The Ballad of Bertie Kidd, the retelling of a botched 1980s art heist in Gosford. Kidd and his accomplices came undone after pulling down their balaclavas a few blocks too early, piquing the interest of nearby police officers. Tim heard the tale from his friend Charles Waterstreet, the former barrister, who has a writing credit on the track. A lot of the details are wrong because its Charles, says Tim. But I made sure I sent it to Bertie Kidd for permission. (Kidd, a notorious career criminal, was only released from jail in 2015, at which point then immigration minister Peter Dutton tried to deport him to the UK, his country of birth. But Kidd challenged Dutton and won; he now lives in Tasmania and is in his late 80s.) Gaffage and Clink is a tribute to audio mixer and tour manager Greg Weaver, who joined the band just before the release of their ARIA-winning album Eternal Nightcap in 1997 and died suddenly two years ago of a heart attack. I knew I had to write about him and the only way to do it was to use his nickname, says Tim. I always called him Sancho because I felt like the whimsical idiot Don Quixote to his tour-managing steadfastness. Tim is famously no stranger to tragedy. The Whitlams two other founding members both died young: guitarist Stevie Plunder was found at the bottom of Wentworth Falls in 1996, an apparent suicide, while bassist Andy Lewis killed himself in 2000. In the months following, Tim sat on this piano in some foreign city and wrote the devastating The Curse Stops Here, about being the last to survive. Until Greg died it felt like Id had a good run for a couple of decades, he says. Ive written my share of songs about missing men. I thought, here we go again. I was intent on making it a happy, poignant song rather than a howling-at-the-moon number. At his most recent shows, Tim has had the crowd cheer for the category of songs they want to hear: criminals past and present, love and romance, dumping and being dumped, covers from 1967 to 1972 or sad songs about blokes, my longest category by far. When we speak, Tim is reading the late, great English writer A.A. Gills memoir Pour Me. Its portrayal of Gills drink-sodden 20s is knitted from loose memories of 20 or 30 friends who would lurch from Friday nights in Camden pubs to raucous Saturday house parties. Then it chronicles their early deaths. He called them the failed and the furious, says Tim. Its a good name for a daytime soap. Im lucky. I knew plenty of failed and furious, and were all lucky if we manage to get out the other side. Advertisement Another track on the album, (Youre Making Me Feel Like Im) 50 Again, is a joyous, tongue-in-cheek ode to ageing, with a video clip that ditches the Robert Palmer-esque trope of young bikini models for a throng of more mature women in sensible swimwear and pink caps powering through the Byron Bay surf. Its about mortality but its also just funny to think that everyone under 40 wont get the joke, he says. At 56, Freedman feels better than he did at 50. He has softened a lot of his rocknroll excesses; theres less drinking and more surfing. Im healthier now. If you learn how to look after yourself, then you feel 30 your whole life. I get the creaks. Ive got terrible knees. All that means is I have to go to the gym and ride a nine-foot board, not a six-foot board. The thing about children is they judge their parents a lot harsher than a lot of parents get judged anywhere else. So if you want to take it seriously, you have to improve your game. He largely credits his healthier life to raising Alice, now 16. I was a single father for a lot of years. It was challenging but I quietened myself down and I think I did a good job. The thing about children is they judge their parents a lot more harshly than a lot of parents get judged anywhere else. So if you want to take it seriously, you have to improve your game in a whole lot of facets. Youve just got to be steady and present. I was a wanderer until then, and I was used to doing what the hell I wanted to, whenever I wanted to. I almost suffered from a surfeit of freedom. Id get up in the morning and go, Right, Im going to take the band to England or Im going to do a solo tour to Ireland or Im going to go to Paris for four weeks and sit in a bath and read Sartre. And I did all those things until I was 45, and maybe if Alice leaves home in two years time Ill start doing them again. Home is mostly Sydneys inner west, a mainstay of Tims life and the background to any number of Whitlams songs (so much so that The Chaser once satirised his preoccupation with Newtown in a musical skit). But he has a love-hate relationship with the city, burnt by years of lockout laws, suffocating rules and overzealous security guards in every pub. Advertisement Tim Freedman on life as a parent: Youve just got to be steady and present. I was a wanderer until then, and I was used to doing what the hell I wanted to, whenever I wanted to. I almost suffered from a surfeit of freedom. Credit:Hugh Stewart. Styling by Nadene Duncan. I look back so fondly on the mid-90s, Tim says. The band would do three sets at the Sandringham. In between sets wed all spill out on the footpath and drink beer. I tell young people that now and they feel like Im talking about the Weimar Republic. They cant imagine such liberties. Im hopeful that nature abhors a vacuum and the vacuum of civilisation in Sydney will lead to some more punter-friendly spaces for us to mingle. Loading He has a theory about when the city lost its way one that will not surprise anyone who remembers his song You Gotta Love This City. The Olympics stuffed Sydney because we got used to six layers of bureaucracy ruling everything, Tim says. And a whole class of technocrats justified their existence by putting rules in place for a more efficient culture and community. Its my theory; prove it isnt so. The poet of Sydney confesses he had long intended to move to Melbourne, but needed to live near his band, his house and, later, his daughters school. So it never happened. Maybe one day, Tim says. I think its the most mature and cultured city in Australia. And when I become more mature and more cultured, maybe itll suit me. Lifeline: 13 11 14. Advertisement University mentor Evie Stewart downloaded the video sharing app TikTok a year ago to learn more about what her young students were interested in. But she ended up learning something life-changing about herself. She came across a video from a young woman talking about her life living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Intrigued, she went to the womans profile and watched another ADHD video. And another. And another. And another. After TikTok videos prompted Evie Stewart to be clinically assessed for ADHD, she is now documenting her journey on the social media platform to help others. Credit:Jason South I was like, oh, hang on, all of those things apply to me, the 30-year-old Melburnian said. She could relate to many of the examples cited in the videos: of not being able to concentrate in work meetings, losing friends when she was unable to regulate her emotions, being fidgety or forgetful, unable to maintain eye contact, and becoming fixated on specific topics. Things run smoothly until the GPs receptionist tells the patients that the inoculation theyll be getting is the AstraZeneca vaccine. No I dont want that, theyll say. Some yell or scream. These are some of the GP workers who have seen the publics anger and confusion over the vaccine rollout. From left to right, Ryan Mitchell, Sachini Hewa Radalage, Jenny Ktenidis and Ash Dougan from the Altona North Respiratory Clinic. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui This suburban doctors clinic in Melbourne doesnt even have the Pfizer vaccine stocked, but the older woman on the phone is accusing the receptionist of lying, saying I know you have the vaccine and youre deciding who to give it to. Throughout the pandemic, GP receptionists and administration staff have been at the receiving end of much of the publics anxieties and frustrations. They are also among the best placed to provide insight into peoples changing attitudes to coronavirus and vaccines and the impact of a string of unexpected announcements. A Southern Highlands organic food business has become a hotspot of rebellion against COVID-19 restrictions after a third consecutive day of charges related to apparent breaches of public health orders. One of the owners and an employee of The Organic Store in Bowral were arrested for the second time on Saturday after police again visited the venue and found widespread failure to wear masks among 20 staff and customers. An organic food store and cafe in Bowral has become a hotspot of alleged COVID-19 breaches. Credit:Instagram About 11.45am, officers asked those inside the store to wear masks, but one of the owners, Victoria Kleeberg, 62, and an employee, 43, expressed they had no intention of complying and were taken to Southern Highlands police station, NSW Police said in a statement on Saturday. Both women were charged with not wearing a fitted face covering in a business premises. Up to 75 ABC staff could move to south-west Sydney under a proposal to provide office space to the national broadcaster ahead of its relocation of 300 employees to Parramatta by 2024. Mayor Wendy Waller said Liverpool City Council was in talks with the ABC and offering 700 square metres of existing office space to accommodate 50-75 ABC staff almost immediately. Dozens of ABC staff would move to Liverpool immediately under a plan outlined by Liverpool mayor Wendy Waller. Credit:Steven Siewert Cr Waller said the council was also exploring opportunities to make a permanent home for the national broadcaster in the new Liverpool Civic Place development, due for completion in early 2023. She said the council welcomed moves by the ABC to relocate staff from Ultimo to Parramatta by 2024. But Liverpool City councillors last week agreed to approach the ABC and SBS about the viability of relocating to Liverpool in south-west Sydney. A 20-year-old woman has died and five others have been injured, some critically, in a two-car crash in Cairns. A sedan and 4WD collided at the intersection of Enmore Street and Reservoir Road, Manoora, just after midnight on Saturday. The impact sent the sedan crashing into a power pole, while the 4WD careened into a set of traffic lights. A 20-year-old Hope Vale woman, who was a passenger in the sedan, died at the scene. The driver and three other passengers from the sedan were taken to Cairns Hospital. A man in his 30s suffered serious head, chest and back injuries, a man in his 20s received significant leg injuries, and two men in their 20s had head, pelvis and shoulder injuries. A man and woman are recovering in hospital after being shot at from a moving car in Logan. The pair, both in their 30s, were travelling along Johnson Road at Forestdale about 8.10pm on Friday when a person in another car opened fire on them. The pair both suffered arm injuries and were assessed at the scene by paramedics before being taken to Brisbanes Princess Alexandra Hospital in a stable condition. Police are conducting urgent investigations, including reviewing CCTV footage from a nearby service station, to find the shooters car and to determine how many people were involved and the reason for the attack. No doubt to the irritation of Dan Andrews, the Victorian government functioned quite well without him. For more than three months, under the steady hand of Deputy Premier James Merlino, the most progressive government in Australia seemed to barely miss a beat, writes Jon Faine. Victorian Acting Premier James Merlino. Credit:Getty It is a common quip that any state government needs just five ministers who can read and write in order to sustain itself, and most state administrations would not manage the simultaneous prolonged absence of three key people. But the weakness of the opposition and the depth of the pool available carried the ALP through and even surprised some of its own. Monday saw Daniel Andrews re-emerge from rehab, combative and feisty as ever. Suddenly, things shifted up a gear. His impact on the national scene was immediate, although it was not difficult to look authoritative in a week marked by other Premiers scrambling to cover for their mistakes and no less a figure than the Prime Minister himself creating confusion over AZ for younger Australians. Read the full opinion piece here. For the employees, there have been some obvious benefits: more time in the day, less money spent on train fares. Because this experience has never been undertaken at scale, there was a lot of uncertainty around whether it would work or not, says Professor Jago Dodson, director of the Centre for Urban Research at RMIT. Its been shown in many cases to actually be workable for people and have advantages. As with much of the pandemic, this shift has not been universal. Those in the hospitality, construction or retail industries have not been given the option of avoiding their workplace. Nevertheless, its a radical change for a city that has made several assumptions around how its transport system will operate in the future a key one being that the CBD will continue to be the centre of employment. That hasnt been the case for almost 18 months now, with office occupancy rates and transport passenger numbers reflecting the lack of people commuting. In times gone by: Commuters board a home-bound train at Southern Cross Station. Credit:Pat Scala From what we know at the moment, the five-day office week is not going to return in the short term, says David Bissell, associate professor of geography at the University of Melbourne. Projecting forward, I doubt that most people will go back to that. Last Tuesday, metropolitan train patronage levels were 48 per cent of those pre-pandemic, according to Public Transport Victoria. That was an increase from the most recent Victorian lockdown, when it was just 12 per cent. Passenger numbers have not gone higher than 50 per cent of normal levels this year. Southern Cross station on a Monday morning during one of Victorias lockdowns. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui Professor Graham Currie, chair of public transport at Monash University, is researching how people will move around after COVID-19. He expects that public transport use will increase when the pandemic is over but it wont go back to what it was before. Its going to go up to 80 per cent [of pre-COVID levels] but it probably wont go back to 100 per cent of what it was, he says. The biggest change will be among the office commuters, he says, who will have the greatest opportunity to work from home. Credit:Matt Golding However, the shift may not be as significant as some expect. Professor Currie says his research suggests that one in five CBD jobs will be remote in the future. It raises interesting questions about projects such as the $13.7 billion Metro Tunnel, billed as the first major upgrade of CBD rail infrastructure since the city loop in the 1970s and 80s. In 2016, the business case for Metro Tunnel forecast that weekday boardings on metropolitan trains would more than double to 1.5 million by 2031. It is expected to open in 2025. Last Monday, Premier Daniel Andrews made his first public appearance since March 9 at the site of one of the new Metro Tunnel stations, highlighting the governments focus on its infrastructure record. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video We were building Metro because people were falling out of the doors of trains, says Professor Currie. When we come out of this pandemic, I still think well need the infrastructure. It will still be valuable but weve bought some time. What is yet to be thrashed between bosses and workers is how many days people will spend in the office in the future. Some have already shown a resistance to going back to how things were before. Office administrator Megan Brown said she would factor whether or not she could work remotely when looking for a new job. She recently started commuting into the city two days a week from Newport after previously travelling to Flinders Street every weekday before COVID-19. I think going back its quite exhausting, the 44-year-old says. Working from home youre not having to get up as early, youre basically taking two hours off your day on the train. Loading Many commuters would agree with Ms Browns assessment that its been nice during winter to not have to leave and get home from work in the dark. Its such a waste of time, it can be better spent at home with our families and exercising, she says. But not everyone wants to bid farewell to the commute entirely. Chris ONeill recalls studying for his masters on the train and also catching up on sleep when he had a new baby. He also misses the nice cafes and restaurants in the city, as well as the shifts in the landscape the further you travel along the line. A couple of days in the CBD would be a good result, he says. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Herbert Prochnow, an American banking executive and noted toastmaster, once described a public servant as someone who hires someone to do the work that they were hired to do. Former British prime minister Tony Blair thought that bureaucracy was great at managing things but not great at changing things. Amid a new debate over public sector pay, analysis from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age has found Australias top bureaucrats are earning vastly more on average than their international counterparts, with more than 25 of the nations senior public officials paid more than $1 million last year. Public sector wages have come into sharp focus as the nations economy recovers from a coronavirus-induced recession and Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe encourages federal and state governments to pay their civil servants more, to put more upward pressure on private employers to give larger pay rises. But federal parliamentarians, department secretaries and other high-ranking officials have had their current level salary frozen for another year following a decision by the Remuneration Tribunal, citing slow wage growth nationally and the post-pandemic economic recovery. A new analysis by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age of the nations top officials in security, culture, finance, health and transport has found Australian bureaucrats are among the most generously paid in the world. Australias domestic spy boss Mike Burgess 2020 salary is almost $586,000, including superannuation and long service leave entitlements. That is almost double that of both the United States Central Intelligence Agency director and FBI boss, and well ahead of the British governments intelligence chiefs at MI5 and the Secret Intelligence Service, known as MI6. Advertisement Home Affairs department secretary Mike Pezzullo earned $918,000 last year, which is almost double the $519,000 that his British counterpart, the permanent secretary to the Home Office, received. Executives at government-owned entities NBN Co, Australia Post and Snowy Hydro were seven of the top 10 highest-paid public servants last year, with Stephen Rue taking home more than $3 million as the chief executive of the company that oversees the national broadband network. Paul Broad, the managing director of Snowy Hydro, the electricity generation and retailing company that owns, manages, and maintains the Snowy Mountains hydroelectric scheme, was paid $2 million, with a $934,000 bonus almost doubling his base salary last year. Only the take-home $6.29 million salary of the head of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the boss of the nationalised Air New Zealand, Greg Foran ($3.38 million), topped the Australian pair in 2020. Loading Mark Machin, who was chief executive of Canadas biggest pension fund, resigned amid a scandal in February after he jumped the COVID-19 vaccination queue by flying to the United Arab Emirates against his governments travel advice. The NBN which paid out almost $78 million in personal bonuses last year has been at the forefront of criticism of generous pay packets. The organisation had seven people in the $1 million-plus club last year, including two chief customer officers, the chief financial officer, chief network deployment officer and chief strategy officer. Advertisement Two former Australia Post executives, Christine Holgate and Bob Black, were paid $1.6 million and $1.5 million each, with Mr Black jumping to fourth on the list by virtue of a $640,000 termination payment. Outgoing chief of the Inland Rail project, Richard Wankmuller, was paid $1.5 million including a $450,000 bonus while Raphael Arndt, chief investment officer at Future Fund Management, received $1.4 million almost half of which was in bonuses. Alison Tarditi, chief investment officer at Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation, received $1.2 million with $607,725 of that in bonus payments. Several department secretaries hit the million-dollar mark last year courtesy of generous redundancies packages following a restructure of the federal public service. Services Australias former secretary Renee Leon and deputy chief executive John Murphy, both took home in excess of $1 million, as did Heather Smith (Industry, Science, Energy and Resources), Mike Mrdak (Infrastructure and Transport) and Martin Parkinson (Prime Minister and Cabinet). The decision of ABC managing director David Anderson to take a temporary 5 per cent pay cut in 2020 resulted in him falling further behind his contemporary at Britains free-to-air public-service television network, Channel 4, who was paid $1.6 million last year. The equivalent job at the BBC paid $1.14 million. Advertisement Mr Anderson was paid $1.14 million in the 2018-2019 year, including a base salary of $799,000, $73,000 in superannuation and $266,000 for long service leave. Mr Lowe, who as Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia was paid $1.085 million, earned twice as much as his contemporaries at the Bank of Canada, the US Federal Reserve. While Mr Lowes base salary is higher than all of his contemporaries, the Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, received a total salary package of $2.8 million. But defenders of the current rate of pay of Mr Lowe point out that it is significantly less than the bosses of the big four banks. In November 2020 the federal government announced a review of performance bonus arrangements for senior executive staff in the Commonwealth public sector and made clear that agencies that had access to bonus arrangements should exercise restraint to the furthest extent possible in keeping with community expectations. An interim report, released in March, included a recommendation that new guidance be developed to ensure authorities remain accountable for bonus payments, taking into account that some entities and companies operate in a commercial environment. The review is expected to be finalised in the coming weeks. Assistant Minister to the Minister for the Public Service, Ben Morton, signalled during the early stages of the pandemic that public servants needed to share the economic burden while communities are doing it tough. Labors assistant spokesman for government services, Kimberley Kitching, said Australians dont mind public servants being paid fairly but the top of the public service had become Morrisons Millionaires Factory. Advertisement In this lost decade of Liberal rule, the most senior snouts in the trough have been gorging themselves on grotesquely fat salaries, Senator Kitching said. The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures from the March quarter showed public sector wage growth of just 1.5 per cent over the past year the lowest on records going back to the late-1990s. Economists have argued in favour of widespread pay increases, particularly for teachers, nurses and police, otherwise private sector pay packets will need to rise to get wage growth to the 3 per cent-plus level. Defenders of the current level of pay point out that Australians overall are well paid by global standards, with the average realised pay of an ASX top 100 company boss about $4.5 million a year. By comparison public sector leaders, often responsible for much larger budgets and higher staff numbers than ASX 100 companies, are compensated modestly. Andrew Podger, a professor of public policy at the Australian National University and former public service commissioner, said the salaries of senior public servants had languished until the 1990s when they were enhanced by two political decisions. Firstly, they received a 20 per cent increase in exchange for loss of tenure and five-year contracts under the Keating Government and, secondly, the Howard government introduced performance bonuses averaging about 10 per cent of base pay. When the bonuses were later scrapped, the average was built into the base pay rates. Advertisement At Kananook station in Melbournes south-east theres not a lot of spare space between Wells Road, the railway line and the Frankston Freeway. The tight squeeze is one of the reasons, the federal opposition says, that an enlarged station car park was never going to be possible. That is despite promises from the Morrison government in 2019 to build one as part of a $660 million program that was criticised as election pork-barrelling. Dunkley MP Peta Murphy at Kananook station with opposition transport spokesman Andrew Giles. Credit:Scott McNaughhton Last week the Australian National Audit Office found that the federal government cash splash was not administered appropriately and that there was no consultation with state governments and councils about where the money was needed. What is particularly egregious ... is that the car park could never have been built here, said Andrew Giles, the federal oppositions acting transport spokesman. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the new four-phase plan to reopen the country has thrown into doubt the states longer-term plans for returning international students. The plan agreed to by national cabinet on Friday is not expected to derail proposed pilot schemes, with phase one expressly permitting commercial trials for limited entry of student and economic visa holders. Universities have called for more clarity on how the new arrivals caps will impact pilot programs to return international students. Credit:Louise Kennerley But it is unclear how the state will move to ramp up its intake of students in line with the halving of international arrivals from July 14, and the cap on students visa holders proposed in the later stages of the reopening roadmap. Ms Berejiklian said on Saturday there was a huge question mark over what impact the new measures - as well as Sydneys COVID-19 outbreak - would have on the states ability to return international students to NSW campuses as planned. Kabul: With his military crumbling, President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan fired a crucial part of his command structure and brought in a new one. He created a nebulous supreme state council, announced months ago, that has hardly met. And as districts fall to the Taliban across the country, he has installed a giant picture of himself outside the airports domestic terminal. On Friday AEST, US officials announced the definitive closure of Bagram Airfield, the nerve centre of 20 years of US military operations in Afghanistan, in the functional end of Americas war here. As the last troops and equipment trickle out of Afghanistan, an atmosphere of unreality has settled over the government and Kabul, the capital. Afghans are lining up by the thousands at the Afghan Passport office to get new passports, possibly to leave, uncertain what tomorrow will bring. Credit:AP Americans have not been a visible presence in the city for years, so the US departure has not affected surface normality: markets bustle and streets are jammed with homeward-bound civil servants by mid-afternoon. At night, the corner bakeries continue to be illuminated by a single bulb as vendors sell late into the evening. But beneath the surface there is unease as the Taliban creep steadily toward Kabul. Vancouver: Statues of Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Victoria and Captain Cook were vandalised and toppled on Canadas national day following the recent discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves where Indigenous children had been buried in years past. The attacks across Canada on Friday (AEST) followed a spate of church burnings as protesters vented their anger at the organisations that had run residential schools in British Columbia and Saskatchewan for Indigenous children. Some 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools, which operated for more than 120 years in Canada. More than 60 per cent of the schools were run by the Catholic Church. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has denounced the burnings and vandalism, but said he understands the anger many people feel toward the federal government and Catholic church. Local Brown celebrates new pension bill with Spangler Candy Company Photo by Vinny Sheu Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), at podium, met with union and management representatives at Spangler Candy Company to celebrate passage of The Butch-Lewis Act Thursday morning. From left, Spangler CEO Curt Vashaw, Spanglers Vice President of Human Capital Niki Mosier, Brown and Teamsters Local 20 President Mark Schmiehausen. Photo courtesy of Vinny Sheu Senator Sherrod Brown, center, toured Spangler Candy Company Thursday morning with with CEO Curt Vashaw, left, and Lynn Wieland, Vice-President of Operations, right. Photo by Ron Osburn From a public policy point of view, if you want to support labor you have to have pro-business policies and if you want to support business you have to have pro-labor policies, Spangler Candy Company CEO Curt Vashaw said Thursday morning. Sometimes certain policies put business and labor at odds and you have to find the right balance. Addressing the pension issue helped both business and labor at the same time. From left, Teamsters Local 20 President Mark Schmiehausen, Senator Sherrod Brown and Vashaw. Photo by Ron Osburn Senator Sherrod Brown, left, spoke with Bryan Mayor Carrie Schlade Thursday morning outside the Spangler Candy Company, 400 N. Portland St. Photo by Ron Osburn After years of work by workers and retirees and small business owners in Ohio and around the country, in the American Rescue Plan we finally saved the pensions Spanglers workers earned over a lifetime of work, with no cuts, Sen. Sherrod Brown said Thursday morning in Bryan. Now, because Spangler never gave up the fight and because we finally got this fix done, the company is expanding and bringing 40 new jobs to Bryan next year. Thats what happens when we invest in Ohio. Phot by Ron Osburn Senator Sherrod Brown credited local efforts for getting The Butch-Lewis Act passed into law with the American Rescue Plan Thursday morning. "This would not have happened without the activism of management at Spangler, the Teamsters Union and so much of this community who cared so much about it," he said. Brown, left with Teamster Local 20 President Mark Schmiehausen. Photo by Ron Osburn Finding the right balance between business and labor ultimately benefits the community, Spangler Candy Company CEO Curt Vashaw said during Senator Sherrod Browns tour Thursday morning Photo by Ron Osburn We achieved a fair contract for our members by talking and working through key issues, many of which are important to the Bit-O-Honey move to Bryan, Teamsters Local 20 President Schmiehausen said Thursday morning with Senator Sherrod Brown, left. Teamsters Local 20 has represented Spangler production, maintenance, warehouse, and sanitation employees since 1959. Photo by Lynn Thompson Roberta Dell retired from Spangler Candy Company on March 31, after 49 years of service in re-packaging, but mechanic Kruse Miller is ready to pick up where she left off as Chief Union Steward for Teamsters Local 20 while the company expands. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) stopped by Spangler Candy Company Thursday morning to celebrate passage of the Butch-Lewis Act, but Roberta Dell was the star of the show. Dell retired on March 31 after 49 years of service to the company, where she also worked as the chief union steward for Teamsters Local 20. March 31 also happened to be the same day President Joe Biden signed the Butch-Lewis Act into law with the American Rescue Plan. Brown said Dell and Spanglers management was integral years earlier in the process of getting the act signed into law. I got to know Roberta, Bill Martin (president of Spangler Candy Company) and (Spangler CEO) Kirk Vashaw during our time when we testified (for the bill), Brown said. They played such a role keeping pressure on Congress, educating members of Congress. I went to then-candidate Biden during his campaign and said, This needs to be part of your campaign, part of your presidency. Six weeks after the inauguration we were able to get the Butch-Lewis Act, this pension fix, in the bill. This would not have happened without the activism of management at Spangler, the Teamsters union and so much of this community who cared so much about it, Brown said. Specifically, the Butch-Lewis Act keeps multi-employer pension plans solvent and well-funded for 30 years, with no cuts to earned benefits of participants and beneficiaries. It restores full benefits for retirees in plans that previously had to take cuts and increases the maximum Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) insurance amount. It also requires each plan that receives assistance to have regular status reports filed with the PBGC and Congressional Committees, in order to prevent a recurrence of insolvency and to protect retirees benefits. That multi-employer pension fix saved Spangler an estimated $200,000 per employee and has allowed the company to expand its operations with a new West Campus focused on production of Bit-O-Honey, the candy brand Spangler acquired in 2020. From a public policy point of view, if you want to support labor you have to have pro-business policies and if you want to support business you have to have pro-labor policies, Vashaw said. Sometimes certain policies put business and labor at odds and you have to find the right balance. Addressing the pension issue helped both business and labor at the same time. Spangler and its employees faithfully made every pension payment for the past 50 years, Vashaw said. It was fundamentally unfair to require our company and employees to pay for the pension benefits of bankrupt companies who did not put their fair share into pension funds. Vashaw said that finding the right balance ultimately benefits the community. He said Spanglers investment from the pension savings made it possible to invest in the West Campus and create a new, modern, 300,000-square-foot, world-class food manufacturing facility in the former New Era building at 520 W. Mulberry St. This is going to be an economic asset that will likely support many future generations of Williams County just as our 100-year-old facility already has, he said. Martin flatly said Spanglers purchase of the Bit-O-Honey brand and its expansion would not have occurred without the pension changes brought about by the Butch-Lewis Act. The multi-employer pension crisis has been a roadblock to any expansion at Spangler for several years. The Bit-O-Honey move will help our employees, our company and our community in a big way, Martin said. Martin also said one-quarter of the companys 420-member workforce is like Dell, with 25 years of service or more. Thats our secret advantage, he said. They already know what works and what doesnt, and theyre ready to train new employees. Martin and Niki Mosier, vice president of human capital, said they are seeking an additional 40 employees to man the West Campus and make Bit-O-Honey. Martin said updates are ongoing at the West Campus and he expects the first Bit-O-Honey candies to roll off the line in mid-2022. Brown saluted Mosier for her partnership with Brown in the Summer Manufacturing Camps program. Too many companies and too many people in the media call us the Rust Belt and I find that really offensive, Brown said. Manufacturing camps at places like Spangler help showcase the states high-tech and progressive manufacturing facilities, he noted. Mosier hosted one of those week-long camps at Spangler in 2019 with 60 students before the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020 camps. Part of it is we want to get kids to want to create things, make things with their brains and their hands, Brown said. Maybe theyll want to go to tech school like Northwest State Community College, the University of Toledo or direct to business to start something. Mark Schmiehausen, Teamsters Local 20 president, lauded the longstanding relationship between Local 20 and Spangler Candy Company. We achieved a fair contract for our members by talking and working through key issues, many of which are important to the Bit-O-Honey move to Bryan, Schmiehausen said. Teamsters Local 20 has represented Spangler production, maintenance, warehouse and sanitation employees since 1959. Spangler Candy Company has been family-owned and operated in Bryan since 1906. Brown named the Butch Lewis Act after the late Estil Butch Lewis. He was an Ohio native and Vietnam War veteran who was the former president of the Teamsters Local 100 in Cincinnati. After his remarks, Brown invited Dell to the podium set up outside Spanglers main office at 400 N. Portland St. Dell thanked Spanglers management and employees who supported the effort to protect employees pensions. She drew chuckles when she added, If you had just left me in the room with the guys who were against it I could have had this solved two years ago, but no ... Retirement is a great thing, she said. I hope maybe someday you all get to enjoy it. Ryan Ramczyk can't really pinpoint whether he's a few blocks away, around the corner or just down the street. But the New Orleans Saints' star right tackle knows he's approaching being the player he wants to be. com Inc and India's Tata Group warned government officials on Saturday that plans for tougher rules for online retailers would have a major impact on their business models, four sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters. At a meeting organised by the consumer affairs ministry and the government's investment promotion arm, Invest India, many executives expressed concerns and confusion over the proposed rules and asked that the July 6 deadline for submitting comments be extended, said the sources. The government's tough new announced on June 21 aimed at strengthening protection for consumers, caused concern among the country's online retailers, notably market leaders and Walmart Inc's New rules limiting flash sales, barring misleading advertisements and mandating a complaints system, among other proposals, could force the likes of and to review their business structures, and may increase costs for domestic rivals including Reliance Industries' JioMart, BigBasket and Snapdeal. Amazon argued that COVID-19 had already hit small businesses and the proposed rules will have a huge impact on its sellers, arguing that some clauses were already covered by existing law, two of the sources said. The sources asked not to be named as the discussions were private. The proposed policy states e-commerce firms must ensure none of their related enterprises are listed as sellers on their websites. That could impact Amazon in particular as it holds an indirect stake in at least two of its sellers, Cloudtail and Appario. On that proposed clause, a representative of Tata Sons, the holding company of India's $100 billion Tata Group, argued that it was problematic, citing an example to say it would stop Starbucks - which has a joint-venture with Tata in India - from offering its products on Tata's marketplace website. The Tata executive said the rules will have wide ramifications for the conglomerate, and could restrict sales of its private brands, according to two of the sources. Tata declined to comment. The sources said that a consumer ministry official argued that the rules were meant to protect consumers and were not as strict as those of other countries. The ministry did not respond to a request for comment. A Reliance executive agreed that the proposed rules would boost consumer confidence, but added that some clauses needed clarification. Reliance did not respond to request for comment. The rules were announced last month amid growing complaints from India's brick-and-mortar retailers that Amazon and bypass foreign investment law using complex business strcutures. The deny any wrongdoing. A Reuters investigation in February cited Amazon documents that showed it gave preferential treatment to a small number of its sellers and bypassed foreign investment rules. Amazon has said it does not give favourable treatment to any seller. The government will soon issue certain clarifications on the foreign investment rules, Indian commerce minister Piyush Goyal told reporters on Friday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vodafone Idea (VIL), which is saddled with Rs 1.8 trillion of debt, has breached the loan covenants with its lenders. VIL, a joint venture of Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone PLC of UK, has sought a waiver against the breach of covenants from the banks and some have given the waiver, said a source close to the development. A waiver implies that the bank has let go of its right to take any action against the company's covenant breach. At the same time, alarmed by the sagging financial metrics of VIL, its lenders have asked the company to put in additional margin money or ... Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. 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Digital Editor The third wave of COVID-19 will be a "ripple" but only if there is no significantly faster-spreading mutant, according to projections of the 'Sutra' model for COVID-19. According to the Sutra analysis, if there is a faster-spreading mutant, the magnitude of the third wave will be "comparable to the first one." Maninder Agarwal, Professor, IIT Kanpur, who was part of the team of scientists behind the Sutra analysis, said that they have created three scenarios. "The third wave will be a ripple. If there is no significantly faster-spreading mutant, the third wave will be a ripple and if there is such a mutant, the third wave will be comparable to the first one," he said. "The optimistic one - where we assume that life goes back to normal by August, and there is no new mutant. Second the intermediate one - where we assume that vaccination is 20 per cent less effective in addition to optimistic scenario assumptions. Third pessimistic one - This has an assumption different from the intermediate one: a new 25 per cent more infectious mutant spreads in August," he added. As per the Sutra model, if there is an immunity escape mutant, all the above scenarios will be invalid. Speaking further, the IIT Kanpur professor said, "First, loss of immunity in the recovered population, second vaccination-induced immunity. Each of these two needs to be estimated for future. And third, how to incorporate the two in the model. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The on Friday directed the Government to provide security to Leader of Opposition in the Assembly that was withdrawn by the state. While hearing Adhikari's security case, the High Court observed that Adhikari, a Z-category protectee by the Ministry of Home Affairs is adequately covered by the central security force. The Government told the court that Adhikari is well-maintained according to the scale of Z category protectee as per the "Yellow Book" by the Government of West Bengal. Report of the Directorate Security mentioned that Adhikari is already being provided state's security for the pilot, route lining and meetings. The security provided to by the West Bengal Government had been withdrawn on May 18. After this, the BJP leader moved to the High Court in this regard. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) says that the final efficacy analysis of Covaxin shows it to be 77.8 per cent effective against symptomatic Covid-19, through evaluation of 130 confirmed cases, with 24 observed in the vaccine group versus 106 in the placebo group. The company claimed Covaxin is the first to report promising efficacy against asymptomatic infections based on qPCR testing that will help in reducing disease transmission. This paves the way for Covaxin to get World Health Organisation's approval for its inclusion in the Emergency Use List of Covid-19 vaccines. The company added that the analysis demonstrates Covaxin to be 93.4 per cent effective against severe symptomatic Covid-19. The safety analysis demonstrates that adverse events reported were similar to placebo, with 12 per cent of the subjects experiencing commonly known side effects and less than 0.5 per cent of them feeling serious adverse effects. The efficacy data further demonstrates 63.6 per cent protection against asymptomatic Covid-19 and 65.2 per cent protection against the SARS-CoV-2, B.1.617.2 Delta variant . Phase 3 of Covaxin were an event driven analysis of 130 symptomatic Covid-19 cases, reported at least two weeks after the second dose, conducted at 25 sites across India. Covaxin is formulated with Algel+IMDG adjuvant. IMDG is a TLR7/8 agonist known to induce memory T-cell responses along with strong neutralising antibodies, the company said. "The activation of cell mediated immune responses is especially valuable in a multi epitope vaccine such as Covaxin, where immune protection can be achieved from S, RBD and N proteins alike," it added. IMDG was developed under partnership between Virovax and NIAID, National Institutes of Health, US. The Data Safety Monitoring Board has not reported any safety concerns related to the vaccine. The overall rate of adverse events observed in Covaxin was lower than that seen in other Covid-19 vaccines, claimed. Krishna Ella, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Biotech, said, The successful safety and efficacy readouts of Covaxin as a result of conducting the largest ever Covid Vaccines trials in India establishes the ability of India and developing world countries to focus towards innovation and novel product development. We are proud to state that Innovation from India will now be available to protect global populations. Balram Bhargava, Secretary Department of Health Research & Director General Indian Council of Medical Research, said, I am delighted to note that Covaxin, developed by ICMR and BBIL under an effective public private partnership, has demonstrated an overall efficacy of 77.8% in Indias largest Covid phase 3 clinical trial thus far. Our scientists at ICMR and BBIL have worked tirelessly to deliver a truly effective vaccine of highest international standards. Covaxin will not only benefit the Indian citizens but would also immensely contribute to protect the global community against the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus. I am also pleased to see that Covaxin works well against all variant strains of SARS-CoV-2. The successful development of Covaxin has consolidated the position of Indian academia and Industry in the global arena. Additional to establish safety and efficacy in children between 2-18 years of age are on. A clinical trial to determine the safety and immunogenicity of a booster dose is also in process. "Several research activities are being carried out to study variants of concern and to assess their suitability for follow up booster doses," it said. Covaxin has been evaluated through neutralising antibody responses against several variants of concern, namely B.1.617.2 (Delta), B.1.617.1 (Kappa), B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P2- B.1.1.28 (Gamma). As the (EU) is reopening borders to non-EU tourists especially those who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, travellers inoculated with the Indian-made AstraZeneca vaccine, or Covishield, could face problems when entering the bloc, the European Commission suggested on Friday. While the AstraZeneca vaccine produced in Europe, branded Vaxzevira, has been greenlighted by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the Indian version Covishield has not even requested for the market authorization, according to Stefan De Keersmaecker, the Commission's spokesman for health issues, the Xinhua news agency reported. In the UK, where AstraZeneca is the prevalent vaccine in use, a share of the population has received the Indian-made jab, manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII). In total, five million doses were imported from India, but health authorities said they were not called Covishield and considered the same product as those produced in north Wales and Staffordshire, according to the BBC. "Of course, the Covishield manufacturer is always free to request the authorization of this vaccine, but for the time being, it is not the case," said Keersmaecker. An EU-wide Digital Covid Certificate officially entered into force on Thursday, allowing people to travel within the EU-plus area without restrictions if they can either prove to have been fully vaccinated with the EMA-approved vaccines, or have tested negative or recovered from the infection. Meanwhile, EU member states have the right to accept travelers vaccinated with jabs approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), among which is the Covishield. Media reports said only a small number of the 27 member states have announced the acceptance. In response to concerns that people from the UK may be denied entry when traveling to the EU, Keersmaecker said the European Commission is working to solve the problem. "In order to assure a coordinated approach here, the Commission is obviously in contact in discussion with the member states to go through these different vaccines and to see which is the best coordinated approach," said the spokesman. --IANS int/rs (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India on Saturday reported a net reduction of 14,104 in active cases to take its count to 495,533. Indias share of global active cases now stands at 4.27 per cent (one in 23). The country is third among the most affected countries by active cases. On Thursday, it added 44,111 cases to take its total caseload to 30,502,362 from 30,458,251 an increase of 0.1%. And, with 738 new fatalities, its Covid-19 reached 401,050, or 1.31 per cent of total confirmed infections. With 4,399,298 more Covid-19 vaccine doses being administered on Friday, Indias total count of vaccine shots so far reached 344,611,291. The count of recovered cases across India, meanwhile, reached 29,605,779 or 97.06 per cent of total caseload with 57,477 new cured cases being reported on Saturday. Now the third-most-affected country by active cases and deaths, second by total cases, and first by recoveries, India has added 319,219 cases in the past 7 days. India now accounts for 4.27% of all active cases globally (one in every 23 active cases), and 10.06% of all deaths (one in every 10 deaths). India has so far administered 344,611,291 vaccine doses. That is 1129.78 per cent of its total caseload, and 24.72 per cent of its population. Among Indian states, the top 5 in terms of number of vaccine shots administered are Maharashtra (37805670), Uttar Pradesh (36923037), Gujarat (30173651), Rajasthan (29650762), and West Bengal (26444869). Among states with more than 10 million population, the top 5 in number of vaccine shots per one million population are Delhi (494158), Kerala (479791), Gujarat (472405), Uttarakhand (448625), and J&K (391577). Backwards from here, the last 1 million cases for India have come in 20 days. The count of active cases across India on Saturday saw a net reduction of 14,104, compared with 13,620 on Friday. States and UTs hat have seen the biggest daily net increase in active cases are Kerala (1706), Maharashtra (212), Arunachal Pradesh (181), Meghalaya (115), and Tripura (42). With 57,477 new daily recoveries, Indias recovery rate stands at 97.06%, while fatality rate remained unchanged at 1.31%. The Indian states and UTs with the worst case fatality rates at present are Punjab (2.70%), Uttarakhand (2.15%), and Maharashtra (2.01%). The rate in as many as 18 is higher than the national average. Indias new daily closed cases stand at 58,215 738 deaths and 57,477 recoveries. The share of deaths in total closed cases stands at 1.26%. Indias 5-day moving average of daily rate of addition to total cases stands at 0.1%. Indias doubling time for total cases stands at 479 days, and for deaths at 356.7 days. Overall, five states with the biggest 24-hour jump in total cases are Kerala (12095), Maharashtra (8753), Tamil Nadu (4230), Andhra Pradesh (3464), and Odisha (3222). Among states with more than 100,000 cases, the five with worst recovery rates at present are Maharashtra (96.01%) and Kerala (96.01%). India on Friday conducted 1,876,036 to take the total count of tests conducted so far in the country to 416,416,463. The test positivity rate recorded was 2.4%. Five states with the highest test positivity rate (TPR) percentage of tested people turning out to be positive for Covid-19 infection (by cumulative data for tests and cases are Goa (17.69%), Dadra & Nagar Haveli-Daman & Diu (14.59%), Maharashtra (14.44%), Kerala (12.65%), and Sikkim (12.29%). Five states with the highest TPR by daily numbers for tests and cases added are, Sikkim (17.93%), Manipur (13.62%), Meghalaya (12.18%), Kerala (10.11%), and Arunachal Pradesh (6.79%). Among states and UTs with more than 10 million population, five that have carried out the highest number of tests (per million population) are Delhi (1155864), J&K (740616), Kerala (653181), Karnataka (511833), and Uttarakhand (495676). The five most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (6079352), Kerala (2949128), Karnataka (2849997), Tamil Nadu (2488407), and Andhra Pradesh (1896818). Maharashtra, the most affected state overall, has reported 8753 new cases to take its tally to 6079352. Kerala, the second-most-affected state by total tally, has added 12095 cases to take its tally to 2949128. Karnataka, the third-most-affected state, has reported 2984 cases to take its tally to 2849997. Tamil Nadu has added 4230 cases to take its tally to 2488407. Andhra Pradesh has seen its tally going up by 3464 to 1896818. Uttar Pradesh has added 116 cases to take its tally to 1706384. Delhi has added 93 cases to take its tally to 1434374. Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has dismissed the claims that his government was involved in the alleged abduction of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, from neighbouring Antigua and Barbuda. Dominica PM said his government will allow the court to carry out its process regarding Choksi and gave the assurance that his rights will be respected, Antigua News Room reported, citing Dominica News Online. Skerrit also refuted the allegations of a plot between the Indian and the Dominican government to abduct Choksi from Antigua, where he was staying since 2018 as a citizen, after fleeing from India. "To say that the government of Dominica and the government of Antigua along with India colluded in any way, give me a break, that's total nonsense. We don't get involved ourselves in those kinds of activities, those practices, not at all. I mean that is absurd and we reject it and it is unfortunate that anybody would want to propagate this unsubstantiated claim by a gentleman who is before the courts," Skerrit was quoted as saying by Dominica News Online. Choksi, who is currently in Dominica facing trial, went missing from Antigua on May 23 and was caught on charges of illegal entry into Dominica by police after he allegedly fled Antigua and Barbuda in a possible attempt to avoid extradition to India. Choksi's team has been claiming that he belongs to Antigua as he acquired citizenship of that island in 2018. Meanwhile, Indian authorities told the Dominica High Court in their affidavit that Choksi is an Indian citizen and noted that he is erroneously claiming renunciation of citizenship under the Citizenship Act, 1955. The 62-year-old Choksi is wanted in India in connection with the Rs 13,500 crore fraud in the Punjab Bank case. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tirath Singh Rawat who resigned as chief minister of Uttarakhand on Friday said that the decision was right given the constitutional crisis in the state. "I have submitted my resignation to Governor. Given the constitutional crisis, I felt it was right for me to resign. I am thankful to the central leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for every opportunity they have given to me so far," Rawat told mediapersons here. Rawat resigned from his post on Friday night. He submitted his resignation to Governor Baby Rani Maurya hours after he addressed a press conference. "Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat submitted his resignation letter from the post of Chief Minister at Raj Bhawan," tweeted Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya soon after Rawat' resignation. The resignation came less than four months after Tirath Singh Rawat took over as Chief Minister replacing Trivendra Singh Rawat. Tirath Singh Rawat is MP from Garhwal. The resignation came amid uncertainty over bypolls in Uttarakhand, which will face assembly elections early next year. Rawat, who took over as Chief Minister on March 10 this year, had to be elected to the state assembly within six months but there is no certainty over bypolls being held which led to political uncertainty in the state. Apart from the norms about not holding bypolls within six months of assembly polls, the situation due to COVID-19 was also an apparent factor in the decision regarding bypolls. The is now expected to be led by a new leader in the assembly polls and the state is likely to get its third chief minister in nearly four months. A meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislature party is scheduled to take place on Saturday in Dehradun. Uttrakhand's media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan said that the meeting of party MLAs will be held under the chairmanship of state president Madan Kaushik. " legislature party meeting is scheduled to be held at 3 pm on Saturday at the party headquarters. The meeting will be held under the chairmanship of state president Madan Kaushik," Chauhan said. has named Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar as a central observer for Saturday's meeting of MLAs. Earlier in the day, Rawat was in Delhi to meet the BJP central leadership.In his press conference, he talked about various measures taken by the government during his tenure. Former Uttarakhand minister and Congress leader Navprabhat had earlier this week written to the Election Commission urging it to "clear the confusion" in the state regarding bypolls. The Congress leader quoted Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which mandates that the Election Commission fill the casual vacancies in state legislatures through bye-elections within six months from the date of occurrence of the vacancy, provided that the remainder of the term of a member in relation to a vacancy is one year or more. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Social media giant Twitter, on Saturday, told the Delhi High Court that the company was in the final stages of appointing a resident grievance officer, after the interim resident grievance officer withdrew his candidature on June 21. has been engaged in a slugfest with the Centre, the latter accusing the company of non-compliance with Indias new rules for digital media intermediaries. The rules require significant social media intermediaries, i.e. those with over 5 million users in the country, to appoint employees for the posts of resident grievance officer, chief compliance officer and nodal person of contact for 24x7 coordination with law enforcement agencies. We are in the final stages of appointing a Resident Grievance Officer. The interim Resident Grievance Officer withdrew his candidature on June 21: Inc informs Delhi HC pic.twitter.com/SWSExrRVpP ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2021 Earlier this week, it was reported that had appointed its Global Legal Policy Director Jeremy Kessel as the grievance officer for India. The rules however require an Indian resident to be appointed to the post. Twitter said in "substantial compliance" with Rule 3(2) and Rule 4(1)(c) of the new IT Rules, it did appoint an interim resident grievance officer. However, even before steps could be taken to completely formalise the arrangement, the interim resident grievance officer withdrew his candidature on June 21, it said and denied that it has not complied with the intermediary guidelines. Twitter said that "before steps could be taken to completely formalise the agreement, the interim resident grievance officer withdrew his candidature on 21.06.2021. Therefore, the answering respondent (Twitter) is in the final stages of appointing a replacement while in the meanwhile the grievances of Indian users are being addressed by the grievance officer". "Further, the answering respondent is in the final stages of appointing an interim chief compliance officer," it told the high court in its affidavit. Before this, in May, the company had appointed Dharmendra Chatur, partner at a law firm that represented Twitter, as the interim officer for the role. But the Centre had said it could not accept the appointment of outsiders to statutory posts. Chatur soon resigned from the post. Meanwhile, Twitters India Managing Director Manish Maheshwari is also facing trouble, as the social media giant was found short of compliance with the new IT Rules. Maheshwari has been named as an accused in several police complaints that have been registered against Twitter. The complaints pertain to the video of an assault of a Muslim man in Uttar Pradeshs Ghaziabad, and the sharing of a wrong map of India on Twitter. In the first case, the police has alleged that certain journalists, Twitter and Maheshwari, gave the assault a communal colour by sharing it on Twitter. In the second case, Twitter and Maheshwari have been booked because a map of India that was shared on the platform, incorrectly marked Indias borders. IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has hinted that because of Twitters non-compliance with the new IT Rules, the company would now be liable for illegal content shared on its platform. Meanwhile, both Twitter and Facebook have told the Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology, their intention to comply with the new Rules. The Enforcement Directorate's move to attach a sugar mill linked to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and its probe into a money laundering case related to former state Home minister Anil Deshmukh are some of the issues the opposition BJP might raise in the next week's to corner the Shiv Sena-led MVA government, which is also facing the heat from organisations of Marathas and OBCs on the sensitive issue of quotas. The of the state legislature is scheduled to be held for only two days- July 5 and 6- in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and fear of a possible third wave of the pandemic. Deshmukh, a senior NCP leader, is also facing a CBI probe into allegations of an "extortion racket" raised against him by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh. The ED has issued a fresh summons asking Deshmukh to appear before it in Mumbai on July 5 in connection with the money laundering case. The BJP had also criticised the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress over the two-day duration of the session, alleging the government was avoiding to face tough questions citing the COVID-19 pandemic. As the Deshmukh issue is still hot, the attachment of a sugar mill related to Ajit Pawar by the ED in connection with the alleged State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam has given fresh ammunition to the Opposition. The BJP had walked out of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting last month over the short duration of the where the only passage of bills and supplementary demands will be allowed without a question hour and calling attention. Recently, Governor B S Koshyari had written to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to take a call on the issues raised by Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Devendra Fadnavis who had sought the extension of the duration of the session and holding of the election of the Assembly Speaker. In his reply, Thackeray justified the short duration of the session citing the pandemic and the threat of a possible third wave along with the delta plus variant. The chief minister had said the health of the people and the elected representatives was the priority of his government. Thackeray was, however, non-committal on holding the election of Speaker during the session despite the Congress in the favour of the election. A senior Congress leader had said a final decision on the schedule for Speaker's elections can be decided only after RT-PCR test reports of all the MLAs are received. The Sena and the NCP had said the MVA candidate for the Speaker's post will win with a bigger margin than in November 2019 when the MVA won the floor test with 169 votes in the 288-member House. During the budget session held in February, the BJP had tried to corner the Thackeray government on the recovery of an explosives-laden SUV from outside the south Mumbai residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani and the subsequent murder of Thane-based businessman Mansukh Hiran. Former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh had alleged that then home minister Anil Deshmukh had asked some Mumbai police officers, including Sachin Waze, to collect Rs 100 crore from bars and restaurants in Mumbai per month. Deshmukh resigned in April after the high court ordered a CBI probe. He had denied the corruption allegations. Other issues the Opposition might raise to put the government on the mat are quashing of the quota in jobs and education for Marathas and of OBCs in local bodies by the Supreme Court. The BJP blames the state government for the rulings given by the SC in these sensitive issues. Bills on the concept of 'heritage' trees, an amendment to the Nursing Act to extend the timeframe for the administrator on the nursing council to hold elections, and the Cooperative Institutions Amendment Act may be tabled during the session. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, who is undergoing treatment for pneumonia at a hospital here, is stable and under observation, a hospital source said on Saturday. The 70-year-old actor was admitted to the Khar-based P D Hinduja Hospital & Medical Research Centre, a non-COVID-19 facility, on Tuesday. According to the hospital source, Shah has no issues at present and is doing well. "He is stable and under observation. He is on medication and absolutely fine," the source told PTI. On Wednesday, Shah's wife and veteran actor Ratna Pathak Shah told PTI that the veteran actor had a "small patch" of pneumonia in his lungs and was undergoing treatment for the same. Shah is known for his contribution towards art house cinema with films such as Nishant, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, Ijaazat, Bazaar, Masoom, Mirch Masala, A Wednesday, Waiting. The School of Drama (NSD) and Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) alumnus has also created a space for himself in commercial cinema with movies such as "Karma", "Tridev", Vishwatma, "Chamatkar", Mohra, Sarfarosh, The Dirty Picture, "Krish", Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, among others. The multiple Award-winning actor was last seen in the 2020 drama "Mee Raqsam" and the acclaimed Amazon Prime Video series Bandish Bandits. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : recorded further decline in new COVID-19 cases with 4,013 infections and 115 deaths on Saturday, said the Health Department. With these, the caseload went up to 24,92,420 and the death toll up to 32,933, the department said. As many as 4,724 people got discharged today, aggregating to 24,23,606 leaving 35,881 active infections, a bulletin said. The State commenced vaccination for pregnant women at a camp held in Cuddalore district. The State reported its highest daily infection at 36,184 on May 21 and it has since been reporting a decline. On May 30, the State saw daily cases dropping below 30,000; on June 7 the numbers were below 20,000; and on June 17, they were less than 10,000. As many as 27 districts reported new infections in double digits while there were no fresh deaths in 11 districts, the bulletin said. Chennai saw 227 people contracting the contagion aggregating to 5,33,224 till date. The number of COVID-19-related fatalities in the State capital reached 8,217. The testing of RT-PCR samples stood at 1,60,194 in the last 24 hours, pushing the cumulative number of specimens examined so far to 3,33,22,908. Of the 115 deaths, 93 patients succumbed in government hospitals while the remaining were in private ones. Seventeen of the deceased were patients without any co-morbidity or pre-existing illness. Minister for Medical and Family Welfare Ma Subramanian took part in the vaccination camp for the pregnant women. The camp was inaugurated by sitting MLA Udhayanidhi Stalin. Briefing reporters, Subramanian said the Centre has announced that pregnant women can be vaccinated and it is for the first time the campaign for those pregnant in Pennadam, Cuddalore district of was undertaken. On the vaccination drive, he said till date, the total number vaccinated has crossed the 1.50-crore mark. "We received 1,57,76,550 vaccines of which we have vaccinated 1,52,00,785 till date and 6,41,220 doses are in stock. Despite the impact of virus on reducing, the number of testing of RT-PCR samples remained high," he said. Earlier in the day, health department principal secretary J Radhakrishnan said Centre has informed the government that 11 lakh doses of the total allotment of 71 lakh doses for Tamil Nadu would arrive by July 10. "We will be receiving the doses released by the Centre as per schedule," he said. To a query whether the government was covering up the actual number of COVID-19 deaths in Tamil Nadu, he said there was no such cover-up. He added that the Health Department has issued an advisory to all hospitals to share the exact details of COVID-19 deaths and the hospitals were submitting the details, he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After Tirath Singh Rawat tendered his resignation as Chief Minister, state BJP president Madan Kaushik on Saturday that the new chief minister is likely to be a sitting MLA. Speaking to ANI, Kaushik said that the new BJP legislature party leader will be elected at the legislature party meeting today. "The supervisor and in-charge will reach here (Dehradun) today. In the legislature meet at 3 pm, we will elect the leader (CM). Post that, we will meet the Governor for government formation. It is possible that the CM will be among the MLAs," he said. Tirath Singh Rawat resigned amid uncertainty over bypolls in Uttarakhand, which will face assembly elections early next year. Kaushik further said that due to COVID-19, it was not possible to conduct polls and resignation was the only option. "The Election Commission had no issue with conducting polls but due to COVID, it could not materialise. In such circumstances, the resignation was the only option," he added. Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat resigned from his post on Friday. The resignation came less than four months after Tirath Singh Rawat took over as Chief Minister replacing Trivendra Singh Rawat. Tirath Singh Rawat, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Pauri Garhwal, took over as the Chief Minister on March 10 this year. To continue as the chief minister, he had to be elected to the state assembly within six months since he was not an MLA. Former minister and Congress leader Navprabhat had earlier this week written to the Election Commission urging it to "clear the confusion" in the state regarding bypolls. The Congress leader quoted Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which mandates that the Election Commission fill the casual vacancies in state legislatures through bye-elections within six months from the date of occurrence of the vacancy, provided that the remainder of the term of a member in relation to a vacancy is one year or more. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi [India], July 3 (ANI): The Congress Party on Friday cornered the central government over the Covaxin pricing controversy in and asked the Centre why it is "conspicuously silent" on the matter. Briefing medipersons, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said, "It is important for us to raise these questions because Bharat Biotech may be a private entity, but, the public fund was diverted for the development of this Taxpayers' money was put into this and which is why we have a right to question: what has happened with that money and why is the government conspicuously silent on it?" The Congress leader said Bharat Biotech had made an agreement with Precisa Medicamentos of and they had signed a contract to supply 20 million doses to the country. However, according to media reports, Bharat Biotech allegedly had quoted a price of USD 1.34 per dose of Covaxin which was jacked up to USD 15 per dose. The Brazilian opposition and the senate have raised the issue following which criminal investigative agencies are probing the matter. Brazilian agencies are also probing an offshore possible fund diversion by an entity called Madison Biotech related to Bharat Biotech. She further said that the question is that ICMR was slated to get 5 per cent of the profit from the sale of Covaxin. But, allegations are that Bharat Biotech was selling the to Madison Biotech at a lower price. "Madison was garnering the lion's share of the profit. We really want to know, what is the relationship between Madison Biotech and Bharat Biotech. These allegations are of a very serious nature and if Bharat Biotech was selling according to the allegations at a lower price then obviously ICMR's own proceeds get depressed," she stated. "The allegations are that a USD 45 million offshore payment was asked by Madison Biotech. Why is this 'partner' of Bharat Biotech asking for this sort of money? It is illegal as it is not a part of the contract signed between Bharat Biotech, Precisa Medicamentos and the Brazilian government," she said. The Congress leader stressed it is a serious issue of corporate governance if these allegations are to be believed. Whether Madison Biotech is an exporting arm or a logistics firm or an entity of a family-owned venture, it should be known. "We also want to know because it is now established that the founders of Bharat Biotech are also the co-founders of Madison Biotech," she claimed. The Congress leader said this issue brings disrepute and taint to the entire Indian pharma industry which is a pride to the country. She said that the matter can be treated as PMLA case (Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002) or SFIO (Serious Fraud Investigation Office) case. "If fund diversions happen, this makes for a PMLA case. Irregularities of lowering your profits and depressing your taxes is a case of SFIO. Why are not those probes being ordered? Is not this a case of tax diversion and fund diversion? Even after a criminal investigation and a parliamentary probe has been initiated by Government into the contract, why is the Indian government conspicuously silent," she asked. The Congress leader asked the central government if any special approval had been given to export the vaccines on June 4 when there is a blanket ban on the export of these vaccines. "What happened there?" she questioned. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) North Korea's Kim pulls up officials for vague Covid crisis Even though the scale of the outbreak in North Korea is unknown to the world, its leader Kim Jong Un has criticised the ruling party officials for not implementing effective safety measures to tackle the 'crisis'. What is the extent of that crisis is still in the dark for many outside the country. State media reported that Kim slammed the officials for risking the safety of the country and people. North Korea has not officially confirmed any Covid-19 infections. Read here Let's look at the global statistics Global infections: 183,098,615 Global deaths: 3,964,145 Vaccine doses administered: 3,134,166,553 Nations with most cases: US (33,709,176), India (30,502,362), Brazil (18,687,469), France (5,842,616), Russia (5,495,513). Source: John Hopkins Research Center Lambda Covid variants unusual mutations puzzle scientists Lambda, the latest variant, first found in Peru that accounts for almost 80 per cent of the cases in the country and spread across 27 nations till date is puzzling the scientists on whether the mutations in the variant make it more transmissible. The WHO in June named Lambda as the seventh variant of interest so far. According to the evidence so far, the variant has has a unique pattern of seven mutations in the spike protein that the virus uses to infect human cells. Researchers are particularly intrigued by one mutation called L452Q, which is similar to the L452R mutation believed to contribute to the high infectiousness of the Delta variant. Read here Europes travel stocks hit bumps as Delta variant dashes hopes After rallying to a record on bets of a summer filled with long hoped-for holidays, Europes travel stocks are hitting a rocky patch. The emergence of a more contagious Delta strain and constantly changing restrictions on international travel are weighing on airlines and hotels, even as vaccinations gain pace. The Stoxx 600 Travel and Leisure Index is down 7 per cent since its April peak, making it one of the worst-performing sectors of the past three months. Read here Is Biden declaring independence from the virus too soon? Joe Biden is pressing ahead with his plan to celebrate independence from the virus on July 4 despite less than half the country being fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, and the highly contagious Delta variant threatening new outbreaks. But public health experts fear that scenes of cross-country celebrations including a White House party with a liberation theme will send the wrong message when wide swaths of the population remain vulnerable and true independence from the worst public health crisis in a century may be a long way off. Read here Union IT minister on Saturday lauded significant social media platforms such as Google, and Instagram for publishing their first compliance report on voluntary removal of offensive posts as per new IT rules, terming it a big step towards transparency. Under the new IT rules, large digital platforms that have over 5 million users are required to publish periodic compliance reports every month, mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken thereon. "Nice to see significant social media platforms like Google, and Instagram following the new IT Rules. First compliance report on voluntary removal of offensive posts published by them as per IT Rules is a big step towards transparency," Prasad tweeted. The publishing of compliance reports by Google, and Instagram is bound to turn up the heat on Twitter, which has been engaged in a tussle with the Indian government over the new social media rules. The government has confronted Twitter for deliberate defiance and failure to comply with the country's new IT rules, and not appointing the requisite officers, leading to it losing the 'safe harbour' immunity. Facebook on Friday said it "actioned" over 30 million content pieces across 10 violation categories during May 15-June 15 in the country, as the social media giant brought out its maiden monthly compliance report as mandated by the IT rules. Instagram took action against about two million pieces across nine categories during the same period. 'Actioned' content refers to the number of pieces of content (such as posts, photos, videos or comments) where action has been taken for violation of standards. Taking action could include removing a piece of content from Facebook or Instagram or covering photos or videos that may be disturbing to some audiences with a warning. had stated that 27,762 complaints were received by and YouTube in April this year from individual users in India over alleged violation of local laws or personal rights, which resulted in removal of 59,350 pieces of content. Koo, in its report, said it has proactively moderated 54,235 content pieces, while 5,502 posts were reported by its users during June. Apart from publishing periodic compliance reports every month, the rules also require disclosure on the number of specific communication links or parts of information that the intermediary has removed or disabled access to in pursuance of any proactive monitoring conducted by using automated tools. According to the IT rules that aim to curb blatant abuse and misuse of platforms, the significant social media intermediaries are required to appoint a chief compliance officer, a nodal officer and a grievance officer and these officials have to be resident in India. Non-compliance with the IT rules would result in these platforms losing their intermediary status that provides them immunity from liabilities over any third-party data hosted by them. Facebook recently named Spoorthi Priya as its grievance officer in India. India is a major market for global digital platforms. As per data cited by the government earlier this year, India has 53 crore WhatsApp users, 41 crore Facebook subscribers, 21 crore Instagram clients, while 1.75 crore account holders are on microblogging platform Twitter. Twitter's apparent heavyhandedness has come under government scrutiny - the microblogging platform has not complied with the new rules, called intermediary guidelines, that mandate setting up a robust grievance redressal mechanism and appointing officers to coordinate with law enforcement. Twitter recently named California-based Jeremy Kessel as India's grievance redressal officer on the platform's website -- although the appointment does not meet the requirements of new IT rules that clearly mandate key officers including the grievance officer, to be resident in India. Notably, Twitter has lost its legal shield as an intermediary in India, becoming liable for users posting any unlawful content. Amid the standoff with the government over compliance with new IT rules, the Twitter website on Monday had displayed a wrong map of India that showed Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh as separate country. Twitter had removed the wrong map later that day, after facing heavy backlash from netizens. Even in the backdrop of heightened strained relations with the Indian government, Twitter recently briefly blocked IT Minister from accessing his own account over alleged violation of US copyright law -- a move that was immediately slammed by the minister as being arbitrary and in gross violation of IT rules. Twitter and the government have been on a collision course on multiple issues in the past months as well, including during the farmers' protest and later when the microblogging platform tagged political posts of several leaders of the ruling party BJP as "manipulated media", drawing a sharp rebuke from the Centre. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The local chapter of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Saturday thanked Chief Minister for announcing relaxations in Covid-inducted lockdown in all the districts from July 5. In a statement, the Chamber president C Balasubramanian appreciated the initiatives taken by Stalin to control Covid-19 spread and also ease the lockdown in phases, which was helping everybody earn their livelihood and also facilitate economic revival. The functioning of shopping complex and malls from 9 AM to 8 PM, re-opening of textile and jewellery shops and operation of public transport with 50 per cent passenger capacity were welcome, he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A massive ransomware attack on the software supply chain has impacted more than 1,000 businesses so far, and the number may continue to grow, according to the cybersecurity firm Huntress Labs Inc. The attack has focused on managed service providers, which provide IT services primarily to small- and medium-sized businesses. Such attacks can have a multiplying effect, since the hackers may then gain access and infiltrate the MSPs customers too. So far, more than 20 MSPs have been affected, said John Hammond, a cybersecurity researcher at Huntress Labs. The impact of the attack is only beginning to come to light. In Sweden, a majority of grocery chain Coops more than 800 stores couldnt open on Saturday after the attack led to a malfunction of their cash registers, spokesperson Therese Knapp told Bloomberg News. The hackers were identified as the Russia-linked ransomware group REvil, which was accused last month of hacking giant meatpacker JBS SA. There are victims in 11 countries so far, according to research published by cybersecurity firm ESET. The hackers appear to have targeted Kaseya Ltd., a Miami-based developer of software for managed service providers, as a way to attack its customers, according to cybersecurity experts. What makes this attack stand out is the trickle-down effect, from the managed service provider to the small business, Hammond said. Kaseya handles large enterprise all the way to small businesses globally, so ultimately, it has the potential to spread to any size or scale business. In a statement, Kaseya said it has notified the FBI. The company said it had so far identified less than 40 customers that were impacted by the attack. Two of the affected MSPs include Synnex Corp. and Avtex LLC, according to two people familiar with the breaches. Avtex President George Demou told Bloomberg News in a text message on Friday night, Hundreds of MSPs have been impacted by what appears to be a Global Supply Chain hack. We are working with those customers who have been impacted to help them to recover, he added. A Synnex spokesperson didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. By Stephen Nellis (Reuters) - Corp's proposed $40 billion acquisition of Arm Ltd would better support the creation of UK technology jobs than the Corp unit becoming a standalone public company once again, Arm's chief executive said on Friday. "We contemplated an IPO but determined that the pressure to deliver short-term revenue growth and profitability would suffocate our ability to invest, expand, move fast and innovate," Arm CEO Simon Segars wrote in a blog post https://www.arm.com/blogs/blueprint/arm- "Combining with will give us the scale, resources and agility needed to maximize the opportunities ahead," Segars wrote. Last week, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon told The Telegraph newspaper https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2021/06/13/qualcomm-ready-invest-arm-40bn-nvidia-sales-collapses and other media outlets that Qualcomm was open to investing in an initial public offering by Arm if the Nvidia deal falls apart. Amon has told media outlets that joint ownership of Arm by industry peers would keep the firm independent. Qualcomm did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nvidia last year announced its plan to acquire Cambridge, England-based Arm, long a neutral supplier of chip design technology, from the Japanese conglomerate, which does not own any other chip Critics like Qualcomm Inc have argued that allowing Arm to be owned by one chip company could cause it to focus on technologies that benefit its owner rather than the broader industry. The deal is under regulatory scrutiny in the United States, United Kingdom and European Union. SoftBank bought Arm for $32 billion in 2016, betting on a surge in what are called internet-of-things (IoT) chips. Arm invested heavily in hiring to purse the technology. But the IoT market failed to produce a revenue boom for Arm, and the company later raised prices https://www.reuters.com/article/us-softbank-group-arm-exclusive/exclusive-arm-raises-prices-on-chip-technology-for-some-customers-sources-say-idUSKCN24G1RM for some of its technologies, angering some customers. (Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Richard Chang) (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Rosa Weber late on Friday authorized an investigation of President Jair Bolsonaro by the top prosecutor's office, or PGR, for dereliction of duty in the process of procuring an Indian COVID-19 vaccine, according to a copy of the decision seen by Reuters. The president has been implicated in allegations of irregularities surrounding a 1.6 billion reais ($316 million) contract signed in February for 20 million doses with a Brazilian intermediary for the vaccine's maker, Bharat Biotech. A Brazilian Senate commission investigating the administration's handling of the pandemic has cited suspicions of overpricing and corruption related to the contract. After allegations of irregularities surfaced, the government suspended the contract. has suffered the world's second highest number of COVID-19 deaths. Brazilian federal prosecutors and the comptroller general's office, or CGU, are also separately investigating the alleged irregularities in the deal. The case allegedly involves the government's chief whip in the lower house of Congress, Ricardo Barros, according to lawmakers. Bolsonaro and Barros denied any wrongdoing. The investigation of the president by the PGR had to be formally authorized by the Supreme Court. In her decision, Justice Weber gave authorities 90 days for collection of evidence pertaining to the case. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) has accused the (EU) of imposing "unacceptable" preconditions on a visit to In a statement, the Chinese mission to the EU said Beijing has also invited diplomats from the EU and its member states posted in to visit Xinjiang many times. "However, the trip has not materialized due to preconditions set by the EU side, which are unacceptable to any sovereign state," the statement read. The mission also warned that any interference in China's internal affairs will be met with a strong and resolute response. The Chinese mission's statement came only hours after the European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU's foreign and security policy agency, said the bloc has taken "a firm stance" on human rights in Xinjiang and would introduce new due diligence rules to ensure European companies identify and address forced labour risks in their supply chains. The comments were included in a written response to a February petition urging the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to investigate the case of Ilham Tohti, an outspoken Uyghur economic professor who was jailed for separatism in 2014, and the treatment of other Uyghurs activists. The Chinese mission rejected the EEAS' remarks, saying the statement is in "total disregard of facts and confounding black and white". "We express our strong disapproval of and firm opposition to it. The document, listing what the EU has done on Xinjiang in recent years, is clear evidence of its interference in China's internal affairs under the pretext of the so-called Xinjiang-related issues and fully exposes its hypocrisy on human rights issues," the mission said. It contended that the EU side is in "no position to make groundless accusations". "Over the past few decades, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, Xinjiang has made unprecedented and historic progress in economic and social development, human rights and people's wellbeing. No one knows better than the 25 million-plus Xinjiang people about Xinjiang's human rights situation and people's wellbeing," the statement read. Xinjiang is a province in Communist where an estimated two million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities have been detained since 2016. They are believed to have been placed in detention centres across Xinjiang. Many former detainees allege they were subjected to attempted indoctrination, physical abuse and even sterilisation. However, China regularly denies such mistreatment and says the camps provide vocational training. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China's designs to dominate the South Sea might involve breaking law of the seas in the region. The call for readiness for "people's war at sea" last year by China's Defense Minister, General Chang Wanquan is a case in point. James Holmes, writing in The National Interest said that the purpose of such a campaign was to "safeguard sovereignty" after an adverse ruling from the Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Earlier, the tribunal of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), upheld the ruling that Beijing's claims to "indisputable sovereignty" spanning some 80-90 per cent of the South Sea are bunk. A strong coastal state, in other words, cannot simply wrest away the high seas or waters allocated to weaker neighbours and make them its own. It could conceivably do so through conquest, enforced afterwards by a constant military presence, wrote Holmes. But Beijing prefers to get its way without fighting. Fighting, though, could be the least bad of the options party leaders have left themselves. Judging from Chang's words, small-stick diplomacy has run its course. Small-stick diplomacy was about deploying the Coast Guard and fellow non-military sea services to police waters Beijing claimed. It depicted China's sovereignty in the as a fact, and dared woefully outmatched rivals to reverse that fact, reported The National Interest. The UNCLOS tribunal struck China's approach a grievous blow, collapsing the quasi-legal arguments underlying small-stick diplomacy. The tribunal's decision makes it clear that Chinese maritime forces operating in, say, the Philippines' exclusive economic zone are invaders or occupiers--not constables. If Beijing can't get its way through white-hulled coast-guard vessels, that leaves the military force. Chang's warlike talk implies that Beijing has abandoned the softly, softly approach and has tacitly admitted Southeast Asia constitutes a contested zone, reported The National Interest. It appears China now sees the as an offshore battleground where rivals must be overcome by force, said Holmes. Beijing won't withdraw the coast guard, maritime enforcement services, or the fishing fleet--an unofficial militia--from embattled waters. They will stay on as part of a composite whole-of-government armada. But the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy and Air Force will figure more prominently in the force mix. In all likelihood, Chinese commanders will flourish the big stick more promiscuously in the future--rendering the threat overt and visible rather than latent and unobtrusive, said Holmes. A people's-war-at-sea strategy will confront a motley coalition in which outsiders--America, maybe joined by Japan or Australia--supply the bulk of the heavy-hitting combat power. The Philippines is lopsidedly outgunned. Vietnam has pluck and a formidable military, but it can hardly stand up to the northern colossus without help, reported The National Interest. But, the people's war is about outlasting stronger foes. Even, if the weak contender is China then also its chances are bright. It is endowed with sizable reserves, its armed forces will protract the campaign, both to gain time to muster more strength and to wear away at enemy combat strength, said Holmes. In short, China could win even if it remains weaker than America in the aggregate. The PLA could narrow or reverse the balance of forces in the theatre--overpowering the US contingent at the place and time that truly matter. It could dishearten Washington. As per Holmes, China is politically and strategically predictable in the yet operationally and tactically unpredictable. Politically and strategically predictable because party leaders painted themselves into a corner with domestic constituencies. Tactically unpredictable because that's how Chinese forces have fought since the age of Mao. To prosecute it, Chinese commanders seek out isolated enemy detachments they can assault on "exterior lines," encircling and crushing them. The cumulative effect of repeated tactical setbacks wears down the strong--and could prompt their leadership to question whether the endeavour is still worth its hardships, perils, and costs. If not, cost/benefit logic will prod US leaders toward the exit--and China will prevail even without an outright victory over allied forces, reported The National Interest. So, US and allied mariners and airmen, accordingly, must study China's martial traditions, gleaning insight into how the offshore active defence might unfold in the South China Sea, advised Holmes. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chinas foreign minister expounded Beijings increasingly defiant stance on the stage, taking several swipes at the U.S. and underscoring much of the sentiment from last weeks centennial celebrations speech by President In a sweeping speech that touched on topics from the global pandemic to counterterrorism, North Korea to the Iran nuclear issue and Taiwan, Foreign Minister Wang Yi showcased Chinas rising confidence and assertiveness in global affairs, while criticizing the U.S. and its allies for grasping to an outdated Cold War mentality. Todays is no longer the same country of 100 years ago, Wang said in Beijing on Saturday. No individual or force should underestimate the determination and capacity of the Chinese people to uphold the countrys sovereignty, security, and development interests. Wang was speaking at the World Peace Forum organized by Tsinghua University and the Chinese Peoples Institute of Foreign Affairs, a government-run policy group. Relations between Beijing and Washington have remained strained under U.S. President Joe Biden, despite some expectations they would improve once Donald Trump left office. Biden has been slow to remove the tariffs Trump put in place on Chinese goods as the administration evaluates a new set of policies. Read More: Xi Jinping warns against anyone 'bullying' and 'oppressing' China On Thursday, Chinese President warned the nations adversaries to avoid opposing his government, saying in a speech marking the Communist Partys 100th anniversary that can no longer be bullied and abused. Anyone trying to do that will surely break their heads on the steel Great Wall built with the blood and flesh of 1.4 billion of Chinese people, he said. The first face-to-face talks between and the U.S. back in March descended into bickering between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Yang Jiechi, a member of the ruling Communist Partys Politburo. Washington and Beijing were reportedly discussing a meeting between Blinken and Wang at a during a recent Group of 20 event in Italy, but that never happened. The U.S. was exploring the possibility of a telephone call between Biden and Xi, according to the Financial Times said, but no progress has been reported. Wang criticized Washington across a range of issues. On Afghanistan, he said the U.S. had created the Afghan issue in the first place. It should not simply shift the burden on to others and withdraw from the country with the mess left behind unattended, he said. Military Threats The U.S. also needed to reconsider its incessant military threats and pressure on North Korea over the decades and acknowledge and address Pyongyangs legitimate concerns, Wang said. On the Iranian nuclear issue, Wang said it is most critical for the U.S. to make an earlier decision to rejoin the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The U.S. unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA and its maximum pressure on Iran are the root causes of the current Iranian nuclear crisis, said Wang. As the saying, goes, he who tied the bow should untie it. Wang said the world must categorically oppose bloc confrontation, citing U.S. efforts in the Indo-Pacific region as an example. It is the revival of the Cold War mentality and regression of history. It should be swept into the dustbin. Dreaming the old dream of hegemony during the Cold War will not secure a promising future, still less build back a better world, said Wang. Didi Global Inc. tumbled Friday after said its starting a cybersecurity review of the ride-hailing company just two days after it pulled off one of the biggest U.S. stock market debuts of the past decade. The move is to prevent data security risks, safeguard national security and protect public interest, according to a statement from the Cyberspace Administration of Didi has halted new user registrations during the probe. The company, which only started trading on Wednesday in New York after an initial public offering, fell 7% to $15.26. The surprise probe by Chinas internet regulator piles on the scrutiny of Didi over issues ranging from antitrust to data security. The company has been grappling with a broad antitrust probe into Chinas internet firms with uncertain outcomes for Didi and peers like major backer Tencent Holdings Ltd. More broadly, Beijing has been curbing the growing influence of Chinas largest internet corporations, widening an effort to tighten the ownership and handling of troves of information that internet giants from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to Tencent and Didi scoop up daily from hundreds of millions of users. Didi lost as much as 11% of its market value at one point on Friday, a rapid turnaround that underscores the uncertainty surrounding the Chinese governments crackdown on the internet sector. Earlier this year, the State Administration for Market Regulation announced it was looking into alleged abuses including forced merchant exclusivity arrangements at Meituan, days after Chinas third-largest internet company raised $9.98 billion from a record share placement and convertible bonds sale. This is deeply unfair to investors, said Brock Silvers, chief investment officer at Hong Kong-based private equity firm Kaiyuan Capital. And as a crucial matter of market integrity, Chinas regulators should cease allowing to list while under investigation. The CAC didnt specify what it will look into. But the timing of its announcement was significant, coming not just on the heels of Didis IPO but also the Communist Partys 100th anniversary celebrations in Beijing. Didi will fully cooperate with the relevant government authority during the review, the company said in a statement. We plan to conduct comprehensive examination of cybersecurity risks and continuously improve on our cybersecurity systems and technology capacities Founded in 2012 by Cheng Wei, Didi managed to force a retreat of its U.S. rival Uber Technologies Inc. in 2016 and embarked on an ambitious expansion. Its U.S. IPO was highly anticipated and marked the second-biggest debut by a Chinese company, trailing only Alibaba. Didi has faced regulatory scrutiny ever since a pair of murders in 2018 that Cheng has called its darkest days. The Beijing-based firm responded to the subsequent crackdown with a fusillade of efforts to improve security across its network of half a billion. It began to explore new businesses to offset slowing ride-hailing growth, from car repairs to grocery delivery. That served it well during the coronavirus pandemic, when whole cities came to a standstill. The company delivered an $837 million profit in the March quarter -- a rarity among recent high-profile IPOs. The company, which was among 34 internet giants ordered by regulators in April to correct excesses, warned in a regulatory filing that it couldnt assure investors that government officials would be satisfied with its efforts or that it would escape penalties. On Saturday, Li Min, a company vice president, hit out at a malicious rumour that Didi had sought an offshore listing to turn over data to the U.S. Didi stores all user information on domestic servers and would never hand over any data to the U.S., Li said in a Weibo post Saturday afternoon, adding that the company planned to sue the person who started the rumour. An at Romania's largest outside the port city of Constanta on Friday killed one person and injured at least four, authorities said. Plumes of black smoke could be seen rising from the Navodari Petromidia plant next to the Black Sea, as emergency services airlifted the injured people away for treatment, according to officials. The refinery operator, Rompetrol Rafinare, said the blaze was later isolated and stabilized. "Internal and external teams are making efforts to put it out in the shortest time, the company said in a social media post. The cause of the blast was not immediately clear. An Interior Ministry statement urged residents at the nearby town of Navodari and other areas in the vicinity to close their windows because of the billowing smoke. "The direction of the smoke is in the opposite direction to the beach and the city which is why the citizens are safe, the ministry statement said. However, we ask the population to take protective measures by closing (their) windows. The head of Romania's Environmental Guard, the government environmental protection agency, told The Associated Press that the environmental fallout from the incident is being monitored. We don't have proper data right now, Berceanu told the AP. "The smoke is going offshore, and some ... is going to the beach but it's not populated there. The is about 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) from Constanta. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) has made significant gains in of colours, saying that it is excited to build on the goals such as increasing representation of underrepresented groups by 30 per cent by 2025 and expanding in cities. In the US, doubled the number of Black in its leadership team to 7.1 per cent from 3.6 per cent the year prior. The number of women in leadership globally rose from 26.7 per cent to 28.1 per cent. Still, Google's US workforce is 68 per cent male and 32 per cent female. "We will continue to build with and for underrepresented groups where structural and systemic barriers to belonging are the highest, as well as co-create solutions to address racial equity, gender equity, and accessibility with experts and leaders around the world," the report said. "2020 has left us more committed than ever to creating a workplace and world where we all feel a sense of belonging," the company said. Google said that it is holding itself accountable for anti-racism at every level of the company, from leadership to all Googlers. "We have incorporated diversity, equity, and inclusion evaluation considerations in all performance reviews at the VP level and above to drive leadership accountability," the report mentioned. Google said it has made concrete, global commitments to racial equity company-wide, from criteria to leadership accountability, community investments, and new product creation. "We have created racial equity commitments and an Equity Program Management Office with input from members of our Black Leadership Advisory Group and Black Googlers Network employee resource group," it noted. --IANS na/in (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) is reeling under heavy load-shedding resulting in leaving citizens without for 16 hours. Citizens from several cities of Pakistan's Punjab, including Lahore, Multan, and Gujranwala, took to the streets on Friday to protest the prolonged, announced load-shedding in their respective areas. The protests were staged at Nawabpur Road in Multan and Gondlanwala Chowk in Gujranwala located in Punjab, where protestors chanted slogans against the Gujranwala Electric Power Company (GEPCO) and the government, saying that 16 hours of power outage has made their lives miserable, Geo News reported. Citizens say that load-shedding lasts for six to eight hours in most Punjab cities, including Lodhran, Bahawalpur, and Bahawalnagar, whereas it lasts for 10 to 12 hours in rural areas. Citing the report, Geo News reported that hordes of people, affected by the power crisis, flocked to the streets, set tires on fire, and blocked roadways. Meanwhile, in the provincial capital of Lahore, intermittent load-shedding has been going on for the last 24 hours, agitating the citizens as they have to bear the sweltering heat. According to the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) officials, unscheduled load-shedding is occurring within LESCO's boundaries due to production shortfall, while issues related to frequent feeder trips are also being experienced due to the increased pressure on grid stations. However, officials from the ministry of power stated that a lack of water in Tarbela Dam, as well as a lack of gas and oil in power plants, had affected power generation, Geo News reported. In January this year, several cities across Pakistan, including the capital Islamabad had plunged into darkness for several hours following a massive nationwide electricity blackout. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Uniqlo's parent company, Tokyo-based Fast Retailing, said it will "cooperate fully" with the French authorities over their into the allegation that its unit and three other fashion retailers concealed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang. This statement comes after French media reported Uniqlo France, Zara operator Spanish Inditex, Skechers USA Inc. and France's SMCP face allegations that their production process involves the forced labour of the Muslim minority in Xinjiang. The Uniqlo casual clothing chain operator said it will cooperate with the probe, if and when notified, to "reaffirm there is no forced labour in our supply chains." The company said while it is aware of the media reports, it has not yet been contacted by the French authorities, Kyodo News reported. The investigation was opened after a complaint was filed in April by several organisations including a human rights group that the four allegedly benefited from forced labour of the Muslim community in the Xinjiang region. Fast Retailing has said it has no contracts with sewing factories in Xinjiang, while audits by the company and a third party have found no forced labour in its related factories in any country or region. China has been rebuked globally for cracking down on Muslims by sending them to mass detention camps, interfering in their religious activities and sending members of the community to undergo some form of forcible re-education or indoctrination. In May, U.S. Customs and Border Protection blocked a shipment of men's shirts for the Uniqlo chain in January for allegedly violating an import ban on items containing cotton sourced from Xinjiang. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The United States on Friday (local time) slapped fresh sanctions on 22 individuals connected to Myanmar's regime in response to the country's coup on February 1. The new sanctions were levied "in response to the brutal campaign of violence perpetrated by the Burmese regime and to continue imposing costs in connection with the military coup," said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The United States took further measures against the Burmese military regime and its leaders for their continued failure to reverse course and provide for a return to democracy, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement. In response to the brutal campaign of violence perpetrated by the Burmese military regime and to continue imposing costs in connection with the military coup, the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Assets Control is designating today 22 individuals connected to the regime, pursuant to Executive Order 14014 "Blocking Property With Respect to the Situation in Burma," the statement said. "These include three additional State Administration Council (SAC) members and four military-appointed cabinet members, as well as 15 adult children or spouses of previously designated Burmese military officials whose financial networks have contributed to military officials' ill-gotten gains," the statement added. Andrea Gacki, director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, said in a statement the action demonstrates Washington "will continue to impose increasing costs on Burma's military and promote accountability for those responsible for the military coup and ongoing violence." Since the February military coup in that ousted the democratically elected government led by civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other prominent politicians have been detained and hundreds of civilians have been killed by security forces. US Commerce Department meanwhile slapped sanctions on four business entities. "The US Department of Commerce is adding Wanbao Mining, Ltd., two of its subsidiaries, and King Royal Technologies to its Entity List. These entities provide revenue and/or other support to the Burmese military, and Wanbao Mining and its subsidiaries have long been implicated in labor rights violations and human rights abuses, including at the Letpadaung copper mine." The statement further stated that the United States is committed to promoting accountability for the Burmese military, the SAC, and all those who have provided support for the military coup. The United States will continue to urge the Burmese military to fully cooperate in the expeditious implementation of the ASEAN Five Point Consensus, and immediately restore Burma's path to democracy. The United States will remain a steadfast advocate for the people of Burma's ability to determine the future of their country, the statement added. As of Friday, 888 people had been killed by the military junta since the coup, with around 5173 others in detention, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Company has decided to reinstate its production of branded in after more than eight years of pulling out of factories in the country, said apparel industry leaders. Welcoming the decision, the Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) hoped to attract orders of more than $500 million in future. It had announced that the company would consider permitting production in in future, if factories agree to partner with the Better Work programme, Faruque Hassan, BGMEA president, told IANS on Friday. The RMG team warmly welcomed the timely move by in recognition of the all-out progress and transformation in the industry, particularly in areas of workplace safety, social standards, and environmental sustainability. The factories of the country participating in the ILO's Better Work Bangladesh the program will be entitled to become a vendor, while they need to participate in NiIRAPON, an alliance of 23 foreign RMG brands and RMG Sustainability Council (RSC) along with specific remediation fulfillment criteria. Hassan said: "It's big news and good news indeed for Bangladesh... the has decided to reinstate its production of branded in Bangladesh after more than eight years and reincluded Bangladesh in the list of their Permitted Sourcing Country with Labour Standard audits." Faruque said that, Walt Disney, stopped its production activities in Bangladeshi factories in May 2013 following the fire at Tazreen Fashion in November 2012 that killed 112 RMG workers, and later, the Rana Plaza Building collapse which killed more than 1,100 people, mostly readymade garment workers. Then the Walt Disney Company sent a letter in March 2013 to vendors and licensees to transition production in Bangladesh in order to reinforce safety standards in its supply chain and around $500 million worth of business was shifted to Vietnam, India, and Myanmar from Bangladesh. Now, it has announced to reinstate Bangladesh as a permitted sourcing country list with ILS ( Labor Standard) audits. It is the recognition of the all-out progress and transformation in the industry, particularly in the area of workplace safety, social standards, and environmental sustainability, Faruque mentioned. The Hong Kong-based supply chain compliance solutions provider "QIMA" ranked Bangladesh as the 2nd highest Ethical Manufacturing country in its recent report "QIMA Q1 2021 Barometer". The rating included a performance against parameters like hygiene, health and safety, child and young labor, labor practices including forced labour, worker representation, disciplinary practices and discrimination, working hours and wages, and waste management. The study was conducted at a time when Covid disrupted the global fashion industry and supply chain, and maintaining such a level of compliance testifies our resilience and commitment. In addition, the progress made in the areas of cleaner and greener manufacturing testifies the industry's commitment and actions toward building a sustainable supply chain. Through these actions and transformation, Bangladesh has well positioned itself as the preferred sourcing partner for conscious brands like Disney, which is committed to fostering safe, inclusive, and respectful workplaces in its manufacturing facilities worldwide. Bangladesh being the home of the world's most LEED green factories, having 144 LEED green factories certified by USGBC, of which 41 are platinum, earn the confidence of the global brands and consumers through its tireless efforts in the past decade. Faruque mentioned the entire safety transformation program is supported and facilitated by the government, ILO, brands, manufacturers, and global unions in a transparent manner. BGMEA, as the only association in the world is honoured with the "2021 USGBC Leadership Award" for its exemplary leadership in promoting environmental sustainability and green industrialization in the RMG industry. Bangladesh's RMG industry has made unprecedented efforts and investments to ensure the safety covering fire, electrical and structural integrity and a robust follow up of factory remediation to create a culture of safety while promoting the well-being of the workers, mentioned the BGMEA president while talking to IANS. "With the reinstatement of Bangladesh as a permitted souring country, we will be able to attract orders of more than $500 million," the BGMEA president hoped. --IANS sumi/int/pgh (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Investment Authority likely broke into the worlds top three sovereign wealth funds by assets. The Future Generations Fund, managed by the authority known as KIA, has risen to a record of about $700 billion, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Its assets were valued at around $670 billion at the close of the last fiscal year on March 31, the person said, asking not to be named discussing confidential information. The fund, a national savings pot designed to help the country prepare for life after oil, has more than half of its investments in the U.S., where equity markets have been on a tear. The benchmark S&P 500 Index surged more than 8% last quarter, its fifth consecutive three-monthly gain, while the MSCI World Index gained more than 7%. KIA, the worlds oldest whose roots predate the birth of the modern state of Kuwait, doesnt officially disclose the value of its assets. KIA officials couldnt immediately be reached for comment. The increase would mean that the KIA, which also manages the nations General Reserve Fund, has amassed more assets than Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the emirates rainy-day fund, which is estimated by the SWF Institute to have just over $649 billion. Kuwaits windfall abroad contrasts with its dire fiscal challenges at home, compounded by a standoff between members of the only elected parliament in the Gulf and a government whose leader is appointed by the ruling emir. Kuwaits government, which needs legislative authorization to withdraw from the Future Generations Fund, submitted a draft law to parliament earlier this year seeking permission to tap as much as 5 billion dinars ($16.6 billion) from it a year to help finance a spiraling deficit. The portfolio boosted its holdings of U.S. assets when global markets plunged last year as the pandemic spread around the world, the person said. The fund invested in several of the most badly hit U.S. indexes, the person said. The recent gains follow a record 33% increase during the last fiscal year, Finance Minister Khalifa Hamada said on Thursday. Growth in the fund over the past five years has exceeded the countrys total revenue from oil for the same period, he said. recorded 66.7 billion dinars in total oil revenue in the last five years. The fund also owns stakes in ports, airports and power distribution systems around the world. Norways Government Pension Fund is the worlds biggest with $1.3 trillion of assets, according to rankings by the SWF Institute, followed by the China Investment Corporation, which manages $1 trillion. and its allies abandoned oil-supply negotiations until Monday as a rebellion by a key member threatened the unity of the alliance. Talks ended without a deal to increase output after the United Arab Emirates doubled down on demands for better terms. The impasse -- which had already pushed discussions into a second day -- risks upsetting the cartels management of the oil markets post-pandemic recovery just as consumer nations fret about the impact of higher prices. Negotiations will resume next week after whats likely to be a weekend of furious diplomacy. The U.S. has already voiced concerns about rising gasoline prices as oil tops $75 a barrel. Failure to agree on raising output would squeeze an already tight market, potentially sending crude prices sharply higher. But the opposite scenario is also in play: if unity breaks down entirely, a free-for-all would crash prices -- as it did during the price war between OPEC+ allies last year. The current impasse is a clear sign of UAEs intentions: they have a clear mandate to raise production and want to wield wider influence, said Amrita Sen at consultant Aspects Ltd. in London. Abu Dhabi floated the idea of leaving in late 2020 as it wants to pump more oil to make use of the billions of dollars in investment its made to expand capacity. The bitter infighting this week -- and the refusal of UAE delegates to make any concessions -- suggests the tensions will persist. Outline Deal Most OPEC+ members backed a proposal to add 400,000 barrels a day each month from August -- and push back the expiry of their broader supply deal into late 2022. But the UAE is seeking to change the baseline thats used to calculate its quota, which it argues is unfair. It wont back the proposed extension unless the others agree to alter its baseline -- a move that would allow it to pump an extra 700,000 barrels a day. If the UAE cannot secure the baseline concessions its looking for, will it declare its own Independence Day on Monday? said Helima Croft, chief commodities strategist at RBC Capital The strong opposition by Abu Dhabi shows how the countrys de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is now flexing his muscles in the oil market and industry, after bold geopolitical moves from Yemen to Israel. Prince Mohammed has strongly supported Sultan Al Jaber, the head of the countrys national oil company, whos investing heavily to lift production capacity. He once enjoyed close relations with the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman. But the relationship between the two heirs appears to have cooled in recent months. After OPEC+ adjourned its talks on Friday, Saudi Arabia issued a statement banning citizens from traveling to the UAE and a number of other countries, citing coronavirus concerns. Oil Rebound Crude prices have risen around 50% this year as the recovery in demand outpaces the revival of OPEC+ supplies. OPECs discipline has led the turnaround in the market following the price war of early 2020. That punishing battle -- which broke out just as the pandemic took hold -- was started by a disagreement between Russia and Saudi Arabia. This time the Saudis and Russians are on the same side, against Saudi Arabias long-time ally. The question is whether OPEC+ will remain cohesive and effective next year, said Bob McNally, president of Rapidan and a former White House official. And that depends heavily on leaders of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Russia working out an acceptable compromise over UAEs baseline. HCL Technologies will accelerate Fiskars Group's digital journey through applications and infrastructure modernization. HCL Technologies (HCL) announced a multi-year agreement with Fiskars Group, consisting of a family of lifestyle brands including Fiskars, Gerber, Iittala, Royal Copenhagen, Waterford and Wedgwood. Fiskars Group is partnering with HCL to enable meeting their strategic objectives and to drive their digital transformation initiatives for an immersive omnichannel experience for their end customers and consumers. HCL as a partner will enable Fiskars to standardize and harmonize their IT and business processes, drive operating model transformation and increase overall digital maturity. Pankaj Tagra, corporate vice president and Nordic and DACH head, HCL Technologies, said: "We are excited to work with Fiskars Group to help them with their digital transformation initiatives and achieve a coherent and digitally native consumer journey. HCL will leverage our experience and expertise in the consumer goods industry to enable a truly seamless experience for Fiskars. Our partnership with Fiskars Group to provide end-to-end IT services is a fantastic endorsement of HCL's digital transformational capabilities, while further strengthening our presence in Finland and the Nordics." HCL Technologies offers its services and products through three business units - IT and Business Services (ITBS), Engineering and R&D Services (ERS) and Products & Platforms (P&P). On a consolidated basis, HCL Tech reported 25.6% drop in net profit to Rs 2,962 crore on 1.8% rise in revenues to Rs 19,642 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q3 FY21. The IT firm's consolidated net profit declined 6.1% while revenues jumped 5.7% in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20. The scrip shed 0.08% to end at Rs 984.90 on Friday. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Faced with the crucial challenge of the assembly elections in a few months, Pushkar Singh Dhami (45), a two-time MLA from Khatima, on Saturday was chosen for the top job in amidst the dramatic developments that saw the replacement of two chief ministers in less than four months. Dhami who was pushed into election by his mentor Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari in 2012 to contest successfully from Khatima assembly seat in Udhamsingh Nagar district, is the 11th Chief Minister of the hill state. Born in Kanalichhina area of Pithoragarh district, Dhami will also be the third chief minister in a short gap of just 116 days in the hill state where change of guard has now become a regular feature. Before Dhami, Tirath Singh Rawat had taken over the reins of the hill state on March 10 this year after the party high command decided to remove Trivendra Singh Rawat without assigning any valid reasons. Tirath had put in his papers on Friday night after the party found it almost difficult to get him elected as an MLA under the constitutional obligation. Tirath is the only CM in the state who could not become an MLA. Dhamis choice again came as a big surprise to party leaders and workers alike, just like the party high commands choice of his predecessor Tirath Singh Rawat a few months ago. Dhami, an MLA from Khatima constituency, was elected the new leader of the state legislature party leader at a meeting held at the party headquarters here this afternoon. The choice was unanimous, said Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who was the main observer. Son of an ex-army personnel, Dhami, was an OSD to Koshiyari, when he became chief minister of the new state of in 2001 after the replacement of the first chief minister Nityanand Swami. He played an active role in the partys affairs when Koshiyari became the President of the state in 2002. The first time he became MLA was in 2012 when lost the assembly election by just one seat under the leadership of B C Khanduri. Dhami retained his Khatima seat in 2017 when BJP came to power in the hill state with a brute majority of 57 seats in the 70-member House. Later talking to the media, Dhami said he would pursue the policies of his predecessors and take everybody into confidence. I accept all challenges before me, said Dhami. When asked about the 2022 assembly elections, he said he would overcome this challenge successfully with the blessings of the states people. Experts said Dhami will not have much time to deal with the poor financial condition of the hill state where the government employees in some corporations, like state roadways, have not been getting salaries regularly. It is also no secret that the state BJP unit is a divided house with most of the top leaders promoting their own factions. The differences within the state BJP unit is going to be the biggest challenge before Dhami in the run up to the polls. A series of natural disasters in the past one decade has brought wide-spread deaths and destruction in the hill state. The government is finding it tough to complete the rehabilitation works related to the 2013 Kedarnath and 2021 Rishiganga disasters. How Dhami handles this will be another challenge. The BJP alleged on Saturday that is acting as an agent of rival defence companies and being used as a "pawn", and also claimed he and the Congress keep raking up allegations of corruption in the in an attempt to "weaken" India. At a press conference, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra also played down the appointment of a judge in France to lead a judicial investigation into the alleged corruption and favouritism in the Rs 59,000 crore deal, saying the development was outcome of a complaint by an NGO and should not be seen as a matter of corruption. This is akin to a competent authority in India writing down in a file that "please act accordingly" when a matter is brought before him, Patra said and accused the Congress of spreading lies and misconceptions over the issue. The Congress has become synonymous with spreading lies and misconceptions, he said. "The way is behaving, it will not be an exaggeration to say that he is being used as a pawn by competing companies. He has been lying right from the beginning on the issue. Probably, he is acting as an agent or some member of Gandhi family has been for a competing company," Patra alleged. Patra alleged that as the Gandhi family had received no commission in the Rafale deal, its party had been levelling these allegations. The Congress has demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Rafale deal, saying it is the only way forward to find the truth about "corruption" in the purchase of the fighter jets. The Congress' demand came after French investigative website Mediapart reported that a French judge has been appointed to lead a "highly sensitive" judicial investigation into alleged "corruption and favouritism" in the Rs 59,000 crore Rafale fighter jet deal with India. Patra cited a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report and a Supreme Court (SC) verdict, both of which had found nothing wrong in the defence deal between the Indian and French governments, to reject allegations of the Congress. The government won a judicial verdict as well as an electoral verdict, he said in reference to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in which the BJP notched up a massive victory with the Congress making the alleged corruption in the as a key plank of its campaign against the Modi government. The BJP spokesperson noted that the Supreme Court had in its verdict in November 2019 said that there can't be a roving and fishing enquiry pertaining to the Rafale allegations, and accused Gandhi of going on another "fishing expedition" with his party attacking the government. The SC had made these remarks while rejecting a plea to review its December 2018 decision to reject a plea for a court-monitored probe into the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft. Gandhi is trying to weaken India, Patra alleged. He also cited a number of allegations levelled by Gandhi, including his attributions to former French president Francois Hollande and incumbent Emmanuel Macron to back his charge of corruption against the Modi government, and noted that both French leaders had immediately denied making such comments. Gandhi also had to tender an apology to the Supreme Court for wrongly claiming that the top court has agreed that "chowkidar chor hai" (watchman is thief), a pet slogan of the Congress leader against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the run up to the 2019 polls. The Congress is also using the issue to divert attention from political instability hitting its governments in Punjab, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, he claimed. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A French judge has been appointed to lead a "highly sensitive" judicial investigation into alleged "corruption and favouritism" in the Rs 59,000 crore Rafale fighter jet deal with India, French investigative website Mediapart reported. Following the development, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come forward and order a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Rafale deal. "Corruption in the Rafale deal has come out clearly now. The stand of the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi has been vindicated today after the French government has ordered a probe," he told reporters at a press conference. However, there was no immediate reaction from the Indian government or the BJP. The Mediapart said the probe into the inter-governmental deal signed in 2016 was formally opened on June 14. "A judicial probe into suspected corruption has been opened in over the 7.8-billion-euro sale to India in 2016 of 36 Dassault-built Rafale fighter aircraft," the Mediapart reported on the latest development on the controversial deal. It said the investigation has been initiated by the financial prosecutors' office (PNF). The judicial investigation has been ordered by France's financial prosecutors' office, following Mediapart's fresh reports in April of alleged wrongdoings in the deal as well as a complaint filed by French NGO Sherpa that specialises in financial crime. "The highly sensitive probe into the inter-governmental deal signed off in 2016 was formally opened on June 14th," the media report said. Mediapart journalist Yann Philippin, who filed a series of reports on the deal, said a first complaint was "buried" in 2019 by a former PNF chief. "The judicial investigation was finally opened following the revelations of the investigation #RafalePapers of @mediapart and a new complaint from @Asso_Sherpa. A 1st complaint was buried in 2019 by the former PNF boss, Eliane Houlette," he tweeted. In April, Mediapart, citing an investigation by the country's anti-corruption agency, reported that had paid about one million Euros to an Indian middleman. has rejected the allegations of corruption, saying no violations were reported in the frame of the contract. The Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had inked a Rs 59,000-crore deal on September 23, 2016, to procure 36 Rafale jets from French aerospace major after a nearly seven-year exercise to procure 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for the Indian Air Force did not fructify during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime. The Congress accused the government of massive irregularities in the deal, alleging that it was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the UPA government during the negotiations for the MMRCA. Prior to the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the Congress raised several questions about the deal and alleged corruption but the government rejected all the charges. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The legislature party on Saturday elected Khatima MLA Pushkar Singh Dhami as its new party leader following Tirath Singh Rawat's resignation, paving the way for him to take over as the eleventh CM of The 45-year-old MLA is all set to become youngest chief minister in the state's history and will take oath as CM on Sunday. "We went to the Governor to discuss party's decision (on Dhami as CM). Oath taking ceremony to be held tomorrow," Union Minister and leader Narendra Singh Tomar said in Dehradun. The legislature party meeting happened at the headquarters in Dehradun in the presence of central observer Narendra Singh Tomar and BJP general secretary in-charge of Dushyant Kumar Gautam. All the MLAs were present at the meeting. BJP leader Tirath Singh Rawat resigned as the state's chief minister on Friday after holding the post for less than four months. He had replaced Trivendra Singh Rawat in March. He is considered to be close to Maharashtra Governor and former Uttarakhand chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari. The two-time-MLA represents the Khatima constituency in Udham Singh Nagar district. Uttarakhand is due for its next Assembly election in less than a year. Soon after being elected as the leader of the legislature party, Dhami thanked the party leadership for reposing faith in him and said that he will deal with the challenges lying ahead with everyone's cooperation. "My party has appointed a common worker, son of an ex-serviceman, who was born in Pithoragarh to serve the state. We'll work together for people's welfare. We accept the challenge of serving people with the help of others, in a short time span," said Dhami on him being appointed as CM. "We're happy with this decision. We got a young leader. We'll win 2022 Assembly elections with a better margin," said BJP MP Ajay Bhatt after Dhami was appointed as Uttarakhand BJP legislature party leader. "Had he (Tirath Singh Rawat) not resigned, it would have led to constitutional crisis. In some states, bypolls were delayed due to Covid. Circumstances have led to this situation. Neither was I part of the race earlier, nor today. The legislative party leader will be elected at the meeting today," said former Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat earlier on Saturday when asked about his candidature for CM post again. Ending days of speculation about a change of guard in the state, Rawat on Friday handed over his resignation letter to Governor Baby Rani Maurya past 11 pm, hours after returning from Delhi where he was summoned by the top BJP leadership on Wednesday. Names of nearly half a dozen MLAs have been doing the rounds as probables for the top job. Irrigation for about 870 hectares in Tamil Nadu's Krishnagiri district would be affected by Karnataka's new dam across river Markandeya, Water Resources Minister Durai Murugan said here on Saturday. would hence continue to urge the union government to set up a tribunal and the issue would be resolved through the proposed body, he said. Appropriate steps would be taken by government to uphold the rights of the state and protect the interests of farmers and people who depend on river Markandeya, the Minister said in a statement. Referring to news reports in some dailies about completing construction of a dam across Markandeya river, Durai Murugan said government had all along opposed this project of the neighbouring state and approached the Supreme Court in 2018. Due to this dam, irrigation for 870 hectares in Krishnagiri taluk of Tamil Nadu would be affected, he said. While had said in 2019 that the 0.5 Thousand Million Cubic Feet capacity reservoir was almost completed, the apex court had in its judgment that year favoured setting up a tribunal to resolve the dispute. The Tamil Nadu government had over the years prevailed upon the Central government to constitute it and even last month, the union government was requested by the state to set up the tribunal expeditously. "Tamil Nadu government will continue to urge the Central government to quickly set up the tribunal. The dispute will be resolved through the tribunal," he said. Markandeya river is a tributary of Pennaiyar, that originates in and enters Tamil Nadu in Krishnagiri district. Karnataka had maintained that the dam near Yargol village in Bangarpet taluk in Kolar district was for drinking water pruposes and groundwater replenishment. The TN government, farmers and parties have been opposing the dam as it would affect irrigation and drinking water needs of six districts including Krishnagiri. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Agriculture Minister Tomar on Saturday arrived in Dehradun to attend the legislature party meeting scheduled to be later today after the resignation of Tirath Singh Rawat from his chief ministerial post. named Tomar as a central observer for Saturday's meeting of MLAs after a crisis emerged following the resignation of Rawat on Friday. "Legislature meet to be held at 3 pm to elect the leader (CM). Before that, we will also consult the MLAs," Tomar told reporters at Dehradun airport. Talking about the statements of Congress leader, Tomar said that they have no right to speak on the internal matter of the "The job of Congress is only to make allegations. There is zero positive thinking in the Congress party. They have no right to speak on the internal matter of the BJP," he added. Tirath Singh Rawat, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Pauri Garhwal, took over as the Chief Minister on March 10 this year. To continue as the chief minister, he had to be elected to the state assembly within six months since he was not an MLA. Former minister and Congress leader Navprabhat had earlier this week written to the Election Commission urging it to "clear the confusion" in the state regarding bypolls. The Congress leader quoted Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which mandates that the Election Commission fill the casual vacancies in state legislatures through bye-elections within six months from the date of occurrence of the vacancy, provided that the remainder of the term of a member in relation to a vacancy is one year or more. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) midfielder Kevin de Bruyne has revealed that he played with torn ligaments in the Euro 2020 quarterfinal against defeated 2-1 on Friday (local time) to enter the semifinals of the ongoing tournament and the side will now lock horns against Spain at the Wembley Stadium. "For me personally it has been four or five weird weeks. But I especially want to thank the medical staff," De Bruyne said on UEFA.com. "It was a miracle that I played today because there was definitely damage to my ankle. A tear in my ligaments. But I felt responsibility to play for my country today. Too bad I couldn't do more," he added. De Bruyne had sustained the injury in the round of 16 match against Portugal. He will now return to his club Manchester City where a further assesment of the injury would be done. Nicolo Barella and Lorenzo Insigne got among the scoring charts as defeated 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the ongoing Euro 2020 here at the Allianz Arena on Friday (local time). Nicolo Barella and Lorenzo Insigne got among the scoring charts as Italy defeated Belgium 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the ongoing Euro 2020 here at the Allianz Arena on Friday (local time). (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Burridge boys all fight in WWII, 'Bo' to be part of Wexford Co. Honor Wall Susan Dennis has been a Rotary member since 2015 and she said she\'s looking forward to her year as president. Her goal is to strengthen Rotary\'s image in the community, have a successful annual auction, and plan service projects to demonstrate Rotary\'s service above self motto. The trials involved more than 550 participants, of which only two accounting for less than 1% of the total experienced serious adverse reactions after vaccination. Photo: The Paper The Covid-19 vaccine made by Chinese drugmaker Sinovac Biotech Ltd. has been found safe and effective for children as young as three, according to a study published in British medical journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The results of clinical trials for CoronaVac, an inactivated virus vaccine developed by Sinovac, showed that minors aged between 3 and 17 produced an immune response against Covid-19 after receiving two doses, said the study, which was published on Monday. The results appear to validate Chinas authorization of Sinovacs vaccine for emergency use on children as young as three last month, becoming the first major country to do so, after approving its use on adults in February. China had administered more than 1.2 billion vaccine doses as of Thursday, according to the National Health Commission (link in Chinese). As most of Chinas five approved vaccines, including for public and emergency use, require two doses, the country is still some distance from its goal to inoculate 80% of its population, or about 1.1 billion people, to reach herd immunity. The Chinese mainland confirmed (link in Chinese) 18 Covid-19 cases on Thursday, all imported, bringing the total number to 91,810. The mainlands death toll stood at 4,636. The trials involved more than 550 participants, of which only two accounting for less than 1% of the total experienced serious adverse reactions after vaccination, according to the study. CoronaVac was well tolerated and safe, and induced humoral responses in children and adolescents aged 317 years, Sinovac said when disclosing the results, which mark the first time that data on the safety and immunogenicity of a Covid-19 vaccine in minors was made public. In early June, the World Health Organization approved CoronaVac for emergency use, making it the second Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccine given to people all over the world after the jab made by state-owned Sinopharm Group Co. According to the study, a total of 552 participants aged 3-17 were involved in phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials, which were conducted from October to December in Zanhuang county, North Chinas Hebei province. Most received a two-dose regimen within 28 days. A total of 146 participants reported at least one adverse reaction over the period, although most of the reactions were mild and moderate in severity. The most common reactions were pain at the injection site and fever, the study shows. Only two of the participants had serious adverse reactions, the study shows, while only one serious adverse event of pneumonia was reported, which Sinovac said it was unrelated to vaccination. The study found that children and adolescents had stronger immune responses compared to people over 18 years old after they received two shots of the medium-dose vaccine, one of the two kinds given to participants. The trials excluded those who have previously been infected with the coronavirus or likely been exposed to it, Sinovac said. A previous paper penned by Brazilian researchers showed that the vaccine is 50.7% effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19 cases. Currently, 23.7% of the worlds population has received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, with more than 3 billion doses administered globally, according to Our World in Data. Contact reporter Wang Xintong (xintongwang@caixin.com) and editor Joshua Dummer (joshuadummer@caixin.com) Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go. Get our weekly free Must-Read newsletter. An appeals court in Hong Kong has raised the sentences of 11 laboratory workers at a contractor who were found guilty of falsifying test results for materials used to build the 55-kilometer Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the worlds longest sea crossing. They are among the 18 workers of Jacobs China Ltd. who in 2019 were convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud and handed down sentences or community service orders. However, their sentences were increased to up to two years in prison after the citys judicial authorities deemed the original punishments to be too light and sought a review. A three-judge bench at the Court of Appeal of the High Court handed the sentences Friday after the review. Citing a written judgment, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said in a report that this case was particularly serious compared to other cases of its kind. The judges wrote that the original sentences imposed on the defendants were too lenient and had gravely and unreasonably differed from the jail terms of their accomplices who pleaded guilty earlier on. The 11 involved in the conspiracy include eight site laboratory technicians and three laboratory assistants of Jacobs China. In May 2017, the ICAC detained 21 Jacobs China workers for allegedly faking test results for materials used to build the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge between 2013 and 2016. Among them, a total of 18 people were charged with conspiracy to defraud. In January 2019, their first trial began at the Hong Kong High Court. Six of them pleaded guilty and were jailed for 21 to 32 months. Among the remaining 12 who were convicted, six were sentenced to three to 24 months in prison, four were given two to eight months with a two-year suspension, and two were ordered to do free community service for no more than 10 days. The Hong Kong Department of Justice subsequently filed an appeal, seeking a review of the dozen peoples sentences as the judicial authority argued the punishments were too lenient and did not reflect the defendants involvement in the conspiracy and the responsibilities they should bear. The appeal was heard this April. According to the July judgment (link in Chinese) posted on the website of Hong Kong Judiciary, the case was particularly serious as the defendants actions would significantly undermine public confidence in the quality and safety of the bridge. Given the scale and importance of the bridge, it was an extremely severe crime to defraud public officials and let them verify the bridges concrete quality by using the false test reports, the judgment said. The Court of Appeal eventually decided to increase the jail terms of 11 defendants to up to two years and upheld the original sentence for the other defendant who has already served two years behind bars. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is a signature project in an ambitious Beijing initiative to integrate the Pearl River Delta region. It puts the three cities of Zhuhai, Macao and Hong Kong within an hours commute of each other, with a total cost of more than 127 billion yuan ($18.8 billion). The bridge opened for service in 2018 after nearly nine years of construction. Contact reporter Wang Xintong (xintongwang@caixin.com) and editor Lu Zhenhua (zhenhualu@caixin.com) Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go. Get our weekly free Must-Read newsletter. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks at the 9th World Peace Forum in Beijing on Saturday. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Washington Saturday to guarantee a steady transition in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of U.S. troops. The situation in Afghanistan is at an extremely critical juncture, Wang said at the 9th World Peace Forum hosted by Tsinghua University in Beijing on Saturday. Wang said that the U.S. should ensure a smooth transition in a responsible manner. The U.S. should not shrug off responsibilities and just walk away from it, nor should the withdrawal result in chaos or war. Late last month, the Chinese Foreign Ministry urged Chinese nationals in Afghanistan to leave the country following growing incidents of violence after the U.S. started to withdraw its troops from the country in May, after almost two decades of presence. On Friday, U.S. officials announced the closure of Bagram Air Base, the main American military base in Afghanistan. Washington agreed to withdraw the troops last year under the Trump administration. In April, U.S. President Joe Biden announced the withdrawal of all American troops from Afghanistan to be completed by September 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. On June 3, at the 4th China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Dialogue in Guiyang, Wang put forward five ideas and propositions, which include maintaining intra-Afghan talks and bringing the Taliban back into the political mainstream. Wang said Saturday that the five propositions were put forward as we hope that all parties in Afghanistan will put the interests of the country and its people first, continue internal negotiations, and set out a roadmap and timetable for achieving reconciliation as soon as possible. We are willing to work together with regional countries and the international community to promote the process of peace and reconciliation, strengthen the endogenous momentum of Afghanistan's development and reconstruction, and gradually achieve a virtuous cycle of peace and development, he said. Contact reporter Cai Xuejiao (xuejiaocai@caixin.com) and editor Lu Zhenhua (luzhenhua@caixin.com) Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go. Get our weekly free Must-Read newsletter. Become A Subscriber A subscription opens up access to all our online content, including: our interactive E-Edition, a full archive of modern stories, exclusive and expanded online offerings, photo galleries from Caledonian-Record journalists, video reports from our media partners, extensive international, national and regional reporting by the Associated Press, and a wide variety of feature content. St. Johnsbury, VT (05819) Today Partly cloudy this evening followed by mostly cloudy skies and a few showers after midnight. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening followed by mostly cloudy skies and a few showers after midnight. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%. * Username This is the name that will be used to identify you within the system. Choose wisely! * First name * Last name Your real name will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more! * Email Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. We won't share it with anyone else. * Password Create a password that only you will remember. If you forget it, you'll be able to recover it using your email address. Do you have an athlete in mind that contributes to the team or sport, holds sportsmanship and team spirit, has epic playmaker moments and/or in general makes the the sports fun? If yes, please make your nominations for our edition of Athlete Spotlight. CLICK TO NOMINATE Modified On Jul 05, 2021 06:44 PM By Dhruv The flying car developed by Klein Vision, a company based out of Slovakia, uses a BMW engine for its propulsion needs Recently, a video of a flying car made by Slovakian company Klein Vision has gone viral on YouTube. The feat is surely impressive. But did you know these five things about this flying car? 1) It uses a 1.6-litre petrol BMW engine Anything that flies requires massive power to develop thrust, and for that, you need a big engine. Ironically, the Aircar (the name given by Klein Vision) uses a small 1.6-litre petrol engine with an effective output of 140PS. The makers reckon that the Aircar has an estimated range of 1000km and consumes around 18 litres of petrol per hour. 2) It can take off in 300 metres A Boeing 737 with its powerful engines requires around 3kms of runway to take off under maximum weight. The Aircar cuts down that distance to 300 metres! It can reach a speed of up to 200kmph when taking off and cruise at around 190kmph in the air. All these feats have been possible because of excellent engineering, which has kept the weight of the Aircar down to just 1,100kg, with an additional 200kg capacity for passengers. 3) It has completed 142 successful landings The biggest worry about anything that takes off is bringing it back down safely. The Aircar has undergone 142 successful landings, with its most recent attempt being an inter-city journey between the two international airports at Nitra and Bratislava, Slovakia. The aircraft has also successfully cruised at 8,200 feet at a speed of 100 knots (approx. 185kmph), even undergoing a host of stability and maneuverability tests in the air. 4) It can transform in 3 minutes To fly, the Aircar needs to extend its wings and tail section, which it can do in just 3 minutes. Thats a serious cut down on the amount of time it takes to take off in a passenger plane, since the time you get down from a car at the airport. The cars wings fold upwards and then tuck into the side of the vehicle, completely out of sight. The rear wing extends outwards when the button is pressed, and retracts when the Aircar is being driven on the ground. Unlike the side wings, it always stays in the view. 5) A more powerful version is coming Currently, the engine makes 140PS. Klein Vision plans on using a more powerful 300PS engine in its second prototype. It is not yet confirmed if this motor will be sourced from BMW, however, we expect the cruising speed to go up significantly with this upgrade. Re: 5 storeys a non starter While Council stated that 5 storeys is too many for the Manhattan Point neighbourhood, there appears to be no opposition to introducing an apartment complex to a community with no similar housing. This is nothing new for most residents of Kelowna where weve seen new condo buildings popping up throughout the city, regardless of what the plan is for each particular neighbourhood. Take Manhattan Point for example. Even though the community already has more density than most single-family-home neighborhoods, the developer wants to increase the density on this lot six times with a plan for a 10-condo apartment building and two townhomes. Allowing this rezoning wont be a slight change, as the developer suggests. It will be neighbourhood-altering. Once one piece of property gets rezoned to allow apartment complexes, developers will be circling to snatch up the remaining properties and consolidate them into apartment blocks. There appears to be no opposition to this precedent-setting rezoning bid, even though it goes against the current Official Community Plan and is outside the new plans Urban Centre where apartment complexes are supposed to reign supreme. Our community is not opposed to more density. Thats why 90 percent of households in the neighborhood (63 of 70 households) signed a petition proposing that 955 Manhattan Drive should, instead, be subdivided into two RU6 lots (or even one RU7 lot). The community is zoned RU6, which allows for a duplex, a house and carriage house or a house and legal suite. Subdividing this larger-size lot into two RU6 lots would double the density yet keep the form and character of the neighborhood intact. The developer said his proposal makes sense because of the nearby Tolko Mill site, but no one knows whats going to happen there - so todays developments shouldnt be based on that unknown future, nor should a developer be deciding the fate of a neighborhood. It seems no Kelowna neighbourhood is safe and your neighbourhood could be next. Carmen Gray, Resident of Manhattan Point Photo: The Canadian Press People sit on rocks while cooling off in the frigid Lynn Creek water in North Vancouver, B.C., on Monday, June 28, 2021. British Columbia's chief coroner says 719 sudden and unexpected deaths have been reported in the province during the historic heat wave, and that number over a seven-day period is unprecedented. Lisa Lapointe says the number of fatalities is three times more than what would normally occur during the same period. She says the extreme weather is believed to be a significant contributing factor in the jump in deaths, but the number is expected to increase as more information is compiled. Lapointe has said extra coroners have been working in the field and many of the people who were found dead were elderly and living alone without air conditioning. Lytton set a Canadian heat record this week for the third day in a row, reaching 49.6 C the day before residents were ordered to evacuate within minutes due to a raging out-of-control wildfire. Lapointe has said that while some parts of the province typically experience high temperatures during summer, those living in urban areas were caught unprepared when the mercury topped 30 C in Vancouver, for example, before returning to more typical weather. "Today, the coroners service is seeing a downward trend from the number of deaths reported over the past few days, and we are hopeful this trend will continue," she said Friday. "Whenever possible, people are encouraged to visit cooler environments such as cooling centres, malls, libraries and other air-conditioned community spaces for essential respite from the effects of severe heat." Photo: Contributed RCMP have made an arrest in a Canada Day murder in Trail. On July 1, a 33-year-old Trail man was arrested in relation to a Thursday-evening homicide. Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet said the suspect has since been released from custody pending the outcome of the investigation. The suspect has not yet been charged and will not be identified at this time. "We want to reaffirm that we believe that homicide was an isolated incident between two people, who were known to each other and that this individual does not pose an on-going risk to the general public, saidShoihet. Police are continuing the investigation and are asking anyone who was a witness to this incident and has not already spoken with police to call the tipline at 1-877-987-8477. Photo: BC Wildfire Service The Sparks Lake wildfire burning northwest of Kamloops is now an estimated 31,000 hectares. The Canadian government is moving to stage more than 350 soldiers and tactical airlift capabilities out of Edmonton to support firefighters battling more than 130 active wildfires in British Columbia. A forward operating base will house two Chinook medium-lift helicopters, one Hercules transport aircraft, and three Griffin utility helicopters already at a Canadian Forces base in the Alberta capital. The aircraft will provide tactical airlift capabilities to move firefighters and equipment in and out of fires across B.C., while the soldiers will be made ready to support ground crews as necessary. If more are needed, we will move additional support as necessary, says Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan. Sajjan says emergency response officials and the military had already trained to respond to flooding or wildfire during the pandemic. We have already rehearsed this. This is what were executing now, he says. The BC Wildfire Service says there are roughly 3,000 firefighters battling blazes across the province, including fires that tore through the town of Lytton, nearly wiping it off the map and scattering its residents. Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, said Ottawa has moved to open an E-Service Canada phone line to help people re-issue lost documents and get access to fast-tracked EI benefits. This week has been a very harsh reminder that even as we fight climate change we must also adapt to it, says Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Meteorologists at Environment Canada are "working around the clock," to provide dispersion predictions, and local wind and air quality forecasts. Parks Canada staff is also moving to help in the wildfire response, the fourth time in the past decade, said the minister. The federal response comes after a record-breaking heat wave paralyzed huge swaths of British Columbia and overwhelmed many emergency services with temperatures soaring well above 40 degrees Celsius. In Vancouver, firefighters described "the busiest 48 hours weve had on record," with ambulance wait times climbing to 11 hours in some cases. The BC Coroners Service said Friday the heat has likely contributed to at least 719 deaths this week. Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair defended the federal governments role in mitigating the effects of the heat wave. "There is really close coordination between ourselves and the B.C. government," says Blair. "We know temperatures will be elevated in the coming weeks." Photo: The Canadian Press A helicopter pilot prepares to drop water on a wildfire burning in Lytton on Friday. The provincial government is facing criticism over its handling of the wildfire that destroyed much of the village of Lytton, with an Indigenous leader saying the needs of community members were ignored. The accusations come as the B.C. Coroners Service says it will be entering the village Saturday as it works to confirm reports of two people killed during a wildfire that destroyed businesses and homes. The service says the village was deemed unsafe to enter on Friday, but now expects to attend the scene. Chief Matt Pasco, the chair of the Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council, said his tribal council was forced to try to save lives with little to no help from the provincial government. The Lytton First Nation is a member of the tribal council. Pasco said it took more than 12 hours to hear from the government as evacuations were underway. Pasco, who operates a ranch near Ashcroft, north of Lytton, says the first contact he received from the government was regarding his cattle, not about affected community members. "It was an abysmal attempt at the very thing they're meant to do," he said in an interview Saturday. "They had processes in places for our cattle but none for Nlaka'pamux people." Pasco said the government's shortfalls can be traced to the province's treatment of Indigenous peoples and lack of recognition of their jurisdiction when it comes to land management and stewardship. "Yes, we do have coordination problems because (the province) is not set to take care of Indigenous issues or Indigenous peoples," he said. Emergency Management B.C. did not immediately return a request to respond to the comments. Pasco said the tribal council is working with the Lytton First Nation and other affected communities to figure out how many members remain unaccounted for. He said the most pressing questions concern what happens next for the community. "It's so devastating that I cannot find the English words to describe the devastation. It's hard to fathom," he said. "What does next week look like? What does the first long weekend of September look like when we have the children go back to school?" New mapping from the BC Wildfire Service shows the wildfire has grown since Friday night. Cliff Chapman, director of provincial operations for the BC Wildfire Service, said Friday that the recent wave of extreme heat has created conditions for a "significant spread" of wildfires, with the potential for 1,000 square kilometres to burn by the end of the weekend. Elsewhere, an out-of-control wildfire burning about 40 kilometres southwest of Kamloops forced officials to evacuate more than 100 homes Friday evening. Orders issued by the Thompson-Nicola Regional District said the fire in the Durand Lake area has started threatening structures and the safety of residents. Federal ministers have pledged to support B.C.'s fire fighting efforts, with Public Safety Minister Bill Blair saying the government has been preparing for the wildfire season for the past few weeks. The cause of the wildfire that devastated Lytton is under investigation, although Premier John Horgan said he had heard anecdotal evidence linking the start of the fire to a train running through the community. The office of federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in an emailed statement that it would take necessary action should any potential non-compliance with Canada's rail safety laws and regulations be identified. Listening to people's voices key to CPC's success: Stephen Perry() 2021-07-03 14:43 Guangming Online Stephen Perry, Chairman of Britain's 48 Group Club and recipient of China Reform Friendship Medal (File photo) By Zhang Zhou BEIJING, July 2 (Guangming Online) -- The success of the Communist Party of China (CPC) relies closely on the Chinese people, a recipient of China Reform Friendship Medal has said. The success of the CPC is due to hearing the people, Stephen Perry, Chairman of Britain's 48 Group Club told Guangming Online in a recent interview. Perry said that it is a great moment of history when China has achieved its first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, adding that the world will be reflecting on the incredible transformations of the last 100 years and the last 43 years (since the reform and opening-up in 1978) in China. Looking back at the development history of the CPC, Perry noted that the Party has gone through many tough periods since its founding in 1921, but it has managed to overcome the difficulties. Referring to the key to Chinas achievements over the past 100 years, Perry mentioned people many times. He said the Chinese people give their backing to the CPC to lead the enormous transition from being the sick man of Asia to being the dynamo of Asia. Perry also expressed confidence in China achieving the second centenary goal of building a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious by 2049. For those who gainsay that, they need only to look at the achievements of the last 43 years, and the determination of a Party which has grown from 13 delegates in 1921 to over 95 million today, he said. Buena Vista, CO (81211) Today Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 52F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 52F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. (John Anthony Smith, president of the fast-growing Conversant Group on the Southside, advises on Internet security). Similar in some ways to the global SolarWinds breach that occurred last year, threat actors have once again breached another system used for monitoring, patching, and remote administration.[1] On Friday, it became publicly known that Kaseya, a well-known player in Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tools, had succumbed to a supply chain compromise. Kaseyas RMM, known as VSA, is commonly used by Managed Service Providers to manage, monitor, and patch their customers infrastructures. REvil Group was able to breach Kaseyas VSA system and use that system to destroy backups and subsequently encrypt over 200 organizations data. Kaseya VSA by the nature of how its system works has highly privileged access to the infrastructures in which it is deployed, as it is used to monitor, manage, and patch systems. Thus, REvil was able to orchestrate this malicious attack nearly unthwarted by security controls. On Friday, Kaseya sent out a warning of a potential attack and urged customers to shut down their servers running the service. According to Kaseyas web site, more than 40,000 organizations use their products. REvil is demanding $50,000 in ransom from smaller companies and $5 million from larger ones.[2] REvil is a Russian speaking hacking group that is highly active, and they are the same group of threat actors that successfully collected an $11 million ransom from JBS Meats. It is widely believed that REvil operates from Russia, and this recent compromise comes on the heels of President Joe Bidens meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva. It is obvious that Bidens conversation has invoked little action, at least thus far, in reigning in REvils continued attacks. Ransomware attacks have spiked in the past 1.5 years with $412 million in ransom payments being paid last year alone, and this estimate is likely understated since many ransomware events go unreported. We know, from our own experiences at Conversant Group, that REvil prefers to strike when IT coverage and monitoring may be at its weakest, such as on weekends and holidays. It is no coincidence that this happened on the Friday before July 4th. There are ways to mitigate these types of attacks, and organizations must be ever vigilant in vetting all its vendors and ensuring that controls are in place to thwart (or at least recover from) these types of threat actor activities. [1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/technology-provider-kaseya-warns-of-cyberattack-11625266350 [2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/07/02/kaseya-ransomware-attack/ * * * John Anthony Smith can be reached at: Alexandro Agapito Perez-Lucas, 18, formerly of 1106 Nelson Street, Dalton, was found guilty late Friday by a Whitfield County Jury on 12 felony counts including armed robbery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, use of a firearm during the commission of a crime and several violations of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act. Perez-Lucas is a documented member of the Sureno street gang. Superior Court Judge Cindy Morris presided over the trial and set sentencing for July 23, at 9 a.m. The state's case was presented by Assistant District Attorney Ian Whittle and University of Georgia law student intern Allison Parker with assistance from Detectives Jacob Burger and Matthew Kumnick of the Dalton Police Department. Perez-Lucas was represented by local attorney Anna Johnson. Evidence in the case was presented from June 30 to July 1, wrapping up near the end of the day. Judge Morris brought the Jury back Friday morning for instructions and they began deliberating thereafter, returning the verdict late in the afternoon. Attorneys Whittle and Parker called five witnesses and presented 23 exhibits including a video of the armed robbery and a recorded confession of the Defendant. The evidence established that Perez-Lucas and another individual, Sergio Alberto Perez, held a cashier and customers at gun point while they robbed the La Esquinita store on Hamilton Street. Each defendant had a hand gun during the robbery. Two children, ages 8 and 10, were present in the store during the robbery. The evidence also included a photograph of Perez-Lucas, taken two hours after the robbery, showing him with the firearm he used during the robbery and a large amount of currency fanned out for display. Over twelve thousand dollars was taken during the robbery. The defense argued that while Perez-Lucas was clearly a Sureno gang member, he was not the individual shown on the video and that his confession was false and intended to protect another gang member. Co-defendant, Sergio Perez, 22, pled guilty in April and was sentenced to Judge Morris to serve 35 years in prison. Perez had two prior felony drug convictions on his record prior to his involvement in the robbery. A third individual, Luiz Perez-Bautista, also pled guilty in April to making false statements to law enforcement in connection with the incident and was sentenced to probation. Perez-Lucas faces 10-20 years to life in prison on the armed robbery count, with any time served being without the possibility of parole. He faces a possible additional 20 years for aggravated assault, 10 years for false imprisonment, up to 20 years on each gang activity count and up to 5 years for possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime which, by law, must be served consecutively to (or back-to-back with) the underlying crime. While only 18 currently and only 16 at the time of the offense which occurred one month prior to his 17th birthday, Perez-Lucas claimed his gang affiliation since the age of 12 and had a history in Juvenile Court including gang activity and weapons charges prior to the current offense. Under Georgia law, juveniles age 14-16 who commit certain serious violent felonies, including armed robbery if committed with a firearm, are prosecuted as adults. Perez-Lucas has been in custody since his arrest in November of 2019 and will remain in custody pending the sentencing hearing. Jamie Lynn Spears rose to fame shortly after her big sister Britney Spears, but how old is the younger sister? Although the pop icon took the music world by storm, her younger sister thrived more through acting in those early years. How old was the young girl who joined her big sister in the movie Crossroads? What is the age gap between Jamie Lynn and Britney? Jamie Lynn Spears at the 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards | Image Group/LA/Disney Channel/Getty Images What is Jamie Lynn Spears age? When Britney Spears signed that monumental record deal with Jive Records in 1997, the soon-to-be pop icon was only 15. Her younger sister, Jamie Lynn, was only five years old. The sisters have a whopping 10 year age gap between them. Jamie Lynn Spears turned 30 years old on April 4, 2021, while her sister is 39 Britney turns 40 on Dec. 2. Dan Schneider was behind Jamie Lynn Spears big break In their mother, Lynne Spears memoir, Through the Storm, she details precisely how her youngest daughter ended up in Hollywood. When Jamie Lynn was only 10 years old, VH1 produced a segment on Britney Spears. The pop stars brother, Bryan Spears, and Jamie Lynn rapped a song together in the video. Someone from Nickelodeon saw the video and pointed out the little girl to Dan Schneider. He brought her down for an audition for All That. Jamie Lynn introduced the executive producer to a character she created, Thelma. Schneider loved Jamie Lynn and quickly added her to the All That cast. Happy Halloween from the PCA cheer squad! #Zoey101 pic.twitter.com/YvjJ4xg9aj Jamie Lynn Spears (@jamielynnspears) October 31, 2020 RELATED: Britney Spears Fans Petition to Remove Jaime Lynn Spears From Netflix Series Sweet Magnolias Jamie Lynn was a massive success on All That, so she pitched her own series idea, Zoey 101, to Dan Schneider. Again, the executive producer loved the idea. He saw how well Amanda Bynes spinoff, The Amanda Show, performed. So, Zoey 101 premiered in 2005. Jamie Lynn Spears pregnancy Jamie Lynn Spears daughter, Maddie Briann Aldridge, was born on June 19, 2008, in McComb, Mississippi. Since she was the star of Zoey 101, many fans speculated that the show was canceled because of Jamie Lynns pregnancy. However, the actor spoke out numerous times, stating that shooting had wrapped in the final season before she found out she was pregnant. The pregnancy was a shock to her family and made waves in the media because Jamie Lynn was 16. How cute is Maddie watching mom rehearse? Good luck at #CMAFest on Saturday @jamielynnspears! Wish I could be there! pic.twitter.com/3ZdqLgrU4S Britney Spears (@britneyspears) June 11, 2015 RELATED: Jamie Lynn Spears Turned off Instagram Comments After Britney Spears Testimony After we wrapped shooting, I just wanted to go home to Louisiana and finish high school, be a cheerleader, all that, the actor told Glamour in 2012. Then I found out I was pregnant. Is Britneys sister her conservator? Little sister Jamie Lynn is the trustee over the Toxic singers fortune, which protects the family assets for her children. However, that does not make Jamie Lynn a conservator. Although some news outlets reported that Jamie Lynn was attempting to assert more control over her sisters money, that doesnt seem to be the case. Britney established the trust in 2004 to protect her childrens future. According to the Los Angeles Times, a 2018 amendment to the trust cited that if Britney died, her trustee, Jamie Lynn Spears, would be responsible for distributing the familys assets for her children. Captain Marvel (portrayed by Brie Larson) and Captain America (portrayed by Chris Evans) fought in the United States and beyond. In addition, several Marvel movies and original television series are available on Disneys streaming platform, some of which celebrate patriotic themes perfect for the Fourth of July. Marvels original Disney+ series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier featuring Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson | Disney The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Its not easy to live up to the legacy of Steve Rogers. Still, this character trusted Sam Wilson to be the next Captain America. In this Marvel original series, fans saw this Avenger step into his new role and what that meant for his relationship with Bucky Barnes. Captain America: Civil War Heroes dont always agree with each other. When it came to The Sokovia Accords, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark argued over its agreement. Captain America: Civil War also featured one of Steve Rogers best friends, Bucky Barnes, known as the Winter Soldier and the White Wolf. RELATED: From The Falcon and The Winter Soldier to Disney Big Hero 6 The Series Here Are the New Television Shows Coming to Disney+ During March 2021 Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda in the Disney+ original series, WandaVision | Disney WandaVision These superheroes are an unusual couple. Despite some challenges with Thanos and problems retrieving Visions body, Wandas love for sitcoms inspired her life in Westview. Classic American television shows inspired each episode of WandaVision. That includes The Dick Van Dyke Show, Modern Family, The Brady Bunch, and Malcolm in the Middle. The first season of this Marvel series premiered on Disney+ in 2021. Now, all episodes are available for streaming. Captain America: The First Avenger Hes a super-soldier with a big heart. This movie takes place around World War II, with several characters enlisting in the fight against Naxi Germany. That included Steve Rogers, who, despite his size, was a viable candidate for the super serum. This hero rescued fellow soldiers, stopped the evil HYDRA organization (if only temporarily,) and made a date with Peggy Carter. Although he missed his date, Captain America became a legend and one of the first official Avengers. RELATED: From Captain America: The First Avenger to Hamilton Here Are the Most Patriotic Films to Watch on Disney+ This 4th of July Weekend Avengers: Infinity War It was all hands on deck for this Marvel movie. Although the final battle took place in Wakanda, some of Thanos minions traveled to New York to steal some Infinity Stones. When Tony Stark, Peter Parker, and Dr. Strange finally met Peter Quill, they conversed about being from Earth. Of course, Peter Quill said he was from Missouri. Stark was quick to say that Missouri is, in fact, on Earth. This movie was followed up with the blockbuster film, Avengers: Endgame, which is also available on Disneys subscription service. Most Marvel originals, including The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Avengers: Infinity War, are available on Disneys streaming platform. To learn more about Disney+, visit their website. The Pioneer Woman star Ree Drummond has made a massive name for herself as one of Food Networks most popular celebrity chefs. Shes written cookbooks, launched a magazine, and has even expanded into cookware and clothing. Though it might seem like Drummond did it all on her own while her rancher husband, Ladd, took care of the familys property, it turns out she credits Ladd for all my good ideas. The Pioneer Woman star Ree Drummond with her husband, Ladd Drummond, in 2017 | Monica Schipper/Getty Images for The Pioneer Woman Magazine The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummonds husband didnt know what a blog was when she started hers Drummond didnt set out to become famous. She was a stay-at-home mom living on a ranch in the middle of nowhere in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, when she decided to start a blog. Drummond thought she could discuss life on the ranch while providing photography tips, recipes, and more to her readers. But when she told Ladd she was going to start the passion project, he had no idea what a blog was. I said, Well, I dont know what a blog is, but knock yourself out, Ladd revealed in his introduction of Drummond at her Oklahoma Hall of Fame induction. Little did I know what I had unleashed, he added. The Pioneer Woman star Ree Drummond with her family in 2017 | Monica Schipper/Getty Images for The Pioneer Woman Magazine RELATED: The Pioneer Woman: Ree Drummonds Sweet Message to Husband Ladd Shows Off Their Rock-Solid Relationship Ree Drummond once revealed that she credits Ladd for all my good ideas Drummonds husband has certainly learned by now what a blog is. In the few years that followed Drummonds initial launch of her Pioneer Woman website, she gained millions of loyal readers. People wanted more from her recipes, which eventually led her to writing cookbooks. From there, she caught Food Networks attention, and her show The Pioneer Woman premiered back in 2011. Though it might appear that Drummond did it on her own, since shes the face of her brand, she has actually said in the past that this isnt the case. When accepting her hall of fame induction, Drummond revealed that Ladd has always been her biggest silent partner. Ladd really has been my strong silent partner in encouraging me and my career even before either of us knew it was a career, Drummond said. He wont take credit for anything ever, but I always tell Ladd that Ive gotten all my good ideas from him. Drummond has collaborated with her husband, such as when the two opened their hotel in downtown Pawhuska. She designed four of the rooms, and he designed the other four. The Pioneer Woman star Ree Drummond in 2019 | Tyler Essary/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank Ree and Ladd Drummond revealed that the Bible has helped keep their marriage strong The Drummonds have been married for 25 years. The two wed back in 1996, and theyve been at each others side ever since. When it comes to making their marriage work, theyve credited the Bible for keeping things strong. Ladd and I read the Bible, and we love that one verse that says, Do not store up on Earth that which moths and rust destroy, but store up treasures in heaven, Drummond once told PeopleTV. Drummond and her husband have raised four kids: Alex, Paige, Bryce, and Todd, and they recently took in foster son Jamar, who has become another member of their family. Cherokee Nation Dist. 15 Tribal Councilor Janees Taylor poses for a photograph with CN citizen and Korean War veteran George W. Tipton Sr. of Pryor on April 15, 2019. Tipton, 89, died in the fall of 2019. A June 26 vigil takes place where ground-penetrating radar recorded hits of what are believed to be 751 unmarked graves near the grounds of the former Marieval Indian Residential School on the Cowessess First Nation, Saskatchewan. Muslim father beats, poisons daughter for putting faith in Christ after miraculous healing Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A 38-year-old mother of three is recovering in a hospital in eastern Uganda after her Muslim father and other relatives attacked her with a blunt object and forced her to drink poison in her pastor's house, where she had been taking refuge since her conversion to Christianity following a miraculous healing. The father of the woman, identified as Hajat Habiiba Namuwaya from Namakoko village in Nangonde Sub-County of Namutumba District, and her other relatives arrived at her pastor's home on the morning of June 20, the victim recalled from her hospital bed, according to Morning Star News. He started beating and torturing me with a blunt object, inflicting bruises on my back, chest and legs, and finally forced me to drink poison, which I tried to resist but swallowed a little of it, Namuwaya, a former Islamic teacher, was quoted as saying. My father, Al-Hajji Mansuru Kiita, recited many Quranic verses cursing and denouncing me as no longer one of the family members, she added. The pastors neighbors heard her cries for help and thats when the Muslim relatives fled the scene. The pastor was not around when the attackers arrived, but a neighbor telephoned him, said Namuwaya, who accepted Christ in February. He feared to come immediately but later came and found me fighting for my life. I was rushed to the nearby clinic for first aid, and later I was taken to another place for treatment and prayers. She said she was restless with continuous pain in my stomach. The victim has found shelter at an undisclosed site and has not filed a police complaint, fearing retaliation from her relatives, including the possibility that they might file a false case against her or the church. Namuwaya put her faith in Christ on Feb. 24 after the pastor prayed for her and reportedly healed her from breast cancer. My mother warned me that the family was planning to kill me, she was quoted as saying. I shared my fears with the pastor, and the pastor together with his family accepted to host me, and freely I openly shared my new life in Christ with friends on WhatsApp, which landed me in trouble. A text message about her staying at the pastor's home reached her father, who then mobilized other relatives to track her down. While most people in Uganda are Christian, some eastern and central regions have higher concentrations of Muslims. The Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project shows that about 11.5% of Ugandas population is Muslim. Muslims in Uganda are primarily Sunni. The murder of and attacks on converts are not uncommon in the region. Radical Islams influence has grown steadily, and many Christians within the majority-Muslim border regions are facing severe persecution, especially those who convert from Islam, a Voice of the Martyrs factsheet explains. Despite the risks, evangelical churches in Uganda have responded by reaching out to their neighbors; many churches are training leaders how to share the Gospel with Muslims and care for those who are persecuted after they become Christians. Last December, a mob of Muslim extremists in Uganda reportedly killed 41-year-old former imam Yusuf Kintu a week after he converted to Christianity. Christian Florist Says Her Life Has Been 'Turned Upside Down' for Defending Beliefs on Gay Marriage Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Barronelle Stutzman, the Christian florist who was sued in 2013 by a longtime gay friend for refusing to provide flowers for his same-sex wedding, has said that the ongoing case has turned her life "upside down." "I often wonder what would happen if the tables were turned," she positioned in an op-ed for Fox News published on Saturday. "I find it hard to believe that if a lesbian floral artist served a Christian customer for years but declined to create special arrangements for his religious rally opposing same-sex marriage, the attorney general [Bob Ferguson] would accuse her of discriminating against Christians. So why does he insist that I am discriminating against gays and lesbians?" she asked. Last week, Stutzman saw the U.S. Supreme Court send her case back to a lower court for additional review. In effect, the Supreme Court vacated the 2017 decision from Washington state's highest court that went against Stutzman and her Arlene's Flowers company, leaving divided opinion on what the outcome will be. Some, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the same-sex couple who filed the suit against Stutzman, expressed confidence that a new ruling will again go against the Christian florist. "There is no evidence in Arlene's Flowers of anti-religious bias on the part of the Washington courts that ruled against the flower shop. In fact, the Washington courts have repeatedly recognized the importance of religious freedom," the ACLU said. Stutzman argued in the op-ed that because she has sought to practice her religious beliefs that marriage is solely a union between one man and one woman, the state of Washington has found her guilty of discriminating against gay people. "My state has been prosecuting me because I declined, for religious reasons, one request to celebrate one event for one gay customer a friend of mine named Rob, whom I'd been delighted to serve for nearly a decade," she wrote. "The Washington Supreme Court ruled against me last year with a decision that threatens to bankrupt my husband and me. But this week, the U.S. Supreme Court breathed new life into my case, sending it back to the Washington courts for further consideration." She explained that much like Colorado cake artist Jack Phillips, who recently earned a major Supreme Court victory in his own petition to have the right to refuse to make wedding cakes for same-sex ceremonies, she also serves everyone who comes into her floral shop. "I'm also a Christian, and that affects every part of my life, including my work. Because I believe that all people are made in the very image of God, I serve everyone who enters my shop and treat them with dignity and respect," she explained. "But this doesn't mean that I can agree to every request. If people ask for custom arrangements to celebrate events or express messages that run up against my religious beliefs, I have to say 'no.' (This is particularly true for events like weddings that I personally attend.) Even then, I'll gladly create something else for them, or sell them any of my ready-to-purchase items." She says that for nearly a decade, Rob Ingersoll, her gay friend, knew that she was a Christian, while she knew that he was gay, but that did not matter, as she created arrangements "celebrating his partner's birthday, their anniversary, Valentine's Day, and other important life events." Serving the wedding was one thing she says she couldn't do, however, because of her faith. Stutzman warned that unless the courts understand her position, "it won't just be Christians like me who have their lives thrown into disarray. All creative professionals who want to live their lives in a way that honors their beliefs about topics like religion and politics will be at risk. If their views catch the ire of the government, they too will face the whirlwind I've endured." Supreme Court Sends Case Against Christian Florist Who Refused to Work Gay Wedding Back to Lower Court Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The U.S. Supreme Court has vacated a ruling from Washington state's highest court against a Christian florist who was punished for refusing to provide services for a same-sex wedding. In an order released Monday, the high court vacated a 2017 ruling in Arlene's Flowers, Inc. v. Washington et al and sent the case back to the state Supreme Court for further consideration. In their order, the Supreme Court cited Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, in which the Justices ruled 7-2 that baker Jack Phillips was mistreated by the commission when they decided to punish him for refusing to design a cake for a same-sex wedding in 2012, when same-sex marriage wasn't legal in that state. "When the Colorado Civil Rights Commission considered this case, it did not do so with the religious neutrality that the Constitution requires," read the majority opinion in Masterpiece Cakeshop. "Given all these considerations, it is proper to hold that whatever the outcome of some future controversy involving facts similar to these, the commission's actions here violated the Free Exercise Clause; and its order must be set aside." In December 2012, Rob Ingersoll and Curt Freed became engaged to be married soon after Washington state legalized same-sex marriage. In March 2013, Ingersoll asked Stutzman to provide flowers for the wedding ceremony, having done business with her in the past. Stutzman declined due to her religious beliefs. Later that year, with the backing of the American Civil Liberties Union, the same-sex couple filed a lawsuit against Stutzman and her business, Arlene's Flowers. The Benton County Superior Court ruled in favor of the couple in 2015, fining the florist $1,001 and holding her responsible for paying the thousands of dollars in legal fees incurred by Ingersoll and Freed. In February 2017, the state Supreme Court ruled against Stutzman, arguing that she violated the Washington State Law Against Discrimination when she declined to make floral arrangements for a same-sex wedding. "Discrimination based on same-sex marriage constitutes discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation," wrote Associate Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud for the majority. "We therefore hold that the conduct for which Stutzman was cited and fined in this case refusing her commercially marketed wedding floral services to Ingersoll and Freed because theirs would be a same-sex wedding constitutes sexual orientation discrimination under the WLAD." The Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented Stutzman, filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, calling it the florist's "last stand." "For more than four years, Barronelle has endured the litigation in this case with unwavering grace, humility, and faith even as she faces losing everything she owns," the ADF said last year. "Now she will take her last stand before the U.S. Supreme Court, asking it to preserve her religious freedom and her right not to be forced to speak a message about marriage that violates her beliefs." Trump visits 'decimated' southern border, accuses Biden of 'destroying our country' Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment As the southwest border continues to experience a surge in migrant crossings, former President Donald Trump visited an unfinished portion of the border wall in Weslaco, Texas, accusing his successor of destroying our country. Earlier this month, Trump announced that he was planning to visit the nations decimated southern border. Two weeks after the former presidents plans to visit the border were made public, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that President Trump will join me and law enforcement officials for a border security briefing in Weslaco. Securing the border is not just important to Texasit is vital to America. TOMORROW President Trump will join me and law enforcement officials for a border security briefing in Weslaco. Watch on Facebook Live at 12 PM CT. pic.twitter.com/8S625nOqig Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 29, 2021 Upon taking office, President Joe Biden halted construction of the border wall and abolished the Trump administrations Remain in Mexico policy, which required those seeking asylum to wait in Mexico while their cases were adjudicated. Critics cite those decisions as the cause of the surge in illegal border crossings. Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows that the number of encounters between migrants and law enforcement officials has exceeded 100,000 and has continuously increased, reaching 180,034 in May. The number of border crossings in May marked a slight increase from the number of immigrants who illegally entered the country in April (178,854) and a substantial increase from the number of crossings in May 2020 (23,237). In all of fiscal year 2020, there were 458,088 encounters between migrants and law enforcement officials. In fiscal year 2021, that number has already reached 929,868, even with four months to go. Trump and Abbott made remarks in front of a partially completed border wall in the border town of Weslaco, located near McAllen. They were joined by more than two dozen Republican members of Congress. At the event, Trump bluntly proclaimed that Biden is destroying our country before asserting that the situation at the border would look much different if he was still in office. This wall would have been completed, he said. Within two months, everything could have been completed. It would have been painted, not sitting there rotting and rusting. Prior to arriving at the unfinished section of the border wall, Trump attended the border security briefing, where Abbott and other local officials focused on the rise in illegal border crossings and the rapid increase in the importation of the deadly drug ... fentanyl. At the meeting, Trump touted his record on immigration, specifically highlighting the construction of hundreds of miles of border wall on his watch. The former president contrasted the state of border security under his administration with that of his successor, recalling how there had never been a border so secure as it was during his presidency. He lamented that after leaving office with the best border weve ever had in the history of our country, it dissipated within a period of a few months. Now, we have an open, really dangerous border, more dangerous than its ever been in the history of our country, he added. We have a sick country in many ways. Its sick in elections and its sick at the border. And if you dont have good elections and if you dont have a strong border, you dont have a country, Trump warned. Trumps visit to the border comes five days after Vice President Kamala Harris, designated by President Joe Biden as the border czar earlier this year, visited El Paso, which is 790 miles away from what Democratic Rep. Henrey Cuellar has described as the "epicenter" of the border crisis. Conservatives criticized her visit to El Paso as an attempt to get ahead of Trumps planned visit and an effort to avoid spotlighting the problem since the epicenter of the border crisis is hundreds of miles away in the Rio Grande Valley. The former president himself took a jab at Harris as he closed his remarks at the border security briefing, noting that were going to the border right now but were going to the real part of the border where theres real problems, not the part where you look around and you dont see anything. Appearing on Fox News Watters World Saturday, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, argued that the reason that she didnt go to the Rio Grande Valley is thats where the Biden cages are. Thats where you see cage after cage after cage of little boys and little girls on the floor, no beds, no mats, no cots, side-by-side, one after the other after the other, wrapped in reflective emergency blankets. What Kamala and Joe Biden desperately wanted to avoid is the TV cameras filming those kids in the Biden cages, so she went as far away as you can go in the state of Texas from where that was to say she went to the border, he added. Cruz also contended that when she went to El Paso ... she had no solutions, she had no answers. Ahead of his visit to the border, Trump wrote an op-ed for The Washington Times calling on the Biden administration to finish the border wall. According to the former president, Our nation is being destroyed by Bidens border crisis. The United States must immediately restore the entire set of border security and immigration enforcement measures we put into place and critically, we must finish the wall. A nation without borders is not a nation at all, he wrote. For the sake of our country, Joe Biden must finish sealing the border, or the American people must elect a Congress that will. In the absence of action from the Biden administration to address the border crisis, Abbott has taken steps at the state level to secure the border, which he touched upon at the border security briefing. We launched Operation Lone Star where we deployed 1,000 Texas Department of Public Safety officers as well as Texas National Guard, and they have already arrested almost 1,800 people for criminal violations in addition to about 40,000 apprehensions of people who have come across the border illegally and they have busted 41 stash houses. Abbott had previously detailed plans to spend $250 million to continue constructing a border wall between the state of Texas and Mexico. As The Christian Post previously reported, the migrant surge has led to overcrowded conditions at border detention facilities, leading to children sleeping on the floor and outbreaks of the coronavirus. Cruz tried to film the conditions at a border facility as a member of the Biden administration stood in his way in an effort to prevent him from capturing footage showing the conditions migrants were living in. Google implements changes to Chromebooks amid complaints of kids accessing pornography Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Google has announced additional safety measures for its Chromebook product after being put on the National Center on Sexual Exploitation's Dirty Dozen List" because of the lack of safeguards for children. In February, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation placed Google Chromebook on its annual list of companies and entities complicit in perpetuating sexual exploitation in any form. At issue, were the lack of safety measures on Chromebook laptops especially those given to students by schools to restrict access to graphic content like pornography. In an announcement Tuesday, Google stated that its taking measures to make Chromebooks safer for students enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade. Were launching a new age-based access setting to make it easier for admins to tailor experiences for their users based on age when using Google services like YouTube, Photos and Maps, wrote Jennifer Holland, director of education program management at Google. Starting today, all admins from primary and secondary institutions must indicate which of their users, such as their teachers and staff, are 18 and older using organizational units or groups in Admin Console. Holland explained that after Sept. 1, students who are under 18 will see changes in their experience across Google products. For example, after September 1, students designated as under 18 in K-12 domains can view YouTube content assigned by teachers, but they wont be able to post videos, comment or live stream using their school Google account, she continued. If admins dont make a selection by September 1, primary and secondary institutions users will all default to the under-18 experience, while higher-education institutions users will default to the 18-and-older experience. While several schools already use tools like SafeSearch and SafeSites, Holland said Google is updating their defaults to ensure a safer web browsing experience for K-12 institutions. Now, SafeSearch and SafeSites will be on by default, and Guest Mode and Incognito Mode will be off by default. Admins can still change each of these policies on Chrome OS for individual organization units, wrote Holland. The Google for Education team is committed to creating tools and services that are secure by default and private by design, all the while giving you complete control over your environment. NCOSE CEO Dawn Hawkins said the changes will keep millions of kids safer. These crucial improvements will drastically limit the amount of exposure to harmful content and potential predators through school-issued Chromebooks, Hawkins said in a statement. These changes will also greatly ease the burden on administrators and teachers who are often left without sufficient IT support to try to figure out how to turn on all the safety features. Chromebooks landed on the 2021 Dirty Dozen List, NCOSE said, because Google "refused to take simple measures that would significantly reduce kids exposure to pornography and predators through Chromebooks. The organization reported that there were "countless" stories and personal accounts of children "accessing harmful material through their school-issued Chromebooks" at school and at home. Last November, two families sent a letter to school officials in Montgomery County, Maryland, claiming that their children as young as 9 years old were exposed to hundreds of pornographic websites through their school-issued Chromebooks. Hes a little boy, and he saw things that no one should see, especially a child, one of the fathers told The Washington Post. NCOSE warns that with overburdened school administrators and teachers trying to navigate new technology during the pandemic, "devices are often left insufficiently protected" and leave "children even more vulnerable to accessing harmful material like pornography and being accessed themselves by predators." Nearly 100 test positive for COVID-19 after Illinois megachurch camp and conference Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Nearly 100 mostly unvaccinated teenagers and adults connected to a camp and conference recently held by the Illinois-based multi-campus The Crossing Church have tested positive for COVID-19, prompting Gov. J.B. Pritzker to reiterate his call for residents to get vaccinated. Warning of a growing presence of a highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant in his state by fall, Pritzker said the unvaccinated could pay the price for their complacency. The lessons here at home and across the world are a harbinger of what could happen here, particularly in low vaccinated areas, if we dont see a higher uptake of the vaccine across Illinois, Pritzker said at a news conference Monday. This is very real. I implore all residents: If you have friends and family on the fence, share with them the life-saving benefits of these free vaccines and encourage them to remain masked until they are fully vaccinated." The Illinois Department of Public Health reported that 85 teenagers and an adult staff member tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a summer youth camp held in mid-June in central Illinois. One unvaccinated young adult was hospitalized. A WGEM report identified the camp as The Crossing Camp held in Schuyler County from June 13 to June 17. Two persons from the camp also attended a nearby conference hosted by The Crossing Church on June 18 and June 19. An additional 11 persons tested positive for COVID-19, and at least 70% of those cases were unvaccinated, according to IDPH. Although all campers and staff were eligible for vaccination, IDPH is aware of only a handful of campers and staff receiving the vaccine. The camp was not checking vaccination status and masking was not required while indoors. IDPH is reminding people about the importance of vaccination, including youth, as the Delta variant and other variants continue to spread, the agency said in a statement Monday. IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said that although the "perceived risk to children may seem small," even a "mild case of COVID-19 can cause long-term health issues." "Additionally, infected youth who may not experience severe illness can still spread the virus to others, including those who are too young to be vaccinated or those who dont build the strong expected immune response to the vaccine," Ezike said in a statement. The Crossing Church, which hosts approximately 10,000 worshipers weekly across multiple campuses in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa, did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Christian Post Wednesday. But a message on Crossing Camps website confirmed the COVID-19 outbreak and announced that an upcoming camp for fourth and fifth graders is postponed as a result. Due to a recent outbreak of COVID 19 related to Student Camp June 13-17, we have made the difficult decision to postpone our 4th & 5th-grade Crossing Camp. We were so looking forward to spending time with your campers this weekend, but we believe the best way to value and love our students, difference makers, and staff is to delay camp until a safer time, the camp said in a statement. 4th & 5th-grade camp will now be held August 12-15. The message did not indicate whether or not the church camp would change its current COVID-19 protocols. The Schuyler County Health Department stated to CNN that officials worked with camp staffers "to provide guidance and mitigate the situation." The Crossing Camp also reportedly followed CDC guidelines related to "cleaning and disinfection of their facility." Singapore churches team with gov't, tech companies to combat online radicalism Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The Catholic Church and religious and community organizations in Singapore have teamed up with the government and social media companies to help combat cyber radicalism and understand how to expand their online presence. Singapores Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth inaugurated the initiative last Saturday amid concerns over cyber indoctrination and radicalism, The Union of Catholic Asian News reports. Tech giants Facebook, Google, Twitter and TikTok will host three workshops from June to August to help churches and organizations strengthen their online presence and understand how to react to radical content posted online, especially when dealing with sensitive religious and racial issues. Twitter hosted its digital media workshop last week. The goal is to inform religious organizations on turning youth away from extremist content about race and religion that has permeated the internet, especially during the pandemic. Gina Goh, regional manager for Southeast Asia for International Christian Concern, a global religious persecution watchdog organization, commended this move in an email statement sent to The Christian Post. The pandemic has resulted in the increase of internet usage for people, Goh wrote. Unfortunately, extremism finds its entry to the internet users minds if the latter lack the ability to discern. Left unchecked, people will be radicalized and encouraged to take action against religious venues or people of faith. It is great to see the Singaporean government take necessary measures to educate local communities on the importance of filtering out terrorism and extremism online, she continued. Several cases of cyber-radicalism in Singapore spurred the initiative. The initiative comes following the arrest of a 16-year-old Chrisitan student in January accused of plotting attacks on two mosques to kill Muslims on the March anniversary of the Christchurch mosque shootings. The teen was arrested under the Internal Security Act. The student was reportedly influenced by the extremism of Australian Brenton Tarran, who killed 50 people in the New Zealand mosque in 2019. Abbas Ali Mohamed Anas, an ambassador of Roses for Peace, an interfaith youth platform, also believes this initiative is a step in the right direction. Without proper guidance and information to navigate this digital space, we face the risk of online radicalization and hate speech among our youth, he said, according to The Straits Times. We need to counter this worrying trend by facilitating conversations responsibly through messages of peace, love and harmony. Alvin Tan, minister of state for culture, community and youth, said that more people moving online during the pandemic has increased the risk of divisive content on social media. He called it a worrying trend that needs to be countered. "While social media has the power to divide, it also has the power to unite," Tan said, according to UCA News. "Our technology partners are working with us to positively influence online spaces so that we can grow common ground in our community." The Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore and the National Council of Churches in Singapore are among the organizations participating in the training sessions. Others include the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, the Taoist Federation and the Hindu Endowments Board. Facebook's head of public policy in Singapore, Clara Koh, said: "hate, intolerance and extremism are not what we want on Facebook." "They have no place, she said during the program's launch event. We believe that positive speech can be a bulwark against destructive speech. That's why we're here to help community organizations amplify their calls to action and effectively build bridges in the online space." Buddhism is the leading religion in Singapore, followed by Christianity, Islam, Taoism and Hinduism. The island country in Southeast Asia has a population of nearly 6 million people. UK-based Methodist Church votes to approve gay marriage, recognize cohabitating couples Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The Methodist Church of the United Kingdom passed resolutions to approve the blessing of same-sex unions and recognize cohabitating couples. The London-based Methodist Conference announced Wednesday that it has voted to confirm the resolutions at its gathering held in Birmingham. A report on marriage and relationships, God in Love Unites Us, was received by the Conference in 2019 and the local District Synods were asked to consider the provisional resolutions and report back to this years Conference, a statement detailed. The Conference received a report on the results of the local conferring which showed that 29 out of the 30 Synods confirmed support for the provisional resolutions. The conference voted 256-45 to allow its ministers to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies and for churches to be locations for such services. The Rev. Sonia Hicks, the conference's new president, said in a statement that the debate over the resolutions has been conducted with grace and mutual respect. As we move forward together after this historic day for our Church, we must remember to continue to hold each other in prayer, and to support each other respecting our differences, Hicks said. Regarding cohabitation, the conference approved a resolution stating that it recognises that the love of God is present either through informal cohabitation or a more formal commitment entered into publicly. As a Church we wish to celebrate that the love of God is present in these circumstances, even if that grace is not responded to or even discerned by the people concerned, continued the resolution. The Church has an important calling, therefore, to point to the presence of Gods love within such relationships, and to encourage people to respond to it in the renewing and deepening (by whatever means) of their commitment. The Rev. David Hull, chair of Methodist Evangelicals Together, a group that opposed the resolutions, called it a very sad day for the Methodist Church. It's heartbreaking really to see where we've come and the way in which we've got here, and many of us have wept over it, Hull said in an interview with Premier. In spite of these votes, there are many, many Methodists who still believe that Jesus offers a unique vision for life one that is rooted deeply in the Bible, that is better than the world has ever known, better than the world will ever know and that includes this teaching on marriage and relationships. Others have taken to social media to voice their support of the resolutions. "I am absolutely thrilled that the Methodist Conference has overwhelmingly voted to allow same-sex marriage in their churches," Jayne Ozanne, a gay Anglican evangelical activist and founder of the Ozanne Foundation, tweeted. "This reflects the significant shift that there has been amongst Christian attitudes in England." As we begin to recover and rebuild from the pandemic, many entrepreneurs are coping with challenging business setbacks, lost profits and, in some cases, restarting completely anew after they had to shutter their doors. But entrepreneurs are used to remaining eternal optimists amid chaos and unpredictability, whether that's emerging from Covid-19 or rebounding from personal tragedies, the loss of goods, lawsuits or even just the need to pivot in the direction of their value proposition. That resiliency can serve as fuel and motivation to all founders and reaffirm that hard times can be a platform for the next big thing. The following examples of founders who have recently created innovative solutions to their own problems or global challenges might even inspire you in your own business pursuits. Related: AI Innovations Continue to Revolutionize Healthcare Turning illnesses into purpose Oftentimes its a personal crisis during a founders life that can lead to new clarity and purpose. Even tragedies close to home can result in a renewed impact for communities at large, simply because their perspectives have changed and theyre ready to do more. Many say that near-death experiences cause them to better assess what they want their mark on the world to be. Daniel Badran is no exception. As the founder of energy efficiency service company Minimise, he started his company after a battle with cancer sabotaged his ability to speak for three years. During this tragic time, he doubled-down on building a business that could help the world from a sustainability standpoint. Other founders create businesses to immediately address the types of personal tragedies theyve encountered, such as Johnny Crowder. Crowder created Cope Notes, a text-messaging platform that provides mental-health support to subscribers. This service was born out of his own mental health struggles, as Crowder has coped with schizophrenia, OCD and bipolar disorder all of his life. There is no more admirable entrepreneur than someone who has overcome the very difficulties their innovation seeks to remedy. This has the potential for significant impact when that innovation has a direct influence on others' health and happiness. Take Dr. Patricia Lawman, the CEO of Morphogenesis, a company that helps to assist bodies to fight on their own against chronic diseases. Dr. Lawman is also the division director of Cancer Molecular Biology for the Walt Disney Institute, and her groundbreaking technology and service is an homage to those she knows who are struggling with chronic illness. Related: 5 Technological Innovations Changing Medical Practice Rising to the challenges that the world is facing In a time of so much mass suffering and so many challenges, entrepreneurs have lent a discerning eye to what they can do to help. Companies such as Louis Vuitton have access to factories and supplies and were able to quickly step up to the plate with PPE equipment during the height of the pandemic. Jon Fisher is the founder of CrowdOptic, a company he started when he noticed the medical demands rising when Covid-19 began its deadly spread. Fisher and CrowdOptic partnered with National Bioskills Laboratories to help all medical communities through AI and bioskills when it was most needed. The concept was to remove the geographical barriers and ensure that medical professionals could work together remotely, assisted by the technology, and apply their findings and new skills immediately to their work in patient care. Covid-19 sparked significant financial fears for many as well. Justin Donald felt called to help others who were struggling financially during the pandemic and in the aftermath, and he channeled everything hes learned about building an income through investing to help other individuals create wealth while still searching for a new job. For some, it even became a side hustle to support their families. Each of these examples proves that hard times dont defeat everyone. They may just provide the fertile ground for big, bold and life-changing ideas, especially when executed from a place of passion. While hard times are difficult, they fundamentally change the way that we work and live, and the entrepreneurs who rise to this occasion and contribute their talents, time and innovations to make the world a better place are dearly appreciated by all. Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Another holiday weekend in the U.S., another ransomware attack that has paralyzed businesses around the world. This time it's affecting an untold number of small and big companies that use IT software from a company called Kaseya. High-profile ransomware attacks in May hit the worlds largest meat-packing company and the biggest U.S. fuel pipeline, underscoring how gangs of extortionist hackers can disrupt the economy and put lives and livelihoods at risk. WHAT IS RANSOMWARE? HOW DOES IT WORK? Ransomware scrambles the target organizations data with encryption. The criminals leave instructions on infected computers for negotiating ransom payments. Once paid, they provide decryption keys for unlocking those files. Ransomware crooks have also expanded into data-theft blackmail. Before triggering encryption, they sometimes quietly copy sensitive files and threaten to post them publicly unless they get their ransom payments. WHAT'S A SUPPLY-CHAIN ATTACK? The latest attack affecting Kaseya customers combines a ransomware operation with what's known as a supply-chain attack, which typically involves sneaking malicious code into a software update automatically pushed out to thousands of organizations. Kaseya says the ransomware affected its product for remotely monitoring networks; but because many of its clients are providers of broader IT management services, a large number of organizations is likely to be affected. What makes this attack stand out is the trickle-down effect, from the managed service provider to the small business, said John Hammond of the security firm Huntress Labs. Kaseya handles large enterprise all the way to small businesses globally, so ultimately, it has the potential to spread to any size or scale business. Until now, the best-known recent supply-chain attack was attributed to elite Russian hackers and targeted software provider SolarWinds. But the motive was different; it was a massive intelligence operation targeting government agencies and others, not an attempt to extort money. HOW DO RANSOMWARE GANGS OPERATE? The criminal syndicates that dominate the ransomware business are mostly Russian-speaking and operate with near impunity out of Russia and allied countries. Though barely a blip three years ago, the syndicates have grown in sophistication and skill. They leverage dark web forums to organize and recruit while hiding their identities and movements with sophisticated tools and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin that make payments and their laundering harder to track. Most experts have tied the Kaseya attack to a group known as REvil, the same ransomware provider that the FBI linked to an attack on JBS SA, a major global meat processor, amid the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Active since April 2019, the group provides ransomware-as-a-service, meaning it develops the network-paralyzing software and leases it to so-called affiliates who infect targets and earn the lions share of ransoms. WHO IS AFFECTED? The scale of the attack affecting Kaseya is not yet clear, but it's already been blamed for closing stores across a grocery chain in Sweden because their cash registers werent working. Last year alone in the U.S., ransomware gangs hit more than 100 federal, state and municipal agencies, upwards of 500 health care centers, 1,680 educational institutions and untold thousands of businesses, according to the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft. Dollar losses are in the tens of billions. Accurate numbers are elusive. Many victims shun reporting, fearing the reputational blight. My father lives in a crumbling house. Tile is missing from the bathroom walls, and in the well-worn hallways, my dad has used blue painter's tape to keep patches of burgundy carpet in place. Before I had it replaced, the floor in the dining area was a mismatch of linoleum tile that did nothing to hide or fix the large hole forming between the kitchen and the laundry room. Despite its state of disrepair, the house means a great deal to my father. Both of my parents were born and raised in poverty and there were no homeowners in their families. My father was the first to strike out on his own in the United States, eventually becoming a U.S. citizen through marriage to my mom. When I was a teenager, my mother was a housekeeper, my father a janitor and together they took a chance on homeownership, signing a 30-year mortgage to pay off their $150,000 American Dream. Twenty-two years have passed since my parents signed on that dotted line. My mom has since died and there is still a $90,000 debt to pay. Each night when we are on the phone, my dad talks about retirement obsessively. There is a lot to sort out - paperwork to sign, debts to pay off, budgets to create - and of his three children, I am the one who will help him make sense of it. I can tell he is both anxious and delighted at the prospect of simply doing nothing. His first job was when he was 8 years old, sweeping the floors of a local pharmacy where he grew up in Mexico. He has spent 62 years laboring in two different countries. At 70, he still works as a janitor. He is understandably tired, but as his excitement grows at the thought of a life without work, my anxiety rises because I am his retirement plan. Some days he talks about returning to Mexico. Others, my dad is staunch in his desire to continue living alone. More than a few times he's mentioned moving in with me. Interestingly, my two older brothers do not make an appearance in these conversations. While the exact plan is murky, what's clear is that the shape his retirement takes is completely out of my hands, though I will be the person tasked with making it a reality. How do I explain to my dad that our conversations about his retirement are experiments in magical thinking - a fantasy in which men like him get the rest they deserve without worry or care or consequence for daughters like me? I moved to North Carolina in 2016 when I got my first real job in journalism. I was 30 years old, newly engaged and living a life free of my family for the first time. When I packed up all my baggage into a minivan and headed east, I felt guilt and shame for leaving my widowed father behind - no matter that I grew up enduring his violence. I was raised in a culture in which we take care of our elders, and by moving across the country, I was breaking code as a good Mexican daughter. My cousins, who are in their 30s and 40s and still living with my aunt and uncle, asked, "How could you leave your dad?" There was no tidy way to explain how much I loved my father, and how much his explosive temper and constant negativity were like toxic sludge pulling me under. So I didn't say anything at all. I just left, and I committed to using the time away honorably by becoming a healthier person. Without the constant drumbeat of family chaos hovering over everything and ripping me away from the work I felt called to do, I became a happier person. I learned to set boundaries. I excelled at work, and I even began to make decent money, which meant I was forced to develop financial literacy after growing up in a family with none. In six years I built a life and a savings account, and I can see my father's retirement barreling toward North Carolina to destabilize me. In old age, my once violent father has started to show some tenderness, but he remains a mass of trauma, a black hole of need that I worry will swallow me up. Initially, providing support to my dad was my idea - it was both a privilege and an obligation I did not take lightly. It made me proud to send money home to California every pay period, the Mexican American version of the remittances my father sent to family in Mexico since stepping foot in the United States as an undocumented immigrant in the 1970s. As time has gone on, his need for support has grown exponentially - after all, his federal taxes, water heater and property taxes weren't going to pay for themselves. To be clear: My father has never directly asked me for money. In my family, it is simply understood that I am the fixer of all sorts of problems and my dad's primary problem is that he doesn't make enough to sustain his already meager lifestyle. From 3,000 miles away, I'm still my dad's daily sounding board, listening on speakerphone each night as he assigns me a to-do list or yells and curses about an indignity he suffered while I scroll through the UberEats app and order him dinner. I have two older brothers who for more than a decade have suffered from debilitating mental health issues and substance dependency. There have been moments of hope for them and for me - windows of clarity and sobriety in which I thought my brothers were getting back to themselves and that I was regaining siblings I could commiserate with and rely on to help support my dad. Those dreams are always dashed, so I am making peace with the understanding that my dad is my responsibility and mine alone. I always think about this when I go home to spend time with my dad. My brothers have lived in Texas for years and almost never visit, so they do not know the state of decay my dad's house has fallen into or the way that the neighborhood has changed. Small, old houses like my dad's are getting bought up for $500,000 and bulldozed, once-sacred spaces razed to make room for McMansions. To have any chance of paying off his house in his lifetime, my dad would have to sell it - the place where my mother and uncle died; the place where he and I have spent years tangling and figuring out how to be a family. Ending his chapter of work will require hard decisions about what to sell and what to keep, about what to hang onto and what to let go of; we will have to decide if we can sacrifice everything we have individually known and built to coexist in the same space one final time. When I talk to my dad and try to drill down on the details of how his retirement is going to work financially, it goes nowhere.Often, he derails the conversations with jokes about writing a memoir or strange tangents about moving to Venezuela, where he doesn't know a soul. Sometimes he talks about adopting a puppy. In these moments I realize he's worried about how he's going to fill his free time, and maybe just as scared about the mechanics of retirement as I am. But he can't bring himself to talk to me about it. He doesn't like to rely on me as much as he does, but here we are. So, what are we going to do? The other day, my dad told me that when he retires he wants me to fly to Los Angeles to film him making his final exit from the hospital where he has worked as a janitor for almost two decades. I asked him what he would discuss in the video. "My next chapter of life," he said. "And what does that entail?" I asked. "I don't know," he said. "I guess we'll see." - - - This story first appeared in The Washington Post's The Lily publication. MANISTEE The Manistee City Council could vote to approve the sale of city-owned marina property at its upcoming meeting. Fricanos Manistee River, LLC, owner of 440 River St., would like to purchase a portion of the Manistee Municipal Marina property that is attached to the north side of the building and some property that is to the west of the building. They have agreed to pay $30,000. The marina property was developed with the assistance of a grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Waterways Commission, and so the city is required to get their consent and approval for the sale, according to the meeting agenda. Related: 'Massive cosmetic improvements' coming as Boathouse Grill property becomes Fricano's If approved, proceeds from the sale will go into a restricted fund to be used for marina improvements. Fricanos owner Ted Fricano has also requested the transfer of an Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Exemption certificate for 440 River St. from Chemical Bank. Council could take action Tuesday to approve a resolution approving the certificate transfer to Fricanos Manistee River. A development agreement with Little River Holdings LLC and the city Brownfield Development Authority is also on the agenda. Related: How Manistee's industrial past may lead to Gateway project's brownfield money Here's where the Manistee Gateway project stands during 'quiet phase' The City and Little River Holdings, LLC, have been working on securing an EGLE grant and loan for demolition and environmental remediation for the Gateway Project. EGLE has indicated that the city and project qualify for a Brownfield redevelopment grant of $700,000 and loan of $800,000, the agenda states. EGLE requires a resolution and application as part of the application process for these funds. The council may also consider a resolution accepting the $700,00 grant and $800,000 EGLE loan for brownfield redevelopment and authorize the interim city manager and city financial officer to execute any needed documents including the application. Other items on the agenda include: Consideration of applications to boards and commissions: Compensation Commission, Historic District Commission, PEG Commission, Tree Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals. A report from Manistee County Blacker Airport director Barry Lind. Consideration of Salt City Rock & Blues to hold its Laborfest event on Sept. 4-5. Consideration of granting a temporary activity permit for the Benzie County Conservation District to hold boat washing events at city boat launches throughout the summer and fall. Consideration of a request by the Manistee City Police Department to purchase a 2021 Dodge Durango SXT AWD from Watsons Manistee Chrysler for $27,608 and upfitting for $1,154. Consideration of accepting a waterways grant agreement for the Manistee Marina Dock Replacement phase two project. Consideration of a 2021 Fiscal Year budget amendment. The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Manistee City Hall, located at 70 Maple St. Visit manisteemi.gov for the meeting agenda and additional information. A video of the meeting will be available at manisteetv.com. A 4-year-old with a disability that affects his mobility is now able to get around more easily thanks to the generosity and innovation of a high school student from Purchase, N.Y. The Cerebral Palsy of Westchester of Rye Brook, N.Y., welcomed Leo Rosen to the campus of its United Preschool Center, where he presented an F-150 retrofitted tiny truck to a student with special needs. I am interested in becoming an engineer, I love to build, and I want to do whatever I can to help others, Rosen told United Preschool Director Marcy Weintraub. Rosen handed over the keys to the 4-year-old student in April. Joined by family, CPW and UPC staff, the boy took a test drive in his truck, which was built to satisfy his specific needs, allowing him to move around easily by way of this battery-boosted ride. The event was a culmination of a process that started last summer, when Rosen had reached out to Cerebral Palsy of Westchester, looking for a child who could benefit from such a car or truck. He had received a donation of several trucks from the Connecticut GoBabyGo Collaborative in Hamden, which takes donated Fisher Price ride-on toy vehicles and outfits them for young children with disabilities, providing them the opportunity to move around independently. With oversight via Zoom from an engineer who has experience with GoBabyGo modifications, as well as insight from the United Preschools occupational therapist Rosemary Kuttiyara, the teen modified the truck in his familys garage. Additionally, Kuttiyara helped Rosen put together proper operational instructions for the childs parents. He is now adapting three other tiny cars that were donated by the Connecticut GoBabyGo Collaborative for other local preschool-aged children with disabilities. A student at St. Georges School in Rhode Island, Rosen spent much of the past year studying remotely from his home in Purchase and came up with this project to keep himself engaged during quarantine. He is looking to outfit more cars for CPWs UPC students, and wants to find slightly bigger vehicles that could be modified for older school-age children with disabilities. I love making kids happy, he said as he watched the child successfully drive around on his new power wheels. The GoBabyGo program began in 2012 to provide children with disabilities the opportunity for movement, mobility, and socialization by building ride-on cars. For more information, visit www.udel.edu/gobabygo. The United Preschool Center at 456 North St. in White Plains, N.Y., offers an integrated learning experience for children with and without disabilities. It is a division of Cerebral Palsy of Westchester. Now in its 72nd year, Cerebral Palsy of Westchester provides services to children and adults with all developmental disabilities including autism, neurological impairments, intellectual disabilities, epilepsy and cerebral palsy. For more information, visit cpwestchester.org. Battleship Texas will open one last time before leaving Houston This may be your last chance to visit the ship so close to Houston. Texas GOP complains about slavery's role in Battle of the Alamo Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick confirmed on Twitter that he called for the event to be canceled. Abbott,... CHADBOURN, N.C. (AP) Three people were killed and one was injured after a shooting erupted overnight in a small southeastern North Carolina town, authorities said. The Chadbourn Police Department got a call about shots fired around 3:45 a.m. Saturday, according to a news release from a local prosecutor. The shots rang out in a parking lot next to a building where a large party was in progress," the news release said. CAIRO (AP) Libyan delegates failed to agree on a legal framework to hold presidential and parliamentary elections later this year, the U.N. said Saturday, putting an agreed-upon roadmap to end the conflict there in jeopardy. The Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, a 75-member body from all walks of life in Libya, concluded its five days of talks in a hotel outside Geneva on Friday, the U.N. support mission in Libya said. Participants in the U.N.-brokered talks discussed several proposals for a constitutional basis for the elections, including some that were not consistent with the roadmap that set the vote on Dec. 24. Others sought to establish preconditions to hold elections as planned, the mission said. The U.N. mission said the LPDF members have created a committee tasked with bridging the gap among the proposals put before the forum. But the deadlock remained. It is regrettable, said Raisedon Zenenga, the missions coordinator. The people of Libya will certainly feel let down as they still aspire to the opportunity to exercise their democratic rights in presidential and parliamentary elections on December 24. The mission urged forum members to continue consultations to agree on a workable compromise and cement what unites them. It warned that proposals which do not make the elections feasible and possible to hold elections on 24 December will not be entertained. This is not the outcome that many of us had hoped for, but it is the better outcome given the options that were on the table, Elham Saudi, a forum member, wrote on Twitter. This only delays the battle, but does not resolve the issues. Over two dozen LPDF members criticized the U.N. mission for its proposal that the forum vote on suggestions that included keeping the current government in power, and only holding legislative elections. Richard Norland, the U.S. special envoy for Libya, accused several members of the forum of apparently trying to insert poison pills to ensure elections will not happen either by prolonging the constitutional process or by creating new conditions that must be met for elections to occur. We hope the 75 Libyans in the LPDF will re-dedicate themselves to allowing the 7 million Libyans throughout the country to have a voice in shaping Libyas future, he said. Christian Buck, director of Middle East and North Africa at the German Foreign Ministry, urged the LPDF members to stick to the roadmap to elections in December. Any postponement would open doors to dangerous scenarios, he tweeted, without elaborating. The government, led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, was appointed by the forum earlier this year in a vote mired in corruption allegations. Its main mandate is to prepare the country for December elections in hopes of stabilizing the divided nation. Libya has been plagued by corruption and turmoil since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. In recent years, the country was split between a U.N.-supported government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities based in the countrys east. Each side was backed by armed groups and foreign governments. The U.N. estimated in December there were at least 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries in Libya, including Turkish troops, Syrians, Russians, Sudanese and Chadians. In April 2019, east-based commander Khalifa Hifter and his forces, backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, launched an offensive to try to capture Tripoli. Hifters 14-month campaign collapsed after Turkey stepped up its military support of the U.N.-backed government with hundreds of troops and thousands of Syrian mercenaries. An October cease-fire agreement led to a deal on the December elections and a transitional government that took office in February. The deal included a demand that all foreign fighters and mercenaries leave Libya within 90 days, but that demand has yet to be met. WARSAW, Poland (AP) Former European Union leader and ex-Prime Minister Donald Tusk was elected head of the strongest party in Poland's fragmented opposition on Saturday. Tusk, 64, said he is returning to Polish politics and to the opposition Civic Platform party to help fight the evil of the current right-wing government. His comeback is expected to reignite the bitter political rivalry of decades with Jaroslaw Kaczynski, 72, the leader and chief strategist of the Law and Justice party that now runs the government with two small partners. Tusk co-founded Civic Platform, a center-liberal party, in 2001. It ruled Poland for eight years most of the time with Tusk as prime minister before the current conservative team won power in 2015. "I know that many Poles were waiting for this black dream to be over, Tusk said about the current government of Law and Justice that has put Poland on a collision course with the EU. Today, evil rules in Poland and we are ready to fight against this evil Tusk said. The EU and its court have opened procedures against Poland's current government, saying its changes to the justice system and opposition to some EU decisions, including on relocation of migrants, have gone against the 27-member bloc's principles and undermine democracy. Massive street protests have been held against changes to the judiciary and tightening of the abortion law. Tusk said his return was dictated by the conviction that Civic Platform is "necessary as the force ... that can win the battle with Law and Justice over Poland's future." There is no chance for victory without the Platform," said Tusk, adding he has a sense of responsibility for the party that he had founded and led for many years before taking on the position of EU Council head in 2014. Civic Platform seemed to lose its energy and high profile following his departure. Asked later by journalists about chances for a united opposition bloc, Tusk replied the more the better, the more together, the better, but gave no specifics. One of the strongest personalities in Polands politics, Tusk said he was launching a series of visits across the nation, with a trip Monday to the northwestern region of Szczecin, that was recently hit by torrential rains. Party member and former foreign and defense minister Radek Sikorski said Tusk's main goal now is to restore the trust in victory among all those who do not accept the destruction of Poland's position by Law and Justice. The Law and Justice government continues to lead opinion polls thanks to its generous family bonuses and conservative policies that appeal to the Catholic majority in society. But the pressure of accumulating disputes with the EU and an internal struggle for power and influence have been visibly shaking the unity and loyalty in the coalition, which recently lost its majority in parliament, after some Law and Justice lawmakers left the ranks. Poland's parliamentary elections are scheduled in the fall of 2023, but some politicians have been hinting that the weakening power of the ruling coalition may result in an early vote. PARIS (AP) French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is facing stinging criticism for making her party too mainstream, dulling its extremist edge and ignoring grassroots members, with some warning that this could cost her votes in next year's presidential race. The rumblings grew louder after the National Rally's failure a week ago in France's regional elections, and come just ahead of this weekends party congress. Le Pen is the anti-immigration partys unquestioned boss, and her fortunes aren't expected to change at the two-day event in the southwestern town of Perpignan, hosted by Mayor Louis Aliot Le Pen's former companion and, above all, the party's top performer in last year's municipal elections. But there could be an uncomfortable reckoning just as Le Pen is trying to inject new dynamism into the National Rally. Critics say Le Pen has erased her partys anti-establishment signature by trying to make it more palatable to the mainstream right. To so that, she strove to remove the stigma of racism and antisemitism that clung to the party under her now-ostracized father, Jean-Marie Le Pen. She even changed the party's name from National Front, as it was called under her father, who co-founded it in 1972 and led it for four decades. The policy of adapting, of rapprochement with power, even with the ordinary right, was severely sanctioned, said Jean-Marie Le Pen. (That) was a political error and translates into an electoral failure, and perhaps electoral failures, he added, referring to the 2022 presidential vote. The defiant patriarch, now 93, was expelled to boost the party's respectability, but his criticism reflects that of more moderate members who say his daughter has muddled the message. In a well-timed move, Le Pen showed her nationalist muscle Friday, signing an accord with Italys far-right boss, Matteo Salvini, Hungarys Prime Minister Viktor Orban and 13 other far-right chiefs to create a grand alliance in the European Parliament. In France, her initial goal is to reach the runoff in the presidential race in 10 months with greater success than in 2017, when she made it to the final round but lost to centrist Emmanuel Macron. National Rally candidates including several who originally hailed from the mainstream right failed in all 12 French regions during last Sunday's election, which was marked by low turnout, with only one in three voters casting ballots. Polls had suggested the party, which has never headed a region, would be victorious in at least one. Instead, it lost nearly a third of its regional councilors. Its local elections that are the launch pad for the rocket" that could take Marine Le Pen to the presidential palace, Romain Lopez, mayor of the small southwest town of Moissac, said in an interview. Today, we look like eternal seconds. That can ... demobilize the National Rally electorate for the presidential elections. Some local representatives have resigned in disgust since the regional election defeat, among them the delegate for the southern Herault area, Bruno Lerognon. In a bitter letter to Le Pen posted on Facebook, Lerognon blasted his boss strategy to lure voters from other parties as absurd. He said members of the party's local federation were odiously treated removed from running in the regional elections in favor of outsiders. Cronyism has rotted the local far-right scene, he wrote, alluding to long-standing criticism of power clans within the National Rally whose voices are decisive. Le Pen replaced him a day later. In western France, all four members of a small local federation resigned between rounds of the regional elections. None of the four was represented on local electoral lists pushed aside, as they claimed, by higher-ups elsewhere. They bemoaned a losing strategy born at the Lille party congress in 2018, when Le Pen first proposed changing the partys name and severed remaining ties with her father. A party figure with a national reputation, European Parliament lawmaker Gilbert Collard, has criticized the strategy of opening up as a trap. He said he won't attend the congress. Lopez will be there, hoping that he and others with complaints will be heard. Lopez, 31, is a proponent of Le Pens outreach to other parties, and credits his own broad appeal to voters for his election win last year, in an upset for the previously leftist town. But the party hierarchy is disconnected from its scarce, albeit vital, local bases, Lopez said. National officials treat local representatives like children and impose everything, how to communicate, build a local campaign, Lopez said. And by imposing everything from the top, you have a national strategy ... disconnected from the reality of each town or region. He is unsure whether the party will give local officials like himself speaking time, beyond his five minutes at a round table. When youre in self-satisfaction, when you refuse to look at imperfections, you go straight into the wall, he said. PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) Tropical Storm Elsa battered the southern coasts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic on Saturday, downing trees and blowing off roofs as it sped through the Caribbean, killing at least three people. The storm was centered about 175 miles (280 kilometers) east-southeast of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and was swirling west-northwest at 17 mph (28 kph). It had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph) as the tropical storm, which had been a Category 1 hurricane earlier on Saturday, weakened in its approach to Hispaniola and Cuba, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The storm was forecast to hit Cuba next on a path that would take it to Florida, with some models showing it would spin into the Gulf or up the Atlantic Coast. A tropical storm watch was in effect for the Florida Keys from Craig Key westward to Dry Tortugas. Elsa prompted Gov. Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency in 15 Florida counties, including in Miami-Dade County where the high-rise condominium building collapsed last week. One death was reported in St. Lucia, according to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency. Meanwhile, a 15-year-old boy and a 75-year-old woman died Saturday in separate events in the Dominican Republic after walls collapsed on them, according to a statement from the Emergency Operations Center. The deaths come a day after Elsa caused widespread damage in several eastern Caribbean islands as a Category 1 hurricane, the first of the Atlantic season. Among the hardest hit was Barbados, where more than 1,100 people reported damaged houses, including 62 homes that completely collapsed as the government promised to find and fund temporary housing to avoid clustering people in shelters amid the pandemic. Dozens of trees and power lines lay strewn across Barbados, where several schools and government buildings were damaged and hundreds of customers were still without power on Saturday, according to officials. This is a hurricane that has hit us for the first time in 66 years, Prime Minister Mia Mottley said Saturday. There is no doubt this is urgent. Barbados suspended classes until Wednesday and expected to reopen its international airport on Sunday. Downed trees also were reported in Haiti, where authorities used social media to alert people about the storm and urged them to evacuate if they lived near water or mountain flanks. The whole country is threatened, the Civil Protection Agency said in a statement. Make every effort to escape before its too late. Haiti is especially vulnerable to floods and landslides because of widespread erosion and deforestation. In addition, a recent spike in gang violence has forced thousands of people to flee from their homes, so the civil protection agency is running low on basic items including food and water, director Jerry Chandler told The Associated Press. It's been three weeks that we've been supporting families who are running away from gang violence, he said. We are working at renewing our stocks, but the biggest problem is logistics. He said officials are still trying to figure out how to deliver supplies to Haiti's southern region, which braced for Elsa's impact. As the storm approached, people kept buying food and water. I'm protecting myself the best that I can. Civil protection is not going to do that for me, said Darlene Jean-Pierre, 35, as she bought six jugs of water along with vegetables and fruit. I have other worries about the street ... I have to worry about gangs fighting. In addition to this, we have a hurricane." A tropical storm warning was in effect for Jamaica and from the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince to the southern border with the Dominican Republic. A hurricane watch was issued for the Cuban provinces of Camaguey, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Las Tunas, and Santiago de Cuba. Some of those provinces have reported a high number of COVID-19 infections, raising concerns that the storm could force large groups of people to seek shelter together. Anticipating is the key word, said Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, adding that vaccination efforts would continue. Lets take care of lives and property. In the neighboring Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, authorities opened more than 2,400 shelters as forecasters warned of heavy rains. Some worried about the state of their homes, with many living under corrugated roofing. I have a lot of leaks in my zinc, said Maria Ramos. What are we going to do? Only God knows. Meanwhile, officials on Saturday reported at least 43 homes and three police stations damaged in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which also suffered massive volcanic eruptions that began in April. We expect that this number will increase as reports keep coming in, said Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. We have some damage, but it could have been far worse. In St. Lucia, the wind damaged a secondary school, pummeling desks, overturning chairs and sending papers flying after blowing off the roof and siding. Elsa was the first hurricane of the Atlantic season and the earliest fifth-named storm on record. Elsa also broke the record as the tropics fastest-moving hurricane, clocking in at 31 mph on Saturday morning, according to Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami. It is forecast to drop 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain with maximum totals of 15 inches (38 centimeters) across portions of southern Hispaniola and Jamaica. ___ Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico and Sanon from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Ramon Carmona in the Dominican Republic contributed to this report. JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) Sri Dewi stood in the graveyard with her family, waiting their turn to bury her brother. He suffered a stroke and needed oxygen, but there wasn't any in a hospital overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients. We took him to this hospital, but there was no room for him, said Dewi. The hospital was out of oxygen. The family finally bought an oxygen tank at a shop and brought the brother home, but he died later that evening. After a slow vaccination rollout, Indonesia is now racing to inoculate as many people as possible as it battles an explosion of COVID-19 cases that have strained its health care. But inadequate global supply, the complicated geography of the world's largest archipelago nation, and hesitancy among some Indonesians stand as major roadblocks. Fueled by travel in May during the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, and the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus first found in India, the most recent spike has pushed some hospitals to the limits. Over the past two weeks, the seven-day rolling average of daily cases rose from over 8,655 to 20,690. Nearly half of those who are PCR tested return positive results. Even those numbers are an undercount, with almost 75% of provinces reporting a testing rate below the recommended benchmark of 1 test per 1,000 people, according to the World Health Organization. The impact is obvious across Java, Indonesias most populated island. In mid-June, hospitals began to erect plastic tents to serve as makeshift intensive care units, and patients waited for days before being admitted. Oxygen tanks were rolled out on the sidewalk for those lucky enough to receive them, while others were told they would need to find their own supply. Away from the hospitals, new land continues to be cleared for the dead. Families wait turns to bury their loved ones as gravediggers work late shifts. Last year, Indonesias highest Islamic clerical body issued a decree that mass graves normally forbidden in Islam would be permitted during the pandemic crisis. While the surge has largely been concentrated on Java, its a matter of time before it hits other parts of the sprawling archipelago, where the underfunded and understaffed health facilities are even more fragile and could collapse, said Dicky Budiman, an epidemiologist at Griffith University in Australia. The government has been resisting imposing tougher COVID-19 restrictions for fear of hurting the economy, Southeast Asia's largest, which last year recorded its first recession since 1998. This week the government announced its strictest measures of 2021 starting Saturday, including work from home, the closure of places of worship and malls as well as limiting restaurants to delivery only. We have agreed with the governors, mayors, to strictly enforce this emergency measures, said Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, who has been appointed to lead the pandemic response. Some health experts doubt the measures will be enough, given the overall lax enforcement. Indonesia still doesnt have enough testing capacity, and isolation and quarantine strategies arent effective ... there still isnt enough active case-finding, said Budiman. The government should be concerned with three strategies: strengthening testing, quarantine and early treatment. Without the willingness to enter a full lockdown, Indonesia's only way out is the vaccines. Like many other countries, Indonesia has fallen short of the shots it needs. By June 30, it had received 118.7 million doses of the Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines far short of the amount needed to vaccinate 181.5 million people, or 70% of the population. Millions of additional doses are scheduled to arrive in the coming months, but will still not be enough to reach the target. The U.S. announced Friday it will donate 4 million Moderna vaccine doses through the U.N.-backed COVAX program as soon as possible. In addition, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi discussed U.S. plans to increase assistance for Indonesias broader COVID-19 response efforts, according to National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne. Indonesia is also working on developing its own vaccine, but even if it passes clinical trials, it isnt expected to hit production until next year. President Joko Widodo has set a goal of vaccinating 1 million people a day, turning stadiums, community centers, police stations and neighborhood clinics into mass vaccination sites. The government aims to double the daily rate starting in August. So far, only about 5% of the population have been vaccinated. Siti Nadia Tarmizi, a spokesperson for Indonesias vaccination program, said that the regions with more cases will be a priority. Geography poses massive challenges in a country whose thousands of islands stretch across an area about as wide as the continental United States, and transportation and infrastructure are limited in many places. Government officials have said there are preparations in place such as training staff and working to secure a stable cold supply chain thats required for transporting vaccines. Hesitancy and misinformation has hampered previous vaccination campaigns. Indonesia has had vaccination rates as low as 10% for routine shots for measles and rubella. Vaccine hesitancy will really impact vaccination efforts, Budiman said. Indonesia still doesnt have a strong communication strategy ... and some people still dont think this pandemic exists. He said the government needs to make "good and strong decisions based on science . ... or I fear we will find ourselves in a similar situation to what happened in India. ___ Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini and videographer Andi Jatmiko contributed to this report. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. WILBER, Neb. (AP) A woman who could become Nebraska's first female death row inmate has pleaded for her life with the judges who will sentence her after a psychologist testified that she was abused and trafficked for sex by a former boyfriend. Three days of testimony over whether Bailey Boswell should be sentenced to death or life in prison wrapped up Friday before a three-judge panel. Boswell, 27, was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder last year for her role in the killing and dismemberment of a woman she met through a dating app. The Permian Strategic Partnership and our members continue to remain as committed as ever to this region. For us, the key phrase is this region, as in the entire Permian Basin. Because while its no surprise that the pandemic reaffirmed our resiliency fall seven times, stand up eight, as the proverb goes we are focused on building partnerships and working collectively to address our regions challenges and ensure our long-term viability and prosperity. The Permian Basin is one of the most abundant, low-cost resource basins in the world, while also producing some of the most environmentally and socially responsible energy in the world. The Permian will be vital to meeting global energy needs for decades this means many years of activity for the region. We must be proactive and think big about how we can improve critical aspects of our community. Health care, education, infrastructure these are areas we knew needed improvement, but after COVID, these needs have become even more apparent and urgent. One thing COVID taught us is that we are much stronger when we collaborate and work together we are a powerful force when we act as one region rather than as individual cities, counties, even states. How we face adversity is more important than the adversity itself, and we can face it much more successfully as one. The PSP welcomes ideas outside of the box and works with leaders at all levels that are interested in making the Permian Basin a better place to live and work, and we believe that no idea or partnership is too big or too small. We know we are not alone in this thinking our Permian Basin partners share this same attitude and willingness to get creative and collaborate with each other. For example, in May the PSP helped convene leaders from 26 of the regions school districts from Texas and New Mexico to identify and prioritize regional solutions that will help address learning and education challenges that schools across the country are facing, particularly after COVID. And in coordination with PetroSkills, the worlds leading training alliance and The University of Texas at Austin Petroleum Extension (PETEX), we are supporting the Catalyst Workforce Development Initiative, which aims to define the industry skills and competencies required by todays critical jobs and also identify high-quality training providers available in the region that can be leveraged to close the workforce education gaps. We know that adequate and safe roadways benefit us all, which is why we advocate for funding to support the entire region, not just one community. Part of our advocacy success led to TxDOTs funding of $600 million for infrastructure in this region. Editor's Note The Reporter-Telegram has asked community leaders to provide their opinions about what they believe the community's priorities should be as the COVID pandemic comes to a close. This is another in that series. See More Collapse I am passionate about our collective success, as are our PSP member companies, which believe in our mission of enhancing the quality of life in the communities in which they operate. This mission has enabled the PSP to make significant impacts in our short tenure, from improving access to doctors to enhancing technology in schools to making our roads safer, just to name a few. While 2020 could have led to companies scaling back their financial commitments, our members ensured that our programs continued and made clear that the Permian region remains a priority to their organizations, employees and their families living and working in our communities. We at the PSP are problem solvers, committed to finding partners and resources. When the PSP launched in November 2018, our CEOs cited the boundless optimism and Skys the Limit attitude to ensuring the full potential of the Permian is realized by all who live and work here. We continue to have that optimism, and after seeing how the community came together during this pandemic, we know that when we are working together and moving forward together, the sky really is the limit. -- Tracee Bentley is the president and CEO of the Permian Strategic Partnership. SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) New Mexico's new redistricting committee has rejected a rule proposed by its chairman to bar or require disclosure of members' conversations with non-members about maps for new congressional and legislative districts. Retired Supreme Court Justice Edward Chavez had included the proposal in his suggested package of rules for the committee and said it would provide transparency, the Albuquerque Journal reported. WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) Two people, one a 14-year-old, were shot just minutes apart Friday night in Delaware's largest city. Wilmington police say the first shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. when a 57-year-old man was struck. He was taken to a hospital in stable condition. ROME (AP) A Vatican judge on Saturday indicted 10 people, including a once-powerful cardinal, on charges including embezzlement, abuse of office, extortion and fraud in connection with the Secretariat of States 350 million-euro investment in a London real estate venture. The president of the Vatican's criminal tribunal, Giuseppe Pignatone, set July 27 as the trial date, though lawyers for some defendants questioned how they could prepare for trial so soon given they hadn't yet formally received the indictment. The 487-page indictment request was issued following a sprawling, two-year investigation into how the Secretariat of State managed its vast asset portfolio, much of which is funded by donations from the faithful. The scandal over its multimillion-dollar losses has resulted in a sharp reduction in donations and prompted Pope Francis to strip the office of its ability to manage the money. Five former Vatican officials, including Cardinal Angelo Becciu and two officials from the Secretariat of State, were indicted, as well as the Italian businessmen who handled the investment. Vatican prosecutors accuse the main suspects of bilking millions of euros from the Holy See in fees, bad investments and other losses related to financial dealings that were funded in large part by Peter's Pence donations to the pope for works of charity. The suspects have denied wrongdoing. One of the main suspects, Italian broker Gianluigi Torzi, is accused of having extorted the Vatican of 15 million euros to turn over ownership of the London building in late 2018. Torzi had been retained by the Vatican to help it acquire full ownership of the building from another indicted money manager who had handled the initial investment in 2013, but lost millions in what the Vatican says were speculative, imprudent deals. Vatican prosecutors allege Torzi inserted a last-minute clause into the contract giving him full voting rights in the deal. The Vatican hierarchy, however, signed off on the contract, with both the pope's No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and his deputy approving it. Neither was indicted. In addition, Francis himself was aware of the deal and Torzi's involvement in it. Vatican prosecutors say the Vatican hierarchy was hoodwinked by Torzi and aided in part by an Italian lawyer who was also indicted Saturday into agreeing to the terms. The Secretariat of State intends to declare itself an injured party in the case. Torzi has denied the charges and said the accusations were due to a misunderstanding. He is currently in London pending an extradition request by Italian authorities, who are seeking to prosecute him on other financial charges. His representatives said they had no immediate comment Saturday since they hadn't yet seen the indictment. Also indicted was a onetime papal contender and Holy See official, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who helped engineer the initial London investment when he was chief of staff in the Secretariat of State. Francis fired him as the Vaticans saint-making chief last year, apparently in connection with a separate issue: Becciu's 100,000-euro donation of Holy See funds to a diocesan charity run by his brother. Becciu had originally not been part of the London investigation but was included after it appeared that he was behind the proposal to buy the building, prosecutors say, alleging that he also interfered in the investigation. In a statement Saturday issued by his lawyers, Becciu insisted on the absolute falsity" of the accusations and denounced what he said was unparalleled media pillory" against him in the Italian press. "I am the victim of a plot hatched against me. And I have been waiting for a long time to know any accusations against me, to allow myself to promptly deny them and prove to the world my absolute innocence," he said. One of Beccius proteges, self-styled intelligence analyst Cecilia Marogna, was indicted on separate embezzlement charges. Becciu had hired Marogna as an external consultant after she reached out to him in 2015 with concerns about security at Vatican embassies in global hotspots. Becciu authorized hundreds of thousands of euros of Holy See funds to her to free Catholic priests and nuns held hostage in Africa, according to WhatsApp messages reprinted by Italian media. Her Slovenian-based holding company, which received the funds, was among the four companies also ordered to stand trial. Marogna says the money was compensation for legitimate intelligence work and reimbursements. Prosecutors say she spent the money on luxury purchases that were incompatible with the humanitarian scope of her company. In a statement Saturday, her legal team said Marogna had been prepared for months to provide a full accounting of her work and fears nothing about the accusations made against her." Also indicted were the former top two officials in the Vaticans financial watchdog agency, for alleged abuse of office. Prosecutors say by failing to stop the Torzi deal, they performed a decisive function" in letting it play out. The lawyer for the former office director, Tommaso di Ruzza, said he had only seen the Vatican press statement about the allegations but insisted that his client has always acted in the most scrupulous respect of the law and his office duties, in the exclusive interest of the Holy See." The former head of the office, Rene Bruelhart, defended his work and said his indictment was a procedural blunder that will be immediately clarified by the organs of Vatican justice as soon as the defense will be able to exercise its rights." A former Secretary of State official, Monsignor Mauro Carlino, expressed shock at his indictment on alleged extortion and abuse of office charges, saying his only involvement in the deal was after he was ordered by his superiors to negotiate Torzi down from a 20 million euro fee to 15 million euros. It seems incomprehensible that a worthy act ... that brought him no personal advantage and had on the contrary provided a significant savings for the Secretariat of State, could lead to an indictment," said a statement from his lawyer, Salvino Mondello. A promotional event for a book examining the role slavery played leading up to the Battle of the Alamo that was scheduled at the Bullock Texas State History Museum on Thursday evening was abruptly canceled three and a half hours before it was scheduled to begin. Authors of the book, titled Forget the Alamo, and the publisher, Penguin Random House, say the cancellation of the event, which had 300 RSVPs, amounts to censorship from Republican elected leaders and an overreaction to the books examination of racism in Texas history. READ MORE: House votes to remove Roger Taney bust, Confederate statues The Bullock was receiving increased pressure on social media about hosting the event, as well as to the museums board of directors (Gov Abbott being one of them) and decided to pull out as a co-host all together, Penguin Random House said in a statement. Gov. Greg Abbott and the museum have not responded to the Tribunes requests for comment. But Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick confirmed he called for the event to be canceled. Abbott, Patrick and other GOP leaders are board members of the State Preservation Board, which oversees the Bullock museum. As a member of the Preservation Board, I told staff to cancel this event as soon as I found out about it, he wrote on Twitter. This fact-free rewriting of TX history has no place @BullockMuseum. Chris Tomlinson, one of the books three authors, shot back on Twitter. Lt. Gov, Dan Patrick takes credit for oppressing free speech and policing thought in Texas, he wrote. @BullockMuseum proves it is a propaganda outlet. As for his fact-free comment, well, a dozen people professional historians disagree. The museum's director responded to the firestorm in a statement Friday afternoon, but did not provide an explanation for why the event was canceled. "The Bullock Museum's role in the Craft of Writing virtual event, originally planned with the Writers League of Texas around the book, Forget the Alamo was primarily that of co-host," said Margaret Koch, the Bullock Museum director. "Although the Bullock withdrew from the event and notified the 198 pre-registered participants, the Writers League of Texas was prepared to continue the event on their own platform and gave the book's authors the opportunity to do so. The authors declined to continue, and because they did so, the Writers League of Texas cancelled the event." The cancellation comes amid a statewide and national firestorm surrounding critical race theory and how citizens should understand, teach and learn how racism has shaped American history. Abbott and other GOP state officials have pushed back against emphasizing the role of race in schools. At issue is the books challenge of traditional historical tenets surrounding the Battle for the Alamo, Texas independence from Mexico and its origins related to preserving slavery. Just as the site of the Alamo was left in ruins for decades, its story was forgotten and twisted over time, with the contributions of TejanosTexans of Mexican origin, who fought alongside the Anglo rebelsscrubbed from the record, and the origin of the conflict over Mexicos push to abolish slavery papered over, reads a description of the book by its publisher. As uncomfortable as it may be to hear for some, celebrating the Alamo has long had an echo of celebrating whiteness. READ ALSO: Does Phil Collins have a massive collection of fake Alamo artifacts? The book, written by Bryan Burrough, Jason Stanford and Tomlinson, also raises questions about the wisdom of the military strategy of the Texans continuing with the early 1836 siege, and the backgrounds of the leaders of the Alamo James Bowie and William B. Travis while examining the buildings place in politics and history after Texas independence. If the state history museum isnt the right place to talk about state history, then I dont know what to do, Stanford said in an interview. The book received mostly positive reviews, including from The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, with a consensus that it builds on widely accepted academic research. Last month, lawmakers passed a bill that restricts how teachers can discuss current events in the classroom and limits how they can discuss the role of race in Americas history and present. Abbott said later that more must be done to abolish critical race theory in Texas and said he would ask the Legislature to address the issue further during the special legislative session beginning July 8. Lawmakers also created the 1836 Project, establishing an advisory committee meant to promote a patriotic education to the states residents. Lawmakers positioned the project in opposition to efforts like The New York Times 1619 Project, which examines the role of slavery in U.S. history, and instead promised to affirm the states exceptionalism. Stanford called the cancellation the first test case of the 1836 Project and what the state means by a patriotic education. Theyre insisting so vehemently on a version of the past that never existed, he said. 'STRENGTH IN NUMBERS': Here's how Ensemble Theatre is supporting Black voices He said that conservative critics of the book accuse it of unfairly trying to put slavery at the center of everything, when the goal is to recognize the truth of what has happened in the past including slavery, the cause that no one ever wants to talk about. Theres no reason conservatives cant accept the past with open arms and say, thats where we started, heres where were going, he said. Theres no reason they cant tell the story of Texas as a redemption story, and that were still an imperfect union ever becoming more perfect. Former Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said he has doubts about several claims the authors make. The Texas General Land Office that he once ran has jurisdiction over the Alamo site in San Antonio. But instead of supporting the events cancellation, Patterson said he was looking forward to the authors facing tough questions about their sourcing and accuracy. It would have been better if they had been asked hard, specific questions and been forced to answer them. And in that case, they should have been allowed to be at the Bullock, Patterson said. Land commissioner George P. Bush, who oversees the Alamo, responded to the book on Fox News last week and said that "woke culture has arrived to the shores of Texas." "I stand with Alamo descendants," he said. "I stand with other Texans that believe that the revolutionaries fought and gave that last ultimate measure on the grounds of the Alamo for the idea of liberty to liberate the republic of Texas from a fierce and vicious tyranny in the government of Mexico." Disclosure: The Bullock Texas State History Museum, the State Preservation Board and The New York Times have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribunes journalism. Find a complete list of them here. The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans and engages with them about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) Gazing at the mountain of rubble that had buried her father, uncle and dozens of others, a 12-year-old girl moved away from her relatives, sat down by herself and pulled out her phone. She opened a collection of Psalms and began to pray. Elisheva Cohen's moment of reflection at the site of the Florida condominium collapse captivated the Surfside mayor and led to an introduction to President Joe Biden, who asked to meet her Thursday when he arrived to console families affected by the disaster. RELATED: Collapsed Florida condo building likely to be demolished For days, families were kept away from the collapse site, which had been deemed unsafe. Then earlier this week, relatives were taken there briefly. Some shouted the names of loved ones and friends, hoping to hear their cries for help. Others cried. Elisheva sat down alone, away from her mother and brother, and began to read prayers. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett soon noticed her. He knelt down beside her to ask if she was OK. Yes the girl told him. And that really brought it home to me, Burkett said. She wasnt crying. She was just lost. She didnt know what to do, what to say, who to talk to. Only six months ago, Elisheva celebrated her bat mitzvah with her mother and father, Dr. Brad Cohen, one of about 120 people missing under the rubble. The year that precedes the religious ceremony involves intensive study of Hebrew, the Bible and history. That night, Dr. Cohen was proud. His youngest daughter was growing up and reaffirming her Jewish identity. Her father instilled a love for the teaching in both Elisheva and her teenage brother. Before Dr. Cohen completed his medical residency and internships, he had spent weekends staying at the home of his mentor Rabbi Yakov Saachs, always desperate to learn more about his faith. On his long commutes, he played cassette tapes, hungry to learn the teachings. READ ALSO: Tally of missing in condo collapse falls to 128 after audit Even though he was dog tired, it was a priority for him to try and glean as much information as he could, Saachs told The Associated Press in a phone interview. At Brad Cohens urging, the entire family became more observant, the rabbi said, following customs about not driving or doing business on the Sabbath. The night before the collapse, her mother sent a message to Cohen with a selfie taken by Elisheva in front of a mirror. She wore a pink T-shirt with a high ponytail. They were staying in separate homes. Look how pretty, the message read. She was wearing the same outfit the next morning, when her mother frantically woke her up to tell her about the collapse. For several days, Burkett shared Elisheva's story far and wide. After Biden's visit was announced, the girl's mother, Soriya Cohen, bought her a new blue and white dress for the occasion. Her teenage brother was the first one in the family chosen to meet Biden. He had rushed home from a kibbutz in Israel as soon as he heard about the collapse. But the teen had already arranged to have a class with a rabbi in Miami during the presidents visit. He said, I already made a commitment, Saachs said. So he said no. The mother also skipped the meeting with Biden, saying she felt the president's visit was a diversion from the search efforts. Elisheva went with another family member. The mayor said the most moving moment of Biden's visit was when he shared Elisheva's story with the president. I wanted him to know and see the face of that little girl who is praying for her father across from the rubble, he said. He looked at me and said, Would you please bring her to me right now? Police went to get Elisheva. Biden walked up to her and they hugged. ___ Associated Press Writer Kelli Kennedy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, also contributed to this report. PORTLAND, Ore. - The emergency department at Oregon Health Systems University had rarely been this busy, even during the worst stages of the covid-19 pandemic. Physicians raced to provide fluids to patients who arrived breathless, dizzy and drenched in sweat. Others were brought in on stretchers, their body temperatures so high their central nervous systems had shut down. Those who could still speak told of stifling apartments and sun that made their skin sizzle. Some had tried to walk to county cooling shelters, only to collapse in the blistering heat. "The system was overwhelmed," said Mary Tanski, chair of OHSU's department of emergency medicine, of the towering heat dome that toppled temperature records across the Northwest this week. Some patients didn't survive. In Oregon, Washington and western Canada, authorities are investigating more than 580 deaths potentially linked to the punishing heat. RELATED: There's so much poop in Texas beach water it could make you sick It will be months before experts know precisely how many of those deaths can be specifically attributed to climate change. But researchers who specialize in the science of attribution say they are "virtually certain" that warming from human greenhouse gas emissions played a pivotal role. It is a sign of how dangerous the climate crisis has gotten - and how much worse it can still become. The heat dome was just one of a barrage of climate catastrophes that struck the world in recent weeks. Western wildfires are off to a scorching start, with firefighters actively battling 44 large blazes that have burned nearly 700,000 acres. Parts of Florida and the Caribbean are bracing for landfall of Hurricane Elsa, the Atlantic's fifth named storm in what is one of the most active starts to hurricane season on record. Nearly half a million people in Madagascar are at risk of starvation as the country grapples with dust storms, locusts and its worst drought in decades. In Verkhoyansk, Siberia - usually one of the coldest inhabited places on the planet - the land surface temperature was 118 degrees. "Climate change has loaded the weather dice against us," said Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist at Texas Tech University and chief scientist for the Nature Conservancy. "These extremes are something we knew were coming," she added. "The suffering that is here and now is because we have not heeded the warnings sufficiently." Humans burning fossil fuels have caused the globe to warm roughly 1 degree Celsius, or 2 degrees Fahrenheit, since the preindustrial era. It's a seemingly incremental change, but it has led to disproportionately frequent and severe natural disasters. Think of the climate as a bell curve, Hayhoe said, with temperatures distributed according to how common they ought to be. The center of the bell curve may have shifted just a couple of degrees, but the area of the curve now in the "extreme" zone has increased significantly. Within the next week, researchers expect to publish a "rapid attribution" study that determines how climate change made the Northwest heat wave more likely. Yet precisely quantifying the role of climate change in the event has been difficult because the heat was just so extreme, said Michael Wehner, a climate scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California who is contributing to the attribution effort. "It's well beyond what straightforward statistical analysis would suggest. It's well beyond what climate models suggest," he continued. "But it happened." Studies show the chance of a given tropical storm becoming a hurricane that is Category 3 or greater has grown 8% every decade. The acreage of the West burned by wildfire is twice what it would otherwise be. The heat wave that struck the Northwest this week brought temperatures that were as much as 11 degrees above the previous all-time high. That increase in intensity is partly due to the fact that meteorological phenomena are occurring in a hotter world. Summers in the Northwest are about 3 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than they were a century ago. "But there are other, nonlinear, things going on," Wehner, adds. For example, heat causes water to evaporate from vegetation and soil, which uses up energy and helps bring temperatures down - a phenomenon called evaporative cooling. But climate change has made the West both hotter and dryer. As the mercury ticks upward, the landscape becomes even more parched, which allows it to heat up even faster. Now, more than 93 percent of the American West is in moderate to severe drought, according to the U.S. drought monitor. Another physical phenomenon, called the Clausius-Clapeyron equation, shows that for every 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming, the atmosphere can hold 7% more moisture. This means that warm conditions make storms much wetter, leading to record-breaking rainfall events like Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Scientists have been aware of these phenomena for decades, and have long warned about the potential for even moderate amounts of global warming to trigger catastrophic weather extremes. WILD WEST: 'Extremely rare' ocelots spotted at Texas refuge The heat being so devastating should be a warning sign for all of us. The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement calls for humanity to limit global warming to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius. A subsequent report from United Nations scientists found that warming beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius would trigger catastrophic sea level rise, near-total loss of coral reefs and a calamitous increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. But the world is unlikely to meet either of those goals. Most countries have not reduced greenhouse gas emissions nearly enough to meet targets set in the Paris agreement. Even if they meet their existing pledges, researchers say the world has just a 5% chance of keeping warming "well below" 2 degrees. If we continue to burn fossil fuels at the current rate, studies suggest, the Earth could be 3 to 4 degrees Celsius hotter by the end of the century. The Arctic will be free of ice in summertime. Hundreds of millions of people will suffer from food shortages and extreme drought. Huge numbers of species will be driven to extinction. Some regions will become so hot and disaster-prone they are uninhabitable. "It's a very different planet at those levels," Wehner said. "This is really serious. As a society, as a species, we're going to have to learn to adapt to this. And some things are not going to be adaptable." Extreme heat is likely to be one of those things. Studies of heat waves suggest that a half a degree Celsius increase in summertime temperatures can lead to a 150% increase in the number of heat waves that kill 100 people or more. Research published last year in the journal Science found that the human body can't tolerate temperatures higher than 95 degrees when combined with 100% humidity. The scene in emergency departments across the Northwest this week underscores that science. Wait times at the OHSU emergency department were 5 to 7 hours, Tanski said. At Swedish Health Services - Cherry Hill in Seattle, doctors were seeing patients in hallways because all the rooms were full. "I've never seen anything like this," said David Markel, an emergency physician at the Seattle hospital. During an overnight shift on Monday, he treated 12 patients for heat illness. Some were so sick their kidneys and livers were failing, their muscles starting to break down. "I don't claim to be an expert in climate change or environmental science," Markel said. "But I definitely care for people who are impacted by the extremes of climate. . . . And it's like, the more crises we face the more clear it is." Jeff Duchin, Seattle and King County's chief public health officer, put it more bluntly: "Climate change is a health emergency," he said in a statement this weekend. "And reducing greenhouse gas emissions is literally a matter of life and death." The intensity of recent weather extremes - and the certainty of still worse events to come - weighs on scientists. Speaking over the phone, Wehner's tone was somber as he discussed the wildfire smoke that choked California last summer, people whose homes burned down, a friend whose 90-year-old mother was killed when the town of Paradise was consumed by flames. Haltingly, he recalled watching a newscaster interview a Pakistani man whose two children had died in a 2015 heat wave. When Wehner later investigated the event, he found that climate change had made the event 1,000 times more likely. "It did not have to be this way," he said. "We have known enough to take action for 20 years. And if we had taken action 20 years ago, it would be a lot easier." SAFETY FIRST: Texas teacher dies while hiking Franklin Mountains in El Paso "But there's no 'I told you so,'" he continued. "I just feel bad. Just bad. I really wish we had been wrong. But we weren't." The only comfort, said Hayhoe, is in knowing that action can still be taken. Though the world could exceed 1.5 degrees of warming within this decade, scientists say we can avoid crossing that threshold if we cut global greenhouse gas emissions by about 7.6 percent per year. Such cuts would require an unprecedented transformation of human society. But look at the alternative, Hayhoe said. "We have choices to make, she said. "And the quicker we make those choices, the better off we will all be. The future is in our hands." Left: Upland native and 2012 Eastbrook grad Nolan Benedict now serves on the USS Vermont, an advanced nuclear-powered submarine, as a Petty Officer 3rd Class in the U.S. Navy. Florida, FL (34429) Today Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low 73F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low 73F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Immigrants and international students grew Canadas population in Q1 2021 As immigration returned to pre-pandemic levels, so did Canada's population growth. Immigrants and international students grew Canadas population in Q1 2021 As immigration returned to pre-pandemic levels, so did Canada's population growth. Immigrants and international students grew Canadas population in Q1 2021 As immigration returned to pre-pandemic levels, so did Canada's population growth. Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A In the first quarter of 2021, Canadas population grew at the fastest rate since the pandemic began. The population rebounded thanks to the recovery of pre-pandemic immigration levels, and the return of international students, according to a recent RBC report. Immigration raised Canadas population by 82,000 in the first quarter. The federal governments push to encourage temporary residents in Canada to apply for permanent residence resulted in high numbers of new immigrants who were already living in the country. Discover if Youre Eligible for Canadian Immigration International students and Post Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) holders were the primary drivers of Canadas population growth. New study permits increased 44 per cent year-over year, a complete turn around from 2020 when the international student population fell by 60,000. In the first quarter 2021, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued about 21,000 permits. PGWPs increased 160 per cent to about 24,000. Even with a strong start to the year, the pandemic still amounts to a lost year in terms of Canadian population growth. Year over year, the population grew just 0.4 per cent, when a rate of 2.1 per cent is required to sustain growth. The natural increase, that is the number of births minus the number of deaths, was the lowest level in recorded history at 6,400. This was partially a result of deaths due to coronavirus. Even as COVID-19 subsides, the natural increase is likely to continue to decline into the future leaving immigration to make up the shortfall, economist Andrew Agopsowicz writes in the RBC report, This puts even more of a spotlight on the federal governments execution of its immigration plan. The first four months of IRCC data indicate that Canada is falling short of its target of 401,000 new immigrants in 2021. Canada welcomed 70,500 new permanent residents in the first quarter, plus another 21,105 in April. In order to meet its immigration goals, Canada will need to admit more than 38,675 new permanent residents per month between May and December. That being said, IRCC has been working to achieve these targets. Throughout the pandemic, IRCC has been focusing on inviting in-Canada Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence. In the first half of 2021, more than 88,000 Express Entry candidates were issued Invitations to Apply, a record number. IRCC has also introduced some special measures. Recently, it waived the medical exam requirement for some in-Canada immigration applicants. Also, Canada eased travel restrictions to allow approved permanent residents to complete their landing. In addition, Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino introduced new immigration programs for essential workers, refugees, and Hongkongers. Immigration has been the governments strategy for addressing Canadas long-term demographic challenges. Canada has an aging population and a low birth rate. Without immigration, Canadas growth rate would not reach the threshold needed for population growth. Some 9 million baby boomers are set to reach retirement age this decade. Without new replacements, Canadas labour force will not be able to remain as competitive in the world market, and the pressures to care for the older generation will be placed on the smaller pool of workers. It is for this reason, the Canadian government has maintained support for immigration throughout the pandemic. Discover if Youre Eligible for Canadian Immigration CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options. Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 24 Hour Access Administratorii portalului nu poarta raspundere pentru continutul postarilor si materialelor plasate de utilizatorii site-ului. Utilizati informatia din acest articol pe propriul risc. William Russell Allton was born in Dewey, Oklahoma on April 25, 1931 to Russell Frank and Alice Mae (Steffens) Allton. He attended school in Claremore and graduated with the class of 1948. On August 26, 1949 Bill married Jimmie Louise Reed and the couple made Tulsa home for the first 25 year The annual Solon Pop Up in the Park will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 28 at Solon Community Park, 6679 SOM Center Road in Solon. Hiking in extreme heat: How to do it safely and prevent heat related illnesses Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 3) Other countries are recommending the mix-and-match approach to COVID-19 vaccines, but now is not the time for the Philippines to follow suit, a health official said Saturday. "Kami po ay nakipagpulong sa ating mga eksperto... kung saan ang sabi po nila it is prudent for our government to delay ito pong mixing and matching," Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a briefing. [Translation: We met with our vaccine experts, and they told us it is prudent for our government to delay this mixing and matching.] Vergeire's remark came after Germany said people who receive a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine "should get an mRNA vaccine as their second dose, regardless of their age." Researchers from the University of Oxford in Britain have found that mixing and matching Pfizer and AstraZeneca shots induced a strong immune response against the coronavirus. But they noted the antibody levels were higher when the AstraZeneca shot was given as the first dose and the Pfizer vaccine was administered as a second dose after four weeks. Vergeire said they are awaiting more evidence to support the mix-and-match approach. Citing the country's vaccine expert panel, Vergeire added if ever this is applied in the country, it might be safest to go with vaccines that use the same platform. There are different types of COVID-19 vaccines - from inactivated to mRNA. Inactivated vaccines like Sinovac's CoronaVac, which was the first to be rolled out in the country, use a killed form of the coronavirus. This is one of the tried-and-tested methods to prompt an antibody response. The mRNA shots like those made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna do not use an actual virus, just a genetic sequence of the virus-causing disease. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 3) Senator Manny Pacquiao on Saturday called out more government agencies allegedly engaged in anomalous transactions, this time putting the spotlight on the Department of Social Welfare and Development over what he claimed are missing pandemic funds worth 10.4 billion. In a media briefing, Pacquiao questioned the DSWD's deal with e-wallet application Starpay in the distribution of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP). The boxer-turned-senator claimed that out of the 1.8 million SAP beneficiaries, only 500,000 were able to download the app. "Ang tanong ko po, anong nangyari sa 1.3 million katao na hindi naka-download ng Starpay app? Ngunit sa record po, nakatanggap na po sila ng ayuda?" Pacquiao told reporters. "Iyan po ang gusto kong itanong sa DSWD, ang nawawala pong salapi ay 10.4 billion po, nasaan po napunta ang limpak limpak na ayuda?" he added. [Translation: My question is, what happened to the 1.3 million people who were not able to download the Starpay app? But on record, they were able to receive the aid? That's what I want to ask the DSWD. The missing 10.4 billion...where did the money go?] The DSWD said it is "willing to face any investigating body" to present necessary evidence and answer the allegations raised by Pacquiao. Expiring medicines? Pacquiao again flagged the Department of Health, this time for the supposed purchase of near-expiry medicines. "Binibili nila ang mga gamot na ito sa regular price, samantalang dapat ay bagsak na ang presyo. Ang masaklap ay hindi na ito napapakinabangan ng mga kababayan natin," he claimed. [Translation: They were buying medicines for the regular price, when these should be on discount. The sad part is our countrymen can no longer use the medicines.] Pacquiao added that his team continues to review documents on the alleged corruption in the agency, noting that he will reveal these at the "right time." The DOH earlier said it was also willing to cooperate with legislators if they investigate the matter. RELATED: DOJ: Task Force yet to receive complaints vs DOH over COVID-19 spending Questionable agreement? Pacquiao also questioned the Department of Energy's deal with the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP). "Ibinigay sa IEMOP ang kontrata na hindi man lamang dumaan sa bidding. Mula sa 7,000 paid-up capital ay naging instant billion pesos company sa loob lamang po ng isang taon," Pacquiao alleged. [Translation: The contract was given to IEMOP without any bidding. From a 7,000 paid-up capital, it became a billion-peso company in just a year.] Pressed for details, Pacquiao said he will defer to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, noting his team will be submitting the findings of its investigation to the panel. He added he will be filing a resolution next week urging lawmakers to look into the "evidence" his team collected. CNN Philippines is still trying to get comment from the concerned agencies regarding Pacquiao's claims. Pacquiao to Duterte: I'm here to help President Rodrigo Duterte earlier challenged Pacquiao to expose alleged corruption in his administration a dare the senator accepted. READ: 'Hindi ako sinungaling': Pacquiao accepts Duterte challenge to expose govt corruption Addressing the chief executive, Pacquiao stressed he is "here to help" fight anomalies in the government. "Mr. President, huwag po kayong mawalan ng pag-asa. Nandito po ako para tumulong, tumulong po sa inyo upang tukuyin ang mga ahensya at opisyal ng gobyerno na may maling gawain," he said. [Translation: Mr. President, don't lose hope. I'm here to help, help you pinpoint erring government agencies and officials.] Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 3) Supervisors were sought to be present in COVID-19 vaccination centers in the wake of reported mistakes in administering shots, a Health official said on Saturday. "We have recommended na kailangan talagang mayroong isang supervisor within a vaccination site checking on all the stations ... para makita po natin ng maayos ang naisasagawa nating mga proseso," Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a Laging Handa briefing. [Translation: We have recommended that there must be a supervisor within the vaccination site checking on all the stations to see if inoculations are being done appropriately.] Early this week, the Department of Health confirmed the viral video showing that a volunteer nurse in one of the vaccination sites in Makati City failed to press the syringe plunger into the arm of the vaccine recipient. This process, which comes after the needle insertion, is needed to release the syringe contents. Similar incidents were reported in other parts of Metro Manila. Vergeire said vaccinators should only work for a maximum of eight hours to prevent fatigue and "minimize errors." She added that the government is retraining health care workers administering shots to prevent lapses. Maddison (Maddi) Schink 23 (she/her) has received the competitive Gilman Award Scholarship for a study abroad program with the School for International Training Argentina: People, Environment, and Climate Change in Patagonia and Antarctica. The Spring Semester program runs Feb. 22-June 6, and Schink will be based in Ushuaia, Argentina, the southern-most city in the world, where she will examine how climate change affects the regions marine biodiversity. Schink, an Environmental Studies major, says that this program will not only help her better understand the impacts of climate change on a global scale but will also provide the opportunity to expand her language skills since all the programs courses are taught in Spanish. A Boettcher Scholar from Fort Collins, Colorado, Schink plans to spend the Fall Semester with Colorado Colleges Teaching and Research in Environmental Education program, before heading to Argentina. The TREE program is a 16-week, residential semester program that mirrors the traditional study abroad experience. Undergraduate students live and learn in community at the Catamount Center outside Woodland Park, Colorado. More than 1,500 U.S. undergraduate students were selected to receive Gilman scholarship awards in this recent cycle, and will study or intern in 96 countries through the end of 2022. The recipients represent 467 U.S. colleges and all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The Gilman Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of States Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, whose mission is to build relations between the people of the United States and other countries through academic, cultural, sports, professional and private exchanges, as well as public-private partnerships and mentoring programs. Colorado Politics is published both in print and online. Our website features subscriber-only news stories daily, designed for public policy arena professionals. Member subscribers also receive the weekly print edition of our award-winning newspaper, containing outstanding features and news stories, in their mailboxes every Saturday. On the anniversary of Parley P. Pratts run for freedom, runners commemorated the importance of this foundational principle Saturday morning, along with the other liberties enshrined in the First Amendment. People raced downtown in four- and one-mile races that routed past 28 symbols of the First Amendment in Columbia. People line up at the start of the run Newell Kitchen looks at the day's schedule Runners take off at the starting line Lydia Jenkins stands next to her brother Charlie Brinkerhoff takes off his bib Greg Francis holds his trophy watermelon The list of recorded winners lies on a table Sydney Lukasezck Follow this search Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today age 87, of Camarillo, CA and former resident of Danville, IL died June 15, 2021 from cancer. His pain was managed, he was surrounded by loving family. His passing was peaceful. He donated his body to science. Founders: This 1819 painting by John Trumbull, Declaration of Independence, shows the Committee of Five John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston presenting their draft to the Second Continental Congress in 1776. The original painting hangs in the U.S. Capitol. Close (Photo : Some Seniors Are Going to Canada for Dental Care) While many Canadians come to Arizona for the hot weather and great desert vistas, there are also plenty of Americans making their trips in a different direction. Besides escaping the Arizona heat, some Americans go north in search of medical and dental care. Many people who get medical care in two countries are senior citizens, particularly snowbirds. Snowbirds tend to have more free time to travel abroad for health care and the income to make that trip. Here is more about this phenomenon. The Importance of Oral Health for Seniors One reason why some seniors visit dentists often is that oral health is more important than ever as people age. Nearly one in five American older adults have untreated tooth decay, which can cause painful infections the longer it goes on. Older adults are also more likely to have missing teeth, gum disease, and oral cancers. Oral health is always intertwined with the rest of the body's well-being, but this becomes even more true as people age. Chronic conditions that are more common in older adults, such as COPD, diabetes, and arthritis can also cause gum disease and other oral health conditions. Conversely, it has been said in various media outlets that poor oral health could increase a person's risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. According to a North York dental clinic it is important to keep up with the latest dental trends that can improve your dental health. Bacteria that are left behind in the mouth are more likely to enter blood vessels and cause plaque deposits. Due to these factors, oral health is even more important for older adults. Seniors should go for twice-yearly checkups, regular cleanings, and any additional visits they may need to install dentures. Dental Tourism to Canada Despite the importance of dental care for their demographic, many older adults do not visit the dentist regularly. Unfortunately, dental care in the United States is very inaccessible. Many people lose their insurance once they retire, and basic Medicare does not cover dental visits. That leads many seniors to seek out alternate sources for dental care. While Mexico is one popular dental destination, Canada is also attractive. Canadian healthcare prices are often half the price of American ones, even private ones. Canadian clinics also boast high standards of care that parallel and even surpass American dentists. It's no wonder that some older adults choose to combine a Canadian vacation with a dental visit. Sometimes, it is still less expensive than the price of dental care in the United States. Managing Medical Care in Two Countries While accessing dental care in Canada is less expensive, managing your health care in two places is a hassle, which is why many snowbirds have difficulty managing their insurance plans. While this is usually a good enough reason for Canadians to wait until they go home to visit the dentist, many Americans still find the process of going to a Canadian dentist more affordable and easier than trying to find care back home. Next time you visit friends in Toronto or go on a vacation to our northern neighbor, you might as well get that cavity checked out! See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare The most recent week of data on vaccinations in Connecticut shows the lowest number of shots administered since the start of January as some communities continue to lag behind the rest of the state in vaccine coverage. For the week ending June 26, 43,591 doses were administered statewide, according to the data published Thursday by the state. The number represents a decline of almost 30 percent from the week before, and a massive drop since vaccinations peaked one week in early April at more than 315,000. The lower demand for shots comes as over 67 percent of all residents in the state have received at least one dose, according to the Center of Disease Control and Preventions data tracker. A little under 61 percent are fully-vaccinated, according to the CDC metrics. And statewide, COVID-19 numbers have remained low throughout the late spring and early summer. That trend continued on Thursday with 35 new cases found statewide out of 8,046 tests for a daily positivity rate of 0.43 percent. Hospitalizations for the illness rose by six, bringing the state census of hospitalized cases to 37. One more fatality brought the states death toll to 8,279. But some communities are still lagging well behind the state average when it comes to vaccination, now three months since Connecticut began offering vaccines to anyone eligible, and two months since the state began rolling back its pandemic-era restrictions. State data shows vaccinations are lagging particularly in rural communities and with some of the states largest cities. In Mansfield, a town of about 25,000, less than 35 percent of residents have started vaccination while only around 32 percent are fully vaccinated. The percentage of residents with at least one dose increased by less than a quarter of a percentage point in the past week, the data shows. In Sterling, Thompson and Hartford, less than 45 percent of residents have initiated vaccination, according to the data. Communities with large underserved populations also tend to rank lower on the list compared to communities with high vaccination rates. The state has prioritized certain underserved communities for vaccination based on ZIP codes. As of Thursday, 51.3 percent of residents living in those ZIP codes have received at least one shot or more, compared with 63.8 percent in all other ZIP codes. Meanwhile, some communities in the state are nearing having all of their residents at least partly vaccinated. In Canaan, a town of a little more than 1,000 people, 98.1 percent have initiated vaccination, according to the states data. Salisbury, Lyme, Old Saybrook and Kent all also report more than 80 percent of residents have received at least one dose. NEW YORK (AP) Jessica Stern, soon to become the State Department's special diplomatic envoy for LGBTQ rights, sees a mix of promising news and worrisome developments almost everywhere she looks, both at home and abroad. In the United States, Sterns admiration for President Joe Bidens moves supporting LGBTQ rights is offset by her dismay at other developments. These include persisting violence against transgender women of color and a wave of legislation in Republican-governed states seeking to limit sports participation and medical options for trans youth. I dont think theres a country or region thats all good or all bad, she told The Associated Press on Friday. When you look around the world, you see progress and danger simultaneously. Stern, whose new post was announced by Biden last week, has served since 2012 as executive director of New York-based OutRight Action International, which works globally to prevent abuses of LGBTQ people and strengthen their civil rights. She expects to start the State Department job in September. From her vantage point at OutRight, shes been monitoring far-flung threats to LGBTQ people: recent mass arrests in African countries such as Ghana and Uganda, three killings within a week in Guatemala, and legislation in Hungary that has been assailed by many European leaders and human rights activists as denigrating LGBTQ people. Stern is also worried that LGBTQ people in Myanmar are suffering disproportionately amid the militarys violent suppression of demonstrators and opposition groups. Regarding the United States, she said, LGBTQ developments this year have reflected deep-seated contradictions. She hailed Biden for moving to bolster transgender rights, including lifting a Trump administration ban that blocked trans people from joining the military. And she welcomed the ground-breaking appointments of LGBTQ people to important administration posts - including Pete Buttigieg, who is gay, as transportation secretary, and Dr. Rachel Levine, who is transgender, as assistant secretary of health. At the same time, the work in the U.S. for the safety and security of transgender Americans is far from complete, said Stern. She urged Congress to pass the Equality Act, a bill that would extend federal civil rights protections to LGBTQ people. The bill is stalled in the Senate for lack of Republican support. Theres no country that has gotten this right, she said. We all have work to do to ensure we are free from discrimination and violence. ... Were all in this together. She does see reasons for optimism, even in Africa, where South Africa is the only one of 54 nations to have legalized same-sex marriage. In Nigeria, for example, she said a recent poll showed 25% of the public opposes discrimination against LGBTQ people -- a substantial increase from a few years ago, Theres no doubt its a slower journey for LGBTQI rights in any place where conservative religions play a dominant role, but progress is happening, she said. Every day I get an email from a new organization -- maybe starting a film festival or an arts festival, she said. As long as LGBTQI civil society is strong, its only a matter of time before we see a change in attitudes and even in law and policy. RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Newly retired, Judy Pavlick was among hundreds of seniors who enjoyed the low cost-of-living and friendly atmosphere at Plaza Del Rey, a sprawling mobile home park in Sunnyvale, California. Then the Carlyle Group acquired the property and things began to change. Pavlick's rent surged by more than 7%. Additional increases followed. She said the unexpected jump forced her and her neighbors, many on fixed incomes and unable to relocate, to sometimes choose between food and medicine. The 2015 acquisition and subsequent sale of Pavlick's mobile home park is a core business practice for private equity firms such as Carlyle, which buy and restructure private companies to build value for their investors, sometimes cutting jobs and services in the process. But the deal, one of hundreds Carlyle executed in recent years, could become a political liability for Carlyle's former co-CEO, Glenn Youngkin, who is now running as the Republican candidate for governor in Virginia and highlighting his experience building businesses and creating jobs. They dont realize that these are peoples homes. Were not just numbers on a spreadsheet," said Pavlick, now 74 years old. They have no conscience." Beyond mobile home parks, Youngkin helped Carlyle make money for investors by targeting nursing homes, auto parts manufacturers, energy companies and even a business that produces less-lethal weapons used by governments that have cracked down on democracy advocates. More than 1,000 jobs were moved offshore in recent years as companies were restructured. Hundreds more were laid off after Carlyle instituted a series of cost-cutting measures at a nationwide nursing home chain; complaints of deteriorating service and neglect followed. There are no allegations of illegality or wrongdoing, but Youngkin's political aspirations have drawn new scrutiny to his dealings at the Washington-based investment firm, where he generated a net worth estimated at over $300 million before retiring as co-CEO last summer. Perhaps not since former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, now a Utah senator, has a candidate sought higher office with such strong ties to the world of private equity. Romney, too, sold himself as a successful businessman and job creator, but stories of megadeals that routinely put profits over people undercut his White House ambitions. Youngkin now faces another wealthy former businessman, former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe, in Novembers general election, which has already emerged as the nation's top political contest of 2021. While McAuliffes ties to big donors and lobbyists are well-established, Youngkin has only begun to confront difficult questions about his business background. His team declined to address any of Carlyle's specific deals. As a young man, Glenn joined a small company and over the next 25 years worked his way up to the top of the company, helping to grow it into a hugely successful enterprise that turned good businesses into great businesses, created tens of thousands of jobs, and funded the retirement pensions of police officers, firefighters, and teachers," said Youngkin spokesman Macaulay Porter. Under Glenns leadership, The Carlyle Group employed nearly 2,000 people and managed assets totaling nearly four times the size of Virginias yearly budget. Youngkin has made his business experience and status as a political outsider central to his pitch to voters. But more often than not, he discusses his career in broad strokes, without mentioning his lofty position or even the name of his former firm. He leans on the phrase building business and creating jobs when talking about his career, typically without specific description of the types of deals he oversaw. Asked in a February interview with a former state lawmaker that was streamed on social media how he viewed the role of private equity in the economy, Youngkin responded: We invest in companies, and we try to take good companies and make them great companies. And we do that by helping them expand, to launch new products, to see new futures, to hire new people. While creating big profits for the firm's investors, Carlyle's deals sometimes triggered rounds of layoffs, outsourced jobs and complaints from the people directly served by the companies acquired. The details in some cases may be politically damaging for Youngkin, but the situation is also complicated for his Democratic critics, who have tried to brand Youngkin as too close to former President Donald Trump. McAuliffe himself invested in Carlyle before and after becoming Virginias governor in 2014. The former Democratic governor's public disclosures show no current ties, but records reveal that McAuliffe invested at least $690,000 in Carlyle funds between December 2007 and the end of 2016. The actual figure is likely much higher because the disclosures require candidates to acknowledge only a broad range of investment with no upper limit in some cases. Spokesperson Christina Freundlich said McAuliffe has made no new investments in Carlyle since 2008, although he was invested in the company through 2016. She described him as a passive investor with no role in crafting the deals, noting that many major institutions were among the investors, including the California Public Employees Retirement System. Glenn Youngkins record is clear: shipping American jobs overseas and harming seniors and homeowners, all for his own profit," Freundlich said. Virginians deserve better than an extreme, Trump-endorsed job killer with a track record of always putting his own wealth first. Carlyle made investments in several companies under Youngkin's leadership that moved at least 1,300 American jobs offshore, according to Department of Labor data. They include Metaldyne LLC, a North Carolina car parts company that sent 176 jobs to Korea in 2008; the Texas company Commemorative Brands, which produced class rings and sent more than 260 jobs to Mexico between 2005 and 2013; and Ohio-based car part manufacturer Veyance Technologies, which sent nearly 300 jobs to Mexico between 2009 and 2011. After they were restructured, all three companies were sold for hundreds of millions of dollars more than they were acquired for. Veyance Technologies was among those companies in a larger fund in which McAuliffe had invested; that means he would have profited from the deal. A representative for Carlyle declined to comment for this story. The company's leadership has struggled to defend some of their decisions at times. The firm in 2005 acquired a minority stake in Combined Systems Inc., a less-lethal munitions manufacturer that produced tear gas and super-sock bean bags subsequently used by governments in Tunisia, Egypt and China to crack down on pro-democracy protesters. Combined Systems officials said at the time that they could not control how their products were used. But the U.S. State Department condemned the excessive use of force against protesters in Egypt in particular and opened an investigation into the misuse of tear gas after pictures of CSI-branded tear gas canisters were published on social media. By all measures, Carlyle is a behemoth in the world of private equity, with 29 offices spread across five continents staffed by more than 1,800 professionals. The firm raised over $27 billion of new capital in 2020, according to its annual report. Despite what it described as a difficult environment because of the pandemic, Carlyle delivered distributable earnings of $762 million to its investors last year, its highest total in the past five years. Youngkin joined the firm in 1995 and rose up through the ranks steadily in the subsequent years, becoming head of the industrial sector investment team by 2005. By March 2011, he had become the chief operating officer and within seven years, he was named co-CEO. Carlyle announced Youngkin's retirement last summer amid speculation that he was interested in running for office. In the announcement, Youngkin said it was the professional journey of a lifetime and my honor to be part of building Carlyle into the global institution it is today." Youngkin's annual compensation package in 2019, his last full year at the company, approached $17 million, according to published reports at the time. That same year, Carlyle sold Sunnyvale's Plaza Del Rey for $237 million after buying it for $152 million four years earlier. Acquiring higher-end mobile home parks, now referred to as manufactured housing, was part of a broader strategy for Carlyle that included large properties in Arizona and Florida. Such investments are an emerging trend among private equity firms that recently recognized investment potential in mobile home parks. Critics, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have accused the firms of preying upon aging residents with steady income streams and limited options to move when rents and fees go up. Six years after Carlyle entered Pavlick's life, she is still fighting rent and fee increases, which continued to surge after Carlyle sold her community to another out-of-state investment firm two years ago. This park used to be called the park with the heart, Pavlick said. They just turned everybodys happy home upside down. ___ Peoples reported from New York. PHUKET, Thailand (AP) Thailand embarked on an ambitious but risky plan Thursday that it hopes will breathe new life into a tourism industry devastated by the pandemic, opening the popular resort island of Phuket to fully vaccinated foreigners from lower-risk countries. As the first flight arrived, airport fire trucks blasted their water canons to form an arch over the Etihad jet from Abu Dhabi as it taxied to its gate. Leaving the airport, Frenchman Bruno Souillard said he had been dreaming for a year of returning to Thailand and jumped at the opportunity. I am very, very happy, the 60-year-old tourist said. The Phuket sandbox program comes as coronavirus infections are surging in Thailand, including a significant number of cases of the Delta variant, and many have questioned if it's too early to woo tourists back, and whether they'll come in significant numbers in any case due to the restrictions they'll still face. But the number of new cases on the island itself is extremely low, in the single digits daily, and more than 70% of its residents are fully vaccinated. The government is gambling that travelers will be willing to put up with coronavirus-related regulations for the opportunity for a beach holiday after being cooped up in their home countries for months. Before the pandemic, the tourism sector made up some 20% of Thailand's economy, and 95% of Phuket's income. The resort island off the southern coast saw fewer than a half million visitors in the first five months, and almost no foreigners, compared to more than 3 million during the same period last year including some 2 million foreigners. In a nod to the importance of the sandbox plan, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha flew to Phuket to be on hand in person for the launch. He emphasized that the sandbox was just the first step toward his goal announced in June of having Thailand completely reopened within 120 days. "This reopening is related to not only Phuket but also the whole country, he said. Last-minute hitches in some of the program details and cautions from authorities that if cases start to rise on the island more restrictions may be needed or it may have to be shut down entirely meant some cancelations before it even began. Fewer than 250 international travelers were expected on the first day compared to the initial target of 1,500. But as the kinks are worked out and people report their first-hand experiences, authorities are hopeful for a steady increase in the numbers. From July 1 to 15, there are currently 1,101 hotel bookings for a total of 13,116 room overnights. Travelers to other parts of Thailand are subject to a strict 14-day hotel room quarantine, but under the sandbox plan, visitors to Phuket will be allowed to roam the entire island the country's largest where they can lounge on the white beaches, jet ski and enjoy evenings eating out in restaurants, although clubs and bars remain closed. Only visitors from countries considered no higher than low or medium risk a list currently including most of Europe and the Mideast, the U.S., Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand are permitted, and they must fly in directly to Phuket, though plans are in the works to allow carefully controlled transfers through Bangkoks airport. Following the inaugural flight from Abu Dhabi, passengers were expected to arrive later Thursday from Qatar, Israel and Singapore. Adult foreign visitors must provide proof of two vaccinations, a negative COVID-19 test no more than 72 hours before departure, and proof of an insurance policy that covers treatment for the virus of at least $100,000, among other things. Once on the island, they have to follow mask and distancing regulations and take three COVID-19 tests at their own expense about $300 total and show negative results. After 14 days, visitors can travel elsewhere in Thailand. ___ Rising reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writer Chalida Ekvittayavechnukul in Bangkok contributed to this report. BRIDGEPORT A local community college is offering suicide prevention training to community college educators and administrators throughout Connecticut. Housatonic Community College hosted sessions for its faculty, staff and students over the last school year. At the end of June, the college expanded efforts from its city campus to statewide. Colleges can offer a mental health safety net for students, as well as its faculty, staff, and the larger community, said Kim McGinnis, dean of student services. It is critical that we recognize the signs of suicidal and in-crisis behavior so that we can effectively intervene with life-saving strategies. The recent statewide training at Housatonic was taught by Tom Steen, a suicide prevention expert with more than 40 years of training. Attendees were expected to take new skills back to their own students, faculty, staff and local communities. I am gratified that Housatonic has taken the lead in hosting this timely and important training, said Dwayne Smith, Housatonics CEO. Suicide is a growing concern in the age range of students we serve, so it is critical that our community colleges have the requisite training in this area. Future plans include a course on effective and sensitive institutional responses to suicide, and sessions on suicide prevention open to all Housatonic community members this fall. Suicide is the second highest cause of death among college students, according to the school, which issued a statement on the prevention program. As students transition into college life and adulthood they face increased independence, but also greater academic demands, adjustment to a new environment, and the task of developing a new support system, read the statement. Loss and isolation related to the pandemic has taken a further toll on mental health. We still do have some healing to do, and a lot of that is related to mental health, Gov. Ned Lamont said last month. The suicide prevention trainings sessions are funded by a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. WAKEFIELD, Mass. (AP) An hourslong standoff with a group of heavily armed men that partially shut down Interstate 95 ended Saturday with 11 suspects in custody, Massachusetts state police said. The standoff shut down a portion of I-95 for much of the morning, causing major traffic problems during the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Authorities said the interstate is now reopened and the shelter-in-place orders for Wakefield and Reading were lifted. The standoff began around 2 a.m. when police noticed two cars pulled over on I-95 with hazard lights on after they had apparently run out of fuel, authorities said at a Saturday press briefing. At least some of the suspects were clad in military-style gear with long guns and pistols, Mass State Police Col. Christopher Mason said. He added that they were headed to Maine from Rhode Island for training. You can imagine 11 armed individuals standing with long guns slung on an interstate highway at 2 in the morning certainly raises concerns and is not consistent with the firearms laws that we have in Massachusetts, Mason said. In a video posted to social media Saturday morning, a man who did not give his name, but said he was from a group called Rise of the Moors, broadcast from Interstate 95 in Wakefield near exit 57. We are not antigovernment. We are not anti-police, we are not sovereign citizens, were not Black identity extremists, said the man who appeared to be wearing military-style equipment. As specified multiple times to the police that we are abiding by the peaceful journey laws of the United States. The website for the group says they are Moorish Americans dedicated to educating new Moors and influencing our Elders. Mason said he understood the suspects, who did not have firearms licenses, have a different perspective on the law. I appreciate that perspective, he said I disagree with that perspective at the end of the day, but I recognize that its there. Mason said he had no knowledge of the group, but it was not unusual for the state police to encounter people who have sovereign citizen ideology, although he did not know if the people involved in the Wakefield standoff was a part of that. The men refused to put down their weapons or comply with authorities orders, claiming to be from a group that does not recognize our laws before taking off into a wooded area, police said. Mason said the suspects surrendered after police tactical teams used armored vehicles to tighten the perimeter around them. Police initially reported nine suspects were taken into custody, but two more were taken into custody in their vehicle later Saturday morning. Two suspects were hospitalized, but police said it was for preexisting conditions that had nothing to do with the standoff. Police and prosecutors are working to determine what charges the members of the group will face. The suspects were expected to appear in court in Woburn on Tuesday, Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said. A Tesla Model S Plaid erupted in flames as the owner was driving down the road on Tuesday, attorneys for the man said, briefly trapping him in the car after the electronically activated doors would not open. It happened in outside Philadelphia days after the man took delivery of the model Tesla has hailed as the world's quickest production car. Tesla said it delivered the first 25 vehicles in June after Tesla CEO Elon Musk held a glitzy media event in Fremont, Calif. Authorities from the Gladwyne Fire Department initially said they were investigating a fire involving a Tesla Model S, but by Thursday the news release had been taken down. The Lower Merion Township Fire Department, which responded to the fire, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The chief fire officer for the township's fire department confirmed to CNBC that a 2021 Model S Plaid caught fire on Tuesday night and said crews were on scene for more than three hours to deal with the aftermath. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it is gathering information on the incident. "NHTSA is aware of the Tesla vehicle fire in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania; and the agency is in touch with relevant agencies and the manufacturer to gather information about the incident," spokeswoman Lucia Sanchez said. "If data or investigations show a defect or an inherent risk to safety exists, NHTSA will take action as appropriate to protect the public." The agency is investigating alleged defects that can cause fires in Tesla sedans and SUVs, including older Model S and Model X vehicles, a probe that was opened in 2019. The blaze bore a resemblance to previous Tesla fires, where there was an electrical or smoky smell followed by a pop, and the owner became trapped in the vehicle after its electronics malfunctioned. The Washington Post reported on a similar series of events in Frisco, Tex., in November. Attorneys for the driver, who they declined to identify, shared photos of badging and documentation confirming the vehicle was a Model S Plaid and said it had been delivered the weekend before the incident. Mark Geragos, of the law firm Geragos and Geragos, confirmed he is representing the owner and called for Tesla to take the vehicles off the road. "This is a harrowing and frightening situation and an obvious major problem," Geragos said in a statement. "Our preliminary investigation is ongoing, but we call on Tesla to sideline these cars until a full investigation can occur." Geragos is working with another attorney, Jason Setchen, who is representing the owner through his business Athlete Defender. In an interview, Setchen said his client narrowly escaped catastrophe after the car caught fire and the door handles would not budge. "He's in the car, he smells and sees the smoke, turns around and sees the smoke is filling up the cabin, then flames, and reacts almost immediately," Geragos said in an interview. "The door malfunctions, he gets out and somehow the car is still running [down the road] according to witnesses as he's trying to get away from the car. And within moments of him getting out of the car, the car is engulfed in flames." Setchen said the owner had been driving the car around 8:55 p.m. Tuesday when the fire broke out. "Once he saw the fire shoot out of the back, that's when he immediately pulled over to try to exit the vehicle," Setchen said. "He tried to get out of the vehicle; he was pushing the door frantically and it would not engage." Finally, he said, the owner put the weight of his body against the door. "He was able to push the button again and lean against the door very hard and that's when it opened up," he said. The attorneys were continuing to investigate the incident and would review their options once the probe was complete. They planned to formally alert the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the problem in case it affected more vehicles. Tesla hailed the vehicle as an engineering marvel, promising a 390-mile range and more than 1,000 horsepower, propelling the car to speeds up to 200 mph and logging 0-to-60 mile per hour times of below two seconds. The fire involving one of the few Plaid models already in the hands of customers raises questions about long-simmering concerns about Tesla's approach to electrification, which involves different battery chemistry from competitors and maximizing range and performance compared to rivals. Instant unlimited access to all of our content on currypilot.com. The Curry Coastal Pilot's E-Edition Newsletter emailed to you each week, the night before the paper hits the street! This subscription is for NEW or RENEWING online subscribers. (The charge will appear as "Country Media Inc." on your credit card statement) Send us your pets! If chosen, your pet will be featured in the Wednesday Life section and you will be mailed a Daily Journal T-shirt. Submit your pet Local Sentara Albemarle Regional Health Campus will be new SAMC's name jeure / Artists Rendering courtesy Sentara Healthcare Sentara Healthcare has released this image of the redesigned replacement hospital for Sentara Albemarle Medical Center it plans to build on a 135-acre site near Halstead Boulevard Extended and Thunder Road in Elizabeth City. Sentara Healthcares new hospital in Elizabeth City will have a new name when it opens its doors in three years. Sentara Albemarle Medical Center will be renamed Sentara Albemarle Regional Health Campus when it moves to a 135-acre site the hospital already owns near Halstead Boulevard Extended and Thunder Road. The new hospital could have fewer beds than originally planned because of changes in patient treatment trends. Sentara announced last fall that it would build a new hospital in the city. SAMC employees were notified of the name change earlier this week. Hospital officials expect the new hospital to open in the summer of 2024 with construction set to begin this spring. Sentara will break ground and begin construction on a medical office building on the site in September. The medical office building is expected to be open in fall 2022. Sentara officials said the name change reflects a trend toward more outpatient care and less hospitalization. Sentara said it paused design plans this past spring to re-imagine the design of the SAMC replacement hospital in an effort to build a health facility that will meet the future needs of the area. All services currently provided at SAMC will continue at the new hospital but will be right sized for the future and delivered in a modern and efficient setting, said Dale Gauding, a spokesman. Nationally, there is an ongoing shift from inpatient to outpatient care and Elizabeth City is no exception, Gauding said. This shift is driven by advances in technology, the broad push to treat patients in lower-cost settings when appropriate and patients desire to heal at home and avoid a hospital admission. When it announced plans for the new hospital last November, Sentara said there would be 110 beds at the new facility with a total project cost of around $158 million. Sentara has not determined a new cost for the project since it is still in development. The bed count on this design is still being determined but it may be under 100, Gauding said. The first floor of the new hospital will include the emergency department, radiology, surgical services, a pharmacy, lab, infusion center and the cafeteria. The second through fourth floors of the inpatient wing of the hospital will have a standard medical-surgical unit in addition to intermediate care and critical care units and a unit for labor and delivery. The medical office building on the campus will house several Albemarle Physician Services practices on the second floor. The first floor will include radiation oncology services, wound care services, cardiac rehab and a Womens Imaging Center. Pasquotank Board of Commissioners Vice-Chairman Charles Jordan was one of several county officials that attended a meeting with Sentara President Phil Jackson last week and said he is excited about the plans for the hospital. Its going to be a real boom for Pasquotank County to have a real up-to-date hospital, Jordan said. We were really encouraged by what we saw last week. Sentara will also lease three acres at the site to Pasquotank for a new Pasquotank-Camden Emergency Medical Services building. The county will lease the property for $1 a year for 50 years. Sentara and Pasquotank also announced last November a settlement plan for the hospitals 30-year lease on the current county-owned Sentara Albemarle Medical Center, formerly known as Albemarle Hospital. Sentara, which took over operations at the hospital in 2014, will place $38 million in an escrow account until the new hospital is open and operating. That escrow money will be used to pay Sentaras lease and other associated costs around $2 million annually at the county-owned hospital while the new hospital is being built. Once the new hospital is open, the remaining escrow money, which could be around $30 million, will be released to the county. Pasquotank will retain ownership of the current SAMC site on North Road Street once the new hospital opens. Pasquotank officials have said they will consider options for redevelopment of the existing hospital site, which could include a public-private partnership to spur development along the Road Street corridor. That is something we are going to have to look at, Jordan said. There are some options out there. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance. Psalm 33:12 Emmett Murphy is a retired Christian minister. Mrs. Martha Lyndell Wilbanks, age 84, of Chatsworth passed away Thursday, July 1, 2021, at Chatsworth Health Care. She is survived by her husband, Damon Wilbanks of Chatsworth. No public memorial services have been planned at this time. Cremation services were provided by Peeples Funeral Hom The site of the planned Kingston Food Co-op at 708 Broadway in Kingston, N.Y., in a photo taken Friday, July 2. A photo from the Red Hook Police Department's Facebook page shows a vehicle that overturned after going off Cruger Island Road in Annandale-on-Hudson on Friday, July 2. The Capitol Connection State lawmakers take care of themselves first @ChescoCourtNews on Twitter Michael P. Rellahan has been a staff reporter and editor at the Daily Local News since 1982. He has covered all kinds of news over the years but is now assigned to report on court and legal news, as well as Chester County government news and politics. An Australian reporter dubbed the 'world's most beautiful news anchor' while covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict says it 'doesn't bother her at all' when critics call her a 'disgrace to journalism'. Part-time model Sarah Williamson, 31, is worlds away from her native Melbourne working as a correspondent in the centre of Tel Aviv for Israeli broadcaster, i24 News. The political science graduate, who was a producer on Channel Nine's A Current Affair before relocating to the Middle East in 2017, has captured attention for her glamorous looks while covering the most complex geopolitical conflict on Earth. But while her star is undoubtedly on the rise, Ms Williamson - who hosts the i24 program Israel Business Weekly as well as working as a senior producer for the network - is no stranger to criticism. Scroll down for video Australian journalist Sarah Williamson (pictured at the Dead Sea) has captured attention for her glamorous looks while reporting from the front line of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict A girl who can do both: Ms Williamson (left, reporting from the Gaza border for i24 news and right, near her home in Tel Aviv) has been dubbed the 'world's most beautiful news anchor' Ms Williamson (pictured) hosts the i24 program Israel Business Weekly as well as working as a senior producer for the network Comments on her Instagram account mock her off-duty wardrobe which includes crop tops and denim shorts, with some insisting she should dress more conservatively because of her profession. Recent remarks slammed her for allegedly posting selfies while rockets rained down on Tel Aviv and Israeli airstrikes razed much of the Gaza Strip in two weeks of violence that left at least 256 Palestinians - including 66 children - and 13 in Israel dead. Ms Williamson responded to the backlash clarifying the photos had been taken well before the conflict she worked round the clock to cover. 'A disgrace to journalism...posing like that when people are dying. Shameful,' one woman wrote. Another added: 'Where's your humanity? Do you understand that people are dying while you are parading?' But Ms Williamson is unfazed by trolls, arguing she is entitled to a personal life and to dress however she sees fit in a beachside city known for its hot, Mediterranean climate. Ms Williamson (left, at a conference in Paris, France in June 2021) is an accomplished journalist with eight years of experience in international newsrooms and a Bachelors degree in political science But comments on her Instagram account mock her often provocative outfit choices, with some insisting she should dress more conservatively because of her profession Ms Williamson (pictured) said she is totally unfazed by online trolls 'It doesn't bother me at all, because what I do outside work is completely separate,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'People don't seem to understand that I'm allowed to be a human as well as a journalist. I can dress however I want, and how any woman would in 31 degree heat.' As well as detractors, the broadcaster, who has fronted a major fashion campaign for an Israeli footwear brand, has an audience of adoring fans. 'So, you win! World's most beautiful, intelligent news anchor,' one man wrote under a recent Instagram photo. A second said: 'You make the news very cheerful, and that is always a plus.' Ms Williamson (pictured) believes women are entitled to do and dress as they please in their personal lives The multitalented broadcaster (pictured) has an audience of adoring fans Ms Williamson has witnessed terrifying incidents over the course of her four-year career in the Middle East that would send most running for the safety of home. But she said the tragedies and violent clashes involving families on both sides of the conflict only motivate her more. 'There are a lot of people who would be turned off by ugly situations, like what we saw during the recent conflict,' she said. 'But if you can mentally process them and deal with them like I can, I think it's my responsibility to follow them and tell the public about what's happening.' Ms Williamson (pictured) has witnessed frightening incidents during her four-year career in the Middle East that would send most running for the safety of home The correspondent (pictured during a news cast on the Gaza border) said the tragedies and violent clashes involving families on both sides of the conflict only motivate her more On May 22, the day after the ceasefire came into effect, Ms Williamson unveiled shocking injuries after being involved in an accident near the centre of Tel Aviv. She shared an Instagram photo from Ichilov Hospital of her bloodied arm, which required '24 stitches' and a 'stupid amount' of glass to be removed after she crashed her scooter following riots in the area. Ms Williamson revealed she lost control of the bike around 1am when she collided with debris from a burnt out bus that was strewn across the road. 'I did a very long skid in some very hectic glass, and ended up had to go to hospital getting 24 stitches as a stupid amount of glass removed from my body,' she said. Ms Williamson noted the irony of injuring herself in a road traffic accident less than 100km from the epicentre of the conflict. 'A stellar end to the day. You can spend the whole day on the Gaza border and come out completely unscathed, yet slip into the shattered glass from bus windows 20 metres away from your house,' she said. Nightmare: On Saturday, the 30-year-old showed a shocking image of her bloodied arm, which required '24 stitches' after she crashed into debris on her scooter following riots in the area Horror: 'I did a very long skid in some very hectic glass, and ended up had to go to hospital getting 24 stitched as a stupid amount of glass removed from my body,' she said In the aftermath of the ceasefire, Ms Williamson has been closely monitoring Australia's unfolding Covid crisis, which last week plunged almost 12million Australians across four states and territories into some form of lockdown. Restrictions are in place across Greater Sydney, Southeast Queensland, Perth, Darwin and Alice Springs, as the highly contagious Indian Delta variant continues to spread across the country. Ms Williamson said while Australia has done an 'absolutely incredible job' at keeping case numbers low since the pandemic began, its vaccine roll out has been weak compared to other countries. 'It's incredibly slow on a global scale,' she said. 'For a country that has done such a good job in other areas, it should have been quicker.' Ms Williamson (pictured in Tel Aviv) praised Australia's containment of the virus, but believes its vaccine roll out should have been better 'For a country that has done such a good job in other areas, it should have been quicker,' Ms Williamson (pictured) said Ms Williamson said while there is no doubt that Australia has succeeded in containing the virus, Israel's vaccination program has been 'unprecedented.' About 65 percent of Israel's 9 million residents have already received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, while just 4.7 percent of the Australian population are fully vaccinated, The Australian reported. Ms Williamson slammed Australia's closed border policy which forces all returning travellers into hotel quarantine for 14 days, even if they have been vaccinated overseas. 'I'm a fully vaccinated Australian, but I still have to quarantine when I get home. It doesn't make any sense,' she said. Ms Williamson (pictured) says Australia's closed border policy for fully vaccinated citizens makes 'no sense' Israel's public health response may be the envy of many, but it is now facing its own battle against the Delta variant which has caused a surge in infections despite the state being one of the most highly vaccinated countries in the world. This new wave, which saw more than 100 people testing positive each day for six days in a row, forced the reopening of Covid testing sites and the return of mandatory face masks indoors, just 10 days after the country lifted the requirement. Tourists and pilgrims, which are the lifeblood of Israel's economy, were due to return on July 1, but the outbreak has delayed that for another month. Israel's leading public health official Sharon Alroy-Preis admitted the rise in infections is 'concerning', given about 40 percent of those who have tested positive in the past week have been vaccinated twice. An artist uses shells of different shapes and sizes to create stunning beach artwork. Jeweller and designer Anna Chan, who is based in New York, visited Robert Moses State Park and began creating sand sculptures which eventually evolved into beautiful animal mosaics. Bored Panda compiled a gallery of Anna's designs including safari animals like lions and rhinos, as well as paying homage to the sea with whales, an octopus and fish. She begins her projects by collecting different shapes and colours of shells that match the idea she has in her head, be that penguins or hedgehogs. The stunning works of art, which are shared on her Instagram and website, take a minimum of three days to complete, and it can be up to a week before they're finished. Here FEMAIL looks at some of the intricate pieces... Jeweller and designer Anna Chan, who is based in New York, creates stunning mosaics of animals including lions using shells she found on the beach During lockdown she visited Robert Moses State Park and began creating sand sculptures but this evolved into creating art depicting various animals like penguins She begins her projects by collecting different shapes and colours of shells that match the idea, like the grey, black and white ones used for this rhino The stunning works of art take a minimum of three days to complete and she occasionally uses props like the bamboo to make her panda come to life Different types of shells found on the beach, like these mussels shells which gives the illusion of a feathered tail on this peacock Stunning attention to detail is taken to create the animals and smaller shells are added to make the snout and small spiral at the tail of this seahorse This beautiful 3D fish uses flat shells which have been stuck into the sand to create a stunning tail and smaller circular shells create the body Bored Panda compiled a list of Anna's most stunning works like this orange and white octopus which she built into the sand This snap shows the process behind the works of art as individual shells are carefully added into the sand to create the images No animal is too small recreate as Anna takes lots of small dark shells to give the impression of spikes on the back of this hedgehog Anna depicts numerous different animals in her creations and picks different shells like these shark eyes to give the impression of curly wool for this sheep Advertisement Prince Albert of Monaco has once again made an appearance without his wife Princess Charlene, two days after the royal couple spent their 10th anniversary apart. He attended the 15th international Monte-Carlo Jumping event, which is part of the Longines Global Champions Tour of Monaco, alongside his glamorous niece Charlotte Casiraghi, who has previously competed in the event. Princess Charlene, 43, is currently in her native South Africa where she is undergoing 'multiple, complicated' procedures after contracting an ear, nose and throat infection in May, while on a solo visit to the country, while Albert, 63, remains in Monaco with their six-year-old twins Jacques and Gabriella. The mother-of-two hasn't been seen in Monaco since January, but her children and husband, who is facing a paternity suit over a love child born in the early years of their relationship, visited her last month. Prince Albert of Monaco (pictured centre) has once again made an appearance without his wife Princess Charlene, two days after the royal couple spent their 10th anniversary apart He attended the 15th international Monte-Carlo Jumping event, which is part of the Longines Global Champions Tour of Monaco, alongside his glamorous niece Charlotte Casiraghi (pictured centre), who has previously competed in the event Princess Charlene is undergoing multiple, complicated procedures after contracting a severe ear, nose, and throat infection in May while on a solo trip to South Africa. She was originally expected back in Monaco in May. She is pictured in South Africa in June Charlotte, who is the daughter of Prince Albert's sister Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and a successful equestrian in her own right, appeared elegant in a while cotton dress, tied at the waist. Wearing a dainty golden necklace and strappy high heels, the stunning brunette, 34, opted for an eye-catching bold red lipstick. Matching his niece, a beaming Albert donned white trousers with a smart suit jacket and yellow tie. Held in the principality, the prestigious equestrian contest was set against the backdrop of the Princes Palace. A keen horse lover since the age of three, Charlotte is advocate for the physical advantages of the sport, telling Vogue in 2014: 'Riding is also a great workout. Charlotte (pictured right), who is the daughter of Prince Albert's sister Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and a successful equestrian in her own right, appeared elegant in a while cotton dress, tied at the waist Wearing a dainty golden necklace and strappy high heels, the stunning brunette, 34, opted for an eye-catching bold red lipstick 'Riding uses so many different muscles. I ride two to three horses a day, and I ride almost every day when Im not working or travelling. You use your legs, your arms, your back. Its a very complete sport. But I dont think of it as exercise. I do it because I love it, and its a plus that it helps me stay in shape.' Yesterday, Princess Charlene shared a slickly-produced video documenting her royal wedding to Prince Albert on Instagram, a day after the couple spent their 10th anniversary apart. Princess Charlene shared the two-minute long video, titled 'Chapter 1: A New Princess for Monaco', on her official account yesterday morning. Matching his niece (pictured), a beaming Albert donned white trousers with a smart suit jacket and yellow tie Set to stirring classical music, the video montage offers at behind-the-scenes look at the extraordinary time, effort and cost that went into staging the couple's civil wedding on July 1, 2011. A religious ceremony was held the following day and a two-day national holiday was declared to mark the occasion. Clips show Charlene and Albert exchanging vows in front of close family and friends in the Throne Room of the Prince's Palace, and sharing a kiss on the palace balcony to the delight of a cheering crowd. The couple, who spent their anniversary thousands of miles apart, also appeared on stage together at a celebratory concert for the public. Princess Charlene of Monaco shared a slickly-produced video documenting her royal wedding to Prince Albert on Instagram yesterday, a day after the couple spent their 10th anniversary apart. Pictured, the couple waving to a waiting crowd after their civil ceremony on July 1, 2011 Princess Charlene shared the two-minute long video, titled 'Chapter 1: A New Princess for Monaco', on her official account. The couple share a kiss on the palace balcony Last public outing together: Charlene and Albert were last pictured together at an official event together in January (left) at the Sainte Devote Ceremony in Monaco. On April 2, she shared a photograph alongside her husband Prince Albert and their children Jacques and Gabriella to mark Easter, although it is not clear where it was taken In a statement last week, Charlene explained she would not return to her family in time for the anniversary, saying: 'This year will be the first time that I'm not with my husband on our anniversary in July, which is difficult, and it saddens me. 'However, Albert and I had no choice but to follow the medical team's instructions even though it is extremely difficult. He has been the most incredible support to me. 'My daily conversations with Albert and my children help immensely to keep my spirits up, but I miss being with them. 'It was special to have my family visit me in South Africa, and it was truly wonderful seeing them. I can't wait to be reunited with them.' Clips show Charlene and Albert, 43, exchanging vows in front of close family and friends in the Throne Room of the Prince's Palace. Pictured, sharing a kiss after becoming husband and wife The royal couple also appeared on stage together at a celebratory concert for the public, which appeared in the sweet clip The clip, shared yesterday, also shows the huge crowd that greeted the royal couple when they left the palace on July 1 Princess Charlene shared the video on her Instagram account with a simple heart emoji as the caption (pictured above) Charlene shared a video last week to mark the anniversary, documenting her entire relationship with Albert. The title of yesterday's short film suggests there will be more 'chapters' to come. Princess Charlene came to South Africa to do conservation and anti-poaching work, earlier this year. Her foundation says she was driving the causes close to her heart, pouring herself into her Foundation work in South Africa when she fell ill. Before contracting the infection and undergoing the procedures, Princess Charlene worked with various ambassadors and partners to raise awareness and funds for the Foundation's initiatives. The royal shared this photo of her husband Albert, her twins, her brother and nieces and nephews on safari in South Africa last month. It is thought Albert will travel to South Africa with their children soon so they can see their mother Prince Albert was joined by the couple's six-year-old twins Princess Gabriella and Hereditary Prince Jacques to watch the World Rugby Sevens in Monaco last month Prince Albert and their children will visit Princess Charlene in South Africa again soon to be with her and support her, a spokesperson said. Princess Charlene's life in the Monaco royal family 1987 - Bea Fiedler, a German topless model, claims her son Daniel was the prince's son. 1992 - An American national files a paternity lawsuit against the Prince, claiming that he was the father of her daughter, Jazmin Grace. 2000 - Princess Charlene meets Prince Albert at the Mare Nostrum swimming competition in Monte Carlo 2005 - In May, a former flight attendant claims that her youngest son, whom she named Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste, was Prince Albert's child. She states that his parentage had been proven by DNA tests requested by the Monegasque government. On 6 July, a few days before he was enthroned on 12 July, the Prince officially confirms via his lawyer Lacoste that Alexandre was his biological son. 2006 - After a DNA test confirmed the child's parentage, Albert admitted, via statement from his lawyer, that he is Jazmin Grace's father. 2010 - Princess Charlene and Prince Albert announce their engagement 2011 - Princess Charlene was said to have bolted two days before the royal wedding after hearing Prince Albert had a third love child during their relationship. It was alleged that Charlene tried to flee home to South Africa three times before her 'arranged marriage', at one point taking refuge inside her country's embassy in Paris. Monaco officials were said to have coaxed her back by brokering a deal between the Prince and his reluctant bride that she provide him with a legitimate heir. After that she would be free to leave of her own free will. During the wedding, Charlene was in floods of tears, while her husband looked on impassively. Later in the year, Princess Charlene confessed she felt 'very lonely' in Monaco 2012 - Princess Charlene was reported to be 'depressed' at her failure to provide her husband with a legitimate heir. 2014 - Pregnancy was announced in May. In December Charlene gave birth to twins Princess Gabriella and heir to the throne Prince Jacques. 2017 - Princess Charlene visits Africa, tells media: 'I am African and this is my heritage. It will always be. Its in my heart and in my veins.' 2019 - In a rare interview, Princess Charlene confessed it is 'sometimes hard to smile' and said the year had been 'very painful'. 2020 - Charlene debuts a shocking half-shaved hairstyle. It is announced Prince Albert of Monaco will appear in court in the new year to fight explosive claims he fathered a third love child with a secret girlfriend before marrying his now wife Princess Charlene. 2021 - January 27 - Charlene is pictured with Albert for the Sainte Devote Ceremony in Monaco. March 18 - Charlene is pictured at the memorial for the late Zulu monarch, King Goodwill Zwelithini at the KwaKhethomthandayo Royal Palace in Nongoma, South Africa April 2 - Charlene posts an Instagram picture of herself, Albert and their twins Jacques and Gabriella for Easter. It is unknown where the image was taken. May and June - Albert, Jacques and Gabriella attend several events in Monaco without Charlene, while she shares snaps from her trip in South Africa. June 24 - Charlene's foundation releases a statement saying the royal is unable to travel and is undergoing procedures for an ear, nose and throat infection Advertisement Former Olympian Charlene, who debuted a radical new hairstyle while on the trip, had originally been due to return to Monaco in time for the Grand Prix in May, where she was guest of honour. Months later and she is still not home. Charlene and Albert's marriage has been plagued with rumours from the start. The couple met at the Mare Nostrum swimming competition in Monte Carlo in 2000, and announced their engagement in 2010. Former Olympic swimmer Charlene reportedly tried to flee Monaco for her native South Africa on three separate occasions before the royal wedding after discovering Albert had fathered a love child - his third - while they were together. Monaco officials were said to have coaxed her back by brokering a deal between the Prince and his reluctant bride, saying she could leave once she had provided him with a legitimate heir. One source said at the time: 'Charlene will provide an heir, then if things don't go well, she will receive a generous divorce settlement once she's served a decent amount of time.' Charlene was seen in floods of tears on her wedding day in 2011. Just one year after their wedding, it was reported that Charlene was 'depressed' at her failure to provide her husband with a legitimate heir. Her pregnancy was announced in May 2014, and in December that year she gave birth to twins Princess Gabriella and heir to the throne Prince Jacques. In the almost 10 years since, Charlene, who shares six-year-old twins with Albert, has rarely spoken publicly of her experience. In 2017, the Princess made an emotional return to Africa, where she spoke about how much the continent means to her. 'I am African and this is my heritage. It will always be. Its in my heart and in my veins,' she told Eyewitness News. Last year she admitted life was 'very painful', saying: 'I have the privilege of having this life, but I miss my family and my friends in South Africa and I'm often sad because I cannot always be there for them.' It's been a tumultuous start to the year for the royal, after news emerged that her husband is facing a paternity suit over a love child born in the early years of their relationship. The 63-year-old prince, who already supports two illegitimate children, is alleged to have had a relationship with a Brazilian woman which resulted in a daughter in 2005. The claim, which his lawyers dismissed as a 'hoax', is particularly painful as he was dating Charlene at the time, having met the former Olympic swimmer in 2000. The 34-year-old claimant who cannot be named for legal reasons says she had a passionate affair with Albert, leading to the birth of their daughter whose name is also classified on July 4, 2005. Albert received a handwritten letter from the child, who is now 15, in September last year reading: I don't understand why I grew up without a father, and now that I have found you, you don't want to see me. Legal papers were also filed, as lawyers for the claimant called on Albert to undergo a DNA test just as he did before finally being identified as the father of two illegitimate children born in the 1990s and early 2000s. In January, Charlene spoke publicly for the first time since the allegations, telling Point de Vue: 'When my husband has problems, he tells me about it. 'I often tell him, "No matter what, no matter what, I'm a thousand percent behind you. I'll stand by you whatever you do, in good times or in bad." The mother-of-two went on to say she also often tells her husband she will 'protect him' and will 'always be by his side.' Charlene travelled to Thanda Safari in KwaZulu-Natal to learn more about what is being done by the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation South Africa to help save rhinos from poachers. The princess took part in conservation operations including rhino monitoring and tracking, deployment with the Anti-Poaching Unit, educational wildlife photography sessions, and a White Rhino dart and dehorning exercise. The Queen has once again proved she's the master of subtle diplomatic dressing after wearing a brooch acquired by an ancestor at a Frankfurt auction to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The monarch, 95, donned the Cambridge Emerald Brooch during an audience with Mrs Merkel at Windsor Castle yesterday as the political leader continued her valedictory visit to Britain. Teaming it with a vibrant green and blue floral dress, Her Majesty's accessory features a central emerald surrounded by two circles of diamonds, while a large detachable pendant is suspended by a dazzling chain with a leaf detail. The piece of jewellery was inherited by the Queen in 1953, from her grandmother Queen Mary of Teck, who was given the emeralds to make the brooch by her grandparents Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, and his wife Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge. They entered a charitable lottery when in Frankfurt in 1818 and won a box of around 30 cabochon emeralds, which Queen Mary used to create the brooch and her Delhi Durbar tiara. The Queen has once again proved she's the master of subtle diplomatic dressing after wearing a brooch acquired by an ancestor at a Frankfurt auction to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel (pictured) The monarch, 95, donned the Cambridge Emerald Brooch (pictured) during an audience with Mrs Merkel at Windsor Castle yesterday as the political leader continued her valedictory visit to Britain The emeralds which made the brooch were first inherited by the Duchess of Teck, Marys mother, and were passed to Prince Francis of Teck upon his parents death. But when Mary's brother Francis, who was known for womanising and gambling, suddenly died of pneumonia in 1910 aged 39, he left his prized family jewels, known as the Cambridge Emeralds, to a mistress, Ellen Constance, the Countess of Kilmorey. There was also a suggestion that he fathered an illegitimate child. Fearing a scandal just before her coronation, Mary had the will sealed. The jewels were bought back from the Countess by Mary for 10,000, equal to more than 600,000 today. Mary wore them when her husband George V was crowned and the emeralds have also been worn by the Queen and Princess Diana. The piece of jewellery was inherited by the Queen in 1953, from her grandmother Queen Mary of Teck, who was given the emeralds to make the brooch by her grandparents Prince Adolphus (pictured), Duke of Cambridge, and his wife Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge Mary often used the Cambridge emerald brooch as an extension of her Delhi Durbar stomacher, a V-shaped piece of decoration worn over the chest, and occasionally as intended. The jewels were made for the Delhi Durbar in India in 1911 - a ceremony which proclaimed King George V and Queen Mary emperor and empress of the country. Yesterday, Mrs Merkel, who is preparing to hand over power after almost 16 years in the autumn and is making a series of farewell trips, went to Windsor Castle for a last official audience with the Queen after talks with Boris Johnson at Chequers. It was the second time they have met within a few weeks, after they were seen together at the G7 summit in Cornwall last month. She and the Queen posed for the cameras, with her majesty telling the German leader they were 'making history'. The U.S. is not going to meet President Joe Biden's July 4 goal of having 70 percent of adults with at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. As of July 3, around 67 percent of American adults have been vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In some states and counties, the vaccination rate is much lower. About 1,000 U.S. counties have seen less 30 percent of the population receive at least one shot. Doctors warn these numbers mean that the country is still very far from reaching herd immunity, which is worrying as the Indian 'Delta' variant spreads rapidly in the U.S. It could take years for the vaccine effort to truly reach everyone who is currently unvaccinated, said physician and health equity expert Dr Uche Blackstock. Use the interactive map above to explore data from the CDC. On May 4, Biden announced a new vaccination goal for the U.S: an aim to administer at least one vaccine shot to 70 percent of the adults in the country by July 4. The goal was calculated to help the U.S. approach herd immunity - a term that public health experts use to describe what happens when enough people in a community are protected against a disease so outbreaks cannot thrive in that setting. Scientists have worked throughout the last year to determine what share of the population may need to be vaccinated for the U.S. to reach herd immunity. While it's difficult to pinpoint a precise estimate, 70 percent has been considered a significant milestone on that path to protection. The country had hit Biden's previous big vaccination goal: 200 million vaccine shots were administered during his first 100 days in office. But the U.S. fell short of this one with 66.8 percent of U.S. adults receiving at least one dose and 57.9 percent fully vaccinated, CDC data show. With the current slow pace of vaccinations - about 1.1 million shots are administered a day, according to Bloomberg - the country is unlikely to catch up to 70 percent over the weekend. 'We don't have enough people vaccinated, not even close, to reach herd immunity,' Dr Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist at the University of Texas and author of the Your Local Epidemiologist newsletter, told DailyMail.com. 'It also means we've reached, or are about to reach, saturation [of the vaccine market]. We need to start becoming very innovative about how to address vaccine hesitancy as well as how to address vaccine equity.' Some states have passed Biden's goal with flying colors. In Vermont, Hawaii, and Massachusetts, more than 80 percent of adults are partially vaccinated. Other states in the Northeast are catching up, as is New Mexico. Meanwhile, some states in the South and Midwest are still under 50 percent. Mississippi has the lowest one-dose adult vaccination rate at 46.3 percent. Only 38.3 percent of adults in the state are fully vaccinated. County-level figures provide an even more granular perspective into which communities are and are not protected against Covid. Vaccination rates vary wildly across the U.S. from over 80 percent in some states to under 50 percent in others. Pictured: A man gets his shot at a clinic in Lansdale, Pennsylvania At a press briefing on Thursday, CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky said that about 1,000 counties have vaccination rates under 30 percent, making them highly vulnerable to the Delta variant and others. 'The more the virus jumps from person to person, the more opportunity it has to mutate,' Jetelina said. A future mutation could evade our vaccines, so stopping COVID-19 transmission now is crucial. In these under-vaccinated communities, we need to 'put the [70 percent] goal aside and think of the challenges we're dealing with,' Blackstock, CEO of the organization Advancing Health Equity, told DailyMail.com. Those Americans who aren't yet vaccinated are very different from those who jumped to get appointments earlier in 2021, he said. Reasons for not yet being vaccinated vary based on where people live, their experiences with the U.S. healthcare system, their exposure to misinformation about the vaccines, and more. Daily vaccination rates have fallen from an average of more than three million per day in April to around one million per day in June and July Vaccination rates are also lower in many communities of color. Data compiled by Bloomberg show that almost every state has lower vaccination rates among black residents than among white residents. 'A lot of people of color are still in the 'wait and see group,' said Blackstock, referencing vaccine surveys conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. 'And we know that if the vaccines are given full FDA approval, that will help move the needle for some people.' Other people of color may be more willing to get vaccinated if they are able to get the shot from someone they trust, such as a primary care physician. But even that solution is far from simple. 'We know that, because of lack of access to health insurance, lack of access to quality healthcare, that there are probably a lot of black and Latinx Americans who may not even have a primary care provider,' Blackstock said. The U.S. 'should be pulling out all of the stops' to reach vulnerable communities in vaccination campaigns,' Blackstock said. Jetelina similarly said that a grassroots movement is necessary, which means providing opportunities for unvaccinated people to learn about the vaccines and have their questions answered. And that effort will need to be sustained beyond the current phase of the pandemic. Efforts to communicate the importance of vaccination and promote equity in healthcare more broadly can't end with one summer campaign, Blackstock said. '[The messaging we need is] not for this summer, or this fall, it's not even for 2022. It's going to be for the next few years,' she said. For now, though, both Blackstock and Jetelina recommended continued mask-wearing indoors - even for those who are fully vaccinated - to keep the variant at bay. For those who are not yet vaccinated, they recommend getting a shot as soon as possible. Vaccination offers the best protection available against the Delta variant. July 4, 2020 held special meaning for many Americans. It was not only a celebration of U.S. independence but a celebration of personal freedom as well. After much of the country went into lockdown during spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic - closing stores, restaurants, movie theaters and other small businesses - many felt that things were finally going to return to normal. Instead, the holiday kicked off a summer suffering, and produced the second largest surge of the pandemic with an average of about 68,000 cases and 900 deaths per day. Cases are down 83 percent compared to last year at about 11,000 per day and deaths have plunged 66 percent to 300 daily, and 54 percent of the population has had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. But doctors tell DailyMail.com they have some fears another surge could form after the holiday this year just like the year before. Doctors fear another surge in COVID-19 cases could be right around the corner similar to the second wave that was kicked off after July 4 last year (seen above) It comes as nearly every state in the U.S. is seeing cases increase or hold steady as COViD-19 vaccination rates stall 'The July surge was incredible,' Dr Marjorie Bessel, chief clinical officer of Banner Health in Phoenix, Arizona, told DailyMail.com in reference to last year. The July 4 holiday kicked off a massive swell of cases in the U.S. that would not get under control until deep into autumn. More than 100,000 Americans died over summer 2020 - with a death toll of 100,000 recorded May 26 and 200,000 recorded on September 22 - as the nation lost control of the pandemic. The state of Arizona became a COVID-19 hotspot, and hospitals like Bessel's were overwhelmed with patients. Many medical experts like Bessel foresaw the surge, knowing the state had reopened too early and that not enough was being done to protect Arizonans. 'We knew back then, that opening up that quickly, without any vaccine, and without taking appropriate steps was going to result in a surge,' she said. Bessel said it wasn't just disappointing to see the people that got sick but that so many were hospitalized and couldn't see their loved ones at home. Arizona, Florida, and many other parts of the country opened too early last year, causing a huge swell of cases last summer 'How scary is that for somebody who's sick with COVID, getting worse having to be hospitalized, and kind of forever going behind the doors of the hospital, not to be able to see their loved ones, and those that help support them during the very, very difficult illness?' she said. 'And then, of course, the ultimate tragedy is those that actually died from the illness and how they are forgotten - forever gone from our world, how they are forever missed by their family and their friends.' Bessel described her hospital as being overwhelmed, with not enough personal protective equipment (PPE) and not enough room for all the patients. It was emotionally overwhelming as well, she said, as her team watched many people die, often having to comfort them in their final moments en lieu of their family due to limited visitation. While 2021 may not be as particularly brutal for hospitals in Phoenix, Bessel fears another potential surge striking in the coming weeks. Arkansas is among the states suffering from large surge at the moment, with its case rate increasing by more than 200 percent in the last two weeks from around 230 cases per day to more than 700 per day. Coronavirus cases have also risen in Nevada by 167 percent in the past two weeks from around 250 per day to around 660 per day. More than 100,000 Americans died from COVID-19 in July and August last year Arizona has also seen a 29 percent spike in the last two weeks with the seven-day rolling average rising from 425 cases per day to 550 per day. Arizona is fully open, but not enough residents are vaccinated for people in the state to feel safe, Bessel said. She noted that Arizona - where about 50 percent of the state's population has received one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine - is below the national average of 67 percent and is not near herd immunity yet. Nationally, the country's vaccine rollout has faltered as well, as America ended up falling short of President Joe Biden's goal of getting at least 70 percent of the adult population partially vaccinated by the holiday. Those factors in addition to the Indian 'Delta' variant of the virus - a highly contagious variant sweeping across the world - make Bessel fear for the future. 'We remain concerned about not just holiday, but just the ongoing emergence of the Delta variant across the country, which is going to be so much more transmissible than the variants that we had before,' she said. 'It's going to seek out those populations that are not vaccinated. And in the state of Arizona, we're not vaccinated at the level that we need to [be].' The Delta variant currently makes up 26.1 percent of all new infections and is expected to be the dominant strain in the U.S. in the coming weeks. Surges like the one Bessel believes is coming could be avoided, however, as long as more people get vaccinated. 'The beginning of the end of the pandemic [is] vaccination. Yet, here in the country, we still haven't taken full advantage of this incredible tool that we have: safe and effective vaccines,' she said. '[America has] more vaccines than any other country in the entire world...and delivery and access points...are vacant. '[It's] just really easy for so many individuals in this country to actually get vaccinated if they chose to do so.' Florida, which was also among the world's biggest COVID-19 hotspots last year, is doing a little better than Arizona in its vaccination rate, with 54 percent of its population having received at least one shot of a vaccine. Dr Timothy Hendrix, senior medical director at AdventHealth Centra Care in central Florida, believes more can be done to get the vaccination rate in his state up as well, though. Health experts believe more Americans will need to be vaccinated before everyone can be protected from the virus as the daily vaccination rate has fallen from three million per day in April to one million per day in June and July 'We really need to get our vaccination rates up, and we continue to spread that message,' he told DailyMail.com. 'We are slowly getting to people, those people that are on the fence, the people that are waiting for it to become convenient for them. You know there are a lot of people out there that still want the vaccine, they're just waiting for it to be convenient.' He said employers have told him that many unvaccinated employees are hoping to be able to get the vaccine at their workplace, where it is quick and convenient. 'I think there's a lot of untapped potential in terms of getting people vaccinated. It's just we need to make it convenient and easy for them, and get the right information out to them regarding the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.' Hendrix has also personally had conversations with people that help convince them to get vaccinated. 'I have one on one conversations daily with people answering their concerns about the vaccine and the safety of the vaccine,' he said. 'After the conversation they're like ["I will get vaccinated"]. They got it from a medical expert, they feel more confident and comfortable with the vaccine.' Hendrix said the summer surge last year began before July 4, and that it was the Memorial Day holiday in late May that kicked things off, and that Independence Day just accelerated the surge. Hendrix's outlook post-July 4 this year is rosier than Bessel's. While he does expect an uptick in cases this time around, Hendrix does not foresee a full scale surge like what the state witnessed last time. 'Here's what's different this time around compared to the last. Half of our population is vaccinated. Probably another 15 to 20 percent have natural immunity because they've had an infection,' he said. 'That's not the greatest immunity, but it's better than nothing. 'A portion of our herd has been vaccinated, so we're not going to see a huge spike, would be my prediction. We're going to see an increase in cases, we are already seeing that right now.' He uses Spring Break, where, similar to July 4, thousands of people flocked to Florida's beaches for a weekend of debauchery, and a surge of cases did not occur. 'I was concerned we were going to have a fourth wave during Spring Break, because people were going outside, or gathering, or traveling, or getting together family,' he said. 'We did see a rise in the number of positive cases for about four to six weeks, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been.' When a controversial Alzheimers drug won U.S. approval, surprise over the decision quickly turned to shock at how long it might take to find out if it really works - nine years. Drugmaker Biogen has until 2030 to complete a study confirming whether its new drug Aduhelm truly slows the brain-destroying disease Alzheimer's. That's under the terms of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s conditional approval of the medication. Stakeholders, both those who supported and opposed Aduhelm's approval, are saying that a nine-year time-frame is far too long, though, and they hope to shorten the length of time the company has. 'We think nine years is unacceptable and our expectation is that it will happen in a much shorter time frame,' said Maria Carrillo of the Alzheimer's Association, an advocacy group that pushed for approval but now wants the FDA to set a quicker deadline. Other experts warn that the 2030 timeline could slip if patients balk at enrolling in a new study for a drug that's already available. The focus on Aduhelm could steer volunteers away from testing of other promising treatments. The FDA approval of aducanumab (Aduhelm) required the company to perform further trials to prove its effectiveness. They currently have until 2030 to do so, though many are calling for the FDA to shorten that window of time Biogen suffered a rocky trial process with aducanumab, with two trials both being cut short after failing to hit goals. They still managed to get approval for their drug, though, as some data showed it could slow cognitive decline by up to 22% 'If someone can go to their physician and get the FDA-approved drug, why would they go into a trial where they risk getting a placebo?' said Donna Wilcock, an Alzheimer's researcher at the University of Kentucky. The drug received authorization from the FDA on June 7, making it the first drug approved to fight Alzheimer's since 2003 and kicking off a month of turbulence for Biogen. Biogen, which is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, launched two clinical trials for Aduhelm, the commercial name of the drug aducanumab, in 2016. Both were stopped midway because researchers concluded that neither trial would end up reaching its goal. Later, the company revealed updated data from the second study that showed patients had 22 percent decrease in speed of their cognitive decline. It also showed that it could remove amyloid beta plaques on the brain that some experts believe can reduce the cognitive decline caused by Alzheimer's. HOW TO DETECT ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE Alzheimer's disease is a progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory, thinking skills and the ability to perform simple tasks. It is the cause of 60% to 70% of cases of dementia. The majority of people with Alzheimer's are age 65 and older More than six million Americans have Alzheimer's. It is unknown what causes Alzheimer's. Those who have the APOE gene are more likely to develop late-onset Alzheimer's. Signs and symptoms: Difficulty remembering newly learned information Disorientation Mood and behavioral changes Suspicion about family, friends and professional caregivers More serious memory loss Difficulty with speaking, swallowing and walking Stages of Alzheimer's: Mild Alzheimer's (early-stage) - A person may be able to function independently but is having memory lapses Moderate Alzheimer's (middle-stage) - Typically the longest stage, the person may confuse words, get frustrated or angry, or have sudden behavioral changes Severe Alzheimer's disease (late-stage) - In the final stage, individuals lose the ability to respond to their environment, carry on a conversation and, eventually, control movement Advertisement Because of this, the drug - which has already been used to treat some patients - has received some support from the Alzheimer's community. Advocates say that while the drug is not perfect, it can help delay the cognitive decline in the more than six million Americans who have Alzheimer's. The drug getting approval could also be a foothold for future research into developing treatments for the condition. Critics doubt its effectiveness after clinical trials with mixed results, and three members of an advisory panel that near-unanimously voted against the drug ended up resigning in protest. Dr David Knopman of the Mayo Clinic, Dr Aaron Kesselheim of Harvard and Dr Joel Perlmutter of Washington University St Louis, all stepped down earlier last month. All three were among the opposition in the board's 10-0 vote against approving Aduhelm. Recommendations from the board are not binding, though, and the FDA is allowed to, and often does, make decisions that go against the board's vote. It is rare that a unanimous decision by the board is ignored, though, and the agency is generally more conservative than experts on the board - which was not the case with Aduhelm. Knopman authored a study in November which analyzed the results of the clinical trials, and said he disagreed with Biogen's claim that the drug was effective. Kesselheim had some scathing words about the drug's approval as well. '[Aduhelm] is probably the worst drug approval decision in recent U.S. history,' Kesselheim wrote in a letter to FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock obtained by Stat News. 'It is clear to me that FDA is not presently capable of adequately integrating the Committee's scientific recommendations into its approval decisions.' He also criticized the large price point of the drug, which will be sold for $56,000 per year of treatment. 'The worst thing for people with Alzheimer's would be to put out a product that doesn't work,' Kesselheim said. 'It will be sold at an extremely high price and waste resources that could go to other things.' The drug was projected to have a cost between $10,000 and $20,000. Dr David Knopman (left) and Dr Aaron Kesselheim (right) both resigned from an FDA advisory board after the drug was approved Now, U.S. lawmakers have launched an investigation into the controversial approval process. The investigation was announced by Rep Carolyn Maloney, chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Rep Frank Pallone Jr, chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce earlier this week. 'We have serious concerns about the steep price of Biogen's new Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm and the process that led to its approval despite questions about the drug's clinical benefit,' Maloney and Pallone Jr said in a statement. Biogen said it will 'of course cooperate with any inquiry we may receive from these committees,' in response to a Reuters request for comment. Its 3am and Im on a night shift at a busy London hospital. Ive been called to the delivery of a premature baby. Its potentially a life-or-death situation an emotional, distressing time for any parent but one that as a paediatric registrar I am trained to handle. I step into the cubical, mentally preparing myself for however sick the baby might be, where Im met by the father, who lunges toward me. I wont repeat what he says word for word. Its too offensive. Lets just say that he explains forcefully, while staring at me dead in the eyes and through gritted teeth, that he aint having no Asian seeing his wifes anatomy. I back out of the cubical, quickly, afraid for my own safety. The midwife immediately rushes to help. Sorry sorry but shes not talking to me. Shes apologising to the man who had just racially abused me. I hear her tell him that there are only foreign doctors on duty. Not that it should matter, but I was born here. My father, a GP, came to the UK from Pakistan in 1974, answering the then-governments desperate call for more doctors. Since graduating from medical school in 2009, Ive enjoyed a diverse career, working on wards and writing for leading medical journals. Ive edited 15 medical text books, started my own company, won awards for leadership and taught all over the world. But at that moment, this man knows none of this nor would he ever. He simply has to concede he has little choice but to let the foreign doctor back in so I can do my job. Since graduating from medical school in 2009, Dr Zeshan Qureshi (pictured at home in Essex) has enjoyed a diverse career, working on wards and writing for leading medical journals And I cant simply walk away, either. The thought barely crosses my mind. These babies all need immediate medical help, without exception. As doctors we learn to make sacrifices and do whatever is necessary to deliver care. We work long hours. We skip meals. There are sleepless nights. And so, in this case, I block out what had just happened and carry on. A few hours later, in the neonatal unit, the father approaches me again. I brace myself. But instead of another tirade, he apologises. He sounds sincere. I congratulate him on becoming a dad and wish him all the best for the future. In the few years that have passed, Ive played all this over in my mind again and again. And what bothers me, more than the abuse itself, was how it was seemingly accepted by my colleagues. I feel disappointed. With myself, for not defending my own dignity and my right to be respected, but also disappointed by those who didnt step in or say anything on my behalf. Or even acknowledge what had happened. And I feel angry because, as unpleasant as it may be, it was far from a one-off. Like most people from an ethnic minority living in Britain, Ive been subjected to racist insults and abuse my whole life. Growing up in Essex in the 1990s, one of my earliest memories is being called a P*** in the school playground. And to be a doctor from an ethnic minority working in the NHS, you have to learn to tolerate a level of racist abuse, too. While I was still a trainee, aged 21, sitting in on a GP consultation, a patient told me Id be better off working in a curry house. Perhaps he thought he was being funny. I have no idea. I actually made light of it, telling the elderly gent I wasnt that good a cook. After the man left, I plucked up the courage to tell the GP that I felt the comment had been inappropriate. My words were met with a shrug, and nothing more. And that was it. After that, in the back of my mind, there was doubt: did I misinterpret the situation? Am I being oversensitive? Will speaking up mark me out as a complainer a troublemaker? Certainly, my dad, who worked harder than anyone Ive ever known, seemed to always say racism was something we adapted to, not combated. In the 1980s he was told at one hospital that a man of colour would never make it to a top job here. But I dont agree with my fathers approach. Over the past few months, as Ive started to speak up on social media about racism in the NHS, I have been met with a flood of messages from other medics who have had similar experiences, spanning decades. A worrying pattern has emerged, not simply of racist abuse, but of the ways in which racism from patients is accommodated, for want of a better word, by medical bosses. To put it bluntly, some patients have racist beliefs and want their doctors to be white. A lot of the time, such demands are rightly refused. In 2019, the then Health Secretary Matt Hancock wrote to NHS staff to say that racist abuse would not be tolerated. Hes seen it first hand, while shadowing doctors working in hospitals. If you see a colleague being abused, do not ignore it, he went on. If a patient asks to be treated by a white doctor, the answer is no. Proud moment: Dr Qureshi, who grew up in Essex in the 1990s, pictured with his family at his graduation in 2009 But the reality is somewhat different. Sometimes, these requests for white-led care are accommodated to appease the patient. And it isnt clear what the legal ramifications are if you deny medical assistance in these circumstances. It means even today I hear examples of hospitals rearranging rotas to appease racist families and turning a blind eye to racism. As one junior doctor working in A&E at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital posted on Twitter: A white patient with abdominal pain refused to be examined by me; gave the reason that I was not white. Consultant arranged a white doctor to attend without any qualm. The problems are perhaps most complex in my own speciality, paediatrics a problem I discussed recently at a conference held by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. In these cases it is the child not the racist parent being treated. Consider a mother holding her three-year-old, whos struggling to breathe. The mother refuses care from anyone but a white doctor. Taking the zero-tolerance approach, and asking the mother to leave, would harm the child who is entirely innocent. As doctors, we have to put the patient first. So what is the best way to approach that? It becomes less ambiguous when its not an urgent situation, or sudden decision, but part of a long-term care plan. This story was told to me by another doctor recently. The parents of a child with complex health needs refused care using hostile language from any ethnic-minority doctor. The clinical director felt the childs needs came first the patient had to be cared for by whoever the family were willing to accept. As a consequence, clinics were planned so they would always have a white doctor. When the child was acutely unwell, and requiring emergency treatment, the parents actually refused to come in unless they could be guaranteed a white doctor. There were no white doctors working in the emergency department at that moment, so shockingly the team called one to come in especially. This went on for a year before it was brought up during a hospital meeting, where it was decided it would be unethical to continue giving in to racism. The parents were told in no uncertain terms that they had to see whichever doctor was available, and they agreed. It happened some years back, but it isnt the only such example shared with me. Often, nothing is documented. And no one complains. It shouldnt be happening, but it is. In the words of another colleague, who wished to remain anonymous: When there are sick children involved, management bends over backwards to appease and tolerate horrific behaviour. Today Dr Qureshi is a paediatric registrar in London. He has edited 15 medical text books, started his own company, won awards for leadership and taught all over the world Last week I published the results of a survey of 156 healthcare staff, all ethnic minorities. Many of their experiences are recent, from during the pandemic, when most of the nation clapped key workers from their doorsteps. One described a patient who threw blood at them, threatened to give them Covid and launched a tirade of racist abuse, describing the doctor as a foreigner stealing jobs. An East Asian medical student was mocked for eating bats and starting the pandemic. Another was in an exam with an actor playing the part of the patient when the actor muttered another bloody foreigner under their breath. This is just the tip of the iceberg. We dont know the full scale of incidents like this, as research has shown the majority go unreported. Perhaps rightly, victims dont believe anything will be done about it. Sometimes racism is more subtle although no less offensive. Take, for example, the time I saw a five-year-old with a mild case of tonsillitis. The parents took an instant dislike to me, and after I explained the situation they insisted on another opinion. They saw a white doctor who said the same thing as me. Perhaps a second opinion was the only way to relieve their anxiety. But Ive heard too many stories like these. It seems patients are more likely to seek a second opinion after being assessed by a medic from an ethnic minority. Its hard not to believe racism, or at least unconscious bias, is a factor. Some argue that language plays a role, too that some doctors have poor English or thick accents which make them harder to understand. Yet every doctor who trains outside Europe must sit an internationally recognised English language test and an exam to check their skills, before the General Medical Council will allow them to practise. And even within the UK there are strong regional accents, yet these seem less likely to provoke the same reaction from patients. One of the reasons Im committed to talking about this issue now is to bring it into the open, on behalf of others who might feel unable to. For many ethnic-minority doctors, it is easier just to comply with patients requests to see a white doctor because we face a double risk: the abuse and also a racially motivated complaint if they are forced to see us. Ethnic-minority doctors are twice as likely as white doctors to have a complaint lodged against them to our regulatory body, the General Medical Council (GMC). Of course some of these will be valid but the disproportionate numbers would indicate something else is going on. Doctors from ethnic minorities are also more likely to face a full-scale investigation as a result of a complaint, and be struck off. A worrying pattern has emerged, not simply of racist abuse, but of the ways in which racism from patients is accommodated, for want of a better word, by medical bosses, writes Dr Qureshi (file photo of an NHS hospital ward) The GMC itself has been found guilty of racial bias. A recent case in point: it pursued a case against Omer Karim, a consultant urologist of Sudanese and Irish heritage working at Heatherwood and Wexham Park NHS Trust, but dropped a similar case against his white colleague Marc Laniado. Last week an employment tribunal in Reading concluded Mr Karim was discriminated against on the grounds of race. The GMC has accepted there remains much for us and others to do but it is appealing against the judgment, which it described as flawed. This heavy-handed approach, when it comes to ethnic-minority doctors, has been raised with them repeatedly over many years. The terrible stories of Dr David Sellu and Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba, for example, spring to mind. Both were convicted of gross negligence when patients died in their care, only for a far more complicated picture of failing outside their control, which contributed to the tragedies, to come to light several years later. Dr Sellu spent 15 months in prison after a trial in 2013 a conviction that was quashed in 2019. And after Dr Bawa-Garbas conviction in 2015 she was struck off the medical register, but on Friday a tribunal declared her free to practise without any restrictions again. Many medics believe they were made scapegoats. Was it because of the colour of their skin? Ethnic minorities make up more than half of the NHS workforce, and 40 per cent of consultants are either Asian or black. But until recently, vanishingly few made it to more senior roles, despite many appearing to be just as well qualified as their white colleagues. The GMC (headquarters pictured) itself has been found guilty of racial bias. A recent case in point: it pursued a case against a consultant urologist of Sudanese and Irish heritage, but dropped a similar case against his white colleague, writes Dr Qureshi There has been a shift in recent years Victor Adebowale, Baron Adebowale, who was born to Nigerian parents, heads up workers organisation the NHS Confederation, while Millie Banerjee, who hails from Calcutta, chairs the board of NHS Blood and Transplant; and Chaand Nagpaul, of Indian ethnic origin, is chair of the Council of the British Medical Association. These names, and others, are beacons, but they are still exceptions. Im currently on parental leave, and using the time to reflect on the type of world I want my children to grow up in. For me, it starts by attempting to improve the conditions for minority doctors. There are thorny issues for policy-makers hoping to tackle the problem: namely, how you handle a racist parent without compromising the care of an innocent child. We need new guidelines for all paediatric units. In my view, some things are straightforward, starting with making sure all incidents involving racist parents are reported to the police and documented by witnesses. A crime is a crime, regardless of the location or context, and these cases must be counted. Those parents should be banned from re-attending the hospital unless they apologise, and agree in writing to change their behaviour. I do recognise that in an emergency it might be necessary to acquiesce to a request for a white doctor. But beyond that it shouldnt ever be accepted. And in longer-term cases, if a parent refuses to have their child treated by a non-white doctor, hospitals should consider involving social services. This would be done to make sure the patient faces no further barriers to care and treatment. If a doctor does have to treat someone known to have racist views, they should be chaperoned, for their safety. Do all of these things and it will protect and improve the wellbeing of minority doctors in the NHS, but it will also send a strong message. Not only will it clamp down on racist attitudes and truly promote an idea of zero tolerance, it will also prove the NHS genuinely values its ethnic-minority workforce which is needed now, more than ever. Just the name intensive care sounds scary, conjuring up images of a brutal medical front line where doctors and nurses engage in a technological battle to keep patients alive. But now a team of NHS medics has come together to humanise the units, recognising that people heal best when their minds are attended to, as well as their bodies. On the fifth floor of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, in West London, they have created a new type of intensive care which they hope will serve as a model elsewhere, and The Mail on Sunday was granted an exclusive look. Alongside the usual array of vital machines needed to maintain life as it teeters on the edge, they have introduced a range of equipment, activities and techniques aimed at restoring the patient as a whole. On the fifth floor of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, in West London, they have created a new type of intensive care (pictured above) which they hope will serve as a model elsewhere, and The Mail on Sunday was granted an exclusive look Dr Alice Sisson, director of the hospitals adult intensive care unit (ICU), explained: ICU is about saving the sickest people in hospital. Surviving it, and surviving a critical illness, is a real achievement. But to get better you need all your senses nurtured. Amid growing evidence of the crucial importance of a good nights sleep in promoting recovery, they have prioritised making the unit as quiet and sleep-friendly as possible. Instead of the noisy clatter that is so typical of hospitals the banging doors, the swishing curtains and constant beeps is a soothing calm. In a normal ICU the noise level is about 80 decibels, said Dr Sisson about as loud as a passing truck. Here, its around 50, more like that of falling rain. Bins have soft-closing lids, while a deliberate decision was taken to eschew automatic doors for manual ones. Once someone has walked past an automatic door, it will go through its whole open-close cycle, said Dr Sisson. As anyone who has ever been seated near the carriage door on a modern train knows, such intermittent noise can be torture. Imagine enduring that for weeks, or even months. It is a small detail but indicative of the immense thought that has gone into planning the 22-room ICU refit, paid for in part with a 12.5 million fundraising drive that was organised by the hospitals charity, CW+. The rooms themselves 40 per cent bigger than before have been set up to normalise as much as possible being in ICU, which can be a deeply disorientating experience. That matters, said ICU consultant Marcela Vizcaychipi, because the more disorientated that patients are, the more likely they are to suffer delirium. ICU consultant anaesthetist Marcela Vizcaychipi (pictured above) inside the new unit on the fifth floor of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in West London Frequently delirious patients have worse outcomes and are more likely to die. So most medical equipment in the new rooms is placed out of sight, behind the bed, while the familiar objects of a television and clock are placed in front. And rather than the beds facing inwards, as they were before, they are positioned so that patients get a sweeping view over north-west London giving them something to focus on. The abundant light helps reset patients natural sleep-wake pattern (called circadian rhythm), which can be obliterated after lengthy sedation but is vital for good, restorative sleep. This also helps reduce delirium, said Dr Vizcaychipi. Electrical lights can be varied to mimic the time of day softer in the evening, for instance a far cry from the merciless fluorescent strips so common on most wards. Dr Alice Sisson (pictured above), director of the hospitals adult intensive care unit (ICU), said: 'To get better you need all your senses nurtured' Besides offering TV channels, the screens can be set to show relaxing nature scenes, photos and videos sent in by loved ones, or used for video calls. Activities have been introduced to help the more alert patients keep interested in life, notably simple craft packs such as paint-by-numbers, and even live musical recitals. Lead nurse Elaine Manderson said: For some patients, their illness becomes chronic. They can struggle to see a way out it can seem never-ending. So even doing something small can be therapeutic. During the pandemic, resident pianist Andy Hall, who is paid by CW+, performed request shows via Zoom from his Croydon home, and now does them in person. Patients are sometimes astonished when they find a pianist by their bedside, said Mr Hall, who is also researching the effect of music on physiology. Whats the best music to aid a patients recovery? Its impossible to draw universal conclusions, he said. The best music is the patients favourite music. For one person it could be Stormzy Cliff Richard for the next. But he said simply enabling patients to choose what he played helped: Its about giving them back a sense of control.' Men with incurable prostate cancer could be thrown a lifeline by a new approach that doubles up radiotherapy treatments. During the procedure, tumour-blasting rays are fired at the prostate while injections of a radioactive substance target cancer cells that have spread to bones. A study found it halved the speed at which the disease progressed, extending life by at least six months. Many patients survived far longer. One patient in the trial, 68-year-old David Livingstone, was diagnosed in 2016 with prostate cancer that had spread to his spine. He was given six months to live but the retired photographer from Richhill in County Armagh is still alive five years later. He said: Since my diagnosis, I have seen my two daughters get married and I now have two wonderful grandchildren. Without this treatment Id be long gone. Going strong: David Livingstone, 68, was given six months to live in 2016 after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer that had spread to his spine Weird science: How milk stops you losing your voice It could be the only medical condition one may wish upon an irritating partner: sudden speechlessness. But this bizarre symptom may be a sign of a nutrient deficiency, as one 29-yearold Dutchman found last year. Tests at Amsterdams University Medical Centre revealed he was suffering from a severe deficiency in calcium, which is found in milk and cheese. This had caused temporary paralysis in the muscles in his throat and voice box. The man was treated with intravenous calcium, followed by supplements, and within two months his voice returned. Advertisement Joe OSullivan, professor of radiation oncology at Queens University Belfast and lead investigator on the trial, said: We found going early with these treatments all at once didnt cause worse side effects and slowed the cancers progression. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in the UK and will affect one in eight British men during their lifetime. Almost 50,000 men are diagnosed every year over the same period, 11,000 will die as a result of it. Almost eight in ten men survive the disease, and many are cured by surgery and chemotherapy alone, but in a minority it can be lethal because of how quickly it spreads to other parts of the body. Researchers have made huge steps in battling the disease with new drugs, but Prof OSullivan believes that radiotherapy, in which energy beams target cancer cells, remains the most effective tool for fighting it. Patients normally undergo eight weeks of standard radiotherapy alongside hormone therapy a medication that inhibits the bodys production of testosterone which can feed the growth of prostate cancer. If this fails, patients could then be offered a variety of other more specialist treatments. During the trial at Queens University, doctors investigated the benefits of immediately offering patients whose prostate cancer had spread to their bones two specialist forms of radiotherapy alongside hormone therapy. One, volumetric modulated arc therapy, specifically targets the prostate. The other, radium 223, is an intravenous drug containing a radioactive material absorbed by the bones, making it effective at tackling tumours that have spread there. Prof OSullivan said: This is the first time the effect of these two treatments together has been studied. But we believed, put together and used earlier on, they would have a strong impact. Prof Joe OSullivan believes that radiotherapy, in which energy beams target cancer cells, remains the most effective tool for fighting prostate cancer (file photo) Your amazing body Stomach acid, which breaks down everything you eat so it can be absorbed by the body, is powerful enough to dissolve razor blades, an American study has found. Doctors at Meridia Huron Hospital in Ohio, who often had to deal with emergency patients who had swallowed various dangerous items, tested the strength of gastric acid by submerging steel-alloy razor blades in it. After just two hours, they were partially dissolved. After 24 hours, only a third of the razor blades remnants could be detected. Advertisement To conduct the trial, 30 patients aged between 40 and 80 who had failed to respond to chemotherapy received the combined radiotherapy and hormone therapy. The study found that, on average, patients went 22 months before their cancer began to progress more than doubling the average of ten months for advanced prostate cancer patients. Prof OSullivan says this translates to about six months longer survival time. In 2016, Mr Livingstone was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer after complaining of back pains. Scans and blood tests showed that it had spread to his spine. He said: Id always had a bad back so I wasnt expecting it. He was referred to Prof OSullivan, and soon after finishing chemotherapy he was placed on the combined radiotherapy treatment. He attended hospital every day for eight weeks for a ten-minute session of volumetric modulated arc therapy. Every four weeks over six months, he also received an injection of radium 223. Soon after, scans showed Mr Livingstones cancer was receding. He said: The cancer in my spine had nearly gone while the cancer in my prostate was no longer growing. While he suffered bouts of nausea and fatigue, he said the side effects were never extreme. Prof OSullivan said there was a strong argument to make the combination standard practice on the NHS. While its by no means a cure, we are showing progress in extending the lives of patients, he added. This has been coupled with cuts to services run by cash-strapped councils A charity cash crisis has left dementia patients stranded as hundreds of day care services shut up shop for good, a Mail on Sunday investigation has found. Dwindling funds have seen vital local groups for vulnerable adults slashed by a third since the beginning of last year. Covid restrictions halted fundraising opportunities for facilities that provide everything from lunch clubs to memory-boosting activities services both patients and their carers rely on. This, coupled with cuts to services run by cash-strapped councils, has left the entire sector decimated, say campaigners. Family members and sufferers have no respite whatsoever, says Hilda Hayo, chief executive and chief admiral nurse at Dementia UK. Many of these vital day care services are run by charities, but they are beginning to run out of money. Fundraising events havent been able to go ahead since last February, so theres been virtually no income. Lesley Carter, clinical lead at Age UK, says the obliteration of day care has caused a rapid deterioration in the health of thousands of patients. The most vulnerable people in this country are rapidly declining without any support whatsoever, she adds. Covid restrictions halted fundraising opportunities for facilities that provide everything from lunch clubs to memory-boosting activities services both patients and their carers rely on Some have lost the ability to walk simply because they havent used their muscles in a year. Theyve had no social contact, which causes confusion to spiral. Too many are being admitted to care homes way before their time. Just one example is the much-loved Wymondham Day Care Centre near Norwich, which has run social clubs for dementia patients and their families for more than 40 years. Last Wednesday it closed its doors for good, having struggled for months to make ends meet. Has your local service shut up shop? Let us know. Write to Health@mailonsunday.co.uk Advertisement And last month, Thurrock Council in Essex closed two of its friendship clubs for dementia sufferers and stopped its meals-on-wheels service in an effort to save half a million pounds. Most closures have been seen in the South West, with seven centres that offered social activities and respite care closing permanently in the past year, according to local reports. Age UK, the UKs leading provider of community groups for older adults, told The Mail on Sunday it had been forced to shut at least three of its sites, while Alzheimers Society has closed at least two. Roughly 150,000 over-65s receive some support from day care services, of which at least 10,000 suffer with dementia, according to pre-pandemic Government data. Most services are run by trained volunteers or local mental health nurses, and involve a variety of activities designed to keep patients mentally active as well as providing respite for carers. A wealth of studies show that cognitive and social stimulation can slow decline in later years and improve quality of life, but funding for these services comes either from local authorities, large charities or a mix of both. A wealth of studies show that cognitive and social stimulation can slow decline in later years and improve quality of life, but funding for these services comes either from local authorities, large charities or a mix of both (file photo) Alzheimers Society, which operates more than 500 services such as singing classes, group meet-ups and day care centres nationwide, says closures due to Covid restrictions are temporary. Three of their four devoted day care centres are open, they plan to restart their other in-person services from tomorrow onwards, bar their singing groups which will remain virtual due to indoor singing being deemed high risk. But insiders speaking to The Mail on Sunday have accused some of the bigger charities of using Covid as a cover-up for their reluctance to put their own cash into costly day care. IT'S A FACT The number of day care centres for older and vulnerable people in England dropped by at least 41 per cent between 2010 and 2018. Advertisement One financial expert said: When Covid struck, lockdowns offered an opportunity for organisations to rethink how they spend their money and cut back on services they deemed too expensive. Hayo says: Sadly, many have now shifted their focus to offering advice over the phone or directing people to other local services instead. Day care centres were, in fact, never ordered to close at the start of the pandemic, but local councils and organisations had to comply with strict hygiene rules, with groups of just 15 allowed. On May 17 this year the Government ruled that 30 people could take part in Covid-safe day care, with special allowances made for what it termed support groups. Despite this, figures compiled by the UKs leading social care charity, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, show that many have not done so. The body measures nationwide day care capacity the number of patients than can be accommodated by such facilities. This figure now stands at 52,000, down from 80,000 pre-Covid. One Alzheimers Society employee, speaking anonymously, accused the charity of effectively blocking her from reopening her service in the East of England. They offered ten weekly group sessions before it closed in March last year. In April this year, despite demand from patients, the charity did not to reopen it. Insiders speaking to The Mail on Sunday have accused some of the bigger charities of using Covid as a cover-up for their reluctance to put their own cash into costly day care (file photo) I practically begged them to let me take smaller groups within the Rule of Six regulations, says the employee. The Salvation Army was running lunch clubs for small groups since March and I saw no reason why we couldnt do the same. I was told by head office, Stop making clients be dependent on us were not social services. The majority of staff working for the service have since been made redundant. What's the difference... ...between gastritis and gastroenteritis? Gastritis happens when the lining of the stomach is inflamed as a result of damage. Symptoms include indigestion, vomiting and burning pain in the stomach, and can be triggered by a common bacterial infection called H. pylori, as well as smoking and excessive use of drugs or alcohol. Gastroenteritis, commonly known as a tummy bug, is used to describe the unpleasant symptoms associated with being infected with a bacterial or viral bug, most commonly via food poisoning. Usually this involves vomiting and/or diarrhoea, but can also include aching limbs, a fever and headaches. The symptoms rarely last longer than a week. Advertisement Meanwhile, the charity offers phoneline advisors who handle patient and carer requests, which it says will offer one point of contact for those in need. They also insist their face to face dementia advisors- which GPs can refer to- have continued to operate during the Covid pandemic These are vulnerable people with dementia they need to see someone in person, says the insider. Isolation, exacerbated by lack of day care or other community support, can have some devastating consequences. Valerie Howes, 75, from Peterborough, has vascular dementia and relied on her local charity centre for activity groups four times a week. But in March 2020 the groups ceased and she has had no sign from staff that they will restart any time soon. Valerie, who is single and lives with her sister, says: My memory is getting worse and worse, and no one seems to care. The centre was wonderful. Wed get help with any questions we had about this condition, and had access to discussion groups and music sessions it really kept me going. But then it all stopped and it feels like my condition has dramatically progressed ever since. The worst part, Valerie says, is the lack of contact from the staff at the centre. I havent heard from anybody. Not one person since the classes stopped. My sister bought me a laptop to do the online classes, but it was too confusing. The Alzheimers Society said: Day care has always been a very small part of what we do. The few services of ours during the pandemic that have closed permanently have been a part of local government contract renewal decisions, and in the East of England sadly that did result in losing a very small number of our fantastic people. Our support phoneline has been used over five and a half million times during the pandemic, with 95 per cent of service users feeling that the support they have received has improved their life. Martha Argerich Chopin: The Legendary 1965 Recording Warner Classics, out now Rating: Martha Argerichs 80th birthday last month cannot be celebrated with a brand new recording, because there isnt one. This extraordinary musician hasnt made a solo studio recording since 1983, at which time she also gave up giving solo public recitals. So why is she regarded by so many fellow practitioners as the greatest living pianist? Having heard one of her last solo recitals in Stresa, Italy, 40 years ago, my answer would be: its her spontaneity, her risk-taking, her extraordinary virtuosity, and the sense that for her, every performance is a matter of life and death. There is still something special about that evening with Martha Argerich (above): her energy, her ability to fuse the physical and the cerebral so completely Over the years I have been privileged to hear most of the greats. Players such as Horowitz, Rubinstein, Richter and Gilels have all left indelible impressions on my memory. But there is still something special about that evening with Argerich: her energy, her ability to fuse the physical and the cerebral so completely, that with every phrase I felt she was taking us to the edge of what was possible. Happily, that evening she played one of her most celebrated party pieces, Chopins Third Sonata, where in the finale her fingers and her massive mane of black hair somehow fused to create a mesmerising image that can never be expunged. She has only once played that sonata in public in the past 25 years, so its wonderful that recordings of her at her peak can be cleaned up to sound like this in a new Warner Classic reissue, made in the immediate aftermath of her victory in the Warsaw Chopin competition in 1965, when she was only 24. As well as the sonata, theres a polonaise, a scherzo, a nocturne and three mazurkas, all brilliantly executed. Argerich has survived cancer, and crippling stage fright, for decades now and remains indestructible. So, many happy returns, including, I hope, to the recital platforms and recording studios. French Exit Cert: 15, 1hr 53mins Rating: Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story Cert: 15, 1hr 36mins Rating: Another Round Cert: 12A, 1hr 57mins Rating: Freaky Cert: 15, 1hr 42mins Rating: A French exit, apparently, is when you discreetly leave a party early without saying goodbye to your host, something which, Im ashamed to say, Ive been instinctively doing for years. Now a film has taken the term for its title, and its important to remember its meaning as the increasingly strange goings-on unfold. Because Frances Price played with some flamboyance by Michelle Pfeiffer is not the sort of woman for French exits. Shes a once- wealthy New York widow who has burnt through her late husbands fortune at a rate that has left her world-weary, waspish and unrepentantly rude. If she leaves a party early, shell tell her hostess its because shes bored. Frances Price played with some flamboyance by Michelle Pfeiffer is not the sort of woman for French exits. Shes a once-wealthy New York widow But Francess spending has also left her broke and in no position to turn down her friends offer to stay in her apartment in Paris. So she gathers up her cat and adult son (Lucas Hedges) and heads to France. What is the purpose of your visit? asks the passport official. Chasing after youthful fantasies, she replies, deadpan, a line indicative of the wordy, theatrical tone adopted by director Azazel Jacobs that gets ever more surreal as it goes on. You need to keep an eye on that cat, for starters. Despite distant echoes of the likes of Amelie and Midnight In Paris, this wont be for everyone. But Pfeiffer deserves her Golden Globe nomination, there are some genuinely funny lines and Valerie Mahaffey is scene-stealingly good as the unwanted new best friend. As a curious teenager, I might have thumbed my way through the sex-filled pages of a Jackie Collins novel or two before coming to the conclusion that the bestselling author of The World Is Full Of Married Men and similar bonkbusters wasnt really for me. So I hadnt expected to get much from Laura Fairries biographical documentary, Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story. But, boy, was I wrong its an evocative, revealing, exquisitely assembled delight. The quality of the funny, charming and occasionally disarming contributors that Laura Fairrie has assembled includes older sister Joan (above with Jackie Collins in 1974) and brother Bill Its undeniable impact derives from two things: first, that Collins was a superb archiver of her own life, keeping diaries, home movies, photographs and letters; and second, the quality of the funny, charming and occasionally disarming contributors that Fairrie has assembled, including older sister Joan, brother Bill, and Jackies daughters Tracy, Tiffany and Rory. The home movie footage shot on the French Riviera and around assorted Hollywood pools captures glamorous, bikini-clad decades past while Fairries chosen arc deals with Jackies insecurities and her eventual success. The only real doubt is whether its cinematic, but given that Jackie Collins was all about big hair, big shoulders and big jewellery, the big screen is surely its rightful home. Another Round is a beautifully acted Danish comedy-drama that sees a group of middle-class, middle-aged male friends testing a suggestion advanced apparently seriously by a Norwegian psychiatrist that humans are born with a blood alcohol level 0.05 per cent too low, and that we would all be a lot happier if we were just a little bit drunk most of the time. And so their carefully monitored daytime drinking experiment starts and all goes well until, inevitably, over-confidence sets in and they decide to see what a little more alcohol will do. Slippery slopes loom, with Mads Mikkelsen on top form as bored, unhappy teacher Martin. Expect slurring, chaos and tears before bedtime. For half an hour, Freaky comes over as a cross between Scream and Scooby-Doo, with teenagers dying horrible deaths at the hands of the so-called Blissfield Butcher. Then an Aztec ritual dagger comes into play, the Butcher (Vince Vaughn) finds himself in the body of a teenage girl (and vice versa), and suddenly were into Freaky Friday, body-swap territory. Its quite funny, fairly gory and aimed very much at a young audience. Sophie: A Murder In West Cork Netflix Rating: Murder At The Cottage Sky Crime, Sunday Rating: Countdown Channel 4, Monday Rating: Just before Christmas in 1996, a 39-year-old French documentary- maker, Sophie Toscan du Plantier, who had a holiday home near the small town of Toormore in County Cork, was brutally murdered and, this week, we had two documentaries about the case to choose from. (Isnt that typical? Youre not especially waiting for one to come along and then there are two?) Theres Skys five-part Murder At The Cottage, written and presented by the film-maker Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, In The Name Of The Father) and also Netflixs three-parter, Sophie: A Murder In West Cork. I would say there is not much to choose between them, except there really is. Murder At The Cottage begins with introductory titles telling us that Sheridan is a six-times Academy award-nominated director and writer, and already you are thinking, hang on, isnt this meant to be about Sophie? This is followed by a distasteful and sensationalist reconstruction, voyeuristic glimpses of Sophies dead body, and Sheridans meandering if poetic thoughts on how he has always been haunted by this case. Its actually a masterclass in how to turn a programme about a woman into one about a man and, as I understand it, Sophies family have asked Sky to remove all the interviews they gave. I dont blame them. Glimpses of her dead body? Really? Netflixs Sophie: A Murder In West Cork, on the other hand, never loses sight of Sophie, or her familys grief, and is neither voyeuristic nor sensationalist. There are no reconstructions of Sophie in jeans, running across a field in daylight and screaming even though she died in the middle of the night she was bludgeoned to death with a concrete block; there was no nice way of saying that while wearing a nightie. Netflixs Sophie: A Murder In West Cork never loses sight of Sophie Toscan du Plantier (above, with son Pierre-Louis Baudey), or her familys grief, and is neither voyeuristic nor sensationalist Youd think, 25 years later, this case would have all played out, but far from it. The Irish Gardai quickly had a suspect: Ian Bailey, an English freelance reporter and poet. He has been convicted in absentia by a French court, but the verdict has never been recognised by the Irish authorities, who have refused to extradite him. So its solved, and also not at all solved. This documentary talked to Sophies family her parents, her son, her aunt, her cousin as well as the police and members of the local community, who never liked Bailey, but as one of them asks: Does that make him a murderer? There are twists and turns, and turns that twist, and twists that turn. What happened to the bloodstained gate that the police removed? Why did a key witness retract her evidence? How come Bailey had all those cuts down his arms? How come he knew Sophie hadnt been sexually assaulted before that became public information? Bailey is interviewed extensively. He is boastful, arrogant, recites his poetry (Its doggerel, says a local, not untruthfully), defends his innocence and laps up the attention. Are you interviewing him? asks Sophies aunt at one point. Oh, hell love that. He has a history of domestic violence and once beat up his live-in partner so badly that her lip was severed from her gum. He says he has to take full responsibility for that, except It takes two to tango. And she attacked me first. We get his measure, but does it make him a murderer? Does it? We dont know the truth, and may never know the truth, but this is grippingly and evocatively told the wild, remote landscape is itself a character and full of moments that pull you up short. The murder rate in Ireland was so low at the time that there was only one state pathologist, who took 28 hours to reach the scene, for example. It is also a dignified portrait of Sophie and an empathetic portrait of a grieving family who desperately need closure. Lets hope, pray, they get that one day. This week Anne Robinson took over as host of Countdown which, she has said, makes me the oldest woman on TV who isnt judging cakes. She is the first woman to host the Scrabble-meets- mental-arithmetic game show that launched Channel 4 in 1982 and was first fronted by Richard Whiteley. This week Anne Robinson (above) took over as host of Countdown which, she has said, makes me the oldest woman on TV who isnt judging cakes. He hosted for 23 years and was as beloved as the programme. I met him once, in Leeds. Hed come from his bolt hole in Wensleydale which, as I tell American tourists, is between Tuesleydale and Thursleydale. He became iconic, the show became iconic, and since his death, replacement hosts have included Des Lynam, Des OConnor, Nick Hewer and now Ms Robinson, otherwise known as The Queen of Mean. The show is on every week day afternoon, but I only watched Mondays episode, and the thing is: theyve hired someone on the basis of being fearsome, which isnt what this show is about. Thus, Ms Robinson had to be benign and did not, generally, seem especially enthusiastic. On to my favourite bit, Susies origin of words, she said without any enthusiasm whatsoever. But its early days, and rapport and playfulness may develop. Ill leave you with one of Whiteleys best, bad jokes: Have you heard about corduroy pillows? Theyre making headlines. Still makes me laugh. Ancestors: The Pre-History Of Britain In Seven Burials Alice Roberts Simon & Schuster 20 Rating: Prehistoric Britons tend to get a bad rap. More often than not terms such as Neanderthal and ancient man (women and children dont get much of a look-in) invoke images of mammoth-clubbing simpletons in loincloths wild barbarians who were just about staggering out of their mud huts as the Romans arrived to bring them culture, sanitation and the other hallmarks of civilisation as we know it. Now, Digging For Britain presenter Professor Alice Roberts is offering a fuller picture of the earliest Britons. Focusing on seven burials across the UK, Ancestors takes us back thousands (even hundreds of thousands) of years to explore pre-written British culture homing in on the ways our predecessors treated their dead. From accounts of Palaeolithic bones in Wales to underground chambers in Herefordshire, the famous Amesbury Archer and Iron Age chariot burials in Yorkshire, death is the starting point but ultimately this is also a book about life. From accounts of Palaeolithic bones in Wales to underground chambers in Herefordshire and the famous Amesbury Archer (above), death is the starting point Roberts regularly reminds us how much there is that we dont know, but her vivid tales of, for example, epic journeys, extraordinary burial riches, cannibalism, skulls used as drinking cups and incest mix academic authority with journalistic storytelling. We also learn about the evolution of archaeology, and the impact of religion, gender roles and DNA testing on the subject. One of the most interesting aspects of all this grave-digging is what it tells us about ourselves. Roberts makes thoughtful observations about racism, sexism (powerful female figures may have played a bigger role in early Britain than previously admitted) and our relationship with our own mortality based upon what we can learn from the remains of ancient people. Some passages involving the present-day investigations of Roberts and her scholarly colleagues are a little on the dry side but, for the most part, Ancestors is a fascinating and insightful examination of the human condition. Consumed Arifa Akbar Sceptre 16.99 Rating: Consumed is a memoir of a talented, difficult, depressive and sometimes joyful elder sister, Fauzia, who died of undetected tuberculosis in a London hospital, and her relationship with the author, her younger sister Arifa. It is also a story of immigration and dislocation, wider family dynamics, and of tuberculosis itself and its slyly shape-shifting path through the body, history, art and literature. The brain haemorrhage that led to Fauzias death at the age of 45 arrived, with outrageous misfortune, just before the diagnosis that had long eluded doctors. It was of miliary tuberculosis, the more dangerous form of the disease and the hardest to detect. In Fauzia, it had triggered a fatal meningitis. Consumed is a memoir of a talented, difficult, depressive and sometimes joyful elder sister, Fauzia (above), who died of undetected tuberculosis in a London hospital Should doctors have guessed it earlier? She was born in Lahore, and people of Indian and Pakistani heritage are at greater risk. In 1977, when Fauzia was seven and Arifa was five, their parents who had shuttled... between London and Lahore settled on London, a move that contained its own slow-burn trauma. Their father had been married before, to a German woman. Family pressure had led him to divorce and pursue a more traditional marriage with their Pakistani mother, who was 12 years younger. Yet after the new couple wed, disappointments seeped in. Patterns of favouritism in the Lahore household repeated themselves in London. In her fathers eyes, Fauzia could do nothing right, while Arifa was praised. The harsh skewing of affection left scars and resentments: Fauzia grew rebellious and bulimic, and was dogged by depression, one factor in the sporadic estrangement between the sisters. But her bold, witty and visionary side still came out in her art, in striking, intricately embroidered images. This is an engrossing and moving book, both forensic and delicate in its dredging of complicated truths, even as it acknowledges that family truths in particular are different for everyone. Two scenes especially stick in my mind. The first is of the teenage Arifa saving up to buy the newly 18-year-old Fauzia two expensive birthday tickets for La Boheme, along with a dress for the event. The second is of Fauzia, silent and sulking on the day that Arifa leaves for university, only to appear on the train platform with a goodbye present: the precious oil painting that had won Fauzia a place on a fine-art course at Saint Martins. Despite their tensions, the sisters dreamed big for one another. I have rarely read a memoir with such a combination of powerful, tender feeling and cool-headed analysis. Rather like Fauzias magical embroideries, the tapestry of sisterly passion and pain is worked here in precise, gleaming little stitches: a literary labour of love. Jenny McCartney The Penguin Book Of Spanish Short Stories Edited by Margaret Jull Costa Penguin Classics 25 Rating: How short can a short story be? Legend has it that Ernest Hemingway once won a bet by writing a short story just six words long: For sale: baby shoes. Never worn. In many ways, those six words represent the essence of the short story: a world suggested; a tragedy glimpsed. They certainly demonstrate H. E. Batess two essential ingredients for a successful short story: atmosphere and precision. The great Irish short-story writer William Trevor called it the art of the glimpse, and said that the key to it is tension. Given that Spain has such a long and rich literary tradition, I was surprised that all but five of the stories spring from the 20th Century, and most from the second half of the 20th Century I remember once hearing him interviewed, and he told of the day he was driven in a taxi for a couple of hours to give a literary talk in a village hall in Devon. When he arrived at the hall, it was open but there was nobody there: perhaps he had come on the wrong night. At this point, his taxi driver said that, to give them both a break, he would be happy to sit and listen while Trevor read him one of his short stories. Trevor thought it a charming suggestion, and read a story for 20 minutes. What he failed to realise, however, was that throughout those 20 minutes, the taxi driver had left his meter ticking. Between the two of them, Trevor and his taxi driver had unwittingly enacted a perfect little short story about the reading of a short story. The Penguin Book Of Spanish Short Stories contains many barely longer than this review: no sooner have you started them than they have finished. Sadly, none of these very short stories has the precision of Hemingways: they read more like notes for a story, or an idea in embryo. The longer stories in the collection tend to be more resonant, and have more depth. The Penguin Book Of Spanish Short Stories (above) contains many barely longer than this review: no sooner have you started them than they have finished Think of this as a box of chocolates; savour and ponder each story one or, at most, two at a time, writes the editor, Margaret Jull Costa, in her snappy introduction. I tried to follow these rules, but if I found two successive stories empty and inconsequential I was naturally drawn to read a third, in the hope of making it all worthwhile. By its very design 56 different stories in 377 pages this book is necessarily bitty. But its range of quality from profound and touching to slight and so-what-ish makes it even bittier. Given that Spain has such a long and rich literary tradition, I was surprised that all but five of the stories spring from the 20th Century, and most from the second half of the 20th Century. Irritatingly, Jull Costa gives no specific year for when each particular story was written, simply listing them in order of their authors births. This means that it is hard to place each story in its historical context: for instance, an author called Azorin, who was born in 1873 and died in 1967, comes very close to the beginning, even though he wrote his ingenious and hugely enjoyable story The Reverse Side Of The Tapestry in 1956, at the age of 83. The Civil War, which lasted from 1936 to 1939, was clearly the key, devastating event in 20th Century Spain, dividing friends and families, and many of the stories are haunted by it. To my mind the best of these is Manuel Rivass The Butterflys Tongue. A little boy called Moncho has his eyes opened to the wonders of the world by a friendly teacher. He could turn everything he touched into a fascinating story. The story might begin with a piece of paper, then set off down the Amazon everything was connected, everything had meaning. Grass, a sheep, wool, feeling cold. When the teacher went over to the map of the world, we were as attentive as if the screen at the Rex Cinema was about to light up. The boys father, a tailor, is so delighted that he gives the teacher a suit. But then comes the civil war. The boys father, a Republican, is obliged to deny his beliefs. The family gets rid of everything that might compromise him. Papa was never a Republican, says the boys mother. Papa was never a friend of the mayor. Papa never spoke ill of the priests. And another very important thing, Moncho, Papa never gave the teacher a suit. Yes, he did. No, Moncho, he didnt. Do you understand? He never gave him a suit. No, Mama, he didnt. IT'S A FACT An estimated 500,000 Spaniards were killed in the Civil War. Of these, nearly 200,000 were civilians, both Republicans and Nationalists. Advertisement The story ends with a handful of Republican prisoners, roped together, being marched through the town by the police. Among them is the teacher. The crowd shouts abuse at them. Monchos mother encourages his father to join in with the abuse. Murderer! Anarchist! Monster! shouts his father. And then his mother tells Moncho to shout too. When the trucks drew away, laden with prisoners, I was one of the children who ran behind them, throwing stones. I searched desperately for the teachers face, so that I could call him traitor and criminal Here, in just 11 pages, is a perfect encapsulation of the terrible lies and personal betrayals that occur when a country is at war with itself. In more cumbersome hands, this short story would probably have ended up as a novel, but at this length it carries infinitely more punch. Some of the tales in the collection seem almost more English than Spanish, both in their content and their style. One, by Teresa Solana, who was born in Barcelona and now lives in Oxford, reminded me of Somerset Maugham, or Roald Dahl. A stiff British diplomat leaves his wife for his brassy secretary, who then becomes The Second Mrs Appleton, which is also the title of the story. Mr Appleton is appointed ambassador to Washington, but the Second Mrs Appleton is an embarrassment, expert at putting her foot in it at the most inglorious of moments. At a major banquet, she gets drunk and loses all her inhibitions. Mr Appleton is dismissed, and is forced to take up a junior appointment in Barcelona, where his wife immediately puts her foot in it again, wondering out loud why the hell the Catalans had to speak Catalan if they could already speak Spanish. The couple are at war. Mr Appleton plots to murder his wife. At the same time, his wife plots to kill him. The denouement is neat, witty and delightfully callous. Some stories are much more abundantly Spanish, or at least what this Briton thinks of as Spanish, with a winning mixture of macho rivalries, Catholicism, over-the- top passions and surrealism. Lovers are shot, men turn into wolves, prostitutes dress as girls going to their First Communion. In Luzmila by Alvaro Pombo, a poor woman called Luzmila works as a dogsbody in the Convent of the Most Pure Conception. Dear Jesus, in whom I firmly believe, she prays each night, it is for my sake that you are there on the altar, that you give your Body and Blood to the faithful soul as heavenly nourishment. Luzmila leaves the convent and becomes a nanny, and then a cleaning lady. Aged 65, she starts to hide her communion hosts in a little box. Around the same time, she befriends a teenage prostitute called Dorita, who soon runs off with all her money. This is the sad, steamy, fateful, impoverished Spain we recognise from drama, art and opera. In A Sense of Camaraderie, Javier Marias, who is probably the best known of all the authors, declares that Here we are at the beginning of the 21st Century and already 90 per cent of 20th Century Spanish literature is completely outdated at least as far as sexual mores are concerned. Marias then turns this idea on its head, telling a funny story of two men at a wedding, ostensibly at odds, but united by a macho sense of being men together. But, for the most part, I was struck by the bland internationalism of the stories, especially some of the more recent ones. Who knows? Perhaps blandness pays off. In the brief CVs inserted at the foot of each story, there is barely a writer who hasnt been honoured with a major award. It may be 30 years since shocking images of Romanian orphans brought home the full horror of Nicolae Ceausescus brutal rule, but their story is far from over, as Kate Thompson discovers An orphanage in Bucharest, 1991: charity workers found starving children crammed into cots It was the smell Jane noticed first. A putrid, eye-watering stench. Then the unimaginable sights. Rows of metal cots filled with emaciated, semi-naked children, smeared in their own faeces. Three to a cot, they stared out from behind the bars, hollow-eyed. Even in the midst of this visceral horror, there was no noise. The silence was eerie. The dimly lit room was filled with children and not one of them was crying. Whats the point? No one will come. This was the scene that greeted nurse and charity leader Jane Nicholson, now 76, when she first entered an orphanage in northern Romania in 1991. It was so shocking, she recalls. Its how I imagined a concentration camp from the war. I realised I could never leave until I had helped to free them from this misery. In January 1990, reporters covering the collapse of the communist regime in Romania stumbled across a long-hidden story: 600 state-run orphanages, filled with abandoned children who existed in squalor. The Western world was horrified when these images were broadcast and for the first time we caught a glimpse of the reality behind Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescus brutal regime. Under his rule, contraception and abortion for women under the age of 45 were banned and Ceausescu demanded a minimum of five children per family to boost Romanias population and fuel the economy. His chilling vision turned motherhood into a state duty. Poverty-stricken families faced a choice of defying a terrifying regime the secret police acted ruthlessly against anyone who did not follow the rules or face starvation and ruin with children they could not afford to raise. On Christmas Day 1989, Ceausescu was captured and put on trial after his communist government was overthrown. His execution by firing squad ended more than two decades of rule. By the time charity workers reached Romania in 1990, roughly 120,000 children (though some estimates put the figure as high as 350,000) were living in orphanages across the country, the majority not even orphans but abandoned because their desperate parents could no longer afford to feed them. After her shocking visit to Romania, Jane formed the charity Fara (which means without in Romanian) to help alleviate the suffering of these traumatised children. Initially, her focus was getting them out of the abysmal orphanages and into small, loving homes staffed by people who cared. Since then, Fara has grown into one of the largest NGO care providers in Romania. Poverty was and still is rife in the country and the money raised through its charity shops goes towards funding schools, supporting vulnerable children and therapy centres for adults with mental and physical disabilities, many of whom were institutionalised as children. Gradinari Hospital for the Disabled, Bucharest, 1990 Although Romania is now on the cusp of becoming orphanage free, the legacy of these harsh institutions still casts a long shadow. The children rescued by charities such as Fara are now adults with stories of heartbreak and hope. Iuliana Georgiana, now 29, was placed in an orphanage when she was six. After the revolution, I grew up with my mum Ioana in [the Romanian capital] Bucharest and we were very poor, she says. By day we begged for food and at night we sheltered in a cold, abandoned basement filled with rats. Mum was so desperate that in the end she thought I would be safer in an orphanage. In 1998, Ioana left her daughter in a state orphanage in Buftea, northwest of Bucharest. She imagined her daughter would be cared for, but once the doors closed, the reality was starkly different. Animals were treated better than us, says Iuliana, fighting back tears. I didnt have to beg for food any longer, I had to fight for it. I was left in an empty room filled with 30 boys and girls my age. The staff used to throw a little bread in and watch us fight over it. There were only six beds so we had to fight for those too. Iuliana Georgiana and Fara founder Jane Nicholson The weakest children like me were left to starve. Once a week we were sprayed with cold water and the rest of the time we all wore the same filthy tracksuits. Discipline was meted out by staff in white coats, with sticks. Iulianas experiences are by no means an exception. Forced sedations, violent beatings or being tied to beds were commonplace in many of Romanias state institutions. I have no idea how I survived, Iuliana says. Thanks to Jane, she did. In 1999, Iuliana was rescued and taken to a Fara family home called St Gabriel in Popesti Leordeni, very close to Bucharest. Jane smiled and asked my name. I instinctively knew I would be safe with her. St Gabriel housed 15 children and sought to replicate a nurturing family environment filled with compassionate staff and not a white coat in sight. My new home felt like stepping into a movie set. Running water, new clothes, my own bed, hot food, so many toys. She sighs, And love! The squalid dormitory at Iulianas orphanage in Buftea, 1999; Under Janes care Iuliana flourished. She attended the local school and then took a degree in communications at the University Dimitrie Cantemir in Romania. Jane was a guest of honour at Iulianas wedding and in 2014, Iuliana and her husband Nicolae moved to West London, where they are raising their two children. Before the pandemic, Iuliana was a regular visitor at Janes Norfolk home. Im still in touch with my biological mother I love her, I always will but it was Jane who rescued me and filled my world with love. Unlike Iuliana, Alexandra Smart was just a baby when she was placed in a Romanian orphanage. Now a 33-year-old filmmaker who lives in Somerset with her fiance, Alexandra spent the first three years of her life in Bucharests notorious Number 1 orphanage (the institutions were always numbered instead of named), which was known for being one of the most brutal in the country. Alexandra Smart, who was abandoned as a baby The pressure of having to have so many children, and the fear my 19-year-old biological mother felt at not being able to afford to raise me, meant that institutionalised care was the only option she had. After my birth, I was taken straight to the orphanage, Alexandra says. My adoptive parents were unable to have children themselves and had made their peace with that, but after seeing the orphanages on television they made a giant leap of faith and with little planning went out to Romania. They feared having to choose a child but, by fate, were presented with me through a mutual contact of the friend they were staying with. They brought me home to a chocolate-box cottage in Wiltshire with a cat and a dog. Apparently, I toddled happily straight into the cottage and didnt look back. But the damage of the orphanage gradually began to reveal itself. I was terrified of water; and I fell off a swing and just sat there with a glazed expression, not realising it was OK to cry. My parents had some Romanian friends and when they tried talking to me in my mother tongue, I used to bash my head into the nearest thing as it brought back subconscious memories. Alexandra was one of an estimated 700 children who were adopted and brought to the United Kingdom. I feel very lucky. Im sure if Id spent longer in the orphanage the damage would have been entrenched. I heard some children adopted by English couples were taken back to Romania when it didnt work out, which is devastating. Now it is accepted practice that children should be adopted by families within their own country, but prior to 2001 (when a suspension on international adoption was introduced), many adopted children were exposed to further trauma because they had been uprooted from their culture or the adoption didnt work out. Thankfully, this was not the case with Alexandra, and a childhood full of immense love helped to heal the pain of her past. When I was 14, I returned to Romania with my adoptive mum and met with my biological mother, after she wrote to request a meeting. It was intense. She was a brave woman. We didnt talk about the circumstances which led to her giving me up; instead she wanted to hear about my life and I was able to tell her about my amazing childhood, which gave her comfort. Alexandra now shares her experiences as a global ambassador for the charity Hope and Homes for Children, which works in over 15 countries to dismantle orphanage-based care systems. I am so blessed, she concludes. My parents are strong, courageous people who filled my world with love. But for every success story like Alexandras or Iulianas, there are thousands more for whom life has taken a different direction. A childhood of neglect and physical abuse has left many adults irreparably scarred by their early experiences. The problems havent gone away, Jane says. Thirty years on, those children are now adults, many with serious mental and physical disabilities. The most horrific abuse took place in orphanages for disabled children. At the age of three, disabled children would be sorted into three categories: so-called curable, partially curable and incurable. These disabled children are now adults with complex needs. Fara has set up two Homes for Life in Romania, specifically for young adults with learning disabilities who have found it hard to move into independence. There is a desperate need for more. While charities such as Fara worked to remove children from orphanages, some early aid efforts, although well-intentioned, inadvertently created more problems. When television presenter Anneka Rice first visited Romania in 1990 for her Challenge Anneka programme, it triggered an outpouring of donations. Lorryloads of blankets, toys and building materials made their way to Romania and she helped renovate a dilapidated orphanage in the town of Siret in the northeast of the country. While the motivations were sincere, co-founder of Hope and Homes for Children Mark Cook says these efforts were misguided. It was no good painting Donald Duck on the walls, he says. When Mark and his wife Caroline visited Romania in 1997, they witnessed aid arriving at the front door of the orphanage, everyone would clap, then it would be sold out of the back door. All it did was to keep these wretched places going. We wanted to shut them down altogether. Caroline and Mark Cook, founders of Hope and Homes for Children They often encountered resistance. We went into one orphanage where the director was very angry with us for trying to close it down. These places were their source of income. A lot of children disappeared because they were sold for nefarious reasons, to become sex workers or house servants. The staff would say they died. Hope and Homes for Children works to reunite children with their biological parents or, when that isnt possible, find them new adoptive and foster families within local communities. This approach is called deinstitutionalisation, a term coined by the charity. It means getting children out of these institutions and back into loving families. Weve been to orphanages around the world; they might provide food and shelter, but the one thing none of them provide is the total unremitting love that you get by being a member of a family. By putting children into orphanages you are storing up trouble for the future, Mark insists. A 2020 study by Hope and Homes for Children showed 90 per cent of children who survived a childhood in an orphanage were not prepared for living independently as adults; 23 per cent ended up homeless, while 50 per cent ended up in trouble with the law. Since founding Hope and Homes for Children 27 years ago, Mark and Caroline say Romania has been both their biggest challenge and success. The country is now a much-copied model of deinstitutionalisation. There are 3,700 children left in state homes. In another five years we aim for the country to be orphanage free. The charity has also trained 10,000 people to work in Romanias child protection system. Romania captured the publics heart, Mark says. But we must see the bigger picture. There are over 5.4 million children around the world living in institutions. How can we justify this number? Children dont belong in orphanages. They deserve families. One in five shops now refuses to accept cash. Yet some traders in communities such as Saffron Walden in Essex are fighting harder than ever for its survival. There have been traders on this town's high street since 1141 when the first market opened. Back then, transactions normally took the form of bartering, with goods rather than money being exchanged. Step forward 880 years and the number of traders refusing to accept cash has started to creep up. 'Choice': Karen Oakley is happy to accept notes at her Saffron & Sage delicatessen Outside gift shop Between The Lines, there is a sign stating: 'Card payment only please'. At the tills other signs explain that 'to protect our staff and customers we are currently not accepting payment by cash'. It provides a polite reminder of how shopping habits have been changed by the pandemic. Yet manager Paula Ellis insists it does not mean anyone with just cash in their pocket will be turned away. She says: 'Money makes the world go round and we want to keep everyone happy. Although we are set up only to take card payments, there have been occasions when I have taken cash from customers who have no other form of payment.' Just a few doors up the street, hairdresser Law Salons also has a sign outside the front door saying: 'We are not able to accept cash'. Creative director Chris Law says: 'The pandemic has sped up the rush away from cash. Many people are no longer even using contactless with a debit or credit card. Phone apps are now all the rage. In 20 years' time no one will be using cash on the high street.' But not all retailers have given up on cash. Karen Oakley, owner of delicatessen Saffron & Sage, still welcomes cash customers. She says: 'It is all about choice. If someone wants to pay by cash then you should not refuse. About one in five customers still want to pay with cash and we are here to serve them.' Karen's figures tally with those from banking association UK Finance. Its latest data indicates that 17 per cent of payments still involve the handing over of notes or coins. However, there are fears that once the contactless limit rises from 45 to 100 later this year, combined with further bank branch closures, less than one in ten transactions will be cash based by 2028. 'Choice': Traders in Essex said they still want to take cash to be 'inclusive' for their customers Tony Kisielowski, manager of family butcher Burton & Son, has seen his business struggle over the past 16 months. But since reopening, a one-way system has been put in place, with two doors permanently open and clear plastic screens put up to limit potential coronavirus infections. He says: 'I cannot stand the push towards using cards in supermarkets and the use of self-service tills and neither can our customers. Before lockdown, half the people who came here paid in cash, but now it is much lower.' Grateful for this inclusive stance is customer Geoff Ball, who has just handed over a crisp 20 note for half a dozen lamb and pork chops. The 94-year-old says: 'When you want to budget there is nothing better than cash in the hand. Otherwise you have to keep checking all your bank statements.' Natalie Ceeney, author of the independent Access to Cash Review, believes as many as eight million people still rely on cash for their day-to-day spending. The former Financial Ombudsman Service boss says: 'It is all about fighting for freedom of choice. Everyone should have the right to pay by cash. Taking away the cash option is effectively telling the most vulnerable who prefer to use cash that they are not welcome. 'We all have a moral responsibility to look after the whole of society and not to be selective over who gets served at a shop or a cafe.' Ceeney has helped to set up half a dozen pilot schemes across the country looking at ways to support cash including two shared banking hubs running until September. Separately, consumer group Which? has 200 retailers signed up to a 'cash friendly pledge', including supermarkets Asda and Waitrose. But banks are less eager to help. Despite signing up to an 'access to cash action group', their only action seems to be axeing branches. At least 500 will shut this year. Last week, the Government launched an access to cash consultation to explore ways to keep it on the high street. Legislation will follow that should result in cash being available nationwide. The City is scrambling back to business. The physical evidence is that in another couple of weeks, offices will be fully open though we will wait and see how many people will actually be back there full time. But in advance of that, business has been picking up too. This has been the best six months for company flotations for six years, with 49 companies brought to market and a total of 9billion being raised. Other signs of life include London clawing back some of the financial business that slipped over to Europe, with it regaining top spot in European equity trading from Amsterdam. The City office sales market has picked up with a string of deals set up in the next few months as investors have reckoned that more space will be needed after all. Looking ahead: We must wait and see how the plans sketched out by Chancellor Rishi Sunak to set UK finance free from European regulation will work in practice Rishi Sunak has just announced plans for the Government to launch at least 15billion of 'green gilts', starting in September. The idea is that funds are raised specifically to finance environmental projects. These would include clean transport, renewable energy, pollution prevention and so on. This should help develop the market for funding private sector green projects too. Green finance looks like being a huge growth area, and so far London has been lagging behind Paris. France has already issued more than $40billion of government green debt. You could argue that raising an extra 15billion for green projects is a drop in the ocean for a UK Government that ran a fiscal deficit last year of 300billion. But if investors are eager to buy debt that is directed towards environmental projects, it makes sense to make that available. If that stimulates a wider market, that must be a good idea too. But will this awakening of the City and financial services more generally be sustained? There will be two things to look for through the autumn that will give us clues to what lies ahead. The first will be the success of the return to the office. No one knows how important it will be to get people back physically in the same place until we do so. There is no precedent to guide us. Banks around the world all have plans they have to have them. But they differ, and they keep being changed. So the biggest French bank, BNP Paribas, says it will allow some of its staff to work from home half the time. Green finance looks like a huge growth area, and so far London has been lagging behind Paris HSBC, the UK's biggest bank, is planning some kind of hybrid model and plans to cut office space by up to 40 per cent. On the other hand Jamie Dimon, chairman of biggest American bank, JPMorgan Chase, thinks that: 'Sometime in September [or] October it will look just like it did before.' This is a global issue, but my hunch is that Jamie Dimon will be proved more right than his competitors. Not only will the most ambitious staff show up in the office; financial institutions that get their people back will outperform those that allow many of them to work from home. If that is right, it will be good news for the City. It will soon again be the buzzing, thriving place that it used to be. The second thing to look for in the autumn will be how the plans sketched out last week by Rishi Sunak to set UK finance free from European regulation will work in practice. The Chancellor suggested that he had given up trying to get UK financial services access to Europe so-called equivalence, meaning that our regulations are deemed equivalent to European ones. Instead: 'We now have the freedom to do things differently and better, and we intend to use it fully,' he said. To reverse the popular adage, it is a case of, 'If you can't join 'em, beat 'em.' This is a huge strategic decision. I think it is the right one for two reasons. First, Europe is becoming year-by-year a smaller proportion of the world economy. So much better to focus on growth markets. This requires balance. I liked the Chancellor's comment on China, the greatest growth market of all. He pointed out that China is 'both one of the most important economies in the world and a state with fundamentally different values to ours'. We cannot ignore it, but must tread carefully. Second, this fits in with the City's history. It was regulatory freedom that drove the revival of London's financial services from the 1960s onwards, with the development of the Eurodollar markets and the reforms of Big Bang in 1986. Done well, this could usher in a new golden age for UK finance and massive benefits for the UK economy. Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below. P.B. writes: I received notification from Revenue & Customs last October, saying I was due a tax refund of 937 and that a cheque would be sent by post. When I received nothing, I contacted the Revenue and was told the cheque had been cashed on October 9, one day after the date on the notification I had received. I have called a number of times since, but have made no progress. Surely the Revenue must know who banked the cheque and where? Mystery: The Revenue & Customs issued a new refund but could not give answers Tony Hetherington replies: This has been a very strange investigation from start to finish. My first thought was to wonder why the tax office would write to you on October 8, saying a cheque would be sent by post, when if the cheque was cashed on October 9 it must have been posted on the same day, if not earlier. Your own repeated letters and calls to the taxman resulted only in you being passed from person to person after waiting each time for up to 40 minutes, and then being told that the matter had been given to 'the back room' or to an 'investigation team' for enquiries to be made. And muddying the waters even further, you received a letter from the Revenue which, when you opened it, turned out to be intended for a Mr Mills. You do not know him, and you returned the letter to the tax office, but it does suggest that if the Revenue confused him with you, did they also confuse you with him and send Mr Mills your 937? The likely answer seems to be no, unless Mr Mills was perhaps a client of a firm of solicitors in Bolton, which turns out to have cashed the cheque that was intended for you. Bizarrely though, the Revenue decided that although the 937 was wrongly sent to the solicitor, it was then applied to 'the correct account'. Since you have never had any dealings with the law firm, it is completely unclear how the taxman could say that your 937 had ended up in the right account. I asked officials at the Revenue headquarters to look into this, and they quickly told me: 'We are sorry Mr B did not receive the refund he was entitled to, and have now taken action to ensure he receives the money as soon as possible.' Sure enough, you do now have your 937. But there are still unresolved puzzles. I understand tax refunds are checked by at least two people before they are issued, so how could both of them decide to send your cheque to the Bolton solicitors and not to you? And why were you told that your money had ended up in the correct account when the whole point of your complaint was that it had gone seriously astray? Revenue officials cannot explain what happened. They say your address is correctly recorded in their files. But if the cheque was made out to you, how could the solicitor have banked it? Too many questions, too few answers. C.Y. received a bill from Together Energy, demanding 511 for electricity - but has never been its customer You too must look after those bills... C.Y. writes: I have received a bill from Together Energy, demanding 511 for electricity, but I have never been its customer. I use Utility Warehouse, and it bills me. I asked Together Energy for proof of any contract between us, and how it calculated the 511 when it has never read my meter, but it called in debt collectors. Tony Hetherington replies: This was a puzzle until Together Energy told me that you had actually signed up with the Look After My Bills scheme. This means you are switched to a different utility provider whenever one comes along with a better deal than your existing supplier. The whole basis of the scheme is that you do not need to shop around or sign new contracts. It is all done for you, and this is why your actual agreement is with Look After My Bills, which transferred you to give you better value than before. You have told me that you might have signed up to the scheme 'inadvertently'. Look After My Bills has told me that you were sent five communications notifying you of the switch. Surprisingly though, Together Energy has told me that as a gesture of goodwill it has scrapped your bill completely. Don't bank on it: G.D. inadvertently transferred money to an old Yorkshire Bank account that had been allocated to another customer My 1,000 transfer went to a stranger...and they kept it! G.D. writes: I transferred 1,000 from my Fidelity account to Yorkshire Bank. Unfortunately, I inadvertently selected a Yorkshire Bank account that I closed some years ago. The bank said my money would have bounced back to Fidelity, but Fidelity confirmed it really did go to Yorkshire Bank. Tony Hetherington replies: When you made the transfer, all you needed to do was give the Yorkshire Bank sort code and account number. What you did not know was that the bank had reissued your old account number to a new customer. Recent changes in bank rules mean the transfer should have been rejected if your name and the account number did not match, but at the time of your transfer, banks were ignoring names and relying only on account numbers. The result was that the new customer received your 1,000 and simply kept it. I asked Yorkshire Bank whether it had warned its new customer that pocketing your 1,000 is a crime and could lead to a charge of theft. Several days later you received a message saying your 1,000 would be refunded in full. But the message came from Fidelity, saying it would cover your loss out of goodwill. Virgin Money which owns Yorkshire Bank told me it had contacted the customer, who had offered to repay the money in installments, but when Fidelity decided it would foot the bill, Yorkshire Bank dropped the matter. If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned. In the black: Diageo's wide range of drinks, promoted by Mad Men's Christina Hendricks, allows it to adapt to changing tastes As investors, we are often enticed by the latest promising company set to take off and make us a fortune. Or lured by a much-hyped trend creating an 'unmissable' investment opportunity. But what about the year-in, year-out solid performers? Are there companies 'forever stocks' that can sit comfortably in a portfolio for years quietly growing your wealth? They may not have a buzz around them, but what they lack in excitement they more than make up for in consistency. Dan Lane is a senior analyst at investment platform Freetrade. He explains: 'The mistake we all make as investors is to think we have to unearth the next trillion-dollar firm before anyone else. 'That would be an incredibly lucrative skill, but it's not what we need to focus on when investing for the long term. 'Taking a punt on which firm looks set to rocket is just that: a punt. Instead, we should aim to hold companies already showing their strength.' THE 'SECRET SAUCE' THAT CAN HELP YOU SPOT A FOREVER STOCK James Thomson has run investment fund Rathbone Global Opportunities for 17 years and has held several stocks in the portfolio for more than a decade. He is wary of 'fashion and fads' and instead looks for stocks that will stand the test of time. He says: 'There is a secret sauce I look for in other words certain qualities that I believe companies which are highly successful over the long term are likely to possess.' Thomson believes these companies should be easy to understand, with a scalable and repeatable strategy. He prefers companies that are a 'pure play' in other words they do one thing and do it well, rather than diversifying into lots of different activities. That way, they can perfect what they do and retain their focus. 'For ever stocks should also be doing something a little bit different that is difficult to copy,' he adds. That ensures they are not easily threatened by new competition. These are Thomson's essential ingredients. But there are other components that will lead him to reject a company should they possess them. 'I avoid companies whose success is out of their control,' he says. 'For example, commodity companies where the main driver of their share price is the price of iron ore, gas or copper. 'Companies will also never be for ever stocks if they depend on binary events, for example wild cat oil exploration companies that will make a fortune if they hit oil or be worth nothing if they don't. Find a company that has the essential ingredients, but without the warning signs, and you've got yourself a for ever stock.' Rachel Winter, associate investment director at stockbroker Killik & Co, adds another ingredient she believes is important: adaptability. She explains: 'As we search for new companies that represent the next big thing, we must also celebrate those companies that have survived for decades, continuing to flourish by demonstrating extraordinary levels of innovation and adaptability. 'Studies show that the most valuable employees to a business are those that exhibit high levels of flexibility, and the same can be said for constituents of a portfolio.' Drinks: Diageo holds the for ever stock hallmarks for Freetrade's Lane, now selling Aviation Gin FIRMS FAVOURED BY THE EXPERTS Unilever ticks all the for ever boxes as far as independent wealth expert Adrian Lowcock is concerned. That's because it has proven itself resilient regardless of the state of the economy. In other words, whether households are feeling flush or tightening their belts, we're always going to need shampoo and washing powder, which Unilever sells. 'The business makes money by selling goods that people need and will need to restock up on, no matter the economic climate,' says Lowcock. 'Unilever has a proven track record of delivering low but consistent and sustainable growth, which has supported long-term returns for investors.' Diageo holds the for ever stock hallmarks for Freetrade's Lane. It is a 'pure play' business as it just sells drinks with brands such as Guinness, Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker, which was promoted by Mad Men star Christina Hendricks. However, it's the variety within its portfolio of drink brands that makes it a keeper, says Lane. 'The company has spent a few years not just extending the offering, but bringing in premium options too,' he says. 'It now has Ryan Reynolds' Aviation Gin as a super-premium gin option to complement Gordon's and Tanqueray. Having the option to ride the wave of premiumisation is a good sign of the company's ability to pivot and plan on the back of consumer sentiment.' Diageo's products remain resilient in all economic climates. Whether we're feeling rich or poor, millions of us are always going to enjoy a drink. But Diageo's range of products means it can adapt to our tastes and budgets so there are options if we need to save the pennies or can afford to trade up. And it can pivot to changing tastes, such as the growing popularity of gin. PayPal also makes the cut for Lane. He believes the payment firm is set to benefit as we move increasingly from cash to digital payments. It possesses both the focus that Rathbone's Thomson looks for in for ever stocks and the adaptability required by Killik's Winter. 'Debit cards have now overtaken cash as the UK's most popular payment method,' says Lane. 'But the next step will be from card to phone payment and already making that easy are the likes of iZettle and Venmo, both owned by PayPal. 'There may still be big card companies out there but a lot of them are built on legacy technology and have huge workforces in high-rise buildings to deal with. Nimble entrants with simple offerings and low fees have the chance to change with the times and keep up with consumer preferences.' Winter adds: 'There's a reason some of the big growth fund managers in the UK have PayPal beside the likes of Mastercard and Visa in their portfolios.' Tesco is among the for ever stock picks of Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at wealth platform Hargreaves Lansdown. She believes that not only is it a retail giant, but it still has growth potential. 'As a leading supermarket chain, a big chunk of Tesco's revenues can be relied on as we all need to eat, and Tesco showed the extent it could mobilise its muscle to help feed the nation during the pandemic,' she says. DON'T JUST BUY AND FORGET Companies may have all the markers of a forever stock, but that doesn't mean you can buy and forget about them indefinitely. Laith Khalaf, a financial analyst at wealth platform AJ Bell, warns investors not to take the term literally. 'I don't really buy into the idea of a forever stock,' he says. 'While investors should definitely invest with a long-term view in mind, the reality is that markets and companies change, so if you're choosing individual companies, you need to be willing to pay some attention to your portfolio, with at least an annual review.' He explains that companies can change, for example through mergers, takeovers or changes in management. The market can also transform, rendering companies obsolete. Investors don't need to change their portfolios every year, but they do need to remain vigilant. Khalaf adds: 'The only thing I would consider it appropriate to hold forever is an index tracker fund, like Fidelity Index World, which simply follows the market. 'You might not get as good a return, but at least you know it's just going to do what it says on the tin ad infinitum. Even then I would still encourage passive investors to keep an eye on fund charges there are lots of tracker funds that were popular 20 years ago that look pretty expensive now.' 'In addition, 25 UK urban fulfilment centres are expected to open in the next three years, as part of the plan to double the capacity of the grocery delivery business.' Streeter recognises that price pressures remain a risk, as rivals are cutting costs. But Tesco has built up a dominant market share, which gives it an advantage as it is known for its reliability. US firms JPMorgan, Procter & Gamble, Abbott Laboratories and Disney are among Winter's top for ever picks as they possess the adaptability she values. All began decades ago, but are still innovating. 'JPMorgan can trace its roots back to Alexander Hamilton, and now counts itself as the biggest bank on Wall Street,' says Winter. 'Procter & Gamble was founded by a candlemaker and a soap maker back in 1837, and is now the largest consumer goods company in the world. 'Abbott Laboratories began life in 1888 as a producer of plant-based painkillers, and has grown into an international medical device manufacturer and major producer of coronavirus testing kits.' She adds: 'Finally, Disney deserves a nod too for still going strong at the grand old age of 95. It now has more than 100million subscribers to its Disney+ streaming service despite only launching it 18 months ago.' Costco another US stock is one of Thomson's most-loved for ever shares. He says that although the wholesale grocery seller is one of his most longstanding holdings, he rarely talks about it because it lacks 'razzmatazz', but its reliability means he and the team love it as much as their 'sexy internet disruptor' holdings, such as Amazon. 'Long before the flywheel of Amazon Prime, Costco was one of the largest membership clubs in the world which drives incredible loyalty and repeat purchases,' he says. Although the Japanese stock market reached a 30-year high in February, fund managers believe the outlook for equities remains positive. Equity prices, they argue, continue to look cheap compared to other markets such as the United States where share prices have increased seven-fold over the same period. Masaki Taketsume, the London-based manager of Schroder Japan Growth, is among those who believe the Japanese stock market has more to offer investors, both short and long term. The 253million trust he manages is listed on the UK stock market and invested in 69 companies including some familiar names such as Hitachi, Nippon, Sumitomo and Toyota. In the shorter term, Taketsume is encouraged by the Japanese government's recent ramping up of the Covid-19 vaccination programme. It means more than a million people are now being vaccinated every day in Japan. 'Consumer sentiment is definitely improving as a result,' he says, 'which is good for the stock market.' While the 2020 Summer Olympics later this month in Tokyo has yet to capture the nation's imagination, Taketsume believes the mere fact that it is taking place will boost consumer sentiment further. 'As long as the government can keep Covid-19 infections down to a manageable level, I am sure the Olympics will have a positive impact,' he predicts. He is also encouraged by the fact that the pandemic has forced many Japanese companies to somewhat belatedly embrace the internet a move that should improve levels of productivity. Long term, Taketsume is encouraged by the efforts many companies are making to become more shareholder-friendly for example, by improving the returns on shareholders' capital and paying investors higher dividends. 'Corporate governance is improving and it's providing a strong tailwind for share prices,' he says. Last week, a survey of managers of Japanese funds by the Association of Investment Companies identified corporate governance reform as the biggest cause for optimism. Taeko Setaishi, investment adviser to fund Atlantis Japan Growth, said that 'international and domestic investors alike are expected to respond positively to Japan's continuing corporate governance reforms'. Schroder Japan Growth's performance record is not exemplary when compared with its peers. Although it has enjoyed a good past year generating a total return of 26 per cent its long-term record is inferior to that of rivals. Japanese investment trusts run by Baillie Gifford, Fidelity and JPMorgan all have superior five-year records. Trust scrutineer Fund Calibre rates Baillie Gifford Japan as an 'elite' fund because of the management team's disciplined investment approach and the trust's competitive annual charges of around 0.7 per cent. In comparison, Schroder's fund has an equivalent charge of 0.92 per cent. Over the past five years, the trusts have generated respective returns of 110 and 58 per cent. Taketsume is part of a 16-strong team at Schroders that scrutinises the Japanese stock market, most of whom are based in Tokyo. The trust's share price stands at a double-digit discount to its asset value, which could look attractive to investors who believe it will narrow as the Japanese stock market continues in recovery mode. For the year to date, the Nikkei 225, Japan's main stock market index, is up six per cent 29 per cent over the past 12 months. The trust's stock market identification code is 0802284 and its London Stock Exchange symbol (ticker) is SJG. Old King Coal may have been a merry old soul in the nursery rhyme, but being crowned the monarch of fossil fuels is rather less gratifying in these climate-conscious times. That hasn't stopped analysts congratulating Glencore for taking on full ownership of a huge Colombian coal mine. The mining and commodities company is paying $590million (427million) for the two thirds of Cerrejon that it doesn't already own, buying out its two rivals BHP and Anglo-American. Digging: Mining and commodities company Glencore bought out rivals to own a big coal mine Glencore is choosing the arguably more difficult task of managing down its thermal coal mines while continuing to own them, while BHP and Anglo have sold out altogether. Outgoing chief executive Ivan Glasenberg believes he has the moral high ground. 'Disposing of fossil fuel assets and making them someone else's issue is not the solution and it won't reduce absolute emissions,' he says. 'We are confident we can manage the decline of our fossil fuel portfolio in a responsible manner.' Glencore has set tough emissions targets to become carbon neutral by 2050, which is more ambitious than other mining giants. It plans to deplete its coal mines by the mid 2040s. Thermal coal use might be declining in the West, but its global use over the next five to six years is expected to be stable, thanks primarily to demand in South East Asia, says Ben Davis, mining analyst at Liberum. Barclays analyst Ian Roussow calls the deal 'sensible' since it puts Cerrejon into Glencore's control, rather than leaving it as a joint venture with liabilities. Glasenberg reckons the deal will pay for itself in two years, with Roussow saying it will generate 'attractive returns' for shareholders without compromising the firm's plans. So what is left of Glencore once thermal coal is no longer an option for much of the globe? The answer, fortunately, is 'transition metals' that will help to make the batteries to store the renewable energy we are all hoping will power the planet. Glencore is a major producer of copper, nickel, zinc, vanadium and cobalt. At present, 36 per cent of the business is copper, 34 per cent coal, and 10 to 15 per cent of it involves the business of transporting commodities around the globe. Liberum's Davis reckons Glencore's basket of commodities is more future-proofed than its rivals, focused less on iron ore and more on copper and other transition metals. As demand continues to surge for these post-pandemic, many analysts believe Glencore's share price will follow. The stock has had a good run of late but the shares have never returned to the 5.30 price at which they listed in 2011, and sit at 3.15. That's more than double the price they dropped to in October 2020 in the depths of the pandemic. Tyler Broda, analyst at RBC Markets, believes they have further to run, believing they could reach 3.60, while Barclays' Roussow has a 3.45 price target. Glencore has also reinstated its dividend, which it scrapped at the peak of the pandemic. Although it is a modest expected payout, ensuring that the stock only yields around two per cent, Liberum's Davis says he expects more goodies for shareholders either in the form of a special dividend or a share buyback. Midas verdict: Investing in thermal coal is going to provoke a few raised eyebrows at dinner parties. But Glencore is doing its best to deal with environmental liabilities whilst providing value for shareholders. There are clouds on the horizon, including the retirement of the current chief executive, and shareholder revolt over his replacement's pay. But the company has a decent presence in hot commodity sectors and the Cerrejon deal is a good one for all involved. All in all, it is worth digging deep for this one. Traded on: Main market Ticker: GLEN Contact: 020 7629 3800 or glencore.com Here's a tale to get tongues wagging at Wimbledon next week. Disgruntled Diageo shareholders are lobbying the drinks giant to bring back its vodka-based Pimm's after this lesser-spotted version was axed during the pandemic. Last week, the campaign was 'overwhelmed' with support from more than 300 fund managers and City members' clubs. They are writing to Diageo's UK boss, Dayalan Nayager, to argue that Pimm's No6 Vodka Cup is far superior to its more commonly found gin-based sister Pimm's No1. Raising a glass: Disgruntled Diageo shareholders are lobbying the drinks giant to bring back its vodka-based Pimm's after this lesser-spotted version was axed during the pandemic Diageo said it had no plans to bring back Vodka Pimm's any time soon. When asked why, it explained that fans would need to drink more than four times their usual quantities to make it commercially viable. That seems like a solid argument but campaigner Angus Campbell is having none of it. 'This will only make our attempts to bring it back even stronger,' he said. That's the spirit! GKN staff plan protest GKN staff plan a protest outside Parliament this week over the proposed closure of its Birmingham automotive site next year, with 500 workers laid off. Strikes and shutdowns of the assembly line, which serves Jaguar Land Rover, are possible. Tensions have been rising since industrial buyout firm Melrose bought GKN in a hostile takeover in 2018. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng had indicated he was ready to step in but sources said the Government has so far decided to let the company proceed. Melrose recently decided to pay 730million to shareholders on selling its Nortek arm. Labour MP Jack Dromey tells me: 'Melrose has let the British automotive industry down. It is the shareholders who are benefiting, not Britain.' Bioseneca looking to fund clinical trials of ozone therapy to fight long Covid An intriguing fundraiser emerges from British firm Bioseneca, which is raising 1.5million ahead of a potential stock market listing further down the line. It hopes to fund clinical trials of ozone therapy to tackle long Covid, and later open clinics in the UK and the US. The treatment sees blood drawn, mixed with ozone gas and put back into the body, and has been used by Madonna. If it's good enough for the Material Girl... Investors await Ocado and Sainsbury's updates Investors will be poring over updates from Ocado and Sainsbury's this week to see if the hospitality industry's reopening has hit recent trading. The pandemic gains in Ocado's shares have been eroded of late and analysts are keen to see if newbie rapid delivery rivals are causing a headache. For Sainsbury's, its first-quarter trading update will hint at whether huge online growth has been checked by lockdown easing. But the biggest factor for its stock remains the outcome of the bid for Morrisons. With tycoon Daniel Kretinsky on the share register, bid talk could drive up Sainsbury's if Morrisons is snapped up. Supermarket giant Morrisons has agreed a blockbuster 6.3billion sale of the business to a consortium of investors backed by the US billionaire Koch family and Japanese mogul Masayoshi Son. The surprise deal, which must be ratified by shareholders and could still be trumped by a rival bidder, was announced early yesterday morning. It will mean the London Stock Exchange-listed grocer will now almost certainly fall into private hands for the first time in 54 years. The buyers include private equity giant Fortress Investment Group, which owns Majestic Wine and is backed by billionaire Masayoshi Son's Softbank; CPPIB Credit Investments, a subsidiary of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board; and Koch Real Estate Investments. The deal will mean Morrisons will likely fall into private hands for the first time in 54 years The group of investors has already sought to head off public and political opposition to a takeover of one of Britain's most high-profile business names with a slew of pledges, including a commitment to long-term ownership and keeping the head office in Bradford. The buyers pledged to be 'good stewards' of the business and to recognise 'the legacy' of founder and former president Sir Ken Morrison, who built up the family market stalls into a national grocery chain with 17.6billion annual sales. The assurances would become legally binding under Takeover Panel rules if the deal was sanctioned by shareholders including the Morrisons family, which owns a 5 per cent stake. The shock announcement follows a failed 5.5billion takeover proposal from rival private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, which is advised by former Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy. It is not too late for CD&R, whose approach was flatly rejected by Morrisons, or any other firm to enter the fray with a higher offer. The Morrisons board has recommended the legally-binding bid from the new consortium, which is 42 per cent above where the share price stood before CD&R's interest emerged two weeks ago. The consortium will pay 2.52 a share, valuing the equity of the business at 6.3billion. It will also need to repay or refinance 3.2billion of Morrisons' debt, taking the total value of the deal to 9.5billion. An additional 2 pence a share dividend would also be paid to shareholders. One source told The Mail on Sunday the consortium had been working on the deal since the beginning of the year and a formal bid was handed to the board in secret in early May. The deal was agreed on Wednesday and took two days to complete. It is not yet clear whether Morrisons shareholders, some of whom demanded as much as 2.70 a share, will approve the deal or ask for a higher price. The acquisition must be supported by holders of 75 per cent of the shares. It would also need to be rubber stamped by authorities and it likely to be scrutinised by Ministers. Morrisons chairman Andy Higginson, who has led a turnaround of the business with chief executive David Potts, said the price was a 'very recommendable'. But he added: 'In a takeover, price is obviously very important and is still very much the predominant thing. But we all know about the Kraft Heinz takeover of Cadbury [when the US corporation later closed the Somerdale Factory near Bristol and moved production to Poland]. 'Since then, rightly, these undertakings have more weight and are very important to us. In Yorkshire, this is very much seen as a family firm and the undertakings we have asked [the consortium] for are very much to try to ensure those principles are maintained.' The announcement follows a failed 5.5bn takeover proposal from Clayton, Dubilier & Rice He admitted a 'sector malaise' that has depressed shares across major supermarkets including Tesco and Sainsbury's has been 'frustrating' despite Morrisons improved fortunes. But he said the buyers 'fundamentally see more value in the business than the market has in its share price over the years. There's just a fundamentally different view of it'. The potential takeover of Morrisons has already attracted the interest of the influential Parliamentary Business Select Committee, which has written to the Competition and Markets Authority to clarify what power it has to intervene in debt-fuelled takeovers. The letter follows a string of high street failures blamed on private equity ownership, including Debenhams and Comet. Asda was recently acquired by two newcomers to the supermarket sector in a deal backed by private equity firm TDR. Asda's new owners last week sold and leased back a swathe of its distribution and logistics assets for 1.7billion to help pay for the deal. Darren Jones, chairman of the Business Select Committee, said in his letter to the CMA: 'British supermarkets are the latest area of interest for private equity and other buyers using significant amounts of debt. 'Some stakeholders have raised concerns about what this might mean for the protection of jobs, pension funds and supermarkets' presence on British high streets.' The involvement of the Koch family may also raise eyebrows given Charles Koch's involvement in a range of conservative and right-wing causes, such as opposing climate change legislation. But in a raft of commitments, the consortium of investors pledged to maintain the grocer as a 'standalone business' for the long-term with its head office in Bradford. In what appeared to be a commitment not to sell and leaseback Morrisons' giant 7.4billion portfolio of property, food manufacturing plants, shopping centres and other physical assets, the consortium said it 'does not anticipate engaging in any material store sale and leaseback transactions'. The investors plan to inject 3billion cash into the deal about four times the equity provided for the Asda deal, which was largely funded by debt. They also said the consortium 'does not anticipate any material changes to existing payment practices' with suppliers and farmers as well as supporting the grocer's 'important role in ensuring the ongoing security of food supply in the UK'. It maintained it would commit to a recent 10-an-hour pay deal across stores and manufacturing sites and to 'fully' safeguard pensions. The consortium also supported Morrisons' 'social and environmental commitments' which include zero deforestation in its supply chain by 2025 and to become the first supermarket to be supplied by net zero carbon British farms by 2030. Bank of America is calling staff back to its UK offices in two weeks but only if they have had at least one vaccine dose. The US bank, which has 6,500 staff in the UK, is inviting certain vaccinated employees to return to the workplace from July 19. It is understood that a few hundred eligible staff are likely to return. The bank is preparing to recall most UK staff to the office for the start of September. Caution: Bank of America, which has 6,500 staff in the UK, is inviting certain vaccinated employees to return to the workplace from July 19 So far only essential workers such as traders have been in the office. The move comes as other corporations have demanded staff get vaccinated. Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific told its crew to have their vaccine by the end of August or face losing their job. The airline told its Hong Kong staff that it would 'review the future employment of those who are unable to become vaccinated'. It said that arranging the rota when only part of the crew was vaccinated was becoming 'increasingly difficult and complicated'. Other investment banking giants have told their US staff to either register their vaccine status or have their jab before coming back to the office. Last month, it emerged that Morgan Stanley had barred any staff and visitors from entering its New York office unless they had been 'fully vaccinated'. The bank has not imposed this requirement on its 5,000 UK-based staff. JPMorgan also said in an internal memo that US staff needed to register their vaccine status with the firm. Fully vaccinated staff would be able to ditch their face masks in the US office, the memo said. BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, said it would only allow fully-vaccinated staff to return to its US offices from July. Most large companies in the UK have stopped short of asking about vaccine status or requiring jabs before returning. Pimlico Plumbers has bucked the trend. Charlie Mullins, founder of Britain's biggest independent plumbing firm, said that from January any employee who had not received the vaccine would be fired, unless they had legitimate health reasons. Shakeel Dad, at law firm Addleshaw Goddard, said: 'Employers can't force people to have the vaccine. The question is whether it is reasonable or lawful to make it a condition of employment. That is not straightforward.' More firms are gearing up to bring staff back from July 19, when Government guidance to work from home could be dropped, along with social distancing rules and requirements to wear facemasks. Bank of America said it was inviting staff to volunteer their vaccination status, and it was not a requirement. Royal London and Jupiter Asset Management previously backed Emma Walmsley Major investors are lining up behind embattled GlaxoSmithKline chief Emma Walmsley in her fight with activist investor Elliott Management. Royal London, M&G and Jupiter Asset Management previously backed Walmsley. Then last night, another big fund manager threw its weight behind her. The investor said: 'Emma has done a good job strategically in building the consumer business and should not be expected to work miracles in biopharma. 'They're expecting her to do a ten-year job in four years, when she's had Brexit and a pandemic to deal with too.' A source at Jupiter defended Walmsley, saying: 'She's come in and attracted new talent like [chief scientific officer] Hal Barron.' US hedge fund Elliott last week published a 17-page letter which bemoaned years of share price underperformance and called for the pharma giant to hire non-executives with 'deep pharma and consumer healthcare expertise'. GSK has committed to hiring new directors before a split of the group next year. It is understood that Elliott is pushing for this process to be speeded up, demanding new hirings in the next two months. Elliott has asked for a process to determine who should best run the group. GSK and Elliott have been holding private meetings to gauge the views of investors. The Mail on Sunday revealed in May that top shareholders BlackRock and Dodge & Cox had privately urged Glaxo not to allow Elliott to distract it from its existing strategy. A controversial PPE supplier has hired advisers to sell a stake which could value the business at more than 1billion. Manufacturer Globus has consulted bankers at Rothschild as it considers its financing options to fund potential large acquisitions. The Mail on Sunday understands that several options remain on the table, including an equity stake sale or forms of debt financing. Private equity firms and specialist debt funds are said to be interested. A full sale of the business is not being considered. Supply chain: The pandemic initially hit revenues in the firm's industrials arm but aided its business supplying high end FFP3 respirators and gloves to hospital staff The pandemic initially hit revenues in the firm's industrials arm which supplies protective gear including helmets and ear defenders but aided its business supplying high end FFP3 respirators and gloves to hospital staff. Profits had already risen 92 per cent to 6.3million in the year to May 31, 2020, when revenues spiked 20 per cent from 50million to 60million. A 483,000 dividend was paid out. City sources said revenues had ballooned to more than 100 million since the Covid-induced demand for PPE. Globus was founded 25 years ago in the Shetland Islands and is now headquartered in Manchester. It is run by Icelandic businessman Haraldur Agustsson, who is the majority shareholder. The Tory donor hit the headlines last year when Globus was awarded a 93.7million Government contract to supply PPE without a competitive tender under emergency pandemic rules. Sister firm Alpha Solway was awarded a 53million contract to supply NHS Scotland. Globus has given more than 365,000 to the Conservative Party since 2016. There is no suggestion of impropriety by Globus and its directors. It is understood that the financing will help to fund expansion abroad and to bolster manufacturing in the UK. The company declined to comment. Model and businesswoman Caprice Bourret would allocate more funding to the police if she were Chancellor of the Exchequer. The American, who moved to Britain in 1996, told Donna Ferguson she no longer feels safe walking around London at night with her kids and thinks more needs to be done to protect women and children. Her branded bedding range, By Caprice Home, is sold worldwide, including at Next, Wayfair and Very. Caprice, 49, is married to financier Ty Comfort. Comfortable living: Caprice sells her bedding range, By Caprice Home, worldwide What did your parents teach you about money? My parents split up when I was four. I didn't grow up with my dad and I have no real recollection of him, but my mum believed that financial independence represented happiness. She taught me not only to work hard, but to work smart and to be persistent in order to attain financial freedom. She was an interior designer. She's had a colourful past she's made a fortune, she's gone bankrupt and made a fortune again. As well as being a grafter and a strong woman, she taught me that when you fall down, you get back up again. She was the biggest influence on my life and still is a truly inspirational person. The values she taught me are what I'm teaching my children now. Was money tight when you were growing up in the US? My mum did very well for herself until her father, who meant everything to her, got sick when I was a teenager. He passed away very slowly of a vile cancer and he didn't have medical insurance. She had to sort that out and it was heart wrenching. It destroyed her. As a result, we had a really hard time financially, so when I was 17 and graduated from high school, she told me: 'You have got to go and support yourself.' And thank God she said that because it is what has made me who I am today. Have you ever struggled to make ends meet? Yes, when I was living in a rough area of New York in my early 20s, trying to make it as a model. Initially, I didn't have enough money to eat. Home was a small two-bedroom apartment which I shared with another girl and some horrible cockroaches. Eventually, after a few years, things started to go OK for me. I wasn't the prettiest, youngest or tallest. But I was smart about my modelling career. I knew it wasn't going to last forever, and that I had to be really professional. I got on the cover of Vogue in the early 1990s and everything changed. It taught me that you create your own luck in life. You put yourself in circumstances where the universe brings you opportunities, and then you have to go for it and not feel fear. Caprice said this year has been the best of her financial life after making smart invesments Have you ever been paid silly money? One hundred per cent yes. Spending six days working on one marketing campaign, at the height of my career in 2000, I got paid $1million (719,000). I literally couldn't talk when my agent told me the figure that he'd negotiated. I even felt guilty. I thought: 'This is insane.' All I had to do was a modelling shoot, a few personal appearances and some interviews. It was ridiculous. What was the best year of your financial life? This year. In the past, I made a number of smart investments in property outside of London in the English countryside. This year I've sold them and reaped the rewards. The most expensive thing you have bought for fun? When I was in my 20s, I bought a black convertible Mercedes SLK. I always dreamed of having one. I can't remember how much it cost, but I do remember paying for it in cash. I felt like such a big shot. It was quite empowering. What is your biggest money mistake? I lost a lot of money exchanging currency in 2009. I pay factories in China in dollars for By Caprice Home stock and get paid in sterling by retailers selling my products in the UK. Back then, I used to exchange my currency on the spot, whatever the value was that day. I should have planned ahead and fixed my rate of exchange, so I would be OK if the value of those currencies changed dramatically as they did after the 2008 global financial crisis. I was naive. When you're dealing with hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of stock and you don't read what the market is doing and fail to educate yourself about the currency markets, you're an idiot. I lost over 1million just from that mistake, which I deserved to lose. I was devastated at the time. But I learned such a valuable lesson and later on, when my business really started to gain momentum and make some money, I knew what I was doing. I play it smart now and hedge, and I buy my currency forward at a fixed exchange rate, so I can plan my business and my cash flow. I've become so good at it, and made so much money doing it, I have even had a call from my currency exchange company asking me how I knew to buy at a particular time. Caprice says sleep is the one luxury she treats herself to as it is a 'commodity that doesn't exist' Do you save into a pension? Yes, I do. I started in my 20s and that's when I put most of my pension money in. Now I have children, I'm even more conscious about saving for my retirement. Do you invest directly in the stock market? Not outside of my pension. I don't know enough about it and I don't trust other people to play with my money. Do you own any property? Yes. My home is a six-bedroom Grade II-listed house in West London. It's about 12,000 square feet. My husband and I bought it eight years ago at a good price when it was in a distressed condition. It's now worth about eight times what we paid for it. I used to have eight other properties as investments, but because I've been selling them, I only have two left now. What is the one luxury you treat yourself to? Sleep. When you've got a business and kids, sleep is a commodity that just doesn't exist. My seven-year-old boys, Jett and Jax, are a handful and a half. And I'm a hands-on mum. If you were Chancellor what would you do? I would allocate more funding to the police. I want more police officers on the street. We should be spending taxpayers' money on something useful like making the streets safer for women and children, not building ridiculous bike lanes. Personally, I won't walk down the streets in the dark. I will not put myself in that kind of precarious situation and I'm terrified for my kids. Unless my husband is with us, we're not walking on the streets after dark at all, we're just not doing it. Call me overprotective, call me a little bit crazy, I don't care. My children are everything to me and I don't feel safe. I just don't. Do you donate money to charity? Yes, a lot. I donate both my time and money to charity Brain Tumour Research because I had a brain tumour myself. I've also donated quite a large amount to Great Ormond Street Hospital for a new MRI scanner, which provides a more accurate and precise diagnosis for children with brain tumours who need surgery. What is your number one financial priority? My two sons and my stepdaughter Izzy, 13. My children are going to be grafters, not spoilt brats, but at the same time I want to give them the best opportunities that I can in life. Becoming a mum has made me even more ambitious, but it is a different kind of burning ambition than the one I had before. Everything I do now is for my children. The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday turned away a case challenging libel protections for journalists and media organizations, but conservative justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch disagreed with the action and questioned such protections enshrined in a landmark 1964 ruling. Citing a rapidly changing media environment increasingly rife with disinformation, Thomas and Gorsuch said in separate opinions that the court should take a fresh look at its precedents that make it harder for public figures to sue for defamation. The court declined to take up an appeal by Shkelzen Berisha, the son of a former Albanian prime minister, concerning his defamation lawsuit over corruption allegations against him made in a 2015 book by author Guy Lawson called 'Arms and the Dudes.' The book was turned into the 2016 Hollywood film 'War Dogs' starring Jonah Hill and Miles Teller. A lower court ruled in favor of Lawson, the book's publisher Simon & Schuster and several other defendants because it determined Berisha was unable to show that allegations of his involvement in an arms-dealing scandal were made with 'actual malice.' The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday turned away a case challenging libel protections for journalists and media organizations Clarence Thomas dissented, saying: ''Public figure or private, lies impose real harm' Neil Gorsuch also dissented and said justifications for the actual malice standard may be less in an era when technological changes and social media mean that disinformation can be better amplified and more profitable than traditional news with fact-checkers and editors That standard, which protects against libel suits, involves statements made with knowledge that they were false or with reckless disregard of whether they were true or false. The standard was established in the court's watershed 1964 ruling in a case called the New York Times v. Sullivan. Thomas and Gorsuch said the court should have taken the appeal. They said that in today's media environment, actual malice can protect lies instead of truth, with real-world consequences. Citing the false 'Pizzagate' conspiracy theory that claimed that a Washington pizzeria was a front for a pedophile ring led by former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Thomas said, 'Public figure or private, lies impose real harm.' Thomas cited the false 'Pizzagate' conspiracy theory that claimed that a Washington pizzeria was a front for a pedophile ring led by former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in his dissent Thomas previously urged the court two years ago to reconsider its libel precedents when it refused to consider reviving a defamation lawsuit against actor Bill Cosby by a woman named Kathrine McKee who said the entertainer falsely called her a liar after she accused him of rape. Thomas on Friday mentioned McKee again, saying that 'surely this court should not remove a woman's right to defend her reputation in court simply because she accuses a powerful man of rape.' Cosby was released from prison on Wednesday after Pennsylvania's highest court overturned his sexual assault conviction in a separate case. Thomas added in his dissent that there's a 'lack of historical support for this Courts actual-malice requirement.' Gorsuch said justifications for the actual malice standard may be less in an era when technological changes and social media mean that disinformation can be better amplified and more profitable than traditional news with fact-checkers and editors. 'Not only has the doctrine evolved into a subsidy for published falsehoods on a scale no one could have foreseen, it has come to leave far more people without redress than anyone could have predicted,' Gorsuch said. Gorsuch added, 'The bottom line? It seems that publishing without investigation, fact-checking, or editing has become the optimal legal strategy.' The court declined to take up an appeal by Shkelzen Berisha, the son of a former Albanian prime minister, concerning his defamation lawsuit over corruption allegations Berisha sued Lawson and the other defendants in federal court in 2017 over brief passages in Lawson's book, which chronicled how three 'stoner dudes' from Miami Beach scored a $300 million U.S. defense contract in 2006 to supply ammunition to the Afghan military, and sought to fulfill it by procuring weapons from stockpiles in Albania. The book recounted their dealings with an Albanian government-linked mafia. It placed Berisha in one of the meetings, describing him as having 'dark hair, a soft chin, and sharklike eyes' and accused him of being part of the corrupt arms-dealing cabal. The three Miami men were eventually convicted in the United States on federal fraud charges. In 2020, the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tossed the lawsuit. The 11th Circuit found that Berisha could not overcome the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment free speech protections for defendants accused of defamation by public officials or figures as recognized in a line of Supreme Court precedents dating back to New York Times v. Sullivan. In his appeal to the Supreme Court, Berisha said those precedents should be overturned to limit the actual malice standard to public officials only. Alvin Bragg, a former federal prosecutor and civil rights lawyer, looks likely to become the next Manhattan district attorney after his main rival for the Democratic nomination, Tali Farhadian Weinstein, conceded on Friday. Bragg would become the first black person to lead one of the country's most high-profile prosecutor's offices, which made headlines this week with a sweeping indictment against former U.S. President Donald Trump's namesake company and its longtime financial chief, Allen Weisselberg. 'This has been a long journey that started in Harlem,' Bragg said in a statement, referring to the Manhattan neighborhood where he grew up. 'And today, that 15-year old boy who was stopped numerous times at gunpoint by the police is the Democratic nominee to be Manhattan District Attorney.' The former federal prosecutor and civil rights lawyer is now poised to become the city's first-ever African American district attorney Bragg held 34 percent of the votes by Democrats in the June 22 primary, while Farhadian Weinstein (pictured) was in second place at 30 percent 'We are one step closer to making history and transforming the District Attorney's office to deliver safety and justice for all,' Bragg said, while he recalled being stopped by the police multiple times growing up in New York City and vowing to end racial disparities in prosecutions. Bragg held 34 percent of the votes by registered Democrats in the June 22 primary elections, while Farhadian Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor, was in second place at 30 percent, with thousands of absentee ballots still to be tallied, while six other candidates trail far behind. Farhadian Weinstein said that after several days of absentee votes being counted, 'it is clear we cannot overcome the vote margin,' in a statement released on Friday. 'I spoke with Alvin Bragg earlier today and congratulated him on his historic election as Manhattans first Black district attorney,' her statement said. Current district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. (pictured) is retiring at the end of the year after assuming office in 2010 Bragg, who now teaches at New York Law School, worked as a civil rights lawyer before entering government service. He is currently representing the mother of Eric Garner in a judicial inquiry into his 2014 death after being placed in a police chokehold. The 47-year-old said he was drawn to a career in law after having a gun pointed at him six times as a youth, three of which were by police. In one encounter, Bragg said an officer put a gun to his head, while wrongly accusing him of being a drug dealer as he walked to get groceries for his father amid the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s. Given Manhattan's heavily Democratic tilt, Bragg is almost assured of prevailing in November's general election over Republican Thomas Kenniff, a former Westchester County prosecutor and Iraq War veteran. Pictured: Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner, is being represented by Bragg in an in a judicial inquiry into his 2014 death after being placed in a police chokehold Vance Jr. will continue to lead the Trump Organization probe until he leaves office, whereupon Bragg will be the likely replacement to take over should he win the general election in Nov The winner of the race is expected to inherit the office's ongoing criminal investigation into Trump's business empire, which was initiated in 2018 under the current district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., who is retiring at the end of the year after assuming office back in 2010. Vance Jr. will continue to lead the Trump Organization probe until he leaves office, whereupon Bragg will be the likely replacement to take over the case should he win the general election in November. The Trump Organization and its chief financial officer were indicted by a special grand jury this week, and were charged with helping Weisselberg and other top executives evade taxes on cars, apartments, and tuition aid given him by the company. Incidentally, Bragg has previously investigated Trump before while working as the states chief deputy attorney general in 2018, when he helped oversee a lawsuit that ultimately led to the closure of Trumps charitable foundation, following allegations that he had used the nonprofit to further his political and business interests. An Ohio private school has expelled three students whose moms led a coalition campaigning against Critical Race Theory being taught to their children. Columbus Academy sent a letter to parents Andrea Gross and Amy Gonzalez informing them that their children will not be reenrolled at the school, where tuition fees cost up to $30,000 a year. The school said Gross and Gonzalez leveled 'false and misleading attacks' on the school and its leadership through their 'inflammatory' campaign, including making claims that students were being subjected to bomb sniffing dogs on campus. Their actions amounted to a breach of their contract with the institution in which both parties promise to nurture a 'positive and constructive working relationship'. Gross had two children enrolled in the school while Gonzalez had one, with the two moms slamming the school for punishing their children for the activism of their parents. Andrea Gross (left) and Amy Gonzalez (right) were told their children will not be reenrolled at Columbus Academy, where tuition fees cost up to $30,000 a year Columbus Academy pictured. The Ohio private school expelled three students whose moms led a coalition campaigning against Critical Race Theory being taught to their children In the letter sent to the parents, seen by Fox News, CA Head of School Melissa Soderberg and Board of Trustees President Jonathan Kass said Gross and Gonzalez had caused 'pain, and even fear for physical safety, among students, families, faculty, and staff.' The parents 'pursued a course of action that has been anything but civil, respectful and faithful to the facts.' 'Instead you have engaged in a campaign against Columbus Academy through a sustained, and increasingly inflammatory, series of false and misleading attacks on the School and its leadership,' reads the letter. 'Your actions caused pain, and even fear for physical safety, among students, families, faculty, and staff.' The letter also says the two moms pushed 'false' claims that bomb sniffing dogs were patroling the school and used a 'sham' video as part of their campaign. 'Among other things, no bomb sniffing dogs were brought to campus the Gahanna Police Department does not even have dogs, bomb sniffing or otherwise and there were never police cars with flashing lights,' the letter reads. The letter claims the two mothers plotted how they and other parents could withhold paying their children's tuition to the school 'until your demands are met.' 'You have taken steps to explore how you, and with your encouragement, others, could withhold tuition payments and place them in escrow until your demands are met,' it reads. Columbus Academy pictured displaying a banner that says it 'Stands Against Racism' 'You have also discussed pursuing charitable entity status for your organization, in the stated hope of persuading Columbus Academy donors to re-direct their contributions to your organization where you could use the funds as leverage to pursue your agenda.' The two moms founded the Pro-CA Coalition back in January, campaigning against what they say is 'political extremism and a culture of fear and administration' at Columbus Academy. As part of the campaign they say they have collected sworn testaments from other parents accusing the school of pushing progressive ideas about race on students and discriminating against conservative thinking. Around 400 other parents of Columbus Academy students are said to have joined the campaign. Gross and Gonzalez blasted the decision to deny their 'innocent' children's reenrolment as 'retaliation' against them for spearheading the campaign against the school. They accused the school's leadership of trying to silence them and 'intimidate' other parents who speak out. 'The school's retaliation will forever affect my innocent children,' Gross said in a statement, per PRNewswire. Some of the curriculum and school teachings that the parents took issue with pictured above. Gross and Gonzalez founded the Pro-CA Coalition, campaigning against what they say is 'political extremism and a culture of fear and administration' at the school CRITICAL RACE THEORY: WHAT DOES IT MEAN? The fight over critical race theory in schools has escalated in the United States over the last year. The theory has sparked a fierce nationwide debate in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests around the country over the last year and the introduction of the 1619 Project. The 1619 Project, which was published by the New York Times in 2019 to mark 400 years since the first enslaved Africans arrived on American shores, reframes American history by 'placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the center of the US narrative'. The debate surrounding critical race theory regards concerns that some children are being indoctrinated into thinking that white people are inherently racist or sexist. Those against critical race theory have argued it reduces people to the categories of 'privileged' or 'oppressed' based on their skin color. Supporters, however, say the theory is vital to eliminating racism because it examines the ways in which race influence American politics, culture and the law. Advertisement 'We love Columbus Academy, the teachers, and the community so we decided to effectuate change from the inside. 'This is a clear message from the school to silence us and to intimidate and frighten the hundreds of other members in our Coalition.' Gonzalez called the move 'retaliatory and discriminatory'. 'As parents, we are going to stand together to protect our children and individuals who are threatened or persecuted for speech,' she said. They also pushed back on the school's claims that there were no bomb sniffing dogs on the grounds telling Fox they have several sworn affidavits testifying to incidents at the school, including some in relation to this. A Columbus spokesperson defended the decision telling Fox that waging a public campaign of 'inflammatory attacks' if a violation of the school's enrollment agreement. 'Columbus Academy does not comment on the circumstances of any student or family,' the spokeperson said. 'However, any parent who waged a public campaign of false and misleading statements and inflammatory attacks harmful to the employees, the reputation, or the financial stability of Columbus Academy would be in clear violation of the Enrollment Agreement and would be denied re-enrollment for the following school year.' The school did not provide examples of such 'attacks' or 'false or misleading statements' and the two moms denied attempting to withhold payments to the school. However, during a Blunt Force Truth podcast interview in April, Gross and Gonzalez discussed the possibility of withholding funds. They also spoke of it being 'easier to go for an individual than an institution'. The school said Gross and Gonzalez leveled 'false and misleading attacks' on the school and its leadership through their 'inflammatory' campaign 'It's harder to make an institution hurt as opposed to an individual,' said Gonzalez. The topic of withholding tuition payments was also brought up in a May Zoom call, the moms told Fox, but insisted they did not follow through with any such plan. Gross and Gonzalez are just some of the parents who have gone to war with elite private schools across the US over the teaching of Critical Race Theory. Critical Race Theory highlights how historical inequities and racism continue to shape public policy and social conditions today. It has become a key focus on the curriculum of schools over the last year amid the nationwide reckoning for racial justice following the murder of George Floyd. But it has starkly divided opinion. Conservatives allege that students are being taught a warped version of American history that claims the impact of slavery remains present throughout society. Critics say the teachings reduce people to 'privileged' or 'oppressed' based on skin color. But supporters say it is vital to understand how race impacts society in order to eliminate racism. Within two months every state and territory could be completely free of lockdowns as more Australians get vaccinated for Covid, experts have revealed. On Friday 163,000 people across the country turned out to vaccinations centres and rolled up their sleeve for the jab - marking a new daily record. Deakin University's chair in epidemiology Professor Catherine Bennett said the numbers were a heartening signal that an end to restrictions were in sight. She explained once about a third of Australians are fully vaccinated - that is have had both the initial and follow up vaccine shots - then lockdowns would not be needed. 'Thirty per cent is probably enough that it slows the spread of the virus and means contact tracers should be able to do their job ... that we're less likely to need to go to these extreme measures,' Prof Bennett told The Australian. Almost 8million vaccine doses have been administered in Australia as of Saturday (pictured: a nurse administers the Pfizer vaccine in Sydney on Thursday) Once 30 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated lockdowns can be a thing of the past, experts have said (pictured: the NSW vaccination centre at Homebush on Thursday) And once more than half of the population is vaccinated - or between 50 and 65 per cent - the spread of the virus would be significantly hampered enough that international borders could be opened, she added. Quarantine measures such as 14-days in isolation would still need to be kept in place, which the government is already planning for in terms of permanent quarantine facilities. Professor Catherine Bennett (pictured) said once about 60 per cent of people are vaccinated international travel can resume A 1,000 bed facility to accommodate overseas travellers has already been locked in for a site in Melbourne's north and will be constructed by the end of the year. The Prime Minister has also written to Western Australia and Queensland hoping to partner with each state to build similar facilities and has even suggested possible sites. More than one in three Australians have already received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine as of Saturday - with almost 8million doses administered across the country. The current per cent of the population fully vaccinated is 8.37 per cent according to official figures - but this is expected to rise quickly as more people are able to get a second AstraZeneca vaccine. The level of the population required to be vaccinated for a complete removal of restrictions would be 80 per cent, international modelling estimates. 'Eighty per cent coverage is what people would like to see, but that's completely opening up and removing your quarantine,' Professor Bennett said. The Australian government has commissioned experts for official research as to what level of the population needs to be vaccinated to open overseas borders but is yet to make any definite announcements. Professor Brendan Crabb, the director of the Burnett Institute puts the figure at 60 per cent of Aussies fully vaccinated including children for international travel to resume. Australians have endured more than 12 months of intermittent lockdown and Covid restrictions 'We want herd immunity, that's the goal, but ... I think 60 per cent is the point at which you can start to think there is a chance that community-based immunity is going to stop transmission chains,' he said. He said this combined with other measures such as mask wearing and quarantine should be enough to keep the virus in check enough that travel can resume. Hassan Vally from La Trobe University agreed, saying at this point community transmission would be kept low enough that hospital would be able to comfortably cope with any cases. Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday outline his four-part plan to get Australia to a Covid normal free from restrictions and border closures. The 'new deal for Australians' would include four phases titled vaccinate, prepare and pilot; post vaccination phase; consolidation phase; and final phase. Lockdowns have damaged businesses across the country (pictured: Perth during a snap lockdown on June 29) The first phase involves halving the number of arrivals into the country to 3,035 a week until August 31 to help keep out the highly contagious Delta strain, while the final stage sees all restrictions lifted except for testing of unvaccinated arrivals. The pace of the plan - which will eventually let the country manage Covid like flu - depends on the vaccine rollout, with lockdowns eliminated once a certain percentage of Aussies have been fully jabbed with two doses. 'I have made it very clear today what is on the other side. If we all get vaccinated then this all changes,' Mr Morrison said. 'The pathway we have agreed today gives all Australians encouragement and much needed hope in what has been a very difficult time.' The plan was announced after 12 million Australians were locked down this week due to several outbreaks across the nation. Darwin ended its lockdown on Friday at 1pm after recording zero cases but Brisbane's was extended until Saturday night due to two new infections. The final phase of the plan involves no travel restrictions. Pictured: Australians evacuated from South America landing at Brisbane International Airport in April 2020 The heartbroken husband of a 'real-life Disney princess' has revealed how cancer killed his wife just days after she gave birth to their first child. Brooke Marsay, 31, died in Brisbane on Tuesday, 65 days after doctors discovered she had stage four bowel cancer. It had already spread through her body, including her liver and stomach. At the time, the kindergarten teacher at Kawana Waters State College on Queensland's Sunshine Coast was 16 weeks pregnant with the couple's first child. But a seemingly harmless but nagging pain in her ribs led to the tragic diagnosis. Brooke Marsay, 31, (pictured) died in Brisbane after doctors discovered she had stage four cancer which had already spread through her body when she was 16 weeks pregnant She was immediately transferred from the Sunshine Coast to a hospital in Brisbane where she was treated until her death. The couple's son, Max, was born at 27 weeks on June 24 as Ms Marsay's life ebbed away, but he died 24 hours later of complications from the premature birth. Ms Marsay died six days later on June 30. Husband Ryan Marsay (right ) said his wife Brooke (left) was the 'strongest, most beautiful person you could ever want to meet'. The kindergarten teacher, seen here in the centre with friends who said she 'lit up the room' Husband Ryan told the Courier Mail his wife was the 'strongest, most beautiful person you could ever want to meet'. The couple had a whirlwind 'fairytale romance', he said, that began two and half years ago. Within three weeks of meeting, they went on a dream trip to Vanuatu together and were engaged within the year, before they wed in November 2020 and conceived Max on their honeymoon. But after the pain in her ribs turned out to be cancer, he said it was a 'pretty horrific journey' that she had borne with 'grace'. Brooke and Ryan Marsay (pictured) had a whirlwind 'fairytale romance' that began two and half years ago. Within three weeks of meeting, they went on a dream trip to Vanuata together and engaged within the year, before they wed and conceived Max on their honeymoon. Pals of Brooke Marsay (pictured above with friends) have set up a fundraiser in her honour to raise cash for Mummy's Wish which helps mothers receiving treatment for cancer throughout Australia. Friends have now set up a fundraiser in her honour to raise cash for Mummy's Wish which helps mothers receiving treatment for cancer throughout Australia. Pal Jen Brown added: 'She was one of the most gorgeous people you'd come across and she was so blissfully unaware of how gorgeous she was which made her even more so. 'She was full of sunshine and warmth and lighting up the lives of many. Brookey had the ability to make everyone she'd meet feel comfortable.' Ex-Bachelorette star Angie Kent was a close friend of Ms Marsay's and shared an image of the pair of them to her social media account. Heartbreaking: Angie shared a picture of her friend Brooke Marsay, and wrote: 'This beautiful woman and her baby are now in heaven. Hold your loved ones so close' 'I want to remember you in all our dancing glory': Angie also shared pictures herself and Brooke as children, when they used to attend dance classes together 'Life is so precious. So unpredictable and can be so confusing and debilitating at times,' she wrote. 'This beautiful woman and her baby are now in heaven. Hold your loved ones so close. Don't take life for granted and remember how blessed you are to be living your life.' She added: 'Love to you, sweet angel, and to your friends and family. Your smile will forever be embedded in our memories and hearts.' Angie also shared pictures herself and Brooke as children, when they used to attend dance classes together. 'I want to remember you in all our dancing glory. A little trip down memory lane tonight,' she wrote. 'Reach out to the people you grew up with who made your heart smile. Precious memories.' She says Queenslanders must wear masks in public and check in with QR codes Queensland has recorded five new local cases of Covid overnight - but Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the lockdown for millions of residents will still end at 6pm on Saturday night. The state detected a mystery local Covid case late on Friday evening, with Brisbane and the neighbouring Moreton Bay residents fearing that would jeopardise their chance of being freed from the four-day lockdown. The Premier eased those fears in a press conference on Saturday morning despite confirming the five new community cases. There were 25,145 tests conducted in Queensland on Friday. 'The lockdown will end at 6:00pm tonight. But we are not out of the woods yet. So, I want to talk about a few things that I really need Queenslanders to do, especially in the south-east and, of course, Townsville,' she said. 'Now, we're all in this together and we've got to have our trust in one another, and we've got to act as a community together.' Palaszczuk asked Queenslanders to follow three simple rules; get tested if you're feeling unwell, wear a mask whenever you're in public and check in to every venue they visit The Premier eased lockdown fears in a press conference on Saturday morning despite confirming the five new community cases. There were 25,145 tests conducted in Queensland on Friday. Of the five new cases one was linked to the Portugese restaurant cluster - a case Dr Young described as 'no risk'. Another man had also visited the restaurant who works at Sunshine Coast University Hospital, which is now a high-exposure site. A woman in her 50s who works at Prince Charles Hospital tested positive despite having the first dose of AstraZeneca. A worker at Brisbane's Domestic Airport in his 50s tested positive, as did a Brisbane man aged 27 who travelled to Eumundi. Dr Young is asking anyone on the Sunshine Coast who feels unwell to immediately get tested. Palaszczuk asked Queenslanders to follow three simple rules; get tested if you're feeling unwell, wear a mask whenever you're in public and check in to every venue they visit. 'There are three key things that are really important. The first one is - if you are sick, get tested. And I really need people, if anyone is feeling sick, any symptoms whatsoever, please come forward and get tested,' she said. 'The second thing that's really important is to wear your mask. These masks are mandatory. Now, there could be some other community cases out there, so we really need people to wear their masks. So, the masks. And, secondly, your phone. If you're going out, you must check in. 'I'm asking businesses, please, do not allow people into your businesses unless they have checked in. If it means putting a staff member in to make sure people have checked in, this is vital for our contact tracers, especially over this period until 16 July, when the mask mandate will end.' Premier Palaszczuk asked Queenslanders to follow three simple rules; get tested if you're feeling unwell, wear a mask whenever in public and check in to every venue they visit The state detected a mystery local Covid case late on Friday evening, with Brisbane and the neighbouring Moreton Bay residents fearing that would jeopardise their chance of being freed from the four-day lockdown Dr Jeannette Young said it was a 'brilliant outcome' that so many people were being tested and urged Queenslanders to stay vigilant. 'We know masks - although not 100%, of course - but they are pretty good at protecting people. So, please wear your masks,' Dr Young said. 'And use the QR codes. We didn't have them a year ago. They're critical, because that means we can just get hold of people so much more quickly and get them into quarantine. 'So, we know with the Delta variant typically infects people very quickly. So, we need those QR codes so we can catch people as soon as we possibly can and get them into quarantine.' Dr Jeannette Young said it was a 'brilliant outcome' that so many people were being tested and urged Queenslanders to stay vigilant The news comes after a mystery case was recorded late on Friday that had Queenslanders fearing the lockdown would be extended. 'The man in his 50s returned a positive result today, after becoming symptomatic on 30 June 2021 and undertaking a test on 1 July 2021,' Health Minister Yvette D'Ath posted on Twitter Friday afternoon. Queensland recorded four new cases of local transmission on Friday, all of them in the state's southeast corner. Of particular concern were a mother and daughter from the Brisbane suburb of Carindale who visited many venues while infectious. They were a primary reason Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young decided to keep Brisbane and the neighbouring Moreton Bay area in lockdown for an extra day. The other two cases of local transmission reported on Friday were a baggage handler at Brisbane International Airport presumed to have been infected by international crew, and a late breaking case involving a man on the Sunshine Coast. The man in his 50s worked on the campus of the University of the Sunshine Coast and was there on Monday, June 28, and Tuesday, June 29, before Queensland's partial three-day lockdown began on Tuesday night. Queensland recorded four new cases of local transmission on Friday, all of them in the state's southeast corner But Dr Young has deemed him to be low risk because he had only minimal contact with others, and has not declared the campus a contact tracing site. Authorities are yet to reveal what variant of the virus he has. Late on Friday, Queensland Health released new contact-tracing locations at Brisbane Airport, Brisbane City, Griffin, Hatton Vale, North Lakes, Redcliffe, Sippy Downs, South Brisbane, Wellcamp, West End and Haigslea. Vauxhall is finalising plans to make electric vehicles at its plant in Ellesmere Port in a move that would safeguard the sites future, it was claimed last night. More than 1,000 people work at the Cheshire site, with thousands of other jobs in the supply chain reliant on it. But the plant was plunged into uncertainty when parent company Stellantis said it would no longer invest in production of the vehicles currently made there. Bosses blamed Boris Johnsons brutal decision to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. It left the plants long-term fate dependant on whether it could be used to make electric models in future - something the firm was reportedly close to confirming last night. Vauxhall is finalising plans to make electric vehicles at its plant in Ellesmere Port in a move that would safeguard the sites future, it was claimed last night Stellantis will reportedly make electric vans at Ellesmere Port, safeguarding the sites future, according to the Financial Times. Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, had previously said he was hopeful about saving the plant after personally holding discussions with the company. The firm is thought to have asked for financial support from the Government but details of its demands have not been revealed. Michael Lohscheller, the head of Stellantis Vauxhall and Opel division, had previously called on ministers to behave in the interest of the UK economy. Now an announcement about the plants future could be made as soon as Tuesday, according to reports. Stellantis declined to comment last night. Stellantis will reportedly make electric vans at Ellesmere Port, safeguarding the sites future, according to the Financial Times (pictured, Vauxhall cars lined up after coming off the production line at Ellesmere Port) It comes after Nissan on Thursday unveiled plans for a 1billion electric vehicle hub in Sunderland, including a massive battery gigafactory. Stellantis, which was created last year from the merger of Fiat Crysler and PSA, is not thought to be planning a battery plant at Ellesmere Port and will instead import them from abroad. The company has previously set out plans to make batteries in France, Germany and another European location - although it has ruled out the UK. Ministers are currently trying to woo car makers into basing battery gigafactories in the UK, amid predictions that up to eight could be needed to meet demand for electric cars in future. It comes after Nissan on Thursday unveiled plans for a 1billion electric vehicle hub in Sunderland. The deal was hailed by Boris Johnson, who visited the site on Thursday, as 'a massive boost for Britain's economy' Alongside the one in Sunderland, so far battery maker Britishvolt has also announced plans for a huge gigafactory in Blyth, Northumberland. Stellantis and Vauxhall already make diesel Vivaro vans at another plant in Luton which is said to be running at full capacity. Major firms in the UK including BT have previously called on Vauxhall to expand production of electric vans at its British plants to help slash their cost. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday denounced the burning and vandalism of Catholic churches and statues of Royals that has followed the discovery of unmarked graves and former schools for Indigenous children. Several Catholic churches have recently been vandalized or damaged in fires following the discovery of more than 1,100 unmarked graves at the sites of three former residential schools run by the church in British Columbia and Saskatchewan that generations of Indigenous children had been forced to attend. The nation also saw a series of attacks Thursday - Canada Day - on statues of Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth II and other historical figures. Trudeau, himself a Catholic, said he understands the anger many people feel toward the federal government and Catholic church. The government has apologized for the schools and Trudeau has called on Pope Francis, too, to make a formal apology. 'It's real and it is fully understandable given the shameful history we are all become more aware of,' he told a news conference. 'I can't help but think that burning down churches is actually depriving people who are in need of grieving and healing and mourning from places where they can grieve and reflect and look for support.' Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday denounced the burning and vandalism of Catholic churches Kayaker Tom Armstrong fishes the head of a statue of Queen Victoria from the Assiniboine River in Winnipeg on Friday Her statue and a statue of Queen Elizabeth II were toppled and vandalized on Canada Day during demonstrations concerning Indigenous children who died at residential schools A headless statue of Queen Victoria is seen overturned and vandalized at the provincial legislature in Winnipeg on Friday On Thursday, statues of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth on the grounds of the Manitoba legislature were tied with ropes and pulled down by a crowd A statue of Queen Elizabeth II is seen overturned and vandalized at the provincial legislature in Winnipeg On Thursday, statues of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II on the grounds of the Manitoba legislature were tied with ropes and pulled down by a crowd. The statue of Queen Victoria was covered in red paint and its base had red handprints on it. On the steps behind the statue were hundreds of tiny shoes, placed there to recognize the children who went to residential schools. Arlen Dumas, grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, was at a separate event at the time but said he was shocked at what happened. 'I personally wouldn't have participated in that,' he said, though he added, 'Mind you, it has been a very triggering time over the past few weeks.' 'It's unfortunate that they chose to express themselves the way that they did. But its actually a symbol of the fact that there is a lot of hurt and that theres a lot of frustration and anger with just how things have happened,' Dumas said. Premier Brian Pallister called the vandalism 'a major setback for those who are working toward real reconciliation.' 'Those who commit acts of violence will be pursued actively in the courts. All leaders in Manitoba must strongly condemn acts of violence and vandalism, and at the same time, we must come together to meaningfully advance reconciliation,' he said in a statement. In other incidents on Canada Day, a statue of Queen Victoria in Kitchener, Ontario, was doused in red paint. The head of the Queen Victoria statue was removed and thrown into the Assiniboine River, and was later fished out by a kayaker. In Victoria, British Columbia, a statue of Captain James Cook was dismantled and thrown into the harbor. The statue was replaced with a wooden cutout of a red dress - a symbol representing murdered and missing Indigenous women - and its base was smeared with red handprints. A toppled statue of Queen Elizabeth lays facedown on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislature on Friday The statue of English explorer Capt. James Cook was vandalized and removed from it's base and tossed into the inner harbor and replaced with red hand prints and a red dress in protest of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Victoria A sign reading 'Indigenous Lives Matter' is taped to a lamp post in front of a memorial to the victims of Canada's residential school system made up of shoes, teddy bears, orange shirts and other tributes placed on the steps outside the legislature People pay respects to the victims of Canada's residential school system amid shoes, teddy bears, orange shirts and other tributes placed on the steps outside the legislature Shoes placed on the steps of the Manitoba Legislature to honour hundreds of children recently discovered in unmarked graves on the sites of several former residential schools across Canada near the now toppled statue of Queen Victoria The statue was pulled down by indigenous protestors following a march to honour survivors and victims of Canada's residential school system Red hand prints and orange shirts cover the base of a now toppled statue of Queen Victoria on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislature on Friday A flag covered in red and orange hand prints symbolizing the victims of Canada's residential school system waves on the steps of the Manitoba Legislature In St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, two prominent buildings and a statue dedicated to the local police force were vandalized with bright red paint. Earlier this week, a First Nations group in British Columbia said it had used ground-penetrating radar to find 182 human remains in unmarked graves at a site close to a former residential near Cranbrook, 525 miles east of Vancouver. That followed reports of similar massive findings at two other such church-run schools, one of more than 600 unmarked graves in southern Saskatchewan and another of 215 bodies in British Columbia. Some 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools, which operated for more than 120 years in Canada. More than 60% of the schools were run by the Catholic Church. In the United States, monuments to figures now deemed racist or problematic by activists have been removed from sites across the country. In particular, statues of Confederate figures in the South have been toppled in the wake of the police killing Floyd, which sparked nationwide protests demanding an end to systemic racism. Statues that paid tribute to the likes of Christopher Columbus, Robert E. Lee and George Washington were among those removed or defaced during anti-racism protests. While there's no official number of statues taken down over the last year, the Southern Poverty Law Center previously revealed that 168 Confederate symbols were removed in 2020, including 94 monuments. The United States is also grappling with historical treatment of Native Americans. Hundreds of Native American boarding schools were also established in the United States during the early 19th and mid 20th centuries to 'civilize' Native American children into Euro-American culture. As many as 40,000 Native American children may have died from care at government-run boarding schools around the US, a researcher has claimed, prompting a federal investigation to address the trauma's 'intergenerational impact.' US Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a June 22 memo that her department will prepare a report that identifies federal boarding school facilities, map out the locations of known and possible student burial sites, and learn the identities and tribal affiliations of the children. In her memo, Haaland - a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe and first Native American Cabinet Secretary - said most indigenous parents could not visit their children at these schools, where some were abused, killed and buried in unmarked graves. 'Survivors of the traumas of boarding school policies carried their memories into adulthood as they became the aunts and uncles, parents, and grandparents to subsequent generations,' Haaland wrote in her memo. 'The loss of those who did not return left an enduring need in their families for answers that, in many cases, were never provided. Distance, time, and the scattering of school records have made it more difficult, if not impossible, for their families to locate a loved ones final resting place and bring closure through the appropriate ceremonies.' That's why she's directing the Department of the Interior to undertake this investigation and address the 'intergenerational impact' of Indian boarding schools 'to shed light on the traumas of the past.' 'While it may be difficult to learn of the traumas suffered in the boarding school era, understanding its impacts on communities today cannot occur without acknowledging that painful history,' she said. Leading doctors have called for 'targeted Covid measures' to stay after July 19 in a bid to help control the spread of Covid amid the 'alarming' rise in cases. The British Medical Association (BMA) said keeping some protective measures in place was 'crucial' to stop spiralling case numbers having a 'devastating impact' on people's health, the NHS, the economy and education. It comes as a new poll suggested more than half of British voters back the removal of all restrictions come Freedom Day. England's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, is privately predicting that face masks will remain in use, particularly in confined spaces after July 19, according to the Times. That's despite more than half (58 per cent) of those polled in a new YouGov survey who say they are in support of removing any remaining restrictions, with less than 30 per cent opposing. The British Medical Association (BMA) said keeping some protective measures in place was 'crucial' to stop spiralling case numbers having a 'devastating impact' on people's health, the NHS, the economy and education. Pictured, the new health secretary Sajid Javid Although Whitty is comfortable as a backseat advisor while ministers make any final policy decisions, he has reportedly been telling colleagues that people might need to wear masks on public transport or in enclosed areas without social distancing. Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA council chair, said easing restrictions was not an 'all or nothing' decision, and that 'sensible, cautious' measures will be vital to minimising the impact of further waves, new variants and lockdowns. He added: 'As case numbers continue to rise at an alarming rate due to the rapid transmission of the Delta variant and an increase in people mixing with one another, it makes no sense to remove restrictions in their entirety in just over two weeks' time. 'The promise was to make decisions based on data and not dates, and while we were pleased to see the Government react to data in delaying the easing on June 21 last month, ministers must not now simply disregard the most recent, damning, numbers by rushing into meeting their new July 19 deadline.' Dr Chaand Nagpaul (pictured), BMA council chair, said easing restrictions was not an 'all or nothing' decision The call comes amid reports that ministers plan to drop all legal requirements including self-isolation for fully-vaccinated people who come into contact with someone who is infected. The Times reported that a meeting of the Covid operations committee will take place on Monday at which ministers are expected to sign off a plan that will mean the fully vaccinated will be 'advised' to take daily tests but not be required to do so. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said double-jabbed Britons should be able to have a holiday in Europe without quarantine in the 'foreseeable future'. She said travel restrictions are being reviewed for those who have received two coronavirus vaccinations, after holding talks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Chequers on Friday. The call comes amid reports that ministers plan to drop all legal requirements including self-isolation for fully-vaccinated people who come into contact with someone who is infected. Pictured, celebrations in Soho following the easing of restrictions in April But she revealed she had expressed 'grave concern' over the number of football fans being allowed to attend Euro 2020 matches at Wembley. Mr Johnson has said he has increasing confidence that he can go ahead with the final phase of his plans to end England's lockdown on July 19 to 'get back to life as close to it was before Covid'. The new Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, earlier this week also confirmed his intention for Step 4 of the road map to go ahead at that point, but he stopped short of confirming to MPs that will mean the end of every measure. Public Health England figures show a total of 161,981 confirmed and probable cases of Delta variant have now been identified in the UK - up by 50,824, or 46 per cent, on the previous week. The Delta variant, which was first identified in India, continues to account for approximately 95 per cent of confirmed cases of coronavirus across the UK. Meanwhile, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show about one in 260 people in private households in England had Covid in the week to June 26. Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty is reportedly privately predicting that face masks will remain in use, particularly in confined spaces with no social distancing, after July 19 This is up from one in 440 in the previous week and the highest level since the week to February 27. Dr Nagpaul said that, while the hospitalisations remained low compared to the rise in cases, the numbers were 'increasing at pace' with twice as many Covid patients in beds and on ventilators than this time last month. He added: 'Even if people aren't getting admitted to hospital at the same rate, spiralling levels of community transmission provides a fertile ground for new, potentially vaccine-resistant variants to develop.' Dr Nagpaul stressed the BMA was not asking for a 'full delay' of July 19 but a series of 'targeted measures' to help prevent transmission of the virus. These include requiring people to continue wearing masks in enclosed public areas such as on public transport and in shops, and 'significantly improved' public messaging emphasising that practising social distancing and meeting outdoors or in well-ventilated spaces - and wearing masks when this is not possible - remains the best way to reduce risk of infection. Dr Nagpaul added: 'Everyone appreciates the efforts and sacrifices we have all made so far to suppress the spread of the virus, and it would be tragic if we were to undo this good work now. 'We are not asking for a full delay on July 19, rather a series of sensible, targeted measures that will help prevent transmission of the virus while having a minimal impact on people's daily lives.' Meanwhile, half of voters in the Times poll insist they will keep their face masks on even if it is no longer mandatory, with just a third saying they will definitely drop the face coverings. Mr Johnson said he believes the UK's vaccine rollout has 'broken that link between infection and mortality and that is an amazing thing'. The final stage of the PM's lockdown exit roadmap is due to take place in just over a fortnight, with all remaining curbs potentially being lifted. Boris Johnson said he believes the UK's vaccine rollout has 'broken that link between infection and mortality and that is an amazing thing' The majority of those asked as part of the YouGov poll agreed that legal curbs on our freedoms should end on July 19. Those surveyed suggested they would support the return of draconian measures if deaths began to significantly rise again - 44 per cent said they backed restrictions returning if a new variant caused over 5,000 deaths, compared to 36 per cent who disagreed. It comes as health chiefs reported another 27,125 infections in the last 24 hours, up on the 15,810 recorded last Friday and the fifth day in a row the daily figure has surged above 20,000. Some 304 patients were admitted with the virus on June 28, which was up a third on the last week - and a further 27 deaths were recorded yesterday, up 50 per cent on the 18 recorded last Friday. More than half (58 per cent) of those polled in a new YouGov survey say they are in support of removing all remaining restrictions on July 19, with less than 30 per cent opposing Commenting on the findings, Oxford University's Professor James Naismith said it was thanks to vaccines that surging cases were not fuelling a spike in deaths, adding the UK's 'point of maximum danger has probably passed'. The infectious disease expert, and director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute, said: 'The Prime Minister's decision to delay unlocking for a month has been validated; more people have been vaccinated and Delta (Indian variant) has been slowed.' Voters were also asked on the effectiveness of the 'bubble' system in schools that has seen tens of thousands of pupils across the country sent home prematurely. Just under half (47 per cent) agree with schools who send pupils home when classmates test positive, with 36 per cent disagreeing according to YouGov. Danish researchers have found people's sense of smell changes as they get older and managed to to pin down which aromas get less pungent over time. Aromas of coffee, and bacon fade away once you pass 55, but smells of oranges, raspberries, and vanilla remain powerful. Older people were also more likely to dislike coffee aromas, though they continued to enjoy smells of fried food. Scientists at the University of Copenhagen managed to pin down which smells fade, and which do not, through an experiment comparing 343 people aged 20 to 98. Danish researchers have found people's sense of smell changes as they get older and managed to to pin down that coffee and bacon aromas get less pungent over time They said the study showed people did not lose their sense of smell as they age, contrary to what science once suggested. Lead researcher Eva Honnens de Lichtenberg Broge said: 'While their ability to smell fried meat, onions and mushrooms is markedly weaker, they smell orange, raspberry and vanilla just as well as younger adults. Thus, a declining sense of smell in older adults seems rather odor specific 'What is really interesting is that how much you like an odour is not necessarily dependent on the intensity perception.' Broge added: 'This may be due to the fact that these are common food odours in which saltiness or umami is a dominant taste element. It is widely recognised that salty is the basic taste most affected by ageing. 'Since taste and smell are strongly associated when it comes to food, our perception of aroma may be disturbed if one's taste perception of saltiness is impaired to begin with.' The study, published in Food Quality and Preference, could be used to improve meals in nursing homes, where one in five residents are malnourished. Researchers hope their findings will also help improve meals in nursing homes, where one in five residents are malnourished Researchers hope their findings will also help improve the dining experiences of older adults, especially as figures show half of over 65s admitted to hospital in Denmark were not getting the nutrients they needed. 'Our results show that as long as a food odour is recognisable, its intensity will not determine whether or not you like it', Broge added. 'So, if one wants to improve food experiences of older adults, it is more relevant to pay attention to what they enjoy eating than it is to wonder about which aromas seem weaker to them'. Lord Herbert of South Downs was taken on as the Government's 'Special Envoy on LGBT rights' in May, with the aim to 'champion equality at home and abroad' The Conservative gay rights envoy has claimed Boris Johnson has told off his cabinet for getting into a culture war on LGBT issues - and wants them to show 'kindness and tolerance'. Lord Herbert of South Downs was taken on as the Government's 'Special Envoy on LGBT rights' in May, with the aim to 'champion equality at home and abroad'. The Tory peer - and Britain's first openly gay MP - claimed the Prime Minister doesn't want ministers to 'take a side in what some are seeing clearly as a culture war'. Mr Johnson instead preached 'kindness, tolerance and openness' when discussing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues, Lord Herbert said. In May, International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said 'women have vaginas' during a conversation about gender - therefore implying gender should be based on physical characteristics. That same month, it was revealed that she wanted the Government to quit a diversity scheme run by Stonewall after the leading LGBT charity was embroiled in a row over transgender rights. Its chief executive Nancy Kelley likened 'gender critical' beliefs to anti-Semitism as she defended its pro-trans campaigning. The Tory peer - and Britain's first openly gay MP - claimed the Prime Minister (pictured yesterday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel) doesn't want ministers to 'take a side in what some are seeing clearly as a culture war' Lord Herbert of South Downs told Times Radio: 'I wouldn't like to see the Government in any way take a side in what some are seeing clearly as a culture war. 'I don't think that's what the Government should be doing. I don't think that's what the prime minister wants us to do. 'That's why he said to the cabinet this week that he wants to see kindness, tolerance, openness.' Lord Herbert was hired in May to 'lead efforts to champion LGBT equality at home and abroad', a statement announcing his appointment read. He will chair the 'Safe to be Me: A Global Equality Conference' in June 2022. Yesterday, the Government's policy of housing transgender women in female prisons was ruled lawful by the High Court - despite claims from an inmate it raised the risk of sex attacks. A female prisoner, known only as FDJ, brought a legal challenge against a Ministry of Justice (MoJ) policy which allows prisoners to be housed according to their gender identity 'irrespective of whether they have taken any legal or medical steps to acquire that gender'. At a High Court hearing in March, lawyers for FDJ argued that accommodating transgender women in the female prison estate 'exposes female prisoners to a risk of sexual assault that would not arise absent that allocation'. In May, International Trade Secretary Liz Truss (pictured) said 'women have vaginas' during a conversation about gender - therefore implying gender should be based on physical characteristics They argued this was discrimination against cisgender women as that risk did not exist when transgender men are placed in men's prisons. However, the MoJ argued the policy pursued a legitimate aim, including 'facilitating the rights of transgender people to live in and as their acquired gender (and) protecting transgender people's mental and physical health'. In today's ruling, two High Court judges rejected FDJ's claim and upheld the MoJ's policies as lawful. It follows cases of transgender female prisoners sexually assaulting fellow inmates. In 2018, Karen White - who was born a man but was placed in women's prison HMP New Hall after telling authorities of his identification as a woman - sexually assaulted two female inmates. Prosecutors claimed White - who had a history of sex attacks - used a 'transgender persona' to gain access to vulnerable females. White was ordered to serve a life sentence in a male prison for the jail sex attacks. In 2020, official figures showed that transgender prisoners carried out seven sex attacks on women in jail. A female prisoner, known only as FDJ, brought a legal challenge against a Ministry of Justice (MoJ) policy which allows prisoners to be housed according to their gender identity 'irrespective of whether they have taken any legal or medical steps to acquire that gender'. File photo of an English prison It follows cases of transgender female prisoners sexually assaulting fellow inmates. In 2018, Karen White - who was born a man but was placed in women's prison HMP New Hall after telling authorities of his identification as a woman - sexually assaulted two female inmates Lord Justice Holroyde said today: 'It is not possible to argue that the defendant should have excluded from women's prisons all transgender women. 'To do so would be to ignore, impermissibly, the rights of transgender women to live in their chosen gender.' FDJ had not asked for all transgender women to be excluded from female prisons, but instead challenged policies as to how trans women who have been convicted of sexual or violent offences against women were housed. Prosecutors claimed White (pictured) - who had a history of sex attacks - used a 'transgender persona' to gain access to vulnerable females. White was ordered to serve a life sentence in a male prison for the jail sex attacks However, Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Swift, said the trans woman's offending history was a factor that the existing policies were required to consider. 'The need to assess and manage all risks is repeatedly emphasised' throughout the policies, he said. The judge said that a transgender woman, whether or not she has changed her legal gender with a gender recognition certificate (GRC), who is deemed suitable to live in the general population may be subject to restrictions. He continued: 'In an exceptional case, a high-risk transgender woman, even with a GRC, can be transferred to the male estate because of the higher level of security which is there available.' The court also heard expert panels were also involved in the process when allocating transgender prisoners and are 'expressly required' to consider the trans woman's offending history, her anatomy and her sexual behaviours and relationships. Lord Justice Holroyde continued: 'They can, in my view, be expected to be astute to detect any case of a male prisoner who, for sinister reasons, is merely pretending to wish to live in the female gender.' He concluded: 'The policies require a careful, case-by-case assessment of the risks and of the ways in which the risks should be managed. Transgender inmates carried out seven sex attacks on women in jail, figures show Transgender prisoners have carried out seven sex attacks on women in jail, official figures from 2020 showed. In 2018, a convicted rapist was moved to women's jail HMP New Hall and sexually assaulted two women inmates. Karen White dressed as a woman but was still legally a man and had not undergone surgery. She was jailed for life in 2018 by a judge who branded her a 'highly manipulative' predator. In response to a Parliamentary question from former Labour Party General Secretary Baroness McDonagh, Ministers have revealed there have been several other sexual assaults by trans prisoners. The MoJ said: 'Since 2010, out of the 124 sexual assaults that occurred in the female estate a total of seven of those were sexual assaults against females in custody perpetrated by transgender individuals.' It means that although trans women make up about one per cent of the 3,600 female jail population, they are to blame for 5.6 per cent of sexual assaults there. The attacks took place at HMP Low Newton, HMP Foston Hall, HMP Peterborough (Female) and HMP Bronzefield as well as HMP New Hall. The MoJ said it did not know if the culprits had been punished, saying this information was 'not held centrally'. It also insisted there had been 'no reported incidents of any type of sexual assault against prison officers by trans prisoners', despite claims to the contrary. Advertisement 'Properly applied, that assessment has the result that non-transgender prisoners only have contact with transgender prisoners when it is safe for them to do so.' FDJ claimed she was sexually assaulted in prison in 2017 by a trans woman with a GRC which is not admitted by the MoJ. Her barrister argued that transgender inmates are five times more likely to carry out sexual attacks in women's prisons, referencing a statistic provided in response to a parliamentary question. However, this claim was rejected by the judges, who described it as 'a misuse of the statistics'. The judge said the statistics on transgender women in women's prisons were 'unsatisfactory' and said it was clear the numbers were small. Lord Justice Holroyde added: 'I can accept, at any rate for present purposes, that the unconditional introduction of a transgender woman into the general population of a women's prison carries a statistically greater risk of sexual assault upon non-transgender prisoners than would be the case if a non-transgender woman were introduced. 'But that statistical conclusion takes no account of the risk assessment which the policies require.' However, Lord Justice Holroyde noted the vulnerability of many women in prison, saying: 'I readily accept that a substantial proportion of women prisoners have been the victims of sexual assaults and/or domestic violence.' He also said he fully understood FDJ's concerns, adding that some women prisoners 'may suffer fear and acute anxiety if required to share prison accommodation and facilities with a transgender woman who has male genitalia and that their fear and anxiety may be increased if that transgender woman has been convicted of sexual or violent offences against women'. Responding to the ruling, FDJ said: 'I am disappointed with today's judgment, but I am pleased that the court recognised that women in prison are a vulnerable group and that many women in prison have been victims of domestic and sexual violence. 'By bringing this challenge, I did not seek to prevent trans women in prison from living in dignity, or to exclude all trans women from women's prisons. 'However, I feel that trans women who have a history of violence and sexual offending against women should not be in a situation where they can put our safety at risk.' The mother of a six-year-old boy who died from sepsis told of her fury yesterday as the doctor who missed his symptoms was allowed to return to work without restrictions. Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba, 43, was given a suspended jail sentence for the manslaughter of Jack Adcock after a court heard she made a catalogue of errors. The paediatric specialist was later struck off only to spark a backlash from doctors who argued she was being made a scapegoat for a hospital in chaos. She was allowed to return to work last November subject to a raft of restrictions. Undated handout photo issued by Leicestershire Police of Dr Hadiza Hawa-Garba. She was found guilty of causing the death of six-year-old Jack Adcock by gross negligence But yesterday a medical tribunal ruled she no longer had to work under supervision as she was now performing above the expectations for her trainee level. The decision was welcomed by doctors groups who said Jacks death in 2011 had been due to system-wide failure. However Jacks parents, Nicky, 47, and Victor, 55, have slammed the move, saying the mother-of-four should never have been allowed to resume treating patients in the first place. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mrs Adcock said: I think its absolutely disgusting that shes been able to go back to work like nothing ever happened. She killed my son. We have to live with this until the day we die. How does she sleep at night? Shes been given a second chance we havent. The teaching assistant, of Glen Parva, Leicester, added: Shes never shown an ounce of remorse for what she did. Its just so wrong. The whole system is corrupt its neverending. I really dont know how she sleeps at night. Jack, who had Downs syndrome and a heart condition, was admitted to the Leicester Royal Infirmary on February 18, 2011, with breathing difficulties and vomiting. He died 11 hours later from a cardiac arrest caused by sepsis, which had been triggered by pneumonia. Sepsis develops when an infection such as blood poisoning sparks a violent immune response in which the body attacks its own organs.But the condition is notoriously difficult to diagnose. Jack, pictured, who had Downs syndrome and a heart condition, was admitted to the Leicester Royal Infirmary on February 18, 2011, with breathing difficulties and vomiting Dr Bawa-Garba initially diagnosed him with gastroenteritis and failed to act on blood tests that showed he had a kidney infection. She was performing the roles of three doctors and overseeing six wards because the hospital was so short-staffed. A computer failure also meant she was told the blood test results over the phone. In 2015, she was convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence and given a two-year suspended jail term. Speaking after the hearing yesterday, Dr Bawa-Garba said she was pleased with the latest decision but that Jacks death had had a lasting and profound impact. The Daily Mails End the Sepsis Scandal campaign has called for better training so medics recognise the symptoms of the leading cause of avoidable death in the UK. Brigadier Jo Butterfill, who won a Military Cross for leading his soldiers in battle against the Taliban in 2009, is under investigation for a suspected fraud A senior Army officer decorated for gallantry in Afghanistan is being investigated over allegations he falsely claimed an allowance for boarding school fees. Brigadier Jo Butterfill, who won a Military Cross for leading his soldiers in battle against the Taliban in 2009, is under investigation for a suspected fraud. The Royal Military Police probe comes four months after an Army major general was jailed for 21 months for the same offence. Maj Gen Nick Welch was the most senior officer to be court martialled since 1815. He was found guilty of dishonestly claiming 48,000 under the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA). And last month Lt Col Adam Roberts was convicted of fraudulently claiming more than 44,000 to send his children to boarding school. The CEA allows children to remain at the same schools while their parents one of whom must be serving in the military are posted to different locations in the UK and overseas. It cannot be claimed if a soldiers spouse is away from the military home for more than 90 days a year. The scheme, which is open to all ranks across the Armed Forces, is strictly monitored by the Ministry of Defence. An Army spokesman said last night: We can confirm that there is an ongoing Royal Military Police investigation involving a senior officer and it would be inappropriate to comment any further at this time. Brig Butterfill is the commanding officer of the 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade based in Bulford, Wiltshire, where he has more than 1,000 soldiers under his command. He was presented with his Military Cross by the Prince of Wales. He fought in Afghanistan at the height of the conflict in 2009, a year when 95 British soldiers were killed. At the time he was a company commander in the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. His company A Company 2RRF lost seven soldiers in battle against the Taliban. Brig Butterfill was then a father-of-two. He was later awarded the OBE. One of the first under 40s in Australia to get the AstraZeneca vaccine after Prime Minister Scott Morrison gave the green light has detailed his experience five days on from the jab. Senior Daily Mail Australia reporter Dan Piotrowski, 30, said about 24 hours after getting the vaccine he felt 'pretty lousy' but was now feeling no effects at all. On Monday, Mr Morrison detailed a massive change to the nation's vaccine rollout by announcing anyone under 40-years-old could approach their GP and request the AstraZeneca option. Australians under 40 can now get the AstraZeneca vaccine as announced by Scott Morrison on Monday (pictured: locked down Darwin residents exercise on Wednesday) Pfizer is the recommended vaccine for Aussies under 60 - with states and territories already allowing those aged between 40 and 59 to book an appointment for that shot. AstraZeneca was previously only advised for Australians over the age of 60 because of an extremely rare blood clotting complication. Mr Piotrowski said as soon as the change was announced he started to weigh up his options. 'You're more likely to be struck by lightning than develop a deadly blood clot from the AstraZeneca jab. So with that in mind I thought the benefits were very clear that I could be protected from Covid,' Mr Piotrowski told the Today Show on Saturday. He said on Tuesday night he spoke to his doctor and asked if they were able to give him the AstraZeneca shot and whether he should take up the offer. More than 6,000 Australians under 40 got the AZ Covid vaccine on Wednesday (pictured: a nurse administers the vaccine to a patient in Sydney on Thursday) 'She said yeah absolutely and she briefed me on the potential risks and also told me the benefits and then I filled out a consent form,' he said. He then said a few minutes later a nurse arrived and he rolled up his sleeve and she administered the needle. On Saturday, a few days on from being vaccinated, he said he was not feeling any lingering effects at all. 'I'm feeling good. I felt lousy maybe 24 hours afterwards - like I had a hangover to be honest. It actually felt emotionally really good to get the vaccine and feel like you're actually doing something to get Australia out of this miserable pandemic.' While there was backlash from certain state premiers over Scott Morrison's announcement to let under 40s get the vaccine, there appears to be a strong demand. Speaking on the Today Show senior reporter for Daily Mail Australia Dan Piotrowski said he was feeling good after the AstraZeneca jab On Wednesday 6,034 people under 40 got the AZ vaccine - a surge of more than double the previous Wednesday. Across Australia on Thursday 161,390 people were vaccinated marking a new daily record as vaccine rates increase in response to renewed lockdowns in Victoria, NSW, Queensland, WA and the NT. There have been almost eight million doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines administered in the five months since the vaccine rollout began. Almost 8million Australians have been vaccinated since the rollout began five months ago (pictured: shoppers in Queensland) The rate of the population who have been fully vaccinated - having received two shots - still sits under 10 per cent but this is expected to rise rapidly in the next few weeks. Experts have said once the level of vaccination reaches 30 per cent lockdowns would no longer be needed - which could be as soon as two months away. Once a rate of about 60 per cent of people are vaccinated, international borders could be re-opened and overseas travel would once again resume. We risk our lives when we drink, drive or take the contraceptive pill... yet we're more terrified of dying from an AstraZeneca shot that carries LESS risk than any of them, writes DANIEL PIOTROWSKI, as he details WHY he got the jab at just 30 by Daniel Piotrowski 'The choice was clear': Daily Mail Australia's Daniel Piotrowski, 30, explains why he and many other under 40s visited their GP this week to get the AstraZeneca vaccine I'm a 30-year-old Sydney man and on Tuesday night I put my life in grave danger: I crossed a busy highway ... and not at the pedestrian crossing. It was a bigger risk than I took moments later, when my doctor gave me the AstraZeneca vaccine, and with it, a 0.004% chance of a deadly blood clot. For me, the choice was clear as soon as Prime Minister Scott Morrison gave the nod for under 40s to get the jab on Monday. My chances of getting Pfizer any time soon were grim. My city, Sydney, is in the grips of the worst outbreak in a year. And Australia isn't getting out of this cycle of lockdowns, families separated at the border and young peoples' dreams denied until most of us get a shot. So I made an informed decision to get the first safe and effective vaccine available to me, risking a 1.6 in 100,000 chance of a potentially reversible blood clot. What did my doctor say? An enthusiastic 'yes! Let's do it.' Sydney, Australia's biggest city, is in the grips of its first lockdown in more than a year as the Delta Covid strain spreads, with NSW reporting 24 new cases on Thursday Brisbane has likewise plunged into lockdown as cases spread in south-east Queensland. Above, a masked jogger and a rugged up worker No matter what Queensland's hysterical premier and chief doctor may say, taking a vaccine approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration is hardly the act of a thrill-seeker. We all take risks with our health when we drink, smoke, take drugs, exercise not enough or too much. Likewise when we cross the road, swim in the ocean, bungee jump or walk outside during a thunderstorm. In fact, the odds of getting a non-deadly clot from AZ are about the same as getting struck by lightning. Poll Should under 40s get AstraZeneca? Yes, get the first jab you can No, it's too risky Should under 40s get AstraZeneca? Yes, get the first jab you can 385 votes No, it's too risky 453 votes Now share your opinion As my doctor said: Most drugs and vaccines come with minuscule risks. But the chances of complications are so tiny you're unlikely to ever hear about them. The contraceptive pill causes clots for between 5 and 12 women per 10,000, according to the Department of Health. It's been freely prescribed for 60 years, with warnings mostly ignored. Even some life-saving flu vaccines have a possible, extremely rare link to a auto-immune disorder, Guillain Barre Syndrome, which can cause paralysis, my GP fumed. 'The greatest public policy disaster in Australian political history': Australia (at the bottom) has recorded the slowest vaccine rollout of 38 OECD nations, data shows Meanwhile, the actual official medical advice given about AstraZeneca has been grossly distorted by scaremongering politicians. The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisations (ATAGI) doesn't say under 40s shouldn't get AstraZeneca. It simply says, in the a**e-covering language of health bureaucrats, that Pfizer is the 'preferred' option for people younger than 60. 'COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca can be used in adults aged under 60 years for whom Comirnaty (Pfizer) is not available, the benefits are likely to outweigh the risks for that individual and the person has made an informed decision based on an understanding of the risks and benefits,' the advice says. The odds of getting a clot from AZ are about the same as getting struck by lightning Why then should a fully informed adult be stopped from taking this vaccine, especially when Australia has the slowest vaccine rollout in the developed world? The jab is a risk - but a tiny one. Two Australians have died from clots of more than 4.6million doses given. It's a risk that protects me, my family, friends, colleagues and strangers I pass on the street from a deadly pandemic. A first shot of AZ can provide a 70 per cent lower risk of hospitalisation due to the Delta variant, said Kirby Institute infectious diseases expert Professor Greg Dore. The vaccine had its well-reported side effects including 'full on' body aches, chills and fatigue for about 24 hours afterwards So here I am, one shot down. Yes, about 10 hours after the jab, I felt like I'd been hit by a truck, with full-on body aches, chills and fatigue. Thirty-six hours later, I'm feeling good. If I'm very, very, struck-by-lightning unlucky, I could get very sick. But I know the signs to look for - my doctor told me. And what's really more risky? A tiny chance of a fatal blood clot? Or accepting Australia's current trajectory - where we are doomed to be prisoners of Covid for months or even years to come? Moment Anna Palaszczuk is called out for incorrect tweet claiming the UK Government WON'T allow under 40s to get AstraZeneca - as she and her under-fire chief doctor are forced to DENY they are anti-vax and fuelling vaccine fears in Australia By Michael Pickering Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk provides a Covid update during a press conference in Brisbane on Thursday Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has stormed out of a Covid press conference after being questioned about an inaccurate social media post she wrote - as the state records two new local cases of the virus. The Premier was challenged about a Tweet she posted on Wednesday in which she claimed the UK government wouldn't allow under-40s to get the AstraZeneca vaccine, a claim that is untrue. 'There is an article that talks about under-40s are to be given an alternative to AstraZeneca,' she responded to the male reporter who probed her. Most adults under the age of 40 will be given an alternative to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine due to a link with rare blood clots, the BBC had reported. The UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advised a preference for adults aged 30 to 39 without underlying health conditions to receive an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine - where available and only if this does not cause substantial delays in being vaccinated. It followed a decision on April 7 to offer a preference for adults aged under 30. Ms Palaszczuk then questioned the credentials of the two journalists. 'You weren't here yesterday either and I actually read from the article,' she said to a male reporter who asked about the tweet. 'I am happy to provide you with a copy of the article.' The Tweet from the Premier that a journalist claimed was inaccurate and caused Ms Palaszczuk to abruptly end her press conference on Thursday Ms Palaszczuk described one reporter, Channel Seven's Bianca Stone, as 'rude' in one exchange, and ignored her question. Ms Stone had Tweeted about Wednesday's press conference in which Ms Palaszczuk and Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young had attacked the federal Government over its AstraZeneca advice. 'This media conference was disgraceful,' Ms Stone tweeted. Queensland's Chief Health officer Jeannette Young said this week: ''I don't want an 18-year-old in Queensland dying from a clotting illness who, if they got Covid, probably wouldn't die' 'All attack, no responsibility. The Premier has more media advisors than most newsrooms have journos.' Ms Palaszczuk relies on an 18-person media team advising her on the daily Covid-19 updates. Of the new Queensland cases, one is a close contact of the Portuguese restaurant cases identified last week and is in quarantine. The other case is a 37-year-old woman who works at the Qatar check-in counter at the International Airport. She tested positive on Tuesday, June 29. 'The fact we have seen a large number of testing, plus we are not seeing more widescale community cases is very encouraging,' Ms Palaszczuk said. 'But we're not out of the woods yet, we've got another 24 hours to see what happens... but it is very encouraging news at this stage.' New South Wales has recorded 35 new Covid cases on Saturday as the Bondi cluster grows to 261. Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed the cases in a press conference on Saturday morning after 56,331 people were tested. The 35 new cases are the highest number of infections recorded in a single day since the initial outbreak in 2020 but the premier and her Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the 'green shoots are there'. 'We are relieved, the cases are not as bad as they could have been,' Ms Berejiklian said. Greater Sydney remains in lockdown until Friday but there are still fears it will be extended as sewage testing shows the virus is in south-west and western Sydney despite no known cases being recorded there. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirms the state has recorded 35 new cases on Saturday as the Bondi cluster grows to 261 Greater Sydney remains in lockdown until Friday, with fears it is set to be extended as cases continue to trickle in Centennial Park in Sydney was packed with crowds on Saturday morning (pictured) People exercising in Centennial Park in the Sydney CBD (pictured) on Saturday morning halfway through a 14-day lockdown in the city 'Pleasingly, nine of those were infectious during their time in the community,' the Premier explained on Saturday morning. 'While as predicted the number of cases is going up, we are seeing a greater proportion of those cases in isolation, which is exactly what we want to see.' Ms Berejiklian said New South Wales residents are doing 'really well' and said it was a positive sign that cases hadn't surged. 'We have not seen a huge surge in cases and we certainly feel through our contact tracing that we are not at this stage missing any chains of community transmission,' she said. She urged Sydneysiders not to get complacent on Saturday with 19 degree temperatures and clear skies warming the Harbour City. 'I know that people want to take advantage of the weather,' the premier said. 'Please exercise sensibly, please maintain your exercise at doors and avoid indoor areas where we know the virus has a greater chance of transmitting.' When asked about the possibility of extending the lockdown past next Friday, the Premier said it was too early to say. 'I anticipate that obviously some time next week we'll be in a position to tell the community where things are at,' she said. 'It's a bit too soon at the moment.' NEW: CHECK THE MOST UP-TO-DATE EXPOSURE SITES IN YOUR AREA WITH DAILY MAIL'S EASY-TO-USE MAP FINDER She urged Sydneysiders not to get complacent Saturday with 19 degree temperatures and clear skies warming the Harbour City Under NSW restrictions, people are allowed to exercise in groups of up to ten - and there is no suggestion these fitness fanatics were doing anything wrong Police officers are seen speaking with people sitting on benches on Bondi Beach's promenade on Friday afternoon Dr Kerry Chant said 29 of the new cases were linked to previous cases, with 14 being household contacts. 'Of the 35 new locally acquired cases, 23 were in isolation throughout their infectious period,' Dr Chant said. 'A further three cases were in isolation for part of their infectious period, and nine cases were infectious in the community.' NSW Health have also put 97,000 western Sydney residents on high-alert after coronavirus fragments were detected in sewer readings. The system serves Penrith, Tunks Park, Maroubra, Penrith, Port Kembla and Rouse Hill. Other areas include Emu Plains, Glenbrook, Glenmore Park Warrimoo, Blaxland and as far west as the Blue Mountains National Park. People getting exercise outdoors line up for ice cream at Centennial Park in Sydney on Saturday (pictured) NSW Health are urging anyone from the areas to monitor their symptoms closely and immediately get tested if their condition worsens. The number of venues exposed to Sydney's alarming Covid-19 outbreak grew on Friday night with major supermarkets, chain stores and shopping centres added to the list. Customers who visited a Woolworths at Eastgate Shopping Centre in the city's east, a Bunnings at Caringbah in the far south and Strathfield Plaza in the inner west have been told to get tested and self-isolate immediately as 34 new venues were added bringing the total number of exposure sites in Greater Sydney to 364. The next few days in New South Wales are 'critical' according to officials, as the state continues to record new Covid-19 cases who have been infectious in the community. People riding bikes and pedestrians in the Sydney CBD (pictured) as the city endures a 14-day lockdown in response to a Covid outbreak in NSW More than 300 residents have been ordered to evacuate a condominium building in North Miami Beach just five miles from the site of last week's deadly Surfside collapse, after officials found it had been declared unsafe six months ago. South Florida municipalities had ordered a review of all high-rise residential buildings over 40 years old in the aftermath of the collapse of Champlain Towers South, which has left at least 22 dead and 126 missing. Buildings in Miami-Dade county are supposed to be recertified after 40 years, but when officials looked into the 50-year-old Crestview Towers in North Miami Beach they realized it had not undergone the required process, City Manager Arthur H. Sorey III told CNN. When officials made inquiries, the building manager turned in a report Friday which was dated January 11, 2021, which stated the 156-unit Crestview Towers is 'not structurally nor electrically safe for continued occupancy.' Officials immediately ordered the building be evacuated and closed, with officials hoping to clear it within hours. 'In an abundance of caution, the City ordered the building closed immediately and the residents evacuated for their protection, while a full structural assessment is conducted and next steps are determined,' Sorey said. 'Being in that building right now is not safe, and thats our number one concern' More than 300 residents of the Crestview Towers Condominium are being evacuated after a building inspection report turned in by the condo association outlined structural and electrical conditions A woman is seen talking on the phone as she evacuate with personal belongings the Crestview Towers Condominium on Friday Crestview Towers in North Miami Beach is five miles away from the partially collapsed Champlain Towers South Condo building which fell last week People are seen evacuating with personal belongings from the Crestview Towers Condo The move to evacuate was considered urgent due to the approach of Hurricane Isla, which is forecast to hit Florida as early as Monday People are seen evacuating with personal belongings the Crestview Towers Condominium People are seen evacuating with personal belongings from the Crestview Towers Condominium Evacuating residents hauled packed suitcases into cars Friday evening outside the Crestview, which was built in 1972. North Miami Beach commissioner Fortuna Smukler said she rushed to the building Friday afternoon after learning the news. She said authorities were working to help the evacuated residents find places to go. She said with the approaching storm it was an especially stressful time for the residents. Smukler knows two people who are still unaccounted for in the Surfside building collapse. 'I ran here right away because this is important to me. I needed to ensure that what happened in Surfside doesn't happen here,' she said. 'It could have been our building instead of Surfside.' Crestview residents told of their fury that they had been living in an unsafe building for months. 'Nobody knew. I didnt know that the building was deemed unsafe since January, and now its what, July 2?' Harold Dauphin told WSVN. Some residents said they were not told why they were being evacuated, and were just told to get out as soon as possible. One said: 'The police stopped us and said, "Get all your stuff and get out". I went out there, and I asked some people by the elevator what was going on, and they said, "You just have to get out".' A general view of the Crestview Towers Condominium, pictured on Friday in North Miami Beach A woman is seen holding a ball in a balcony of the Crestview Towers Condominium A woman is seen talking on the phone in a balcony of the Crestview Towers Condominium : A man is seen evacuating with personal belongings from Crestview Towers People are seen outside during the evacuation of the Crestview Towers Condominium A man is seen in a balcony of the Crestview Towers Condominium The building's owners had not yet begun a mandatory safety recertification process required 40 years after it was built Romado Stephens, who moved out of Crestview Towers last year, told the station: 'Thats really, really, really, really bad, knowing that I have my family in there.' He said that the building was in a state of disrepair and that water flowed from the ceiling of the garage. He added: 'This is the reason why I left from this place, because of the bad pipes and the flooding of the building. I was paying $1,400 in rent, and theyre not keeping up the building.' The evacuation came as the mayor of Miami-Dade County announced on Friday that she had ordered the portion of Champlain Towers South that was still standing to be demolished. The decision was made a day after there were fears the structure could completely collapse further disrupting rescue efforts. 'The building poses a threat to public health and safety, and bringing it down as quickly as possible is critical to protect our community,' said mayor Daniella Levine Cava. People walk out of the Crestview Towers condominium after the city of North Miami Beach ordered the evacuation of the building, deeming it unsafe, in North Miami Beach Women are seen outside the Crestview Towers condominium after the city of North Miami Beach ordered the evacuation of the building All residents of the second building, Crestview Towers, were told to leave immediately after engineers found serious concrete and electrical problems The city of North Miami Beach announced that an audit prompted by the deadly collapse of Champlain Towers found the 156-unit Crestview Towers building structurally and electrically unsafe The evacuation comes as municipal officials in South Florida and statewide are scrutinizing older high-rises in the wake of the collapse to ensure that serious structural problems are not being ignored Crestview Towers residents could be seen Friday evening hauling suitcases and packing items into cars outside the building, which was constructed in 1972 The demolition is unlikely to begin for several weeks. On Friday, four more bodies were found bringing the total recovered to 22. 126 people remain unaccounted. The numbers of those who were unaccounted dropped after officials found some people who had been marked missing were safe. The mayor of Miami-Dade County suggested an audit of buildings 40 years and older to make sure they are in compliance with the local recertification process after last weeks collapse. After reviewing files, the city Building and Zoning Department sent a notification that the Crestview building was not in compliance. On Friday, the building manager submitted a January recertification report in which an engineer hired by the condo association board found the property unsafe. The city then ordered all residents to evacuate immediately. A Miami-Dade County Police boat patrols in front of the Champlain Towers South condo building, where search and rescue efforts continue more than a week after the building partially collapsed A dog assists search and rescue personnel atop the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condo building, where scores of people remain missing one week after it partially collapsed Search and rescue personnel remove remains on a stretcher as they work atop the rubble A volunteer replaces wilted flowers with fresh ones at a makeshift memorial to the scores of victims of a partial collapse at the Champlain Towers South condo building Workers transport a stretcher with remains extricated from the rubble, near the Champlain Towers South condo building 'I am concerned that more buildings are in this condition. Hopefully, this is an easy fix. Thankfully, we have at least evacuated the residents and no harm will come to them or their pets,' Smukler said. The Crestview condo association could not be immediately reached for comment on the delay between the January recertification report and Friday's evacuation. The North Miami Beach Police Department was helping with the evacuation. The Crestview Towers Condo Association said in a lawsuit in federal court that it suffered $8.1 million in damage from Hurricane Irma in 2017. The condo association had sued its insurer, Liberty Surplus Insurance Corp., for not paying the claim. Attorneys for the insurer did not immediately reply to emailed requests for comment. Itemized estimates listed in the lawsuit showed repair needs of more than $533,000 for the roof, $750,000 for concrete restoration, $605,000 for electrical work and $405,000 for new windows, among other repairs. A parallel lawsuit also was filed in state court in Miami. This spring, the parties asked that the federal lawsuit be dismissed and agreed to begin mediation in May in the state lawsuit. Furniture sits perched in the remains of apartments sheared in half, in the still standing portion of the Champlain Towers South condo building which is now earmarked for demolition A team secures sets of recovered remains in body bags, as search and rescue personnel work atop the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condo building Search and rescue personnel work atop the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condo Search and rescue personnel work alongside heavy machinery Tucker Carlson has branded Kamala Harris a 'power hungry buffoon' after several aides claimed her office is 'abusive', as he demanded to know who is really in charge of America 'if Joe Biden is not running things.' The Fox News host took aim at the vice president on his show Friday night claiming she is 'posing as a competent adult' when she is really 'a joke' and 'has no idea what she's doing.' He pointed to her role in tackling the crisis at the US's southern border and her focus on getting more women into the workplace. Carlson said 'a tsunami' of migrants continue to flock to the border meanwhile Harris 'proceeds to drive women out of her own office.' 'She takes charge of a problem she doesn't really understand, and then she makes it worse,' he said. His comments came after aides and administration officials complained of a tense atmosphere with low morale and trust, and bad communication in Harris's office in a bombshell Politico report this week. Tucker Carlson has branded Kamala Harris a 'power hungry buffoon' after several aides claimed her office is 'abusive', as he demanded to know who is really in charge of America 'if Joe Biden is not running things' 'In one of her first official acts as vice president back in February, Kamala Harris decided to declare what she called a national emergency,' said Carlson. 'This new national emergency, Kamala Harris informed us is "The mass exodus of women from the workplace."' 'Kamala Harris sounded the alarm,' he said. 'Our female workforce emergency, she wrote, demands a national solution.' Carlson said the issue has not been solved, mocking that 'there are women, even now, who have chosen to skip the HR department's latest zoom call and workplace diversity initiatives and are instead reading their children a bedtime story.' 'Five months later we are sad to tell you that that crisis is still ongoing,' he said. Carlson claimed that Harris 'hasn't done a lot to help', pointing to the apparent inner turmoil within her own office. 'There is now a mass exodus of women from her office,' he said. 'The toxic masculinity is coming from inside the house.' He added: 'It's not a place where people feel supported but a place where people feel they are treated like cr*p.' Carlson pointed to the claims of a dysfunctional workplace, staff resignations and tensions between the West Wing and her team that surfaced this week. Harris speaking at the Generation Equality Forum this week. The Fox News host took aim at the vice president on his show Friday night claiming she is 'posing as a competent adult' when she is really 'a joke' and 'has no idea what she's doing' Aides described an environment where they were treated 'like s***' saying tensions reached breaking point last week when the vice president finally decided to visit the border. The decision blindsided officials tasked with arranging travel and others outside her office responsible for messaging across the administration, according to Politico. The outlet cited 22 officials, former officials, aides and associates of President Biden and Harris who described low morale, a tense atmosphere, porous lines of communication and diminished trust. Harris's Chief of Staff Tina Flournoy especially came under fire with one source saying 'people are thrown under the bus from the very top.' The White House pushed back on the claims, with Biden's Senior Adviser Cedric Richmond calling it 'a whisper campaign designed to sabotage [Harris].' Watch "Tucker: Kamala Harris is a 'power hungry buffoon'" on YouTube - https://t.co/ard1PSdQeM Limelight & Fashion (@LimelightFlash) July 3, 2021 Carlson pointed to her role in tackling the crisis at the US's southern border and her focus on getting more women into the workplace White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain told Axios: 'The results speak for themselves: a decline of border arrivals from the Northern Triangle, improved vaccine equity, and increased economic opportunities for women.' But Carlson hit out at Harris over the reports, and said it was the latest in a 'pattern.' 'First, Kamala Harris takes charge of a problem she doesn't really understand, and then she makes it worse,' he said. 'Let's help women in the workforce, she says, then proceeds to drive women out of her own office. 'Let's fix the border crisis, she says, as the wave of illegal migrants becomes a tsunami. 'Take this vaccine, she tells you, it works perfectly. Then she turns to kiss her vaccinated husband while wearing a surgical mask.' Aides complained of a tense atmosphere in her office in a Politico report this week. Aides said tensions reached breaking point when the vice president finally decided to visit the border (pictured Harris at the El Paso Border Patrol Station on June 25 in El Paso, Texas) Vice President Kamala Harris participates in a roundtable discussion with faith and community leaders and local service providers, during a visit to the Paso del Norte Port of Entry on June 25 Migrants land on US soil after crossing the Rio Grande river on July 1 in Roma, Texas Carlson said it is 'hilarious to watch' but hit out at other media outlets which he claimed are afraid to call out her failures for fear of being labeled 'racist.' 'Look at her, she is a joke, she can barely get through the day, she has no idea what she's doing but you can't say that out loud,' he said. Harris's Chief of Staff Tina Flournoy (pictured) especially came under fire with one source saying 'people are thrown under the bus from the very top' 'Point out that she is a power-hungry buffoon posing as a competent adult and they will instantly denounce he was a racist.' Carlson went on to claim that, despite the vice president being 'one of the least impressive people', she appears to be 'running our country.' He pointed to a new poll from The Trafalgar Group which shows 'a majority of Americans say Joe Biden isn't in charge.' He also pushed the view of some right-wing critics who accuse Biden of being senile and claimed this had left Harris in charge of the country 'by default.' 'We dont say a lot about Joe Biden's decline on this show partly because it is depressing and partly because our default position is to always respect old people, especially when they get a little soft, as we all will if we live long enough so it's bad karma to mock them for it but in Biden's case as the president, it's demonstrably true and everyone knows that including his family,' he said. 'The question is "who is really in charge if Joe Biden isn't?" And increasingly it seems like Kamala Harris is running things. Biden and Harris hold honorary Los Angeles Dodgers team jerseys during a ceremony honoring the 2020 World Series Champion Dodgers in the East Room at the White House Friday. Carlson claimed Harris appears to be 'running our country' instead of Biden because of his 'senility' 'If you believe in democracy, this is a problem... But she got the job anyway entirely by default.' He added: 'Biden's senility means an awful lot of power for Kamala Harris and thats why we are spending the next hour talking about her.' Carlson has repeatedly taken aim at Harris on his show in recent months, last month calling her 'fake' and suggesting she receives special treatment from the media because of 'how she looks.' Meanwhile, the Fox host himself was accused of being a frequent source for the media publications he repeatedly claims to dislike in a report last week. The New York Times reported that he had shared gossip about the Trump administration, Fox News and himself with numerous journalists from different publications, with one source saying 'he plays both sides'. Russian-based hackers have launched a cyberattack on at least 200 information technology management firms in the United States and demanded up to $5 million in ransom, it has been revealed. The REvil gang, a major Russian-speaking ransomware syndicate that was linked to the JBS meat processor hacking incident, appears to be behind the attack despite President Joe Biden's threat earlier this month of 'retaliation' to Russian President Vladimir Putin if the hacks continued. The massive scale of the attack, which paralyzed the networks of at least 200 U.S. companies on Friday, was revealed by a cybersecurity researcher whose company was responding to the incident. John Hammond of the security firm Huntress Labs said the criminals targeted a software supplier called Kaseya, which earlier in the day had said in a press release that the 'potential attack' had been 'limited to a small number of on-premise customers only.' 'We are in the process of investigating the root cause of the incident with an abundance of caution but we recommend that you IMMEDIATELY shutdown your VSA server until you receive further notice from us,' the company wrote. 'Its critical that you do this immediately, because one of the first things the attacker does is shutoff administrative access to the VSA.' The REvil gang, a major Russian-speaking ransomware syndicate, appears to be behind the attack despite President Joe Biden's threat of 'retaliation' to Russian President Vladimir Putin if they continued The extent of the hacking incident was revealed by Huntress Labs, which responded to the incident Kyle Hanslovan, CEO of Huntress Labs, said the hackers demanded a ransom of $5 million from at least one of the companies It came after Kaseya earlier in the day had said in a press release that the 'potential attack' had been ' limited to a small number of on-premise customers only' The hackers used Kaseya's network-management package as a conduit to spread the ransomware through cloud-service providers, Hammond said. Other researchers agreed with Hammond's assessment. 'Kaseya handles large enterprise all the way to small businesses globally, so ultimately, (this) has the potential to spread to any size or scale business,' Hammond told the Associated Press in a direct message on Twitter. 'This is a colossal and devastating supply chain attack.' Such cyberattacks typically infiltrate widely used software and spread malware as it updates automatically. It was not immediately clear how many Kaseya customers might be affected or who they might be. Kyle Hanslovan, CEO of Huntress Labs, told CNN that the attackers demanded a ransom of $5 million from at least one of the companies. Cyber security expert Kevin Beaumont tweeted that the REvil ransom sought about $45,000 per victim, but added that 'theres no way to pay it.' 'The payload has Donald Trump references (makes a change to references to Biden being a pedo etc),' Beaumont tweeted. 'Its all one affiliate a la Darkside, so its possible they did too wide targeting (ie made a boo boo).' Cyber security expert Kevin Beaumont tweeted that the REvil ransom sought about $45,000 per victim, He said that REvil also made references to Black Lives Matter in the registry key set of their ransomware attack. Beaumont said that Kaseya 'have shut down Kaseya Cloud entirely.' Brett Callow, a ransomware expert at the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, said he was unaware of any previous ransomware supply-chain attack on this scale. There have been others, but they were fairly minor, he said. 'This is SolarWinds with ransomware,' he said. Callow's comment referred to a Russian cyberespionage hacking campaign discovered in December that spread by infecting network management software to infiltrate U.S. federal agencies and scores of corporations. Cybersecurity researcher Jake Williams, president of Rendition Infosec, said he was already working with six companies hit by the ransomware. It's no accident that this happened before the Fourth of July weekend, when IT staffing is generally thin, he added. 'There's zero doubt in my mind that the timing here was intentional,' he said. The REvil gang, a major Russian-speaking ransomware syndicate that was linked to the meat processor JBS hacking incident, appears to be behind the attack Chris Krebs, the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, tweeted about the attack Hammond of Huntress said he was aware of four managed-services providers companies that host IT infrastructure for multiple customers being hit by the ransomware, which encrypts networks until the victims pay off attackers. He said thousand of computers were hit. 'We currently have three Huntress partners who are impacted with roughly 200 businesses that have been encrypted,' Hammond said. Hammond wrote on Twitter: 'Based on everything we are seeing right now, we strongly believe this (is) REvil/Sodinikibi.' The FBI linked the same ransomware provider to a May attack on JBS SA, a major global meat processer. U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet during the U.S.-Russia summit on June 16 The Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a statement late Friday that it is closely monitoring the situation and working with the FBI to collect more information about its impact. CISA urged anyone who might be affected to 'follow Kaseya's guidance to shut down VSA servers immediately.' Kaseya runs what's called a virtual system administrator, or VSA, that's used to remotely manage and monitor a customer's network. Christopher Krebs, former CISA director, said on Twitter that: 'News Flash: cybercriminals are a$holes.' 'Keep all the Incident Response teams in mind this holiday weekend as they're in the thick of it...again,' Krebs wrote. 'If you use Kaseya VSA, shut it down *now* until told to reactivate and initiate IR.' The privately held Kaseya says it is based in Dublin, Ireland, with a U.S. headquarters in Miami. The Miami Herald recently described it as 'one of Miami's oldest tech companies' in a report about its plans to hire as many as 500 workers by 2022 to staff a recently acquired cybersecurity platform. Brian Honan, an Irish cybersecurity consultant, said by email Friday that 'this is a classic supply chain attack where the criminals have compromised a trusted supplier of companies and have abused that trust to attack their customers.' He said it can be difficult for smaller businesses to defend against this type of attack because they 'rely on the security of their suppliers and the software those suppliers are using.' The only good news, said Williams, of Rendition Infosec, is that 'a lot of our customers don't have Kaseya on every machine in their network,' making it harder for attackers to move across an organization's computer systems. That makes for an easier recovery, he said. Active since April 2019, the group known as REvil provides ransomware-as-a-service, meaning it develops the network-paralyzing software and leases it to so-called affiliates who infect targets and earn the lion's share of ransoms. REvil is among ransomware gangs that steal data from targets before activating the ransomware, strengthening their extortion efforts. The average ransom payment to the group was about half a million dollars last year, said the Palo Alto Networks cybersecurity firm in a recent report. Some cybersecurity experts predicted that it might be hard for the gang to handle the ransom negotiations, given the large number of victims though the long U.S. holiday weekend might give it more time to start working through the list. Earlier this month, Biden did not rule out retaliation against Russian President Vladimir Putin for cyber attacks on American companies, saying: 'We're looking closely at that issue.' However, when asked if he believed he was being tested by his Russian counterpart, Biden said: 'No.' White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has said that Biden 'certainly thinks that President Putin and the Russian government has a role to play in stopping and preventing' cyber attacks on U.S. companies. Earlier this month, it was also revealed that the U.S. Department of Justice is elevating investigations of ransomware attacks to a similar priority as terrorism in the wake of the Colonial Pipeline hack and mounting damage caused by cyber criminals, a senior department official told Reuters. The letter was sent to Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and was titled 'Guidance Regarding Investigations and Cases Related to Ransomware and Digital Extortion' Internal guidance sent to U.S. attorney's offices across the country said information about ransomware investigations in the field should be centrally coordinated with a recently created task force in Washington. The letter was sent to Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and was titled 'Guidance Regarding Investigations and Cases Related to Ransomware and Digital Extortion,' according to Cyber Scoop News which obtained a copy of the letter. Recent ransomware attacks including the attack last month on Colonial Pipeline underscore the growing threat that ransomware and digital extortion pose to the Nation, and the destructive and devastating consequences ransomware attacks can have on critical infrastructure,' Monoco wrote in the letter. 'A central goal of the recently launched Ransomware and Digital Extortion Task Force is to ensure that we bring to bear the full authorities and resources of the Department in confronting the many dimensions and root causes of this threat.' The guidance added: 'To ensure we can make necessary connections across national and global cases and investigations, and to allow us to develop a comprehensive picture of the national and economic security threats we face, we must enhance and centralize our internal tracking.' An Australian GP has revealed her phone lines are inundated whenever a politician makes comments about Covid vaccines - which in the last week have often been contradictory. Dr Penny Adams from Sydney said whenever there is a new announcement made at a press conference, confused residents flood her practice with calls and book appointments just to try and sort through the recommended advice. 'I like to take my medical advice from experts rather than politicians,' Dr Adams told the Today show on Saturday. Australians under 40 can now get the AstraZeneca vaccine but some politicians have said this is against advice causing confused Australians to book appointments just to talk through their options (pictured: Sydney in lockdown on Saturday) 'It's got to the stage where our phone lines have been jammed and we can't even use our phones to call out anymore,' she said. On Monday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Australians under 40 could access the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine if they approached their GP. The Pfizer option is recommended for those under 60 - with state and territories already allowing those aged between 40 and 59 to book an appointment for that vaccine. AstraZeneca was previously only advised for those over 60 because of an incredibly rare blood clotting side effect. The PMs announcement was designed to boost Australia's stalling vaccine rollout but was met with backlash by certain Premiers who issued contradictory advice. Queensland's Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young contradicted the advice saying the the Australian authority on immunisation, ATAGI, does not recommend this. 'No, I do not want under-40s to get AstraZeneca,' Dr Young said. 'We've seen up to 49 deaths in the UK from that syndrome. I don't want an 18-year-old in Queensland dying from a clotting illness who, if they got Covid, probably wouldn't die.' Sydney is in the midst of a 14-day lockdown (pictured) sparked by a Covid cluster of the Delta strain prompting a rise in vaccination rates in the last week and a record day on Thursday Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has snapped at a 'rude' reporter who challenged her for telling residents in her state under the age of 40 not to get the AstraZeneca jab The Premier also said she had tried to secure extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine but the federal government turned down her request. And on Thursday, Ms Palaszczuk was also challenged about a tweet she posted the previous day in which she claimed the UK government wouldn't allow under-40s to get the AstraZeneca vaccine. The claim is false. 'There is an article that talks about under-40s are to be given an alternative to AstraZeneca,' she responded to the male reporter who probed her. Most adults under the age of 40 will be given an alternative to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine due to a link with rare blood clots, the BBC reported. The UK immunisation authority advised a preference for adults aged 30 to 39 without underlying health conditions to receive an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine where available - but only if doing so does not cause substantial delays in being vaccinated. It followed a decision on April 7 to offer a preference for adults aged under 30. Dr Adams said the conflicting information from people in positions of authority did not help the country's stalling vaccine rollout. Dr Adams (pictured) said her phone lines were clogged whenever a politician makes a new announcement on vaccines 'I am seeing a lot of patients who are coming in and wanting to make a separate appointment to talk through the vaccine options and what they should do,' Dr Adams said. She added she was 'gratified' by the level of trust people were showing in their family GP to help them sort through the advice - and that doctors were keeping on top of what the proper measures around the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines are. Almost eight million vaccine doses have been given to Australians since the rollout began - but the percentage of the population who are fully vaccinated is still low. Less than 10 per cent of people have had two shots of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine. This number is expected to rapidly increase in the next few weeks as more Australians roll up their sleeves for the needle in response to recent lockdowns in Victoria, NSW, WA, Queensland, and the Northern Territory. Anti-vax and anti-mask 'covidiots' could derail Sydney's bid to reopen from lockdown on Friday, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has warned. The state has seen a surge of people refusing to wear masks under the current public health orders and politicians are worried it could dent the lockdown timeline. Social media has seen a wave of people being arrested for not wearing masks and now Mr Hazzard has branded conspiracy theory activists 'wackos' and begged the public to ignore them. 'We are deep in a war with this virus,' he said on Saturday. 'When you're in a war, you don't win it with wacko views. Anti-vax and anti-mask 'covidiots' could derail Sydney's bid to reopen from lockdown on Friday, New South Wales health minister Brad Hazzard (pictured) has warned. Residents in Bondi were spotting sitting down and having a chat despite the rules strictly allowing them to exercise outside only 'And we can't win this war unless the community are all with us, absolutely. Unfortunately, we're seeing that some people think it's okay not to wear masks. 'We will only win this war against the virus if people wear masks and follow all the instructions that will keep us safe. 'We owe this to ourselves, we owe this to the community, we owe this to our families. 'Wear a mask and don't get caught up in the wacko views some are expressing.' NSW Police revealed they issued 78 penalty infringement notices on Friday, with 48 of them $200 fines for mask breaches. Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said police had received almost 350 tip-offs to Crimestoppers hotline about people breaching public health orders. Exercising is one of the four essential reasons residents in Bondi are allowed to use to leave home NSW Police revealed they issued 78 penalty infringement notices on Friday, with 48 of them $200 fines for mask breaches. Seen here is a man being arrested in Maroubra on Thursday And he warned his officers would not be letting up on their high-profile campaign to clampdown on offenders. 'It is quite clear now that people will report this sort of behaviour to police and we'll take action,' Mr Warboys said. 'We have always said we will take action where we can. 'Police would much rather not issue personal infringement notices. We would rather see people comply with public health orders. 'The vast majority of people do the right thing. They do the right thing by themselves, their family and communities. 'We would much rather be highly visible and having people do the right thing. Be with us on this journey, Sunbathing was still a high priority in the winter sun at Bondi, as seen above left, despite lockdown restrictions. Outdoor exercise is allowed under the current public health orders and that was interpreted as including swimming by beachgoers in Bondi (right) Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys (pictured) said police had received almost 350 tip-offs to Crimestoppers hotline about people breaching public health orders He added: 'We're blessed with a beautiful day today and tomorrow. Take note of what the premier and the chief health officer have asked us to do this weekend. 'I guarantee the police will be visible right across New South Wales, we will take action where we have to, but we would much rather not. 'Please comply with the orders.' As well as masks, police are checking businesses are using QR codes and sign-in sheets A cafe in Jindabyne has been charged for allegedly not enforcing QR codes and sign-in sheets Police revealed they had arrested and charged a couple running a cafe in Jindabyne for alleged public health order breaches after a tip-off to Crimestoppers. They were visited on Wednesday and charged for not wearing masks on the premises - but a return visit on Friday found customers not wearing masks, no QR code check in or sign-in sheet. 'Remembering we are in the middle of snow season and the holidays, police tried to work with this cafe,' said Mr Worboys. 'I guess people who want to use that cafe [were concerned] about non-mask wearing and no QR coding requirements.' He said the cafe now faces being shut down. Bondi was less busy than the packed scenes 24 hours earlier but beachgoers still couldn't resist the sun and sand. There were more bikinis than facemasks on display on Bondi Beach on Saturday (above) The crowds had thinned out and there were signs of social distancing on Bondi Beach on Saturday (above) 'I am sure the health minister would be in the position to issue a closure notice under the Public Health Act,' said the deputy commissioner. 'That's that escalation of events that police and health are prepared to take to make sure people not only comply with that public health orders but protect their customers and workers.' Police were also alerted to two men aged 21 and 23 who travelled from Sydney to Jenolan Caves 'because they were feeling bored'. The pair were fined $1000. Mr Warboys added: 'People need to be aware that it's not just a choice about being bored. Some decided they could lie back and lock down as Sydney made the most of the winter sun (above) Groups of 10 or more are banned from exercising together under the current restrictions being observed above in Bondi on Saturday 'It is quite clear now that people will report this sort of behaviour to police and we'll take action.' Mr Hazzard echoed the police chief and added: 'Most of the community are with us. 'Most of the community understand the weapons we have in this war: QR codes, getting tested if you've been at a venue of concern or if you have symptoms, any cold or flu-like symptoms. 'And of course, wearing masks.' The three leading Democrats in the race to be New York City mayor have demanded a manual recount of primary votes if the results are razor thin, days after election officials admitted they'd accidentally added 135,000 test ballots to the initial total. The manual count would be a first for the city in modern history, and comes as frontrunner Eric Adams maintains a narrow margin over rivals Kathryn Garcia and Maya Wiley. Adams, Garcia and Wiley have all filed petitions in court to give them the option of challenging the result, the New York Post reports. 'It is without precedent in a New York City mayoral race or any citywide office,' election lawyer Stanley Schlein, who represents Garcia, told the Post. A manual recount would take weeks to complete and cost millions of dollars. Corrected figures released Wednesday showed Adams, a former NYPD captain, was just 14,755 votes ahead of his closest rival, former Sanitation Commissioner Garcia, in the primary run-off. Those numbers also put left-wing candidate Wiley back in the running, after they showed that she sat just 347 votes behind Garcia. Brooklyn Borough President and mayoral candidate Eric Adams holds a narrow lead The city's new ranked choice poll lets voters list their candidates by order of preference, and allows some candidates to pick up votes from voters whose first choices get eliminated for lack of support. PIX11 reported that Garcia is in a better position than Wiley was after picking up votes from former favorite Andrew Yang, who has since withdrawn from the campaign. Almost 125,000 absentee ballots have yet to be counted, meaning that Garcia or Wiley could both catch up with Adams. Those ballots will be counted from July 6, with the final primary result likely to be weeks away. The largest chunk of those uncounted votes - around 39,000 - come from Manhattan, where Adams finished third on the first ballot behind Garcia and Wiley, potentially spelling further trouble for his campaign. State law triggers a manual recount if the difference between the candidates is less than 0.5 percent of the votes cast - around 4,500 in the primary. 'Were talking about possibly an even smaller margin than half of one percent, Wiley's lawyer Daniel Bright told the Post. Maya Wiley believes she can overcome Adams' lead in the NYC Mayoral race Kathryn Garcia has joined calls for a recount if the results are close There has not been a manual recount in the NYC mayoral race in recent times, but there was a hand re-canvass in a 1917 Republican primary, the Post reports. Adams' campaign insisted Wednesday that he still had a 'significant lead' over his rivals. 'We are confident we will be the final choice of New Yorkers when every vote is tallied,' the campaign added. The ex-NYPD cop has run a markedly less progressive campaign than his rivals. He opposes defunding the police, and wants to bring back the controversial 'stop and frisk' policy. By contrast, Wiley wants to slash $1 billion from the NYPD budget, and Garcia wants to raise the minimum age people can become a cop from 21 to 25. Garcia, the city's former sanitation commissioner, said she, too, remained 'confident in our path to victory' but wasn't taking it for granted. Wiley, meanwhile, called the race 'still wide open.' 'Following yesterdays embarrassing debacle, the Board of Elections must count every vote in an open way so that New Yorkers can have confidence that their votes are being counted accurately,' she tweeted. The Board of Elections apologized for Tuesday's mistake, which involved the accidental inclusion of 135,000 test ballot images in the vote totals. The board insisted the new counts were accurate and said it was now doing more checks and reviews before releasing more data. They have not indicated any plans to re-run the primary run-off, although the error will likely result in lawsuits should the final result be close. 'We will do so with a heightened sense that we must regain the trust of New Yorkers,' board President Frederic Umane and Secretary Miguelina Camilo said in a statement. Still, critics said the mishap proved that the board was not equipped to handle the new ranked choice system. Mayor Bill de Blasio called for 'a complete structural rebuild' of the board, which operates independently of his office. The City Councils black, Latino and Asian Caucus - whose leaders favor putting a repeal of ranked choice voting on the November ballot - noted that its members had warned that the city wasn't ready for the new system. Shocking video has been shared online of a group of youths attacking three Asian students in Brisbane's south last weekend. Footage of the brawl that appears to have been filmed by one of the attackers was uploaded to Instagram and Reddit on Friday - with the latter thread locked by a moderator because of 'racism'. In the clip the male and two female Asian teenagers are set upon by another larger group of youths - with one of the female victims dragged by her hair and punched in the face. The much larger group attacks the three Asian students outside an Inala shopping centre (pictured) as one girl is pulled to the ground by her hair 'What did she do?' The male student shouts as he tried to defend her. Another voice can then be heard telling him not to touch the attackers. 'Hey motherf****** don't f****** touch my sister,' one member of the group yells. As the girl who was pulled to the ground by her hair tries to recover before getting to her feet, at least three female attackers run over and repeatedly punch and kick her in the head until she begins to cry. The person filming the incident can be laughing and saying 'gang s***, gang s***'. One of the attackers - a young male - can then be seen walking away from the brawl with a smile on his face. 'We didn't do anything to you,' the male victim yells. Queensland Police said they know about the incident and have begun an investigation. 'Police are aware of the incident which allegedly occurred on June 27 outside a shopping centre in Inala,' a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. 'Police have obtained the vision and are making following up enquiries.'. A corrections officer from California who had sex with a prisoner in full view of 11 other inmates has been jailed for seven months. Fresno County correctional officer Tina Gonzalez, 27, cut a hole in her uniform in order to make sex with the inmate at the jail easier, prosecutors said. Gonzalez pleaded no contest to a felony count of sexual activity by a detention facility employee with a consenting confined adult, a felony count of possession of drugs or an alcoholic beverage in a jail facility, and a misdemeanor count of possession of cellular device with intent to deliver to an inmate. The sheriff's office began to investigate after staff members were tipped off that a county jail inmate with a cell phone was said to be in a sexual relationship with the officer, according to the Fresno Bee. Assistant Sheriff Steve McComas said the actions of the former county jail guard were 'something only a depraved mind can come up with.' A former correctional officer at the Fresno County Jail, Tina Gonzalez, 27, has been sentenced for a sexual relationship she had with an inmate McComas explained how a detailed investigation found Gonzalez had sex with the inmate, and also gave him razors, considered a potential weapon behind bars. She also told him when fellow officers would be inspecting his cell so he had chance to hide the contraband. Phone logs also revealed how Gonzalez kept in contact with the inmate even after she was caught. 'She took an oath which she betrayed and in doing so endangered her coworkers' lives,' McComas said. 'But she has shown no remorse. She continually calls and has sexually explicit conversations with the inmate in question and boasts about the crimes she carried out.' A search of the inmate's cell managed to find the phone. Assistant Sheriff Steve McComas said a detailed investigation found Gonzalez (pictured) had sex with the inmate, and also gave him razors, considered a potential weapon behind bars Gonzalez began working as a correctional officer at the Fresno County Jail, pictured, in September 2016 and resigned following an interview with detectives in December 2019 Having been questioned by detectives, Gonzalez then quit the sheriff's office in December 2019. It was never her intention to bring any harm or danger to the employees in the jail or anyone else in the jail,' her defense attorney, Martin Taleisnik said. Taleisnik stressed how Gonzalez took responsibility for her actions. He also explained that the end of her own marriage had made her 'vulnerable.' 'What you did was terrible, stupid and you have ruined your career,' Judge Idiart told Gonzalez in Fresno County court. 'But I also believe that people can redeem themselves and you have the rest of your life to do that. Good luck.' Advertisement At least twenty people are missing and two bodies are believed to have been found after a huge landslide at a resort town in Japan swept away homes this morning following days of heavy rain, officials have confirmed. Dozens of homes may have been buried after a torrent of mud crashed down a hillside in the Izusan district of Atami, southwest of Tokyo, at around 10am on Saturday following days of torrential rain. Shocking video footage showed the mudslide collapsing down the hillside and obliterating buildings in its path, sending people fleeing for their lives as the dislodged hillside buried part of a road. Two people were 'found in a state of cardio and respiratory arrest', the regional governor said, an expression often used in Japan before confirming death. Shizuoka's governor said 'around 20' people were still missing after being swept away by the landslide, while soldiers have joined firefighters and police in a rescue operation to desperately find people who may be trapped beneath the mud. At least twenty people are missing and two bodies were found after a huge landslide at a resort town in Japan swept away homes this morning following days of heavy rain, officials have confirmed Shocking video footage showed the mudslide collapsing down the hillside and obliterating buildings in its path, sending people fleeing for their lives as the dislodged hillside buried part of a road Dozens of homes may have been buried after a torrent of mud crashed down a hillside in Atami, southwest of Tokyo, at around 10am on Saturday following days of heavy rain Pictured: A man looks out at the shocking damage following the mudslide Two people were 'found in a state of cardio and respiratory arrest', the regional governor said, an expression often used in Japan before confirming death A resident stands near mud and debris at the scene of a landslide following days of heavy rain in Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture The mudslide (pictured) destroyed houses in Atami, Shizuoka, Japan. Two people were found in a state of cardiac arrest and another 20 or so were missing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said emergency services and the military had launched rescue and evacuation missions, warning that more downpours were forecast. Pictured: Houses damaged following the mudslide in Atami The highest evacuation alert, which urges people 'to secure safety urgently', has been issued to Atami, which has more than 20,000 households. Pictured: Buildings remain buried in layers of mud following the landslide on Saturday A rescue operation is underway as there are fears that many people may be buried underneath the layers of mud or are trapped in destroyed buildings. Pictured: Debris at the scene of the mudslide in Atami A witness said: 'When I returned, houses and cars that were in front of the temple were gone.' Pictured: The mudslide left houses in Atami as wreckages A witness told public broadcaster NHK: 'I heard a horrible sound and saw a mudslide flowing downwards as rescue workers were urging people to evacuate. So I ran to higher ground. 'When I returned, houses and cars that were in front of the temple were gone.' Pictures showed the horrifying aftermath of the landslide as buildings were left completely destroyed and roads remained completely buried in heavy mud, while there are fears of increasing fatalities. Torrential downpours have been sweeping Japan during its annual rainy season, which last several weeks and often triggers warnings of floods and landslides as ground can become dislodged. The highest evacuation alert, which urges people 'to secure safety urgently', has been issued to Atami, which has more than 20,000 households, while residents in nearby cities in Shizuoka have been ordered to evacuate. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who has put together an emergency task force to respond to the disaster, said it had been raining heavily all morning in Atami and warned that more downpours were forecast. The highest evacuation alert, which urges people 'to secure safety urgently', has been issued to Atami, which has more than 20,000 households. Pictured: Mud covers a wreckage of a building after the landslide A mudslide triggered by torrential rain covers a street at hot-spring resort area Izusan in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture Shizuoka's governor said 'around 20' people were still missing after being swept away by the landslide, while soldiers will join firefighters and police in a rescue operation to desperately find people who may be trapped beneath the mud Aerial photograph showing the mudslide carrying a deluge of black water and debris crashed into rows of houses in the town following heavy rains on Saturday, leaving multiple people missing A rescue worker removes mud and debris at the scene of a landslide following days of heavy rain in Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture on Saturday At least twenty people are missing and houses have been damaged by mudslide following heavy rain at Izusan district in Atami, west of Tokyo, on Saturday A rescue worker removes mud and debris at the scene of a landslide following days of heavy rain in Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture Members of Japan's Self-Defense Forces (pictured) have joined firefighters and police in a rescue operation to desperately find people who may be trapped beneath the mud Prefectural authorities said a number of homes were destroyed and set up a task force to deal with the disaster Residents in nearby cities in Shizuoka have been ordered to evacuate following the landslide, which has seen roads covered in mud and debris (pictured) Prefectural authorities said a number of homes were destroyed and set up a task force to deal with the disaster, including thirty members of the Self-Defenses Forces based in Gotenba. Pictured: Mud after the landslide swept down the road In this aerial image, a mudslide destroyed houses on Saturday in Atami, Shizuoka. There are fears of increasing fatalities as a rescue operation is underway There are around 20 people missing after mudslides triggered by torrential rain drown out houses at hot-spring resort area Izusan in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan Members of Japan's Self-defense Forces patrol at the scene of a landslide following days of heavy rain in Atami Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who put together an emergency task force to respond to the disaster, said it had been raining heavily all morning in Atami and warned that more downpours were forecast. Pictured: Scene of the landslide on Saturday Rescue workers help a resident evacuate from the scene of the horrific mudslide, which was caused by days of heavy rain at Izusan district in Atami A powerful mudslide carrying a deluge of black water and debris crashed into rows of houses in a town west of Tokyo following heavy rains on Saturday, leaving at least people missing, officials said A damaged bus and debris of the houses are seen at the scene of a drastic mudslide following heavy rain at Izusan district in Atami on Saturday as a rescue operation is underway A witness said: 'I heard a horrible sound and saw a mudslide flowing downwards as rescue workers were urging people to evacuate. So I ran to higher ground.'. Pictured: Rescue worker removes mud and debris at the scene Soldiers have joined firefighters, construction workers (pictured) and police in a rescue operation to desperately find people who may be trapped beneath the mud 'Because of the heavy rain, the ground loosened and the mudslide occurred... it picked up speed and swept away houses together with people,' Shizuoka Governor Heita Kawakatsu told reporters Two people were found in a state of cardiac arrest and another 20 or so were missing in a landslide triggered by heavy rains in Atami, a seaside resort town Mud covers after the landslide on July 3, in Atami, Shizuoka, Japan, as at least 20 people are thought to be missing after the disaster 'There is a possibility of heavy rain due to the rain front, so we still need to be alert at the maximum level,' he said at an emergency disaster meeting. Thirty members of the Self-Defenses Forces based in Gotenba in the prefecture were dispatched to assist in the rescue effort. Atami saw rainfall of 313 millimetres in just 48 hours to Saturday, which is higher than the average monthly total for July of 242.5 millimetres, according to NHK. 'Because of the heavy rain, the ground loosened and the mudslide occurred... it picked up speed and swept away houses together with people,' Shizuoka Governor Heita Kawakatsu told reporters. The disaster began at around 10.30am at a river near the city, which is around 55 miles from Tokyo and is famous as a hot spring resort. Video footage showed the moment the huge slurry of mud and debris slide slowly down a steep road and nearly engulfed a white car, while it also toppled electricity poles, with large areas left inundated by waves of earth. Around 2,800 homes in Atami have been left without power following the disaster, according to the Tokyo Electric Power Company. Buildings were left destroyed and covered in mud and debris after days of torrential rain caused a hillside to dislodge and saw a landslide descend on Atami The disaster began at around 10.30am at a river near the city, which is around 55 miles from Tokyo and is famous as a hot spring resort Mud cover the road after a horrific landslide destroyed houses in Atami, Shizuoka, leaving fears of people being trapped beneath the dirt Thirty members of the Self-Defenses Forces based in Gotenba in the prefecture were dispatched to assist in the rescue effort. Pictured: A truck carries an excavator to the landslide site Rescue workers remove mud and debris at the scene of a landslide following days of heavy rain in Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture on Saturday Downpours have been sweeping Japan during its annual rainy season, which last several weeks and often triggers warnings of floods and landslides. Pictured: Debris covers a road near Highway 135, after heavy rainfall in Izusan, Shizuoka prefecture Videos and pictures from the scene showed a huge slurry of mud and debris sliding slowly down a steep road (right) leaving dozens of homes and roads (left) completely buried Police officers patrol at the scene of a landslide following days of heavy rain in Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture on July 3 First responders observe a landslide caused by heavy rains in Zushi, Kanagawa prefecture, west of Tokyo on Saturday, which has seen at least twenty people missing Police officers carry a stretcher past a member of Japan's Self-Defense Forces at the scene of a landslide following days of heavy rain in Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture Shinkansen bullet trains between Tokyo and Osaka were temporarily stopped due to the heavy rain. Pictured: Mud and debris at the scene of the landslide in Atami in Shuzuoka Prefecture on Saturday Buildings were left damaged (right) after a mudslide triggered by torrential rain descended down a hillside and covered a street at hot-spring resort area Izusan (left) in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture A police car is seen behind a cordon ribbon near the site of a landslide on Saturday as at least 20 people remain missing Atami saw rainfall of 313 millimetres in just 48 hours to Saturday -- higher than the average monthly total for July of 242.5 millimetres. Pictured: Houses are damaged following the landslide in Atami on Saturday morning The landslide (wreckage pictured) was caused by Japan's annual rainy season, which lasts several weeks, and can prompt local authorities to issue evacuation orders Shinkansen bullet trains between Tokyo and Osaka were temporarily stopped due to the heavy rain, while other local trains in rain-affected areas were also halted, rail company websites said. Japan is prone to floods and landslides in its annual rainy season, which lasts several weeks, and can prompt local authorities to issue evacuation orders. Scientists say climate change is intensifying the phenomenon because a warmer atmosphere holds more water, resulting in more intense rainfall. Last July, massive floods and landslides were triggered after record heavy rain in western Japan, which saw authorities issue evacuation orders for more than 76,000 residents. And in 2018, more than 200 people died after devastating floods inundated western Japan, which left residents stranded on their rooftops after rivers burst their banks and swamped whole communities. In Kumano, downpours had loosened earth on the surrounding hillsides, and sent multiple waves of mud crashing down onto the homes below. Following the 2018 disaster, experts slammed Japan's warning system as problematic, saying the decision to issue evacuation orders often left to local officials who may have no disaster management experience. A resident stands near mud and debris at the scene of a landslide following days of heavy rain in Atami Around 2,800 homes in Atami have been left without power following the disaster, according to the Tokyo Electric Power Company. Pictured: Mud and debris at the scene of the landslide A police car passes into a cordoned-off area near the site of a landslide, which was caused by days of heavy rainfall Soldiers of Japan's Self-Defense Force patrol at the scene of a landslide following days of heavy rain in Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture as a rescue and evacuation operation is underway The landslide was caused by Japan's annual rainy season, which lasts several weeks, and can prompt local authorities to issue evacuation orders Video footage showed the moment the huge slurry of mud and debris slide slowly down a steep road and nearly engulfed a white car, while it also toppled electricity poles, with large areas left inundated by waves of earth (pictured) Members of Japan's Self-Defense Forces patrol at the scene of a landslide following days of heavy rain in Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture on July 3 Police officers cordoned off the area as a rescue operation was underway to find anyone who might be buried underneath the layers of mud as fears of fatalities increase Shocking video footage showed the mudslide collapsing down the hillside (left) and obliterating buildings in its path, sending people fleeing for their lives as the dislodged hillside buried part of a road (right) First responders, including firefighters, police officers and military personnel, were at the scene of a horrifying landslide in the Izusan area of Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture on Saturday A general view shows shows mud and debris at the scene of a landslide following days of heavy rain in Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture on Saturday Japan is prone to floods and landslides in its annual rainy season, which lasts several weeks. Pictured: Buildings were left damaged and destroyed after a mudslide descended on the Izusan district in Atami, west of Tokyo on Saturday Residents stop before a mudslide triggered by torrential rain cover the Route One to block traffic at hot-spring resort area Izusan in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture Scientists say climate change is intensifying the phenomenon because a warmer atmosphere holds more water, resulting in more intense rainfall. Pictured: Mud and debris at the scene of the mudslide on Saturday The COVIDSafe QR code check-in system in NSW is one of the major tools used to prevent lockdowns with the system being expanded and new changes being introduced this month. Users can now set a reminder to check-out of a venue using push notifications on their phone by simply selecting the option in their Service NSW app preferences. The reminder to check-out will then pop up two hours after you have checked-in to any venue, with NSW Premier Gladys Berejikilan saying this makes the job of contact tracers much easier. The Premier urged Sydneysiders not to get complacent Saturday with 19 degree temperatures and clear skies warming the Harbour City The QR Code check-in system has been expanded to include more venues (file image) While checking into an applicable venue is mandatory, checking out of the venue is encouraged but still optional and doesn't involve re-scanning the QR code. The list of applicable venues was also massively expanded on Wednesday and will remain indefinitely after Sydney's 14-day lockdown finishes. All workplaces, retail businesses and gyms will require those attending to check-in with the QR code from Monday, July 12. As Sydney goes into it's second week of lockdown to kerb an outbreak emerging in the city's east in mid-June, the premier said not being complacent in following guidelines was key to not going into another lockdown. 'We're at the halfway point. We're at a good position,' said Ms Berejiklian. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirms the state has recorded 35 new cases on Saturday as the Bondi cluster grows to 261 'The lockdown is having the impact to date we though it would. There's nothing surprising we've seen in the numbers. She said authorities expect the case numbers to continue to plateau and then drop as the lockdown continues. 'I just appeal to everyone to do the right thing. The lockdown is so far having the desired effect.' 'But we need that to continue.' Crowds of people ventured out into parks and beaches in the city on Saturday with outdoor exercise allowed. 'We much prefer people exercising outside in a safe way, in a socially distanced way,' the Premier added. In announcing the expanded QR code venues on Wednesday, Minister for Digital and Customer Service Victor Dominello said: 'This is about keeping customers and staff safe and getting all businesses open again as soon as possible'. The app is one of the main tools to allow people to continue to move about without lockdowns Mr Dominello said expanding the system would give NSW Health contact tracers immediate access to QR data from a greater number of venues including supermarkets, retail stores, gyms and offices. 'We know the Delta variant of COVID-19 moves quickly and we must do everything we can to get it under control,' Mr Dominello said. NEW RULES FOR NSW QR CODE CHECK-INS The expanded Service NSW QR system will apply from July 12. Businesses listed below are required to check-in people attending the site: Anybody visiting a restaurant or pub for takeaway. Retail shops, gyms and fitness centres. Shopping centres and individual shops in the centres. Offices, factories and warehouses. Universities and TAFE campuses. Staff, teachers and guests at schools - but not students. Advertisement 'While many retail businesses, including large supermarkets and hardware chains, have voluntarily adopted the Service NSW QR code, this measure will ensure check-in rates are high across the board and contact tracers have access to reliable records.' From July 12 a raft of new business will be required to display the QR code signs and take reasonable steps to ensure anyone attending the premises checks in. These businesses include retail stores, supermarkets, shopping centres and shops within shopping centres, gyms, offices, factories and warehouses, universities and TAFE campuses. Schools will also be required to check-in staff, teachers, parents and guests. Students will be exempted. Businesses that have already been required to use the QR code service for customers - such as hairdressers, cafes, and pubs - will also have to ensure contractors, maintenance workers and delivery drivers check in from July 12. People visiting restaurants and pubs for takeaway only will also be required to scan QR codes. Venues will need to provide paper check-in forms for anyone who doesn't have a smartphone. 'I've already spoke to the major retailers and supermarkets and expressed my clear indication that I expect them to put that system in place as a matter of urgency.' Mr Dominello told reporters on Wednesday. 'They don't need to wait until the 12th, because there is already a lot of through-traffic going through those venues as we speak, but there are a number of businesses that are shut down during the lockout period, so we we are giving them to the 12th'. Anyone attending a hospitality venue in NSW for takeaway service from July 12 will be required to check in with the QR codes on their phone (file image) Businesses which do not comply with the new rules can be fined, while those that repeatedly breach requirements can be forced to temporarily close. 'There is no excuse not to check-in everywhere you can businesses and customers all have a part to play to keep NSW safe,' Mr Dominello said. 'In the same way customers routinely check into cafes, restaurants and bars, we need them to adopt the same approach when visiting a supermarket, retail store and workplace.' 'Inspectors have been asked to monitor the situation alongside the NSW Police.' Service NSW has also noted the data captured by the QR system is used by contact tracers only and is deleted after 28 days. NSW recorded 22 new local Covid cases on Wednesday as the city endures its first week of a 14-day lockdown. Authorities expect numbers to tail off by the end of the week. The new cases came from more than 68,000 tests undertaken to 8pm on Tuesday and Premier Gladys Berejiklian said initial fears of a significant escalation in case numbers hadn't been realised. Of the 22 cases, 11 were in isolation for the entirety of their infectious period. The tally for the outbreak that began on June 16 is now 171. Morrisons has agreed a takeover offer from a new US investment group led by the owner of Majestic Wines valuing the British supermarket group at 6.3billion. The offer, branded the 'biggest shakeup in the UK grocery sector for over a decade', exceeds the 5.52billion proposal from US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, which Morrisons rejected on June 19, saying it was far too low. The investors vowed to keep Morrisons' head office in Bradford, keep the management team and said they are 'fully supportive' of the recent pay increase for shop floor staff to 10 an hour. Shareholders will receive 254 pence a share, comprising 252 pence in cash and a 2 pence cash dividend as a result of the deal by the trio of private investment groups led by Fortress. The deal was struck by Softbank-owned Fortress, Canadian pension fund CPPIB and a unit of Koch Industries, America's largest private company in what will be the UK's biggest private equity deal since the 11billion takeover of Boots in 2007. Fortress is looking at the UK after Brexit and the pandemic hit share prices meaning UK-listed companies are trading at lower multiples than their US counterparts. Koch Industries was started by Fred C. Koch who developed a cracking method to refine crude oil into gasoline. His four sons, known as the Koch brothers, expanded its interests into chemicals, energy and finance and its total revenue in 2019 totaled 83billion. The Koch family has been among the biggest donors to the US Republican party since the 1980s and has had a major influence on US politics. Fortress has invested in grocery retail in both North America and Europe, and has invested in Majestic Wine in the UK. In the US, Fortress has invested in the grocery industry, petrol forecourt stations and retail and restaurants. Morrisons has agreed a takeover offer from a new company owned by funds managed or advised by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group The deal was struck by Softbank-owned Fortress, Canadian pension fund CPPIB and a unit of Koch Industries, America's largest private company. Pictured: David Koch, right, with older brother Charles, left, on Morning Joe in November 2015 Morrisons, which trails UK market leader Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda in annual sales, said the offer represents a premium of 42 per cent to its closing share price of 178 pence on June 18 - the last business day before CD&R's proposal. Shares in Morrisons closed on Friday at 243 pence, valuing the business at 5.8billion. Fortress is a global investment manager with about 38billion in assets under management as of March. Morrisons said an initial unsolicited proposal was received from Fortress on May 4 at 220 pence a share. This offer was not made public. Fortress then made four subsequent proposals before its offer reached a total value of 254 a share on June 5. According to the announcement, the deal also includes 3.2 billion in debt, which makes the total operation worth 9.5 billion with debt recovery. Andrew Higginson, chairman of Morrisons, said: 'The Morrisons directors believe that the offer represents a fair and recommendable price for shareholders which recognises Morrisons' future prospects. Morrisons said an initial unsolicited proposal was received from Fortress on May 4 at 220 pence a share 'Morrisons is an outstanding business and our performance through the pandemic has further improved our standing and enabled us to enter the discussions with Fortress from a hard-won position of strength. 'We have looked very carefully at Fortress' approach, their plans for the business and their overall suitability as an owner of a unique British food-maker and shopkeeper with over 110,000 colleagues and an important role in British food production and farming. 'It's clear to us that Fortress has a full understanding and appreciation of the fundamental character of Morrisons. 'This, together with the very clear intentions they have set out today, has given the Morrisons directors confidence that Fortress will support and accelerate our plans to develop and strengthen Morrisons further.' Joshua A Pack, managing partner of Fortress, said: 'We believe in making long-term investments focused on providing strong management teams with the necessary flexibility and support to execute their strategy in a sustainable and value-enhancing manner. Since the 1980s, Koch brothers Charles (pictured) and David Koch have used their enormous fortune to bankroll their own conservative political machine 'We fully recognise Morrisons' rich history and the very important role Morrisons plays for colleagues, customers, members of the Morrisons pension schemes, local communities, partner suppliers and farmers. 'We are committed to being good stewards of Morrisons to best serve its stakeholder groups, and the wider British public, for the long term.' Seema Malhotra, Labour's shadow minister for business and consumers, said: 'Britain's supermarkets provide an essential national service and the Covid crisis has highlighted their importance to customers, communities and our retail and farming industries. 'Any takeover bid must therefore be closely scrutinised by the Government. 'Ministers must urgently work with Morrisons and the consortium to ensure that crucial commitments to protect the workforce and the pension scheme are legally binding, and met. 'Ministers must also ensure legal promises are made about the integrity and future of the business, including any impact on the supply chain and distribution centres.' Richard Lim, chief executive of research consultancy Retail Economics said: 'This signals the biggest shakeup in the UK grocery sector for over a decade. 'The grocery sector is transitioning through a period of enormous change as the impact of the pandemic has shifted buying behaviour. 'Navigating the fast-paced change in market dynamics, customer behaviour and the pressures on the food supply chain in a post-Brexit environment will be no easy feat. 'Success will hinge on the new owners gaining the support of experienced key members of the leadership team to execute on the future strategy. 'This will be critical given the pace of change sweeping through the industry.' Since the 1980s, Koch brothers Charles and David have used their enormous fortune to bankroll their own conservative political machine, creating a vast empire of organisations and advocacy groups. But they became a target for Democrats who criticised their influence on US politifcs. Environmental activists have frequently admonished the pair for funding political campaigns that focused on rolling back environmental regulations and being the primary sponsors of climate change denial in the US. They spent millions funding climate change-denying research, think tanks and politicians - which analysts believe was to expand their fossil fuel fortunes. Koch Industries has paid millions in penalties and fines for oil spills, discharging toxic chemicals and violating other environmental regulations. According to advocacy group Good Jobs First, the company has paid more than $749million in environmental violations since 2000. The Koch brothers advocated for reduced government spending and limited involvement in wars overseas, and analysts believe they helped give rise to the Tea Party movement. In a Weekly Standard interview in 2011, David Koch called then-President Barack Obama 'the most radical president we've ever had as a nation' and accused him of having 'done more damage to the free enterprise system and long-term prosperity than any president we've ever had', reported CNBC. A Sydney resident living alone during the city's Covid-19 lockdown has shared the heartfelt note written to her by a 'beautiful' nurse living down the road. Sharon Snir, from Willoughby on Sydney's lower north shore, said she found the note inside her letter box last weekend when the 14-day city-wide stay-at-home orders were announced. The note was written by a local healthcare worker named Millie who lived around the corner from Ms Snir. Millie said she understood how tough it can be for some residents to leave the house during the pandemic and offered to help out Ms Snir in any way she could. Sharon Snir, who lives in Willoughby, in Sydney's north shore revealed a kind neighbour named Millie left a note offering to help her during lockdown 'Having been unwell for a week and living alone it was the sweetest gesture I could have received,' Ms Snir wrote. The health worker said she knew how stressful living with the virus could be for some residents, especially the older generation. 'With another lockdown being announced, I just wanted to check in - I know how important staying connected to people are in times like these,' Millie wrote. 'I'd love to help, so if you or someone close to you needs any help with getting groceries or shopping or anything else that involves leaving the house, I'd love to help.' The selfless nurse left her number on the note and told Ms Snir to call her whenever she needed. Ms Snir told a local Facebook group she had since taken up Millie on her offer. 'What a beautiful person she is. She has just taken my dog for a walk and I'm feeling deeply thankful for my wonderful community,' she said. Ms Snir revealed she'd taken Millie up on her offer and the kind healthcare worker had taken her dog for a walk The post was flooded with comments from other locals applauding Millie for her generosity. 'Oh my - that has warmed my heart. And well done you for reaching out and asking for some help - that's not always easy to do,' one person commented. 'This pandemic is definitely a nightmare, but some of the reminders of community and humanity were so needed,' another said. Greater Sydney is halfway into a two week lockdown with New South Wales recording 35 new coronavirus infections on Saturday - taking the total number of cases linked to the Bondi cluster to 261. The 35 new cases are the highest number of infections recorded in a single day since the initial outbreak in 2020 but the premier and her Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the 'green shoots are there'. 'We are relieved, the cases are not as bad as they could have been,' Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Saturday. Greater Sydney is halfway into a two week lockdown with New South Wales recording 35 new coronavirus infections on Saturday - taking the total number of cases linked to the Bondi cluster to 261 (pictured crowd in Bondi on Saturday) Greater Sydney remains in lockdown until Friday but there are still fears it will be extended as sewage testing shows the virus is in south-west and western Sydney despite no known cases being recorded there. 'Pleasingly, nine of those were infectious during their time in the community,' the Premier explained on Saturday morning. 'While as predicted the number of cases is going up, we are seeing a greater proportion of those cases in isolation, which is exactly what we want to see.' Fully-vaccinated Britons will within weeks be free to live as normal after coming into contact with a coronavirus sufferer, it has been reported. Proposals to allow those with both jabs to carry on as normal without the need to self-isolate or take daily tests are 'under consideration, the Government has confirmed, amid fears the current use of the NHS Covid-19 app could 'cripple' Britain. Officials have admitted the suggestion carries with it a risk that unvaccinated people may ignore the rules, The Times reported. Infections are predicted to increase by 26 per cent if the restrictions are lifted but the Government is expected to move ahead with the plans to avoid further disruption to businesses, schools and public services. It comes after NHS staff blasted the Government's track and trace system because a fifth of double-jabbed workers, and also millions of Britons, could be asked to self-isolate. A meeting of the Covid operations committee on Monday is expected to see ministers sign off the plan to 'advise' but not require fully vaccination people to take daily tests if they are named as a contact to a coronavirus sufferer. Cabinet minister hope the plan will allow them to better support those who test positive, following complaints the rules are not currently being followed because of an absence of financial support. Dr Bharat Pankhania, a senior clinical lecturer in communicable diseases at the University of Exeter's medical school, said he thought it was 'perfectly OK' for people who had received two doses of a coronavirus vaccine to be exempt from quarantine measures. In other coronavirus developments today: Leading doctors have called for 'targeted Covid measures' to stay after July 19 in a bid to help control the spread of Covid amid the 'alarming' rise in cases; Boris Johnson is ready to ditch the work from home guidance but it will be left to employers and their staff to decide when workers go back to their desks as part of the lifting of the remaining lockdown restriction; Britain's daily Covid cases surged 70 per cent in a week yesterday and hospitalisations ticked upwards, but there are still ten times fewer patients in the NHS now than at the same time during the second wave; Tory MPs have warned it will be 'far fetched' to expect fully-vaccinated Britons to 'tolerate' coronavirus rules in the future amid claims health officials have drawn up a five-year plan for winter curbs; The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned Euro 2020 could spark a new Covid-19 wave across Europe and has called for better virus monitoring of football matches in the tournament. Vaccination nurse Lorraine Mooney gives a vaccination to a member of the public outside a bus in the car park of Crieff Community Hospital Dr Pankhania told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'The gold standard would be to be cautious even if you have been immunised twice - in other words, fully immunised. 'However, as a measured action going forward I think it is OK and my reasons are as follows: an immunised person is less infectious and furthermore the testing of people who are in quarantine isolating is pretty inaccurate, so balancing both, I think it is perfectly OK.' Ministers want to introduce proposals to allow those with both jabs to carry on as normal without the need to self-isolate or take daily tests as soon as next month. Pictured, Boris Johnson Asked whether he thought vaccines had broken the link between infections, hospital admissions and death, Dr Pankhania said: 'You are absolutely right in that we are now noticing that while the case numbers have gone up, a proportionate similar rise in the number of hospitalisations and deaths has not occurred and therefore we feel that the vaccines are working and they are working really well at preventing people from entering ICU, ventilators and death. 'Therefore, having uncoupled that, we can start thinking about other uncoupling measures as well, such as no need to quarantine after being fully immunised.' Explaining his comments about testing being 'pretty inaccurate', he said quick-result lateral flow tests were giving a 'false sense of reassurance' to those testing negative. But critics of the proposed system say most people will refuse to take daily tests, meaning compliance will go 'out the window'. Some 33.2million people, just under half of the UK population, had received both doses of the vaccine as of Thursday morning. The new system is expected to be implemented at the end of August so ministers can use the results of a trial to help guide policy. The trial has seen 40,000 people asked to take daily tests instead of self-isolating. Hospitality businesses are outraged by the delay to the proposals, and want the rules in place earlier to allow workers to continue serving without being told to self-isolate for ten days. Rob Pitcher, chief executive of Revolution Bars Group, said the NHS Test and Trace app was making it 'very difficult' for the hospitality trade to recover following the coronavirus lockdowns. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the company's Edinburgh bar was currently closed due to an infection case, one of its Manchester bars had just undergone a shutdown of 10 days and some outlets were running with reduced hours due to a shortage of kitchen staff. Mr Pitcher, whose company runs 66 bars, said: 'At any one point at the moment, we've probably got 10-15 per cent of our estate in some form of closure. It is having a huge impact across our business and the industry at large.' People wear face coverings in Kensington, London, as the government continues to monitor coronavirus infection levels ahead of potential end to covid restrictions on July 19 The hospitality boss said the Test and Trace app was 'casting the net quite wide' in terms of who it pings as a close contact of a positive case, adding: 'It is making it very difficult for the industry, which has been on its knees for the last 18 months, to begin building back from that.' He said staff were choosing to delete the app, explaining: 'What we are seeing is that team members are working out that this is their livelihood, they need to pay their rent, they can't afford to self-isolate for 10 days, so therefore they are deleting the app, so it is almost having the reverse effect of what the Government would want to be happening. 'And I'm sure our guests will start to work out that they can't afford to be off work for 10 days either, and therefore will start deleting the app also or choose not to go to hospitality venues, which are the only ones you go to where you need to scan in.' Adam Kucharski, a member of the Government's Spi-M modelling group, said the current self-isolating rules will produce 'similar outcomes to lockdown' during the summer because so many people will be stuck at home. Boris Johnson hailed vaccines for 'breaking the link' between Covid infections (left) and deaths (right). Despite infections soaring to levels on par with the second wave, deaths have remained almost completely flat Hospital admissions are running at a tenth of level at the same time at the start of the second wave (left) and kept the NHS at manageable occupancy (right) Anyone named by NHS Test and Trace as a contact will be exempt from isolation rules and instead sent several lateral flow tests under the proposed plan. But there will be no way to ensure those tests have been taken, and experts warn many Britons may refuse. Euro 2020 could spark a new Covid-19 wave across Europe, WHO warns after German minister condemned 'utterly irresponsible' UEFA for allowing large crowds at matches The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned Euro 2020 could spark a new Covid-19 wave across Europe and has called for better virus monitoring of football matches in the tournament. The warning comes as infections climb again in Europe, fuelled by the Delta variant that is racing around the globe. Hundreds of cases have been detected among spectators attending Euro games across the continent, with carriers of the Delta strain detected in Copenhagen, and infected Scots and Finns returning from London and Saint Petersburg respectively. In a bid to boost protection, UEFA has cancelled all tickets sold to UK residents for England's quarter-final against Ukraine in Rome this weekend. It follows German interior minister Horst Seehofer's comments on Thursday condemning UEFA's decision to allow more than 40,000 fans into Wembley Stadium to watch England play Germany. Mr Seehofer slammed the decision as 'absolutely irresponsible' and suggested that UEFA's position was motivated by money. England defeated Germany 2-0 in Tuesday's match which was attended by 41,973 spectators - the biggest in Britain since the pandemic began. Advertisement If they do take the tests an increase in infections could be limited to nine per cent, according to Government estimates. But Robert West, of the Spi-B advisory group, said it could 'create resentment' among those who have not been vaccination. And Stephen Griffin, a viral oncologist at the University of Leeds, said the tests were 'not enough' to prevent the need for quarantine. As Britons head back out to restaurants and normal life appears to be resuming, daily infection rates are gradually increasing. Case numbers are currently on track to exceed 40,000 by July 19. Some three contacts of each case are being told to isolate, but this is predicted to skyrocket when all restrictions are lifted. Covid-19 infections in England have risen 72 per cent in a week, according to the Office for National Statistics, with researchers estimating 211,100 people living in the community would test positive in the week ending June 26. The previous week the estimate was 122,500, or one in 440. Sarah Crofts, head of analytical outputs for the Covid-19 Infection Survey, said the increase was 'driven by the delta variant'. She said vaccinations would mean fewer people with severe symptoms but it was still crucial to monitor infection rates. The ONS survey repeatedly swabs a representative sample of households and is therefore considered the most reliable form of tracking the outbreak because it does not rely on people developing symptoms and going for a test. According to the data, the northeast still has the highest proportion of people in any region of England testing positive, at one in 100. The southeast has the lowest, at one in 640. Professor James Naismith, director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute, said the ONS data was 'unsettling' and agreed with the Government's decision to delay unlocking for a month to allow time for more people to become fully vaccinated. He said after the country unlocks the Delta variant will sweep through the unvaccinated and 'result in lives being blighted'. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson last night faced an overwhelming clamour to reform Covid rules on self-isolation before they 'cripple' the economy. Business leaders, MPs and health experts demanded a review of the system - including the NHS Covid-19 app - which forces 'contacts' of coronavirus cases to quarantine for ten days. Critics warned the rules are causing chaos in offices, as well as in bars and restaurants, with some left so short-staffed they are having to close. Hospitals are also facing staff shortages as doctors and nurses have to shut themselves away at home. The Mail revealed yesterday as many as 1.7million could be told to isolate every week by the end of the month if current trends continue. Last night one Government adviser went further and warned as many as a million people could soon be told to quarantine every day if the policy does not change. Hospitality chiefs and NHS bosses are frustrated that the Test and Trace app - for which Matt Hancock (pictured) was a cheerleader - is causing a staffing crisis The Mail understands ministers are now considering replacing the self isolation rules with a system of daily testing so people who have been vaccinated don't have to quarantine. They are due to discuss the plans at a meeting of the so-called 'Covid-O' committee on Monday. Whitehall sources indicated yesterday that such a change could happen 'soon' for people who have received both doses of the vaccine. It could even come as early as July 19, when Mr Johnson is due to ease wider lockdown restrictions, although they refused to commit to dates. Last night campaigners upped the pressure for immediate action before the number of people having to self-isolate wreaks economic carnage. In particular, bosses say the NHS Covid-19 app is 'pinging' too many staff telling them to self-isolate after being near customers and colleagues who later test positive. Nearly two million people a week could be forced to self- isolate by the end of the month unless ministers reform the rules. Analysis of official figures predicts this figure will soar to 1,734,000 by July 28 if current trends continue, given the steep week-on-week rise in case and high levels of testing Around 400,000 people were last week told to isolate by NHS Test and Trace staff or the app. Julian Metcalfe, the founder of food chains Pret a Manger and Itsu, said yesterday keeping the system as it is should be regarded as 'inconceivable'. He added: 'With the amount of infections rising among young people you can't close down every other business every other day. It's like telling a business they can't operate if there's a flu going around.' Professor Karol Sikora, a former director at the World Health Organisation, said: 'With the success of the vaccines, the number of Covid patients in hospital, on ventilators and dying is startlingly low. The jabs reduce transmission and disease. It really makes no sense to be using these blunderbuss measures. There are huge economic and mental health harms of making people self-isolate for ten days, especially for those on lower incomes and in poor quality housing.' Dr Adam Kucharski today warned long quarantine periods after contact with positive cases risk a return to lockdown in all but name In a stark warning yesterday, Dr Adam Kucharski, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Modelling group, which advises the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), told BBC Radio 4's World At One programme: 'If we get to a situation over the summer where there's 30,000 to 40,000 cases per day, you'll be potentially looking at maybe even over a million contacts per day who may be eligible for quarantine. 'In situations where you're quarantining large numbers of people you do end up with similar outcomes to lockdown.' He said colleagues were investigating whether rapid daily testing over five days may be as effective as longer quarantine periods. Emma McClarkin, chief executive of trade body the British Beer & Pub Association, said yesterday: 'NHS Test and Trace is becoming a huge issue for our pubs. 'Already pubs are closing or greatly reducing their opening hours due to staff shortages caused by 'app pings' - despite staff testing negative on lateral flow tests. We urge the Government to work with us to find a sensible solution to this that still ensures staff and customer safety.' Professor Tim Peto, from the University of Oxford, said it may be possible to scrap self isolation if vaccines continued to prove effective. He tweeted: 'Desperately desperately desperately understaffed due to the NHS Covid app telling Covid-negative, asymptomatic, double-vaxxed doctors to go into isolation for up to 10 days at a time. This cannot go on' He is currently awaiting the results of a trial into daily testing in schools. But he said: 'Everybody is conscious of the fact that the link between Covid and being severely ill has been broken by the vaccines. 'If they hold up... then the whole importance of testing people and isolating becomes less important. As we get confidence that the vaccines are working, you can go back to complete freedom.' And Tory MP Theresa Villiers said: 'Slashing self-isolation times with testing could give a big boost to our economic recovery from Covid.' NHS Covid app means hospitality staff walking around busy venues are particularly likely to receive notifications And Tory MP Theresa Villiers said: 'Slashing self-isolation times with testing could give a big boost to our economic recovery from Covid.' A Whitehall source said last night: 'Trials are ongoing but the hope is we will soon be able to scrap ten day self-isolation for contacts of Covid cases.' The chairman of a lockdown-sceptic group of Tory MPs has been forced to isolate after a contact tested positive. Mark Harper, leader of the Covid Recovery Group, said he was 'frustrated' he had to stay at home despite having had both jabs and no symptoms of the virus. He posted on Twitter: 'I still think it's really important that elected politicians follow the rules - so that's exactly what I'm doing.' The former chief whip said he'd be spending the time, up to ten days, with his two dogs, saying: 'Not everyone can self-isolate with lovely dogs though - vital that we benefit from the effectiveness of our vaccine rollout and get our lives back to normal.' The MP for Forest Dean later said: 'To all those frustrated by this tweet - I am too!' He added: 'Many were justifiably outraged by last week's revelations. We can't have "one rule for them, one for the rest of us" - a reference to the storm around Matt Hancock's affair and resignation for breaking social distancing rules.' It comes as the British Medical Association (BMA) said keeping some protective measures in place was 'crucial' to stop spiralling case numbers having a 'devastating impact' on people's health, the NHS, the economy and education. Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA council chair, said easing restrictions was not an 'all or nothing' decision, and that 'sensible, cautious' measures will be vital to minimising the impact of further waves, new variants and lockdowns. He added: 'As case numbers continue to rise at an alarming rate due to the rapid transmission of the Delta variant and an increase in people mixing with one another, it makes no sense to remove restrictions in their entirety in just over two weeks' time. Dr Chaand Nagpaul (pictured), BMA council chair, said easing restrictions was not an 'all or nothing' decision 'The promise was to make decisions based on data and not dates, and while we were pleased to see the Government react to data in delaying the easing on June 21 last month, ministers must not now simply disregard the most recent, damning, numbers by rushing into meeting their new July 19 deadline.' And Mr Johnson is ready to ditch the work from home guidance but it will be left to employers and their staff to decide when workers go back to their desks. The work from home if you can rule is set to be formally abandoned as part of the lifting of the remaining lockdown restrictions on July 19. But last night government sources told the Daily Mail that individual companies and their staff would be left to determine when and how workers return to the office. Ministers will not launch a campaign encouraging them to do so because they are against a mass return this summer. Britain's daily Covid cases surged 70 per cent in a week yesterday and hospitalisations ticked upwards, but there are still ten times fewer patients in the NHS now than at the same time during the second wave. Health chiefs posted another 27,125 infections spotted in the last 24 hours, up on the 15,810 recorded last Friday and the fifth day in a row the daily figure has surged above 20,000. Latest data shows there were 304 patients admitted with the virus on June 28, which was up a third on the last week. Despite the rise, current levels are still 10 times lower than the last time infections were this high at the end of the second wave. Another 27 deaths were also recorded on Friday, up 50 per cent on the 18 recorded last Friday. There were more than a thousand deaths every day in late January when daily cases were last running at above 20,000. Meanwhile, Tory MPs have warned it will be 'far fetched' to expect fully-vaccinated Britons to 'tolerate' coronavirus rules in the future amid claims health officials have drawn up a five year plan for winter curbs. Staff at the Department of Health and Social Care are said to have come up with a contingency plan for the next five winters. The aim of the document is to stop large waves of Covid-19 infections in the colder months. Suggested measures include encouraging people to work from home and to resume social distancing, according to The Mirror. But anti-lockdown Conservative MPs have rubbished the idea of reimposing curbs as they said the success of the vaccination programme should herald a return to normal life. Sir Keir Starmer is reportedly being urged to sack 'disloyal' deputy leader Angela Rayner after Labour's narrow victory in the Batley and Spen by-election. Labour managed to cling on to the seat by securing a majority of just 323 votes, a victory which delivered a massive boost to Sir Keir's struggling leadership. Sir Keir reportedly would have faced a leadership challenge from deputy leader Angela Rayner if the party lost another of its Red Wall seats after defeat in the Hartlepool by-election in May. After last night's victory, senior Labour ministers are urging Sir Keir to sack his deputy and slammed her apparent efforts to promote herself as the next Labour leader as a 'total embarrassment', The Times reported. Sir Keir Starmer is reportedly being urged to sack his 'disloyal' deputy Angela Rayner after Labour's narrow victory in the Batley and Spen by-election A shadow cabinet minister told the publication: 'I think he should sack her and let her be deputy from the backbenches.' Allies of Mrs Rayner were said to have been canvassing Labour MPs and trade unions before the by-election to see if they would support a bid to oust Sir Keir. But Miss Rayner claimed she was unaware of their plotting and previously dismissed the claims as 'news to me' while her spokesman insisted she was 'focused entirely on her jobs'. The deputy leader's allies are believed to want her to take a tilt at the top job after she fell out with Sir Keir over a botched reshuffle. Labour sources reportedly said the decision in May to sack Mrs Rayner as the party's national campaign co-ordinator and replace her with Shabana Mahmood, the Birmingham Ladywood MP, was key in Labour's Batley and Spen by-election victory. The source added: 'That was the turning point. This is a victory for those who made that happen.' Sir Keir reportedly would have faced a leadership challenge from Mrs Rayner (pictured) if the party lost another of its Red Wall seats after defeat in the Hartlepool by-election in May Sir Keir then tried to move his deputy after the party's Hartlepool by-election, which saw the constituency elect its first ever Tory MP in a historic defeat, but instead negotiated a new role for her. But allies of the deputy leader reportedly said Ms Rayner was made into a 'scapegoat' by Sir Keir after the Hartlepool by-election, adding that the shadow cabinet minister who called her 'disloyal' 'looks a bit daft'. Mrs Rayner's spokesman said: 'Whoever is doing this briefing and trying to use a fantastic Labour victory to undermine the elected deputy leader doesn't help Keir and doesn't help our party.' Kim Leadbeater, the sister of murdered Jo Cox, won for Labour in Batley and Spen last night as she fended off Tory challenger Ryan Stephenson, who came second, and maverick George Galloway, who came third. Following the victory, Sir Keir Starmer's allies told Angela Rayner to 'put the knives away', while the party leader claimed that 'Labour is coming home' yesterday. Ahead of the contest, Sir Keir had insisted he would not quit if Labour had lost, but supporters of Mrs Rayner were believed to be plotting a move against him. One of his allies last night said: 'Angela needs to put the knives away now. She looks like a splitter. Her doe-eyed routine has been completely ruined.' Speaking in the constituency after the victory, Sir Keir declared: 'Labour is back. This is just the start. I want many more days like this. Labour is coming home.' Labour held the seat with a wafer-thin majority following a brutal few weeks on the campaign trail that saw candidates abused and heightened racial and sectarian tension. Kim Leadbeater, the sister of murdered Jo Cox, won for Labour in Batley and Spen last night as she fended off Tory challenger Ryan Stephenson by securing a majority of just 323 votes Labour sources suggested the win should prompt Sir Keir's critics to retreat, telling Politico: 'Everyone's been calling this a referendum on Keir's leadership. Well, we've won bucked the trend, held onto this marginal seat and advanced in Tory areas. A fantastic result.' Meanwhile, Lord Mandelson, a key figure in the Blair governments, said there should now be a 'period of silence' from those on the Labour hard-left who he claimed have been 'conspiring' against Sir Keir. The peer claimed that Ms Rayner had been 'egged on by people who are serving their own factional purposes and interests' and that 'she should realise that these are not her friends'. Sir Keir said: 'Kim embodies everything I want the Labour Party to stand for: passionate about her local community and determined to bring people together. 'We won this election against the odds, and we did so by showing that when we are true to our values decency, honesty, committed to improving lives - then Labour can win. This result shows Labour at its best.' Ms Rayner tweeted: 'Congrats to @kimleadbeater and the whole Labour team. Thank you to the people of Batley & Spen It was so good to see so many activists out on the doorstep.' Speaking after she was declared the winner, Ms Leadbeater said she had thought about her family and her sister Jo Cox often during the last few weeks, adding: 'If I can be half the MP Jo was, I know I will do her proud.' Allies of Mrs Rayner (pictured) were said to have been canvassing Labour MPs to see if they would support a bid to oust Sir Keir. Miss Rayner said she was unaware of their plotting Lord Mandelson (pictured) said there should now be a 'period of silence' from those on the Labour hard-left who he claimed have been 'conspiring' against Sir Keir Jo Cox, the 41-year-old mother-of-two, was shot and stabbed by far-Right extremist Thomas Mair on June 16 2016, just days before the Brexit referendum. Ms Leadbeater also thanked West Yorkshire Police for the protection she had been given amid claims supporters of Mr Galloway's Workers Party had intimidated her, as she said: 'Sadly I needed them more than ever.' The Labour MP added: 'I'm absolutely delighted that the people of Batley and Spen have rejected division and they've voted for hope.' Meanwhile, senior Tories blamed their second-placed finish on Matt Hancock breaking Covid-19 rules by kissing his married aide. Amanda Milling, the co-chairman of the Conservative Party, said the former health secretary's romance with aide Gina Coladangelo 'was something that came up' on the doorstep following his resignation last Saturday. Tory peer and pollster Lord Hayward said Mr Hancock's behaviour was likely one of the reasons why the party lost, along with Boris Johnson's failure to sack him. He said: 'I think it's a combination of both sides - it's not just Matt Hancock, it is the decision of the Prime Minister, because of the apparent delay in taking action.' A popular Woolworths, a Chemist Warehouse and a busy Sydney train line have been put on alert with hundreds urged to go into isolation immediately. New South Wales Health announced a string of new venues have been exposed to Covid-19 late on Saturday afternoon after the state recorded 35 new infections overnight. Anyone who visited the Chemist Warehouse in Drummoyne on Tuesday June 29 from 10.30am to 10.40am has been urged to get tested and isolate until given a negative result. Close contacts have been listed for the Woolworths in Mortdale for Wednesday June 30 between 5.30pm to 6.40pm. Anyone who attended the supermarket at these times must isolate for 14 days regardless of their Covid test results. Despite the surge of cases still being recorded in the state each day, thousands of Sydneysiders flocked to parks and beaches to make the most of the sunny weather on Saturday. Surging Covid case numbers won't stop Sydneysiders from soaking up the sun in city parks and beaches, despite the pleas of New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Pictured is Centennial Park in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs Anyone who visited the Chemist Warehouse in Drummoyne on June 29 from 10.30am to 10.40am have been urged to get tested and isolate until given a negative result Centennial Park - bordered by current cluster outbreaks in Bondi Junction, Randwick and Paddington - was close to capacity as families made the most of the good winter weather. Locals described the scenes as 'chaos' with not even a single parking spot to be found in the massive parkland area. And Maroubra beachfront - also enduring its own hotspot alerts - was packed with sun worshippers ignoring the potential dangers. NSW Health has also listed the T8 Airport/South train line over three separate days. The line offers services between Central Station and Mascot Station. The Service NSW branch in Botany has also been listed all day on June 28, June 30 and July 1 with those at the venue on those days instructed to go into two weeks of isolation immediately. The popular Bake Bar bakery in Double Bay has also potentially been exposed to the virus The Service NSW branch in Botany has also been listed all day over June 28, June 30 and July 1 with those at the venue on those days to go into two weeks of isolation immediately NEW NSW EXPOSURE SITES LISTED ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON Anyone who attended the following venues at the times listed is a close contact and must immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result Double Bay, Bake Bar - Sunday June 20 from 11am - 11.30am Homebush West, Ram's Food - Friday June 25 from 11.10am - 12.10pm Botany, Service NSW - Monday June 28 from 8am - 5pm, Wednesday June 30 from 8am - 5pm and Thursday July 1 from 8am - 5pm Five Dock, Pharmacy 4 Less - Tuesday June 29 from 10.40am - 10.55am Five Dock, Chemist Warehouse - Tuesday June 29 from 10.30am - 10.40am Mortdale, Woolworths - Wednesday June 30 from 5.30pm - 6.40pm Anyone who attended any of the following venues at the times listed is a casual contact and must immediately get tested and self-isolate until a negative result is received Auburn, Wing Fat Meat Market - Sunday June 27 from 10.00am - 10.10am Drummoyne, Chemist Warehouse - Tuesday June 29 from 10.30am - 10.40am Potts Point, Woolworths Metro - Tuesday June 29 from 6.15pm - 6.30pm Bonnyrigg, Aldi - Wednesday June 30 from 6.00pm - 6.30pm Anyone who attended the following venues at the listed times should monitor for symptoms, and if they appear, immediately get tested and self-isolate until a negative result is received: Bondi Junction, Woolworths, 530 Oxford Street, Monday 28 June 9.00am to 9.15am Parramatta Westfield Parramatta (whole of complex) 159-175 Church Wednesday 30 June 5.30pm to 6.15pm Anyone who travelled of any of the following transport routes at the times listed is a casual contact and must immediately get tested and self-isolate until a negative result is received T8 Airport/South line service to Revesby From Central Platform 23 To Mascot Platform 2 Thursday June 24 from 8.10am to 8.20am T8 Airport/South line service to Revesby From Central Platform 23 To Mascot Platform 2 Friday June 25 from 7.55am to 8.10am T8 Airport/South line service to Central From Mascot Platform 1 To Central Platform 21 Friday June 25 from 12:20pm to 12:30pm Route 400N, From Westfield Eastgardens, Bunnerong Rd, Stand A, To Anzac Parade after Strachan Street Kingsford, Thursday June 24 from 12:30am to 12:39am Bus 420, From Coward St opp Lionel Bowen Park, Mascot To Westfield Eastgardens, Bunnerong Rd, Stand A Thursday June 24 from 2:55pm to 3:05pm Advertisement The 35 new cases are the highest number of infections recorded in a single day since the initial outbreak in 2020 but the premier and her Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the 'green shoots are there'. Greater Sydney remains in lockdown until Friday but there are still fears it will be extended as sewage testing shows the virus is in south-west and western Sydney despite no known cases being recorded there. Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the infection numbers were positive despite the high number. 'We are relieved, the cases are not as bad as they could have been,' she said. Daily Mail Australia photographers captured the endless stream of crowds taking advantage of the sunshine on Saturday at several spots around the city. Beachgoers were spotted lazing in the sun - instead of working out - on Saturday Locals described the scenes as 'chaos' with not even a single parking spot to be found in the massive parkland area. Centennial Park is a favourite for bicyclists Dog-friendly Centennial Park is a favourite for dog owners (pictured) in the Eastern Suburbs Maroubra beachfront (pictured) - also enduring its own hotspot alerts - was also packed with sun worshippers ignoring the potential dangers NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian admitted it could spark a new wave of infections if people became complacent, especially if playing sport for exercise. Locals took advantage of the good weather to relax in the sun at Maroubra beachfront (pictured) Plenty of Bondi lovers were walking past the famous Icebergs pool on Saturday A Bondi-based woman posed up a storm as she took photos on the coastal walk on Saturday morning The NSW Premier admitted it could spark a new wave of infections if people became complacent, especially if playing sport for exercise. 'I'm concerned the good weather and all of us being cooped up, people will let their guard down,' Ms Berejiklian admitted at her Covid briefing on Saturday. 'Yes it is great weather - we live in the best place on earth but please be sensible. 'If you're exercising with others outside your household, maintain good social distancing. Don't let an exercise group of 10 become 20 or 30. The NSW Premier asked locals to exercise in small groups and maintain social distance as bicyclists flock to family-favourite Centennial Park The Premier is convinced the state is on track to conquer the latest outbreak with even the rising numbers reflecting their modelling ahead of a predicted turnaround 'We much prefer people exercising outside in a safe way, in a socially distanced way, and we just ask people not to give up now.' The Premier is convinced the state is on track to conquer the latest outbreak with even the rising numbers reflecting their modelling ahead of a predicted turnaround. But it depends on everyone continuing to play their part, she said. The turnaround in Sydney's Covid cluster numbers depend on everyone continuing to play their part, says NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned this weekend's good weather could scupper all the good work down so far though if locals ignore the lockdown restrictions 'We're at the halfway point. We're at a good position,' said Ms Berejiklian. 'The lockdown is having the impact to date we thought it would. 'There's nothing surprising we've seen in the numbers. 'And of course as the days go by we want to see the numbers of people who have been exposed in the community with the virus continue to decline.' This weekend's good weather could scupper all the good work down so far though if locals ignore the lockdown restrictions, she warned. The NSW Premier insisted the city was at the halfway point and in a good position, and the lockdown is having the expected impact Sydney is depending on everyone keeping their guard up, said the NSW Premier 'We have a chance to get out of this lockdown as soon as we can, so long as we don't let our guard down and suddenly let the virus spread today and tomorrow because of good weather,' said Ms Berejiklian. 'I just appeal to everyone to do the right thing. The lockdown is so far having the desired effect. 'But we need that to continue.' The 'stripped down' British Army is no longer an expeditionary force if it cannot even maintain the conflict in Afghanistan with the 'very small number of soldiers' there, a Tory MP has warned. Tom Tugendhat blasted military chiefs over pulling troops out of the country this year - branding it a 'major strategic mistake'. The chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, who served in the Middle East for four years, said it meant the UK can forget about influencing other nations. The last British soldiers are to leave 'within days' after American forces brought forward their withdrawal date to mark US Independence Day. More than 200 Black Watch soldiers will fly home, ending the UK's 20-year deployment which started after 9/11. But it comes as fighting still grips Afghanistan as hostile forces wage war on the government across the country. Authorities on Saturday said hundreds of Taliban insurgents were killed in fierce battles across several provinces. Tom Tugendhat (pictured) blasted military chiefs over the decision to pull troops out of the country this year, branding it a 'major strategic mistake' Mr Tugendhat told the Today programme: 'In 2009 we were engaged in combat operations all over the country. 'But today, well in the last year when this decision [to withdraw] was made, British troops haven't been engaged in combat operations. 'In fact they haven't been engaged in combat operations for a number of years - we've been engaged in training. 'So this is really much like pulling out of Germany in 1960 than refusing to finish the war in 1945. 'This is a very very different decision and in that case I think it's a major strategic mistake.' He said: 'What we're demonstrating very publicly, very clearly, to many different adversaries and indeed sadly also to allies is that the US and her allies won't stay. 'Now if you don't have the ability to persist you can forget about influencing others. Nobody will care what you think if you're not going to be there tomorrow.' The last British troops in Afghanistan are to leave 'within days' after American forces brought forward their withdrawal date to mark US Independence Day. Pictured: M Company, 42 Commando Royal Marines, during operation against Taliban forces in Barikyu, Nothern Helmand Province of Afghanistan in 2014 Dozens of looters moved onto the Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan early Thursday morning, just hours after the final group of US troops vacated the base without telling local officials. Pictured: An Afghan National Army soldier stands guard at the base after they managed to regain control on Friday The Tory MP for Tonbridge and Malling said when the decision to leave was taken there were fewer than 1,000 British soldiers making up the 10,000-strong Nato force. He said the Army has more soldiers deployed on operations in Cyprus and the US's 2,500-troop presence was dwarfed by how many there were in Washington DC. Mr Tugendhat, who served in the Territorial Army as an officer, continued: 'These are very very small numbers of soldiers. 'If the decision is you can't even endure that, then you can forget about influencing people over different parts of the world where the damage might be greater. 'What you're doing by withdrawing is you're encouraging enemies and you're dissuading allies - that's dangerous.' Asked whether the British Army can engage in warfare without American support anymore, he added: 'Well if you're saying the British Army alongside RAF enablers and perhaps some others cannot maintain an operation of 10,000 men or 10,000 personnel this far from home, then what you're saying is the British Army is no longer an expeditionary force. 'Now that's a very big change in British government policy and sadly I think you're right. 'The British Army is now sadly being stripped down too far to maintain these kind of operations alongside the other that could do it alone. 'And that means the UK has withdrawn from global Britain and decided not to operate in such a way.' The last Union flag of Great Britain flying above the skies of Helmand Province, Afghanistan, is lowered by Captain Matthew Clark and Warrant Officer 1 John Lilley in October 2014 Bagram: the abandoned air strip that became America's main Afghan base The airfield was built by the Soviet Union back in the 1950s against the backdrop of Afghanistan's snow-capped mountains. It became a vital post for Soviet Union after it invaded Afghanistan in 1979. However, the Soviets withdrew from the country in 1989 and by the late 1990s, the abandoned air strip was composed of bombed-out hangars and watchtowers without electricity. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, US forces quickly occupied the air strip, using it as the Soviets had before them as their main base in the country. In the early years of the war under President George W. Bush, the CIA used Bagram as a 'black site' detention center for terrorism suspects, subjecting them to abuse that President Barack Obama would later acknowledge as torture. Later, as the U.S. and NATO presence in Afghanistan grew, so did the base. A second runway was built, as were pools, gyms and classrooms. A Pizza Hut, a Subway and a Green Beans coffee shop even popped up on the base. By 2007, Bagram had become a huge base, with three rings of security, processing arriving troops before they were flown to frontline positions. At its peak in 2012, Bagram saw more than 100,000 U.S. troops and NATO service members pass through its sprawling compound. US presidents visited frequently to meet the troops, most recently Donald Trump, who dropped in for Thanksgiving in 2019. Robin Williams, Jay Leno and Kid Rock were among the celebrities who visited over the years. In 2007, while then-Vice President Dick Cheney was in the country, a suicide bomber struck Bagram, killing up to 23 people and injuring 20. Advertisement The last British troops in Afghanistan are to leave 'within days' after American forces brought forward their withdrawal date to mark US Independence Day. More than 200 Black Watch soldiers will fly home, ending the UK's 20-year deployment which started after 9/11. Before leaving they will take part in a flag-lowering ceremony alongside US forces to honour the 456 British troops killed there since the campaign began. The UK's ambassador Sir Laurie Bristow is expected to attend the event in Kabul. He is staying on in Afghanistan after the troops have left. Their departure follows the pull-out of Italian and German troops this week. Other Nato countries have been bringing their forces home over the past month. Thousands of British personnel have been wounded in battle against the Taliban. More than 38,000 Afghan civilians have been killed and 70,000 injured. Meanwhile hundreds of Taliban fighters were killed in fierce battles with government forces across several provinces of Afghanistan, officials said on Saturday. Over the past 24 hours, more than 300 Taliban fighters were killed in fighting with government forces, the ministry of defence said Saturday. Scores were killed in air strikes, including a pre-dawn assault, in Helmand, where the insurgents and government troops have regularly clashed. There have been fears Afghan forces would struggle without the air support the US has provided. Attaullah Afghan, a member of Helmand provincial council, said: 'In recent days, the Afghan air force has intensified its air strikes against the Taliban hideouts and the insurgents have suffered casualties. The Taliban rejected the government's claims. Both sides often exaggerate each other's casualties and their claims are difficult to independently verify. But since May 1 when the US military began its final withdrawal of about 2,500 troops, the two warring sides have clashed fiercely across the rugged countryside. As a result, the Taliban have seized dozens of districts in blistering assaults targeting government forces. Even as the fighting rages, the Pentagon pressed on with its withdrawal to end the US's longest war. US and NATO troops left Bagram Air Base on Friday, signalling the military involvement for coalition forces was finally nearing its end. A man has been charged on suspicion of the murder of a 60-year-old man in Oxford Circus on Thursday night. The man, Tedi Fanta Hagos, 25, from Swansea, will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court later today. As well as murder, Hagos has also been charged on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon. A 25-year-old man has been charged with murder following the stabbing of a man, 60, who was attacked in Oxford Circus on Thursday night Hagos will appear in Westminster Magistrates' Court later today after being charged on suspicion of murder and possession of an offensive weapon on Thursday night Police attended the scene near the junction with Regent Street shortly before 8pm on Thursday, July 1 after receiving reports that a man had been stabbed. The victim was rushed to hospital by London Ambulance Service where he later died. The victim's family have been informed of the tragedy and are being supported by specially trained officers. A post-mortem to determine the exact cause of the man's death will take place in the near future. Police are continuing to appeal for information into the attack. A spokesperson for Scotland Yard said: 'Anyone who can help the investigation is asked to call police on 101 quoting CAD 7129/01Jul. To remain anonymous contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.' Angela Merkel's immigration policies are 'fatal' and Germany is 'declining politically and economically', the former head of the country's spy agency has warned. Hans-Georg Maassen, who ran the Office for the Protection of the Constitution until 2018, slammed the Chancellor's border controls in a scathing interview. The 58-year-old blasted Mrs Merkel's decision to let in around 1.2million migrants in 2015 while he was in office under her. He claimed Germans 'cannot understand why ever more people are coming into this country even though they obviously have no right to asylum'. His comments come just a week after a Somali immigrant - who got into the country as a refugee in 2015 - knifed three people to death. The 24-year-old yelled 'Allahu Akbar' as he carried out his sickening attack in Wurzburg before being shot by police. Hans-Georg Maassen (pictured) made the claims and is now standing to become an MP for Mrs Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in southern Thuringia. Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Queen were pictured together as Mrs Merkel embarks on visits ahead of her departure in August His comments come just a week after a Somali immigrant - who got to Germany as a refugee in 2015 - knifed three people to death Mr Maassen, who is running as an MP for the CDU in Thuringia, told the Times: 'The CDU has clearly taken a lot of damage over the past 20 years. 'It's become a club for electing the chancellor under the slogan 'We want Merkel re-elected', but the actual political and programmatic substance is gone.' He admitted Mrs Merkel was a 'strong-willed woman and a top political performer' and praised her role in the eurozone debt crisis. But he said: 'I just think it's a shame that we are falling far below our potential in Germany. 'I have the impression that many people have made their peace with the fact that we are declining ever further politically and economically.' He added: '[Germans] simply cannot understand why ever more people are coming into this country even though they obviously have no right to asylum; why we aren't deporting them and why politicians just put up with the fact that the people here are falling victim to these migrants.' Mrs Merkel, 66, is due to step down as German Chancellor after 16 years as leader Mr Maassen ran the country's version of MI5 for six years before being forced out in 2018. He had publicly contradicted the Chancellor's claims foreigners had been 'hunted' in the city of Chemnitz during civil unrest in the area. His comments caused a huge scandal and rocked Mrs Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU). And he caused further fury in his departure speech, with a copy of it being leaked to the public in early November 2018. He presented himself as a victim to the conspiracy of 'radical left-wing' forces in the German government and was forced into early retirement. Mr Maassen said he is now building an alliance within the party with the end goal of picking apart the Chancellor's legacy. He is plotting his route back to public life as he is standing to become an MP for the CDU in southern Thuringia. He is up against former Olympic gold medallist Frank Ullrich, 63, who is representing the Social Democrats. The German chancellor is set to step down in autumn after 16 years in power and is currently in the midst of making a series of farewell trips. Yesterday Mrs Merkel, 66, had her final official audience with the Queen following talks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Chequers. It was the second time they have met within a few weeks, after they were seen together at the G7 summit in Cornwall last month. Mrs Merkel attended a joint news conference with Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Chequers The elections later this year will be watched closely in Germany for signs of how Mrs Merkel's party will evolve when she steps back. More than one million people applied for asylum in Germany for the first time in 2015-2016 during a pivotal moment in Mrs Merkel's tenure. But the debate around migration became deeply divisive, eating into public trust in Merkel and even leading to a far-right party AfD gaining a presence in parliament. Headline-grabbing events, such as mass sexual assaults committed against women in Cologne on New Year's Eve 2015/2016 and a Berlin Christmas market attack in December 2016, led to a rise in anger directed at migrants. And it has worsened over the last week after the Somalian immigrant killed three people in Wurzburg. The 24-year-old yelled 'Allahu Akbar' as he carried out his sickening attack before being shot by police. Last year, Mrs Merkel told the annual summer press conference in Berlin she would 'make essentially the same decisions' if facing the crisis again. 'When people are standing at the German-Austrian border or the Hungarian-Austrian border, they have to be treated like human beings,' she said. Germans will head to the polls on Sunday 26 September to elect a new Bundestag. A nurse accused of trying to kill an Uber driver who she believed raped her teenage friend downed four VBs and 'triple checked' she had the right address before turning up on his doorstep and trying to stab him, court documents allege. Kristy Lee Edwards, 41, drove to the man's Gold Coast home at 11pm on March 7, before knifing him about five times through his security door, police allege. 'You raped (someone I know). I am going to kill you, I want you dead,' police allege Edwards shouted as she broke glass at the front of the home in Varsity Lakes in the city's south. In documents filed in the Supreme Court, the Uber driver, 29, claimed he was having repeated consensual sex with the teenage girl in return for about $15,000, the Gold Coast Bulletin reported. Nurse Kristy Lee Edwards, 41, drove to the man's Gold Coast home at 11pm on March 7, before trying to knife him about five times through his security door, police allege Edwards is accused of telling the man, whom she believed had raped a teenage girl known to her, 'I am going to kill you, I want you dead', according to court documents 'I think in total I gave her around $12,000 to $15,000 for sex,' the man said. The statement also said he had made money on the stock market during the Covid-19 pandemic and had cash to splurge. He told police the teenager reached out to him over social media offering to have sex with him for $500 as she was struggling financially, according to the court documents. CCTV footage captured a woman outside the Varsity Lakes home, allegedly Kristy Lee Edwards, before a man was allegedly attacked through a door with a knife Edwards had four beers, hugged her daughter and told her she was going out to buy cigarettes before allegedly arming herself with two kitchen knives, court documents alleged The court was also told the man had sex with the teenager three hours before Edwards allegedly attacked him. Edwards had four beers, hugged her daughter and told her she was going out to buy cigarettes before allegedly arming herself with two kitchen knives, the documents said. She 'triple checked' the Uber driver's address to make sure she did not to 'kill the wrong person', the documents state. The 41-year-old had learned of the man's supposed rape in the days before the alleged attack. Court documents alleged Edwards had drunk four VBs and repeatedly checked the man's address to be sure she did not 'kill the wrong person' She found his address from a parcel sent to the teenager, the documents stated. It is alleged the Uber driver's father armed himself with a shovel as Edwards allegedly attempted to stab his son, before an officer arrested her on the charge of wilful damage. The court heard when the officer arrived she said 'you're lucky it's not murder,' the court documents stated. 'I had believed she was trying to kill me and if the security screen wasnt locked she would have stabbed me and killed me,' the man said in a statement to the court. The court was told police were still investigating the alleged rape. Edwards - who has no criminal history - faces charges of attempted murder and attempted burglary 'As a consequence of the strength of the security door the knives penetrated aspects of the door, but did not penetrate any aspect of the complainant,' Brisbane Supreme Court Justice David Boddice said. Edwards - who has no criminal history - allegedly told officers at the scene she would kill the man 'if police did not do something'. Justice Boddice granted bail, subject to the surety, her residing with family in New South Wales, adhering to a curfew and reporting to police three times a week. She is charged with attempted murder, attempted burglary and committing an indictable offence. She had been behind bars for more than 100 days since the alleged attack in March. The BBC has deleted its Bitesize revision guide's list of 'positive impacts' of climate change after caving to fury from environmental activists. The broadcaster faced furious backlash from environmental activists after sharing an online GCSE revision guide that listed the creation of shipping routes due to melting ice and lower heating bills thanks to warmer winters among a list of 'benefits'. Campaigners called the BBC Bitesize material for GCSE geography students an absolute disgrace. The BBC said it decided to remove the list of positive effects because it did not follow the national curriculum. The guide now shows only the negative impacts of global warming, such as rising sea levels, droughts and greater risk of flooding. The broadcaster faced furious backlash from environmental activists after sharing an online GCSE revision guide that listed the creation of shipping routes due to melting ice and lower heating bills thanks to warmer winters among a list of 'benefits' The BBC said the decision to remove the list of positive effects was made because it failed to reflect the national curriculum Other benefits of climate change listed in bullet points included the claims that warmer temperatures lead to healthier outdoor lifestyles, there would be new tourist destinations, oil becoming available in Alaska and Siberia as the ice melts, and some animals and plants may flourish. The page was first highlighted on Thursday by Guardian journalist George Monbiot to his near-half a million Twitter followers after he was tipped off by a teacher. GCSE revision tips that saw the positives in pollution 1. Warmer temperatures and increased CO2 levels, leading to more vigorous plant growth. 2. Some animals and plants could benefit and flourish. The guide failed to note that polar bears, right, are struggling to survive. 3. New shipping routes, such as the Northwest Passage, would become available. 4. More resources, for example oil, becoming available in places such as Siberia as ice melts. 5. Energy consumption decreasing due to a warmer climate. 6. Longer growing season leading to higher yields in farming areas. 7. Frozen regions, such as Canada and Siberia, could be farmed to grow crops. 8. New tourist destinations becoming available. 9. Warmer temperatures could lead to healthier outdoor lifestyles. Advertisement The lifelong environmental activist branded it an absolute disgrace, arguing the web page read like fossil fuel propaganda and would leave schoolchildren thinking global warming was pretty good. It prompted fury among climate experts, campaigners and teachers who said the arguments were flat wrong and did not reflect what was on the current syllabus. Others called for a change to Government guidance, as they claimed it was not the BBC's fault. One person wrote online: 'And once again the BBC is taking the flak for a government decision. The national curriculum requires that positives must be taught as well as negatives, even for things like catastrophic climate change. BBC Bitesize follows the curriculum.' Exam board Eduqas said the suggestions were not within its GCSE geography specifications, adding that while it asked students to explore opposing attitudes to climate change it did not advocate a positive viewpoint. Stuart Lock, the chief executive of a group of schools in Bedfordshire, was among the education experts to speak out before the BBC revision guide was amended. He tweeted: I think this is flat wrong, doesnt align with the national curriculum or exam specs, and needs reconsidering. Climate change isnt a both sides argument. Extinction Rebellions south-east group said: GCSE students, young people, those facing future disasters, deserve better than to be judged on questions which warp and distort the truth. Yesterday the BBC said: We have reviewed the page and have amended the content to be in line with current curricula. In 2018, the Corporation accepted failures over its coverage of climate change after a series of apologies and censures for not challenging sceptics during interviews. In a briefing note sent to staff, it stated: To achieve impartiality, you do not need to include outright deniers of climate change in BBC coverage, in the same way you would not have someone denying that Manchester United won 2-0 last Saturday. The referee has spoken. Extinction Rebellions south-east group said: GCSE students, young people, those facing future disasters, deserve better than to be judged on questions which warp and distort the truth' (pictured, Extinction Rebellion activists in Cornwall for the G7 summit in June) Following a meeting with climate experts in Edinburgh, the Queen said on Thursday that tackling climate change would mean we have to change the way we do things. Last month, Government advisers said the UK is woefully prepared to deal with the changing climate. They warned of more severe heatwaves and more intense rainfall, with an increased risk of flooding across the UK. An entrepreneur's visit to a dingy sex shop sparked her light-bulb moment to open up a lingerie and sex toy brand that's now worth a staggering $440million. Eloise Monaghan, 45, is the mastermind behind Honey Birdette, the risque company she founded in Brisbane in 2006 after visiting her first adult toy store while shopping for a Hen's night. She left the shop unimpressed having noticed the lacklustre store attendant was smoking a cigarette behind the counter - and decided to launch her own business. The company behind iconic brand Playboy bought Honey Birdette earlier this week but Ms Monaghan said she'll still have a say in what happens with the brand she spent more than a decade perfecting. Honey Birdette was earlier this week sold to the parent company of Playboy for a whopping $440million. Pictured is a promotional photo for Honey Birdette Eloise Monaghan, 45, (pictured left with her wife) is the mastermind behind Honey Birdette, the risque company she founded in Brisbane in 2006 after visiting her first adult toy store while shopping for a Hen's night 'It's my baby. Getting rid of your child, you can't do it,' she told news.com.au. Honey Birdette which now has 60 stores including some in the US and UK, is known for pushing boundaries with its racy advertisements that have raised the eyebrows of many parents wandering past shop fronts with their impressionable children. The successful lingerie company is set to make $97million in revenue and $37million in earnings for the 2021 financial year. Ms Monaghan admitted the partnership with Playboy was not an easy decision, with the brand which was founded by the late Hugh Hefner representing more of a sexualisation of women. 'But they have evolved with the times. I walked in there and thought this is what we are. It's definitely female-empowered,' she said. Honey Birdette, which now has 60 stores including some in the US and UK, is known for pushing boundaries with its racy advertisements that have raised the eyebrows of many parents wandering past shop fronts with their impressionable children. Ms Monaghan admitted the partnership with Playboy was not an easy decision, with the brand which was founded by the late Hugh Hefner representing more of a sexualisation of women The founder added she knew she needed to take the business to the next level globally and Playboy ended up being the perfect fit. While building her brand Ms Monaghan said she used to work on the floor of her stores and admitted some of the most interesting conversations she's ever had have been with divorced women through the changing room door. But her label hasn't often gone down so well with parents due to the brand's racy advertisements often featuring scantily clad women in suggestive poses. Earlier this month some mothers took to Facebook to detail their horror at the advertisements put up by Honey Birdette around shopping centres. The successful lingerie company is set to make $97million in revenue and $37million in earnings for the 2021 financial year Huge screens of women in lingerie in provocative poses have been seen in local malls that families often visit, prompting one mother to start an online poll asking if other parents had concerns about the brand's advertising. Much to the disappointment of the mother, more than half said they had no issue with the brand's marketing. Another mother started a petition to have the videos played on screens outside the brand's stores taken down, labelling the company's advertising as 'soft porn'. Honey Birdette is a successful Australian lingerie brand also selling sex toys In 2017 the advertising watchdog banned their in-store ads claiming it was of a 'highly sexual nature'. Ms Monaghan responded and said women weren't 'handmaids'. 'Why are we telling young kids to be ashamed of their bodies?' she said. The 45-year-old is also embroiled in a legal battle with her ex partner and co-founder Janelle Barboza who was bought out of the company in 2014. Ms Monaghan said she's now hoping to use the money from the monstrous sale to go travelling with her wife Natalie. A man has been arrested and charged with molesting a whale and her calf after beachgoers allege they saw a kitesurfer repeatedly fly too close to the mammals. Police were called to Christies Beach in Adelaide's south at 10.15am on Saturday after receiving multiple reports of a man kite-surfing close to the whale. 'Patrols spoke to witnesses, who provided photographs and a good description of the kitesurfer,' South Australia Police said in a statement, alleging a similar incident occurred on Friday. An Adelaide man was arrested and charged with molesting a whale and her calf after beachgoers claim they saw a kitesurfer repeatedly fly in close to the mammals. Photo taken by a witness pictured A 32-year-old man from Old Reynella was charged with two counts of molestation of a protected animal and failing to keep a prescribed distance from a protected animal A 32-year-old man from Old Reynella in southern Adelaide was charged with two counts of molestation of a protected animal and failing to keep a prescribed distance from a protected animal. Despite the unusual title of the charge, South Australian police confirmed there was no sexual element to the man's alleged behaviour. The charge relates to a 1972 law which states: 'A person must not interfere with, harass or molest, or cause or permit the interference with, harassment or molestation of, a protected animal.' He was bailed to appear in Christies Beach Magistrates Court on August 2. Whales and dolphins are protected by law in South Australia. South Australian police confirmed there was no sexual element to the man's alleged behaviour. People must keep at least 100 metres away from a whale, or 50m from a dolphin. Special restrictions apply when a calf is present South Australian government signage pictured showing how far humans must stay away from whales and other marine mammals People must keep at least 100 metres away from a whale, or 50m from a dolphin. Special restrictions apply when a calf is present. 'Never feed or harass marine mammals, it is illegal and it harms the animal,' a police statement said. 'If you find a sick or stranded marine mammal (including whales, seals, sea lions and dolphins) please contact your local National Parks and Wildlife Service office or marine wildlife rescue organisation.' Two members of staff at Tom Kitchin's restaurants have been suspended after allegations were made by former workers. Some former staff were allegedly punched and dragged by their collars at the Kitchin in Edinburgh. Twelve former employees of the Kitchin Group have spoken out with allegations about being denied food, water or any breaks, even to use the toilet, during gruelling 18-hour shifts. One said they developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and lost a scary amount of weight while working for the group, reported The Times. Representatives from the Kitchin Group said two senior members of staff had been suspended following publication of the allegations. Tom Kitchin (pictured), who was made Scotland's youngest Michelin star winner in 2006, opened The Kitchin in Edinburgh One former chef said he had to go to see a therapist after spending seven months working at the Kitchin. He said another member of staff forced him to catch a hot iron tray on his forearms, causing significant burns. He claims it left him with PTSD symptoms and he lost so much weight after just two weeks working there his mother asked if he had a digestive disease. He added: 'I cannot work in kitchens again.' He claimed during his first day at the restaurant he witnessed an altercation where a member of staff was pinned up against a wall. Another senior staff member allegedly flicked boiling water at people if they were not sweeping as quickly as needed. Front-of-house staff claimed they were sexually harassed, including a claim one individual stole woman's shirt after it had been ironed - forcing them to fight for it back while semi-clothed. One former chef said he had to go to see a therapist after spending seven months working at the Kitchin (pictured) in 2017 Another former member of staff claimed she was deliberately burnt. Pictured, inside The Kitchin restaurant Four years after the opening of The Kitchin, the Castle Terrace was opened. And by 2013 Mr Kitchin had added the Scran and Scallie (pictured) Four former waitresses and receptionists, speaking anonymously, said they were regularly touched inappropriately or watched as they changed. One said: 'It was inconsiderate and disgusting. That's when you would see the most of him. When you were wearing the least.' Chef Tom Kitchin's rise to fame and success Tom Kitchin, born in Edinburgh in 1977, began his successful career with an apprenticeship in Perthshire's five-star Gleneagles Hotel. He learnt from three-Michelin starred chefs in London, Paris and Monte Carlo - including Pierre Koffmann and Alain Ducasse. His wife Michaela, now a director of the Kitchin Group, met Mr Kitchin while they were both working in legendary Swiss chef Anton Mosimann's kitchen. The couple returned to Edinburgh in 2006 and opened nature-to-plate inspired restaurant, The Kitchin. After just six months it was awarded a Michelin star. Four years after the opening of The Kitchin, the Castle Terrace was opened. And by 2013 Mr Kitchin had added the Scran and Scallie. In 2018 the Southside Scran and the Bonnie Badger Hotel was opened. Meanwhile, Mr Kitchin achieved television fame with regular appearances on the BBC's Saturday Kitchen. He has partnered with Edinburgh Gin and the housebuilder Cala, and in 2012 was awarded an honorary doctorate from Edinburgh Napier University. Advertisement One chef claimed she was deliberately burnt by a member of staff. Another man claimed he lost 8kg because of consecutive 16-hour shifts and just 15-minute breaks. He claimed to have lost both big toenails after three months because a member of staff would step on his feet every time he passed by. All the women would regularly go crying to him, he claimed, and he once broke down himself because of the pressure of being shouted at for 20 minutes over a mistake made regarding a bottle of oil. His claims his hair started falling out and he said he 'couldn't carry on'. Peter Southcott, managing director of the Kitchin Group, said: 'Following allegations of unacceptable behaviour, two senior members of staff have been suspended whilst these claims are fully and independently investigated. We will not hesitate to take whatever action may be necessary.' Mr Kitchin, 44, said the kitchens in his restaurants were high-pressure environments where emotions 'often run high'. He added that behaviour had to match the standards expected of the food and service. He said he was 'immensely proud' of his colleagues and 'where we have fallen short, we will address and remedy it'. 'Top kitchens the world over can be high-pressure, frenetic and challenging environments, where emotions often run high. 'However, the exacting standards of our food and service must be matched by the standards of behaviour in our kitchens and wider operations. 'In the last few years, the feedback from our team members underlines the significant strides weve taken to improve what had often been a traditional culture in our kitchens, but we have more to do. 'Im immensely proud of my colleagues at the Kitchin Group and where we have fallen short, we will address it and remedy it. That will be our clear priority in the weeks, months and years ahead.' The allegations follow a difficult year for the Kitchin Group, with Mr Kitchin forced to close Castle Terrace amid the coronavirus pandemic. In April 2021 he tweeted: 'The hospitality restrictions in Scotland are beyond a joke . . . whose idea is this? Save Scottish hospitality please!' Meanwhile, Southside Scran has been temporarily shuttered since last July and Mr Kitchin has been forced to make more than 100 redundancies, news he said he delivered 'personally' over the phone. In an interview with The Scotsman he said: 'I had to make 100 people redundant within my company. A hundred people, phoning them up personally and telling them. Having people crying down the phone. That's the worst thing I've ever had to do in business.' Soldiers have long complained their hardy military footwear batter their feet when they march. But female troops in Ukraine may have more reason to grumble after pictures emerged of them wearing high heels for a parade. Top brass have raised eyebrows after they released the images showing the women in fatigues and the mid-heel black wedges during practice. The country is preparing for a march next month to mark 30 years of independence following the Soviet Union's breakup. Cadet Ivanna Medvid was quoted by the defence ministry's information site ArmiaInform as saying: 'Today, for the first time, training takes place in heeled shoes.' She added in comments released on Thursday: 'It is slightly harder than in army boots but we are trying.' Top brass have raised eyebrows after they released the images showing the women in fatigues and the mid-heel black wedges during practice The choice of footwear was mocked and criticised online and in Parliament and some claimed the women soldiers had been sexualised. 'The story of a parade in heels is a real disgrace,' commentator Vitaly Portnikov said on Facebook, arguing that some Ukrainian officials had a 'medieval' mindset. Another commentator, Maria Shapranova, accused the defence ministry of 'sexism and misogyny.' 'High heels is a mockery of women imposed by the beauty industry,' she fumed. The country is preparing for a march next month to mark 30 years of independence following the Soviet Union's breakup Several Ukrainian lawmakers close to Ukraine's former president Petro Poroshenko showed up in parliament with pairs of shoes and encouraged the defence minister to wear high heels to the parade. 'It is hard to imagine a more idiotic, harmful idea,' said Inna Sovsun, a member of the Golos party, pointing to health risks. She also said Ukraine's women soldiers - like men - were risking their lives and 'do not deserve to be mocked'. The choice of footwear was mocked and criticised online and in Parliament and some claimed the women soldiers had been sexualised Several Ukrainian lawmakers close to Ukraine's former president Petro Poroshenko showed up in parliament with pairs of shoes and encouraged the defence minister to wear high heels to the parade. Pictured: Female soldiers in their normal footwear Ukraine has been battling Russian-backed separatists in the country's industrial east, in a conflict that has killed more than 13,000 people since 2014. Olena Kondratyuk, deputy speaker of the legislature said authorities should publicly apologise for 'humiliating' women and conduct an enquiry. Kondratyuk said more than 13,500 women had fought in the current conflict. More than 31,000 women serve in the Ukrainian armed forces, including 4,000 officers. Florence has banned people from walking around the city centre in the evenings in a bid to tackle overcrowding. The popular Italian city will only allow tourists to eat or drink but people cannot wander the city streets after 9pm. Florence Mayor Dario Nardella signed the ordinance which bans people from wandering around the popular areas on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings until further notice. Florence has banned people from walking around the city centre in the evenings in a bid to tackle overcrowding Six areas of the city centre including the popular Santo Spirito will not be accessible from 9pm to 6am unless people are eating or drinking in its bars or restaurants. Other areas where evening strolls are banned include Piazza Strozzi, Santa Croce and Piazza S.S. Annunziata where locals and tourists regularly gather. People are also banned from drinking on the steps of the Santo Spirito basilica at all hours from now on. Breaking the rules, which will be in place until the end of the pandemic, could result in a fine up to a thousand Euros. Local Veronica Grechi, who owns a B&B in the city, told CNN: 'The squares are public, if people are behaving badly you need to make them go away, you don't say that you can only access these places with a receipt from a bar. It's saying you can only get access if you pay. 'It's fine to say you can't bring a beer along and chuck it on the ground, but limiting access. No, it's not right.' Meanwhile the director of the Uffizi Galleries has called for a 'sandwich tax' on street food stalls in Florence. Florence Mayor Dario Nardella signed the ordinance which bans people from wandering around the popular areas on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings until further notice Eike Schmidt says the stalls cause huge amounts of litter which are plaguing the popular tourist destination and even damaging the stone that has been there since the Renaissance. He said: 'Bans and fines have proved mostly inadequate at tackling the phenomenon. 'Even now, the benches and steps of the Uffizi and the Loggia dei Lanzi are full of people eating and drinking. The result is oil and sauce on the stone, bits of paper, food leftovers and stains from soft drinks everywhere. 'The stone absorbs it all and gets damaged over time, so to protect it we have to be cleaning it continuously.' He says that street food by its nature means tourists are wandering around the city dropping food and plastic. His proposal has been well received by locals but people in the business are against the tax, particularly after a pandemic. Former President Donald Trump will pay tribute to the victims of the Surfside building collapse at his rally in Sarasota, Florida, tonight and praise the leadership of Gov. Ron DeSantis. Trump arrives in his adopted home state after a turbulent week that saw his company charged with tax fraud and amid reports that he had fallen out with DeSantis, a rising star of the Republican Party and possible 2024 rival. But he is expected to open his speech by reflecting on the tragedy further south in Florida, where the death toll of 24 is expected to rise with 124 people still missing. 'He'll touch on a lot of the issues he talked about last week but will start with the Surfside tragedy,' said a source familiar with the speech. 'We're going to be soliciting donations for the victims.' Aides to DeSantis and to Trump were forced this week to deny that the Florida governor had asked the former president to postpone his rally while work continued to find survivors and victims at the disaster site. At the same time, the two men are eying each others campaign plans and Democrats are eagerly seizing on any sign of a split. But Trump is expected to praise the governor's work. Former President Trump heads to Florida on Saturday, his adopted home state, for a campaign-style rally. Gov Ron DeSantis will not be there as he continues to focus on the search and rescue operation in Surfside DeSantis allies dismissed reports of a split, saying the two men remain close allies. But DeSantis is a rising star who generated glowing headlines during the past week for his work leading the rescue operation, and triggering anger among some Trump supporters Trump returned to the campaign trail last Saturday night, holding a 'revenge' rally in Ohio on behalf of a former aide who's running against a GOP congressman who voted for the ex-president's impeachment Former President Donald Trump addresses the crowd outside of Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday evening as he returns to the campaign trail to stump for a former staffer of his who's running for Congress 'It will be focusing on the victims and the first responders and the leadership from the state, from Gov. DeSantis, because he was scheduled to be at the rally but won't be able to make it because of the tragedy,' said the source. The rest of the speech is likely to resemble last week's that he delivered in Ohio, along with a stinging riposte to New York prosecutors who last week charged his company and key lieutenant with 15 criminal counts. 'He is very adamant about touching on what's going on in New York with this very political justice system that is attacking his business, attacking his family and people that work for him. He's very interested in correcting that and going after these people,'sa id the person. Every move that Trump makes is being viewed through a 2024 lens and opponents believe DeSantis's national prominence will irk the former president. 'Ron has had a good few months, reopening Florida and being seen on the national stage managing the Surfside collapse,' said a strategist who knows both men. 'You can bet he is being careful about not upsetting Trump, who is putting together a huge war chest and is still the biggest name around.' Advisers and former staff close to the two Republican figureheads say reports of tensions are overblown. 'It's a media creation,' said Sam Nunberg, Trump's former campaign adviser. 'People are just looking for splits that don't exist.' Trump arrives with his own problems. His company and its chief financial officer were charged with 15 crimes this week in connection with alleged tax fraud and amid signs of weakening popularity within his own party Saturday will provide a chance to connect with his loyal base and soak up their energy, say his allies. DeSantis will not be at the rally. But that doesn't mean there is a split, said Helen Aguirre Ferre, executive director of the Florida Republican Party and a former communications director for the governor. 'Any idea of a rift comes from anonymous sources who don't put their names on the records is pretty tell-tale,' she said. 'If it was well-founded information they should go on the record.' Two weeks ago, DeSantis bested Trump 74-71 in the annual Western Conservative Summit's straw poll in Denver. A year earlier, Trump won the poll with almost 95 percent of the vote. DeSantis is frequently spoken about as a 2024 nominee. And at 42 he represents a new generation of leader while Trump would be 78 if he runs again. Some saw a slight when Trump recently said he would consider DeSantis as a running mate, as if to suggest he was not up to the top job. And Biden's visit to Florida, triggered the sort of glowing coverage of the Florida governor that the mainstream media never afforded Trump. Biden touched the hand of DeSantis as he said: 'You know what's good about this? We're letting the nation know we can cooperate.' 'Its an unconscious and uninhibited show of a shared humanity,' said the Miami Herald, describing a widely shared image of the president touching the governor's hand. 'Its a natural, but still remarkable, gesture that we hope will set tone for the challenging steps ahead.' White House officials went out of their way to thank DeSantis for his welcome. 'President Biden and his administration have been working hand-in-hand with state and local partners in response to the tragedy in Surfside - including with Governor DeSantis and his team,' said Michael Gwin, White House rapid response director. 'Were appreciative of the Governors warm welcome to Florida on Thursday and we will continue working in close coordination as we ensure state and local officials have everything they need from the federal government.' And the visit triggered a string of stories about Biden trying to woo a Trump ally. But Trump's red meat base took umbrage. In a slew of angry social media posts they dismissed DeSantis as a 'Trojan corpse' and accused him of sitting next to a fraud. The glowing coverage was met with an outpouring of anger among some Trump supporters who took to social media to condemn DeSantis for sitting down with President Biden Opponents have spotted an opening to disrupt Republican planning and drive a wedge between the two. A new political action committee to spoil DeSantis 2022 reelection campaign has released an advert depicting him as a threat to the former president. 'He was a nobody, Donald, a rookie congressman,' runs the advert by the Remove Ron PAC. 'Then, you made him governor of America's third largest state. 'Now, Ron's beating you in the race for president.' But people who understand the two men see a different game developing. Neither wants a head-on clash, they say. Nunberg, who was taken on by Trump when he first considered entering politics in 2011, said he has seen the former president's playbook before. When he considered running for New York governor almost a decade ago he made an offer to the other Republican contender, Rob Astorino. 'He said to Rob, I'll run and I'll just make you lieutenant governor,' said Nunberg. 'What I assume is, if Trump runs in 2024 - and I think it's more likely that he will - he won't want a contested primary and I think ultimately he'll name Ron his VP from the beginning so they can start a campaign against Biden. 'It may not be what Ron wants... but he'll have to think about it.' But an experienced Home Office pathologist was unable to find a cause of death Silhesha, 22, complained of stomach pains in the months leading up to her death The tragedy remains a mystery after an inquest could not find a cause of death Silhesha Sunderland, from Bolton, was found dead in her home on December 27 The cause of the sudden death of a 'one in a million' mother-of-two remains a mystery after an inquest was unable to determine how she died. The body of Silhesha Chantel Sunderland, 22, was found by her partner Marc Stott on December 27 in the bathroom of their home in Bolton, Gtr Manchester. The couple had been drinking the night before with their friend Tom Benson but a post-mortem toxicology test found only a small amount of alcohol in her system, LancashireLive reported. Silhesha had complained of stomach pains for months previously, but an inquest at Preston Coroner's Court heard on Friday that experienced Home Office pathologist Dr Alison Armour was unable to find a cause of death. Silhesha Chantel Sunderland, 22, was found dead by her partner Marc Stott on December 27 in the bathroom of their home in Bolton, Gtr Manchester Reading out the findings, area coroner James Newman said: 'There was no evidence trauma or injury, nothing significant internally, no damage to the heart, no vomit in her airways, the bladder was normal and although there was a little bit of blood in the abdominal cavity but Dr Armour says that because of her age and general good health it was such a small amount that there is no reason it could have caused her death. 'Ultimately Dr Armour says she doesn't know what caused her death.' Dr Penny Parr, Silhesha's GP at Bolton Community Practice, told the family she may have had Sudden Adult Death Syndrome, which is when someone dies suddenly following a cardiac arrest. She said: 'I think it would be sensible for family members to have an ECG test to look at where the electrical current is passing through the heart and the direction it passes around the heart. 'It is possible that certain changes which you can see in a living heart might not be identifiable after death.' The reason behind the mother-of-two's death remains a mystery after an inquest was unable to determine the cause of her death. Pictured: Silhesha with her twin children Aliyah and Hugo Dr Parr added that the trainee accountant had visited the surgery complaining of abdominal pains, but blood tests and an ultrasound found no abnormalities. The inquest heard that Silhesha, mother to infant twins Aliyah and Hugo, went to bed with Mr Scott at around 5am. Her partner found her on the bathroom floor when he woke at 11am. Despite his attempts to resuscitate her, she was pronounced as dead on the scene by paramedics. Lancashire Police's Detective Inspector Steve Monk told the court that there were no signs of trauma, violence, or anything else to raise his suspicions. The coroner concluded that the mother died of natural causes, saying the only possibility left appeared to be an 'unidentified medical condition'. Silhesha was described as a 'brilliant mother' to two-year-old twins Aliyah and Hugo and a 'kind-hearted girl' who was 'one of a kind'. Her heartbroken mother Vicky previously said: 'We don't know how she died yet and we are just waiting on the coroner's report. The inquest heard that Silhesha was found by her partner Mr Scott (both pictured) on the bathroom floor when he woke at 11am and tried to resuscitate her, but she died on the scene 'Her boyfriend found her in the morning and tried to resuscitate her. She must have got up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet and collapsed. 'I am so broken I don't know how I can carry on but I know I've got to be strong for my grandchildren.' Vicky said Silhesha had only recently moved to her new home and had been settling in, enjoying decorating and organising her new house before the tragedy struck. In a heartbreaking tribute, her friend Abby Holt said: 'We have known each other all our lives. There's no words to describe Silhesha, she was a one of a kind. 'If you needed something she would be there and if you needed someone to speak to, she was there. 'She would always make anyone laugh, no matter what the situation and when she walked into the room everyone's face lit up. Silhesha complained of stomach pains before her death, but an inquest at Preston Coroner's Court heard on Friday that an experienced pathologist was unable to find a cause of death 'She was absolutely amazing, you'll never get another like her.' Georgia Ashmore, who set up a JustGiving page to help the family with funeral costs in December, said Silhesha was 'loved by everyone.' She added: 'I met Silhesha in 2013 and we became the best of friends around three years ago and were inseparable. 'She was the most kind-hearted, caring, beautiful human being I have ever come across. She made an impact on everyone she met. 'Silhesha was the best mummy to her twins and she loved Marc with every bone in her body. She is so loved by everyone and will be truly missed by us all.' At least 43 migrants have drowned in a shipwreck off Tunisia as they tried to make the perilous crossing towards Europe, the Tunisian Red Crescent said on Saturday. The boat had set off from Zuwara, on Libya's northwest coast, carrying 120 migrants from Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Bangladesh, the humanitarian organisation said. In recent months, several drowning incidents have occurred off the Tunisian coast, with an increase in the frequency of attempted crossings to Europe from Tunisia and Libya towards Italy as the weather has improved. At least 43 migrants have drowned in a shipwreck off Tunisia as they travelled from Libya to Italy, crossing, the Tunisian Red Crescent said on Saturday. Pictured: File photo taken on June 27 showing migrants rescued by Tunisia's national guard 'The navy rescued 84 migrants and 43 others drowned in a boat that set off from Libya's Zuwara towards Europe, Red Crescent official Mongi Slim said. Hundreds of thousands of people have made the perilous Mediterranean crossing in recent years, many of them fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. Arrivals in Italy - one of the main migrant routes into Europe - had been falling in recent years, but numbers picked up again in 2021. Almost 19,800 migrants have arrived since the beginning of the year against just over 6,700 in the same period last year, Italian interior Ministry figures show. An elderly woman broke down in tears as she was reunited with the man who rescued her from the condo collapse in Surfside, Florida. Esther Gorfinkel and Alfredo Lopez shared a tearful hug during an interview after he saved her by carrying on his shoulders as she struggled to make it down the stairs. They could have been victims of last Thursday's collapse of Champlain Towers South, which has left at least 24 dead and 124 missing. Esther Gorfinkel, an 88-year-old grandmother, was in her bed in Unit 509 when she heard a 'boom,' as she described it. 'My bed shake,' Esther said in an interview posted on CNN on Friday. 'My apartment is shaking.' Alfredo Lopez and Esther Gorfinkel shared a tearful reunion after their escape from the collapsed condo last week Gorfinkel became tearful while recounting the person that helped save her life A rescuer visits the 'Surfside Wall of Hope & Memorial' near the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Florida on July 2 She managed to make her way to the stairwell, where she encountered Alfredo Lopez, whose family escaped from Unit 605. 'I remember Esther told me she had - her knee was bothering her and she wanted to stop, Alfredo said. 'I told her, "Stopping is not an option."' Alfredo picked her up because Esther couldn't walk on her own and tossed her over his shoulder before carrying her down the stairs. 'I don't know how many flights of stairs,' Alfredo said of the descent. 'It couldn't have been that many because I'm really not that strong.' 'He just picked me up,' Esther said. Later in the interview, Esther added, 'In that minute, you don't talk. You don't say anything... let's run, let's run, let's run, let's go.' They made it to the garage, where water was ankle deep and the ceiling had collapsed, making their escape more perilous. 'There was one car that was pancaked on top of another car that was pancaked on top of a huge slab of concrete,' Alfredo said of the scene. The two shared a tearful reunion for an interview, with them hugging and the rescuer asking 'Como estas?' casually to the woman he helped save Alfredo said that there was no chance he was leaving Esther behind during the collapse Alfredo's son helped push Esther up and out of the garage with another man named Albert Aguero reportedly pulling her. Once out, Alfredo then put Esther on his shoulder again and carried her to the beach and to safety. 'I'm so happy,' Esther said upon reuniting for the first time after the harrowing escape. 'I'm so happy too,' Alfredo replied. 'I'm so happy to see you and we made it out. That's what's important, right?' 'Yes that's important,' Esther responded. 'I'm so happy.' Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat reacts as he looks at a memorial that has pictures of some of the missing from the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building Esther expressed gratitude, saying: 'You need to help each other in bad times too.' 'In bad times you help everybody,' Esther continued. 'Whoever knocks on my door and need help, I give it to them. And then God give me the prize of my life because I did so many good things.' 'I know I'm lucky,' Esther added. 'Very lucky to be here with my family.' 'Up there, somebody's watching,' Esther said, motioning to the sky. 'Absolutely. Esther, it wasn't our time,' Alfredo responded. Before they departed again, Esther told Alfredo 'you make me very happy'. Alfredo is dealing with survivor's guilt, though, haunted by the image of a missing doorway to his neighbor's apartment during his escape. The collapse of Champlain Towers South has left at least 24 dead and 124 missing. Search and rescue personnel help a colleague, as they work atop the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condo building, where scores of victims remain missing more than a week after it partially collapsed A dog assists search and rescue personnel atop the rubble at the Champlain Towers South The collapse of Champlain Towers South has left at least 22 dead and 126 missing The mayor of Miami-Dade County announced on Friday that she had ordered the portion of Champlain Towers South that was still standing to be demolished The mayor of Miami-Dade County announced on Friday that she had ordered the portion of Champlain Towers South that was still standing to be demolished. That will be undertaken on Sunday. The decision was made amid fears the structure could completely collapse, further disrupting rescue efforts. A Toyota Prius driver who affixed a Starlink dish in the middle of his car's hood was ticketed by the California Highway Patrol on Friday. 'Sir I stopped you today for that visual obstruction on your hood. Does it not block your view while driving?' the officer asked, according to a post on CHP Antelope Valleys Facebook page. 'Only when I make right turns...' the driver cheekily replied. The driver's massive antenna is used for SpaceXs Starlink service, which beams superfast internet from space. The rocket manufacturer and transport services company launched its beta program for select customers for $99 a month in October. However, SpaceXs Elon Musk states that Starlink services are not meant to be used in cars. 'This is for aircraft, ships, large trucks & RVs' he wrote in a March tweet. A CHP officer ticketed a Toyota Prius for a 'visual obstruction' on Friday, after the driver affixed a large Starlink dish right in the middle of his car's hood The antenna is used for SpaceXs Starlink service, which beams superfast internet from space, with the beta program having launched in October The motorist told the officer that he uses the antenna to get WiFi service for a business he operates out of his car, however that didn't stop the highway patrolman from issuing him a moving violation for the Starlink dish. The CHP Facebook post cited a California state law that prohibits vehicle view-obstructions, such as hanging objects from one's rear-view mirror, displaying a handicap placard while driving, or mounting a GPS or cell phone in an 'unapproved location' on one's windshield. 'Yes, it is in fact illegal to mount a satellite dish to the hood of your vehicle,' CHPs Facebook post continued. 'Its about safety folks. These are the real stories of the Highway Patrol. Safe travels everyone.' California driving laws state that any visual interference with a drivers control of their vehicle will result in a base fine of $238. The beta 'Starlink Kit' that is currently on the market includes the user dish, a tripod mount, a WiFi router as well as a power supply source. The company is also offering users a rooftop mounting system at an additional cost, CBNC reports. SpaceXs Elon Musk states that Starlink services are not meant to be used in cars. 'This is for aircraft, ships, large trucks & RVs' he wrote in a March tweet Musk stated that Starlink will not be used in Tesla cars, as the dish is 'much too big' for a personal vehicle Starlink already has about 70,000 active users, but could see an increase of 'over 500,000 users within 12 months,' according to the CNBC report. SpaceX has been working to gain regulatory approval over the past year to test the technology in-flight. Meanwhile, Musk states that while one could put a Starlink dish on their car, the amount of bandwidth it provides would be overkill for a personal vehicle. 'The antenna for that high-bandwidth, low-latency thing is sort of about the size of medium pizza, which you could put on a car, but I think is more bandwidth than you would really need,' Musk said back in January 2020. 'Technically, you could buy one and just stick it on the car.' Musk also noted that the Starlink antenna for large trucks and RVs will look somewhat different from the terminal currently being used at users' homes. partner Stella Morris and the couple's two young sons cut the cake Dame Vivienne Westwood joined Julian Assange's partner and two young children today to celebrate the Australian activist's 50th birthday as he remains behind bars. The fashion designer, 80, was seen wearing a T-shirt reading 'I fought the law' as she joined Assange's supporters in Parliament Square on Saturday. The event featured a giant picnic blanket stencilled with a Free Assange slogan, while Assange's partner Stella Morris and their two sons, Gabriel, four, and Max, two, cut the cake. It is the third birthday which the WikiLeaks founder has spent behind the bars of London's Belmarsh Prison as he awaits possible extradition to the US for releasing confidential military records. Dame Vivienne Westwood (pictured) joined Julian Assange's partner and two young children today to celebrate the Australian activist's 50th birthday as he remains behind bars The event featured a giant picnic blanket stencilled with a Free Assange slogan, while Assange's partner Stella Morris and their two sons (pictured), aged four and two, cut the cake Dame Vivienne didn't shy away from tucking into the birthday cake and was seen grinning as she had frosting and pieces of the cake smeared all over her face. The fashion designer is one of a number of Assange's high-profile supporters who have thrown their weight behind the campaign to free him. An attempt to extradite Assange to the United States was rejected in January, but he continues to be held in prison pending an appeal. Earlier this week, campaigners sailed past Parliament and the US Embassy earlier this week calling for his release. His partner Ms Morris said that the US case had 'sunk', adding there is growing support across the world for the WikiLeaks founder to be released. She said: 'The longer this goes on the clearer it is that this is a political case. Julian should be at home with me and our two children. The fashion designer (pictured), 80, was seen wearing a T-shirt reading 'I fought the law' as she joined Assange's supporters in Parliament Square on Saturday It is the third birthday which the WikiLeaks founder (pictured in 2017) has spent behind the bars as he awaits possible extradition to the US for releasing confidential military records 'This has gone on far too long - it has to stop. He is not a criminal.' Ms Morris has asked the authorities in Belmarsh if the couple can get married, saying it should be a right for anyone. She hopes Assange will be granted permission to get married outside the prison. 'We will celebrate his birthday and have cake,' she added. Mr Assange started a secret relationship with South African lawyer Stella Morris, 38, while confined to the Ecuadorian embassy, fathering two sons, Gabriel, four, and Max, two, while claiming political asylum to avoid deportation. The pair got engaged in 2016, and Ms Moris revealed they want to get married as soon as possible rather than waiting for the legal proceedings to go on any longer. At a visit to Belmarsh Prison last month, her first for eight months due to Covid-19 restrictions, Ms Morris said her partner's life was at risk due to the pressures on his mental health in prison. She said at the time: 'They're driving him to deep depression and into despair.' On Saturday, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted: 'Today Julian Assange will spend his 50th birthday in a maximum security prison. An attempt to extradite Assange to the United States was rejected in January, but he continues to be held in prison pending an appeal. Pictured: Dame Vivienne with Assange's supporters Dame Vivienne didn't shy away from tucking into the birthday cake and was seen grinning as she had frosting and pieces of the cake smeared all over her face Dame Vivienne is one of a number of Assange's high-profile supporters who have thrown their weight behind the campaign to free him 'The jailing of a journalist by the UK (and the ongoing efforts by the US to extradite him) show these governments are determined to suppress inconvenient truths.' A number of Australian politicians have appealed to the US Government to drop its Espionage Act charges against Assange. The MPs and senators urged US president Joe Biden to take the 'opportunity for urgent reconsideration', following a UK court's decision to deny the US extradition request earlier this year. John Rees, who organises events to keep up the pressure for Assange's release, said: 'Momentum is building across the world for our campaign. 'The case against Julian is collapsing.' Ms Moris is urging US President Joe Biden to let her fiance go free to show that the country is a 'beacon of press freedom'. Washington has sought the extradition of Mr Assange over his role in one of the biggest ever leaks of classified information, accusing him of putting lives in danger by releasing vast troves of confidential US military records and diplomatic cables. Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood speaks as she attends the picnic at Parliament Square to mark the 50th birthday of Julian Assange His partner Ms Morris (pictured) said that the US case had 'sunk', adding there is growing support across the world for the WikiLeaks founder to be released Ms Morris (pictured with their sons Gabriel [left] and Max) has asked the authorities in Belmarsh if the couple can get married, saying it should be a right for anyone He has now spent nine years in jail or self-incarceration in Britain, and both Ms Morris and the British judge overseeing the extradition request have warned he may not survive a process to send him across the Atlantic. US prosecutors and Western security officials regard Mr Assange as a reckless enemy of the state whose actions threatened the lives of agents named in the leaked material. Supporters pit him as an anti-establishment hero who exposed US wrongdoing in Afghanistan and Iraq and say his prosecution is a politically-motivated assault on journalism that gives a free pass to oppressive regimes around the world. WikiLeaks came to prominence when it published a US military video in 2010 showing a 2007 attack by Apache helicopters in Baghdad that killed a dozen people, including two Reuters news staff. An effort to extradite him was launched in 2019 after he was detained in London after taking refuge in Ecuador's embassy in the British capital for seven years to avoid being extradited to Sweden. Advertisement Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava signed off on a local state of emergency Saturday as the region prepares for the possible effects of Tropical Storm Elsa. Hurricane-related weather would be bad news for the Florida town of Surfside, near Miami, where rescuers arae working through the rubble of a collapsed condo building. Meteorologists predict the eye of the storm won't directly hit the area, but Surfside and the surrounding municipalities could feel the brunt of strong wind gusts. As of an updated count on Saturday morning, there are now 24 confirmed victims, with 124 people remaining unaccounted for. During a press conference, Levine Cava praised first responders and provided various updates before diving into the state of emergency. 'This morning, I signed a local state of emergency for Hurricane Elsa and out of an abundance of caution, we are ensuring that we are mobilizing everything we need in the county to prepare for any possible impacts,' Levine Cava stated. Declaring the state of emergency will help redirect additional resources to the area, with the governor already pledging to put a special emphasis on the rescue site during comments on Friday. Search and rescue personnel work at the site of a collapsed Florida condominium complex in Surfside, Miami Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava signed off on a local state of emergency Saturday as the region prepares for the possible effects of Tropical Storm Elsa Members of the South Florida Urban Search and Rescue team walk near the Champlain Towers South condo building The hurricane could hit Florida anywhere between Monday and Tuesday based on the latest update from the NHC 'There still is a lot of uncertainty about the path... but we are continuing to monitor closely and if there are any potential impacts to Miami-Dade, we are ready,' Levine Cava said. She urged everyone at home to take precautions, saying 'you know what to do.' She also said officials will continue to receive and provide necessary updates. NBC 6 reports that the Monroe County Emergency Management activated its Incident Management Team as well in preparation for possible landfall on Monday. Additionally, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced a state of emergency for multiple counties across the state. DeSantis said during Saturday morning's press conference that they wouldn't let people who escaped go back and get their possessions before the demolition. 'At the end of the day, that building is too unsafe to let people go back in,' DeSantis said. 'I know theres a lot of people who were able to get out, fortunately, who have things there. Were very sensitive to that. But I dont think that theres any way you could let someone go back up into that building given the shape that its in now.' A view of waves in the avenue of the Malecon, during the passage of Elsa in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic A motorcycle drives in intense waves in the avenue of the Malecon, during the passage of Tropical Storm Elsa Florida could see winds of 20 to 30mph when Tropical Storm Elsa arrives in the coming days According to NHC's latest advisory, Tropical Storm Elsa could hit Florida some time early on Monday morning Tropical Storm Elsa churned through the Caribbean early Saturday, bringing powerful winds and threatening to pile further misery on violence-wracked Haiti. The storm weakened slightly overnight and was packing maximum sustained winds of 75mph. It was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm at 11am on Saturday, when it had maximum sustained winds of 70mph. At 8am, it was just south of Hispaniola - which is made up of Haiti and the Dominican Republic - and moving northwest at 31 mph, the US National Hurricane Center said. By 11am, the storm was moving west northwest at 29mph, the NHC said. 'On the forecast track, Elsa will move near the southern coast of Hispaniola later today and tonight, and move near Jamaica and portions of eastern Cuba on Sunday,' the NHC said. 'By Monday, Elsa is expected to move across central and western Cuba and head toward the Florida Straits.' Rainfall, storm surges and strong winds from Elsa could affect the Florida Keys and parts of the Florida peninsula early next week, but this depends on how the storm behaves after it hits large Caribbean islands, the NHC said. The storm system's projected path has it making potential landfall on Florida around Monday morning at the earliest, though a Tuesday arrival is more likely. 'I would say at this point, with a tropical storm being forecast, it isn't unreasonable for South Floridians to be ready for the potential of a Category 1 hurricane knocking on our door early next week,' said Robert Garcia, a meteorologist with the National Hurricane Center, according to the paper. 'It is something that can't be ruled out, and folks should be aware that's something we may have to prepare for here during the holiday weekend.' As of an updated count on Saturday, there are now 24 confirmed victims, with 124 people remaining unaccounted for The remaining structure of the collapsed Florida condo will be demolished with controlled charges on Sunday amid fears that Tropical Storm Elsa will topple the what's left of the building on the rescue crews In their 11am advisory on Saturday, the NHC warned of possible flash flooding and and minor river flooding in the Florida Keys and southern Florida next week. The NHC said Elsa could bring tidal surges of as much as five feet above normal on Cuba's southern coast; up to four feet on the southern coast of Hispaniola; and up to three feet on the coast of Jamaica. The remaining structure of the collapsed Florida condo will be demolished with controlled charges on Sunday amid fears that Tropical Storm Elsa will topple the what's left of the building on the rescue crews. Officials told the families of people still missing in the rubble of their decision on Saturday. There are still 124 people missing, and the death toll is now 24 after two more victims were found last night. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, and his wife Casey leave flags at a makeshift memorial near the Champlain Towers South In terms of the demolition, officials were told Friday evening that it would take weeks to safely level the remaining structure, but Cava said the Phoenix-based demolition company Controlled Demolition Inc. came forward last night. She said they work fast, studied the scene and said they could demolish the building before the storm reaches Southeast Florida. Fire Rescue Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah said the remnants of the demolished building would be removed immediately after with the intent of giving rescuers access for the first time to the garage area that is the focus of the search. Currently, rescuers can't go above the first floor. Advertisement President Joe Biden talked up his bipartisan infrastructure package and additional plans for investing in families and education during a visit Saturday to a Michigan cherry farm. He also pitched his immigration plans when chatting with two couples from Guatemala who were picking cherries. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer greeted Biden's midday arrival in Traverse City, which is hosting the National Cherry Festival, an event that attracted Presidents Herbert Hoover and Gerald Ford in the past. As they toured the cherry farm in nearby Antrim County, Whitmer told reporters she hadn't spoken to Biden about any infrastructure projects for Michigan specifically. 'I'm the fix-the-damn-roads governor, so I talk infrastructure with everybody, including the president,' she said. In recent flooding, she said the state saw 'under-invested infrastructure collide with climate change' and the freeways were under water. 'So this is an important moment. And thats why this infrastructure package is so important. Thats also why I got the president rocky road fudge from Mackinac Island for his trip here,' she said. President Joe Biden eats a freshly picked cherry from a bucket while meeting with workers as he tours King Orchards fruit farm with Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., right, on Saturday President Joe Biden eats a cherry as he tours King Orchards fruit farm Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., on Saturday President Joe Biden poses for a photo after touring King Orchards fruit farm Saturday in Central Lake, Mich Asked whether the infrastructure package has enough money for electric vehicles, Whitmer suggested that more is needed. 'There's so much investment that is going to have to happen to support electric vehicles ... but we've got a lot more to do on this,' she said. Biden's host at King Orchards, Juliette King McAvoy, introduced him to the two Guatemalan couples, who she said had been working on the farm for 35 years. He told them he was proposing a pathway to citizenship for farmworkers. Biden then picked a cherry out of one of their baskets and ate it. Bidens trip to Michigan was part of a broader campaign by the administration to drum up public support for the infrastructure package and other polices geared toward families and education. First lady Jill Biden was going to Maine and New Hampshire on Saturday, while Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to visit a union training center in Las Vegas. The president has said the key to getting his $973 billion deal passed in Congress involves taking the case straight to voters. While Republicans and Democrats might squabble in Washington, Bidens theory is that lawmakers of both parties want to deliver for their constituents. White House officials negotiated a compromise with a bipartisan group of senators led by Republican Rob Portman of Ohio and Democrat Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. President Joe Biden appears to pick a cherry as he tours King Orchards fruit farm with Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., Saturday The agreement, announced in June, features $109 billion on roads and highways, $15 billion on electric vehicle infrastructure and transit systems and $65 billion toward broadband, among other expenditures on airports, drinking water systems and resiliency efforts to tackle climate change. It would be funded by COVID-19 relief that was approved in 2020 but unspent, repurposed money for enhanced unemployment benefits and increased enforcement by the IRS on wealthier Americans who avoid taxes. The financing also depends on leasing 5G telecommunications spectrum, the strategic petroleum reserve and the potential economic growth produced by the investments. Biden intends to pass additional initiatives on education and families as well as tax increases on the wealthy and corporations through the budget reconciliation process. This would allow the passage of Bidens priorities by a simple majority vote, avoiding the 60-vote hurdle in a Senate split evenly between Democrats and Republicans. 'Peru Two' drugs mule Melissa Reid is barely recognisable as she is spotted walking her dog near her home - one day before her accomplice Michaella McCollum's BBC documentary airs. Michaella, 28, and Melissa were arrested in 2013 for attempting to smuggle 1.5 million worth of cocaine out of Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Peru. Both claimed armed gangsters had forced them to carry the cocaine when in fact they had willingly smuggled the drugs for a 5,000 payment. Since the pair's release in 2016, Melissa has lead a quiet life - in contrast to her partner-in-crime Michaella whose documentary High: Confessions Of An Ibiza Drug Mule will be released on Sunday. MailOnline can reveal that Melissa, 27, is single again after splitting from the backpacker boyfriend Gary Stafford who visited her in jail. She was photographed walking her dog after enjoying a picnic during a heatwave in Scotland this week. 'Peru Two' drugs mule Melissa Reid is barely recognisable as she is spotted walking her dog near her home (pictured) - one day before her accomplice Michaella McCollum's BBC documentary airs Michaella, 28, and Melissa (pictured) were arrested in 2013 for attempting to smuggle 1.5 million worth of cocaine out of Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Peru Since the pair's release in 2016, Melissa (left) has lead a quiet life - in contrast to her partner-in-crime Michaella whose documentary High: Confessions Of An Ibiza Drug Mule will be released on Sunday After her return to Scotland, Melissa confessed she had been on a 'downward spiral' of ecstasy, cocaine and ketamine in Spain. A neighbour at her new home in Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow - where she moved following her split with her boyfriend - told MailOnline she had no idea of the ex-con's past. The woman - who asked not to be named - said: 'We know her as Mel but didn't know she had a history like that. 'To be honest, she is totally down-to-earth and is a sweet girl. Both women (Michaella, left, and Melissa, right, pictured after their arrest) claimed armed gangsters had forced them to carry the cocaine when in fact they had willingly smuggled the drugs for a 5,000 payment Michaella (pictured) published her memoirs, You'll Never See Daylight Again, two years ago and has embarked on a publicity tour - which included being grilled by Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain MailOnline can reveal that Melissa, 27, (pictured) is trying to rebuild her life - single again after splitting from the backpacker boyfriend Gary Stafford who visited her in jail 'You would never imagine, honestly, but now that you mention it she does seem a bit too quiet. 'I heard she worked for a charity and I see her from time to time out walking the dog, but we don't know her. 'This is a quiet neighbourhood and she's a quiet girl, no noise or anything. 'She doesn't tend to have visitors or at least I don't think so. 'Maybe she visits her family. She seems to enjoy her own company and is never any bother.' Meanwhile, Michaella published her memoirs, You'll Never See Daylight Again, two years ago and has embarked on a publicity tour - which included being grilled by Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain. She was photographed walking her dog after enjoying a picnic during a heatwave in Scotland this week (pictured) After her return to Scotland, Melissa (pictured) confessed she had been on a 'downward spiral' of ecstasy, cocaine and ketamine in Spain And last week saw the re-release of her book under the same title as the television documentary, High, in a bid to rake in more cash. It contains lurid details of her time behind bars including watching lesbian sex sessions and being propositioned by prison guards and tells in the documentary of the hellish conditions of her incarceration. The BBC's five-part series will see Michaella, from Northern Ireland, tell her story of her time in prison and how she was able to get an early release. She regularly shares glamorous photos of herself with her near-40,000 followers on Instagram, posing with flash cars and on holidays abroad. In one snap she posed in a skimpy bikini in front of the famous Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The pair hit the headlines when they were caught at Jorge Chevez International Airport in Peru on August 6, 2013, with 11kg of cocaine in their luggage. A neighbour at her new home in Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow - where she moved following her split with her boyfriend - told MailOnline she had no idea of the ex-con's (pictured) past After her release from prison and deportation back to the UK, Melissa (pictured)landed a job with the Citizen's Advice Bureau charity and keeps to herself according to locals In December 2014 they were sentenced to six years and eight months in Ancon 2 prison, an hour's journey north of the capital, Lima, but both were released early and deported from Peru in 2016. Since then Michaella has tried to reinvent herself as a model, author and celebrity - she even has a management company for 'business enquiries'. But Melissa continues to shy away from her past and is perhaps trying to live up to her family's aspirations for her to assimilate back into her local community. After her release from prison and deportation back to the UK, Melissa landed a job with the Citizen's Advice Bureau charity and keeps to herself according to locals. She lived in Kilmarnock for a spell with backpacker Mr Stafford who had trekked to visit her in jail in Peru but the couple are no longer together. A neighbour of Mr Stafford's said: 'Melissa moved out of their home a year ago. She no longer lives there and we don't see her anymore.' Melissa (pictured) lived in Kilmarnock for a spell with backpacker Mr Stafford who had trekked to visit her in jail in Peru but the couple are no longer together McCollum's friends and family will also give personal accounts through interviews in the documentary tomorrow. The synopsis says: 'Told in her own words, McCollum recounts the extraordinary story of how she became infamous worldwide as one half of the Peru Two. 'From how she was recruited as a cartel drugs mule and came to be arrested, tried and jailed in one of the most notorious maximum security prisons in Peru, to the even more extraordinary story of how she got herself out again.' In the series, the trafficker, now mother to twin boys Rafael and Rio, will re-tell some of the stories from her wayward past that she shared in her book. In her memoirs she told how she ended up agreeing to be a drug smuggler - and admitted one of her biggest regrets was sniffing lines of coke and ketamine off a McDonald's table at breakfast the morning of her ill-fated trafficking trip. Russian warplanes practiced bombing enemy ships in the Black Sea during training exercises on Saturday amid friction with the West over NATO drills in the region. Russia's Black Sea Fleet said warplanes from its aviation units and those of the southern military district had taken part in training drills. 'Aircraft crews ... conducted training flights over the Black Sea, practicing missile and bombing strikes against simulated enemy ships,' it was quoted as saying by the RIA news agency. Russian warplanes practiced bombing enemy ships in the Black Sea during training exercises on Saturday amid friction with the West over NATO drills in the region (pictured, a Sukhoi Su-30SM fighter jet in July 2017) The drills involved aircraft including Sukhoi Su-30SM multi-purpose fighters, Sukhoi Su-24M bombers, Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bombers and Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jets, the report said. The exercise comes as NATO, Ukraine and allies conduct their large-scale Sea Breeze drills in the region. Those drills are set to last two weeks and involve about 5,000 military personnel from NATO and other allies, and around 30 ships and 40 aircraft, with US missile destroyer USS Ross and the US Marine Corps taking part. The exercise comes as NATO, Ukraine and allies conduct their large-scale Sea Breeze drills in the region (pictured, Italian Navy frigate Virginia Fasan at port in Odessa, Ukraine) Moscow has called for the exercise to be cancelled and the Russian defence ministry has said it will react to safeguard national security if necessary. Moscow last week challenged the right of HMS Defender to pass through waters near Crimea, something London said it had every right to do. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 but most of the world still recognises it as part of Ukraine. Moscow last week challenged the right of HMS Defender (pictured off the coast of Georgia on June 26, three days after the Black Sea crisis) to pass through waters near Crimea, something London said it had every right to do Moscow said one of its warships fired warning shots and a warplane dropped bombs in the path of Britain's Defender on June 23 to force it from an area near Crimea that Moscow claims as its territorial water Russia said the vessel had illegally entered its territorial waters and accused London of a 'provocation'. Britain insisted its ship wasn't fired upon and that it was sailing in Ukrainian waters. Moscow has said it could bomb British naval vessels if there are more such actions by the British navy off Crimea. A manager at Miami's Champlain Towers condo complex sent an email complaining city officials were delaying urgent repairs just days before the 13-story structure collapsed. The message was obtained by The Miami Herald on Friday, as rescuers continued their efforts to find 124 residents still buried beneath rubble more than a week on from the collapse. The current death toll stands at 24. The condo was set to undergo extensive repairs as part of a 40-year safety recertification due this year, and it appears the complex's management team were eager to have the work done as soon as possible. Back in 2018, they hired Frank Morabito Consultants to inspect the complex ahead of the recertification process. A report from the company raised concerns about the pool deck area, in which the waterproofing was failing, and the underground parking garage which was riddled with 'abundant' cracking. They reportedly quoted $16 million dollars worth of repair work. By April 2021, the complex had reportedly deteriorated further, with condo board president Jean Wodnicki writing to the building's owners, stating: 'We have discussed, debated and argued for years now.... indeed the observable damage such as in the garage has gotten significantly worse since the initial inspection.' On May 13 - just six weeks before the condo collapsed - Frank Morabito and condo management finally met with officials from the Surfside Building Department to discuss the proposed repair work. The Miami Herald reports that the condo managers had tried for a week to set up that meeting. Afterwards, Morabito sent off an e-mail to the department saying, in part: 'We respectfully request that we hear from the Town in the near future so we can make any necessary revisions to our contract drawings.' However, there was no response for more than a month. That silence prompted Scott Stewart, the condo's building manager, to write to James McGuinness, the director of the Surfside building department, on June 21. 'As we are out to bid on our project [we] need to get to answers to these questions... This is holding us up and costs are going up and out 40 year is coming up fast,' Stewart wrote. A manager at Miami's Champlain Towers condo complex sent an email complaining city officials were delaying urgent repairs just days before the 13-story structure collapsed Back in 2018, they hired Frank Morabito Consultants to inspect the complex ahead of the recertification process. A report from the company raised concerns about the pool deck area, in which the waterproofing was failing, and the underground parking garage which was riddled with 'abundant' cracking. They reportedly quoted $16 million dollars worth of repair work Slides from the 2018 report are pictured above On June 23 - just one day before the condo collapsed - McGuinness replied, saying he needed more information about a temporary parking lot which would need to be set up for workers who would do the repairs. He said he wanted details on the parking lot in order to 'prevent the site from becoming a dust bowl or a mud bowl.' On the same day, McGuinness allegedly went to the top of the roof of the Chamberlain Towers condo complex to inspect it. He later told investigators: 'There was no inordinate amount of equipment or materials or anything on the roof that caught my building official's eye that would make me alarmed as to this place collapsing'. DailyMail.com has reached out to McGuinness and the Surfside Building Department for comment. Frank Morabito of Frank Morabito Consulants is pictured at left. He completed an initial inspection of the building back in 2018 and flagged various problems. He was eager to conduct repairs, which were seemingly being delayed by local officials. Surfside Building Department Director James McGuinness is pictured at right Meanwhile, parts of the condo that are still standing will be demolished with controlled explosives on Sunday amid fears that Tropical Storm Elsa will topple what's left of the building. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava issued a State of Emergency Saturday for Tropical Storm Elsa and made the 'dramatic decision' to sign an emergency order to raise the building before the storm hits the area Monday afternoon. Officials told the families of people still missing in the rubble and people who ran out of the building and left everything behind of their decision on Saturday. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said during Saturday morning's press conference that they wouldn't let people who escaped go back and get their possessions before the demolition. 'At the end of the day, that building is too unsafe to let people go back in,' DeSantis said. 'I know there's a lot of people who were able to get out, fortunately, who have things there. We're very sensitive to that. But I don't think that there's any way you could let someone go back up into that building given the shape that it's in now.' While crews continue to search for victims and sift through debris for victims' valuables, such as jewelry or electronic devices, to return to the families, they face another challenge: COVID-19. Workers transport a stretcher with remains extricated from the rubble, near the Champlain Towers South condo building, where 124 people remain missing more than a week after it partially collapsed Rescue crews continue to sift through debris of the collapsed Florida condo Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his wife, Casey, leave flags at the makeshift memorial Saturday near the collapsed Florida tower So far, six members of one of the Florida rescue teams tested positive, Miami-Dade Fire Chief Alan Cominsky said, and the team was removed from the site. More than 420 other Florida search and rescue crew members were tested and all came back negative, Cominsky said Saturday. In terms of the demolition, officials were told Friday evening that it would take weeks to safely tear down the remaining structure, but Cava said Saturday morning that the Maryland-based demolition company Controlled Demolition Inc. came forward last night. Controlled Demolition Inc. says on its website that it has demolished 'thousands of structures across six continents using explosives.' Cava said they work fast, their engineers have studied the scene Saturday and said they could demolish the building before the storm impacts Southeast Florida. Personal belongings are seen amid debris dangling from the remains of apartments sheared in half, in the still standing portion of the Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Florida Meteorologists predict the eye of the storm, which was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm, won't directly hit the area, but Surfside and the surrounding municipalities could feel the brunt of strong wind gusts. Officials fear those gusts would knock down the remaining structure 'in a direction we don't want it to go,' Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said. Before the Saturday morning press conference, DeSantis and his wife Casey visited the makeshift memorial near the fallen building. They placed flags in the memorial and paid their respects to the victims. 'This was a tragedy like we've never seen because you just don't expect a building to fall,' DeSantis said during Saturday's press conference. A follow-up meeting will be held in the afternoon to finalize details of the demolition, which could be a precarious operation as experts enter the building to bore into the structure to install explosives. Fire Rescue Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah said the remnants of the demolished building would be removed immediately after with the intent of giving rescuers access for the first time to the garage area that is the focus of the search. Currently, rescuers can't go above the first floor because the building is so unstable, Cominsky said. It's one of the most famous images in the history of scientific endeavour. The Road To Homo Sapiens, by American-based artist Rudolph Zallinger, is a convenient shorthand to show the gradual evolution from primitive crawling apes to upright walking mankind. The image was created for a childrens book in the mid-1960s and has since appeared in humorously subverted versions everywhere, from T-shirts to The Simpsons. But the past few days have seen a new discovery which perfectly illustrates what scientists such as myself have long known: the image is completely wrong. A week ago, a huge prehistoric skull that had lain hidden in a Chinese well for 85 years resurfaced. Inconveniently, it doesnt easily fit into the famous image, which shows us getting bigger and bigger brains as we evolve. The head was first discovered in 1933 by workers building a bridge over the Songhua River in Harbin, northern China. The labourers wrapped it in cloth and hid it in an old well to stop it falling into the hands of Japanese soldiers occupying the province. 'So it turns out that the more we look, the messier and more interesting our story becomes. Its still the greatest story ever told, but the evolution of humankind is turning out to be less like a progression or a tree and more like a huge, sprawling, gloriously tangled bush,' said Dr Rutherford There it remained until 2018, when one of the workers told his grandson about the secret. The grandson recovered the skull from its hiding place and gave it to researchers at Hebei Geo University, who declared it to be at least 146,000 years old. They believe it comes from an unknown hominid an early human species. Once again, our species finds that we are going to have to rethink the story of humankind to fit in with new scientific discoveries. Evolution by natural selection was Charles Darwins big idea and this year sees the 150th anniversary of the publication of his great book, The Descent Of Man, in which he applies his theory to humans. Swathes of evidence have been amassed since Darwins time, from fossil bones to, more recently, DNA analysis. This gives us a broader picture of our evolution, which we often imagine as a tree with different species branching off at different times since life on Earth began. Dr Adam Rutherford said: 'The Road To Homo Sapiens, by American-based artist Rudolph Zallinger, is a convenient shorthand to show the gradual evolution from primitive crawling apes to upright walking mankind' This new information means the classic picture of mankinds development misrepresents our evolution in two important ways. First, it implies there is a purposeful direction to evolution, towards two legs, large brains and tools. Evolution doesnt work like that. Hundreds of creatures use tools, from crows and otters to octopuses so thats not so special. Walking on two legs is important for us, but its not necessarily more advanced than any other creatures form of locomotion. Evolution has no foresight, and doesnt point in any particular direction. Natural selection favours gradual change, which makes organisms successful in their changing environment. The second flaw is the implication of a linear progression. We keep discovering more remains of hominids who have been dead for thousands of years. By extracting and analysing their DNA, weve come to realise that we dont actually know the direct pathway from early humans to us. Weve got dotted lines and working theories, but for the most part, were no longer sure who our ancestors were. That doesnt mean that weve gone backwards in our understanding. Its just that the picture is far more complicated. For example, we have discovered perhaps a dozen different species of human who have lived in the past few million years. We are Homo (for human) sapiens. But there have also been Homo habilis, literally handy man because they used tools; and Homo erectus, who stood upright and ranged from Africa to Indonesia between about two million years ago until 100,000 years ago when they became extinct. A week ago, a huge prehistoric skull that had lain hidden in a Chinese well for 85 years resurfaced. Inconveniently, it doesnt easily fit into the famous image, which shows us getting bigger and bigger brains as we evolve In 2005, we discovered Homo floresiensis, who were short about 5ft tall and with large feet, so they were nicknamed Hobbits. We think they were descended from Homo erectus and became small as a result of being isolated on Flores and a few other neighbouring islands in Indonesia. The best known of the other humans is Homo neanderthalensis, or Neanderthals. They were the first new type of human discovered in the early 19th Century. They lived mostly in Europe and central Asia, and the last died out about 40,000 years ago, perhaps on what is now Gibraltar. Neanderthals were generally chunkier than us, with heavier brows, wider noses and big barrel chests. Were not sure of their skin colour, but it was probably quite a range, and theres even been a suggestion that some had ginger hair (though I dont believe it). Their reputation as thuggish cavemen comes from their powerful physiques. Recent research has shown, however, that they were cultured and sophisticated tool-makers who made art, carved patterns on to antlers and buried their dead with complex rituals. Most people thought Neanderthals were our evolutionary cousins until DNA analysis in 2009 showed something radically different: they were our ancestors, too. Most Europeans have about one to two per cent Neanderthal DNA. Whatever Neanderthals looked like, our Homo sapiens ancestors fancied them enough to have children with them. The researchers who studied it believe its a new species of human theyve called Homo longi dragon man, on account of him being found in China The Chinese skull is a new part of this fascinating jigsaw. The researchers who studied it believe its a new species of human theyve called Homo longi dragon man, on account of him being found in China. Some scientists myself included suspect we may have already met this type of human. In Siberia, in 2009, scientists found teeth and a finger bone from a teenage girl not enough to classify a new species, but DNA analysis revealed she was different from both us and Neanderthals, and that Homo sapiens had successfully mated with her ancestors. Today, we are the last existent human species. The oldest Homo sapiens remains, discovered in Morocco, are 315,000 years old, but with a haircut and nice clothes, I reckon they would not look out of place on the high street today. We keep discovering more remains of hominids who have been dead for thousands of years. By extracting and analysing their DNA, weve come to realise that we dont actually know the direct pathway from early humans to us Similar remains have been found in places such as Ethiopia and the Rift Valley in eastern Africa. It now looks as if there never was any linear progression. Instead, Homo sapiens evolved from a mix of different early human beings from the African continent who slowly migrated all over the world from about 100,000 years ago. Some moved towards Europe and met the Neanderthals. Others went east and met the Denisovans. So it turns out that the more we look, the messier and more interesting our story becomes. Its still the greatest story ever told, but the evolution of humankind is turning out to be less like a progression or a tree and more like a huge, sprawling, gloriously tangled bush. Certainly, its not an image that would fit so neatly on a T-shirt. The founders of the luxury fashion label that designed Meghan Markle's 56,000 engagement dress have been accused of plundering millions of pounds from the company to bankroll their jet-set lifestyles, causing it to collapse. Ralph & Russo, renowned for designing stunning haute couture gowns for Hollywood's biggest stars, plunged into administration in March. Forensic investigators are now trying to discover what became of around 60 million pumped into the company by investors between 2018 and 2020. Glamorous designer Tamara Ralph, 39, blamed 'unprecedented trading conditions' caused by the pandemic for putting 'tremendous strain' on the brand, which she founded with her former partner Michael Russo. But sensational court papers obtained by The Mail on Sunday paint a very different picture and claim Ms Ralph and Mr Russo raided vast sums from the firm, crippling its chances of survival. The founders of the luxury fashion label that designed Meghan Markle's 56,000 engagement dress (pictured) have been accused of plundering millions of pounds from the company to bankroll their jet-set lifestyles, causing it to collapse The documents allege that: Ms Ralph spent tens of thousands of pounds of the company's money on luxury hotels, business-class flights, lingerie, yoga classes, beauty treatments and expensive hair appointments; As the company's finances unravelled, its pension fund was raided for 176,000 on Ms Ralph's watch leaving employees out of pocket; Mr Russo extracted more than 2.6 million from the firm, some of which he spent on gambling at a Mayfair casino, expenses related to his pets and 'rental property for his girlfriends in Los Angeles and London'; The pair splashed out more than 2 million on parties and other events 'which were in reality for their personal enjoyment' and used company funds to buy a Range Rover and Rolls-Royce 'for their personal use'; When the fashion house collapsed, it owed the taxman 2.8 million after money was deducted from staff pay packets but not passed on to HMRC; Ms Ralph's lavish spending included a whopping 14,000 for a short stay at the five-star Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge, London. The papers, lodged in the High Court, reveal that the company, via its administrators, is now suing Australian-born Ms Ralph for 20.8 million in damages which they say resulted from her failing to comply with her duties as a director. To date, they have not issued any legal proceedings against Mr Russo, who it has been claimed took a back seat in the company from early 2020. Glamorous designer Tamara Ralph, 39, (pictured) blamed 'unprecedented trading conditions' caused by the pandemic for putting 'tremendous strain' on the brand, which she founded with her former partner Michael Russo Ralph & Russo, renowned for designing stunning haute couture gowns for Hollywood's biggest stars, plunged into administration in March. Forensic investigators are now trying to discover what became of around 60 million pumped into the company by investors between 2018 and 2020. Pictured: Gwyneth Paltrow (left) and Penelope Cruz (right) wearing Ralph & Russo gowns Ms Ralph denies the claims, which she last night described as 'misconceived and demonstrably false'. The documents reveal that by March 1, the company had less than 100,000 in the bank but owed a staggering 23 million to creditors and the taxman. Last week, it emerged that US investment firm Retail Ecommerce Ventures had rescued the company but that neither Ms Ralph nor Mr Russo would have any further involvement. The legal case marks a spectacular fall from grace for two of Britain's most celebrated designers. The pair ran their fashion empire from what they called their London Maison, an opulent 19th Century Mayfair townhouse where wealthy clients would attend fittings. They also had boutiques in Paris, Monte Carlo, Doha and Dubai and were planning stores in New York and Miami. The black dress with beaded bodice worn by Meghan in December 2017 cost a reported 56,000. Other A-list clients included Penelope Cruz, Jennifer Lopez, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman and Angelina Jolie. In an emotional statement posted on Instagram when the firm collapsed last March, the couple said: 'This difficult decision has been made to help ensure the company's ongoing success and to restructure the business after the retail economy across the world has been badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.' Other A-list clients included Penelope Cruz, Jennifer Lopez (right), Gwyneth Paltrow, Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman and Angelina Jolie (left) But, according to the court papers, Ms Ralph and Mr Russo 'collectively extracted substantial sums of money' from the firm. 'The sums appropriated by the defendant [Ms Ralph] (and by Mr Russo) were spent principally on personal expenses, expenses with no business justification, to fund the defendant's and Mr Russo's lavish lifestyles,' the papers claim. The company's financial woes are squarely blamed on Ms Ralph's 'serious wrongdoing', which 'stripped' the fashion house of its cash. It is claimed that by the time the company went bust, Ms Ralph, the firm's creative director, and Mr Russo, its chief executive, had withdrawn more than 2.8 million in so-called directors' loans. Of that, Mr Russo allegedly withdrew the most 2.6 million while Ms Ralph received 195,436. The company's administrators argue that the pair spent the money on personal expenses 'in entirely inappropriate circumstances'. 'Although these sums were designated in the company's accounts as payments made under a 'directors loan account', they were simple cash extractions,' the document claims. Between July 2017 and November 2019, Mr Russo allegedly withdrew an astonishing 151,000 from the same cash machine, which the administrators believe is inside the Palm Beach Casino in Mayfair. Kylie Minogue wearing a Ralph & Russo dress at the American Australian Association Arts Awards in New York last year 'It is inferred that Mr Russo spent these sums on gambling,' the document states. It adds: 'There was no reasonable or realistic expectation that the 'loans' made to Mr Russo were to be repaid.' Meanwhile, Ms Ralph, who was paid an annual salary of 225,000, is said to have spent company money on 'stays in luxury hotels and business class flights, expenses related to her pets, utility bills, yoga classes, lingerie, a housekeeper, beauty expenses, and hair care'. At the height of their creative partnership, Ms Ralph and Mr Russo were also in a romantic relationship, although the documents claim they split towards the end of 2018, 'around the time the company's financial position became increasingly untenable'. Ms Ralph relocated to Monaco, where she now lives with her new partner, British-Indian billionaire and Liberal Democrat donor Bhanu Choudhrie and their baby daughter, born in January. The legal document claims that after moving to Monaco, Ms Ralph spent thousands of pounds on luxury hotels when visiting London for work and required her company to pay the bills. Sensational court papers obtained by The Mail on Sunday paint a very different picture and claim Ms Ralph and Mr Russo (pictured) raided vast sums from the firm, crippling its chances of survival In September 2020, she ran up a 4,405 bill at the Cadogan Hotel in Chelsea, a five-star boutique hotel that once hosted Oscar Wilde, while the following month she incurred a 14,292 bill for a stay at The Berkeley Hotel, in Knightsbridge. By then, the administrators say, the company which collapsed just five months later was in a 'precarious financial position'. 'She was not entitled to claim expenses caused by her personal decision to relocate to Monaco and it was not in the company's best interests to support that decision financially,' the papers state. The administrators are also investigating possible payments for luxury furnishings, including a Moses basket and rocking horse, that were shipped to Ms Ralph's new home in Monaco, the documents claim. Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce and Range Rover cars allegedly bought for the personal use of Ms Ralph and Mr Russo were later sold at a loss. The documents also include an astonishing allegation that, while Ms Ralph was enjoying some of these spending sprees, around 176,000 was 'appropriated and/or diverted from the company pension scheme' between October 2020 and March 2021. It is claimed that while employee pension contributions were being deducted automatically from their pay packets, the company failed to pass the money on to Aviva, its pension provider. Instead, it is claimed the money was used elsewhere, including to pay for the directors' loans that Mr Russo and Ms Ralph were allegedly using to bankroll their lifestyles. The legal document claims that as a director of the company, Ms Ralph either was or should have been aware that pension money was being diverted and alleges she 'breached her employment contract and her duty of care to the company'. Under pension law, companies must pass on employee contributions to their provider by the 22nd day of the month after they were deducted from salary. It is also claimed that while the company's payroll was deducting tax and National Insurance from its employees' salaries in 2020/21, it was not passing the money on to HM Revenue & Customs 'at the same time as it was finding the funds to support the lavish lifestyle of [Ms Ralph] and Mr Russo'. Administrators say the company owes HMRC 2.8 million in unpaid tax. A source close to the case claimed that the allegations could also spark a criminal probe. The legal documents claim that Ms Ralph (pictured with Mr Russo) had been courting investors in a bid to launch a rival firm, which it is claimed breached her duties to the company and her employment contract 'This will end up in the courts for years,' the source said. In January, the pair appeared in their last joint interview together and outlined bold expansion plans, including venturing into cosmetics and home furnishings. Reflecting on the label's success, a heavily pregnant Ms Ralph said: 'We always had a vision to have a global luxury brand.' But less than two months later, the company went into administration, with debts of 23 million. Its collapse came despite the company securing 60 million in investment in recent years, including a 17 million loan from Candy Ventures Sarl, an investment company belonging to property developer Nick Candy. According to the court documents, administrators believe the firm's final accounts 'misrepresented the company's financial health by at least 20 million', making it wrongly appear to be solvent. Ms Ralph relocated to Monaco, where she now lives with her new partner, British-Indian billionaire and Liberal Democrat donor Bhanu Choudhrie (pictured together) and their baby daughter, born in January Last night, a source close to the company said: 'Michael and Tamara will no longer be part of the Ralph & Russo brand and business moving forwards. 'A new creative director will be appointed who will take this world-class brand forward for the next phase of its journey and further develop its unique position within the luxury market.' The legal documents claim that Ms Ralph had been courting investors in a bid to launch a rival firm, which it is claimed breached her duties to the company and her employment contract. It is claimed that shortly before the firm plunged into administration, Ms Ralph instructed her design team to prepare a folder containing sketches, measurements and materials for 80 new couture dresses, effectively misusing the company's intellectual property. In a statement to The Mail on Sunday, Ms Ralph said: 'The claims made against me are misconceived and demonstrably false. 'I am constrained in what I can say about these claims pending my formal response but, if they are not withdrawn, I look forward to responding to and defeating them through the proper legal channels. I worked tirelessly over 11 years to build and develop the Ralph & Russo brand and gave my all to the business, its customers and to the team. The last 18 months have been the most difficult of my career, and I believe these ill-founded claims are the latest part of a concerted campaign to bully, silence and coerce me. 'It is particularly regrettable that this is happening in an industry that champions women's rights. 'I look forward to telling my side of the story in due course.' Mr Russo did not respond to a request for comment. How did an unknown Aussie duo turn into Hollywood's must-wear designers? When Meghan Markle chose to wear a diaphanous, long-sleeved gown created by Ralph & Russo for photographs marking her engagement to Prince Harry, it confirmed the label's stellar ranking in the world of high fashion. But it also raised a question that had intrigued industry insiders for years: How did a relatively unknown couple forge a fashion powerhouse with a client list that included royalty, billionaires and Hollywood A-listers? Indeed, US fashion bible Harper's Bazaar once described glamorous Tamara Ralph's ascendancy into the hallowed ranks of international couture as 'nothing short of a real-life fairy tale'. Born and raised in Sydney, Ms Ralph is the fourth generation of her family to be a fashion designer and began creating her own pieces aged 12, under the guidance of her mother and grandmother. After studying at design college, she bumped into financial consultant and fellow Australian Michael Russo on the King's Road in Chelsea on holiday in London. They fell in love and began a long-distance relationship. Born and raised in Sydney, Tamara Ralph is the fourth generation of her family to be a fashion designer and began creating her own pieces aged 12, under the guidance of her mother and grandmother. After studying at design college, she bumped into financial consultant and fellow Australian Michael Russo (pictured together) on the King's Road in Chelsea on holiday in London A year later, he bought her a flight to London and a sewing machine and the pair began planning their luxury label. 'When we first launched the brand in London, we didn't have any established connections in the industry and truly had to start from square one,' Ms Ralph said in an interview last year. 'Our business really took off through word of mouth. We were also incredibly fortunate to have received interest from major celebrities from the beginning, which of course helped to make a name for ourselves quite early on.' The couple caught the attention of ITV viewers in 2009 after designing a red fishtail dress worn by Amanda Holden when she was a judge on Britain's Got Talent and a one-shouldered gown with thigh-high split for X Factor panellist Dannii Minogue. The following year, the couple officially launched their label and remarkably their outfits were soon on sale at Harrods. Speaking in 2018, Helen David, then fashion director at the luxury store, said: 'We picked up Ralph & Russo in 2010 just as the brand was emerging. 'It sells exceptionally well they are also a younger house and therefore adding new categories constantly, which is exciting for the type of clients they work with.' In April 2019, Ms David went to work for Ralph & Russo as the brand's chief growth officer. The company's financial woes are squarely blamed on Ms Ralph's 'serious wrongdoing', which 'stripped' the fashion house of its cash. Pictured: Beyonce wearing a Ralph & Russo dress Fashion experts, however, have been surprised at how quickly the label progressed from dressing TV panellists to international royalty and A-list stars. Ralph & Russo designed tour costumes for Beyonce and a cornflower blue off-the-shoulder gown for Kylie Minogue for Vanity Fair's party at the 2015 Oscars. An early devotee was Angelina Jolie, who so adored Ralph & Russo she asked the label to create her costumes for the 2019 Maleficent sequel, as well as the glittering silver gown she wore at its London premiere. But dressing celebrities in gowns costing tens of thousands of pounds is not necessarily a money-spinner. Dresses are typically on loan or gifted and the cost absorbed as part of a marketing budget, in the hope that the publicity will attract ultra-wealthy clients. Then, in 2014, Ralph & Russo became the first British brand in almost a century to be accepted into the prestigious French regulatory body, the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, placing the brand at the pinnacle of high fashion. Wider public recognition came in 2017 when they designed the Duchess of Sussex's 56,000 engagement gown. Earlier this year, Ms Ralph said: 'It was very exciting. It was such an iconic moment not just because of the two of them, but also because of her choice of piece for the day. It showed her personality it pushed the boundaries.' Footage captured the moment a California officer tried to take advantage of copyright laws by playing a Taylor Swift song so his confrontation with a protestor could not be uploaded to YouTube. The incident took place on Tuesday in front of the Alameda Courthouse in Oakland when an officer, identified by the Los Angeles Times as Sgt. David Shelby, asked protestor James Burch to move a banner. Burch, policy director of the Anti Police-Terror Project (APTP) and several protestors were on the Oakland courthouse steps to listen to a broadcast of the pre-trial hearing for police officer Jason Fletcher, who was charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Steven Taylor, a black man, in a Walmart last year, the Verge reported. Burch and Sgt. Shelby are discussing the banner when in the middle of the conversation the sergeant is captured pulling out his cellphone and pressing play on Taylor Swift's 2014 hit 'Blank Space' Burch and Sgt. Shelby are discussing the banner when in the middle of the conversation the sergeant is captured pulling out his cellphone and pressing play on Taylor Swift's 2014 hit 'Blank Space'. As the pop song plays a confused Burch asks the officer 'are we having a dance party now?' The person recording the confrontation asks Shelby if he is playing the music to drown out the conversation. The officer then he tells her: 'You can record all you want, I just know it can't be posted on YouTube.' Shleby was wrong, the footage remains on YouTube where it has garnered 462,000 views and on Twitter, where it has been viewed over 824,000 times. Shelby seemed to confirm he was taking advantage of YouTube's copyright takedown policy, which removes content that contains unauthorized use of music. As the pop song continues to play Burch asks Shelby: 'Is that procedure?' 'I'm just listening to music, sir,' Shelby replies. Shelby tells Burch and the person recording the confrontation 'You can record all you want, I just know it can't be posted on YouTube' The Alameda County sheriff's office told the Washington Post that the matter has been referred to the office's internal affairs department and is being investigated. 'The officer was trying to be a little smart, and it kind of backfired,' office spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly told the Post. 'Instead of censoring it, it made it go viral.' Kelly added that there is no policy barring an officer from playing copyrighted music when being filmed but 'there is a code of conduct on how we should carry ourselves in public,' Kelly said. Kelly told the Post that the sheriff's office does not 'condone' the deputy's behavior. 'This is not a good look for law enforcement,' he said, adding there is a 'serious lesson learned here.' Burch told the Post he was troubled by Shelby's attempt to keep the confrontation from being uploaded. 'Any tactic by law enforcement to attempt to either prevent activists from recording or chill our attempts to do so is incredibly concerning,' he told the Post. 'After the murder of George Floyd, everyone understands why organizers and activists record our interactions with law enforcement.' Theresa May has earned more than 500,000 for virtual speeches during the pandemic making her the highest-earning MP last year. Despite a sharp fall in appearance fees on the international lecture circuit and criticism of the former Prime Ministers lack of charisma, The Mail on Sunday can reveal that she received 502,837 for 12 speaking engagements from last September to June. It takes her earnings from speeches since she was ousted from No 10 in July 2019 to almost 1.9 million. The Mail on Sunday can reveal that she received 502,837 for 12 speaking engagements from last September to June Rates for speakers have fallen by up to 90 per cent during lockdown, in part because events have moved online. Mrs May commanded a speech fee of up to 110,000 before the pandemic, but her online rates have held up better than most at between 38,000 and 48,245, according to Parliaments Register of Members Financial Interests. In April, the 64-year-old Tory MP for Maidenhead earned 76,000 for two separate online speeches on the same day one to a company in Salt Lake City, Utah, the other to a firm in Carmel, California. In September she was paid 46,750 for a virtual speech to the Telmex Foundation, a philanthropic body. Other clients have included the US Pension Real Estate Association and The Richmond Forum, an American non-profit educational organisation. Speaking from home to The Society of the Four Arts in Florida in February, she said: I wish I could start by saying it is a pleasure to be here in Palm Beach. One advantage of giving a lecture from your own home, however, is that it does cut down on the logistical challenges. She received 38,672 for the lecture and a question-and-answer session. ...Even though Trump said hed pay NOT to hear her According to Mail on Sunday columnist Piers Morgan, former US President Donald Trump once said of Theresa May: Id pay 100,000 not to hear her talk! TV presenter Jeremy Paxman complained: Theresa May? Shes the person you only have lunch with once. And former Commons speaker John Bercow said: Theresa May is decent, but as wooden as your average coffee table. BBC broadcaster Nick Robinson thought her so dull that he turned down an invitation to lunch with her. His colleague Emily Maitlis claimed she was very hard to make interesting. Public-speaking expert Viv Groskop said her style was a car crash. It is painful to see a woman... with so little authority. According to Mail on Sunday columnist Piers Morgan, former US President Donald Trump once said of Theresa May: Id pay 100,000 not to hear her talk!. President Trump and Theresa May are pictured together in January 2017 Advertisement The former Premiers speaking fees are paid to her company, The Office of Theresa May Ltd, and are used to pay staff, maintain her involvement in public life and support charitable work. She is paid 85,000 a year from her company for her speaking engagements, which are organised though the Washington Speakers Bureau. Tom Kenyon-Slaney, chairman of the London Speaker Bureau, said she was not the most gifted speaker but added: It is not Theresa May who is selling these events, but the strapline of being a former British Prime Minister which sells well, particularly in America. Mrs May has become an increasingly outspoken critic of her successor Boris Johnson, but her public speaking style has won far from universal acclaim. Matt Hancock is facing more questions over his lovers taxpayer-funded job amid fresh revelations about their relationship. The Mail on Sunday can disclose that Gina Coladangelo was at the politicians side when he threw an intimate drinks party in his Department of Health office as long ago as July 2019. That reception was more than a year before Mr Hancock controversially handed his old university friend a 15,000-a-year role as a non-executive director, responsible for scrutinising his departments work, and almost two years before their office clinch that cost him his Cabinet job. Matt Hancock is facing more questions over his lovers taxpayer-funded job amid fresh revelations about their relationship Meanwhile, the former Minister faces more embarrassment as it emerged that he asked people to call me the Minister for Hugs a few days after the fateful embrace, but weeks before it was exposed. He cracked the cringeworthy joke on May 17, as he prepared for a TV interview about the loosening of coronavirus restrictions, which permitted cautious cuddles in England. The line, which raised a few smiles, has taken far greater resonance after Mr Hancock was forced to resign last weekend following the leak of CCTV footage of the clinch in his Whitehall office on May 6. As the scandal exploded, Mr Hancocks friends insisted his relationship with Ms Coladangelo only began days before the footage was filmed in the hope of deflecting awkward questions about Ms Coladangelo being given her public job last September. But even at the time the appointment was contentious, raising questions about the chumocracy at the top of Government, as their friendship was well known. Indeed, in March last year Mr Hancock had appointed Ms Coladangelo, a major shareholder at lobbying firm Luther Pendragon, as an unpaid adviser at the Department of Health. The Mail on Sunday can disclose that Gina Coladangelo was at the politicians side when he threw an intimate drinks party in his Department of Health office as long ago as July 2019 - almost two years before their office clinch that cost him his Cabinet job But insiders now say the pair held court together at the drinks reception almost a year before that on July 22, 2019 sharing an evident familiarity that is likely to renew speculation about when their affair began.. The event on the office terrace took place a month after Mr Hancock dropped out of the Tory leadership race which Ms Coladangelo advised him on. The Department of Health last night declined to answer questions about why Ms Coladangelo was at the event and in what capacity, and whether she was a personal guest of Mr Hancock or if she had a Department of Health pass. One insider who attended meetings at the time with Mr Hancock at which Ms Coladangelo was also present, said: She was always around Matt and in his meetings. Every time I saw her, she was well dressed. I thought, This is a woman who looks after herself. While the persistent presence of an attractive woman around a Minister often sparks rumours in Westminsters febrile atmosphere, Mr Hancocks geeky reputation meant it passed with little comment. That nerdy image also meant his incongruous line about being the Minister for Hugs got a laugh in the TV studio. A source told The Mail on Sunday: I was working on a show on which Matt Hancock was one of the guests. He was the only one of the eight people there who wasnt wearing a mask at any time. Meanwhile, the former Minister faces more embarrassment as it emerged that he asked people to call me the Minister for Hugs a few days after the fateful embrace, but weeks before it was exposed There had just been some relaxation in the rules and, at one point, he jokingly told everyone to call him the Minister of Hugs. That really makes me cringe now. This weekend, as he surveys the wreckage of both his political career and his 15-year marriage to Martha, his osteopath wife, Mr Hancock is thought to be spending time in his West Suffolk constituency. Ms Coladangelo is believed to be trying to avoid media attention at a rented property. Friends insist the relationship is more than just a fling and that the couple intend to set up a home together. Mrs Coladangelo, 43, has left her husband, Oliver Tress, 54, the millionaire founder of the Oliver Bonas retail chain. Mr Hancock told Martha, 44, that he was leaving her just hours before the story of his clinch with Ms Coladangelo broke last month. You wont see much of him for weeks and months, said an ally. He just wants to keep his head down and focus on his constituency. However, another supporter suggested that 42-year-old Mr Hancock is already planning a political comeback, taking heart from the warm words Boris Johnson had to say about his considerable contribution to public life. He cracked the cringeworthy joke on May 17, as he prepared for a TV interview about the loosening of coronavirus restrictions, which permitted cautious cuddles in England (file image) Matt really does think this will blow over, that people nowadays are not judgemental about politicians private lives, the ally said. He thinks he will be back within a few months or so. A bid to trigger a deselection process in Mr Hancocks constituency failed last week, but he may face a further threat from the Boundary Commission, which is expected to redraw the constituency map in 2023. He would then rely on members of several Conservative associations in the area to reselect him as a candidate. In normal circumstances it is a formality, but he should be worried, said one source. Meanwhile, friends of Mr Tress and Ms Coladangelo, who have three children together, said they were struggling to cope with the media glare. Neither of them is taking any calls, said one. Theyve battened down the hatches as you would. The whole thing is insane. Poor Oli, hes in such a state. While Mr Hancock and Ms Coladangelo insist their relationship is serious, many Whitehall insiders are doubtful. Ive a feeling it will peter out after a few months, said one. Will she even want to be with him now hes not Secretary of State? Will he be quids in with millionaire Gina? By Max Aitchison and Helen Cahill for the Mail on Sunday The former Health Secretary could find himself a lot better off following the scandal that forced him out of office, one of Britains top divorce lawyers has said. After his affair was exposed, Matt Hancock has started a new relationship with aide Gina Coladangelo a millionaire who is also expected to be entitled to a huge share of her husbands fortune. That is likely to leave him in a better financial position than had he stayed with his osteopath wife Martha, with whom he has three children, according to divorce expert Ayesha Vardag. Matt Hancocks career has been largely spent in politics and so he will not have earned a huge amount in the great scheme of things, she said. If hes going into a partnership that has more money sloshing around, then hes likely to be better off. But then that will, of course, potentially alter his liability to pay maintenance for his children. The former Health Secretary could find himself a lot better off following the scandal that forced him out of office, one of Britains top divorce lawyers has said Mr Hancock receives an MPs salary of 81,932 but following his resignation has lost the additional 71,673 he received as a Secretary of State. He is thought likely to decline a tax-free 17,673 pay-off. The 42-year-old and his wife Martha bought their home in North-West London for 1.6 million in 2014 and he has a 15 per cent stake in his sisters storage firm, Topwood, estimated to be worth up to 500,000. Ms Coladangelo is believed to be a multi-millionaire. As well as being communications director for Oliver Bonas, the retail firm set up by her husband Oliver Tress, she has shares in the lobbying firm Luther Pendragon. The couple also own a 3.6 million house in South-West London. In the year before the pandemic, Oliver Bonas paid dividends of 1.4 million almost half of it to Mr Tress, its biggest shareholder. Ms Vardag said Ms Coladangelo, his wife of 12 years, would probably be entitled to half of her husbands business empire, adding it is a matter of law that adultery doesnt affect financial settlements. Martha Hancock, 44, is descended from aristocracy, although it is unclear how much her family are worth. And just look at the six-bed manor his Covid contract row friend snapped up! By Chris Hastings and Abul Taher for the Mail on Sunday A former pub landlord who won a multi-million-pound Covid contract after lobbying his friend Matt Hancock bought a 1.3 million country manor house just months after securing the lucrative deal. Alex Bourne, who is now at the centre of a cronyism row involving the shamed former Health Secretary, purchased Hundon Hall, a 17th Century property boasting original oak timbers, six bedrooms and three stables last December, according to Land Registry documents. It came just nine months after he first emailed Mr Hancock as part of his bid to secure a Covid-19 contract. Formerly the home of Henry Walton Smith, the founder of newsagent chain W H Smith, the imposing property stands at the end of a gravel drive in rolling Suffolk countryside and features a meadow, a lake and a Mediterranean-style outside dining area. Former pub landlord Alex Bourne (pictured right) who won a multi-million-pound Covid contract after lobbying his friend Matt Hancock (left) bought a 1.3 million country manor house just months after securing the lucrative deal Mr Bourne, a former Army captain, met Mr Hancock when he took over the freehold of the Cock Inn in Thurlow, West Suffolk, close to the MPs constituency home in 2016. As well as praising the Cock Inn in public, Mr Hancock hung a photograph of the pub on the wall of his office at his home, only removing it in the light of ongoing concerns about the contract. Documents published by The Mail on Sunday last weekend showed Mr Hancock forwarded an email from Mr Bourne on March 30 last year about manufacturing surgical masks to a senior civil servant at the Department of Health. At the time, the Government was desperate to secure supplies of PPE. Mr Bourne, whose company Hinpack Limited manufactured cartons and cups for the catering industry and had no experience of supplying medical equipment, later secured a reported 30 million deal to provide test tubes for Covid tests. Mr Hancock, who resigned last weekend after his affair with aide Gina Coladangelo was exposed, previously told Sky News that Mr Bourne went through the normal channels, adding: I dont have anything to do with the signing of individual contracts. Alex Bourne, who is now at the centre of a cronyism row involving the shamed former Health Secretary, purchased Hundon Hall, a 17th Century property boasting original oak timbers, six bedrooms and three stables last December, according to Land Registry documents Mr Bourne denies any impropriety, disputes the reported value of the Hinpack contract, and says the deal was signed with an approved NHS distributor rather than directly with the Government. He said last night that Hundon Hall had been bought with proceeds from the sale of the familys terrace home in Battersea, South-West London. The London house, which was purchased for 915,000 in 2014, was sold last November for 1.225 million. I did not buy Hundon Hall because of Covid, said Mr Bourne. I have yet to make any personal cash from this contract. The emails, obtained by the MoS under Freedom of Information rules, also revealed that Mr Bourne secured a place on a virtual Zoom session with Mr Hancock and Boris Johnson to discuss manufacturing support for increased testing. It emerged last week that Mr Hancock also used a private Gmail account for work purposes. Asked if any messages exchanged between the former Health Secretary and Mr Bourne through using that account has been disclosed, the Department of Health said: All Ministers are aware of the rules around personal email usage. A former pub landlord who won a multi-million-pound Covid contract after lobbying his friend Matt Hancock bought a 1.3 million country manor house just months after securing the lucrative deal. Alex Bourne, who is now at the centre of a cronyism row involving the shamed former Health Secretary, purchased Hundon Hall, a 17th Century property boasting original oak timbers, six bedrooms and three stables last December, according to Land Registry documents. It came just nine months after he first emailed Mr Hancock as part of his bid to secure a Covid-19 contract. Formerly the home of Henry Walton Smith, the founder of newsagent chain W H Smith, the imposing property stands at the end of a gravel drive in rolling Suffolk countryside and features a meadow, a lake and a Mediterranean-style outside dining area. Alex Bourne (right), who is now at the centre of a cronyism row involving the shamed former Health Secretary, purchased Hundon Hall, a 17th Century property boasting original oak timbers, six bedrooms and three stables last December, according to Land Registry documents Mr Bourne, a former Army captain, met Mr Hancock when he took over the freehold of the Cock Inn in Thurlow, West Suffolk, close to the MPs constituency home in 2016. As well as praising the Cock Inn in public, Mr Hancock hung a photograph of the pub on the wall of his office at his home, only removing it in the light of ongoing concerns about the contract. Documents published by The Mail on Sunday last weekend showed Mr Hancock forwarded an email from Mr Bourne on March 30 last year about manufacturing surgical masks to a senior civil servant at the Department of Health. At the time, the Government was desperate to secure supplies of PPE. Mr Bourne, whose company Hinpack Limited manufactured cartons and cups for the catering industry and had no experience of supplying medical equipment, later secured a reported 30 million deal to provide test tubes for Covid tests. Mr Hancock, who resigned last weekend after his affair with aide Gina Coladangelo was exposed, previously told Sky News that Mr Bourne went through the normal channels, adding: I dont have anything to do with the signing of individual contracts. Mr Bourne, a former Army captain, met Mr Hancock when he took over the freehold of the Cock Inn in Thurlow, West Suffolk, close to the MPs constituency home in 2016. Pictured: Hundon Hall Mr Bourne denies any impropriety, disputes the reported value of the Hinpack contract, and says the deal was signed with an approved NHS distributor rather than directly with the Government. He said last night that Hundon Hall had been bought with proceeds from the sale of the familys terrace home in Battersea, South-West London. The London house, which was purchased for 915,000 in 2014, was sold last November for 1.225 million. I did not buy Hundon Hall because of Covid, said Mr Bourne. I have yet to make any personal cash from this contract. The emails, obtained by the MoS under Freedom of Information rules, also revealed that Mr Bourne secured a place on a virtual Zoom session with Mr Hancock and Boris Johnson to discuss manufacturing support for increased testing. It emerged last week that Mr Hancock also used a private Gmail account for work purposes. Asked if any messages exchanged between the former Health Secretary and Mr Bourne through using that account has been disclosed, the Department of Health said: All Ministers are aware of the rules around personal email usage. President Joe Biden has been slammed as 'weak against Putin' for his allegedly slow response to a global cyberattack that has affected at least 1,000 companies in the United States, and has been linked to Russian hackers. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy tweeted on Saturday, referencing news from June that Biden had given Russian president Vladimir Putin a list of targets that were off-limits to cyber attacks. 'Remember when President Biden gave Putin a list of things that were supposed to be off-limits for cyber attacks? What he SHOULD have said is that ALL American targets are off-limits,' McCarthy tweeted. He added: 'Biden is soft on crime and weak against Putin.' Biden has warned that the US will retaliate if it finds out Russia was behind the mass cyberattack that hit at least 1,000 American firms in the run-up to July 4 weekend. Joe Biden warned that the US will retaliate if it finds out Russia was behind the mass cyberattack that hit at least 1,000 firms in the run-up to July 4 weekend. Biden speaking at a cherry farm store in Central Lake, Michigan Saturday The warning comes after the two leaders met at the Geneva Summit last month (pictured), where Biden warned Putin there would be consequences if ransomware attacks continued to hit the US from Russia The president told reporters Saturday that it is not yet clear who is behind the latest cybersecurity breach to strike American businesses but insisted that he 'will respond' if it is tied to Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'We're not sure who it is,' he said, while he celebrated the start of July 4 weekend at a cherry farm in Central Lake, Michigan. 'The initial thinking was it was not the Russian government but we're not sure yet.' He added: 'If it is either with the knowledge of and/or a consequence of Russia, then I told Putin we will respond.' The warning comes after the two leaders met at the Geneva Summit last month, where Biden warned Putin there would be consequences if ransomware attacks continued to hit the US from Russia. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy tweeted on Saturday, referencing news from June that Biden had given Russian president Vladimir Putin a list of targets that were off-limits to cyber attacks 'Remember when President Biden gave Putin a list of things that were supposed to be off-limits for cyber attacks? What he SHOULD have said is that ALL American targets are off-limits,' McCarthy tweeted Cybersecurity expert Dmitri Alperovitch of the Silverado Policy Accelerator think tank said he believes the latest attack is financially motivated and not Kremlin-directed. However, he said it shows that Putin 'has not yet moved' on shutting down cybercriminals within Russia after Biden pressed him to do so at their June summit in Switzerland. In recent months, the nation's critical infrastructure has fallen victim to attacks from cyber criminal groups thought to be based in Russia, with one of the US's biggest fuel carriers and one of its biggest meat suppliers each shuttered for days following breaches. Biden said Saturday he had not spoken with Putin since the latest breach or since their meeting in Geneva. The president told reporters Saturday that it is not yet clear who is behind the latest cybersecurity breach to strike American businesses However, he said he should know more about the latest attack Sunday when he is briefed by US intelligence officials. 'I directed the full resources of the government to assist in the response if needed,' he said. 'I directed the intelligence community to give me a deep dive on what's happened. I'll know better tomorrow.' The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said Friday it was 'taking action to understand and address the recent supply-chain ransomware attack.' Around 1,000 US businesses were impacted by a 'colossal' cyber attack Friday, paralyzing their computer networks. Worldwide companies across at least 17 countries are thought to have also been affected. The hackers first targeted Florida-based IT company Kaseya before spreading to other firms that use the company's software. The breach was discovered Friday afternoon as many businesses had already closed or waved goodbye to employees for the long Independence Day weekend. Kaseya said it notified the FBI and had so far found less than 40 customers impacted by the breach. Security firm Huntress said Friday it believed the Russia-linked REvil ransomware cyber gang was to blame. Last month, the FBI blamed the same group for paralyzing US meat packer JBS. Biden tours a cherry orchard with Michigan Senators Debbie Stabenow (right), and Senator Gary Peters (left) at King Orchards, a fruit farm in Central Lake, Michigan Saturday Biden told reporters Saturday that it is not yet clear who is behind the latest cybersecurity breach but insisted that he 'will respond' if it is tied to Russian President Vladimir Putin The president posed for a photo Saturday in the cherry orchard. Biden said he should know more about the latest attack Sunday when he is briefed by US intelligence officials The hackers that struck Friday hijacked widely used technology management software from Kaseya then changed a Kaseya tool called VSA. VSA is used by IT professionals to manage technology including servers, desktops, network devices and printers at smaller businesses. The cybercriminals then encrypted the files of those providers' customers simultaneously. Huntress said 20 managed service providers had been used to infect more than 1,000 businesses. Huntress senior security researcher John Hammond warned that the number of those affected is likely to increase, as he described the incident as 'a colossal and devastating supply chain attack.' This type of hacking is especially damaging as by going after MSPs the hackers can reach many more victims - by breaching the systems of their customers as well. The full extent of the breach and how many companies have been affected is not yet clear. Among those affected is Synnex - an MSP used by the Republican National Committee (RNC), reported Bloomberg. A spokesman said Microsoft had alerted the RNC that Synnex 'may have been exposed' but said there was 'no indication' the RNC was also victim to an attack or that any sensitive information had been stolen from the committee. Security firm Huntress said Friday it believed the Russia-linked REvil ransomware gang was to blame for the latest attack. Last month, the FBI blamed the same group for paralyzing US meat packer JBS (the JBS meat plant is viewed in Plainwell, Michigan) The JBS hack came just weeks after an attack on Colonial Pipeline (Colonial Pipeline's Dorsey Junction Station in Woodbine, Maryland pictured) Cyber attack on US IT provider forces Swedish grocery store chain to close ALL 800 stores The Swedish Coop grocery store chain closed all its 800 stores on Saturday after the ransomware attack on Kaseya left it unable to operate its cash registers. According to Coop, one of Sweden's biggest grocery chains, a tool used to remotely update its checkout tills was affected by the attack, meaning payments could not be taken. 'We have been troubleshooting and restoring all night, but have communicated that we will need to keep the stores closed today,' Coop spokesperson Therese Knapp told Swedish Television. The Swedish news agency TT said Kaseya technology was used by the Swedish company Visma Esscom, which manages servers and devices for a number of Swedish businesses. State railways services and a pharmacy chain were also impacted by the attack. 'They have been hit in various degrees,' Visma Esscom chief executive Fabian Mogren told TT. Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist told Swedish Television the attack was 'very dangerous' and showed business and state agencies need to better prepare. 'In a different geopolitical situation, it may be government actors who attack us in this way in order to shut down society and create chaos,' he said. Advertisement Some cybersecurity researchers believe the ransomware attack could be one of the broadest on record. Cybersecurity expert Dmitri Alperovitch of the Silverado Policy Accelerator think tank said 'the number of victims here is already over a thousand and will likely reach into the tens of thousands.' He added: 'No other ransomware campaign comes even close in terms of impact.' Cybersecurity firm ESET said there are victims in least 17 countries, including the UK, South Africa, Canada, Argentina, Mexico and Spain. In Sweden, most of the grocery chain Coop's 800 stores were unable to open because their cash registers weren't working, while the Swedish State Railways and a major local pharmacy chain were also affected. It is unclear how many organizations have since received ransom demands from the hackers in exchange for getting their systems back up and running again. The FBI has urged companies not to pay ransoms but, in two of the biggest recent cyber attacks, it transpired that the victims bowed to the demands of the cyber criminals. JBS, the nation's largest meat supplier, paid an $11million ransom in Bitcoin to the hackers who shut down its US plants. It had learned of an attack on May 30 after finding 'irregularities' on its servers and a ransom note. This forced the supplier to shut down its computer servers, suspending meat production systems at its US plants for four days. The FBI said in June REvil - the Russian cybercriminal group also known as Sodinokibi which is known to be one of the most prolific cyber gangs in the world - was behind the breach. This came just weeks after Colonial Pipeline fell victim to an attack that forced the carrier of 45 percent of fuel to the East Coast to shut down its entire network and sparked a fuel crisis nationwide. Huntress Labs tweeted about the breach Friday. Its senior security researcher John Hammond described the attack as 'a colossal and devastating supply chain attack' The attack forced the pipeline offline on May 7, halting 2.5 million barrels per day of fuel shipments along the line running from Texas to New Jersey. It sparked concerns of a national fuel crisis with thousands of gas stations running out of fuel and motorists racing to fill up their cars, pushing the national average price of gas past $3 for the first time since 2014. Colonial Pipeline shelled out almost $5million to DarkSide to get its pipeline back online as soon as possible. DarkSide is a criminal cybergroup also believed to be based in Russia or Eastern Europe with ties to Russia. Officials said the hack was the most disruptive cyberattack on energy infrastructure in American history. Back in December, several government agencies and top businesses were breached by a suspected Russian-state-sponsored group Nobelium via the SolarWind software. Biden met with Putin two weeks after the JBS attack at a summit in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 16. At the meeting he urged the Russian president to crack down on cyber hackers emanating from Russia. Biden and Putin met at the Geneva Summit last month, where Biden warned Putin there would be consequences if ransomware attacks continued to hit the US from Russia Biden told Putin that 16 types of critical infrastructure - including food and agriculture, emergency services and health care - should be 'off-limits' to cyberattacks and warned of consequences if such attacks continued. In the meeting, Putin denied that Russia was behind recent attacks. However, tensions have continued to mount since then with the US and British authorities on Thursday saying Russian spies accused of interfering in the 2016 US presidential election spent the past two years abusing virtual private networks (VPNs) to target hundreds of organizations worldwide. Russia's embassy in Washington denied the allegations Friday. The Biden administration is making cybersecurity an increased priority in the wake of the recent attacks. Earlier this month, it was revealed that the US Department of Justice is elevating investigations of ransomware attacks to a similar priority as terrorism in the wake of the Colonial Pipeline hack and mounting damage caused by cyber criminals. The FBI has also put cybersecurity high on its agenda with its fiscal year 2022 budget proposal including an additional $40million for cybersecurity investigations. It also includes another $15million to help the FBI improve its own cybersecurity. Allies of Carrie Johnson have clashed with the Environment Secretary George Eustice over the timetable to ban caged animal farming. The row has been sparked by the desire of Environment Ministers Lord Goldsmith and Victoria Prentis supported by the Prime Ministers wife to end the practice in the UK before it is outlawed across the EU. But Mr Eustice favours a more cautious approach, arguing that Britain already has some of the worlds highest animal welfare standards and the ban would heap extra costs on farmers. The Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, of which both Lord Goldsmith and Mrs Johnson (pictured) are patrons, welcomed the EU proposal and renewed calls for Britain to end cages for farm animals The EU announced last week that it intends to propose new legislation to stop the caged farming of animals including rabbits, young hens, ducks and geese by 2023 with a view to the ban being phased in from 2027. The move came after a petition calling for the ban attracted 1.4 million signatures. The Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, of which both Lord Goldsmith and Mrs Johnson are patrons, welcomed the EU proposal and renewed calls for Britain to end cages for farm animals. But Neil Parish, the Tory MP who chairs the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee, said British farmers, would likely face higher costs, which in turn makes them less competitive. And Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers Union, warned: If the UK Government raises the bar here and does not apply the same approach to import standards, we will simply put UK farmers out of business. A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: We have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and a strong track record for raising the bar when it comes to welfare measures, such as banning battery cages for laying hens, sow stalls and veal crates and introducing CCTV in all slaughterhouses in England. We are currently examining the evidence around the use of cages for farm animals. Under EU law, the caged farming of laying hens, sows and calves is already banned, although hens are allowed to be housed in furnished cage systems. Mr Eustice favours a more cautious approach, arguing that Britain already has some of the worlds highest animal welfare standards and the ban would heap extra costs on farmers A Government source described Mr Eustices resistance as very sensible, adding: Any changes to animal welfare standards in the UK should be based resolutely on evidence. Legislating on the back of Twitter campaigns and petitions is a guaranteed way of achieving the wrong outcome. Raising the tension, the insider accused Lord Goldsmith of being too driven by social media, adding: If one of the animal rights organisations produced a petition, Zac would take it as gospel every single time. The row comes amid reports that Government food tsar Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of the Leon restaurant chain, will use the second part of his National Food Strategy to recommend Britons massively reduce their consumption of meat to help save the environment. At last the sense of dithering and drift over the Government's Covid policy seems to be lifting. And a good thing too. The foot-dragging over getting rid of restrictive measures was doing harm to the Government, magnifying the effect of the Matt Hancock episode into a general feeling of 'one rule for them, and one rule for the rest of us'. This discontent may well have led to the narrow Labour survival in the Batley and Spen by-election, so slowing (but, we hope, not halting) an encouraging change for the better in British politics. The Prime Minister has tired of the hesitation and has seen the absurdity of many of the measures, introduced with the best of intentions, which are actually making life miserable without doing any real good. Boris Johnson speaks during a press conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel at Chequers Many had begun to wonder what the point was of all those vaccinations if they made no obvious difference to our lives at home and work, or our ability to travel abroad on holiday. Now, it seems, they are going to start making a big difference. This is no bad thing. The British people, as The Mail on Sunday has often pointed out, have been extraordinarily patient with all kinds of difficult, uncomfortable and sometimes distressing restrictions on their lives, often when it was hard to see what good they were actually doing. But even their patience must eventually run out. As the postponed liberation day of July 19 approaches, plans are afoot to open up travel to and from amber-list countries for the double-jabbed, as is only logical. The full implementation of this change could depend on technology, but we may very soon expect a major relaxation while the summer still has many weeks to run. The demand for facemasks is likely to be limited to many fewer places, with individuals left to make their own choices rather than threatened with heavy fines. Perhaps above all, the system of 'bubbles' in schools, in which entire year groups can be sent home because of one positive test, seems set to be scrapped in time for summer camps and for the start of next term. MOS: The foot-dragging over getting rid of restrictive measures was doing harm to the Government, magnifying the effect of the Matt Hancock episode into a general feeling of 'one rule for them, and one rule for the rest of us' There will be intelligent reforms to the test and trace system which is causing so much disruption in workplaces with its requirement for isolation. The Long March towards the restoration of normal life is nearing its end. And the new Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, is clear that the changes he wants to see are based not on a quest for easy popularity, or on putting wealth before health but on a clear principle that a liberated country will be more healthy than one that still groans under excessive restrictions. We must open up for the sake of health. The urgent need to tackle the backlog of NHS treatments, operations and tests which has been created by lockdown is only one aspect of this task. In general, now that the vaccine, combined with growing medical skill, has greatly reduced the dangers of Covid, we have to learn to live with it, as we live with many other viruses. That does not mean complacency. Any serious change will obviously lead to a change in policy. It means keeping measures in proportion to the problem, and not letting the cure become worse than the disease. It means not being scared into too much restriction by zero-Covid zealots with little interest in freedom. We are almost there. Boris Johnson needs both our patience and our encouragement to get us all the way. The last regular British troops are expected to leave Afghanistan today, ending a 20-year involvement in the country. A total of 454 UK soldiers and civilians have died in Afghanistan since the launch of the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom in response to the September 11 terror attacks. The last of the UKs 750 soldiers, part of a Nato training mission, are due to leave today as the Taliban advances in many parts of the country, sparking fears of a new civil war. A total of 454 UK soldiers and civilians have died in Afghanistan since the launch of the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom British Royal Marine Commandos from 45 Commando RM, returning from Operation Ptarmigan, land at Bagram Airbase April 18, 2002 In April, US President Joe Biden said it was time to end Americas longest war, and on Friday the US handed over Bagram air base, a strategic stronghold, to the Afghan security forces. About 650 US troops are staying to protect its embassy. Some 2,300 US personnel have been killed and 50,000 Afghan civilians have died since 2001. Tobias Ellwood, the Tory chairman of the Commons Defence Select Committee, warned: There is a danger of Afghanistan collapsing. Raging wildfires in British Columbia are combining with record heat to create ferocious vertical 'fire clouds' that generate their own weather. More than 100 wildfires are burning across the region, which is facing a record-breaking heatwave. After hitting 116 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday and 118 on Monday, the thermometer peaked in Lytton, British Columbia, on Tuesday at 121.3 degrees, the highest on record in Canada. (The previous high was a mere 113 degrees.) By Thursday morning, a inferno was tearing through Lytton, forcing all 250 residents and hundreds more in surrounding areas to evacuate. Ninety percent of the village was destroyed, CBS News reported, and at least two people, an elderly couple, were killed. As the heat and smoke rose above the town, it generated pyrocumulonimbus clouds that stirred up wind and smoke and hurled lightning instead of rain. The North American Lightning Detection Network reported that between 3pm Wednesday and 6am on Thursday, the clouds generated more than 710,000 lightning strikes in British Columbia and northwest Alberta, according to SFGate. NASA calls pyrocumulonimbus 'the fire-breathing dragon of clouds,' because they funnel smoke like a chimney and trap massive amounts of pollutants in the upper atmosphere. If the air forms a swirling column, pyrocumulonimbus, also known as cumulonimbus flammagenitus clouds, can whip up flame 'tornadoes' that start new fires. Scroll down for video The ravaging smoke and fire in Lytton, British Columbia, combined with record temperatures to form anvil-shaped pyrocumulonimbus clouds above the village on Thursday Some 90 percent of the village has been destroyed, and at least two people reported dead, after a devastating wildfire tore through Lytton Normal thunderstorms are caused by the cycle of moisture and heat rising into the sky, cooling and sinking, and then rising again, in a process known as convection. But when the warm air comes from a smoky wildfire, according to Business Insider, hat convection can create a 'fire cloud.' Pyrocumulonimbus can generate rain but more often release powerful air blasts, or 'downbursts,' that scatter smoke and embers and feed the fire even more. Mike Flannigan, director of the Canadian Partnership for Wildland Fire Science, told Yale Environment 360 that it's nearly impossible for firefighters to put out pyrocumulonimbus fires as they are 'extremely hot and chaotic,' with embers shooting as far as three miles in every direction. The best they can hope for is that the weather changes and the clouds dissipate. On Wednesday, Colorado meteorologist Dakota Smith tweeted a 'mind-blowing' video of satellite imagery above Lytton showing 'incredible & massive storm-producing pyrocumulonimbus plumes.' Absolutely mind-blowing wildfire behavior in British Columbia. Incredible & massive storm-producing pyrocumulonimbus plumes. pic.twitter.com/kH39IuX1ez Dakota Smith (@weatherdak) July 1, 2021 'I've watched a lot of wildfire-associated pyroconvective events during the satellite era, and I think this might be the singularly most extreme I've ever seen,' UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain tweeted in response. Kyle Brittain, the Weather Network's Alberta Bureau Chief, posted images of pyrocumulonimbus cloud forming over Walhachin, British Columbia, about 70 miles from Lytton 'This is a literal firestorm, producing thousands of lightning strikes and almost certainly countless new fires.' Kyle Brittain, Alberta Bureau Chief for the Weather Network, posted images of pyrocumulonimbus clouds forming in both the Sparks Lake and McKay Creek wildfires in British Columbia. Flames rise as a wildfire burns on a hill in Kamloops, British Columbia Experts believe the number and intensity of pyrocumulonimbus are increasing as a result of climate change. Pictured: A wildfire burns on the side of a mountain in Lytton, B.C. on July 1 Experts believe the number and intensity of pyrocumulonimbus are increasing as a result of climate change: in 2002, there were 17 reported in all of the US, Canada and Mexico combined, according to the Weather Network. Now, there are an average of 25 a year in western North America alone. In September 2020, central California was besieged by a 'firenado' as The 'Creek Fire' in Sierra National Forest created a 275-square-mile pyrocumulonimbus (abbreviated pyroCbs) visible from space. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellites captured the gigantic mushroom cloud towering an estimated 45,000 feet high above the region. A pyrocumulonimbus cloud towers over thick smoke from fires burning near Canberra, Australia, in 2003. 'Figuratively, we have a map pinpointing the location of pyroCbs events,' Mike Fromm, a meteorologist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory told Yale Environment 360. 'It's been filling up fast. Maybe we're better at detecting them, but I think they're increasing.' England take on Ukraine on Saturday night with a Euro 2020 semi-final spot at Wembley on the line. Gareth Southgate's men are looking to back up their impressive victory over Germany by putting Andriy Shevchenko's surprise quarter-finalists to the sword. Rome's Stadio Olimpico plays host for England's first game away from their national stadium in the tournament with the Three Lions still yet to concede a goal. Follow Sportsmail's Dan Ripley for live Euro 2020 coverage of Ukraine vs England, including build-up, team news and updates. The Holiday Guru is always on hand to answer your questions. This week issues tackled include entry requirements for Ireland and what to do if your outbound flight is cancelled but not your return. Q. Could you give me information on travel to the Republic of Ireland? I cant seem to find anything about it online and am desperate to go. Tommy Jones, via email. Rugged: Heres hoping we can visit the Irish coast in July without quarantining A. UK Visitors must have a negative PCR test taken 72 hours before travel, complete a Passenger Locator Form (gov.ie) and quarantine for 14 days (with a test to release possibility on day five). For information, go to gov.uk/foreign- travel-advice/ireland/entry-requirements. However, from July 19, rules are set to change. Ireland plans to welcome British visitors who are double-vaccinated and have a negative PCR test or proof they have had the virus. No quarantine or further test will then be required. Q. Our easyJet flight to Kefalonia, Greece, in July has been cancelled, but our return flight has not. What can we do about it? Colin Colbrook, via email. The Holiday Guru helps a reader with a query about their easyJet flights A. Easyjet says that if one flight is cancelled, you can claim a refund or a voucher to the value of the whole booking or transfer flights to a later date. Q. In 2019, I won tickets in the Wimbledon draw and booked two nights at the Antoinette Hotel (324). When the tournament was cancelled in 2020, I rang the hotel and asked to move the booking to this year. Now, due to number restrictions at Wimbledon, my tickets have again been postponed. I asked the hotel for a refund, which it has refused. Instead, it has moved my reservation to next year. But am I due my money back? Deborah Phillips, via email. A. The Competition and Markets Authority, the UKs competition regulator with an eye on consumer rights, states that consumers should be treated fairly and responsibly when lockdown laws such as restrictions to the number of Wimbledon visitors cause a cancellation. However, this language is open to interpretation, and in disputes courts must adjudicate. The hotel switching your stay to next year would seem fair and reasonable. However, after being contacted by us, it is now offering a refund as a gesture of goodwill. WERE HERE TO HELP If you need advice, the Holiday Guru is here to answer your questions. Email us at holidayplanner@dailymail.co.uk Brooke Blurton made history in May when it was announced that she would be the first Indigenous and bisexual Bachelorette. And it seems that the upcoming season will be one of the best ones yet. In photos taken from set late last month in Sydney, Brooke, 26, was seen taking part in a racy pool photoshoot date with some of her male and female suitors. Spoiler alert! Bisexual Bachelorette Brooke Blurton was swept off her feet by a shirtless hunk before cosying up to some bikini babes during a Baywatch-inspired pool photoshoot on set last month Both Brooke and the female participants stunned in red swimsuits, with the theme of the shoot appearing to be inspired by Baywatch. She wore a red top and high-waisted tangerine bikini bottoms. Brooke wore her long locks out and over her shoulders and was dolled up in glam makeup, which included a bronzed eye and a nude lip. Turning up the heat: She appeared in high spirits as she drank what appeared to be a champagne and juice and got cosy with her suitors Getting close: At one point, a hunky male suitor - who went shirtless and revealed his washboard abs - appeared to be playing the role of a pool boy for the shoot and swept Brooke up in his arms A face to watch? Brooke appeared to have quite the chemistry with the hunk, giggling and laughing on set Time to party! At one point, Brooke and her stunning female suitors posed for a fun photo in their bikinis and some party hats She appeared in high spirits as she drank what appeared to be a champagne and juice and got cosy with her suitors. At one point, a hunky male suitor - who went shirtless and revealed his washboard abs - appeared to be playing the role of a pool boy for the shoot and swept Brooke up in his arms. Brooke appeared to have quite the chemistry with the hunk, giggling and laughing on set. Dolled up: Brooke wore her long locks out and over her shoulders and was dolled up makeup including a bronzed eye and a nude lip Catching her eye? The hunk showed off his washboard abs going shirtless in a pair of boardshorts Hot to trot: She wore a red top and high-waisted tangerine bikini bottoms At one point, Brooke and her stunning female suitors posed for a fun photo in their bikinis and some party hats. Another female was seen in a red costume sitting by the pool, appearing to be on lifeguard duty for the shoot. At another point, Brooke got up close with one of the female contestants and shared a hug with her as they moved around the water. World first: Brooke made history in May when it was announced that she would be the first Indigenous and bisexual Bachelorette Keeping an eye on things: Another female was seen in a red costume sitting by the pool, appearing to be on lifeguard duty for the shoot Have a connection? At another point, Brooke got up close with one of the female contestants and shared a hug with her as they moved around the water Remember that? Brooke made her franchise debut on Nick Cummins' season of The Bachelor in 2018 Slip, slop, slap! The male suitor was seen putting on some sunscreen while in the water Brooke made her franchise debut on Nick Cummins' season of The Bachelor in 2018. Earlier this year, she was announced as the first bisexual Bachelorette. The forthcoming series will mark the first time any season of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette has featured a mixed-gender cast vying for the lead star's affections. Making history: The forthcoming series will mark the first time any season of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette has featured a mixed-gender cast vying for the lead star's affections On Set: Producers and cameramen were seen overlooking the pool shoot Going for it: Brooke told The Daily Telegraph she was 'ready' to smash reality TV conventions Brooke told The Daily Telegraph she was 'ready' to smash reality TV conventions. When asked how she felt audiences would take the change, the youth worker said: 'I am not too sure if Australia is ready for it. I certainly am.' 'If it makes people feel uncomfortable in any way, I really challenge them to think about why it does.' Ready: When asked how she felt audiences would take the change, the youth worker said: 'I am not too sure if Australia is ready for it. I certainly am' The youth worker has dated men and women in the past. She addressed her sexuality on The Bachelor in 2018, telling leading man Nick Cummins: 'I've had four relationships... one with a guy but I've also had two relationships with women. 'When I was in those relationships, I looked beyond what they were as female and I really loved [them] for who they were as people.' He shocked fans worldwide last fall when he joined OnlyFans. And now Tyler Posey is using no uncertain terms to come out and identify as a member of the queer community. As seen in a recent profile piece with NME, the Teen Wolf star, 29, credits his girlfriend Phem as the one who helped him realize that he fits 'under the queer umbrella'. Coming out: Tyler Posey is using no uncertain terms to come out and identify as a member of the queer community; seen on Instagram 'Ive been with everybody under the sun, and right now Im in the best relationship that Ive ever been in with a woman, and shes queer too,' Posey told the publication. 'Shes helped me realize that I fit under the queer umbrella and that Im sexually fluid, I guess. 'No, not "I guess,"' Tyler then specified. 'I dont want anyone to take this [interview] and be like: "Well, he was kind of wishy-washy about it."' As seen in a recent profile piece: The Teen Wolf star, 29, credits his girlfriend Phem as the one who helped him realize that he fits 'under the queer umbrella'; seen on Instagram 'Ive been with everybody under the sun, and right now Im in the best relationship that Ive ever been in with a woman, and shes queer too,' Posey said; seen in Teen Wolf And on his NSFW OnlyFans account, the Maid In Manhattan star recently added some explicit details regarding his sexual exploits with other men, saying 'Weve blown each other, you know what I mean. But never had sex. 'So yes, I have been with men before,' he concluded, before going on to mention that he'd been pegged (which amounts to being anally penetrated by a sex toy). Tyler, an actor and musician, is currently debuting his first EP, titled Drugs. Double threat: Tyler, an actor and musician, is currently debuting his first EP, titled Drugs The famously sober star has previously owned up to his sexual fluidity, but this looks to be the first time he has fully aligned himself with the LGBTQ+ community. 'Someone asked if Id been with men [as well as with women], and I said yes,' Posey told NME. 'Since then theres been this really loud person online Im pretty sure its only one person and theyre trying to call me a "gay-baiter": pretending to be gay to get money, essentially.' Tyler who started out as a child star in 2002 flick Maid In Manhattan with Jennifer Lopez later became something of a heartthrob thanks to his starring turn in MTV's Teen Wolf series. Seen here with Crystal Reed: Tyler became something of a heartthrob, queer and otherwise, thanks to his starring turn in MTV's Teen Wolf series from 2011 until 2017 Up next for Posey on the acting front is the drama Oshie, about a carefree and determined homeless child who will stop at nothing to find her father in the streets of LA. Tyler has lofty goals, telling NME that he emulates Oscar winner and 30 Second To Mars frontman Jared Leto's career. 'I want to do the Jared Leto thing,' he said, 'by pushing both acting and music to the forefront of what I do.' Roman Kemp has reportedly found love again with his radio colleague Codie Jones. The Capital radio host, 28, is said to be 'quietly dating' Australian radio producer Codie, with the pair having bonded over their best friend Joe Lyons' death. The couple have apparently been seeing each other for 'over a month' and it's reported that Codie has even met Roman's famous parents Martin and Shirlie, with it being said that they are 'head over heels' for each other. Happy again: Roman Kemp has reportedly found love again with his radio colleague Codie Jones (pictured in 2020) Roman previously dated model Anne-Sophie Flury, with the couple splitting in July 2020 after three years together. And now it appears that love is in the air for the I'm A Celebrity star once more, with Codie and Roman having grown close amid the tragic loss of their mutual friend Joe, who died suddenly in August 2020. A source told The Sun: 'Both Roman and Codie worked with Joe and were very close to him, so his death hit them both extremely hard. New love? The Capital radio host, 28, is said to be 'quietly dating' Australian radio producer Codie Jones, with the pair having bonded over their best friend Joe Lyons' death 'They got closer and ended up falling for each other. They've been dating a while now - it's clear to everyone at work that they're head over heels for each other.' The insider added: 'Codie met Roman's parents Martin and Shirlie before they started dating so they already loved her. She's fitted right in with the family.' MailOnline have contacted representative of Roman for comment. So sad: Codie and Roman had grown close amid the tragic loss of their mutual friend Joe, who died suddenly in August 2020 Codie previously worked on 2DAY FM, an Australian radio station, before relocating to the UK in 2017. In July last year, Roman split from his girlfriend Anne-Sophie Flury after three years , with sources claiming their relationship went downhill after being 'unable to make things work' during lockdown. The couple only moved in together in January of that year but things went downhill during lockdown and they 'weren't able to make things work'. Close: The couple have apparently been seeing each other for 'over a month' and it's reported that Codie has even met Roman's famous parents Martin and Shirlie (pictured in 2019) Lovely: 'They got closer and ended up falling for each other. They've been dating a while now - it's clear to everyone at work that they're head over heels for each other' The TV star was linked to model Lottie Moss in August, just three weeks after his break up, with the pair said to have enjoyed a 'boozy' night out. Last month Roman paid tribute to the late radio producer Joe, who died by suicide last year, on what would have been his 32nd birthday. Taking to Instagram, the I'm A Celeb star shared pictures and videos of his late friend and admitted: 'I miss you beyond words.' Two of the photographs saw Roman and Joe sitting next to each other on a flight, with the radio producer pretending to pour vodka into Roman's mouth while he slept. Former flame: Roman previously dated model Anne-Sophie Flury, with the couple splitting in July 2020 after three years together Another snap showed Joe smiling while sitting outside in the sunshine and flashing a peace sign at the camera, during a group gathering. One video saw Roman blast Joe with a wind machine, while the other showed the Capital FM team having presented Joe with a pink cake on a previous birthday. Roman joked alongside his post: 'On what I would've said was your 40th birthday, I miss you beyond words pal. Love you mate. @producerjoe @joesbuddyline.' Tribute: Last month Roman paid tribute to the late radio producer Joe (pictured), who died by suicide last year, on what would have been his 32nd birthday Joking about one of the photos in which Joe can be seen wearing a Tottenham Hotspur FC shirt, he added: 'PS this is the only time I will post a Spurs shirt.' Roman's best friend Joe, who had been a well-loved producer at Global radio for nine years, suddenly died in August last year. After Joe's death, Roman emotionally addressed fans on his show Sunday Best, which he co-hosts with his father Martin Kemp, urging them to 'reach out'. Much-loved: Roman's best friend Joe, who had been a well-loved producer at Global radio for nine years, died by suicide in August last year Paying tribute to Joe, he said: 'Before we can start with our usual show, you may have read that it's been an incredibly hard week for me personally, as I lost my best friend... 'It has completely devastated his family, friends, me, my family. I really want to make sure that I use this time right now to say if you are struggling, then please know that you can reach out... 'There is always someone you can talk to: your family, friends, colleagues... or anyone from the support charities that are out there... 'At ITV there is the mental wellness initiative called Britain Get Talking, which encourages all of us to reach out and talk to someone.' Channing Tatum's Magic Mike Live strip show kicked off in Melbourne earlier this week. And Australian audiences are certainly in for a treat, with Channing promising that the Down Under version of the show is much racier than the American one. 'We're making the show a whole lot sexier for our Australian fans,' he told the Herald Sun. Raunchy: Channing Tatum says that his Magic Mike Live show has been made even racier for Australian audiences 'In my experience, there's a completely different way Aussies talk about sex, and men and women, and dating,' he continued. 'I don't really have a way to describe what that is, I just know it's different to how we talk about sex in the States. Aussies are raw and real about it.' Magic Mike Live just kicked off in Melbourne after the Covid pandemic forced the tour to be postponed. Following its official opening night on Tuesday, the stars of the raunchy show put on a performance for the media on Wednesday. It's back: Magic Mike Live kicked off in Melbourne earlier this week after the coronavirus pandemic forced it to be postponed It was announced on June 24 that the show would be commencing on June 29 with a 'comprehensive Magic Mike Live Australia COVID-SAFE plan' based on 'Victorian Government health advice'. In a statement on the Magic Mike Live website, they added: 'Thank you for your continued support and understanding of this production and the wider arts community in these challenging times.' The show was supposed to open in May last year, but was delayed because of a series of imposed lockdowns in Victoria amid the coronavirus pandemic. 'Changes have been made to the performance schedule, and we will now open at Birrarung Marr in June 2021,' read the website. Turning up the heat: Following its official opening night on Tuesday, the stars of the raunchy show put on a performance for the media on Wednesday Making a comeback: It was announced on June 24 that the show would be commencing on June 29 with a 'comprehensive Magic Mike Live Australia COVID-SAFE plan' based on 'Victorian Government health advice' 'The health and well-being of our audiences, cast, crew and all staff is our absolute priority and we thank all patrons for their understanding.' The Melbourne cast turned out an energetic performance, which featured plenty of hunky shirtless men. One routine saw an acrobatic dancer hovering above a female performer in an impressive aerial display. Worth the wait: The show was supposed to open in May last year, but was delayed because of a series of imposed lockdowns in Victoria amid the coronavirus pandemic 'The health and well-being of our audiences, cast, crew and all staff is our absolute priority and we thank all patrons for their understanding,' read a statement on the Magic Mike Live website There was also a shirtless drummer playing alongside a rock band, with the racy show taking place inside a spiegeltent. Following performances in Sydney, the Melbourne season is set to run until the end of August, before the show travels to Brisbane and Perth. The show is based on the 2012 Magic Mike movie, which starred Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer and Matthew McConaughey. It was inspired by Channing's real-life experience working as a stripper in Florida when he was just 18. Drummer boy: There was also a shirtless drummer playing alongside a rock band, with the racy show taking place inside a spiegeltent Following the film's runaway success, Channing developed a live show, which premiered in Las Vegas. 'The morning after we opened our first production in Vegas four years ago, we all talked about the crazy idea of someday putting Magic Mike Live in a tent and travelling around Australia,' he said in a statement, as reported by Time Out Melbourne. 'The fact that it's actually happening now is mind-blowing to me. The tent and this new version of the show is more than I ever imagined it could be, and I can't wait for our fans in Australia to see what we've created especially for them.' This time last year Kate Langbroek was living in the midst of the Italy's worsening Covid crisis with her family, after moving to Bologna from Melbourne in 2019. And since moving back to the Victorian capital last year, the radio host has been relishing life Down Under. On Friday, the 55-year-old comedian enjoyed a date day with her husband Peter Allen Lewis, sharing a sweet picture of the pair cosying up together on Instagram. Loved up! Kate Langbroek cosied up to her husband on their 'date day' out on Friday after returning to Melbourne last year from Italy. She wore a floral dress with a thigh-high slit while her husband donned a leather jacket with jeans She shared a photo of herself wearing an elegant floral dress that featured a thigh-high slit and accessorised with a Gucci belt and a white combat boots. The brunette beauty styled her luscious locks in waves that cascaded down her shoulders and a white barrette hair clip. Her husband donned a leather jacket with a navy button up, jeans and suede lace ups. Life abroad: The radio presenter's date day comes after she and her family returned home in December 2020 after two years away living in Bologna, Italy 'Date day. Thanks Angelina Jolie for teaching us to cock our leg out thru a split (sic),' Kate wrote in the caption, in reference to the Hollywood actress' infamous Oscars gown in 2012. The radio presenter's date comes after she and her family returned home in December 2020 after two years away living in Bologna, Italy. Kate and Peter decided to leave Australia and spend a 'gap year' in Italy with their children - Lewis, 17, Sunday, 15, Artie, 13 and Jan, 11 - in 2019. Return: Kate and Peter decided to leave Australia and spend a 'gap year' in Italy with their children - Lewis, 17, Sunday, 15, Artie, 13 and Jan, 11 - in 2019. When they returned home at the end of 2020 they had to do two weeks of hotel quarantine and regular Covid testing Like many returning travellers, the family of six had to undergo two weeks of hotel quarantine and regular Covid testing to ensure they had negative results. She told the Herald Sun that while there were many highs and lows during her family's Italian experience, 'Not once did I regret any of it'. In the months since coming back home to Australia, Kate returned to radio joining KIIS FM's 3pm Pick-Up with Katie 'Monty' Dimond and Yumi Stynes, replacing departing host Rebecca Judd. She is a member of Hollywoods A-list and is regularly spotted thanks to her tall stature and multi-watt smile. But Julia Roberts managed to blend in somewhat on Friday, in spite of the fact that she was wearing an orange jumpsuit, while leaving a business meeting in Los Angeles, California. The Oscar winner, 53, covered up her famous visage with a multicolored face mask, along with a pair of pale pink wayfarer sunglasses. It's her: Julia Roberts managed to blend in somewhat on Friday, in spite of the fact that she was wearing a pale orange jumpsuit while leaving a business meeting in Los Angeles She had her blonde hair affixed to the back of her head with the help of a clip. Julia shouldered a large black bag and held another white parcel under her arm, along with a black glasses case. Her jumpsuit was open at the collar, revealing a peek of her bare collarbone. Roberts jumpsuit ended at her mid-calf. Somewhat incognito: The Oscar winner covered up her famous visage with a multicolored face mask, along with a pair of pale pink wayfarer sunglasses The Erin Brockovich star was spotted alongside her bodyguard, while husband Danny Moder was not far away, running errands in the area. The pair, who have been married since 2002, share three children. Their twins Hazel and Phinnaeus were born in 2004, and are now 16 years of age. On her way: Julia shouldered a large black bag and held another white parcel under her arm, along with a black glasses case Roberts then gave birth to younger son Henry, now 14, in 2007. Just recently, cinematographer Moder gave a rare peek into the family's home life, when he shared a video of Henry skateboarding on Instagram. Moder, 52, filmed the teen skateboarding on the occasion of his 14th birthday earlier this month. Family: The Pretty Woman star and husband Danny Moder, who have been married since 2002, share three children; twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, born in 2004, and son Henry, born in 2007 Danny shared the video to his Instagram account which showed the teen impressively skating up a ramp and turning in mid-air. Recently, Julia and her family have been seen down under in Australia, where she is slated to film two big-budget movies later this year. One of the projects is a political thriller called Gaslit, centered on the infamous Watergate scandal, with Academy Award-winner Sean Penn and Australia's own Joel Edgerton. She will also reunite with Ocean's Eleven co-star George Clooney to film the romantic comedy Ticket to Paradise, which will begin filming in Queensland later in the year. She's the promising young woman from Blighty who was the toast of this years Oscars. And now Hollywood has rolled out the red carpet for Emerald Fennell once more by inviting her to join the worlds most exclusive film club, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The writer and actress who won the best original screenplay gong for her film Promising Young Woman was not the only rising British star to be inaugurated into the Hollywood elite. Hollywood has rolled out the red carpet for Emerald Fennell once more by inviting her to join the worlds most exclusive film club, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Vanessa Kirby, 33, who received a best actress nomination for Pieces of a Woman, has also hit the big time. And Bulgarian star Maria Bakalova, 25, who was in the running for best supporting actress for her role in the new Borat film, also made the cut in a year when the Academy has continued its efforts to diversify its ranks. The Academy said this year it had slashed the number of invitations from 819 to 395 to enable steady future growth and to ensure the necessary infrastructure, staff resources and environment to support all Academy members. As a result of the more selective process, the intake was 46 per cent women, 39 per cent from under-represented ethnic groups and 53 per cent from countries outside the US. Vanessa Kirby, 33, who received a best actress nomination for Pieces of a Woman, has also hit the big time Other British invitees include Hugh Bonneville, 57, and Robert Pattinson, 35. Rising British stars Kingsley Ben-Adir, 35, who played Malcolm X in the acclaimed film One Night In Miami, and Crazy Rich Asians heart-throb Henry Golding, 34, were also recognised. There are now more than 10,000 members of the Academy, who can vote for the Oscars every year. He's one of the stars of the upcoming season of Farmer Wants a Wife. But Will Dwyer won't even be able to watch himself on the Channel Nine series when it premieres, because he doesn't own a television. Speaking to the Herald Sun, the farmer admitted that he doesn't have a TV in Longwood, Victoria, where he works as a cattle and sheep farmer. Simple man: Farmer Wants a Wife star Will Dwyer won't even be able to watch himself on the Channel Nine series when it premieres, because he doesn't own a television He's only ever seen the second season of the show, because he's friends with past participants Jo Fincham and Rob Hodges, who won that season. 'They signed me up for the show, basically,' he revealed. 'They really are the perfect couple. Its proof positive that it can work and it does work.' Friends: He's only ever seen the second season of the show, because he's friends with past participants Jo Fincham and Rob Hodges, who won that season Farmer Wants a Wife will return on Sunday for its eleventh season. And the show's long-time host Natalie Gruzlewski promises that more than one farmer will find love this year. The 44-year-old shared the good news during an appearance on The Morning Show this week. Exciting: Farmer Wants a Wife host Natalie Gruzlewski promises that more than one farmer will find love this season 'There is so much romance on the land this year,' she gushed. 'I'm not gonna give too much away, but more than one farmer does find love,' she added. 'And it's a bit of a bumpy road ahead, but loads of romance this year.' It's been revealed the hit Channel Seven reality dating show will premiere on Sunday, July 4. Coming soon: Farmer Wants A Wife is set to return to TV screens soon. It's been revealed the hit Channel Seven reality dating show will premiere on Sunday, July 4 Natalie will return as host, with this year's farmers - Will, Sam, Matt, Andrew and Rob - all looking for love. 'I'm so excited to guide our newest crop of nervous and lovable Aussie farmers in their search for true love,' the 44-year-old TV host said in a statement. 'These farmers and ladies have opened their farms and hearts in the hope of finding their happily ever after, and it's a privilege to be a part of their life-changing love stories.' While this year's show attracted thousands of applicants, each farmer selected just eight women for a series of speed dates. Back for more: Host Natalie Gruzlewski (pictured) will return, with this year's farmers - Will, Sam, Matt, Andrew and Rob - all looking for love From there, they'll each choose five women to move in with them on their farms as they get to know each other better and decide if the country life is for them. This year, one woman will be given an advantage over the others, getting to spend 24 hours alone with her farmer before the other hopefuls arrive. The selected women will then spend six weeks with their farmer as they decide if they're compatible. Looking for love: While this year's show attracted thousands of applicants, each farmer selected just eight women for a series of speed dates The show is considered to be one of the most successful reality dating shows, generating nine marriages, one long-term relationship and 23 babies. A trailer for the upcoming season dropped on Instagram on Sunday, teasing what fans of the show can expect from the upcoming series. 'Five new Farmers are looking for love... and more than one will find it,' it promised. He rose to fame on the Netflix reality show Too Hot to Handle. And now, Harry Jowsey has launched a new dating app called Lolly and spoke about the exciting venture. The 24-year-old teamed up with Disney star Milo Manheim and YouTuber personality Mike Majlak to release the app he described as 'Tiktok meets Tinder' in a recent Instagram video. 'This is what online dating should be like': Too Hot to Handle star Harry Jowsey has launched a new dating app Lolly and calls it 'Tiktok meets Tinder' He told ET on Wednesday: 'We've been buzzing to get this app launched and show the world what online dating should be like.' The reality TV hunk explained that the app gives users and himself the chance to showcase their personality through videos on their profile. 'Lolly gives me a great opportunity to show more of my personality through videos and my playful side, whereas being on reality dating shows only shows a little percentage of my personality,' he said. Looking for love: Harry, who admitted he was single, said the app gives users and himself the chance to show their personality through videos on their profile. He hopes to match someone with great energy and is driven, saying: 'If you tick those two boxes, I will want to marry you' Harry admitted he was single and also on the app hoping to match someone who has great energy and is driven. 'If you tick those two boxes, I will want to marry you on the spot. So download Lolly and come match me!' he said. Meanwhile, in a video on Lolly's Instagram account, Harry was busy promoting the app on Saturday. TikTok meets Tinder: Harry was busy promoting Lolly on Instagram, on Saturday. After admitting he was suffering from pink eye, he told followers: 'So if you love TikTok and get a little bit horny - this is the app for you,' he shared After admitting he was suffering from pink eye, he told followers: 'This dating app is literally TikTok meets Tinder.' 'So if you love TikTok and get a little bit horny - this is the app for you,' he shared. As a special incentive, Harry revealed the he and season two Too Hot to Handle star Chase DeMoor would be active on the app over the weekend to match with everyone. Reality TV stars: Harry rose to fame on the first season of Netflix's Too Hot to Handle and found love with Canadian beauty Francesca Farago (pictured). The couple even got engaged during the show's reunion over Zoom, but that did not last long as they split up in June 2020 Harry rose to fame on the first season of Netflix's Too Hot to Handle and found love with Canadian beauty Francesca Farago. The couple even got engaged during the show's reunion over Zoom, but that did not last long as they split up in June 2020. However, they recently sparked rumours of a reunion as they shared photos of them together at a resort in Mexico. She's the Victoria's Secret model who announced she's expecting her first baby in April. And on Saturday, Georgia Fowler, 28, gave fans a glimpse of her growing baby bump during a trip to the beach. The Kiwi stunner posed beach-side in a matching white bikini set. Bumping along nicely! On Saturday, Victoria's Secret model Georgia Fowler gave fans a glimpse of her growing baby bump during a trip to the beach She simply captioned the post, which included scenic footage of the sea before her, 'Winter swims.' In one photo, she has her toes sinking into the sand as she tassels her hair up and looks off into the distance. Meanwhile, in a second, Georgia is seen looking into the camera lens, while her body is angled on the side, showing off her burgeoning baby bump. Beautiful shot: In one photo, Georgia is seen looking into the camera lens, while her body is angled on the side, showing off her burgeoning baby bump Georgia, is expecting the baby with restauranteur boyfriend Nathan Dalah, 26. Back in April, Georgia announced she's pregnant with her first child. She shared the happy news on Instagram alongside a series of gorgeous black and white photographs of her baby bump. Family: Georgia is expecting her first child with restaurateur boyfriend Nathan Dalah, 26 At the time, she sweetly announce the news by writing: 'We can't wait to meet you little one.' 'It's been hard to keep this one quiet, but now it's pretty hard to hide,' Georgia continued. 'Nathan and I couldn't be happier to share our exciting news with you. We cannot wait to meet you little one and begin our next adventure together.' She finished: 'The best is yet to come.' Nathan, a co-founder of the Fishbowl restaurant group, also shared the sweet baby news on his respective Instagram account and revealed they're having a daughter. Edwina Bartholomew is sharing her thoughts on the current nappy change debate. Conservation was sparked earlier this week when a popular childcare chain urged parents to be more 'respectful' of babies and toddlers when changing nappies, and to ask for 'co-operation' from the youngsters. 'I find the suggestion that you ask your child to give consent before changing their nappy to be a little absurd,' Edwina wrote in an op-ed for the Daily Telegraph. Not a fan! Edwina Bartholomew is sharing her thoughts on the current nappy change debate, calling it 'absurd' 'Asking for consent is a nice thought but just not practical on a day-to-day basis when you are juggling Sudocrem, wipes and nappies with a less than co-operative small person,' she added. Mum-of-one Edwina shares baby daughter Molly with husband Neil Varcoe. Staff at the childcare chain Only About Children recently sent a letter to parents encouraging them to wait before their child has finished playing before changing their nappy as they 'don't like to be interrupted'. 'Ask for your baby's help, talk them through what you are doing and encourage the use of senses,' the letter read, according to The Herald Sun. Family: Mum-of-one Edwina shares baby daughter Molly with husband Neil Varcoe 'When toddlers become mobile, nappy changing may look quite different. Continue to ask for co-operation but understand that your toddler may wish to now stand for their nappy change.' National education manager Angela Ngavaine said staff 'involve' the babies and toddlers in the process by asking 'are you ready for a nappy change?' 'Some may look away or shake their head and so we say, "I can see you're not ready, how about I change Jack and then come back to you?'" she said. Ms Ngavaine said staff are also encouraged to warn a child before wiping food off their face. Overdoing it? Staff at Only About Children have encouraged parents to ask their babies for permission to change their nappies (stock image) But Aussies have slammed the move as 'utterly ridiculous' and 'nonsense'. 'I wonder what a respected clinical psychologist would say about this?' one social media user wrote. 'What a joke. The worlds gone mad and to think some mothers/parents will believe this crap,' said another. 'Can I ask my toddler to cook dinner for us. Vacuum the house and do some washing. Then they can put themselves to bed,' a third comment read. 'If I had to ask and wait for my toddler son to stop playing. He would have had nappy burn from sitting too long in a dirty nappy. He never stopped playing. This is just stupid.' Steve Price insists there is no bad blood between him and 2GB's Ray Hadley after a deal saw him replace the talkback king on regional radio. The 66-year-old told The Daily Telegraph on Saturday: 'There's no personal animosity between stuff at all. I consider Ray to be one of the good guys left at 2GB.' The deal, which came into effect this week, saw Price - who moved to Southern Cross Austereo in 2019 - and his talk show take over The Ray Hadley Morning Show across Triple M's regional networks. It's all good: Steve Price (right) told The Daily Telegraph there is 'no personal animosity' between himself and 2GB host Ray Hadley (left) after replacing the talkback king on regional radio Australia Today with Steve Price will broadcast in markets such as Mt Gambier, Toowoomba, Dubbo and Maryborough. The former I'm A Celebrity star said: 'We texted (when it was announced) but we haven't spoken directly about it.' He said that his long-time friend was likely not happy about loosing his regional audience, but said it was business deal made by their bosses. Regional radio take over: The deal, which came into effect this week, saw Price - who moved to Southern Cross Austereo in 2019 - and his talk show take over The Ray Hadley Morning Show across Triple M's regional networks Out of their hands: Price said Hadley was likely not happy about loosing his regional audience, but said it was business deal made by their bosses. He said: 'So it may not be something that will sit that easily with him initially but Southern Cross made a business decision' 'So it may not be something that will sit that easily with him initially but Southern Cross made a business decision they had a contract with Nine that expired on June 30 and they decided to put their own talent in that slot and that's just the way it goes.' Daily Mail Australia has contact Nine Radio for comment. Earlier this year Ray married Sophie Baird, his former secretary. The pair married in an intimate ceremony at Saddles, a gourmet restaurant in Mount White, on Saturday, March 27. Newlyweds: Ray married Sophie Baird, his former secretary, in an intimate ceremony at Saddles, a gourmet restaurant in Mount White, on Saturday, March 27 Among the 118 guests were Ray's first wife, Anne Marie, and his three children, Daniel, Laura and Sarah, as well as Sophie's children from her first marriage. Ray and Sophie then enjoyed a honeymoon on Hayman Island during the Easter break. The couple had to postpone their wedding three times last year due to Covid restrictions. Laura Dundovic revealed she has been paying special attention to her mental health, amid Sydney's second lockdown. On Friday, the 33-year-old told Stellar that last year's lockdown was a wake up call that spurred her to work on developing a 'good relationship' with herself. 'It was one of those moments when you realise that everything can be taken from you,' the model explained of being stuck at home. Self care: Laura Dundovic discussed taking care of her mental health amid Sydney's second lockdown 'So you've got to have a good relationship with yourself at the end of the day, to be able to cope with all that change,' she said, adding it is something she is continually working on. The former Miss Universe Australia revealed that last year she discovered that her main driver was to find purpose. She explained that writing up a daily checklist helped her while in the confines of her home. Learning to cope with change: She told Stellar that last year's lockdown was a wake up call that spurred her to work on developing a 'good relationship' with herself Creating a routine: The model revealed that writing a daily checklist helped her find purpose while in the confines of her home during last year's lockdown. She said: 'I write a checklist every day of things I need to do and even if they're small, I feel satisfied' 'I write a checklist every day of things I need to do and even if they're small, I feel satisfied,' she added, noting that the activity became a good routine for her. Like many Sydneysiders, Laura is currently under stay-at-home orders. But it was only several weeks ago she was lapping up the sunshine in Western Australia for a photo shoot. Working it: Like many Sydneysiders, Laura is currently under stay-at-home orders - but it was only several weeks ago she was lapping up the sunshine in Western Australia for a photo shoot On set: Laura was joined on the shoot by her friends and fellow models Phoebe O'Hanlon, Dominique Elissa and Natalie Roser The blonde beauty flaunted her sensational physique in a racy black bikini as she posed against the red cliffs of Cape Peron North for Ark swimwear's latest range. Laura was also joined on the shoot by her friends and fellow models Phoebe O'Hanlon, Dominique Elissa and Natalie Roser. The group of women also shot photos at the iconic Ningaloo Reef, where Laura donned a tangerine two piece by Ark swimwear. Paris Hilton knows a thing or two about style. And on Friday, the 40-year-old socialite looked runway-ready as she strutted her way to the entrance of the San Vicente Bungalows for lunch with her fiance Carter Reum. Hilton slipped into a blue and white striped summer dress, which was cinched-in along her midriff to help highlight her feminine figure. Gliding: Paris Hilton, 40, looked summer fresh when she stepped out to the San Vicente Bungalows for lunch with her finace Carter Reum on Friday In keeping with her flirty persona, she unzipped the stylish number several inches down to give a hint of cleavage. The former Simple Life star also donned a pair of pointed strappy white heels that matched her fishnet stockings and leather crossbody bag. Paris' blonde shoulder-length tresses were parted to one side and bumped under. She rounded out the ensemble with a pair of large white sunglasses that would have made any screen siren of yesteryear proud. Stylish: The hotel heiress showed off her flare for fashion in a blue and white striped summer dress and fishnet stockings during her lunch date at the celebrity hotspot Hilton and Reum were first linked romantically in December 2019. The businessman eventually popped the question while the couple celebrated her 40th birthday on a private island this past February, although they have yet to announce a wedding date. Her engagement ring, a mega-carat, emerald-cut sparkler, was designed by jeweler Jean Dousset, who's the great-great-grandson of famed French jeweler Louis Cartier, according to People. Item: Hilton was later seen chatting it up with her fiance during their lunch date The New York City native is planning on filming a TV special about the run-up to their wedding, but so far Reum, a venture capitalist, has not agreed to be directly involved. In a recent interview, Hilton has stated that she's still trying to convince him to allow the cameras to film him for the show. 'He doesn't like the camera. He doesn't do red carpets, doesn't do interviews. He's so focused on his business, and I love that about him,' she confessed. Her mother was televised having a decidedly appropriate reaction to her relationship with a much older father of three. And on Friday, Amelia Gray Hamlin was up to her sexy best on Instagram, when she posed in a daring duo of selfies in nothing but a pair of flared high-waisted slacks. The model, 20, stood topless in the lilac pants, which were courtesy of the label she favors, boohoo. On Friday: Amelia Gray Hamlin was up to her sexy best on Instagram, when she posed in a daring duo of selfies in nothing but a pair of flared high-waisted slacks Amelia accessorized with some bracelets and a solitary chain around her neck and absolutely nothing else. Her straight brown hair hung down loosely on her shoulders, and she modeled her pout made famous by her mother. 'pants are @boohoo, top is m.i.a.' Hamlin captioned the snaps coyly. It was just the latest fabulous getup from brand boohoo that Amelia modeled on social media. Luxuriating: The model, 20, stood totally topless in the lilac pants, which were courtesy of the label she favors, boohoo She recently collaborated with the fast fashion brand to release a collection of summer-ready pieces in June. 'Say hello to our hottest new collab boohoo x Amelia Gray. The exclusively designed collection by muse of the moment Amelia Gray will having you feeling sexy all summer long,' reads the collection's official description on Boohoo. With a blend of wearable neutrals and eye-catching pastels, the Boohoo x Amelia Gray collection allows fans of the star to 'choose from bold and boujee two pieces, attention demanding one pieces and so much more.' Fabulous: It was just the latest fabulous getup from brand boohoo that Amelia modeled on social media Collaboration: She recently collaborated with the fast fashion brand to release a collection of summer-ready pieces in June 'Whether youre hitting the bar or the beach, Amelia Gray has covered it all. Effortless summer pieces, this is the collection to fall in love with this summer,' the description concluded. Aside from her fashion and modeling endeavors, the daughter of Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin has been in a very publicized relationship with Scott Disick, 38. This week on the Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills, Rinna, 57, revealed she was shocked to discover who her daughter's new beau was. Lisa admitted that she was nervous about their relationship, but didn't know what she could do. May-December romance: The daughter of Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin has been in a very publicized relationship with Scott Disick; seen last month in Miami 'It's a what the fk moment,' Rinna admitted. 'She's 19! He's 37 with three kids, hello!' Lisa was shown in a flashback three weeks earlier speaking to Amelia over the phone, and her daughter shared that she was spending Halloween with her 'friend' Scott. The reality star said she believed they were just friends until seeing them in a Daily Mail article about them attending a Halloween party together and later saw them frolicking on the beach together. Peter FitzSimons has urged Australians to stop listening to 'anti-vax nutters' amid the country's poor rate of vaccinations. Penning a column for Sydney Morning Herald, the 60-year-old said he was concerned that sporting events would stop if people didn't get vaccinated soon. 'We sit stone motherless LAST on the OECD list of percentage of the population that has been vaccinated about a 10th of the percentages of the US and the UK,' he wrote. Stern warning: Peter FitzSimons has urged Australians to stop listening to 'anti-vax nutters' amid the country's poor rate of vaccinations He said that the AFL and NRL are 'hanging by a thread' right now and 'at risk' of grinding to a halt if coronavirus continues to spread. 'If that happens, I can whinge. And you can whinge,' he wrote. 'But Johnny and Jenny down the road, who refuse to get the vaccination, who listen to the anti-vax nutters, who actually believe Alan Jones when he says COVID is no big deal, cannot whinge.' He then said that everybody who can 'must get vaccinated as soon as possible'. 'We sit stone motherless LAST on the OECD list of percentage of the population that has been vaccinated about a 10th of the percentages of the US and the UK,' wrote the star It comes after his wife, Lisa Wilkinson, and her co-hosts on The Project lashed out at Sydneysiders for spending too much time outside amid the latest lockdown. The Project panel blasted people in 'activewear' wandering around the streets shopping, claiming they are out for 'essential exercise. Hosts of the program said Sydney residents still feel like this is 'the lockdown you have when you're not really having a lockdown'. Wilkinson also raised concerns that many in the Harbour City aren't even bothering to wear face masks. Not happy: It comes after his wife, Lisa Wilkinson, and her co-hosts on The Project lashed out at Sydneysiders for spending too much time outside amid the latest lockdown She said at her local cafe on Thursday only about a third of people stopping in to get a takeaway coffee were wearing masks. 'They almost all had activewear on, so they could probably argue, "I'm out exercising", but it didn't look very strenuous,' Wilkinson said. She said the premier doesn't seem to be getting the message across when it comes to the seriousness of the stay-at-home orders and the dangers posed by the deadly virus. 'We still feel like this is the lockdown you have when you're not really having a lockdown,' she said. Sydney was ordered into lockdown last Saturday and will remain under stay-at-home orders until at least July 9. She makes 63 look like the new 43! And on Friday, Sharon Stone proudly showed off her youthful visage as she stepped out to do a little shopping in Beverly Hills. The legendary leading lady flashed an infectious smile before heading inside Optometrix, a professional eye care center. Beaming: Sharon Stone, 63, was glowing when she headed out to do some shopping, alongside a male friend, in Beverly Hills on Friday Sharon slipped her fit figure into a pair of cuffed denim jeans and a flouncy cream blouse with a plunging neckline. The Casino actress strutted down the sidewalk in a pair of burgundy heels and accessorized with several necklaces, as well as some stylish sunglasses. Her look was rounded out with her blonde tresses cut short and softly swept out of her face. It Stone's glowing smile that stood out the most, especially when she threw up a peace sign while browsing the aisles of a store. Cool feline: The Casino star flashed a confident and playful smile when she struck a pose for an admiring photographer dressed in cuffed denim jeans and a plunging cream-colored blouse All you need is love: The Oscar-nominated actress flashed a peace sign, which has turned into a trademark of sorts for her, while shopping for glasses The day wasn't all play for Stone, who also took to her Instagram page and posted a photo of herself sitting back on a couch dressed in that very same outfit, with the exception of a purple blazer that she added to the ensemble. 'Off to work,' she wrote in the caption along with some props for her glam squad that included Stylist @paris_libby; Makeup @amyoresman; and Hair @robertvetica. A few hours earlier Stone posted a video where she gave 'Thx for the Rose and flowers' while sitting on a chair, seemingly at her Los Angeles home dressed in a black and white-patterned robe. The Basic Instinct actress has two new films slated to drop in the near future: the drama-romance Beauty that's expected to be released on Netflix sometime in 2021. It also features Giancarlo Esposito, James Urbaniak, Niecy Nash, and rapper Joey Bada$$. Stylin': The Pennsylvania native added a purple blazer to her ensemble when she began her work day; she also gave thanks to her glam team The Pennsylvania native also plays the lead role in the drama-romance, What About Love, alongside Andy Garcia and Iain Glen, among others. The film is slated to premiere in February 2022. After a few years modeling and small roles through the 1980s, Stone first garnered widespread recognition for her role in the science fiction action film Total Recall (1990), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. She solidified her status as a leading lady with her role in Basic Instinct, Sliver (1993), The Quick And The Dead (1995), and most-importantly, Casino (1995), which she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar. In more recent years, the mother of three has had success on the small screeen in the acclaimed series Mosaic (2017) and Ratched (2020). Smelling the roses: A few hours earlier Stone posted a video where she gave 'Thx for the Rose and flowers' while sitting on a chair, seemingly at her Los Angeles home Scout Willis teased a hint of her toned abs as she headed out for coffee in Los Angeles on Friday. The 29-year-old, who is the middle daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis stepped out in a pink crop top and loose-fitting trousers in a caramel brown shade. Scout was joined by her beloved Chihuahua Grandma, who she held in the crook of her arm during the outing. Stepping out in style: Scout Willis teased a hint of her toned abs as she headed out for coffee in Los Angeles on Friday Scout tried to beat the Los Angeles heat as she carried not one, but two iced coffees. The musician added a few subtle accessories to her outfit, including a delicate gold necklace and small pearl drop earrings. Scout carried around her essentials in a small chocolate brown crocodile print handbag and carried a wine red striped shirt. Earthy shades: The 29-year-old, who is the middle daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis stepped out in a pink crop top and loose-fitting trousers in a caramel brown shade The star kept things comfortable as she stepped out in the city wearing a pair of mustard yellow clogs. She kept her sleek dark locks flowing down her back, and sweot the front section behind her ears. Willis often litters her Instagram with snaps of her pooch. Last summer Scout uploaded a snap and said: 'This dog...I cannot even begin to put words together to accurately describe my devotion to this magical, mystical creature that I have the sacred privilege of caring for.' Free: She posted a photo on Instagram in a bikini top and denim shorts on 17th June to commemorate her 5-year sobriety She continued, gushing: 'I consider Grandma one of my closest friends and despite the fact that I when I found her I wasnt even interested in having a dog, she is the absolute dog love of my life! GRANDMAAAAAAAA. I just love her so much'. Two weeks ago, Scout celebrated her five-year sobriety. She posted a photo on Instagram in a bikini top and denim shorts on 17th June to commemorate her feat. Scout spent the majority of quarantine splitting time between her Los Angeles digs and Demi's home in Hailey, Idaho along with sisters Rumer, 32, and Tallulah, 27. When Tallulah got engaged in early May to fiance Dillon Buss, Scout gushed that she was 'buoyed' by the news and couldn't wait to add 'the first official Willis brother' to the family. And despite not having a ring on her finger yet, Scout celebrated three years with her boyfriend Jake in October. She is currently working on an album, saying that she would be better about keeping her followers and 'interested parties abreast of the progress.' Sisters: Scout spent the majority of quarantine splitting time between her Los Angeles digs and mother Demi's home in Hailey, Idaho along with sisters Rumer, 32, and Tallulah, 27 She's known for playing Virginia Loc on the comedy-drama show Claws. And Karrueche Tran turned heads as she stepped out in paisley print hot pants and a matching orange crop top at Goya Studios in Los Angeles on Saturday. The American actress, 33, showcased her toned legs in the thigh-skimming shorts as she attended Saweetie's 28th birthday party. Wow: Karrueche Tran set pulses racing as she stepped out in paisley print hot pants and a matching orange crop top at Goya Studios in Los Angeles on Saturday The two-time Daytime Emmy award-winner, born Karrueche Tientrese Tran, put on a racy display in the co-ord, which she teamed with a matching orange jacket. The actress flaunted her taut abs in the crop top and shorts which came complete with a statement chain belt. Karrueche swept up her raven tresses into a high up-do with a side swept fringe and added a pair of orange sunglasses and large hoop earrings to the ensemble. Stepping out: The American actress, 33, showcased her toned legs in the thigh-skimming shorts as she attended Saweetie's 28th birthday party She completed her all-orange look with a chunky silver chain necklace and stacks of bangles and accentuated her endless legs in a pair of heeled tan boots. The bombshell toted an enviable Louis Vuitton bag which she held by her side as she worked her angles for the camera. Karrueche looked sensational as she posed for cameras with friends in the statement orange look. The outing comes after she was seen stepping out to support a runway show for LA fashion label RHUDE last month. The clothing brand, founded in 2015, showcased its Spring/Summer 2022 collection at an event held in Beverly Hills. Birthday girl: ICY GRL rapper Saweetie celebrated turning 28 with an elaborate birthday bash on Friday night Turning heads: The actress flaunted her taut abs in the crop top and shorts co-ord, which featured an eye-catching chain belt across the front Party: The bombshell toted an enviable Louis Vuitton bag which she held by her side as she worked her angles for the camera with friends in the statement orange look Tran showcased her beaming smile, despite ex-boyfriend Chris Brown also attending the event. She was also joined by Insecure actress Erin Pepper and Hollywood costume designer Dion Demetries at the event. Tran posted a photo of herself and American record producer Mustard at the runway show on her Instagram story at the time. The clothing brand, RHUDE, was founded in 2015 and showcased its Spring/Summer 2022 collection at the event in Beverly Hills. Laura Byrne has revealed that she is struggling with hair loss after welcoming her second child in February. In an Instagram Stories post on Saturday, the 34-year-old shared her vitamin regime and said she hoped she'd stop shedding before her wedding. 'Really hoping this is going to help my post partum hair loss. Or at this rate I'll have to sticky tape my veil to my bald head at the wedding,' she wrote. Family: Laura Byrne has revealed that she is struggling with hair loss after welcoming her second child in February. The Bachelor star and her fiance Matty Johnson have two daughters under two, Marlie-Mae, 16 months, and Lola, five months. All pictured The Bachelor star and her fiance Matty 'J' Johnson two daughters under two - Marlie-Mae, 16 months, and Lola, five months. She also experienced hair loss after the birth of Marlie-Mae, revealing the clumps she'd lost in the shower. 'When people talked about postpartum hair loss I wasn't expecting this... from one wash,' she wrote. Boo! 'Really hoping this is going to help my post partum hair loss. Or at this rate I'll have to sticky tape my veil to my bald head at the wedding,' she wrote Oh no: She also experienced hair loss after the birth of Marlie-Mae, revealing the clumps she'd lost in the shower at the time Laura previously hinted at her hair loss while on holiday with Matty in Polignano a Mare in Italy when Marlie-May was four months old. Sharing a photo of herself running a hand through her hair while standing on a seaside balcony, Laura joked about her hair falling out. 'Urgh that view, what a boring cliche. You know what would be a really great way to end this holiday... Postpartum hair loss!' she captioned the photo. Sacrifice: 'When people talked about postpartum hair loss I wasn't expecting this... from one wash,' she wrote Shedding: Laura previously hinted at her hair loss while on holiday with Matty in Polignano a Mare in Italy when Marlie-May was four months old. 'You know what would be a really great way to end this holiday... Postpartum hair loss!' she captioned the photo Laura and Matty got engaged in April 2019 and almost two years later, the pair set a wedding date. During an Instagram Q&A session with fans Laura revealed some intimate details about her wedding. 'We've just got ourselves a wonderful wedding planner @kashayaco because we have zero time... but we are getting married at the end of this year,' she wrote. Matty said that they thought they were going to tie the knot in 2020, but failed to plan anything before the coronavirus pandemic hit. He played the iconic role of Rocky Balboa in the franchise movies. And Sylvester Stallone dressed up as he headed out for dinner with his gorgeous family on Saturday ahead of his 75th birthday next week. The power couple brought along their three stunning daughters for the occasion, Scarlet Rose, 19, Sistine, 23, and Sophia Rose, 24. Looking smart: Sylvester Stallone and his wife Jennifer Flavin were dressed up as they headed out for dinner in LA on Saturday, ahead of his 75th birthday next week The Hollywood actor was smartly dressed in a white shirt which he wore untucked over a pair of sophisticated pin-striped black trousers. The director and producer walked arm-in-arm with wife and former model Jennifer Flavin, 52, as he stepped out in a pair of chocolate brown patent leather oxfords. His wife dressed up for the occasion, donning an emerald and black satin patterned dress and matching black sandal heels. The mother-of-three added a touch of bling to her look with a gem buckle on the dress and silver hoop earrings. Stunning: The couple brought along their three stunning daughters for the celebration, Scarlet Rose, 19 (pictured left), Sistine, 23 (pictured middle), and Sophia Rose, 24 (pictured right) Their youngest daughter, Scarlet, who newly graduated from High School with academic honours, donned a grey mini dress and thin black heels. The petite blonde draped a black denim jacket across her shoulders as she stood behind her older siblings. Scarlet styled her dewy makeup with a touch of nude gloss, soft rosy blush, and accentuated her piercing green eyes with false lashes. Gorgeous: The whole family went out to celebrate on Saturday. Pictured wife Jennifer Flavin, 52 (far left), Sylvester Stallone, 75, Sistine, 23, Scarlet Rose, 19, Sophia Rose, 24 (far right) The middle daughter, Sistine, looked chic in a revealing light brown long sleeved wrap dress, which she paired with leopard print heeled mules. The budding actress, who made her acting debut as Nicole in the survival horror film 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, did a glamorous makeup look for the event. The 23-year-old, who's also signed to IMG models and has appeared in Teen Vogue and Harpers Bazaar, opted for shimmery gold eyeshadow, which she paired with heavy lashes and peachy blusher. The eldest daughter, Sophia, showcased her taut abs in a white crop top, which she teamed with a pair of skin-tight jet-black leather trousers. The communications and entrepreneurship and film graduate stood tall in a pair of black and gold cross-front heels. She chose a glamorous look of matte eyeshadow in a soft brown palette and nude lipgloss on her pout. Dolled up: Sistine posted a video to her 1.5M Instagram followers with her family whilst they were out for dinner Night Fever: Her dad, mum and two other sisters posed and smiled as the Bee Gees played in the background The sisters accessorised with a multitude of gold necklaces, whilst the middle daughter carried her essentials in a small pink purse that she carried over her shoulder. Sistine also posted a video to her 1.5M Instagram followers of her looking very dolled up with her family whilst they were out for dinner. Her dad, mum and two other sisters posed and smiled as the Bee Gee's Night Fever played in the background. Sophia also posted a series of images and videos to her Instagram story on Saturday, showcasing her toned stomach in a mirror selfie, as well as posing with younger sister Scarlet. Toned: Sophia also posted a series of images and videos to her Instagram story on Saturday, showcasing her slim stomach in a mirror selfie Liv Tyler looked effortlessly chic as she celebrated her 44th birthday in a plunging black dress on Thursday. The actress beamed with joy as she was presented with two incredible birthday cakes that were decorated with flower arrangements and fruit. And the lucky Lord of the Rings star didn't fail to show her appreciation for the elaborate spread as she gasped with joy and prepared to blow out her candles. Party: Liv Tyler looked effortlessly chic as she celebrated her 44th birthday in a plunging black dress on Thursday Ready to party, Liv seemed in high spirits on her birthday as she enjoyed a glass of red wine with her pudding. Elsewhere on the busy table, martinis and gifts surrounded the star as she marked turning 44. The actress looked radiant as she smiled in the candlelight and let her chestnut tresses fall naturally around her face. Accentuating her natural beauty, Liv kept her makeup minimal for the party and looked gorgeous in the deep V-neck dress. Impressive: The actress beamed with joy as she was presented with two incredible birthday cakes that were decorated with flower arrangements and fruit And the star's famous friends rushed to wish her well on the special day. Taking to Instagram Eva Mendes touchingly told Liv: 'Happy Birthday @misslivalittle Love you forever & forever. Love you with all my heart.' Alongside the sweet message, Eva shared a slideshow of professional black and white photos of her and Liv out and about together. Birthday girl: The lucky Lord of the Rings star didn't fail to show her appreciation for the elaborate spread as she gasped with joy as she prepared to blow out the candles 'Love you with all my heart': The star's famous friends, including Eva Mendes (pictured) rushed to wish her well on the special day (pictured in 2009) The birthday snaps comes after Eva admitted on Wednesday that her partner Ryan Gosling doesn't take any of her Instagram photos. Eva was asked by a fan how many of the images she shares have been snapped by Hollywood star beau. 'None that I post,' she responded. 'My friends take them and I take theirs. It's a girl thang.' The couple have been together since 2011 when they met while starring together in the movie The Place Beyond The Pines. Ryan is currently shooting the film The Gray Man on location and Eva, 47, has accompanied him along with their two daughters Esmeralda, six, and Amada, five. The Joe Exotic biopic is set to begin filming in Brisbane, Australia later this month. And the star of the upcoming Peacock limited series, actor John Cameron Mitchell, reveals he has not met Joe Exotic - and didn't want to before he portrayed the Tiger King himself on the big screen. 'We're told not to connect with the real folks. We want to be impartial,' the 58-year-old told The Courier Mail on Saturday. No thanks! The Joe Exotic biopic is set to begin filming in Brisbane, Australia later this month. And the star of the upcoming Peacock limited series, actor John Cameron Mitchell (pictured) reveals he has not met Joe Exotic - and didn't want to Complicating matters further is the fact that John is allergic to cats. 'I was a bit nervous about the tigers not because of danger but because I'm allergic to cats. But all animals will be CG. Keeps PETA happy,' he said. John is currently completing mandatory 14-day quarantine in Sydney after arriving Down Under. Staying neutral: 'We're told not to connect with the real folks. We want to be impartial,' the 58-year-old told The Courier Mail on Saturday. Pictured: Joe Exotic Speaking to The Herald Sun last week, the actor and director said that he found the original docuseries a tad outrageous. 'I had to stop watching it I felt soiled,' he told the paper. ''Everyone was just behaving so badly'. However he says he understands just how to play the 'brilliant' character of Joe Exotic. 'Here's this guy who is from where I am from. I used to live an hour away from his zoo when I was a kid, you know, in Oklahoma,' he said. Meow! Complicating matters further is the fact that John is allergic to cats. 'I was a bit nervous about the tigers not because of danger but because I'm allergic to cats. But all animals will be CG. Keeps PETA happy,' he said 'So I know the vibe and I know that certain kind of gay guy... They're tough and they're damaged and they're entertaining and they're admirable and they're repulsive,' he added. John says that he sees Joe as having an 'aggressive victim mentality' and having 'built up this tough redneck exterior' to protect himself from the world. The actor will play the mullet-wearing Tiger King alongside SNL star Kate McKinnon, 37, who will portray Carole Baskin, the big cat enthusiast who becomes his rival when she tries to shut down his business. Stars: The actor will play the mullet-wearing Tiger King alongside SNL star Kate McKinnon (left) who will portray Carole Baskin (right) the big cat enthusiast who becomes his rival when she tries to shut down his business The cast also includes Dennis Quaid as Joe's reality show producer Rick Kirkham, Brian Van Holt as zoo manager John Reinke, Nat Wolff plays Joe's first husband Travis Maldonado, and Sam Keeley as Joe's second husband John Finlay. Joe, a 58-year-old former zoo operator, had owned and operated the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park (1999-2018) in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, known for its big cats, before he became a convicted felon. In 2019, the Kansas native was found guilty on 17 federal charges of animal abuse and two counts of attempted murder for hire in a plot to kill Baskin, the CEO of Big Cat Rescue. Bachelor in Paradise star Ciarran Stott has revealed that he's been 'banned' from a Melbourne pub - and he claims rivalry over his ex, Big Brother Australia star Tully Smyth, is behind the decision. The run-in occurred when the 27-year-old, who had just returned from Europe, where it's believed he was filming Love Island UK, joined friends for dinner on Friday night at The Wolf Windsor in Chapel Street. In an Instagram Stories post, Ciarran shared a social media message he received from the pub's account after the group finished their starters. Banned? Bachelor in Paradise star Ciarran Stott (pictured) has revealed that he's been 'banned' from a Melbourne pub - and he claims rivalry over his ex, Big Brother Australia star Tully Smyth, is behind the decision It read: 'You are banned from our venue you pathetic f**khead. Same goes with all of your mates'. In a subsequent post Ciarran wrote: 'Came in for a nice dinner to catch up with my mates and then get this message. Ok then won't be coming here again'. 'Would also like to point out, that's the first time I've been to the venue [This ban is] some sort of personal vendetta??' Venue: The run-in occurred when the 27-year-old, who had just returned from Europe, where it's believed he was filming Love Island UK, joined friends for dinner on Friday night at The Wolf Windsor (pictured) in Chapel Street Message: In an Instagram Stories post, Ciarran shared a social media message he received from the pub's account after the group finished their starters. It read: 'You are banned from our venue you pathetic f**khead. Same goes with all of your mates' Thank you: In another Instagram Story, the TV star said staff on duty handled the matter well Speaking to Pedestrian TV on Friday, Ciarran said that he suspected that his prior relationship with fellow reality star Tully, 33, may be behind the 'ban'. 'After posting it has come to my attention that the owner doesn't like me for my dating history with his ex Tully. Hence the message' he said. 'So we did nothing wrong it was clear it was a personal attack to me from him. I showed the manager who was working and they apologised sincerely and told us the meal was on the house. We left the venue and that was it.' Ex: Ciarran suspected that his prior relationship with fellow reality star Tully, 33, (pictured) may be behind the 'ban'. 'After posting it has come to my attention that the owner doesn't like me for my dating history with his ex Tully. Hence the message' he told Pedestrian TV Claims: When contacted by Pedestrian TV, The Wolf Windsor said the reality star was banned after 'allegedly swearing at staff and refusing to follow COVID guidelines including QR check-ins and wearing a face mask' When contacted by Pedestrian TV, The Wolf Windsor said the reality star was banned after 'allegedly swearing at staff and refusing to follow COVID guidelines including QR check-ins and wearing a face mask.' 'Because telling staff to f**k off when asked to check-in and wear a mask to a table is not cool,' a spokesperson for he venue told the website. Ciarran has denied that he was told to wear a mask and said he was not rude to staff. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to The Wolf Windsor for further comment. Words: 'Because telling staff to f**k off when asked to check-in and wear a mask to a table is not cool,' a spokesperson for the pub told the website Denied: Ciarran has denied that he was told to wear a mask and said he was not rude to staff Ciarran is best known for his controversial appearance on Bachelor in Paradise in 2020. The British TV star emerged as the show's resident villain alongside best friend Timm Hanly. He was previously a fan favourite when he appeared on the 2019 season of The Bachelorette Australia, winning hearts with his cheeky sense of humour. Coronation Street star Colson Smith has admitted that he used to go running in disguise and only at night as he was too 'embarrassed' over his size prior to his 10 stone weight loss. In a candid Instagram post in which he shared a video of the first time he went running, the Craig Tinker actor, 22, showed how he used to cover up in a cap and a scarf covering his face. Colson told his fans how he wanted to 'keep it real' as he opened up about his struggles with body image prior to his impressive body transformation and reflected on how far he had come. Candid: Coronation Street star Colson Smith has admitted that he used to go running in disguise and only at night as he was too 'embarrassed' over his size prior to his 10 stone weight loss (pictured left this month and right in 2019) Alongside a short clip of himself jogging in January this year, he penned: 'Earlier i posted my morning run, after I posted it I thought about how far Id come in my running & my general life. 'If Id have seen that post on my feed back then Id have hated it, it would have seemed impossible and a million miles away. 'So I wanted to share this with you, (Just to keep it real).' He went on: 'This was 10th January 2020 when I laced up for the first time, I was embarrassed to be seen so I went out at witching hour in disguise. Desperate measures: In a candid Instagram post in which he shared a video of the first time he went running, the Craig Tinker actor, 22, showed how he used to cover up in a cap and a scarf covering his face 'Everyone HAS to start somewhere. Try it, you really do deserve it.' The TV star's post was flooded with several positive comments from fans praising him for turning his life around. And in showing how much he's improved his running, Colson had earlier revealed that he'd ran his personal best, covering three miles in just 18 mins. It comes after Colson revealed that he was trolled over his 'looks' aged just 11 as he discussed his recent weight loss on This Morning in May. Struggles: : 'This was 10th January 2020 when I laced up for the first time, I was embarrassed to be seen so I went out at witching hour in disguise Good for you: Colson told his fans how he wanted to 'keep it real' as he opened up about his struggles with body image prior to his impressive body transformation and reflected on how far he had come (pictured in March) The actor, who plays lovable Craig Tinker on the cobbles, recently released a documentary called Bored Of Being The Fat Kid on his YouTube channel. Colson has shed an impressive amount of weight and become a fitness enthusiast after 'self-harming' with food, saying he was fed up of always being 'the fat kid'. Talking about the trolling he received before losing weight, the actor revealed that he first got vile comments when he was aged just 11-years-old and that he also experienced a 'difficult' time in school due to being the 'odd one out'. Weight loss journey: Colson recently revealed that he was trolled over his 'looks' aged just 11 as he discussed his recent weight loss on This Morning Colson said: 'At 11-years-old after my first episode I was quite excited. 'The first thing you do is search on Twitter to see what people are saying about you and your acting and they weren't talking about my acting, they were talking about the way I look. 'From a young age I'd had a difficult time in school because I was always the odd one out. From 11, being in the public eye, it came from there as well.' Starting out: The actor, who plays lovable Craig Tinker on the cobbles, recently released a documentary called Bored Of Being The Fat Kid on his YouTube channel (pictured in 2011 still) Transformed: Colson has shed an impressive amount of weight and become a fitness enthusiast after 'self-harming' with food, saying he was fed up of always being 'the fat kid' (pictured, left, in 2018, and, right, in May) Talking about trolling further, Colson added: 'People say things about you that they dont think youll necessarily see. 'As an actor and somebody who wants to perform, it comes down to it that in your job the acting comes for free and everything else comes with it. In a way it's part and parcel of the job. It shouldn't be, but it is.' Colson revealed that he decided to lose weight at the end of 2019 after he assessed his relationship with food, asking Coronation Street boss Iain MacLeod if his weight loss could be incorporated into a storyline for his character Craig Tinker. The star admitted that lockdown could have been a 'perfect excuse' for him to put weight on but instead it forced him to 'stop and refocus'. Sad: Talking about the trolling he received before losing weight, the actor revealed that he first got vile comments when he was aged just 11-years-old and that he also experienced a 'difficult' time in school due to being the 'odd one out' Colson said: 'I spoke to Ian our boss and were talking about whats next for Craig. I said Id be up for losing weight if we can fit it in a story and they came back and said we would. 'I sat down at the end of 2019 and said: "Im gonna make sure I can do this." Id always felt my role was to be the fat kid and I was 22, I've had the same job since I was 11 and I thought: "It's time for a change." 'In March, the world changed and it was lockdown and that could have been the perfect excuse but for me, it was the perfect opportunity to stop and refocus. In that time in lockdown I learned a lot about myself.' Colson said that he has realised how much 'self-respect' he has for himself after documenting his weight loss for his YouTube documentary, adding that he has gained confidence. Life decision: Colson revealed that he decided to lose weight at the end of 2019 after he assessed his relationship with food, asking Coronation Street boss Iain MacLeod if his weight loss could be incorporated into a storyline for his character Craig Tinker He said: 'Its just been one of those things. It was tied in with work and then I realised it was more important for Colson than it was for Craig on Coronation Street. 'I just sat down and made little goals. Its been an experience Ive really enjoyed. I always thought that was me. 'When I was making the film I realised how much self-respect I had for myself, versus how much I have for myself now. It's completely changed. In terms of my mental health, my ability and my confidence - it has changed a lot. 'It's something so simple like a little investment in yourself. Im excited whats next for Craig and how this will affect things. We saw him getting more confident...' 'Focus': The actor admitted that lockdown could have been a 'perfect excuse' for him to put weight on but instead it forced him to 'stop and refocus' (pictured in 2020) It comes after Colson described his relationship with food as 'self harm' after soaring to soap stardom at the tender age of 11. The 22-year-old opened up about being branded 'the fat kid' as a child star in a candid interview over the weekend. He told The Sun: 'At 11 years old I had a Twitter account. You log in, you search your name, you search 'Craig Corrie' and you're looking to see what people are saying about your character or your acting, and all they're saying is about your weight and the way you look. 'I was being branded as just the fat kid from day one. Even at school I was always the fat kid, I was always the odd one out.' He grew up on the stalwart ITV soap and, at age 17, moved into his own place in Manchester, away from his family. It was this point he let his relationship with food get the better of him, he revealed. 'I'm sat on Deliveroo every night. I got myself into a really unhealthy position. Food was a self harm to me like that, it was my comfort, and I didn't realise how much damage I was doing to myself with it,' he added. Colson said that his relationship with food was 'very bad' and that it was 'bingey' and 'probably a disorder'. Stephanie Davis has given an update on her condition after being hospitalised with Covid, saying she has severe chest pains, low oxygen levels and painful skin. The former Hollyoaks actress, 28, who is asthmatic and has not been vaccinated, was admitted on Thursday night after she 'woke up and couldn't move'. Speaking on her Instagram Story on Saturday from her hospital bed with an audibly croaky voice she said 'her chest felt so bad' and that her 'oxygen levels aren't great'. Illness: Former Hollyoaks actress Stephanie Davis has given fans an update on her condition after being hospitalised with Covid , saying she has 'severe chest pains' Looking visibly unwell, she said: 'Hey everyone thanks for your messages, I've been feeling too s**t to reply. 'I've not been well at all, I've just had some morphine and that's really helped with the pain. I don't know what's been going on but I've been getting severe pains in my oesophagus and in my chest and, it's not indigestion because I've not ate anything. 'Even when I have a sip of water the pain is unreal, I don't know what's going on. I'm feeling very spaced out on the morphine so I'm going to go back to sleep. It's been horrific. 'The pain in my skin was the worst, I couldn't touch my skin and my chest is so bad, my oxygen levels aren't great. I'll get seen to in a bit when the doctors come round. Pain: The 28-year-old, who is asthmatic and has not been vaccinated, was admitted on Thursday night after she 'woke up and couldn't move' Ouch: Speaking on her Instagram Story on Saturday from her hospital bed with an audibly croaky voice she said 'her chest felt so bad' and that her 'oxygen levels aren't great' 'People are all getting different side effects from what's going on - I'm guessing the pain in my chest is all linked as I've only just had this, when a sip of water goes down the pain is unreal. I've had some fluids as I'm dehydrated - I'll keep you all posted.' A spokesperson for Stephanie told MailOnline on Thursday: 'She has been in isolation and is awaiting a chest X-ray. 'She's at risk because of her underlying asthma. Stephanie has not been vaccinated yet because of her allergies and anaphylaxis.' Late on Thursday night, while in her hospital bed and wearing an oxygen mask, the soap star explained in a video that the onset of her symptoms 'happened so quick.' Despite being in her twenties, the actress falls into a higher risk category for Covid because of her asthma. Patients with severe asthma were at the top of the priority list when the vaccines began to be rolled out late last year and mild asthmatics were offered the jab during the second phase of the rollout. But some people with severe food allergies or a history of anaphylaxis were advised to consult with their doctor before getting the jabs. Oh no! Late on Thursday night, while in her hospital bed and wearing an oxygen mask, the soap star explained in a video that the onset of her symptoms 'happened so quick' Terrifying: The star, who suffers from asthma and has not been vaccinated against coronavirus, was rushed to hospital on in an ambulance Thursday night Just days ago: Two days earlier, Stephanie looked happy and healthy as she attended a friend's wedding with her bike shop worker beau Oliver Tasker What happened? Stephanie had previously explained: 'Last night I had a bit of a headache before bed, and my sinuses. I woke up so ill. I had to call an ambulance, and I've tested positive for Covid-19' Speaking to her camera phone, Stephanie explained: 'So last night I had a bit of a headache before bed, and my sinuses. 'I woke up so ill. I had to call an ambulance basically, and I've tested positive for Covid-19. I feel like I've been ran over. 'The worst part is my skin. I can't touch my skin, it's killing me. I'm just in so much pain. WHY HAS STEPHANIE NOT BEEN GIVEN A COVID VACCINE? The vaccine rollout began opening to people under 30 in June. But former Hollyoaks actress Stephanie Davis, 28, may have been prioritised for the jabs ahead of her peers because she is asthmatic. Severe asthmatics were considered 'extremely clinically vulnerable' and included in the top four priority groups when the vaccines were first rolled out. People with more mild forms started to be offered the jab from April. But Stephanie is believed to have serious food allergies and a history of anaphylaxis which will have complicated the rollout. In the Government's Covid vaccine guidance it says that the jabs: Should not be given to those who have had a previous systemic allergic reaction (including immediate-onset anaphylaxis) to: a previous dose of the same Covid-19 vaccine any component (excipient) of the Covid-19 vaccine e.g. polyethylene glycol (PEG) The three vaccines being used in the UK currently are made by Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca. The two mRNA vaccines use completely different ingredients to the British-made AstraZeneca jab. People who are allergic to the substances in one jab will normally be offered an alternative. But the AZ vaccine is being restricted in under-40s because in very rare cases it can cause deadly blood clots. Advertisement 'Oh my god, it's horrible. And it just, it happened so quick. I basically woke up and couldn't move,' revealed the soap star. 'I've never had sore skin before, so I thought: 'Well, this isn't like a chest infection'. Normally, I suffer with my chest. I feel rotten,' added the mother-of-one, who has asthma. After having her breathing device removed, Stephanie returned and told fans: 'I'm going back to sleep now. Trying to get an hours' sleep. 'I feel like I've been ran over. My skin, I can't touch my skin. Following a little rest, Stephanie explained to her followers: 'They've started me on some more fluids and some painkillers and intravenous for the pain... Honestly, my god. I feel like I've been ran over. 'Did anyone else [with Covid-19] have sore skin? I feel like I can't touch my skin, and my back. My chest feels a bit better after having some nebulisers, but my god!' MailOnline has contacted Stephanie Davis' representatives for comment. Stephanie is believed to suffer from serious food allergies and have a history of anaphylaxis which complicates whether she can receive the vaccine. The Government's Covid advice says jabs should not be given to those who 'had a previous systemic allergic reaction (including immediate-onset anaphylaxis)' to either a previous dose of the Covid jab, or any component of the jab. Britain's medical regulator has recommended under-40s should receive the Pfizer vaccine. The jab contains polyethylene glycol a substance that can trigger allergic reactions in very rare cases. When this happens the body's immune system makes antibodies against the substance, which can then trigger a reaction when it is attacked. Just two days earlier, Stephanie looked happy and healthy as she attended a friend's wedding with her bike shop worker beau Oliver Tasker. The Liverpudlian star oozed glamour in a chic black pencil dress, and gushed about having had a: 'a wonderful night' at the celebratory event. She confirmed her relationship with Oliver, in loved-up post shared to Instagram at the beginning of June. Her social media upload included a trio of snaps showing them cosied up together in various locations. Agony: 'The worst part is my skin. I can't touch my skin, it's killing me. I'm just in so much pain. Oh my god, it's horrible' admitted the actress as she lay in her hospital bed Fast deterioration: 'And it just, it happened so quick. I basically woke up and couldn't move,' revealed the soap star When was the vaccine offered to people with asthma? People with asthma were in the sixth priority group for getting a vaccine in the UK, behind the over 65s. But people with the condition who did not get a shielding letter and have not been admitted to hospital because of their asthma, or prescribed three courses of oral steroids over a three-month period, were not prioritised in the vaccine rollout. Instead, everybody else with asthma was invited to get the jabs when the vaccine opened to their age group. However, people who have had a severe allergic reaction to any of the vaccine ingredients, or experience anaphylaxis after the first dose, are advised not to get the vaccine. Charity Asthma UK said that people with the condition have not been found to be at a higher risk of dying from Covid than the rest of the population, but that evidence shows people with asthma are at a greater risk of hospitalisation and long Covid. Advertisement The Hollyoaks actress - who is mum to son Caben-Albi, four - told excited friends of her bearded ginger beau: 'He's the male version of me!' Alongside the photographs of Oliver - who works as a buyer for Formby Cycles in Liverpool - Stephanie simply wrote 'You,' followed by a single red love heart emoji. Her Hollyoaks pal Ross Evans demanded: 'I want to know EVERYTHING,' to which she responded: 'hahahaha your going to love him. [sic] He's the male version of me haha.' Stephanie previously split from Owen Warner, who plays Romeo Quinn in Hollyoaks, in September 2019, after nine months together, amid rumours the hunk felt that the relationship was 'moving too quickly'. The pair met on the set of the soap and moved in together just a month into their relationship. A source told the Sun at the time: 'Stephanie and Owen have decided to split after weeks of trying to work through their differences. 'They decided to end it today and Steph is insisting there's no going back. 'She couldn't be more devastated as she saw a real future with Owen, particularly as he's been a father figure to Caben. 'Steph is absolutely heartbroken and devastated it's over - she wanted to be with Owen forever and now all of a sudden she's mourning the loss of him in her and Caben's lives.' Prior to dating Owen, the actress had a short-lived romance with long-haired hunk, Jacob Gill. Stephanie famously embarked on a turbulent relationship with Beauty School Cop Outs star Jeremy McConnell, 31, during their time on Celebrity Big Brother in January 2016. The ex: Stephanie split from Owen Warner, who plays Romeo Quinn in Hollyoaks, in September 2019, after nine months together Exes: Prior to dating Owen, the actress had a short-lived romance with long-haired hunk, Jacob Gill Their on/off relationship resulted in public spats, domestic violence and a consequential three-year restraining order. Jeremy was charged for domestic violence in August 2017 after being accused of assaulting Stephanie in a drug-fuelled row, and was sentenced to 20 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months and 200 hours community service. The estranged couple are parents to Caben-Albi, while Jeremy also has a 19-months-old daughter named Storm with his current partner Katie McCreath. She is continuing to rock her new buzzcut. And Iris Law looked stunning as she posed with her bike in her latest Instagram post on Saturday, after revealing her new look for British Vogue. The model, 20, stunned in a blue outfit - which consisted of a tie-dye crop top and peacock feather-print trouses - paired with white Nike trainers. New look: Iris Law, 20, looked stunning as she posed with her bike in her latest Instagram post after revealing her new look for British Vogue. The top, by independent brand Girls Girls Girls, had a rather racy print on it and showed off her flat stomach. She sported blue flared trousers with a swirl patten by Spanish brand Paloma Wool. She leant casually on her white bike as she looked away from the camera in the first picture. Posing up a storm: She leant casually on her white bike as the beauty playfully stuck her tongue out whilst wearing 00s style sunglasses. In the second picture the beauty shared, she playfully stuck her tongue out whilst wearing 00s style sunglasses. The actress shared the post to her 438k with the caption 'do you still love me?' with the pleading face and the shaking hands emoji. Her followers came to her support with comments, with one saying 'cutie' and another saying 'you are a goddess.' 'Do you still love me?': Her followers came to her support with comments, with one saying 'cutie' Support: her followers reassured her with another follower saying 'you are a goddess' The star has changed her look completely from the signature brunette locks she's known for. It comes after the star revealed on Thursday the decision to transform her look was 'liberating' and she had 'so many wigs and secret hiding my head moments!' Iris began experimenting with new hairstyles as Soo Catwoman in Danny Boyle's upcoming Sex Pistols drama. Change: The star changed her look completely from the signature brunette locks she's known for Discussing her acting debut in the series, Pistol, she said of her character: 'I want to do her justice. A lot of people don't actually know who she is or much about her. I want that to be rectified.' Iris, who is based in London, has a host of famous friends including fashion designer Stella McCartney. 'It's so beautiful that she's known me since I was a child,' she said of her relationship with Paul McCartney's daughter, 49. 'And now we have similar views on the climate and fashion.' See the full feature in the August issue of British Vogue available via digital download and on newsstands. Richard Branson's daughter has told how she lived as a boy throughout her childhood. In a remarkable revelation, Holly Branson said she spent years wearing boys' clothes and adopting male names. Ms Branson, now 39, explained: 'I, at the age of four, decided I was a boy. It wasn't that I wanted to be a boy, it was that I was a boy. 'It was just after my brother was born and I don't know whether looking back on it now it was some sort of psychological thing that a boy was born and was getting lots of attention and I wanted to be like him. 'I stood up to pee, I dressed like a boy, I even gave myself different male names.' Speaking on Natalie Pinkham's In The Pink Podcast with her father and brother Sam, she added: 'This wasn't just a quick thing that stopped after a few months or years, it lasted until I was nearly 11. 'It was quite unusual, especially because it was nearly 40 years ago. 'I was so lucky to have parents that were really accepting of it, that they didn't question any of it, they let me be who I wanted to be.' Richard Branson's daughter Holly (pictured in May 2019) has told how she lived as a boy throughout her childhood, spending years wearing boys' clothes, adopting male names, and even standing up to use the toilet Holly Branson (far right) said she identified as a boy until she was nearly 11 and was gifted a dress for Ms Branson, a mother of three children with Freddie Andrewes, said: 'When I was 11, I asked my mum for a dress for Christmas. She thought, 'I'm not going to give Holly a dress from me as it feels too pressurised', so she got one of our family friends to get me a dress and they did and that was the turning point. From then on, I was back to being female Holly.' Ms Branson worked as a junior doctor before joining Virgin in 2008. Industry observers believe she will take over from her billionaire father, who celebrates his 71st birthday this month. In the past she has spoken of her 'difficult and distressing' years trying to conceive, revealing she had gone through two failed rounds of IVF, suffered two miscarriages and had considered surrogacy or adoption. Ms Branson gave birth to twins Etta and Artie in December 2014, followed by younger daughter Lola in 2019. Her remarks on living as a boy come as the number of children identifying as the opposite sex continues to rise sharply. Ms Branson gave birth to twins Etta and Artie in December 2014, followed by younger daughter Lola in 2019 (pictured) The number of youngsters referred to the Gender Identity Development Service clinic in London, also known as the Tavistock Centre, soared from 138 in 2010-11 to 2,748 in 2019-20. About twice as many girls as boys are referred, most aged between 14 and 16. Many experts consider that when a child identifies as the opposite sex for a number of years, it is a sign they are transgender. But psychotherapist Bob Withers, who has treated a number of transgender patients, said studies consistently showed it tended to be a passing phase. He said: 'There have been 13 studies on this issue now and they find that about 80 per cent of such children revert to identifying as their biological sex if they are left untreated.' Meanwhile, Mr Branson told how he tried to talk Saddam Hussein to resign in a bid to stop the Iraq war and had even planned to fly out to meet with him. The tycoon told the podcast: 'America and Britain were about to invade Iraq, I attempted to persuade Saddam Hussein to step down, in order to avoid the war, and to go and live in Libya, and he was open to doing so, but he wanted some Elders to talk to him, and fly out with him. Meanwhile, Mr Branson (pictured, in October 2019) told how he tried to talk Saddam Hussein to resign in a bid to stop the Iraq war and had even planned to fly out to meet with him 'I spoke to Nelson Mandela and he agreed to go but he wanted Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the UN, to go with him. I talked to Kofi and he said he would go with Nelson Mandela; and then sadly a few days before the trip took place, the bombings of Baghdad started, and the meeting never took place.' As a result of that, Mr Branson, Nelson Mandela and his wife Graca Machel, Kofi Annan and Archbishop Tutu, and Mary Robinson, and a number of other incredible people got together to form the Elders, who go into conflict regions; and they also speak out on issues such as climate change and nuclear proliferation. Richard, Holly and Sam were speaking to Natalie Pinkham on her In The Pink podcast. Listen in full here She has been keeping her followers updated on her Rome getaway. And Kim Kardashian shared another slew of sizzling snaps on Saturday, as she posed with a scooter at the bottom of the iconic Spanish Steps in Rome. The reality TV star, 40, looked sensational in a white leather skirt and a crossover white crop top, which highlighted her jaw-dropping figure perfectly. Pose: Kim Kardashian shared another slew of sizzling snaps on Saturday, as she posed with a scooter at the bottom of the Spanish Steps in Rome The star completed her look with snake skin wrap around heels and her brunette locks were styled in a chic high pony tail. Kim playfully posed with a red electric scooter for one shot at the bottom of the Spanish Steps. In another snap the beauty pouted at the camera with her arms in the air showcasing her toned abs. The star gave a smouldering look and posed at the foot of the steps in the last pic. Wow! The TV star, 40, looked sensational in a white leather skirt and a crossover white crop top Stunning: The star gave a smouldering look and posed at the foot of the steps in the last pic She captioned the post: 'Night out on the Spanish Steps.' The stunning pictures come after Kim shared a series of sizzling snaps on Instagram on Friday night. Kim wore a form fitting cardigan with a tiny leather mini skirt, which boasted an eye-catching sequin dragon on the front. The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star boosted her frame with a pair of slip on red mules and accessorised with neon green cross earrings. She wore her brunette locks in a long sleek style and opted for a flawless coat of make-up, which was no doubt expertly applied. Wow! Kim shared another slew of sizzling snaps on Friday, as she posed for an impromptu photo shoot in her hotel room before heading out into the city Sizzling: The star looked typically flawless as she flaunted her ample assets in a form-fitting cardigan, which she wore almost completely unbuttoned Glam squad: In one behind the scenes snap Kim's make-up table which was covered in products was visible, along with her personal MUA Mario Dedivanovic In one behind the scenes snap Kim's make-up table which was covered in products was visible, along with her personal MUA Mario Dedivanovic. She captioned the gallery: 'Inches on the Roman Runway.' On Thursday, Kim shared an inside look at her trip to the Vatican with supermodel Kate Moss, which took place earlier this week. In the caption of the images, the reality personality, addressed backlash over the sexy lace dress she wore to the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. Sharing a slew of behind-the-scenes snaps from her visit, Kim insisted she had 'adhered to the dress code' while inside St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel's. Poser: Kim shared an inside look at her trip to the Vatican with supermodel Kate Moss, which took place earlier this week Posting the new images to Instagram on Thursday, Kim could not hide her excitement as she put on an animated display while posing during the outing and rocking her revealing off-the-shoulder lacy number. Kim sizzled in her cut-out dress, which highlighted her trim waist and ample assets, and she styled with a pair of white sandals. The beauty ensured all eyes were on her statement ensemble as she slicked her long locks back into a chic up do. Other snaps from Kim's latest Instagram post showed her posing with supermodel Kate Moss, with both women covering their shoulders with jackets. The stunning duo were also pictured walking around the Vatican - with Kate draping her black coat over her shoulders - and posing on some steps with their teams. Playing by the rules: Kim posed for a snap with supermodel Kate Moss, with them both covering their shoulders with jackets 'Don't worry, I adhered to the dress code!': Kim explained that she was 'fully covered up' while inside St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel's)' What is the dress code in the Vatican? There is a basic dress code that both men and women must adhere to when visiting Vatican city, particularly St. Peters Basilica and/or the Vatican museums (including the Sistine Chapel). Visitors must cover their knees and upper arms, while they are prohibited from wearing shorts or skirts above the knee, sleeveless tops, and low-cut shirts. Men must also remove their hats when entering, though women are permitted to remain wearing theirs. Shoulders must also be covered and visitors may be turned away or advised to cover up with a shawl. Advertisement Kate's daughter Lila was also present for the tour and rocked a bright blue dress under a black jacket in the group picture. Never one to miss a photo opportunity, Kim also posed up a storm in a dramatic window and flashed a smile over a shoulder while sitting in her black car. Sharing her snaps, Kim penned: 'We had the most incredible experience touring Vatican City @vaticanmuseums. 'It was amazing to be able to view all of the iconic art, architecture and ancient Roman sculptures in person, especially Michelangelo's works. 'We even had an opportunity to view their private archive of robes worn by every pope in history, dating back to the 1500's. 'Thank you @ocspecial for arranging the visit. (Don't worry, I adhered to the dress code and fully covered up while inside St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel's).' Kim had appeared to fail to adhere to the church's strict rules by wearing a sexy lace dress which didn't cover her shoulders and had cut-out sections throughout her mid-section for the visit. There is a basic dress code that both men and women must adhere to when visiting the Vatican city, particularly St. Peters Basilica and/or the Vatican museums (including the Sistine Chapel). Off they go: The women also posed with their backs to the camera while walking around the Vatican on their guided tour Stunning: Never one to miss a photo opportunity, Kim also posed up a storm in a dramatic window Group picture: Kim also posed with her team as well as Kate and Kate's daughter Lila Grace Visitors must cover their knees and upper arms, while they are prohibited from wearing shorts or skirts above the knee, sleeveless tops, and low-cut shirts. Men must also remove their hats when entering, though women are permitted to remain wearing theirs. Shoulders must also be covered and visitors may be turned away or advised to cover up with a shawl. Chatting away: Kate and Kim seemed to be getting along very well as they smiled and talked Work it: Kim also posed outside with a statue, ensuring to work all her angles in the skin-tight ensemble Kim also uploaded several shots she had taken while visiting the Vatican on Monday. The back-to-back images showcased the Vatican's stunning architecture and design, as well as several notable artifacts and items displayed around the spacious place of worship. Kim, having Armenian roots on her father Robert's side, highlighted a 'gift from Armenia' to the Vatican, which was a gold necklace and matching diamond pendant displayed behind glass. Capturing memories: Kim also unloaded several shots she had taken during her visit to the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church via Instagram on Tuesday Good morning! Kim looked ready to take on another day of exploring the city as she posed for a sultry topless snap in the bed of her hotel room on Thursday Kim has been putting on a show-stopping display during her sightseeing visit to Rome over the past week - with her looks including a racy look for the Vatican and even having her very own Dolce Vita moment at the Trevi Fountain. While on Thursday, Kim looked ready to take on another day of exploring the city as she posed for a sultry topless snap in her hotel room. She exuded glamour in the snap as she gazed seductively down the lens with just her bed sheets protecting her modesty. Making bed hair look catwalk ready, the mother-of-four wore her tresses in loose waves, while she wore minimal make-up to enhance her pretty features. Kim captioned the sultry snap: 'Good Morning Rome. Good Night LA'. Kim's estranged husband Kanye, meanwhile, looked every inch the doting dad as he cuddled his eldest daughter North, eight, at Mexico Airport on Wednesday. Style: Kim styled her stunning dress with cream heels and sunglasses Model: She exuded confidence while strutting towards the camera on her outing this week The rapper, 44, was on daddy duty as he sat with North, son Saint, five, daughter Chicago. three, and Psalm, two, on a ledge in the terminal ahead of the flight back to Los Angeles. Kanye appeared to have handed North his phone so as to keep her entertained while they waited. The youngster was clad in a light grey tracksuit and wore a black face mask under her chin. Saint, meanwhile looked effortlessly cool in a green T-shirt and red trousers, while a nanny helped looked after the other children. Kanye and the kids arrived in Mexico on June 20 and then headed to his retreat located on the Oaxaca coast. The former couple plan to have to joint custody of their children amid their divorce. Candice Brown has been rushed to hospital after suffering a 'massive' asthma attack. The former Great British Bake Off star, 36, was given steroids and checked over by medical professionals after the 'prolonged' episode. She took to her Instagram Story on Saturday to share an update with fans and explained it was brought on as her body 'started fighting a cold and cough.' Illness: Candice Brown has been rushed to hospital after suffering a 'massive' asthma attack Candice said: 'My body clearly started fighting a cold and cough in a weird, s**t way and gave me a massive, prolonged asthma attack. 'I've been pumped full of steroids. I have new inhalers. I feel like I've been dug up, look like I've been dug up and sound like Bane, but I'm alright. 'Anxiety and phobia hasn't helped. Also I can breathe, which at about 6am this morning I couldn't speak two words.' Poorly: The former Great British Bake Off star, 36, was given steroids after she was checked over by medical professionals after the 'prolonged' episode Candice was wearing an oxygen mask in the picture and later shared another snap with her head in her hands. Due to the hospital trip, Candice had to drop out of attending Tom Kerridge's Pub in the Park festival in Warwick. It comes after earlier this week Candice reflected on her struggle with her mental health, saying she's had 'a hell of a year'. She spoke candidly on Friday's edition of Loose Women, admitting she has felt 'quite bad' in recent months. Honest: It comes after earlier this week Candice reflected on her struggle with her mental health, saying she's had 'a hell of a year' She explained to the panel: 'It's been a hell of a year... my mental health has been something I've battled with for maybe seven years now - before Bake Off, during, after and most recently quite bad. 'Frankie [Bridge] was the first person I spoke to quite openly and in public about it. I got diagnosed with ADHD in January last year which kind of explains to me and gives me that it's not just me being completely disorganised, late - there's a reason for it. She went on, 'It's funny, I was a teacher and I looked after the special needs department, I was working with students that had ADHA, stereotypically it's young boys, hyperactive on the go all the time. Struggle: She spoke candidly on Friday's edition of Loose Women, admitting she has felt 'quite bad' in recent months (pictured in 2020) 'I was in the middle, I wasn't massively over achieving, I got on well with the teachers, but I always picked subjects I didn't have to sit down in like PE, Drama, Food.' Reflecting on her struggle accepting her mental health battle, she went on: 'I spent so many years being ashamed of it and the mental health I have and the trauma that led to depression and PTSD and it took me a long time to learn that it wasn't my fault. 'It's been incredible, people are like wow we never expected that, you seem so confident. That was the reason for the make-up and the dresses, that was my kind of shield. 'It's really important to not be ashamed and go it's okay not to be okay and ask for help - and still function as well.' Douglas Booth is engaged to his girlfriend Bel Powley. The actor, 28, shared the happy news with his Instagram followers on Saturday evening, as he revealed he had popped the question to the actress, 29. Douglas shared an adorable loved-up snap with Bel as she flashed her dazzling engagement ring to the camera, while also bearing a beaming smile. Happy news: Douglas Booth is engaged to his girlfriend Bel Powley Bel held up her hand to reveal a stunning solitaire diamond ring with a gold band. Douglas also shared images of the picturesque setting as they sat on a picnic blanket and enjoyed a feast of nibbles, surrounded by bouquets of flowers. He captioned the gallery: 'Very, VERY happy! @belpowley' Congratulations! The actor, 28, shared the happy news with his Instagram followers on Saturday evening, as he revealed he had popped the question to his actress girlfriend, 29 Cute: Douglas also shared images of the picturesque setting as they sat on a picnic blanket and enjoyed a feast of nibbles, surrounded by bouquets of flowers Later on Saturday evening Douglas shared a radiant snap of his love flashing her ring yet again as they dined at The Ivy. Douglas has been linked to Bel since 2016, after the pair were spotted kissing on a night out. Bel and Douglas are thought to have met on the set of period romance A Storm In The Stars, which was filmed in Dublin and in Luxembourg in 2016. Haifaa Al-Mansour's film looked at the romance between 18-year-old Mary Shelley, played by Elle Fanning, and Douglas Booth's Percy Bysshe Shelley. Glowing: Later on Saturday evening Douglas shared a radiant snap of his love flashing her ring yet again as they dined at The Ivy Couple: Douglas has been linked to Bel since 2016, after the pair were spotted kissing on a night out (pictured in 2020) Bel previously told Browns Fashion: 'He was playing Percy Shelley and Elle Fanning was playing Mary; I played Claire Clairmont, Mary's stepsister. That's when we fell in love ahhh!' During filming Douglas shared several loved-up snaps with Bel to his Instagram account. The actor has been linked with several woman including Prince Harry's ex girlfriend Cressida Bonas after the pair arrived at Centre Court at Wimbledon together in 2016. Pride And Prejudice And Zombies actor Douglas starred in The Riot Club alongside Freddie Fox, who Cressida was previously linked to. Romantic: Bel and Douglas are thought to have met on the set of period romance A Storm In The Stars, which was filmed in Dublin and in Luxembourg in 2016 Close: The actor has been linked with several woman including Prince Harry's ex girlfriend Cressida Bonas when the pair arrived at Centre Court at Wimbledon together in 2016 Douglas has also been said to have dated his former co-stars Ellie Bamber and Vanessa Kirby. Another potential famous beau includes Miley Cyrus who he worked alongside in teenage drama LOL. Bel is best known for her role in coming-of-age drama The Diary of a Teenage Girl opposite Kristen Wiig and Alexander Skarsgard, as well as appearances in Benidorm and A Royal Night Out. Date: The year after he was seen at Wimbledon with Cressida he was spotted with Bel on Centre Court Having fun: Douglas and Bel are pictured on a night out with pals in 2018 After wrapping filming on Pride And Prejudice And Zombies in 2016 - a tongue in cheek retelling of the Jane Austen classic - Douglas announced he was looking for a girlfriend. 'I'd love to have a girlfriend. I don't think Tinder's the way I'm going to find her somehow,' he told Metro. 'I don't think it would go down very well. I'm not sure how it would work. Some of the people would just think it was fake.' Inseparable: Douglas had his hand on Bel's knee as they watched the match together in 2017 She is in the area filming a highly anticipated movie sequel, and she brought along the entire family for the ride. And Kate Hudson was seen enjoying some sun and surf filled beach time with her family on Saturday in Greece. The Almost Famous star, 42, looked lovely in a black one piece halter swimsuit, which featured a plunging neckline all the way down to her belly button as well as an open back. Trip for business and pleasure: Kate Hudson was seen enjoying some sun and surf filled beach time with her family on Saturday in Greece Kate tied her hair back in an easy bun as she walked and stood in the sun. The Skeleton Key actress was seen on the rocky shores as well as in the seawater alongside her partner Danny Fujikawa. Danny, 35, sat in a pair of blue swim trunks on the side of a dock, and was also seen chatting with Kate as the two floated in the azure waters. Emerging from the waters: The Almost Famous star looked lovely in a black one piece halter swimsuit, which featured an open back Along for the ride: Her partner Danny Fujikawa, 35, sat in a pair of blue swim trunks on the side of a dock Tete a tete: He was also seen chatting with Kate as the two floated in the azure waters Backstroke: Danny and Kate have been an item since 2017 At that point, Kate rocked a pair of square-rimmed black sunglasses and had her blonde hair slicked back. She sported a reddish manicure and kept her rings on as she took a dip in the ocean. Later, the Oscar nominee was seen taking a break in the shade, wearing a loose-fitting white blouse along with several more baubles on her fingers. In the water: Kate rocked a pair of square-rimmed black sunglasses and had her blonde hair slicked back Prancing up the dock: Kate tied her hair back in an easy bun as she walked and stood in the sun Later: The Oscar nominee was seen taking a break in the shade, wearing a loose-fitting white blouse along with several more baubles on her fingers Family time: Kate and Danny tended to their little one, Rani Rose, in the shade She had a yellow and red hair tie on, and she smiled while looking at her smartphone. Pictured on vacation as well were Kates sons Ryder Robinson and Bingham Hawn Bellamy. Ryder, 17, is Hudsons son with ex-husband Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes fame. Pictured on vacation as well: Kates sons Ryder Robinson and Bingham Hawn Bellamy On the right: Ryder, 17, is Hudsons son with ex-husband Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes Brothers in the water: The boys were seen enjoying their time in the water, jumping into the ocean from the long dock Bingham, nine, is her son with ex-partner Matt Bellamy, front man of the band Muse. The boys were seen enjoying their time in the water, jumping into the ocean from the long dock. Kate was also pictured with her third child, her daughter Rani Rose whom she shares with Danny. The pair welcomed their little girl in 2018, and she will be celebrating her third birthday this year. Having fun: Bingham, nine, is Kate's son with ex-partner Matt Bellamy, front man of the rock band Muse Mom and daughter: Kate was also pictured with her third child, her daughter Rani Rose whom she shares with Danny Parents: The pair welcomed their little girl in 2018 Hudson is currently in Greece filming Knives Out 2, the sequel to the 2019 film starring Daniel Craig and Chris Evans. The new film costars Craig along with Hudson, Dave Bautista, Kathryn Hahn, Jessica Henwick, Edward Norton, Ethan Hawke, Leslie Odom Jr. and Janelle Monae. The destination shoot is a true family affair for Hudson, as her famous mother Goldie Hawn is also in the area. The Oscar winner recently posted a gorgeous video snippet from Skiathos, in the northern Sporades islands of the country, in which she was frolicking in the ocean waves. More to come: Hudson is currently in Greece filming Knives Out 2, the sequel to the 2019 film starring Daniel Craig and Chris Evans Support local journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription and are still unable to access our content, please link your digital account to your print subscription If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. The NIA plea to invoke Section 16 and Section 18 of The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2019 was accepted by the court. (Representational image: PTI) Hyderabad: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) was given seven-day custody of Mohammad Nasir Khan and Imran Khan, the Hyderabad-based brothers who are accused of being Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) activists, by a court in Patna. They are being investigated for their alleged involvement in the Darbhanga railway station parcel blast case. Sources said that NIA had sought 10-day' custodial remand. The brothers were arrested from Hyderabad on June 30 and were taken to Patna via flight on Friday morning. The NIA plea to invoke Section 16 (punishment for terrorist act) and Section 18 (punishment for conspiracy to attempt, advocate, abet, advice, incite, knowingly facilitating commission of a terrorist act) of The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2019 was accepted by the court. A parcel containing womens clothing, which was sent via train from Secunderabad, had exploded while it was being unloaded on Platform 1 of the Darbhanga station on June 17. The NIA alleged that Nasir had visited Pakistan in 2012 and was trained by the LeT in making improvised explosive devices (IED) from easily available chemicals, The NIA alleged that the brothers were acting on their Pakistan-based handlers' direction. The duo are originally natives of Kairana in Shamli, Uttar Pradesh, and settled in Hyderabad two decades ago, the NIA said. The duo has been sent to Beur central jail before the NIA takes custody and starts questioning them from Saturday. The Bihar police sources said that an interrogation cell had been prepared inside the Bihar Special Armed Police premises for interrogating Nasir and Imran. Sources said that the brothers were interrogated by a joint team of the ATS and the Intelligence Bureau for hours. The NIA is expected to make more arrests in the terror plot, informed the sources. Meanwhile, the NIA arrested two alleged conspirators Mohammed Salim Ahmed alias Haji Salim and Kafil alias Kafeel also wanted in the case, in Uttar Pradesh on Friday. They are said to be associated with the LeT. Preliminary investigation revealed that the two finalised the plan of planting the IED in a moving train to cause casualties The division bench said that the trial court shall be at liberty to pass appropriate orders on the stay application that may be filed by the state government along with plaint, uninfluenced by the order passed by it. (PTI) Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Friday directed the government to approach the civil court and file a civil suit for claiming title and possession of 40-acre parcel of land in Survey No.s 1 and 2 of Lothkunta of Malkajgiri mandal. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy was dealing with an appeal filed by the government which had challenged the orders issued by a single judge bench of the High Court. The single judge had concluded that the land was in the patta category and its possession has to be given to Shanta Sriram Constructions Pvt Ltd immediately. The single judge directed the government to pay costs of `1 lakh to the construction company. The division bench suspended the order giving possession to the construction firm for four weeks. The bench made it clear that protection granted to the government should not be construed as an observation on the merits of the suit that the appellants propose to institute. The division bench said that the trial court shall be at liberty to pass appropriate orders on the stay application that may be filed by the state government along with plaint, uninfluenced by the order passed by it. In 2016, Shanta Sriram Constructions had approached the High Court challenging the orders issued by revenue courts that the documents placed by the private parties claiming the land was registered in their name in 1955, were fabricated. Shanta Srirams submission was that there are only two survey numbers in the Lothkunta village revenue records, which consists of around 59 acres. Its claim was that the land belongs to Lateefunnisa Begum, that she had sold the land to Seth Kishanram Gowli under a registered sale deed in 1955 and that the purchasers name was mutated in revenue record as pattedar and possessor. After that a portion of the 5 acres and 10 gunta of that land was acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and an award was passed in 1985 in favour of Seth Kishanram Gowli. The company also contended that a small extent of land was acquired by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board and an award was passed in favour of Seth Kishanram, according to the construction firm. His legal heirs made an agreement to develop the land with Shanta Sriram Constructions, the firm said. The Secunderabad Cantonment Board sanctioned a layout on 04.07.2008 for 40 acres and that they had paid `53.25 lakh towards development charges, the firm said. In 2013, the tahsildar of Trimulgherry mandal issued notice alleging that Shantha Sriram had encroached on 40 acres of government land falling under GLR Sy.No.243. Most of the historic temples date back to Cholas, Pallavas and Vijayanagara empires era in the region and have devotees not only from AP and Telangana but from neighbouring states as well. Representational picture (Twitter) Anantapur: Covid-19 pandemic has not even spared divine abodes with two lockdowns hitting temple revenues hard. Many famous and historical temples are finding it hard to pay salaries to priests and other workers in the district. Temples under endowment and Central archaeological departments are facing worse conditions due to poor flow of devotees for the past one-and-a-half years. Most of the historic temples date back to Cholas, Pallavas and Vijayanagara empires era in the region and have devotees not only from AP and Telangana but from neighbouring states as well. Lord Narasimha Swamy temple in Kadiri town in the district witnessed poor income following Covid pandemic. The temple has devotees from various states and more than three lakhs take part in Brahma Rathotsavam every year. Devotees rush continues throughout the year in the temple. However, during the pandemic, except during Brahma Rathotsavam, all remaining days witnessed poor rush of devotees. The daily income of the temple used to be at least Rs 1 lakh every day during normal days, but came down to a few hundred rupees in these times of pandemic. Complete lockdown in Karnataka had an impact on temple revenue as devotees were unable to stay comfortably during the second wave. The temple got Rs 4.96 lakh in May and Rs 6.50 lakh in June while it was Rs 20.85 lakh in April following annual Brahmotsavams. The temple has only four priests on a regular basis while 10 more serve at various sections and they depend on daily collections and offerings from devotees. The department pays salary only for the regular priests. Kadiri temple alone has 27 regular employees and 16 on contract and outsourcing services and Rs 18 lakh is needed every month towards their salaries. Another historic shrine Lord Siddeswara Swamy temple at Hemavati in Amarapuram mandal located closer to Karnataka borders is unable to attract devotees from Karnataka due to Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown conditions. The temple is under the control of Archaeological Survey of India and was opened to the public in April, but is unable to get minimum income due to complete lockdown in Karnataka. The 11th century temple has majority devotees from Karnataka. Similar situation prevails at Lepakshi, which houses the world's biggest Nandi statue, as there is a poor turnout of devotees and tourists. The five-century old Kasapuram Nettikanti Hanuman temple at Kasapuram in Guntakal mandal is also facing Covid impact. A priest in this temple succumbed to Covid during the first wave. The biggest Hanuman temple in the region is undergoing hard times, due to the ongoing pandemic situation. KAKINADA: All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) has charged that lives of nearly 60,000 schedule caste (SC) people have been ruined due to Polavaram Project, as the state government has not provided them any alternative livelihood or lands. AIFB state secretary I. Suryanarayana said when Polavaram Project Authority conducted meetings at Vijayawada in July 2019, Relief and Rehabilitation commissioner had submitted a report that 58,858 SC families in East and West Godavari districts have been displaced due to Polavaram Project. Suryanarayana said as per Rule 24 of New Land Amendment Act, one acre land should be given to each landless SC person. But the state government has not yet provided the land so far. He pointed out that 38,957 SCs of 234 residential areas in East Godavari district and 19,911 SCs of 137 residential colonies in West Godavari district have become homeless. Officials are shifting them to three rehabilitation colonies near Gokavaram in East Godavari and Taduvai village near Jangareddygudem in West Godavari. But these people have not been given any employment. Suryanarayana said even to construct R&R colonies, the government had taken D-Farm lands from SCs at Krishnunipalem village in Gokavaram. But those SCs have also not been given any compensation so far. He demanded that officials be booked under SC, ST Atrocities Prevention Act for doing injustice to SCs. As on Saturday, with diesel price at Rs 97.20 a litre in Hyderabad, the fuel bill burden on the corporation has become quite stark, according to official sources. (DC file photo) HYDERABAD: One of the largest consumers of diesel in the state, the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) has been feeling the pinch of rising diesel prices, but its officials are reluctant to even acknowledge that rising diesel price, which crossed Rs 97 a litre, has become a burden on the corporation. The RTC consumes on an average, when its full operations are on, as much as 5.43 lakh litres of high-speed diesel every day with its 10,460 buses covering an average of 5.15 km per litre of fuel. The RTC which spent Rs 66.60 per litre of diesel in the middle of March 2019, saw only a marginal increase in its fuel bill by the end of 2019 spending Rs 68.13 per litre of the fuel in the middle of December that year. As on Saturday, with diesel price at Rs 97.20 a litre in Hyderabad, the fuel bill burden on the corporation has become quite stark, according to official sources. When contacted, RTC officials were circumspect in speaking about how the rising diesel prices were hurting the corporation and were reluctant to answer any question. With the rising fuel prices becoming a political hot button, the RTC, according to sources, has no option but to foot the constantly rising fuel bill and keep silent. It is learnt that any discussion on fuel prices, at least in the public by the RTC, is off the table as the state government too can be accused of not doing anything to bring the prices down by reducing the levies it collects on every litre of diesel sold in the state including a Rs 2 per litre as additional tax on the fuel, apart from the 27 per cent value-added tax per litre of diesel the state government collects. Incidentally, the VAT collected by the state is the second-highest in the country on diesel. Any talk about rising diesel prices in the state by the RTC could well attract criticism from opposition parties that have already asked the state to reduce taxes on fuel. In fact, when some ministers in the Telangana government spoke recently on the rising fuel prices, as did the opposition Congress, some Central ministers responded saying that if the state was worried about the burden on the people, then it could cut the taxes it levied on fuels sold in Telangana state. The TSRTC hiked its fares last on December 16, 2019, when the price of a litre diesel was Rs 68.13. Prime Minister Narendra Modi named this IRNSS constellation NavIC while dedicating it to the nation at the successful launch of IRNSS-1G satellite. (Photo: garmin.co.in) Nellore: Garmin, a renowned manufacturer of navigational products, has recently launched in India NavIC-enabled handheld devices GPSMAP 65s and GPSMAP 66sr, which enhance accuracy and availability of signals irrespective of the terrain. Acknowledging Garmins initiative to incorporate NavIC in the two GPSMAP 65s and 66sr handheld devices, Indian Space Research Organisation ISRO has asked the organisation to make NavIC an integral part of all its upcoming satellite navigation-based devices being launched in India. Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), with operational name NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation), is an autonomous regional satellite navigation system, which provides accurate real-time positioning and timing services. The services are basically of two levels a standard positioning service, which will be available for civilian use; and an encrypted restricted service for authorised users like the military. NavIC has been developed for India to become self-reliant without being dependent on foreign navigation technologies, such as GPS, which are controlled by foreign governments that can interfere during military operations requiring special navigation. Kargil War became the awakening call for this initiative, when the US government denied access to GPS map of Pakistan, a crucial matter at that point. As a result, ISRO initiated development of NavIC by opening a new satellite navigation centre within the campus of ISRO-operated Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) at Byalalu in Karnataka on May 28, 2013. A network of 21 ranging stations located across the country provides data for orbital determination of satellites and monitoring of navigation signals within India. All required components have been built in India, including the space segment, ground segment and user receivers. The total cost of the project came to Rs. 22.46 billion. To date, ISRO has built and launched total nine satellites in the IRNSS series; of which eight are currently in orbit. Three of these satellites are in geostationary orbit (GEO) while the remaining are in geosynchronous orbits (GSO), which maintain an inclination of 29 with the equatorial plane. Prime Minister Narendra Modi named this IRNSS constellation NavIC while dedicating it to the nation at the successful launch of IRNSS-1G satellite. The eight operational satellites in IRNSS series, namely IRNSS-1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, 1G and 1I had been launched on July 2, 2013; April 4, 2014; October 16, 2014; March 28, 2015; January 20, 2016; March 10, 2016, April 28, 2016; and April 12, 2018 respectively. As PSLV-39 had been unsuccessful, IRNSS-1H satellite could not reach its orbit. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Saturday lauded the local Sikh community for providing support to people through various assistance programmes during the Covid-19 pandemic regardless of race, religion or background. Wearing a white Sikh turban, Prime Minister Lee, who attended the inauguration ceremony of Silat Road Sikh Temple which was renovated during the pandemic, greeted the community members with a "Sat Sri Akal". Prime Minister Lee said that places of worship, including the Silat Road temple and other Gurdwaras, have had to cope with disruptions brought about by the pandemic. "It has been a trying time for the worshippers," he noted. Gurdwaras, along with other places of worship, have adapted to the various Covid-19 pandemic management measures such as by live-streaming services so that devotees can still be part of a congregation, he said. "I have been even more encouraged to see the Gurdwaras rally the Sikh community to pitch in and help out during this difficult period," Lee said, noting that they organised charity drives, provided rations, and organised various assistance programmes. Like other religious groups, Sikh leaders helped their worshippers adjust to disruptions caused by the pandemic. To address the stresses caused by the pandemic, the Coordinating Council of Sikh Institutions commissioned a taskforce called 'Project Akaal' to provide support for mental health within the Sikh community of about 13,000 Sikhs. "Our Gurdwaras rallied the Sikh community to help those in need during this difficult period, regardless of race, religion or background," said Lee in his Facebook post after the inauguration ceremony. "These initiatives set a good example for the wider community, as we move towards a new normal of living with an endemic virus. Silat Road Sikh Temple is not just a sacred place of worship, but a shining icon in the multi-religious and multi-racial landscape of Singapore," he said. In the past, volunteers at Silat Road Sikh Temple used to serve up to 1,500 vegetarian meals daily as part of langgar, a sacred religious practice of catering food for visitors and devotees at Sikh temples. After renovation and refurbishment works that lasted close to a year wrapped up recently, the temple's kitchen and its food preparation and dining areas have expanded in size by about 20 per cent, allowing volunteers to serve up to 2,000 meals a day in what is also a safer and more comfortable environment. On Saturday, the temple in Jalan Bukit Merah, just on the outskirt of central business district, marked the completion of the works with an inauguration event where the Prime Minister was the guest of honour. The budget for the refurbishment works was SGD 2.5 million, with funds raised from donors. The temple now has an expanded kitchen and a bigger main prayer hall. Baljit Singh, president of the Central Sikh Gurdwara Board which oversees the temple, said the expansion of the prayer hall will allow for weddings to be held at the temple. Previously, there was insufficient space to conduct some wedding rituals. The works were due to start in March last year, but were disrupted due to the Covid-related circuit breaker. But it gave the temple management time to tweak renovation plans to better adapt to the coronavirus situation, such as ensuring better ventilation and reorganising spaces to reduce crowding, said Singh. The temple in Jalan Bukit Merah, which is also known as the Gurdwara Sahib Silat Road, was built by the Sikh Police Contingent in 1924. It served as a safe home for the families of Sikhs who were killed during the Japanese Occupation and serves the Sikh congregation as well as the needs of the wider community today. The temple houses a memorial dedicated to Bhai Maharaj Singh, the Sikh revolutionary who fought for India's independence and was transferred to a Singapore prison in Outram Road by the British colonial government in 1850. The saint-soldier was the first Sikh in recorded history to set foot in Singapore. The memorial has occupied its current spot since 2010. It was moved from its original position in the Singapore General Hospital compound, near where Outram Prison once stood, to the entrance of the temple in 1966, before a dedicated memorial building was built. Dust kicked up from the roaring rotors of Chinook and Apache helicopters on a summers day as they took off with the commandos from the airfield. The commandos were being inserted into enemy territory to kill or capture a person designated as a high-value target (HVT). The commandos were to be landed near the village where the HVT was suspected to be, sneak in and neutralise him. Operation Red Wings in June-July 2005 was doomed. The team of four assaulters was spotted, surrounded and all barring one were killed. The lone soldier survived with severe wounds after another sophisticated search-and-rescue operation. There are two points in this story. First, Operation Red Wings aimed at a Taliban commander Ahmed Shah in Afghanistans Kunar province involved the US Marines, Navy SEALS, the air force and the army. (SEAL is short for sea, air and land). Second, the airfield was Bagram, roughly 40 km north of Kabul and easily the largest military base from which multiple US and NATO forces were operating for 20 years. On Friday, the last of the US forces vacated the 1950s-era base built by the Soviets. It was almost immediately attacked by unknown persons suspected to have connections with the Taliban or were dependent on the base for jobs. Six years after Operation Red Wings, SEAL Team Six in Operation Neptune Spear took out Jackpot Osama Bin Laden in a compound in Pakistans Abbottabad and gave him, in full or parts, a sea burial from the focsle of the USS Carl Vinson Aircraft Carrier in the North Arabian Sea. In them, Red Wings and Neptune Spear illustrate how the US integrated battle operations are conducted at a tactical level. Yesterday, July 2, as the US troops pulled out of Bagram (with portents of another blowback in the region), Indias top military commanders were on live television practically showcasing New Delhis contortions over the idea of integrated theatre commands. Most modern militaries have integrated their forces under commands structured to harness their components optimally. That is not the case with India. The one glaring example: China has a singular command the Western Theater Command (WTC) responsible for its frontiers with India. That has been the case since 2012. That has been the case all through 2020 and till date as Indian and Chinese soldiers clawed and clubbed one another in Eastern Ladakhs Galwan. India has seven different commands opposite Chinas WTC the northern, western (that includes the Sugar sector part in Uttarakhand), central and eastern army commands, and the western, central and eastern air commands. To add to this scenario, there are elements of the intelligence agencies that report to the Union Home Ministry, the Aviation Research Centre (ARC), the Special Frontier Force (SFF) and the R&AW (Research and Analysis Wing) that report to the Cabinet Secretariat. Despite, or because of this, there is the poverty of plenty that failed to detect and react to Chinas capture of Indian territory north and south of the placid Pangong Tso. Cutting through jargon and theory, there are basically two models of integrating militaries that are most visible. There is the US example, one that encompasses the globe divided into theatres. In this concept, India is the US Pacific Command Area of Responsibility (PACOM AoR). The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are in the AoR of the US Central Command. The PACOM is usually helmed by an Admiral. Each of the US theatre commands is headed by a four-star general or equivalent from the air force/navy. Then there is the Pakistan/China model in which the army is supreme. Thus China has a Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and a PLAAF (air force). In this model, the navy and the air force are important to the extent that they service the land forces. The US model is tailored for expeditionary warfare across the world. The China/Pak model is more homebound though the PLAN has been expanding its sea legs over the years. In both models, the integration of forces post the Second World War and towards the end of the Cold War was possible because of clear political will and directions. The creation of integrated theatres is easily the biggest reform in the military because it restructures the chain of command. This means that, for the US, the Supreme Commander (the President) acting through the defense secretary directs the combatant commanders the theatre commanders who are four-star generals. In China, the PLA is, in any case, a wing of the Communist Party. In India, when General Bipin Rawat was made Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in January 2020, he was also given a brief: Facilitation of restructuring of Military Commands for optimal utilisation of resources by bringing about jointness in operations, including through the establishment of joint / theatre commands. After General Bipin Rawat stated that the task of the air force and the navy was to support the land forces, it raised a fundamental question: Are the CDS and his army laying the groundwork for an ancient, outmoded way of fighting in the 21st Century (Vedic warfare, if you will) when organised violence is multidimensional? Integration needs political deadlines in a manner that enabled the Goldwater-Nicholls Act of 1986. That requires the comprehension that radars do indeed see through cloudy skies. But, even the US military integration was made possible by an oily actor of B-grade Hollywood flicks, Ronald Reagan. (Sujan Dutta is an independent journalist based in Delhi) Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the authors own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH. You are the owner of this article. A crowd gathered in Derry city centre has been told that despite the decision to discontinue prosecutions, soldier F is no less of a murderer today than he was yesterday. Families whose loved ones were shot dead 49 years ago criticised the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) decision and vowed to challenge it in the High Court. The Bloody Sunday Trust organised a solidarity event with the Bloody Sunday families and family of Daniel Hegarty in Guildhall Square on Saturday, July 3. It comes after the PPS decided to halt proceedings against two British soldiers accused of murdering innocent civilians in 1972. That includes a decision to withdraw proceedings against Soldier F, a former British paratrooper. He faced trial for charges of murdering Jim Wray and William McKinney on January 30, 1972. And was also charged with attempting to murder Patrick O'Donnell, Joseph Friel, Joe Mahon and Michael Quinn, as well as attempting to murder a number of persons unknown. Separately, proceedings will not be commenced against Soldier B who was to be prosecuted with the murder of 15-year-old Daniel Hegarty in July 1972, and of wounding with intent of his cousin Christopher Hegarty. The PPS decision is another devastating blow to Bloody Sunday families and the family of Daniel Hegarty, who have been resolute and dignified in their decades-long fight for justice. GREAT INJUSTICE Hundreds of people assembled in Derry city centre today to show their support for the bereaved families. Chair of the Bloody Sunday Trust, Tony Doherty, whose father was shot dead on Bloody Sunday said that throughout their 50-year campaign the Bloody Sunday families have been handed nothing by the British state. Notwithstanding yesterdays outcome, he said, huge things have been achieved on behalf of the families and city of Derry. We have seen better days, but we are not done yet, he added. Speaking today, Liam Wray, brother of Jim, said the people of Derry have stood alongside the families to try to get a great injustice remedied. The withdrawal of charges is a result of what happened between 1971-73 when the British Government, Ministry of Defence (MoD) and RUC decided soldiers who shot civilians would not be interviewed under caution by the police services. He stated: That was to protect any soldier from a charge of murder or attempted murder. The people who are guilty are the (Edward) Heath government, the Chief Constable, the securocrats and MoD. What came yesterday was not a surprise to the families, it was a disappointment but its not the end. Im standing here and Im very aware Im an old age pensioner now. Tony at the time his father was murdered was just a child, hes had to bear that as other families have over this 49 years. Forty-nine years ago, not only did they murder our relatives, they besmirched their reputations. Forty-nine years on, theyre doing the same thing. Soldier F is no less guilty today, youre a murderer today the same as you were yesterday. The victims of Bloody Sunday are no less innocent today than they were yesterday. LAST DEMAND Joe McKinney, brother of William, said that less than 100 yards away the families were given news in March 2019 that one soldier would be prosecuted and 15 would not. While extremely disappointed, he said, the other families were a great source of support who continued to inspire and drive us on. He said there was a degree of irony that yesterdays news was delivered at the City Hotel. In 1972 media from around the world were resident at the old City Hotel. The British Armys propaganda went into overdrive but it was footage from members of the media who stayed at the hotel which exposed those lies, Mr McKinney added. He told those in attendance that families wanted the truth, a universal declaration of innocence and prosecutions. In 2010 two of those demands were met. The final demand remains outstanding but he believes the justice system should deliver prosecutions in the courtroom. They are criminals and that is where they belong, he said. He said the justice system sought to protect soldier F by granting him anonymity and screening in court. Other people have been convicted of Troubles related murders over the years. But, Mr McKinney said: Soldier F is a special type of mass murderer. We are entitled to see him in court, that is what open justice is all about. A High Court challenge will be mounted to ensure the last demand is secured to get justice for our brothers and fathers, he added. In conclusion, Mr Doherty told the crowd that yesterdays decision will have consequences for hundreds of other families and the entire legacy process in Northern Ireland. If statements given to the Royal Military Police are deemed inadmissible in court that is a huge setback for justice and equality. Mr Doherty said: If ordinary people like us who suffered the first of the state violence cant get justice, where do we go from here. Are we at the end of the road from a judicial point of view. People like us in the nationalist community have been put in a very difficult position. To end on a high note, Mr Doherty encouraged the city to come out en masse for the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Lets make it one to be remembered for by the Irish people. Two Sinn Fein councillors are to stand down from Derry City and Strabane District Council. Aileen Mellon and Tina Burke said they were stepping down from the council due to personal and work commitments. Both councillors were elected to the council in the 2019 local government election. Cllr Mellon represented the Ballyarnett ward, while Cllr Burke represented the Moor ward. Cllr Mellon said she would be stepping down from the council following the selection of a replacement which will take place in the coming week. "After much thought and discussion with my family and party colleagues, I have decided that due to personal commitments I intend to step down from my position as Sinn Fein Councillor for the Ballyarnett DEA," she said. "I have enjoyed the privilege of serving the people of the Ballyarnett DEA and specifically the people of Galliagh during my time in Council. "Although I am leaving elected office, I intend to continue my activism both at party and community level. I have been a community activist all of my adult life and will continue to serve the people of the wider Galliagh area in that capacity, working on the ground to ensure they receive the support and facilities they deserve. "I thank all my party colleagues and the community organisations that I have worked with during my time in Council, for the friendship and support they afforded me as an elected representative. I hope I met their expectations. "I wish my replacement every success in their endeavours and assure them that I will be available to offer any advice or assistance they require. Cllr Burke told the Belfast Live website that she was stepping down from the council for 'personal reasons' but would remain a member of Sinn Fein. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Sinn Fein's two Foyle MLAs, Martina Anderson and Karen Mullan, had been asked to step down by the party. The shock move came after a major review of Sinn Fein's operations in Derry following a number of disappointing local election results. Ganapath: Nora Fatehi not in Tiger Shroff- Kriti Sanon starrer anymore, Nupur Sanon being considered for the part? It has been a few months since reports of Nora Fatehi being approached for Tiger Shroff- Kriti Sanon starrer Ganapath was doing the rounds. It was being said that she would play the second lead opposite Tiger Shroff. But now, it looks like she is no longer a part of the project. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tiger Shroff (@tigerjackieshroff) According to a report in Bollywood Hungama, Nora is out of the film. A source said, "Yes, there was a talk between Nora's team and Jackky Bhagnani but her overenthusiastic PR machinery spoiled the show. In fact, when the news leaked out, everyone in the production was very upset and they later found out that Nora's team had informed the media about it. This irked them and she was shown the door." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nora Fatehi (@norafatehi) The same source also added that now Nupur Sanon is being considered. It would either be Nupur, or a fresh face for the part. Earlier, talking about this role, it was being reported, "The role is comparatively smaller than Kriti Sanon's but is integral to the protagonist's journey as an MMA boxer. This film, unlike Tiger's most of the films where the heroines are merely there to romance him, has a good feminine presence and will see both actresses essaying powerful roles." We wonder who will be zeroed in! Mandira Bedi receives support from Mini Mathur, Shweta Tiwari and Sona Mohapatra after being criticised for performing her husband's last rites Film personalities Mini Mathur, Shweta Tiwari and Sona Mohapatra have lambasted social media trolls for criticising actor-TV presenter Mandira Bedi over her attire and decision to perform last rites of her late husband Raj Kaushal. Bedi's husband, filmmaker Raj Kaushal, known for directing movies like "Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi" and "Shaadi Ka Laddoo", passed away on Wednesday following a heart attack. His last rites were held at Shivaji Park crematorium, Dadar where close friends from the industry including actors Ronit Roy, Sameer Soni, Ashish Chowdhry, and "Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi" actor Dino Morea were present. However, soon after Bedi found herself at the receiving end of social media trolls, who objected to the clothes that she wore at the funeral. The actor, who broke down multiple times during the funeral, was seen wearing a jeans with a white casual top. Some social media users also took umbrage over the actor's decision to perform the last rites of her husband, something which is traditionally done by men. In a Twitter post on Saturday, actor-host-model Mini Mathur expressed her anger towards people who trolled Bedi and said she should rather be applauded for her strength. "Makes me sick that people are having a field day trolling a grieving woman for performing last rites on her husband instead of asking a stranger or her tiny kid. Or for not having the time to dress the way THEY imagine grieving women should dress. Fools!! Applaud her strength!," she wrote. Makes me sick that people are having a field day trolling a grieving woman for performing last rites on her husband instead of asking a stranger or her tiny kid. Or for not having the time to dress the way THEY imagine grieving women should dress. Fools!! Applaud her strength! Mini Mathur (@minimathur) July 3, 2021 Tiwari shared a screenshot of a post by a digital creator that questioned the mentality of men having the right to perform rituals and the choice of attire during the funeral. "@MandiraBedi we are with you and proud of you for expressing your love freely!," Tiwari wrote on her Instagram Stories. Mohapatra said she was not surprised by the criticism of Bedi as she believes "stupidity" is in abundance in society. "That some people are still commenting on Mandira Bedi's dress code or choice to carry out her husband Raj Kushal's last rites shouldn't surprise us. Stupidity is more abundant than any other element in our world after all," she tweeted. That some people are still commenting on Mandira Bedis dress code or choice to carry out her husband Raj Kushals last rites shouldnt surprise us. Stupidity is more abundant than any other element in our world after all .. Sona Mohapatra (@sonamohapatra) July 2, 2021 Actor-dancer Mukti Mohan also came out in support of Bedi and lamented how compassion and humanity is missing from society, especially amid such testing times. "Women are half of humanity, half of humanity has remained undignified, uneducated, deprived of freedom, we've hampered and handicapped ourselves. We are a reflection of what is happening around us! And we have destroyed half of ourselves and if we are in misery then who is to be blamed? Ask yourselves next time when you face such situations daughters, sisters, wives, mothers and sons of such mothers, brothers of such sisters, when YOU are questioned when you want to grieve /express/love freely!! Thank you for being you @mandirabedi," Mohan said. There were some users who also supported Bedi in the aftermath of the backlash the actor received from social media trolls. "I don't think Mandira Bedi actively tried to break a stereotype. I think she did what a person in love & in grief might do - not caring about strangers' opinions. She carried her dead husband's bier coz he was her life companion, wearing jeans coz grief doesn't care bout a dress code," a user said. Another Twitter user wrote, "Women are not spared trolling even in times of grief. When does the policing end? All I see in the picture is a brave woman who just lost her life partner. #MandiraBedi" One user labelled Bedi's critics as "sick". "People outraging about what Mandira Bedi wore to her husband's last rites, you are sick. You are trying to bring down a super courageous woman, who battled tremendous grief with such grace. You are rotten souls," the person tweeted. Bedi and Kaushal, who got married in 1999, have two children -- son Vir and daughter Tara. Rohit Shetty to step into OTT with an action cop drama; series to have an A-lister and stream on Amazon Prime? Since last year, we have been seeing actors step into the webspace. Not just did they make their debut on the web, but some stars like Sushmita Sen and Chandrachur Singh also made their comeback with OTT series. Directors too have been taking the cue and many like Ali Abbas stepped into and explored the space. Now looks like another director is set to make his web debut. We are talking about Rohit Shetty. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rohit Shetty (@itsrohitshetty) The director, known for his action films and his cop universe, will reportedly make a big-scale action cop drama. The rumour has been sparked after Bollywood insider Sumit Kandel made a tweet reporting the same. In his tweet, he also mentioned that an A-lister would be roped in to play the lead in the project. He wrote, "Director Rohit Shetty to direct a Big scale action-Cop drama web series for Amazon Prime video. An A list star would be onboard for this project." See the tweet here: It has just been a few weeks since Rohit Shetty has been back from Cape Town after shooting for Khatron Ke Khiladi 15. The director has also helmed Sooryavanshi, the third film from his cop universe, which is ready for release but has been pushed due to the pandemic and the lockdowns. Suchitra Pillai revisits Dil Chahta Hai days, says Farhan Akhtar made her and Saif jog in his office to see how they look together In the 2001 film "Dil Chahta Hai", Suchitra Pillai played the "overbearing" girlfriend Priya to Saif Ali Khan's Sameer, and the actor says her character was so well defined that people still remember her performance in that short role. In August, "Dil Chahta Hai", a coming-of-age romance drama, will turn 20 and Pillai said working on the film was a wonderful experience. The film, also starring Aamir Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Preity Zinta, Sonali Kulkarni, and Dimple Kapadia, was both a critical and commercial success. "It was a brilliant film to be part of. I know I'm still seen by many as Priya 20 years later too. The girlfriend who girls wanted to be and guys didn't want her as a girlfriend. But it's just about how well a character is defined in the work that you do. It can be a five-minute role and this is a case in point," she told PTI. The actor, whose film credits include "Page 3" and "Fashion", said the then debutant director Farhan Akhtar asked her to play the role of Priya. "Farhan was 26 years old and was a friend of mine. And he told me, 'Suchi, You have to do this role'. I was like what? He called me to the office and there was Saif Ali Khan. And he said oh by the way, this is your co-star. "That was the attitude. I was like Saif Ali Khan is my co-star? He then said both of you stand together and start jogging on the spot. I want to see how both of you look together. It was for that scene on the beach," she recalled. In the film, Priya and Sameer eventually break up after which the latter is shown to have fallen for Pooja (Kulkarni). If Priya and Sameer were to meet today, would they be on talking terms? "They will definitely talk to each other and she will definitely say 'Oh God, how foolish of you. Who asked you to leave me?'" Pillai said in her reply. Pillai currently stars in the Malayalam film "Cold Case", which was released on Amazon Prime Video on Wednesday. Shaadi Mubarak actor Pracheen Chauhan arrested for allegedly molesting a woman TV actor Pracheen Chauhan has been arrested today by Kurar Police for allegedly assaulting a 22-year-old woman. An FIR under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code has also been registered. The police also stated that the actor was in an inebriated state when he reportedly assaulted the complainant. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pracheen Chauhan (@pracheenchauhan) The news was confirmed by a senior inspector at Kurar Police station. Talking to Pinkvilla, the officer said, Pracheen Chauhan has been charged for alleged molestation. We have arrested him, and produced him in the court. We are now waiting for the courts order. The complaint was registered last night, and our investigation is on. Pracheen Chauhan has been a part of the industry for decades now. The actor has been a part of several popular serials. He started with Kutumbh where he played Tushar Mittal. He also played Subroto Basu in Kasautii Zindagii Kay. He has also been a part of Chotti Bahu, Sinndoor Tere Naam Ka, Maat Pitaah Ke Charnon Mein Swarg and in Saat Phere: Saloni Ka Safar, among many other shows. He was currently working in Shaadi Mubarak. Last month, another molestation case shocked us all when Pearl V. Puri was taken to custody for allegedly raping a minor. He was granted bail after 12 days. Since the world is out to achieve better tech, Google is making sure to give its users the most secure environment it can. To date, we all know that Google has been encouraging websites to change their addresses from HTTP to HTTPS. Google Chrome's very new update secures this demand in place by offering an HTTPS-Only mode which would make non-HTTPS websites unavailable to users when enabled.If we were to take a trip down the memory lane, it would be discovered that HTTP was then used to mark sites as secure while HTTPS was only for exclusive websites that required extra protocol. Ever since Google started to change the format little by little until now when HTTP is considered to be an 'unsafe source' for browsing.Chrome will not only encourage users to change the setting but also warn users about sites using the HTTP address. The new change is brought about by the change in the coding of the browser. The change is going to be implemented on all operating systems.To access the feature, once it will be rolled out, you simply need to head out to security and privacy settings where you will find it in the advanced option (or you can access it from here). Where, you will be able to spot an option labeled as always use secure connection which when toggled on, will enable the setting. By default, the setting will be impaired.However, when you do turn on the setting, your browsing options will be enclosed in a box since you will then be only able to access sites with the HTTPS versions since Chrome will upgrade all sites to the HTTPS version - those who do have such a version.You will still be able to find the HTTP sites but only when you enter the HTTP:// URL in the search box, which will then be followed by a warning pop-up box. The same procedure will be followed by sites that are either outdated, still using the HTTP version, or cannot be changed due to some technical issue.Once you let such a site pass by the security system, Chrome will automatically remember the site so that you wont be bothered by the question box over and over again.Google also set out to increase its security a while back by 'threatening' users to update their versions to prevent anything bad from happening after the 'zero-day ' exploit was revealed.Chrome is still working on developing this feature so we do not know when it will roll out for stable version. It is for sure, however, that we will soon be able to access it along with the new versions coming soon. And if you are interested in checking the feature in action all you need is a Chrome Canary browser and this flag. After enabling the HTTPS-Only Mode Setting you can enjoy this feature.Read next: WhatsApp has deeply embedded itself as one of the most frequently used medium for conversation. Due to its end to end encrypted service WhatsApp is preferred by millions of people. However, the application still has its own limitations that may result in WhatsApp losing its leverage in some cases.Currently WhatsApp is already in news for its upcoming features that will allow multiple devices to get linked with a single account. This update is expected to make its way through the new WhatsApp version. Along with this, other new features may also be get attached with this major update. Among these new options that are going to be a part of upcoming version, is the new Video Quality feature, as confirmed by WAbetaInfo This application is criticized for compromising the quality of high definition and resolution media for quite long time. In order to send one , the sender was required to deliver it in a document file. But, the new media quality feature will remove these complains as well. As posted by the official page of WABI, the feature is still under its developmental stage but once the feature is out, users will be offered three different choices through which they can share their HR and HDR media files easily. These three options will be an auto feature that will determine the best option, a best quality option and a data saver mode.It been a long time since Auto option and data saver option have been were running by default and user had no choice to stop the media from getting compressed, but now with the Best Quality option, it seems like this may now enable users to decide if the video quality should be comprised or not. According to WABI, the feature is a part of version 2.21.14.6 and since there is time left before the version is released then it can be expected that the feature might roll out in few months based on the time period given by Mark Zuckerberg while talking about the multiple device feature.Hence the new upcoming version could bring in features that will surely make things more user friendly and more accessible while using the application. These new updates may include the View Once feature as well, which will also playing an important role in acquiring users device storage.Read next: New view once feature similar to Instagram will be released on WhatsApp too ADA [ndash] Anna Marie Brown, 68, of Ada, Oklahoma passed away Tuesday, June 22, 2021, in Ada. Arrangements are pending at this time with Estes-Phillips Funeral Home. For up-to-date service information, please follow us on Facebook at Estes Phillips Funeral Home. Click for the latest, full-access Enid News & Eagle headlines | Text Alerts | app downloads Kelci McKendrick is police and court reporter for the Enid News & Eagle. Have a question about this story? Do you see something we missed? Do you have a story idea for Kelci? Send an email to kelcim@enidnews.com The new Halliday Mills apartment complex, located on Quay Street, is nearing completion after lying vacant since 2009. The property, which is currently being developed by the housing body Co-operative Housing Ireland, is slated to be completed in the coming weeks. The project is set to deliver 85 units of housing according to Louth County Council, with 15 three-bedroom apartments available, alongside 58 two-bedroom units. There are also 12 single bedroom units. The Democrat has reached out to Co-operative Housing Ireland for a comment on the building, but none has been received at the time of publication. Sinn Fein Councillor Kevin Meenan welcomed the fact that the development was nearly complete, saying that people in the area had been let down in the past. We have been let down so often over the past 10 years with false starts but thankfully, in the very near future we will see 85 families/individuals coming off the housing list as they are housed here in the newly named Halliday Mills, said Cllr Meenan. Its great to see the scaffolding down and the new colourful apartment complex brightening up the area. The Quay is designated as an area for regeneration and this already is a huge improvement to the area. Cllr Meenan, in particular, welcomed the provision of single-bedroomed apartments in the block, saying that it will be welcomed for either single people or couples on the housing list. What is also welcome is there will be 12 x 1 bedroom apartments which will suit either a single person or a couple and who can find themselves pushed down the housing waiting list as there is a general shortage of 1 bedroomed residences. Sinn Fein TD for Louth, Ruairi O Murchu also welcomed the development, saying that more developments like it are needed across Dundalk, Louth and the rest of the country. We need far more of this type of development going forward in Dundalk, across Louth and throughout the State. This is good news for the Quay and good news for Dundalk, said Deputy O Murchu. The site, which was previously known as Ard Dealgan before being renamed in 2018 by Louth County Council, originally obtained planning permission in late 2019. Previous to the regeneration, the site had been vacant since 2009. Claremont, NH (03743) Today Mostly cloudy skies. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable. Claremont, NH (03743) Today Partly to mostly cloudy. Low 64F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. California Governor Gavin Newsom, center, celebrates with other guests after the Vax for the Win lottery contest during a news conference at Universal Studios in Universal City, Calif., Tuesday, June 15, 2021. Starting Tuesday, there were no more state rules on social distancing, and no more limits on capacity at restaurants, bars, supermarkets, gyms, stadiums or anywhere else. Where are the best places to shop? Who gives the best haircut? Who cooks the best burger? Join our readers in selecting the "Best of Windham." Make your picks! Erik and Anne Nelson sell crops Saturday at Goodwin Lake Trails Walking Park, which will host the Clovis Farmers' Market. This week is the first week of the market, with sales 5 p.m. Tuesday and 8 a.m. Saturday. Jim Chandler of Portales was in a tractor planting high-protein hay grazer Friday afternoon as he talked about the steady rain that has been falling on eastern New Mexico farmland since the last days of June. "This is absolutely the kind of rain we need," he said. The hay grazer crops he has been planting over the past couple of weeks are already showing green, he said, which is encouraging. He planted hay grazer this year instead of corn because that's what his dairy-farmer clientele is looking for. "We tried to get away from corn this year, because it uses too much water," he said. Henry Martin, a Curry County farmer, said the recent rainfall benefits both his grain sorghum and silage silage sorghum crops, which are used for cattle feed. He said he had saved about $2,500 in unneeded irrigation water since the rain started, but there is another benefit to natural rain, Martin said. "It has a higher nitrogen level," he said. The added nitrogen, he said, makes it so the crop is not merely sustained, "it gets bigger and better." Beef cattle ranchers are also reaping benefits, according to Sen. Pat Woods, a rancher based near Broadview. Neighboring ranchers, he said, have been "shipping cattle out of here like you wouldn't believe," due to this summer's parched conditions. Woods, however, said he has been relying on silage to keep his herds fed during the long dry spell that came before the most recent rains. Woods said he also grows feed crops, including hay grazer, and has stored silage in piles under plastic, which has protected the silage from rain damage. Woods said the recent rains have wet the soil down to 10 inches below the surface, which, he said will sustain a crop of hay grazer for "a couple of months." Like Chandler, Woods said he was in the process of planting new hay grazer when the rain started last week. "It's still short, but it's good to see it coming up green," he said. At the Goodwin Lake Walking Trails Park, Erik and Anne Nelson were admitted they probably should have brought a little more product, as they'd sold most of their stock in an hour. The Nelsons, who farm out of Broadview, have come to the park the last few weekends ahead of this week's official opening of the farmer's market. Clovis sales are 5 p.m. Tuesday and 8 a.m. Saturday at the park, while Portales goes Mondays and Thursdays at 5 p.m. at it lot on the 100 block of Avenue B. The Nelsons anticipate a good bunch of crops when they're joined by other vendors. "Nobody's gotten hail, or nobody's told me (if they have)," Erik Nelson said. "The rain's going to help everybody." Mason Grau, agricultural agent for the Curry County Cooperative l Extension Service said farmers he has spoken with were very happy to see last week's rain. David Dubois, New Mexico's state climatologist, is cautious about how long the rain's benefits will last. "It has certainly helped," he said, "especially on the east side of the state." Ranchers, however, are still "selling off lots of cattle" in eastern New Mexico due to the months of dry weather before last week's rains, Dubois said "It is still going to take a long time to recover" from months of drought conditions, he said. In De Baca and northern Chavez counties, he said, the rain has not been sufficient to correct dry conditions, even though rain in Eddy County, further downstream along the Pecos River, the rain caused floods. Dubois is maintaining a "wait and see" attitude as he monitors the rest of the monsoon season in New Mexico, but, he said, hoping for a "summer of good, continuous precipitation." "We need a longer-term recovery," he said. Editor Kevin Wilson contributed to this report. CLOVIS Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday signed into law legislation legalizing adult-use cannabis in New Mexico. At the local level, the city of Clovis and its Planning & Zoning Commission met Wednesday in a study session to begin fashioning a city ordinance outlining days and hours of operation, zoning and density of dispensaries around the city and other issues. City Attorney Jared Morris said the state bill is about one and a half pages, meaning much of the regulation is left to local jurisdictions. Morris said he is trying to get the city's ordinance adopted before Sept. 1, when the state will start accepting applications from retailers and producers. He suggested commissioners will probably agree on such low hanging fruit as whether to prohibit for-sale signs off site and the possession and use of cannabis on public property. The city also has the power to require dispensaries to have a business license. The commissioners discussed whether to allow the sale of cannabis seven days a week. Commissioner Helen Casaus said she favored allowing the sale seven days a week. Otherwise, people will just go out of town to buy it on Sunday. She also said she didn't think the city should exclude the dispensaries from the central business district. Planning Commissioner Steve North said the less restrictive the better. City Commissioner Juan Garza said he was OK with seven days a week. The times are changing best to minimize the effects, Garza said. The city ordinance could be challenged and the city might have to defend a civil litigation lawsuit if the language is contested, the commissioners briefly discussed. Mayor Pro Tem Chris Bryant said the dispensaries don't belong in the Central Business District. The city attorney said the commission has to have a rationale for restricting dispensaries other than that they don't like them. Commissioner Megan Palla said she is not sold on having dispensaries in the Central Business District but would like to hear why not. The commissioners discussed how far away from schools, parks with playgrounds, churches and daycares dispensaries should be located, and floated the concept that the dispensaries should be at least 1,000 feet from each other. During the public comment period: Christian Flores, who said he worked at a downtown smoke shop, asked if those locations would have any type of grandfather clause. City Manager Justin Howalt said the shops would not be impacted if they continued to operate as they do now, but would be subject to city ordinances if they chose to transition into a dispensary. Audie Martin said the state should expect an influx of business to the dispensaries when they open, because they'll get the Texas and New Mexico residents who currently drive to Colorado to buy cannabis. Casaus said if the city makes the ordinance too restrictive, the dispensaries will just move to the county. Portales Mayor Ron Jackson said, in a later interview, that the city hasn't had any group meetings as yet to discuss how this may play out. First case of West Nile in 2021 for Washington state found in Walla Walla County Nathaniel Ross of Mesa is a junior at Arizona State University majoring in four different subjects, minoring in dance and persuing two academic certificates. Stay up to date on COVID-19 Get Breaking News Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox. Sponsored By: St Anthony's Hospital Elkhart, IN (46516) Today Mostly clear skies early then increasing clouds with some scattered thunderstorms late. Low 72F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Mostly clear skies early then increasing clouds with some scattered thunderstorms late. Low 72F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Ricky VanHoozer, 65, of Athens, Alabama, died Tuesday, June 29, 2021, in Madison Hospital. A 2 p.m. graveside service will be Saturday at Bottom Cemetery with son-in-law Billy Sims officiating. Visitation is from noon until 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Spry Funeral Home in Athens. Pallbearers will Broadcom is facing a major antitrust crackdown. Gizmodo reports that the Federal Trade Commission has charged Broadcom with "illegally monopolizing" the markets for broadband and TV chips, including WiFi parts. The FTC claimed that Broadcom struck exclusive deals with vendors and service providers that prevented them from buying chips from rival suppliers. The FTC also accused Broadcom of obtaining "exclusivity and loyalty commitments" for chip supplies, making it difficult for companies to compete on their own merits. The vote was near unanimous, although newly installed Commissioner Lina Khan bowed out. The Commission's proposed action would forbid Broadcom from negotiating certain exclusivity and loyalty deals, bar the company from conditioning chip access based on commitments, and ban retaliation against customers who buy from Broadcom's competitors. Broadcom signalled to Engadget that it might cooperate on a settlement. It still disagreed with the FTC's portrayal and claimed that it didn't break the law. You can read the full statement below. The chipset giant hasn't exactly won favor from regulators in recent years. It spent 2017 and 2018 aggressively trying to buy Qualcomm, only to give up after the White House blocked the deal. We wouldn't expect regulators to make too many concessions as a result, even if a settlement seems likely. Broadcom hasn't been shy about wanting to dominate the chip business the FTC will want assurances the company won't push boundaries in the future. Hackers just perpetrated one of the largest known supply chain cyberattacks so far. The Financial Times and Wall Street Journal report that IT management software giant Kaseya has fallen victim to a ransomware attack that compromised its VSA remote maintenance tool. The company initially claimed that "fewer than 40" of its customers were directly affected, but security response firm Huntress said three managed service providers it worked with had also succumbed to the attack and compromising over 200 companies. The number could be higher. Huntress noted there were eight affected cloud service providers, potentially affecting many more firms. Swedish supermarket chain Coop closed almost 800 stores after one of its contractors became a target. Kaseya said it had identified the likely source of the security flaw and was developing a patch that would be "tested thoroughly." In the meantime, though, the company urged all customers to shut down their VSA servers and keep them offline until they could install the update. Software-as-a-service customers were "never at-risk," Kaseya added, although the company took down that functionality as a precaution. It's not certain who's behind the attack, although Huntress tied the campaign to the Russia-linked REvil group that attacked beef supplier JBS. The incident is the latest in a string of high-profile ransomware attacks, including JBS and Colonial Pipeline. It also follows the large-scale SolarWinds breaches attributed to another group, Nobelium. Online security is quickly becoming a major issue in the supply chain, and it's not clear these problems will disappear any time soon. Kaseya's breach also reflects the dangers of relying heavily on one company's software platform. While the number of directly affected clients is small, the supply chain network appears to have created a ripple effect that damaged numerous companies down the line. The situation might not improve until there's either tighter security among Kaseya-like providers or more competition that reduces the potential damage. The Homegoing services celebrating Bernard Leak will be held 1:00 P.M. today, July 6th in the Brown-Cummings Funeral Home Chapel. Interment will follow in the Memorial Park Cemetery. Condolences may be shared with the family online at www.Brown-Cummings.com. Click for the latest, full-access Enid News & Eagle headlines | Text Alerts | app downloads Mullin is an award-winning writer and columnist who retired in 2017 after 41 years with the News & Eagle. Email him at janjeff2002@yahoo.com or write him in care of the Enid News & Eagle at PO Box 1192, Enid, OK, 73702. The News & Eagle has traditionally published personal opinions of writers and readers through editorials, columns and letters to the editor on its Opinion Page. The opinions shared are those of the writers and not the newspaper. Submit your opinion for publication to editor@enidnews.com. Find out more about submitting letters to the editor at https://www.enidnews.com/opinion/. The mother of a Black man fatally shot by a white former Nashville officer sobbed, screamed and knocked over a courtroom lectern as she begged a judge not to accept a plea deal she says was struck in secret without her knowledge Prince Harry immediately went home just a day after the Princess Diana statute - back home to his wife and two kids Lilibet and Archie. A relationship expert now revealed that Meghan Markle must have been continuously in touch with him to make him feel less alone and traumatized on this trip. Prince Harry would not have lasted his short stint in the UK without his wife, an expert revealed. Even though Meghan Markle did not go with him, the expert claimed that they would have been texting each other all throughout. The expert surmised that Prince Harry would have been challenged by the whole trip, even though this is not apparent to the public eye. He did everything to look like he was happy back in the UK - right from the time he had to self-isolate upon arriving at the country. According to the expert, anyone could assume that the visit would have undoubtedly been difficult for Prince Harry after all that he revealed about his mental health documentary "The Me You Can't See." Even if he did not show it, traveling to London could be a "trigger" for the Duke of Sussex. More so when enough things have been said to paint how bad his wife Meghan Markle reportedly suffered there. Prince Harry could have taken one look at the palace and reflect on all these. The expert said that these assumptions could not be wrong amid rumors of Prince Harry's "rift" with his brother Prince William, with their relationship said to be "strained" following The Duke of Sussex's recent public comments about The Firm's inner workings. The two only have no choice but to work together now, but they probably would not if they have a choice. ALSO READ: Angelina Jolie, The Weeknd Dating? The Two Spotted Together For Hours Tina Wilson, relationship guru and founder of Wingman revealed to the Daily Star that the Duchess of Sussex would have been "helping guide him through his every move on UK turf.". "Facing this head-on will be a personal challenge for Harry and Meghan will be likely keeping in constant contact via text messages helping guide him through his every move on UK turf," she said. She is quite sure that Markle would have told his Prince Harry to stay calm and collected on the whole duration of this trip and just lay low so that no more conflicts would ensue. She would have told him to focus on Prince Diana. "Meghan will likely be telling him to remain calm around his family because of the ongoing dramas and to try and focus on honoring his mother to not add further fuel to the fire on this particular day. ALSO READ: Justin Timberlake 'Bought' Forgiveness From Jessica Biel After Cheating on Her? The Truth See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles Bill Cosby is not joking - he definitely wants to return to the comedy industry following his prison release. A spokesperson revealed that Cosby currently hopes for his comeback after spending two years of three to 10 years of the sentence. Andrew Wyatt told Fox News this week that the 83-year-old actor wants to regain his glory and do comedy stints again. He added that the disgraced comedian particularly aims to imbue his stand-up career. "He wants to get back on stage sooner or later," he said, before adding that several comedy club owners already contacted him for gigs. Through his active years, Cosby has been publicly known for the success of "The Cosby Show." His fame rocketed in the 1960s when he was working as a stand-up comic at the hungry i. He built his records even more by releasing comedy albums in the past years. One of which even earned him a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album consecutively from 1965 to 1970. Among his creations include "Bill Cosby Is A very Funny Fellow...Right!" under Warner Bros, "To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With," and "For Adults Only." Bill Cosby Unleashes Comedic Side - But It Might Be Short-Lived Even before his potential return, Cosby already enjoyed the first hours of his freedom by sharing laughs in a Philadelphia restaurant. Per Wyatt, he told jokes until the early hours of the morning after treating him a pizza in the unnamed food place. However, his plans immediately got threats as his accusers and celebrities disapproved of his release. Since he came out of the prison, supporters of the biggest movements in the world - including #MeToo and Time's Up, called out the court and Cosby. READ ALSO: Bill Cosby Encountered Treatment Issues Inside Jail? Most Heartbreaking Part Revealed The founding member of Time's Up, Actress Amber Tamblyn, expressed how furious she felt upon hearing the news. She noted that she personally knows a number of women who became Cosby's victims. "Today's news that Cosby's conviction is being overturned is proof we haven't gone far enough. Our justice system MUST change," she wrote on Twitter. Most celebrities also stood with all the accusers and slammed the prosecutors for the damaging mistake of freeing the disgraced star. Cosby sexually assaulted and abused more than 60 people since the 1980s. Thus, it is no wonder how the situation became him against the world now. READ MORE: Princess Diana Statue: Reason Why There Are Three Children Beside Late Royal Revealed See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles President Joe Biden is concerned lives will be unnecessarily lost as unvaccinated people contract and transmit the coronavirus over the July 4 holiday. Biden says that for vaccinated Americans the holiday weekend will be worth celebrating. Vicks launched the third edition of its iconic #TouchOfCare campaign series for National Doctors Day 2021. The third edition of #TouchOfCare, a tribute to the Doctors community across the nation, underscores the powerful impact of care through the real-life extraordinary story of the late Dr Dnyaneshwar Bhosale. The film takes viewers on the inspiring journey of Dr Bhosales selfless acts of care, as he left no stone unturned to ensure many less fortunate children received life-saving medical attention during the pandemic. Gone too soon, Dr Bhosale left behind his wife, kids and his dreams of building his own pediatric hospital. The film is a solemn reminder that like Dr Bhosale, hundreds of doctors lost their lives during the pandemic leaving their families and dreams behind. In addition to sharing Dr Bhosales inspiring story, Vicks has also pledged to support Mrs Bhosale to help build a pediatric hospital in memory of her husband's extraordinary acts of care. Committed to making a meaningful difference and step up as a #ForceforGood, Vicks continues to support Indias fight against Covid-19 through P&Gs Suraksha initiative. Under this initiative, P&G recently contributed towards 1 million vaccination doses for 5 lakh citizens in partnership with state governments and local authorities. Dr Priyanka Dnyaneshwar Bhosale, Wife of the late Dr Dnyaneshwar Bhosale shared, It was difficult to see my husband take his last breath and my prayer then was that somehow he would receive the healing hand of care just like the one he selflessly extended to many children. I thank Vicks for bringing to light my husbands extraordinary work and inspiring story and joining me to keep his dream of building a childrens hospital in Latur alive so his memory and touch of care live on forever. Himanshu Tewary, Senior Director and Category Head, Personal Healthcare at Procter & Gamble said, Our doctors have given a new meaning to humanity during these challenging times, and their selflessness deserves lifelong gratitude. Vicks #TouchOfCare is a reminder of the extraordinary acts of care, courage and bravery of each one of our doctors, those with us, and those who we have lost. As a society, its time to rise together and give back to our doctors community for all they have done for us and our loved ones by preserving their #TouchOfCare for generations to come. The films Director, Anand Gandhi, Dr Dnyaneshwar Bhosale dreamed of building robust, empathetic systems of care and medicine. This film is a glimpse into the vision and commitment that he had for his community. Its a call to togetherness, a reminder of the selflessness of all our healthcare workers during this time. I am grateful to the people at Vicks and Publicis Singapore for getting me on board to bring this story to life. Ajay Thrivikraman, CCO, Global Clients, Publicis Singapore commented, Vicks Touch of Care has always been a platform to shine a spotlight on the most vulnerable communities in our society. Just over a year ago, one would hardly have expected our doctors to be among them, but this pandemic has changed everything. It has been an incredibly difficult time for doctors and their loved ones. Its humbling to see that their care for others is more than a lifetime commitment; it is a legacy that will live on into the future. In 2017, #TouchOfCare 1 showed how through care, families are formed beyond biological ties, breaking stereotypes and highlighting how motherhood has no gender through the story of an orphan, Gayatri and her transgender mother Gauri Sawant. In 2018, #TouchOfCare 2 brought to light the story of Nisha, a girl born with Ichthyosis - a genetic skin condition who was abandoned by her biological parents at birth. Her life took a positive turn with the unconditional love and care extended by her adoptive parents. Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India) R. Brent Wisner Makes "Top Plaintiff Lawyers" List for Third Straight Year Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman trial attorney and vice president R. Brent Wisner has earned a spot on the Daily Journal's Top Plaintiffs Lawyers list for the third consecutive year. This year, the Daily Journal featured Attorney Wisner's work in helping to negotiate a blockbuster settlement with Bayer AG (acquired Monsanto) to settle tens of thousands of Roundup cancer cases for over $10 billion. Wisner also helped negotiate last year's $39.5 million Roundup class action settlement and was an attorney of record in the litigation. The Daily Journal is one of the leading legal publications in the country. Each year, the Daily Journal honors attorneys in its Top Plaintiff Lawyers list who "consistently force broad change in the law, industry, and society." Daily Journal Names Attorney Wisner to Top Plaintiff Lawyers List 2021 The Top Plaintiff Lawyers 2021 received recognition for legal victories in 2020. While the Covid-19 pandemic halted many civil legal proceedings, Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman actively participated in negotiations with Bayer to settle thousands of pending Roundup cancer cases. On June 20, 2020, Bayer announced settlements in principle with Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman and several other plaintiffs firms leading the Roundup cancer litigation. The cases against Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018, alleged exposure to the company's Roundup weed killer causes non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The settlement agreements, which came after more than a year of negotiations and three consecutive trial losses for Bayer, resolved tens of thousands of pending cases for more than $10 billion. R. Brent Wisner was one of a select few lawyers to negotiate the Roundup settlements with Bayer. He was also an integral part of the settlement negotiations. With Bayer known primarily as a pharmaceutical company, Fierce Pharma called the agreement "the largest settlement in pharma history." Before the settlements, Attorney Wisner earned two legal victories against Bayer as co-lead trial counsel in Johnson v. Monsanto Company and Pilliod et al. v. Monsanto Company. In Johnson, Brent won a $289 million verdict for the plaintiff, Dewayne "Lee" Johnson. Monsanto appealed the verdict, and Brent assisted with writing the appeal brief and helped prepare for argument. While the total damages were reduced to $20.5 million, the California Courts of Appeal First Appellate District denied Monsanto's bid to overturn the verdict. The company declined to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, and as a result, the litigation is now closed. In Pilliod, Brent obtained a $2.055 billion jury verdict, which was the ninth-largest personal injury jury verdict in United States history at the time. The verdict was later reduced to $87 million, and the case is currently on appeal. In addition to the Roundup cancer settlement, Attorney Wisner was also one of the attorneys of record representing the plaintiffs in the Roundup class action, which accused Monsanto and ScottsMiracle-Gro of illegal marketing, distribution, sale, and promotion of Roundup products. The class action specifically alleged that a statement appearing on some Roundup labels that glyphosate, a key ingredient, "targets an enzyme found in plants but not in people or pets," is false and misleading. During the discovery phase of litigation, Brent got Monsanto to concede that glyphosate does influence an enzyme in the human gut biome, which could lead to significant health effects. He also conducted several depositions, including two of Monsanto itself, that forced Monsanto into a posture where a settlement made sense. Last year, Bayer agreed to resolve the class action for $39.5M. As part of the proposed settlement, the statement above will no longer appear on applicable Roundup labels. About R. Brent Wisner R. Brent Wisner is one of the lead trial attorneys at Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman. He manages a highly-trained team of attorneys on all facets of litigationfrom briefing, expert discovery, trial, and appeal. After earning two massive verdicts against Monsanto, he has received dozens of major awards and recognition from many of the leading legal publications in the country. As the youngest attorney ever to win a multi-billion-dollar jury verdict, Brent has earned a reputation as one of the nation's top trial lawyers. # # # San Antonio Independent School District adult learners, middle and high school students may soon get paid to help fulfill the districts tech support needs as part of a technology and digital literacy pilot program through Texas A&M-San Antonio. The program is funded through a $750,000 grant from USAA and $150,000 from Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, and it aims to train students to staff help desks and provide additional technical support to their classmates, district parents and staff, while exposing students to IT careers. Theyll learn at their own pace, said William Griffenber, TAMU-SAs chief information pfficer. Down the road we are going to allow them - at their own pace - to learn as much about IT as we can possibly train them on. The pilot also will help close the access gaps that became more apparent during the coronavirus pandemic. SAISD is the second district to pilot the program, after Edgewood jumped onboard last year to help fulfill the added demand through the pandemic. Students hired though the district will receive training by TAMU-SA professionals this summer and move on to get paid $10 to $12 per hour to staff the help line. SAISD officials are pairing the program with the Connected Beyond the Classroom initiative, which aims to provide better connectivity and support to some its communities with higher need. With support from the city of San Antonio, the initiative is working to provide better internet connection through routers to Lanier High School families and its surrounding community, said Aaron Alonzo, SAISD director of information technology services delivery. Officials also included the districts adult education program, which offers paths to technology certificates. Five students who have already earned at least a basic tech certificate were selected to kick off the initiative in the next couple of weeks, then 8th-12th graders will be selected and vetted before the start of the school year. On ExpressNews.com: A&M-San Antonio using USAA grant to help students with new tech devices They are coming to them with some experience and background to hit the ground running with this initiative, said Darlene Volz, SAISD director of adult and community education, adding the adult learners selected for the program are certified in IT and cyber fundamentals. The university allows the district to select their participants before vetting them to get officially hired through the program, Griffenber said. The districts will also have a say-so and flexibility on how many hours to allocate to the students and their hours of operation. The help desk will be staffed Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. and Saturdays 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., he said, with students working remotely and being supported by university staff. Once demand is assessed, the districts will be able to shift those hours to cover high-traffic times. Last year, the number of calls to the SAISD help desk skyrocketed as the coronavirus pandemic kept everyone at home, Alonzo said. His staff of about 5 people went from answering about 120 calls on what used to be a busy day, to having close to 1,400 amid the pandemic, forcing them to look for help to grow the staff to about 15-20 people. Before COVID, parents and students werent calling the help desk. They would work with their teachers, Alonzo said. When they were working from home, they started calling our help desk. As students are expected to return to fully in-person learning this fall, the district is not expecting to field as many calls. But Alonzo said they are expecting to keep getting higher number of calls from the parents and students who became familiar with the service. The program provides a cost-effective solution to support those that got used to using the service and the additional families who are expected to have better connectivity this fall thanks to the citys efforts, he added. Between SAISD, TAMU-SA and the city, the goal is to begin closing the connectivity gap in these areas and get families used to the technology resources that they may not have been able to take advantage of in the past. Thats three different organizations that recognize that there is a really big problem when it comes to digital connectivity for our students and the community of SAISD, Alonzo said. Being that our district serves 90-plus percent of economically-disadvantaged households. danya.perez@express-news.net | @DanyaPH Staff file photo A 62-year-old man died Friday in an accidental drowning in the Comal River, according to the New Braunfels Police Department. Police and the New Braunfels Fire Department responded to the New Braunfels tube chute on the Comal River around 3 p.m. for a report of a man who went underwater and did not resurface. A man and a woman were indicted for their alleged roles in an accident on the East Side in March that killed an elderly man and left a 2-year-old girl partially paralyzed. Daniel Reynaldo Telles, 24, and Selena Marie Hernandez, 20, were named among 242 felony indictments returned by two Bexar County grand juries completing their terms this week, according to the District Attorneys Office. Telles and Hernandez were each charged with assault causing serious bodily injury by omission to a child. Telles also faces a charge of manslaughter and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. On ExpressNews.com: Protester sues city, claiming SAPD officer injured him with paintball gun during George Floyd march The charges stem from a March 31 accident in which Telles was driving a Dodge Avenger and crashed into a 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier driven by Antonio Martinez, 80. Martinez had been turning at the intersection of Rigsby Avenue and Covington Road when Telles car struck his drivers side door at a calculated 83 mph in a 40 mph zone, investigators said. The crash left Martinezs vehicle with a 2 1/2-foot intrusion and the engine of Telles car in flames, an affidavit states. Martinez died at the scene. Hernandez was in the passenger seat of Telles Dodge and her 2-year-old girl was in the back, next to Telles cousin. Witnesses told police that Telles, Hernandez and the cousin escaped, leaving the child inside the burning truck. Bystanders pulled the unconcious toddler from the wreckage. All four were taken to University Hospital with varying injuries. Tellez admitted to smoking marijuana about three hours before the crash, but said he wasn't intoxicated, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. He also did not have a driver's license and his Texas ID card had been revoked for his failure to appear in court for a traffic citation. Hernandezs daughter, who was not properly restrained in a car seat, suffered multiple spinal and lumbar fractures, which left her partially paralyzed on the left side of her body, court records said. Hernandez had multiple broken ribs, a lumbar fracture, and a laceration to her right knee. Telles cousin had multiple broken ribs. Telles is still at the Bexar County Jail, his bail set at $200,000. Hernandez was released after posting a $20,000 bond in May. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio father and son drown in Port Aransas The assault charge is a first degree felony punishable by 5 to 99 years or life in prison. The other charges against Telles are second degree felonies punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison. In a separate case, Sergio Vasquez, 51, was indicted on an intoxication manslaughter charge, accused of being drunk when he ran a red light Nov. 29 and crashed into Wayne Willett, 50, who was in a crosswalk at the intersection of Nacogdoches Road and El Charro Street. Willet died at a hospital, a police report states. Intoxication manslaughter is a second degree felony punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison. Vasquez is free on a $75,000 bond. JBeltran@express-news.net In its effort to bring casinos to Texas, Las Vegas Sands the gaming empire started by the late Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson hired an army of lobbyists and spent millions more on TV ads, all after an election season in which Adelsons largesse was key in helping the states Republicans remain in power. But the gargantuan undertaking ultimately did not make it far at the Capitol, with Sands legislation failing to make it to the floor of either chamber and not even receiving a committee hearing in the Senate. The legislation which required voter approval would have brought a monumental expansion of gambling to Texas, which has some of the most restrictive gaming laws in the country. The centerpiece of the Las Vegas Sands proposal was to build destination resorts with casino gambling in the states four biggest metropolitan areas. The company had insisted it was committed to Texas for the long term. But people involved in the effort point to at least a few factors that stood in the way of more progress in their debut session. There was the difficulty breaking through in a session dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, the winter weather crisis and Republican leaders contentious priorities, which are now leading to at least one special session. There was Lt. Gov. Dan Patricks perceived opposition to expanding gambling that made Senate progress a tall order. And there was the relatively late filing of the Sands-supported legislation, giving lawmakers less time than usual to digest what would be a hugely consequential change to the Texas economy. While Sands took pains to clarify that casinos would not be a fiscal cure-all for Texas, some supporters of the proposal said they were nonetheless hampered when the states budget projections turned out better than expected, decreasing curiosity in new revenue streams. Something this big and complex takes time, and were only up here five months of every two years, said Rep. John Kuempel, R-Seguin, who carried the Sands-backed bill in the House. These things take time. Las Vegas Sands ended up spending as much as $6.3 million on lobbying at the Capitol, according to state records, plus what the company pegged as at least $2 million on a statewide ad campaign. It is likely that the companys total spending topped $10 million, given the number of weeks that the company stayed on the air in the states most expensive media markets. It was easily the biggest campaign to expand gambling in Texas that the state has seen in a long time. As the session wound down and it became clear that Sands House bill would not advance, Sands issued a statement in which it claimed it made great strides this session and promised to continue to build community support across the state to ultimately turn this vision into a reality. Sure enough, the company continued airing TV ads promoting its plan in the weeks after the proposals fate had crystallized. One Republican lawmaker who sits on the House committee where the bill died had a less optimistic outlook. It fell really flat, Rep. Matt Shaheen of Plano said of Sands overall push this past session. It just didnt go anywhere. It was a bad investment on Sands behalf, and I think any future investments will continue to be a bad investment. Making waves in Austin Sands first started catching the attention of Capitol observers late last year when its lobbyist registrations with the Texas Ethics Commission began to swell and included some of the biggest names in Austin influence circles. For example, the company hired Gavin Massingill, then the chief of staff to outgoing House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, to lead its lobbying in Austin. Even before the legislation had been filed, the company made its intentions clear. We view Texas as a worldwide destination and one of the top potential markets in the entire world, Andy Abboud, Sands senior vice president of government relations, said during a December conference hosted by the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association. Texas is considered the biggest plum still waiting to be out there in the history of hospitality and gaming. Months earlier, Adelson had taken an outsized interest in Texas politics, joining with his wife, Miriam, to distinguish themselves as top contributors to House Republicans successful fight to preserve their majority. In September, the couple gave $4.5 million to a Texas account affiliated with the Republican State Leadership Committee, the chief national GOP group involved in state legislative races. Adelson also closed out the election season by giving $500,000 to Gov. Greg Abbott, registering as the governors second-largest donor during the second half of 2020. And once it became clear after the election that Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, was poised to be the next leader of the Texas House, Adelson cut a check to him for $25,000. Those would end up being some of the last political contributions of Adelsons life. On Jan. 12, the first day of the legislative session, Las Vegas Sands announced he had died, citing complications from non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Abbott swiftly commemorated Adelson in a statement calling him a remarkable American whose legendary business savvy and determination helped him rise from humble beginnings to a titan of his trade. The death of Adelson plus the news of Texas smaller-than-expected budget shortfall around the same time left some wondering if Sands was losing momentum in the state before it could even unveil its legislation. But the company kept adding lobbyists in Austin, and in a statement shortly after Adelsons death, Abboud said the company was looking forward to working with lawmakers this session. Beginning of session With Sands Texas ambitions becoming more widely known, the states top leaders started fielding questions about it. In interviews during the opening weeks of session, the new speaker, Phelan, warned Sands against relying on the argument that casinos would boost state revenue advice that the company was already taking to heart in its public comments about Texas. Otherwise, Phelan expressed openness to the concept, noting he represents a district along the border with Louisiana, where casino gambling is legal. All my constituents gamble, Phelan said at the time. Its not a big deal to me. Abbott also kept an open mind publicly, despite saying in 2015 that he wholeheartedly supported the gaming restrictions in Texas. Asked in a February interview about the Sands effort, Abbott said he wanted to hear from lawmakers about how their constituents felt about casinos. Patrick would end up having the most consequential comments about Sands plans. In a Feb. 9 interview with Lubbock radio host Chad Hasty, Patrick threw cold water on the push, saying he has never been in favor of expanding gambling and that the Senate is nowhere close to having the votes for it. The issue, he predicted, would not see the light of day this session. Sands was undeterred. On March 9 three days before the bill-filing deadline Sands legislation was finally filed. It was being carried by Kuempel in the House and by Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, in the Senate. Alvarado is the chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus. In the House, the legislation ended up attracting a bipartisan group of four joint authors: Reps. Toni Rose, D-Dallas; Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth; Joe Moody, D-El Paso; and Sam Harless, R-Houston. They were notable gets for Sands Rose is the first vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus; Geren is a veteran member who previously chaired the powerful Administration Committee; and Moody is serving his second term as speaker pro tem. But with Patricks position seemingly clear in the Senate, additional support there was sparse. Only two senators signed up as co-authors, and they were both Democrats Sens. Juan Chuy Hinojosa of McAllen and Beverly Powell of Burleson which was not promising in a chamber where Republicans hold a supermajority and can solely control which bills make it to the floor. The legislation got a hearing in the House but was left pending in the committee afterward and was never brought back up for a vote before the May 10 deadline for committees to advance such proposals. A Republican on the committee who supported the legislation, Harless, said he thought from the get-go it was gonna be a multi-session effort. Still, Harless added, I definitely think its gonna be in our hands to get it out of the House first. Las Vegas Sands Senate legislation never got a hearing in that chambers State Affairs Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola. Hughes did not respond to a message seeking comment for this story. Whether Patrick, the Senates presiding officer, can be moved remains to be seen. His office did not respond to a request for comment for this story, but some casino supporters believe he is not as dug in against it as some would believe. I dont think he had an appetite for it this session, Alvarado said. I think he feels like eventually its coming to Texas, but it wasnt gonna happen this session. Disclosure: The Texas Taxpayers and Research Association has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org. As San Antonios job training program lags and officials try to suss out the details of its next phase, a key backer worries the initiative is in trouble. COPS/Metro, a grassroots advocacy group, aggressively lobbied city leaders to create an emergency program to help some of the thousands of people thrown out of work amid the pandemic get the skills they needed to land higher-paying jobs. The groups leaders later threw their weight behind Mayor Ron Nirenberg when he asked voters in November to use sales tax dollars to create an expanded program. But months after the idea proved victorious at the polls, members of COPS/Metro have grown increasingly disillusioned with how the citys job training efforts have played out. They feel city officials have all but ignored their concerns. The groups leaders are disappointed in the meager number of participants who have obtained training certificates and landed jobs through the emergency program dubbed Train for Jobs SA. Nine months after the $75 million initiative began, 214 people have been placed into jobs. And COPS/Metro leaders worry the city hasnt done enough to prepare for the next stage of its training efforts Ready to Work, the $200 million program backed by a sales tax that will also help residents enroll in college degree programs. Already, the programs rollout has been pushed back a month from September to October. City officials drawing up Ready to Work have done so at a breakneck pace, COPS/Metro leaders argue, and focused too much on figuring out bureaucratic procedures rather than what jobs participants will train for points that officials contest. They have just done this, if you will, by the seat of their pants, said Sister Pearl Ceaser, former head of Project Quest, the jobs training program COPS/Metro founded more than 25 years ago. When Train for Jobs began last September, officials said the program would help 10,000 people in some fashion, even if they didnt complete their training and land jobs. But the program has fallen short of even that number about 6,000 people have qualified for training and finished the programs intake process. For their part, COPS/Metro leaders said they initially expected low enrollment and job placement numbers in part because its hard to roll out a job training program. The programs participants have largely opted for training programs that take longer but theoretically will lead to even higher-paying work. But the city risks seeing similar figures from Ready to Work if it doesnt bring in more outside workforce development experts to weigh in and pinpoint jobs that will be there when participants graduate, COPS/Metro leaders contend. They will be recasting the same flawed program on a grander scale and come up with no better results than what theyre getting now, said Sonia Rodriguez, a COPS/Metro leader who worked on Nirenbergs Ready to Work campaign. City officials said they are focused on those things. Nirenbergs office provided a list of outside experts he and his staff have consulted with on the program. They also pinpointed several target industries for Ready to Work, including health care, manufacturing and cybersecurity. Plus, they plan to release a detailed list of potential occupations for those who complete the program. Still, the city expects a third-party organization that will run the program to stay in touch with employers and ensure there are jobs waiting for program participants. Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer We know what occupations command the wages and are in demand right now, said Assistant City Manager Alex Lopez, who is overseeing both job training programs. We know that already. Will that change year after year? Perhaps. Its not the first time COPS/Metro has aired grievances publicly about Ready to Work. Its members were outraged when city staff floated a proposal in December to hire 65 new city employees and create a new agency to enroll participants in job training and college degree programs and help make sure they dont drop out. Rodriguez labeled the proposed department a bloated bureaucracy. Officials pulled back that proposal, opting instead to contract out that work along with the training itself to an outside organization. That process, too, has drawn heat. After the city put out a document detailing its expectations for the contract, COPS/Metro and would-be contractors complained the expectations were too strict and would amount to micromanagement by the city. Officials went back to the drawing board and plan to open the bidding process July 6. City leaders have largely defended how Train for Jobs has performed and how Ready to Work is taking shape. Even if they needed work, prospective enrollees in Train for Jobs likely were scared off given the prevalence of COVID-19 in the programs early days, officials and proponents have posited. Employers also were slow to hire over the winter months. But since the beginning of the year, interest in Train for Jobs has grown as the pandemic eases and more residents receive doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, officials have said. We are building an unprecedented workforce program, and we knew all along that we would face challenges, Nirenberg said in a statement. That is a natural part of the process, and we will address the challenges as they arise. But Nirenberg said hes with COPS/Metro when it comes to concerns about how long its taking the city to hire an executive director to oversee Ready to Work. The city was initially expected to hire someone by May. Months later, the position hasnt been filled and its unclear when it will be. A city spokeswoman said the hiring process is in its final selection stage. Further baffling COPS/Metro leaders: The person overseeing the citys current job training program is Heber Lefgren, who leads the citys Animal Care Services department. Do we not have people who know a little more about workforce development who might be in the leadership positions? Rodriguez told the Express-News Editorial Board. City staff defended the move to put Lefgren in the spot overseeing Train for Jobs day-to-day operations on a temporary basis. Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer Lefgren has been instrumental in many of the innovations and improvements to Animal Care Services, City Manager Erik Walsh said in a statement. His past work in the citys budget and innovation offices gave Lefgren a solid foundation for creative, effective system design and implementation, Walsh said. Ready to Work will be rolled out in October after City Council awards the contract to run the program. But the program will steadily ramp up with a stronger push to get enrollees through the doors starting in January in part to allow the contractor time to get settled. Weve learned we need to do a soft launch, Lopez said during a Thursday public form on the program. Its not going to be flipping a switch. Even after the city hires the contractor, officials expect there to be kinks to work out. To Rodriguez, the time to iron out those kinks is before that organization is hired. Theres a real lack of logic in all of this and sequence that is still missing, Rodriguez said. Despite their misgivings, COPS/Metro leaders dont plan to walk away from the process. Its too important, Rodriguez said. This one is too big to fail. Aspetuck Land Trust is growing due to a merger with the Monroe Land Trust and a grant to acquire more than 18 acres of open space in Easton. The merger between the two trusts took effect Thursday, officially expanding the Aspetuck Land Trusts land conservation work from the original Easton, Weston, Fairfield and Westport focus to now include Monroe. Our board is very excited to join with Aspetuck Land Trust, said Barbara Thomas, a Monroe Land Trust board member. We share the same values and commitment to land conservation. Adding Monroe brings 20 acres of conserved land spread throughout town, along with some money. The Aspetuck Land Trust, which was founded in 1966, will now own or manage more than 2,000 acres in the five towns and grow its membership to more than 1,700 people. The two groups have been working on a merger for a couple of years. The Connecticut Land Conservation Council helped facilitate the final arrangement with funding from the Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation. Thomas said the decision to merge came about because the group recognized a need for a more regional approach to conservation. One of our prime reasons for wanting to merge with Aspetuck is that we know that plants and wildlife dont recognize town borders, and a larger vision for preserving natural areas is necessary, she said. As a small land trust we struggled to acquire the resources needed to preserve land. We sought to become part of an organization that has more resources and is already making a significant impact in open space preservation. Monroe Land Trust was established about 10 years ago after Monroe Field and Woods was dormant for a number of years. Under the merger, Thomas will join the Aspetuck Land Trust board and Monroe Land Trust members and volunteers will participate in Aspectucks committees and activities. Bill Kraekel, Aspetuck Land Trusts president, said the merger aligns with the trusts holistic approach to conservation that extends beyond town lines. The Aspetuck Land Trust has always had a regional view of conservation, he said. Adding Monroe is a natural extension of our mission and programs. He noted Monroe has some beautiful undeveloped land, which is becoming rare in Fairfield County. He said the newly constituted Aspetuck Land Trust hopes to partner with landowners to preserve these areas forever for people to enjoy and to support the wildlife that depends on it. We believe that this merger enables us to protect more of the open spaces in our region that are so important to us and future generations, Kraekel said. Aspetuck Land Trust will also be able to protect more undeveloped land in Easton, because of a $188,000 grant. It was one of 29 grants, totaling more than $5.5 million, that Gov. Ned Lamont last month awarded to preserve nearly 3,000 acres throughout the state. The money comes from the states Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Program. It will be used to help purchase 18.7 acres at 18 South Park Ave. along the Mill River in Easton, which will be incorporated into the Warner Angler Preserve, more than quadrupling the current area. The town is keeping the remainder of the 29-acre site, said David Brant, executive director for the Aspetuck Land Trust. He said the town and land trust have been working on the sale for at least five years. The trust is buying the property for $470,000. Brant said theyre finalizing the purchase and expect to close in 2022. The property includes 3,300 feet of riverbank across from a riverbank already dedicated as open space for the town. This acquisition would allow public access for fishing, hiking and wildlife viewing. It sits just below the Easton Reservoir and is classified as Class 1 Wild Trout Management Area There are populations of wild brook trout, wild brown trout, the eastern box turtle, wood turtle and sharp-shinned hawk in the area, according to a news release. Open space is key for the states economic future, said Katie Dykes, commissioner of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. These natural assets are valuable as we attract and retain residents who are increasingly looking for varied recreational opportunities where they work, play, and live, she said. No single entity can accomplish the critical goal of protecting our lands with significant conservation values now and for future generations. We need continued cooperation of land trusts, our towns and cities, and conservation-minded citizens to build upon existing and form new partnerships and new approaches to protecting open space. HELENA Governor Greg Gianforte today ended the state of emergency in Montana he declared in January 2021 to address the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. Months ago, the light at the end of the tunnel was distant and dim. As weve worked together to overcome this pandemic, the light has grown bigger and brighter. Today, we are out of the tunnel, and we are surrounded in light. Today, the conditions we face are nothing like what we faced 15 months ago, 12 months ago, or six months ago, Gianforte said. Today, the conditions we face no longer warrant a state of emergency. Citing Montanans resiliency amid the pandemic, Gianforte concluded his remarks, saying, Montanans can be proud of the work theyve done to overcome this pandemic and take care of themselves and each other. Working together, we have come through this stronger on the other side. In making the announcement, the governor cited the dramatic decline in new cases and hospitalizations in the last six months as well as Montanas progress in administering vaccines. To date, Montanans have administered over 860,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, with more than 425,000 Montanans fully immunized. Encouraging Montanans to choose to get the vaccine, the governor added, The vaccines are safe, effective, free, and easy to get. They continue to be our best path forward. The governor also cited progress in getting Montanas economy going again, getting Montana open for business, and getting Montanans back to work. Montana was the first state in the nation to announce it was fully opting out of the federal unemployment benefit programs enacted since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-four other states have followed Montanas lead. To help Montanans reenter the workforce, the governor also launched a return-to-work bonus program. Return-to-work bonuses will be paid to unemployed individuals who rejoin the workforce and accept and maintain steady employment for at least one month. In May, Montanas unemployment rate continued to decline, falling to 3.6 percent from 4.0 percent in January. Harper Barrios enjoys hot dogs, watermelon and Cheetos during the Gingerbread House Day Care Centers Fourth of July celebration Friday in Rosenberg. Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category TIANJIN, China, July 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Zhang Boli, director of the Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China, was awarded with the national honorary title "the People's Hero" by the Chinese central government for his outstanding contribution to the country's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision was made to commend people who have made outstanding contributions in the fight, and carry forward their dedication and other noble qualities. This short documentary was produced by Tianjin Haihe Media Group, which told Dr. Zhang's story on his battle against COVID-19 during the pandemic. In 2020, Zhang Boli, 72, helped the medical community recognize the value of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) by leading an expert team to treat COVID-19 infections in Wuhan, China's frontline in the battle against the novel coronavirus disease. Zhang arrived in Wuhan, capital of central China'sHubei Province, on January 27, the third day of China's Lunar New Year and the fifth day into the megacity's lockdown for pandemic control. Zhang Boli and over 300 other doctors formed a TCM medical team. They were stationed at a makeshift hospital in Wuhan's Jiangxia district using TCM decoctions with other treatments such as massage, acupuncture and physical exercises from Tai Chi and Baduanjin, a traditional aerobics form, to treat COVID-19 patients. With Zhang's pioneering TCM treatment have been given to 90 percent of COVID-19 patients in Wuhan, relieving symptoms, slowing the progression of the disease, and boosting recovery. Learn about his extraordinary story here: https://youtu.be/-ODsnxuR-VQ. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1556228/Tianjin_Haihe_Media_Group_Logo.jpg Contact: Jane Cheng Tel:008610-68996566 E-mail:1163514639@qq.com PH GHEMMI Indonesia company Tampa, FL (33646) Today Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low around 75F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low around 75F. Winds light and variable. Geneva, NY (14456) Today Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 73F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 73F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Unlimited website access 24/7 Unlimited e-Edition access 24/7 The best local, regional and national news in sports, politics, business and more! With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. Worse than ever before About the same as last year Not too bad I love the illegal fireworks Vote View Results MOBILE, ALA. (WALA)- Mobile police are hunting for whoever shot up the house of Alabama Senator Vivian Davis Figures. Investigators told FOX10 News, 23 shots were fired at the senator's Toulminville home. Fortunately, no-one was there at the time. Two of Figures' neighbors said they woke up to five or six shots around 5am Wednesday morning. "At five o'clock that morning, I heard shots ring out and I laid there for a few seconds, but I didn't know whether if I jumped up quick, that a bullet or something may come through the window. I looked out of all the windows to see if I could see anybody walking around or driving but I didn't see nothing. Just heard the shots." said one of Figures' neighbors. The neighbor said she's lived on the same street in Toulminville for 41 years and can't understand why someone would target Sen. Figures. "She's a good neighbor, good neighbor," said the neighbor. "It's terrifying! Right in your own backyard or right on your same street." Sen. Figures has been in office since the 90's. FOX10 News reached out to her Thursday, but haven't heard back. Richard Branson, the British billionaire and entrepreneur, announced that he would attempt to go to space on July 11, just nine days before the world's richest man, Jeff Bezos, will make his own spaceflight. The White House dove into damage control after reports of dysfunction and infighting in Vice President Kamala Harris' office, pictured here in Washington, on June 23, according to people who spoke to CNN. Galveston, TX (77553) Today Scattered thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low 79F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low 79F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content. NEW ORLEANS, July 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors of pending deadlines in the following securities class action lawsuits: Ubiquiti Inc. (UI) Class Period: 1/11/2021 - 3/30/2021 Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: July 19, 2021 SECURITIES FRAUD To learn more, visit https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-ubiquiti-inc-securities-litigation RLX Technology Inc. (RLX) Class Period: Shares issued in connection with the January 2021 initial public stock offering Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: August 9, 2021 MISLEADING PROSPECTUS To learn more, visit https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-rlx-technology-inc-american-depositary-shares-securities-litigation Rocket Companies, Inc. (RKT) Class Period: 2/25/2021 - 5/5/2021 Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: August 30, 2021 SECURITIES FRAUD To learn more, visit https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-rocket-companies-inc-securities-litigation If you purchased shares of the above companies and would like to discuss your legal rights and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact us toll-free (844) 367-9658 or visit the case links above. If you wish to serve as a Lead Plaintiff in the class action, you must petition the Court on or before the Lead Plaintiff Motion deadline. About ClaimsFiler ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations. To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com SAN FRANCISCO, July 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman urges Danimer Scientific, Inc. (NYSE: DNMR) investors with significant losses to submit your losses now. Class Period: Oct. 5, 2020 - May 3, 2021 Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 13, 2021 Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/DNMR Contact An Attorney Now: DNMR@hbsslaw.com 844-916-0895 Danimer Scientific, Inc. (NYSE: DNMR) Securities Fraud Action: The complaint alleges that Danimer made misrepresentations and omissions concerning its production of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) a biodegradeable alternative to petrochemical-based plastics, which the company sells under its proprietary Nodax brand. The truth began to emerge on Mar. 20, 2021, when the Wall Street Journal reported that many claims about Nodax are exaggerated and misleading. One quoted plastics expert labeled Danimers claims about Nodaxs biodegradability as not accurate and as greenwashing. Next, on Apr. 22, 2021, analyst Spruce Point published a scathing report noting: red flags; inconsistencies in Danimers claims about the size of its operations and Nodaxs makeup and degradability; and the companys expected profitability. Then, on May 4, 2021, Spruce Point published another report after acquiring documents from Kentuckys Department of Environmental Protection and accused Danimer of wildly overstating production figures, pricing, and financial projections. Most recently, on May 21, 2021, news outlets reported that the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions had opened a formal inquiry into Danimer and Spruce Points claims. Were focused on investors losses and proving Danimer misled investors by greenwashing and misstating its true performance metrics, said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation. If you are a Danimer investor and have significant losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firms investigation, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman. Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Danimer should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email DNMR@hbsslaw.com. About Hagens Berman Hagens Berman is a national law firm with eight offices in eight cities around the country and over eighty attorneys. The firm represents investors, whistleblowers, workers and consumers in complex litigation. More about the firm and its successes is located at hbsslaw.com. For the latest news visit our newsroom or follow us on Twitter at @classactionlaw . SAN FRANCISCO, July 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman urges Skillz Inc. (NYSE: SKLZ) investors with significant losses to submit your losses now. A securities fraud class action is pending and certain investors may have valuable claims. Class Period: Dec. 16, 2020 Apr. 19, 2021 Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 7, 2021 Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/SKLZ Contact An Attorney Now: SKLZ@hbsslaw.com 844-916-0895 Skillz, Inc. (NYSE: SKLZ) Securities Fraud Class Action: In past months, Skillz and senior management repeatedly touted the companys revenue growth and projections to support its valuation. The complaint alleges Defendants misled investors with these and other statements because they concealed that (1) three of the companys games responsible for a majority of Skillzs revenues had substantially declined and (2) the companys revenue recognition policy misrepresented the companys actual financial condition. Defendants statements were first brought into serious question on Mar. 8, 2021, when analyst Wolfpack Research published a scathing report, accusing Skillz of concealing that revenues from three games responsible for 88% of Skillzs total revenues (Blitz, Solitaire Cube, Blackout Bingo) substantially declined and effectively gutted the companys growth projections. Next, on Apr. 18, 2021, Eagle Eye Research published a report claiming Skillzs revenue recognition practices were like round-tripping where the company is effectively giving its customers money to spend on SKLZ and recognizing revenue from it, i.e. generating no net economic profits. Eagle Eye concluded that true cash revenue is less than of what management portrays to investors. These events sent the price of Skillz shares sharply lower. Were focused on investors losses and proving Skillz engaged in fraudulent accounting and financial reporting, said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation. If you are a Skillz investor and have significant losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firms investigation, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman. Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Skillz should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email SKLZ@hbsslaw.com. About Hagens Berman Hagens Berman is a national law firm with eight offices in eight cities around the country and over eighty attorneys. The firm represents investors, whistleblowers, workers and consumers in complex litigation. More about the firm and its successes is located at hbsslaw.com. For the latest news visit our newsroom or follow us on Twitter at @classactionlaw . Gloucester, MA (01930) Today Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low 64F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low 64F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Goshen, IN (46526) Today Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 72F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 72F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Goshen, IN (46526) Today Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 72F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 72F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Grand Haven, MI (49417) Today Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 69F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 69F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Mercedes GP has announced that the team have signed a two-year extension with Lewis Hamilton to remain driving with the team through the 2023 season. Lewis said, "It is hard to believe it's been nearly nine years working with this incredible team and I'm excited we're going to continue our partnership for two more years. We've accomplished so much together but we still have a lot to achieve, both on and off the track. I'm incredibly proud and grateful of how Mercedes has supported me in my drive to improve diversity and equality in our sport. They have held themselves accountable and made important strides in creating a more diverse team and inclusive environment. Thank you to all the dedicated and talented individuals at Mercedes whose hard work makes it all possible and the Board for their continued trust in me. We're entering a new era of car which will be challenging and exciting and I can't wait to see what else we can achieve together. Toto Wolff, CEO and Team Principal said, "As we enter a new era of F1 from 2022 onwards, there can be no better driver to have in our team than Lewis. His achievements in this sport speak for themselves, and with his experience, speed and race-craft, he is at the peak of his powers. We are relishing the battle we have on our hands this year - and that's why we also wanted to agree this contract early, so we have no distractions from the competition on track. I have always said that as long as Lewis still possesses the fire for racing, he can continue as long as he wants." Markus Schafer, Daimler AG board member said, "I am very pleased that Lewis Hamilton will continue to race for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team in the upcoming next two F1 seasons. Lewis' ambition and commitment for winning, always striving for improvement, have played an essential role for our team and brand to become as successful as we are today. And he is not only a very talented driver, but also a socially engaged and caring person who wants to make an impact in society. Together, we are dedicated to continuing our joint success in the future." The first works 'Red Bull' engine next year will actually be produced by Honda in Japan. With Honda pulling out of Formula 1 at the end of the year, Red Bull is taking over the IP and setting up Red Bull Powertrains in Milton Keynes. However, 2022 will be a "transition" year, according to Honda's technical boss Toyoharu Tanabe. "I cannot tell the detail, but generally we are going in a good direction and then we should prepare well for next year," he said in Austria. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner confirms: "Although we are creating our own engine division, 2022 will be a transitional year. "Together with Honda, we are doing everything to ensure the softest possible landing, so the engines will continue to be assembled in Sakura." Dr Helmut Marko stated some days ago that the service will cost Red Bull a "fee". "According to our plans, this will continue until 2023," said Horner, "at which time all processes will be transferred to our own production facility." On Saturday, all the F1 engine manufacturers - including Red Bull - will meet with the sport's authorities as well as the Audi and Porsche CEOs to discuss the new engine rules for 2025. According to Italy's Corriere della Sera, Ferrari will argue that the weight of the power units must be slashed, while Horner thinks the rules should actually be delayed until 2026. "In my opinion, it would be a pity if we continued to use engines that are very similar to the current ones, which are extremely expensive," he said. "Apparently we're going to try somehow to reduce the cost, but you can't fly in business class at economy class prices," Horner insisted. "If the transition to the new engines is postponed to 2026, it would be possible to create a truly efficient, environmentally friendly, biofuel-powered engine from scratch, possibly with a significant proportion of standard parts, which will significantly reduce costs," he added. (GMM) Robert Kubica's sponsor Orlen is keen to keep racing in Formula 1. When the Polish driver left Williams at the end of 2019, Kubica became reserve driver at Alfa Romeo and took his personal backer PKN Orlen with him. Today, Orlen is still the most prominent brand on the 2021 car, and the company's boss Daniel Obajtek says he hopes that doesn't change. "More and more, we are becoming a global company," he told the Polish portal Interia. "But I can only express my opinion on the contract that is signed - I cannot anticipate beyond that. "I will say this: if you invest in a global sport like Formula 1, it's about brand recognition. I would be worried if we invest in something like that for a year or two and then back out of it," Obajtek added. However, he reiterated that there is no deal for 2022 yet. "I do not manage this company alone," said Orlen's executive chairman. "What happens next results from the negotiations, logic and the entire sponsorship and marketing strategy. It is therefore possible that this contract may be extended over time, and it already provides for that." (GMM) Red Bull is working hard behind the scenes to overturn the FIA's incoming pitstop speed clampdown. It recently emerged that complaints had been lodged about the super-human speed of Red Bull's pitstop process, prompting the FIA to react. "We worked for years to get this lead," a still-furious Dr Helmut Marko told motorsport-magazin.com at the Red Bull Ring on Friday. "We also think it is a very large part of the show." Marko thinks Mercedes was the impetus behind the FIA's complex new technical directive, which mandates certain phases of the pitstop process that cannot be completed beyond normal human reaction times. "This time it was another Mercedes team pushing this," he insisted, referring either to Aston Martin or McLaren. When asked if Red Bull is determined for the new technical directive - which is set to be enforced from Hungary - to be repealed, the 78-year-old Austrian admitted: "That is correct. "The safety argument is more than ridiculous, because you get the worst penalty if the tyre is not on. Then you are out," said Marko. When asked how likely a repealing of the new rules is, he added: "I can't say that, but I hope for common sense. "There is an ongoing dialogue on this matter." (GMM) Air pollution monitoring by the Houston Health Department in 2019 and 2020 recorded levels of formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, along the Houston Ship Channel that pose potential health risks to surrounding neighborhoods. The analysis, funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency, found that from 27 September 2019 to 26 September 2020, formaldehyde concentrations at three monitoring sites exceeded EPAs health screening level of 0.17 parts per billion. Concentrations never exceeded thresholds set by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The people most at risk are primarily low-income, Latino and Black residents of Manchester, Harrisburg, Meadowbrook, Allendale, Northshore, and Galena Park just across the fence lines from oil refineries, plastics plants, and other industrial facilities. Experts have known for decades that the neighborhoods along the Houston Ship Channel face increased cancer risk from a toxic mixture of air pollutants from industry and traffic. According to the 2014 NATA, formaldehyde is the highest contributing chemical to cancer risk in nearly 89% of census tracts in Harris County. Formaldehyde is difficult to regulate and control in Houston because the vast majority is formed from other pollutants and multiple sources. In addition to contributing to cancer risk, formaldehyde reacts secondarily to form ground-level ozone, a respiratory irritant responsible for increased rates of cardiac arrest and asthma. The Houston Health Departments research contributes to the understanding of these critical air pollutants allowing for improved modelling and regulation efforts by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and EPA. The vast majority of ambient formaldehyde along the Houston Ship Channel originates from chemical reactions involving formaldehyde precursors which are predominantly emitted from the petrochemical industry. Formaldehyde Air Pollution in Houston The Health Departments highest measurements were in the Cloverleaf neighborhood, where monitoring averaged 2.28 parts per billion of formaldehydemore than 13 times EPAs health screening level. In the long-term, this would translate to about 1 additional cancer case per 77,000 people, according to the Houston Health Departments assessment of EPAs cancer risk formulas. Formaldehyde is a colorless, flammable gas to which brief exposure can cause irritation of the skin, eyes, nose, and throat. It also contributes to ground-level ozone, which can cause damage to the lungs and increased rates of cardiac arrest and asthma. Long-term exposure to formaldehyde can cause certain types of cancers. While formaldehyde is regulated for its use in construction materials and household products, elevated levels of ambient, or airborne, formaldehyde in urban environments remains a public health threat. Most of the formaldehyde along the Houston Ship Channel originates from chemical reactions involving formaldehyde precursors that are predominantly emitted from the petrochemical industry, according to the report. Less than 5% of the formaldehyde present in Houstons air is emitted directly from industrial point sources, and about 4% is from vehicle emissions. Secondary formaldehyde (i.e., not directly emitted but formed by the combination of other air chemicals in the air) makes up more than 90% of all the formaldehyde present in Houston Ship Channel neighborhoods. Formaldehyde precursors include ethylene, propylene and other volatile organic compounds. The report makes the following recommendations: Europes largest PEM hydrogen electrolyzer, has begun operations at Shells Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland, producing green hydrogen. As part of the Refhyne European consortium and with European Commission funding through the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU), the fully operational plant is the first to use this technology at such a large scale in a refinery. (Earlier post.) Refhyne PEMelectrolyzer at Shell Chemicals Park Plans are under way to expand capacity of the electrolyzer from 10 megawatts to 100 megawatts at the Rheinland site, near Cologne, where Shell also intends to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using renewable power and biomass in the future. A plant for liquefied renewable natural gas (bio-LNG) is also in development. This project demonstrates a new kind of energy future and a model of lower-carbon energy production that can be replicated worldwide. Shell wants to become a leading supplier of green hydrogen for industrial and transport customers in Germany. We will be involved in the whole process.mdfrom power generation, using offshore wind, to hydrogen production and distribution across sectors. We want to be the partner of choice for our customers as we help them decarbonise. Huibert Vigeveno, Shells Downstream Director Shell has a target to become a net-zero-emissions energy business by 2050, in step with society. As part of its Powering Progress strategy, Shell plans to transform its refinery footprint to five core energy and chemicals parks. This means Shell will reduce the production of traditional fuels by 55% by 2030. The Rheinland electrolyzer will use renewable electricity to produce up to 1,300 tonnes of green hydrogen a year. This will initially be used to produce fuels with lower carbon intensity. The green hydrogen will also be used to help decarbonize other industries. The European consortium backing the project consists of Shell, ITM Power, research organisation SINTEF, consultants Sphera and Element Energy. The electrolyzer was manufactured by ITM power in Sheffield, UK, and includes parts made in Italy, Sweden, Spain and Germany. The Refhyne project is at the forefront of the effort to produce green hydrogen in Europe. The 100 MW electrolyzer (Refhyne II) and SAF projects are at an advanced planning stage, with final investment decisions still pending. The consortium for Refhyne II has been invited to prepare the associated grant agreement. If you want to feel a sense of appreciation for being an American on this Independence Day, talk to a new one. This will be Alejandra Gomezs first Fourth of July as a U.S. citizen. Shes a native Colombian, lived for 20 years in Venezuela, came to the United States six years ago and was sworn in at a ceremony in Hartford in March. I reached out to Building One Community/The Center for Immigrant Opportunity (known as B1C) in Stamford in search of a holiday story about a newly minted American. They pointed me to one in their own ranks. Every immigrants story is different, despite a too-common impulse to fill in the blanks with cliches. But this is Gomezs story to tell. She shares it graciously, providing welcome details, such as how her dad was born on the Fourth of July, her teenage daughter was absolutely no help in preparing for the citizenship test, and how the computer system went down in Hartford on her big day. Other details of her journey to citizenship sound like echoes of generations of immigrants arriving in the Land of Opportunity. I am an immigrant. Im a mom. I had to navigate the school system. I had to find a job. I started from zero, she says. There also was the issue of prepping for the exam during a global pandemic. Gomez, 41, begins retracing her journey with precisely the right words. My story started when I was living in Venezuela with my husband and daughter. We were struggling. Venezuela is a country having a difficult situation. I wanted to come to the United States to start a new life with my family. Since my father is an American citizen, he was able to file a petition for me and I came to the U.S. in April 2015. Gomez repeatedly summons the phrase I was lucky throughout her narrative. Her father, Jose, arranged for her to live temporarily with his ex-wife in Stamford upon her arrival. She found work at hotel banquet halls and homes. She spoke English, having studied it in school and in private classes. Her effort to enhance her language skills led her to B1C. Fast-forward to 2018, when she started working for the agency as an outreach coordinator. By the beginning of 2020 she felt ready to start the naturalization process. She checked off the fingerprinting box in Port Chester, New York, just before the world shut down. In normal times, the B1C headquarters is a beehive of activities, buzzing with different accents learning and practicing English, and clients getting legal and career guidance. When COVID-19 struck, B1C went virtual, leaving Gomez and others to take their citizenship classes via Zoom. To become a citizen To learn about Building One Community's citizenship program, contact Suzanne Vega at SVega@Building1Community.org or call 203-674-8585, ext. 103. See More Collapse The civics test does not consist of trick questions. As Gomez points out, you can study all 100 of them on YouTube. Still, I know plenty of people who would stumble over Why does the flag have 13 stripes? or What is the name of the National Anthem? I suspect if I asked random people in Connecticut to name the 13 original states, a few would overlook that were in one of them. Then theres that perilous name the current president query. Come to think of it, maybe there should be pop quizzes for everyone to stay in the county. Gomez went beyond rote, seeking to contextualize U.S. history. Clearly, she succeeded. As she discusses her process, she pauses to consider how the lessons of history can inform her vote in November. If only everyone did that on Election Day. The day of her test finally arrived in February. She chose a special white-and-gray outfit for the occasion because we Latinas always like to be dressed up for socially important dates. But a technical issue at the Hartford office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency meant it would have to be rescheduled. I want to do it now! Im ready! she says, mimicking her reaction that day. The next time, in March, she booked a room in Hartford. The test requires six of 10 questions to be answered correctly. She nailed the first six, then the interview. A couple hours later, she shared her once-in-a-lifetime swearing-in ceremony with about 20 strangers in masks. COVID-19 meant applicants could not invite friends or family. Gomez has a lot to celebrate this July 4. Aside from her new status and her dads birthday, her daughter, Giselle, recently finished Dolan Middle School and will start Stamford High School in the fall. Gomez jokes that at 14, Giselle was a typically indifferent teenager about Moms news. She almost guffaws when I ask if Giselle helped her study. She doesnt show so much expression, but she was happy for me. I explained to her, Giselle, now you are a citizen too ... Then she was like, Oh, awesome! To celebrate, they visited the landmarks in Washington, D.C. Theres one more thing for the family to celebrate this weekend. Alejandra started a new job Friday as the agencys marketing outreach coordinator. B1C Communications Director Suzanne Wind assesses Gomezs work in connecting clients with services by saying shes very good at it. She has a whole database. She has a lot of respect out there. Who better to help future Americans than a new one? One who sums up her time at Building One by saying, We become a family. I feel I can identify with them, she says. I came here six years ago knowing nothing about the U.S. system and now being able to connect people with resources is an amazing experience. She helps others understand the American way. Its something more of her fellow Americans should do. John Breunig is editorial page editor of the Stamford Advocate and Greenwich Time. jbreunig@scni.com; twitter.com/johnbreunig. Haiti - News : Zapping... NOTICE : ELSA : Navigations and flights prohibited in the South The Meteorological Prediction Center (CPM) of the Hydrometeorological Unit (UHM) in conjunction with the Permanent Secretariat for Disaster Risk Management (SPGRD), the Directorate General of Civil Protection (DPC), the National Office of Civil Aviation (OFNAC), the National Airport Authority (AAN) and the Maritime and Navigation Service of Haiti (SEMANAH informs the population that flights and boats from or to airports or ports and in the southern region of the country are temporarily banned until further notice. Also, the General Directorate of Civil Protection and the SPGRD in concert with the UHM maintain this Saturday July 3 at 5 a.m., the activation of the National Risk and Disaster Management Plan with a red Vigilance level (i.e. Risk of Disaster impacts of strong to violent intensities) on the country, in particular on the South-East, the West, the Nippes, the South and the Grande-Anse, asks the Haitian population to be vigilant, to stay at the listening of the weather reports from the UHM, advice from the authorities of their respective areas to know the behavior to adopt during the passage of this cyclonic system and to prepare to evacuate in the areas concerned if ever the authorities would have made such a decision during the next few hours. Accident between a motorcycle and a small plane Thursday July 1, a young man (Jovenson Hilaire) who was giving motorcycle driving lessons to his girlfriend (Dinachka Bien-Aime) on the Anse-a-galets airstrip was the victim of an accident with a small plane during its landing. The two unidentified victims were rushed to the town's Wesleyan hospital. USAID : Opportunity for Civil Society, Registration Open The Civil Society Office of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID-Haiti), through the Civil Society Strengthening Program, is pleased to announce that it is receiving proposals from organizations in the United States. civil society. The objective of the Civil Society Strengthening Program (CSSP) is to strengthen the capacities of these Haitian organizations, including religious organizations and diaspora groups, so that they can develop, implement and expand their activities. advocacy and service delivery to the highest quality standards. To learn more about the announcement, please see : https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=334338&fbclid=IwAR1g3unjMunhFLV4bxDRXJPAo_CdIEM7H57ZdlLAK5CdLFkGwtKt28WM2rs PNH NOTICE Following the massacre on the night of June 29 to 30, 2021 in Delmas 32 and rue Acacia (Christ-Roi) where fifteen 15 people were cowardly murdered, the General Directorate of the National Police in order to facilitate the work of investigators who activate to collect all clues, proofs or evidence allowing this procedure to be completed, invites any other body to avoid speculating or disseminating information that could hinder the proper conduct of the investigation. Radio Vision 2000, suspends its news reports Following the odious assassination of its reporter Diego Charles, Radio Vision 2000 announces the suspension of its news editions "The General Management of Vision 2000 announces to the public, the modification of the programming of the Radio. The news editions are suspended from June 30 to July 4 current." J.O Tokyo 2021 : A single judoka for Haiti Sabian Anestor 27 years old and 52kg, will be the only judoka to have qualified in this discipline, and will defend the colors of Haiti on the "tatami" alongside judokas from 19 other nations. HL/ HaitiLibre Published on 2021/07/02 | Source New stills added for the upcoming Korean documentary "Shaman Road" (2018) Advertisement Directed by Choi Sang-jin Narrated by Shim Dal-gi,... Synopsis Born in different countries, two women find that they have each walked down surprisingly similar paths. A baby girl was born in a small rural village of Jura in France. Her name is Colette. Another baby was born on the outskirts of Seoul, South Korea. Her name is Sung-mi. After meeting each other at the 2014 International Shamanism Festival in France, Colette and Sung-mi realize that their special abilities have a purpose: they were gifts given from God to comfort and soothe the pain of others. to comfort and soothe the pain of others. Release date in Korea : 2021/07/03 Mary Lou Montgomery, retired as editor of the Hannibal (Mo.) Courier-Post in 2014. She researches and writes narrative-style stories about the people who served as building blocks for this regions foundation. Books available on Amazon.com by this author: "The Notorious Madam Shaw," "Pioneers in Medicine from Northeast Missouri," and "The Historic Murphy House, Hannibal, Mo., Circa 1870." She can be reached at Montgomery.editor@yahoo.com Her collective works can be found at www.maryloumontgomery.com We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Submit Editor: Early in 2020, when the pandemic was just starting, lumber prices were ste Editor: With the Fourth of July coming up, I reminisce about our countrys true an Buckhorn Children & Family Services (BCFS), a nonprofit organization in eastern Kentucky that provides services to at-risk youth, has recently unveiled its new 20.4 kilowatt solar array to its Buckhorn Campus Rogers Cottage. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held at Buckhorn Children & Family Services yesterday, June 30. The solar installation, provided by Everybody Solar, an organization dedicated to providing solar energy to nonprofits, is projected to produce 28,288-kilowatt-hours annually, decreasing the electricity costs of the BCFS building by 29 percent. Project managers estimate an average savings of $4,000 annually over the next 25 years or $100,000 saved over the lifetime of the solar array system. Lighting, heating and cooling are ongoing concerns for operations, said Billy Smith, BCFS executive director. Our electricity bills for the Cottage alone are over $1,400 per month during the winter so installing a new solar array to decrease operating expenses will help us tremendously. The energy savings represent 14,000 hygiene kits; 2,800 sets of warm childrens bedding; or nearly 50 children who can receive 10 days of high-need one-on-one treatment that they cant find anywhere else, said Smith. BCFS serves all 120 counties of Kentucky by providing campus-based residential treatment programs, foster care, adoption and support for individuals experiencing developmental disabilities. About 800 children are served annually, many survivors of chronic and severe abuse and neglect. This year has been particularly challenging for BCFS, added Smith. COVID-19 has hit us and many nonprofits in ways we could not have anticipated. This solar project offers us a glimmer of hope as it would provide real and immediate savings in electricity costs. The impacts of the solar array project extend beyond BCFS. HOMES, Inc, the partner installer on the project is developing a social enterprise line of business around solar installations in Eastern Kentucky. Projects like the BCFS are critical for organizations and small businesses in an area of persistent poverty; helping to lower operating costs so that these businesses can survive and providing vital services to our communities, said Seth Long, executive director of HOMES Inc. As Kentucky does not have a renewable portfolio standard (state legislation that mandates a certain percentage of all energy generation come from renewable sources by a certain date), the BCFS solar project is an example of how renewable energy can help bolster local economies and open doors to this industry. For instance, some of the HOMES staff completing the installation are former coal miners. In a state that doesnt offer much support for renewable energy installation, securing partners and donations was vital, said Myriam Scally, Everybody Solar director of operations and development. This project is a shining example of how communities can come together and help its most vulnerable citizens while creating a more sustainable future. We are thrilled to support Buckhorn Children & Family Services in going solar with a $24,205 grant from the Solar Moonshot Program, helping stop the climate crisis and inspiring others to strive toward a zero carbon future, said Tara Hammond, founder and CEO of Hammond Climate Solutions, which manages the program on behalf of Left Coast Fund. This exciting project in coal country Kentucky showcases how investing in solar reduces costs that can be reinvested into the community while mitigating impacts of the climate crisis, stimulating the economy with local green jobs and contributing to a more just, livable future. Project partners include the solar panel provider MaxSolar, the Mountain Association, HOMES Inc., the Gumerlock Family Foundation, the Solar Moonshot Program (managed by Hammond Climate Solutions and funded by Left Coast Fund), CITIZEN, Business Performance Improvement, PopSockets, Tonic San Francisco and Patagonia SF. A ribbon-cutting event was held at Buckhorn Children & Family Services on Wednesday, June 30. For further information, visit, everybodysolar.org. THE owners of a Henley cattery fear they will struggle to serve their regular customers this summer because people from further afield are taking all their spaces. Carole and Nick Gorvin, who run the Cats Whiskers Hotel off Fair Mile, say there is a growing shortage of places nationally because so many catteries have shut in the past two-and-a-half years. This is partly down to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic but also because inspection standards were tightened in January 2019 and many businesses opted to close instead of making the necessary improvements. The couple, who launched their business at Stoke Row in 1985 and moved to their current site in 2004, say they know at least five catteries in nearby towns have closed. As a result, customers from these areas are flooding in where previously trade only came from Henley and the surrounding villages. The Gorvins say their regulars typically book at the last minute so may discover there is no space in July or August. They say other catteries face similar pressures and this is compounded by the fact that many families bought kittens during the lockdowns. They fear some owners will abandon their pets when they start planning a holiday and realise there is nowhere for them to board them. The Cats Whiskers has 27 pens, or chalets, each of which can take up to three cats from the same household, and a total capacity of 60 animals. It was fully booked during the recent half-term break, which had never happened before, and most customers came from 20 or more miles away, including Amersham, Banbury, Oxford, Wantage and Taplow. One family brought their cat from Norfolk, saying it was easier to make the 260-mile round trip than try to find a space nearer home. Mrs Gorvin said: Theyre in the process of moving to Henley so theyre a bit of an exception but it goes to show the scale of the problem. The Gorvins, who live on site with their own cat Pansy, noticed the trend when the lockdown restrictions began to be eased earlier this year. They say it would have become apparent sooner but the pandemic stopped people from booking holidays last year. Meanwhile, following the change to the ratings system, in which catteries are awarded between one and five stars for safety, cleanliness and living conditions, many scored only one or two stars so were ordered to improve or risk closure. Additionally, since Britain left the European Union in January, owners face additional checks before they can take pets to the Continent so more are deciding not to bother. Mrs Gorvin said: We were suddenly getting lots and lots of calls from elsewhere, which makes sense because we knew about several closures outside Henley. The owners were elderly or just couldnt afford to implement the changes being asked of them. Were almost full this week, for example, but only two of those families are regulars and the rest are from miles away. The more that happens, the less room we have for the families whove used us for years. For whatever reason, people in Henley tend to book their holidays at the last minute and we can usually work around that. Our customers have no reason to assume itll be any different this year so they could be in for a shock. Weve already turned people away, which weve done before but never on the same scale. With cat ownership going up and catteries closing, this could become a problem all over the country. Now that life is going back to normal, owners are thinking about holidays again and realising they need boarding space. Hopefully, there wont be too many cats which are left to fend for themselves. I do worry that a lot of animals will be put into rehoming shelters or dumped. Mrs Gorvin says new catteries are unlikely to open soon because it is harder to get planning permission than in years gone by. She said: Many which shut got their permission years ago and the rules are much tighter now you need on-site parking and ideally no neighbours while the building costs are higher. Its a bigger outlay all-round. The Gorvins, who hold a five-star hygiene rating, fear some catteries are now trading in substandard conditions because they had three stars before their score was reduced under the new standard. Because of the pandemic, they say improvements arent being adequately enforced. Mrs Gorvin added: There are still catteries running at three stars which arent fit for purpose and who knows when the inspectors will get around to them? People should check very carefully and not just leave their pets anywhere. If theyd heard the horror stories Ive heard over the years, they would never go away on holiday. South Oxfordshire District Council, whose environmental health officers carry out inspections, said these had not been affected. ORGANISERS of the Thames Traditional Boat Festival in Henley hope that this years event can go ahead as planned. The annual display of vintage boats is scheduled to take place at Fawley Meadows from Friday to Monday, August 27 to 30. The Trad is usually held in July but it was moved to the August bank holiday weekend because of the coronavirus restrictions. It was cancelled last year due to the pandemic and this years event could still happen even with restrictions in place, although this would affect the number of people able to attend. The Government is expected to lift the restrictions from July 19, having postponed the move last month. Lady McAlpine, of Fawley Hill, who is co-chairman of the festival, said: We are in the same boat as everyone else. If we have to cancel it, we have to but we really hope it wont come to that. We dont have cancellation insurance as we cant afford it and we were quite badly hit financially last year but we dont want to put the price up because this is an inclusive event. We are a small group of volunteers with determination and energy but no real capital to fall back on should we have to cancel. Fawley Meadows are owned by Henley Royal Regatta, which has also been postponed from early July until August 11 to 15. Lady McAlpine said: As long as the regatta takes place, the Trad will go ahead we are entirely dependent on them to move their equipment from the site. We keep our fingers crossed. Im an optimist and I prefer to look at the bright side of things. The festival will feature around 150 boats on display, including some of the most iconic steamers as well as some of the Dunkirk Little Ships. Boats eligible to take part have to be of traditional wooden construction, built in hot or cold moulding techniques, or can be composite crafts with metal frames and timber planking, built of riveted iron or steel, and also those built of canvas on a wooden frame. There is a special class for boats of special historic or constructional interest which are otherwise not eligible. A family dog show will take place at the food court and there will be a Crooked Billet pop-up pub. For more information, visit www.tradboatfestival.com CREOLA, Alabama (WALA) -- According to Creola Police, Heather Lynn Silvers, 34 of Chickasaw stole a truck from a person's home. She then took police on a high speed chase on Highway 43 from Creola to Mount Vernon and ended on Radcliffe Road. According to police, during the chase, she hit the concrete median which blew one of the tires and she continued to drive. She then spun out and hit an officer's car head on. Speeds also topped at 100 mph. Both the woman and the officer were not injured. Silvers was later arrested and booked into jail. An Atlanta woman woke up to a surprise when a cat -- that was not hers -- jumped onto her bed Wednesday morning. She was even more shocked to discover the cat was a serval -- an exotic cat native to Africa. Kristine Frank, who lives in the Brookhaven neighborhood, told CNN that the cat came in the house shortly after her husband took their dog outside, leaving a door open. The cat was just 6 inches from her face, Frank said. She scared it off the bed. "I said, 'That's not a normal house cat. I don't know what that is, but I am terrified right now,'" she said. Frank said she slowly got out of the room and her husband opened a bedroom door that led outside, allowing the cat to leave the house. "Afterwards I was like, 'Was that a bobcat? Was it a leopard? Was it a baby? Was it a mom?'" Frank said. She called animal control, which told her to contact the Department of Natural Resources, which is now investigating. "It still kind of terrifies me because that cat is illegal and there's a reason it's illegal. So I really don't know what it's capable of doing." Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. The cat is still on the loose. Frank thinks the serval, which she estimated to be about 2-and-a-half feet tall, is someone's pet. Owning a wild cat is illegal in Georgia, but there are no federal laws against it, according to the Animal Legal Defense Fund. ALDF Senior Legislative Affairs Manager Alicia Prygoski told CNN this case demonstrates the importance of prohibiting wild cat ownership, because it puts other community members at risk. "Wild cats are not meant for private possession," Prygoski said. "The wild cat trade in this country is really not well regulated, which results in many species of wild cats, including servals, living out their lives in private homes which are not adequate environments for the natural behaviors that they exhibit." The DNR has been working to set up traps in Frank's neighborhood, Prygoski said. "When law enforcement is hopefully able to trap her we hope that she is then set to an accredited sanctuary where she can live out the rest of her life in an appropriate habitat," Prygoski said. Prygoski says anyone who sees the serval should stay away from the cat and contact animal control or the DNR. The-CNN-Wire & 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. Free access for current print subscribers As a home delivery subscriber, you get free unlimited digital access to premium content on HenryHerald.com, including local news, local sports, obituaries, legal notices, local features, and the e-edition. All you need is your print subscription account number and your last name. Don't know your subscription number? Email access@henryherald.com with your delivery address. Activate your account now. Note: We've recently updated our online systems. If you can't login please try resetting your password. You must login with an email address. If you don't have an email associated with your account email customercare@heraldandnews.com for help creating one. Janeatha Leigh Barnes, 66, of Commerce, passed away after a lengthy illness on Sunday, June 20, 2021. She was born June 2, 1955 in Dallas, Texas, the daughter of William H. Keller and Lillian Lawson Keller. A memorial service for Janeatha will take place on Saturday, July 10, 2021 at 2 p.m. Support local journalism We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story. Provo, UT (84601) Today Mostly clear. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 61F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mostly clear. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 61F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Please be aware that Cache Valley Publishing does not endorse, and is not responsible for alleged employment offers in the comments. Please be aware that Cache Valley Publishing does not endorse, and is not responsible for alleged employment offers in the comments. Recommended for you The Japanese supreme court agreed to the death sentence given to 74-year-old, Chisako Kakehi, who was found guilty by a lower court in 2017. Her lawyers were unable to keep their client from getting convicted, as evidence proved her intentions and led to the sentence given to her in the end. On trial, the woman had her lawyers say that she suffered from dementia, which made it hard for her to know what was going on in the court trial, reported the Independent. Deadly female Presiding Judge Yuriko Miyazaki stated in the ruling, cited CNN. The Black widow had gotten the services of the match-making agency to meet older men. After getting their trust, they would be poisoned unwittingly by her. The Judge remarked that it was a cold-blooded crime, which is methodical and thorough to allow here a chance to poison them. Suspicious Intentions In 2014, Kakehi was apprehended by police for suspicion of giving poison to Isao Kakehi, her 75-year-old spouse. An examination by the medical examiner detected chemicals in the blood, it was identified as cyanide. The husband died in 2013, several months after getting married. This Black Widow of Japan was given the death penalty due to the evidence presented in court. Read Also: Bride in India Unexpectedly Dies During Wedding, Sister Marries Groom Instead After that, more evidence were found. The court continued the proceeding in the trial of Japan's black widow. After the death of Isao, several men connected to her as common-law partners. They are Masanori Honda, 71, and Minoru Hioki, 75, who were her victims. Another fellow acquaintance, Toshiaki Suehiro, 79, who escaped getting poised by Chisako, cited 9 news. All the men were killed with the same M.O., and she carried out everything based on her plan. The first three could not have escaped from her thoroughness until she gave cyanide to them. Victims of Chisako The Black Widow's victims were mostly elderly men from 50 to 80 years old based on sources. She had relations with six men in all. Of the six, she paid for six of the poisonings, but the other three were not added to her death sentence. Prosecuting attorney said that Chisako had benefited from her marriages, which was part of her plan. Each spouse had a will and she got the inheritance and insurance payment when her victims passed away. But, what she gained did not last long because of bad investments and stock markets that ended in debt. Media attention Chisako Kakehi planned these conjugal murders from 2007 and 2013, it captured media attention because old men with money were her prey. This gave her the name "Black widow" from the deadly spider. In November 2017, the Kyoto District Court believes that she had dementia in 2015. But, it was not that serious and was called fit for trial in court. But, her lawyers are undaunted and asked for another evaluation by a psychiatrist, noted by Kyodo News. Still, the woman says her dementia is not getting better, despite the result of the court's decision to sentence the Black Widow of Japan given the death penalty. Related article: The Curse of Mary Whiddon of Chagford, Newlyweds Leave Flowers at Her Tomb for Luck @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Based on some reports, the new sub does not have a nuclear reactor. Instead, it has lithium-ion batteries for power that makes it quiet underwater. The pictures were circulated on social media by the propaganda machine of the CCP. Whenever a new weapon system is heard of, the Pentagon and western intelligence makes it a point to examine the information. New features intrigue western observers One of the most interesting characteristics is the sail or conning tower that is very different from other Chinese subs. The new shape is designed to make it less seen by enemy radar when on the surface, reported Popular Mechanics. According to the naval analyst H.I. Sutton who is credited with using open sources to come across the sub via satellite photography cited Naval News. So far the type 39 sub-variant was located in Shanghai, on the Huangpu rivers. The sub is said to be built in Wuhan where many shipyards are busy building ships and subs. They are placed in barges to go down to the Yangtze River, then released in the Pacific Ocean. The conning tower or sail is where the periscope, snorkel, and sensors are all placed in the superstructure. Its contours near the top are angled and with facets to confuse radar. This new Chinese submarine features an unusual sail that might be seen in future submarines in the PLAN. Read Also: Russia's Newest Submarines Pose a Greater Threat to US Coasts, Says American General What's the reason for all the angles? One idea about the weird sail is to change how radar sees it when running above the water. Most diesel-electric suns need air to work, staying at snorkel depth all times. Nuke subs can stay longer underwater at deeper depths, able to submerge for a long time. In the long run, non-nuclear subs will be more exposed, compared to nuclear subs on breaking the surface to resupply or go less than surface depth to kill enemy ships, noted the Daily Advent. The U.S. Navy's P-8 Poseidon which is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) specialist used long-range radar to catch subs sneaking on the ocean's surface with the periscope very exposed. When the sub is seen, next are ASW assets called in to hunt a sub. Submarines are getting stealthier and are dangerous threats to surface combatants or ships, with improved technology. The Chinese with the new sail on the Type 39/D can run at periscope depth without submerging too long and stay hidden longer. Sailing this way will save fuel and do longer patrols. It is a feature that is used on the A-26 Swedish sub being built in Sweden. However, it is not confirmed if the sail was copied from the Swedish boat. One more feature to watch for is the air-independent propulsion (AIP) system, which gives a submersible about 14-days underwater. Although it is horribly slow, Type 39 might have more batteries to extend stay at depth. This means it will be quieter. Using Li-Ion batteries are a cheaper alternative for power. Related article: One of the Most Advanced Attack US Navy Submarines Sighted in Troms @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. PDonald Trump Jr. likened the allegations leveled against Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg to Russian President Vladimir Putin's treatment of political opponents. Weisselberg faces 15 charges, including grand larceny, conspiracy, and manipulating company documents, as part of a 15-year tax scheme to reward Weisselberg and other Trump Organization executives in an 'off the books' way, according to prosecutors. The business was charged with ten counts. In August 2020, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with the chemical weapon Novichok, according to Donald Trump, Jr. Navalny, a vocal opponent of Putin, is now serving a three-and-a-half-year term in Russia. Navalny was sentenced to a prison colony, but he went on a hunger strike to seek better medical care for his leg and back discomfort. He was moved to a separate prison hospital. Following his recuperation, he was returned to the original detention facility. Eric, Donald Trump Jr. lashes out at Organization's charges On Thursday, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., appeared on television to address the allegations leveled against the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg. The ex-President Donald Trump's sons, who are also executives in the Trump family company, made statements that raised a lot of eyebrows. The charges against the firm and its CFO for an alleged tax fraud scheme were portrayed by the Trump heirs as politically motivated and that they were aimed at thwarting their father from running for president again in 2024, as per HuffPost. According to the indictment, the scheme was designed to "compensate Weisselberg and other Trump Organization executives in a manner that was off the books," meaning they received substantial portions of their income through indirect and disguised means to substantially understate their compensation and pay less tax. On Newsmax, Eric Trump stated that he was unconcerned about being accused since his family has "always led incredibly clean lives." He then attempted to deflect attention away from the allegations by attacking President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden. Later, on Fox News, Eric Trump blasted the district attorney's office for focusing on $3.5 million to bring down a political opponent when a crime is rampant and people are fleeing "dirty" and "disgusting" New York City "in historic numbers." Per The Independent, when Newsmax's Eric Bolling asked Eric Trump if he was concerned about an indictment being brought against him or other members of his family, he said, "You know what? I'm not, Eric, because guess what, we've always lived amazingly clean lives." Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr., accused prosecutors of planning to announce the accusations days before the fourth of July weekend and of attempting to "destroy a man's life and reputation." The $1.7 million figure was also claimed by Trump's eldest son as income. Read Also: Hunter's Laptop Reveals How Joe Biden Meets with Son's Business Partners in Vice President's Office in 2014 Prosecutors claim charges against Trump Organization is non-political According to Donald Trump Jr., New York authorities are turning the United States into a "banana republic" by indicting the Trump Organization and its CFO on $1.7 million tax fraud charges. Prosecutor Carey Dunne characterized a "sweeping and ambitious" 15-year scheme, "orchestrated by the most senior executives," including Weisselberg. At this point in the investigation, which is being led by District Attorney Cyrus Vance and New York Attorney General Letitia James, Trump has not been charged. Democrats and Dunne both said that politics had no bearing on the decision to press charges. The Trump Organization and Weisselberg both filed not guilty pleas, with the financial mogul walking out of the building unhindered. He was not required to post bail and was freed. Weisselberg, accompanied by his lawyer Mary Mulligan, surrendered to the district attorney's office at around 6.20 a.m. on Thursday. Following the announcement, the Trump Organization released a statement hailing the financier as "loving and devoted" before criticizing the DA. Weisselberg worked in accounting throughout the tenure of Trump's father Fred in the 1970s until he died in 1999, The Sun reported. Related Article: Trump Won't Be Charged in Manhattan's DA's Indictment, Lawyers Claim @YouTube @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. As it was revealed that all UK and US troops will be pulled out on Sunday, the former commander of the British Army declared the Taliban had "prevailed" in their war with the West in Afghanistan. During the 20-year battle in Afghanistan, 454 British military servicemen were killed. Taliban militants have made significant advances in rural regions and have declared victory against NATO and its allies. General Lord Dannatt says Taliban wins After The Telegraph revealed that the Union flag had been down in Kabul, ending 20 years of British involvement in the nation, Lord Dannatt has called for a Chilcot-style "audit" of the campaign. The operation was designed to provide Afghans the option of a more "moderate and peaceful" life, said the General. The last British and US soldiers in Afghanistan will be removed on Independence Day, according to a source close to General Sir Nick Carter, the head of the military staff. The full pullout was supposed to be completed on September 11, the 20th anniversary of the attack on the Twin Towers. The source said, "The thinking was that there was no point in having a slow extraction and running the risk of having more casualties." It is expected that international troops would be stationed near the embassy in Kabul. The country has experienced a rise in bloodshed as Nato forces begin to withdraw from Afghanistan, with the district after district falling to the Taliban in recent days. Read Also: US, Japan Elevate Military Exercises as Japanese Official Warns of Potential Surprise Attack From Russia and China The US, British troops in Afghanistan withdrew Per Daily Mail, After American soldiers moved their pullout date ahead to coincide with US Independence Day, the final British troops in Afghanistan would leave within days. More than 200 Black Watch soldiers will return home, concluding a 20-year mission for the United Kingdom. They will participate in a flag-lowering ceremony with US soldiers before departing to honor the 456 British troops who lost there since the conflict started. Thousands of British troops have been injured in the fight against the Taliban. Over 38,000 Afghan civilians have been killed, and another 70,000 have been injured. Sir Laurie Bristow, the UK's ambassador to Kabul, is slated to attend the ceremony. After the troops go, he will remain in Afghanistan. US President Joe Biden had set September 11, the 20th anniversary of the Twin Towers attack, as the deadline for bringing all American soldiers home. But military sources indicated yesterday that the deadline had been pushed up to this weekend. After intelligence reports showed the Taliban might remove Afghanistan's democratic government within months, the Black Watch - the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland - withdrew. Hundreds of interpreters who assisted British soldiers but are now stranded in Afghanistan face severe risk as a result of the Taliban's resurgence, which has included assaults on civilians. No official images of any of the flag-lowering ceremonies, which are used to mark the end of each deployment by different units of troops, have been released yet as part of the UK withdrawal. It is believed that at least one ceremony took place at Kabul's international airport. An aircraft carrying infantry personnel returned to the UK last week, providing the most recent proof of the retreat. Over the past few weeks, several planes have been bringing military equipment and soldiers back from Afghanistan. Last Friday, the UK's Ministry of Defense (MoD) issued a statement and photos announcing the return of three Puma helicopters and 55 military personnel. While the majority of the 750-strong British mission has returned home, some personnel remain in Afghanistan, Sky News via MSN reported. The withdrawal of forces as part of the NATO mission Resolute Support, including the UK element, Operation Toral "will be completed within a few months," according to MoD spokesperson. Related Article: Biden Orders Airstrike Against Iran-Backed Militia Groups in Iraq, Syria Border @YouTube @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. United States President Joe Biden snapped at reporters during a Friday interview when he was asked about the state of Afghanistan where American troops are continuing their withdrawal and the U.S. has officially handed over a major airbase. After a third time being asked about the slow process of ending the Afghanistan war, Biden refused to answer and said he wanted to talk about "happy things." Later on, the Democrat announced he would not be answering any more questions regarding the predominantly Muslim country. Fourth of July Weekend The Democratic leader argued that it was the Fourth of July and that he was being asked questions he would answer again the next week. Biden said he wanted to celebrate the weekend because of the many great things that were happening. The last American troops left the Bagram Air Base, a U.S. defense official reportedly said on Thursday. The withdrawal of the soldiers marked the long-running presence of the United States in war-ridden Afghanistan. On Friday, American authorities officially handed over Bagram to the Afghan military. Rohullah Ahamadzai, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, announced the official news. American troops have not yet finished the process of fully withdrawing but are expected to accomplish it soon, CNN reported. For years, the Pentagon has been slowly pulling troops from Afghanistan, and the Biden administration has sped up the process, committing to withdrawing the last troop by September 11 at the latest. The continued withdrawal of troops showed that the process would be complete far earlier than planned. Read Also: Supreme Court Rejects Claims of Arizona Voting Laws That Discriminate Against Minorities During a later press briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki argued that Biden was only trying to lift up the country's mood to enjoy the Fourth of July weekend. She noted the Democrat's outburst was not related to Afghanistan or the situation in the country. Amid criticisms on Biden's remarks, Psaki said many were overreacting to his statements. She said the Democrat had already answered several questions regarding Afghanistan and was still asked another. Withdrawal of American Troops The U.S. president made the announcement of the completion of withdrawing all American troops from Afghanistan would be finished before the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Officials finalized plans of pulling out all U.S. troops from the country after the end of Donald Trump's administration, the New York Post reported. The American government's plans to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan have been going on for nearly 20 years. However, the Afghan government has expressed its frustration that the move could allow the Taliban to overrun the country within months after the last American troop goes home. Biden announced in April that the White House was confident in the Afghan government's capability of governing its own country. The Democrat said the war in the region has been going on for nearly two decades. Although Biden said the United States would provide some assistance when Afghanistan needs it, he noted the government would have to manage their country on their own, Politico reported. Related Article: Boy Scouts Reach $850 Million Settlement With Over 84,000 Victims in 40 Years Sexual Abuse Case @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The French government recently held a meeting to discuss a recent issue where a declassified French defense report suggested authorities hid the impacts of nuclear testing in French Polynesia between 1966 to 1996. Radiation levels in certain areas were found to be 2 to 10 times higher than what France's Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) estimated in 2006, a report said. Disclose, an online site, conducted a study to determine the effects of radiation in Aldebaran in 1966, Encelade in 1971, and Centaure in 1974. French Nuclear Test Cover Up The Polynesia population was severely impacted by the radiation that the Centaure bomb testing released in July 1974, the report said. The researchers said that almost the entire Polynesia population was affected by the radiation. French President Emmanuel Macron attended the meeting where he called for a frank discussion regarding the issue that Disclose claimed. MP Moetai Brotherson, the representative of Polynesia, however, refused to attend the meeting unless the French government apologized for the alleged act. Edouard Fritch, on the other hand, welcomed Macron's decision to hold the meeting. In Disclose's report, the online site claimed that at least 11,000 victims were subjected to more than five millisieverts of radiation doses. The victims allegedly included 600 children younger than 15 years old who were from Tahiti, Tureia, and Gambier Islands, WIO News reported. On Friday, Fritch said Macron showed a real desire to right the wrongdoings of the past for all of those involved. He added that the French president would need to place resources that can support Polynesians in rebuilding the faith that they have always had in France. Read Also: Garland Halts Federal Executions, Says DOJ Must Ensure All Criminal Justice System Are Treated Humanely Genevieve Darrieusseq, France's junior defense minister, said the French government did not cover up the nuclear tests. The official gave comments during the meeting that Macron attended, saying that France did not bear the responsibility of apologizing for the allegations. However, some Polynesia politicians and anti-nuclear campaigners and historians argued the meeting stopped formal investigations of state secrecy laws. Brotherson's party, the Tavini Huiraatira, announced an opposition event that will be held on Friday. Making Amends to the Victims President Macron has, over the last year, showing a willingness to address historical issues that France has been keeping a secret. The controversies include the country's bloody colonial history in Algeria and its involvement in the 1994 Rwanda genocide. Many French Polynesian residents continue to bear a deep grudge for the French government's previous nuclear tests. They said the events serve as evidence of colonial or even racist attitudes that ignored the value of the islanders' lives. Similarly, the United States and Britain conducted nuclear tests in the pacific during the Cold War arms race. Only 63 French Polynesian civilians, excluding soldiers and contractors, have so far received compensation for the radiation exposure from the nuclear tests, Disclose claimed, France24 reported. Over the course of three decades, 193 nuclear tests were conducted in the Mururoa and Fangataufa atolls. The tests were stopped after then-president Jacques Chirac ended the program in the 1990s after widespread international criticism regarding the massive explosions, Digital Journal reported. Related Article: Eric, Donald Trump Jr. Fire Back at Trump Organization Charges; Link Persecution of Putin to Navalny @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Copyright 2021 at Sun Newspapers/ APG Media of East Central Minnesota. Digital dissemination of this content without prior written consent is a violation of federal law and may be subject to legal action. Multimedia Video Journalist Buffalo native trying to get her news on! Im a Multimedia Journalist here at Your Hometown Stations and I love what I do. Have a cool story idea? Im in! Just email me at ashelton@wlio.com or message my Facebook page. GALVESTON The Carnival Vista, an 1,100-foot-long cruise ship carrying hundreds of passengers, will slip out of Galveston Harbor Saturday on a course for Mahogany Bay in Honduras, signaling a rebirth of a local industry and symbolizing how far the state and the nation have come since the darkest days of the coronavirus pandemic. The return of cruise ships to the Port of Galveston was celebrated by passengers, executives of Carnival Cruise Lines, and Galveston officials as another component of the islands tourism economy fell into place after a year of business closures, financial losses and layoffs. Before the pandemic, cruise ships brought about 1 million visitors through Galveston, staying in hotels, eating at restaurants and paying for long-term parking. It means everything to us that theyre coming back, said Charles Tompkins, chief operating officer of Port Parking and EZ Cruise Parking, which own and operate a dozen lots on the island. Few industries were hit as hard by the pandemic as cruise lines, which, just over a year ago, became floating infectious disease wards and emblems of the rapid spread of the coronavirus. One ship, the Diamond Princess, operated by Princess Cruises, notoriously spent weeks at sea with its passengers quarantined. More than a few people wondered who would ever go on a cruise again. It turns out a lot. With the advent of vaccinations, people are coming back to cruise lines. The share of Americans concerned about getting on cruise ship fell to a pandemic low of 46 percent in June, plunging from 60 percent in April, according to a survey by Destination Analysts, a travel and tourism market research firm based in San Francisco. Roughly 2,700 people about 70 percent of capacity will board the Carnival Vista Saturday. Royal Caribbean will resume sailing from Galveston in August, and Disney cruises in November. All told, 135 cruises are expected to leave Galveston this year and 238 next year, according to the Port of Galveston. On HoustonChronicle.com: Galveston businesses are expecting a busy summer, but can't find workers The cruise lines are requiring passengers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Carnival said it would require passengers to show proof of vaccination, based on requirements from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The July cruises will operate with at least 95 percent of fully vaccinated guests, making exceptions for children under 12 and some adults who requested exemptions. In early June, however, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill that prohibits Texas businesses from requiring customers to prove their COVID-19 vaccine status. Carnival said its vaccination policies are consistent with Texas law, which provides exceptions for businesses imposing COVID-19 protocols consistent with federal law and recommendations. One of the passengers on the Carnival Vista will be Gina Breland, who describes herself as a dedicated cruiser who has waited impatiently for sailings from Galveston to resume. Breland, 51, of Houston, said she was hesitant about getting the vaccine until Carnival required proof of vaccination to board the ship I wanted (the vaccine) to be out a little longer, she said. I wasnt afraid of COVID. I was afraid of not being able to cruise. Onshore spending Breland, along with her sister, has taken about 10 cruises. She was on the Carnival Vistas last cruise in March 2020 and recalls, still with some bemusement, of returning to shore to find that it was nearly impossible to buy toilet paper. She had booked cruises for July, August and September last year all canceled. Breland and her sister were to drive from her home in northwest Houston Friday. They planned to spend a night in a hotel, shop and eat in Galvestons historic Strand district, and even get their nails done before boarding the ship, where they expect seven days of royal treatment. Im a grandmother and mom, said Breland, who has three adult children and five grandchildren. But when Im out there, Im the one being pampered. The cruise industry generated $125 million of passenger onshore spending in Galveston in 2019, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, an industry trade group. About 16 percent of passengers, or some 160,000, stay overnight prior to cruise, according to the Galveston Island Convention and Visitors Bureau. The Tremont House, just three blocks from where the cruises dock, usually earns about 40 percent of its revenue from cruise passengers, said. Jeff Ossenkop, general manager of the hotel. At the beginning of the pandemic, the hotel had to close for a few months and then when it reopened it ran on a skeleton staff because of the low occupancy about 20 to 30 percent. Occupancy has since rebounded to about 70 percent. In the last 45 days, Ossenkop said, he started to notice more inquiries about 10 to 12 a day from people asking about the hotels cruise package, which includes shuttle service to the piers and long-term parking. The number of one-night stays, is also rising. The interest is definitely there, but some people are still waiting to see what happens after the first cruises go, Ossenkop said. Summer will be hit or miss, but I think in fall, (the hotel) will have limited availability. On HoustonChronicle.com: How a restaurant survived COVID, explosion and heartache For Tompkins and his wife, Cindy, who founded the parking business, the return of the cruises couldnt come soon enough. With COVID-19 not only canceling cruises, but crushing travel and tourism in general, their parking garages went from 100 percent occupancy to zero, said Charles Tompkins. The couple sold two of their homes, moved into their beach house, and poured their personal money into the company to keep it afloat. Business is recovering slowly. The lots are nearing 50 percent capacity, and return of the cruise lines is giving them new hope. It'll pick up, Charles Tompkins said, but itll take a while because people are skeptical right now. Fogged in Rodger Rees, Galveston Port director and CEO, also hopes the cruise industry will soon get back into full swing. Cruise lines account for 65 percent of the ports revenues, which shrunk by about $44 million during the pandemic. Before the pandemic, Royal Caribbean committed to building a $110 million cruise terminal, which was put on hold for about 14 months. Its expected to be completed by November 2022, creating 1,300 jobs, primarily in construction, while generating an estimated $60 million in personal income and as much as $10 million a year in revenues to the port. We're ready for these cruises to start because it's stopped a lot of our progress, Rees said. We rely heavily on the cruise business. Texas Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox For most shops and restaurants, cruise activity provides a boost, but it amounts to only a small slice of their business because of the short time passengers stay in town. We see a small uptick in business, but its not what people think, said Joe Flores owner of Yaga Clothing Co. When people stay, theyre usually only here for a day. When cruise ships are scheduled to sail, James Moreno, a co-owner of Brew Brothers, looks for heavy fog that keeps the ships in port. Thats when the cruisers take a seat at the bar. becca.carballo@chron.com If youre looking for a feel-good Fourth of July story, consider the Houston Zoos newest bald eagle, Mae, named for astronaut Mae Jemison. After finishing rehab for a life-threatening wing injury, Mae recently moved into the zoos Texas wetland. Shes a living symbol of our nation, a thrilling sight for all Americans: and of all races, ethnicities and religions; for people of all sexes, genders and ages; for liberals, conservatives and people who dont give a flip about politics. We dont see much of that these days. MORE FROM LISA GRAY: This Houston neighborhood is full of eagle-eyed gossips. How'd they miss a tiger and a beauty queen? Often this year its seemed that our national symbols divide us more than they bring us together. Consider the U.S. flag that a rioter used to beat a police officer dragged down the U.S. Capitols steps on Jan. 6. The surrounding crowd, many dressed in red, white and blue, chanted, U.S.A.! U.S.A.! Or consider Black athletes objection to the the Star-Spangled Banner: The songs third verse rejoices that U.S. forces killed escaped slaves who, promised freedom and land, fought for the Brits in the War of 1812. (Land of the free: Ouch.) Suddenly all sorts of American symbols seem like minefields, sure to offend someone somewhere. Is it still safe to assume that the immigrant-welcoming Statue of Liberty still appeals to all Americans? The Alamo? Mom and apple pie? How, you wonder, did we get to this point? Have Americans ever before been so angry at each other? And most important: Besides Mae, what on this Fourth of July still unites us? Created equal We have a great shared history in the United States, said author and Rice University history professor Douglas Brinkley. That gets lost with the statues coming down and the finger-pointing about the past. Were getting more and more in silos, picking the versions of history that we prefer. That history, it should be noted, includes plenty of arguments and divisiveness. In 1776, colonies delegates to the Continental Congress argued first over whether even to declare independence from Britain. Then they argued over how to reword the Declaration of Independence. Q&A WITH LISA GRAY: 'This is not just about Black Texans.' 'On Juneteenth' author Gordon-Reed talks integrating Conroe schools and meaning of the holiday The Declaration is the colonies public explanation of why they were breaking up with England, with a long list of reasons why they could no longer tolerate British rule. The bit that many of us can recite the part that we celebrate July 4 is a relatively small piece of the larger whole: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. But that small portion captured Americans imagination, and in it lay the seeds of the country the U.S. would become. One thing we still have in common I think of it as the national religion is the idea all men are created equal, said author and Texas A&M history professor Elizabeth Cobbs. The Declarations all men didnt include everyone not women or slaves or Native Americans but in a world ruled by monarchies, it was revolutionary. And through the United States history, that revolution kept unfolding, as the country tried to live up to the crux of its founding ideal. The Declaration was aspirational, said Cobbs. Thats why everyone loves it, and why July 4 is such a lovely holiday. All men are created equal allows our country to grow, said Cobbs. We say, How does that idea square with slavery? With Jim Crow? With sexual discrimination? Or with discrimination against elders or transgender people? The aspiration for all people to be equal, she said, is what binds the U.S. Its a common language, one that allows us to talk back and forth. Other countries can rely on a longer shared history (Remember King Arthur!) or a shared religion (Its great that were all Lutherans!). But in the U.S., its that aspiration that is our glue. Thats why holidays like the Fourth of July and Juneteenth are great, said Cobbs. They celebrate freedom and liberty. MORE FROM LISA GRAY: Dr. Peter Hotez's battle against the 'anti-science confederacy' is a lifetime in the making Annette Gordon-Reed, author of On Juneteenth and a professor of history at Harvard, agrees. She says that Juneteenth and the Fourth should be thought of together and that all Americans should celebrate the two holidays as marking major developments in human progress. There is, Gordon-Reed says, the promise of July Fourth with the Declaration of Independence; and the reality of Juneteenth, which reminds you that the Fourth did not achieve all men are created equal. What air is to fire In Cobbs reckoning, Americans agree on freedom and liberty, just not how to serve those ideals. But thats natural, she said. Weve always disagreed. After Americans won the Revolutionary War, they turned to fighting among themselves over how, precisely, the new country would be governed. Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, James Madison wrote in The Federalist Papers: Freedom itself feeds disagreements. The freer the country, he argued, the greater the disagreements. The question was how to govern anyway, and how to govern so that the minority whoever had lost any given vote felt treated fairly, respected and still part of the whole, not vanquished and oppressed. That doesnt happen much today. Democracy is supposed to be a give-and-take, lamented Rices Brinkley. Its not about being right. Its about listening. Theres a lot of cynicism in the air now. Weve lost our can-do-ism because were so busy partaking of this neo-Civil War. What unites us these days? Our addiction to our iPhones, he deadpanned. Everywhere I look, I see peoples heads down, staring at their phones. GUIDE: Where to watch 4th of July fireworks in the Houston area That means that Americans arent talking with their next-door neighbors, he said. Theyre interacting less in the complicated real world, and more in the addictive, oversimplified realm of the web reading news on partisan sites, using apps that connect them to the like-minded. People who disagree are not embraced as fellow Americans, but described with contempt: as deplorables or libtards. The web, Cobbs agrees, has put Americans differences on steroids. But she believes that Americans will figure out how to control the internet, rather than being controlled by it. Its parallel to the Industrial Revolution, she said. Smokestacks and new kinds of buildings required regulations things like fire escapes and sprinklers in buildings over 10 stories. That stuff took decades to figure out. In the meantime, could anything bring us together? Perhaps a common enemy, Brinkley suggested, such as Russia during the Cold War, or terrorism after 9/11. Or maybe a grand project, such as John F. Kennedys call for Americans to go to the Moon. Theres no shortage of urgent problems. America is in a transitional moment, Brinkley said. Were facing the challenges of tech, climate change and immigration. The best-case scenario is that this is a time of great reassessment. The worst case is, its the unraveling of America. He leans toward the best-case scenario. Fireworks and the Fourth of July will go on, he said. Americans are marvelous people. lisa.gray@chron.com, twitter.com/LisaGray_HouTX Bucking a statewide trend, Needville ISD got good news when it got its first batch of 2021 STAAR results. The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test scores for 2021 in Needville ISD either stayed the same or improved from the 2019 results. No tests were conducted in 2020 due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The districts philosophy all year was to Make No Excuses, especially due to COVID-19, Needville ISD Superintendent Curtis Rhodes said in a news release. The staff returned in August of 2020 at 100 percent and ready to go. Rhodes credited the district staff and students who returned for in-person classes and the hard work done during the 2020-21 school year. According to a news release from Communications Director B.J. Pollock, Needville ISD started the year with about 20 percent of students learning virtually. By the end of the school year, that number dropped to 10 percent. Rhodes credited students returning to campus with the STAAR success. The administration believes that, had more students attended in person, those scores would be even higher, he said. There simply is no virtual program that replaces a great teacher. While celebrating the districts success in the standardized test, Rhodes added that measuring student success should not come down to one test. The NISD focus related to standardized testing was to not just pass the test at an Approaches level, but score in the Meets and Masters levels, Rhodes explained. We are proud to say that our students in NISD did just that; and if the state would offer a letter grade again, we are still an A. For our district to succeed, students must succeed. We are happy with our scores, but we will never be satisfied until 100 percent of our students pass every test. According to Needville ISD, the STAAR test was given to students in grades three through 12, with certain grades tested on specific subjects. Needville ISD scored as much as 27-28 points higher than the state average in some subjects. Specific grade levels in the district include: Needville Elementary School third-graders scored: 82 in reading, compared to a state average of 68; and 89 in math, with the state score being 61. In grade four, Needville Middle School students scored: 90 in reading, with the state at 63; 81 in math, with the state at 58; and 75 in writing, with the state at 53. Fifth-graders at Needville Middle School scored: 86 in reading, with the state at 72; 84 in math, with the state at 69; and 86 in science, with the state at 61. Students in grade six at Needville Middle School scored: 84 in reading, with the state at 61; and 91 in math, with the state at 66. In seventh grade, Needville Junior High students scored: 78 in reading, with the state at 68; 83 in math, with the state at 54; and 76 in writing, with the state at 61. Needville Junior High eighth-graders scored: 84 in reading with the state at 72; 82 in math, with the state at 60; 85 in science, with the state at 67; and 81 in social studies, with the state at 56. Scores for Needville High School students are: 87 in algebra, with the state at 72; 74 in English I, with the state at 66; 84 in English II, with the state at 70; 93 in biology, with the state at 81; and 92 in U.S. history, with the state at 88. For more information about Needville ISD go to www.needvilleisd.com. rkent@hcnonline.com A Waller County Sheriffs Office deputy investigator is facing charges for misuse of official information. The unidentified investigator is alleged to have misused official information after an investigation by Texas Ranger Daron Parker, according to a release from the Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office. The offense of misuse of official information is in direct violation of Texas Penal Code Section 39.02, which clearly states that a peace officer commits an offense if with intent to obtain a benefit or with intent to harm or defraud another, he discloses or uses information for a non-government purpose that he has access to by means of his office or employment and has not been made public, Fort Bend County Sheriff Eric Fagan said. The punishment for misuse of official information ranges from a Class C misdemeanor up to a first-degree felony, depending on the monetary value of the thing misused, according to the Texas Penal Code. According to the Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office, the deputy was previously named an investigator of the year by the Waller County District Attorneys Office. His bond was set at $10,000. The Waller County Sheriffs Office could not immediately be reached for comment. rkent@hcnonline.com WASHINGTON (AP) The Biden administration on Thursday designated 17 countries as not doing enough to combat human trafficking and warned them of potential U.S. sanctions. The administration also called out several U.S. allies and friends, including Israel, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal and Turkey, for backsliding in their efforts. The designations came in the State Departments annual Trafficking in Persons report, which cited the coronavirus pandemic as a cause for a surge in human slavery between 2020 and 2021. The report covering 188 nations and territories said the outbreak had put millions more people at risk for exploitation and distracted some governments from efforts to stem human trafficking. The report classified the 17 mostly authoritarian nations as Tier 3 for failing to meet minimal standards to stop what Secretary of State Antony Blinken called an inhumane cycle of discrimination and injustices. The designation means that without a presidential waiver those countries could lose some U.S. assistance, although decisions on such penalties will not be made until later this year. Its a global crisis, its an enormous source of human suffering, Blinken said, citing estimates that almost 25 million people, many of them women and children, are victims. This crime is an affront to human rights. It's an affront to human dignity." Newcomers to the Tier 3 category are Malaysia and Guinea-Bissau, both of which had been on a watchlist for a downgrade for three years and were ineligible to avoid the designation because they had failed to take steps to improve their anti-human trafficking efforts. They join Afghanistan, Algeria, Burma, China, Comoros, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia, South Sudan, Syria, Turkmenistan and Venezuela in the worst offender category. Most of those countries are already subject to U.S. sanctions for other reasons. Meanwhile, six valued U.S. partners and friends Cyprus, Israel, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland were downgraded from the top Tier 1 category to Tier 2. That means they don't meet international standards for fighting trafficking but are making significant efforts to do so. No penalties are attached to a Tier 2 designation, Israel was cited for backsliding on serious and sustained initiatives to combat trafficking, including a decrease in investigations and prosecutions of perpetrators, and severe understaffing at its only authority directly charged with dealing with the matter. The report cited U.S. treaty ally New Zealand for not initiating any prosecutions for labor trafficking and weak prison sentences for child sex traffickers that significantly weakened deterrence, undercut efforts to hold traffickers accountable, and did not adequately address the nature of the crime. The report criticized NATO ally Norway for not prosecuting any human trafficking cases during the reporting period and charging people suspected of the crime with lesser offenses. Fellow NATO member Portugal was hit for failing to improve victim identification and lacking legal safeguards to protect trafficking victims. And, in the first such criticism of a NATO ally, Turkey was specifically cited for providing operational, equipment, and financial support to an armed militia in Syria that recruits child soldiers. Turkey and 14 other nations, including Afghanistan and Pakistan, were hit with the same designation, which can result in the loss of U.S. military training assistance. Public safety shouldnt be a partisan issue and it isnt, in Harris County. That was a message sent clearly at this weeks meeting of the county commissioners court, which unanimously approved nearly $15 million in funding to support several initiatives aimed at tackling the issue. Assuming the funds receive final approval this month, they will be used to hire six associate judges to support the judges overseeing Harris Countys 22 criminal district courts; to pay visiting judges; to expand jury operations at NRG stadium; and to invest in new technology to support county law enforcement. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo explained that a key goal is to tackle a backlog of some 100,000 pending criminal cases in the county, 20,000 of which have been pending for more than a year. To break the vicious cycle of violence, crime and incarceration, and make a meaningful dent in the crime rate, we need to invest in what works, Hidalgo said at a news conference, accompanied by Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia and Houston Police Executive Assistant Chief Matt Slinkard. That means resisting the urge to use blunt tools that have proven ineffective in the past or temporary solutions designed only to get splashy headlines. She noted that the rate of violent crime is rising around the nation, not just in Harris County, and implicitly rejected the charge, from critics, that the issue has been given short shrift since Democrats won control of commissioners court in 2018. My family left the country I was born in because of violence and because of crime, so I can tell you that public safety is something that I, personally, take very seriously, said Hidalgo, who was born in Colombia. For some Harris County residents, these measures seem like too little, too late. Until yesterday, there was silence from most of this court about the skyrocketing violent crime in this city, one woman testified at the Tuesday meeting. It seems you have turned a blind eye to what is so very obviously happening and destroying our city. Now you want to address it. She called on the commissioners to support bail reform in the coming special session of the Texas Legislature, which is set to begin July 8. A bill to that effect was debated during the regular session. But last-minute negotiations between the House and the Senate delayed its passage until the final day of session, when Democrats staged a walkout to block proposed new voting restrictions being pushed by Republicans. The dramatic action killed the GOPs election integrity bill, as well as all of the other measures still pending at the time. Gov. Greg Abbott has said that he will add bail reform to the agenda for the special session, and legislators should welcome the chance to debate the issue. For now, though, two takeaways come to mind following the recent discussion at commissioners court. The first is that Democrats, generally speaking, are not trying to defund the police, nor are they oblivious to the widely held concerns about public safety. Last month, for example, the Houston City Council adopted a budget that included an additional $31 million for the police department. Mayor Sylvester Turner, a Democrat, similarly pushed for more police funding last year at the height of the protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. If you have the opposite impression, its perhaps because youve been listening to Republicans such as U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls, a freshman Republican who represents Texass 22nd Congressional District and gave a floor speech on the subject in Congress this week. The increase in violent crime is the predictable result predictable result of liberal cities defunding and undermining their law enforcement, said Nehls, a former Fort Bend County sheriff. This is not rocket science. Stop attacking, undermining, and defunding law enforcement and the crisis of crime will stop being a crisis. His district is in the greater Houston area, covering most of Fort Bend County as well as parts of Harris and Brazoria counties. Yet he, like most Texas Republicans, pointed to the city of Austin as an example of the trend he had in mind: last year, the Austin City Council voted to cut its police budget by $150 million, roughly a third, and reallocate that money to other programs. To be sure, you can find a few left-leaning elected officials who want to defund or disband the police. You can also find a few GOP elected officials analogizing COVID-19 precautions to the Holocaust, and yet most Republicans would bridle at the suggestion that U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, for example, represents the prevailing views of their party. The second is that the Texas GOPs ongoing war on local control inspired in part by the foibles of officials in cities such as Austin is misguided. Republicans such as Abbott have found convenient foils in the Democratic leaders of the states biggest cities and counties. He signed a bill last month that would strip annexation powers from large cites that reduce law enforcement funding from one year to the next. Republicans might, instead, try to find common ground with these local leaders, especially when it comes to issues of universal concern, such as public safety. erica.grieder@chron.com Battleship Texas opened to the public for the first time in nearly two years just to celebrate the July Fourth weekend. The 108-year old USS Texas, the last remaining battleship that participated in both world wars and now a museum ship, opened for visitors on July 3 and July 4. Bruce Bramlett, executive director of the Battleship Texas Foundation, said the foundation had received numerous phone calls and emails from members of the public since the ship closed for extensive repairs in August 2019. Repairing the Texas: Steady as she goes: Volunteers help restore Battleship Texas before dry dock repairs later this year After crunching the numbers and figuring out the attendance needed to come out even, the foundation decided that the July 4 weekend would be the perfect time to reopen to the public. Bramlett expected 2,000-3,000 people to visit the ship over the two days, but July 3 was the busiest he has seen the ship since its 100-year anniversary celebration in 2014. He now expects the number of weekend visitors to top 5,000. Moving soon The Battleship Texas has been at its current location at the San Jacinto Battleground Historic Site in La Porte since 1948 after the State of Texas acquired it from the Navy following the end of World War II, a first of its kind acquisition. Legislation passed by the Texas Legislature in 2019 provided $35 million for repairs and preservation for the Texas. It also transferred ownership from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to the Battleship Texas Foundation for a 99-year lease. As part of the legislation and receiving the money, the Battleship Texas Foundation had to come up with a plan to better provide the revenue needed to sustain it. According to Bramlett, the foundation needs over three times the approximately 80,000 annual visitors that the ship had been receiving to make the operation feasible. We just have not been able to do that in a long, long time, he said. As much as I love this area, and its a beautiful setting, we need to be someplace that gets more visitors. No final decision has been made as to the ships next home, but Bramlett said that Galveston is the likely destination. He mentioned that Corpus Christi, another destination that has been speculated about, will not be the ships next home. Not a farwell While there are no definitive plans for the Battleship Texas to be open to the public again before it leaves for repairs in a dry dock in early 2022 prior to being taken to its new home, Bramlett wants to open it up for one or two more weekends. He does not see those final events as a farewell tour. I dont think were going to go that far, he said. Its not like shes going to leave the state. Shes not even going to leave the Greater Houston Area. Her home is still going to be here, and shes still going to be accessible. Bramlett acknowledges the long history the Battleship Texas has with the area, mentioning how area kids used to go get a meal at the San Jacinto Inn next door which closed in 1987 and then would go visit the ship. He likens the situation to a person moving from a home he or she has lived in for many years to a new home. He is confident that, once people see the new location and new home, they will be excited and pleased. He reiterated that the ship will remain close by. Shana Marsh came from Livingston on Saturday with her son to tour the Battleship Texas her first time on the ship since her parents took her as a child. Marshs great-grandfather, Gay Munn, served on the Texas. She described her son as a battleship fanatic, and decided to tour the ship once they heard it would be open. She is excited about the move because it will allow more people to see the ship. Ron Lewis, a Battleship Texas Foundation volunteer from the Baytown Area who was working on the ship on July 3, had served in the navy and got interested in the Texas after taking a behind-the-scenes tour. His main thought about the move is that he hopes the ship remains close enough for him to continue driving to and volunteering on. Taking history with it Plans for the near future are to wait for Hurricane season to end and to transport the ship to a dry dock in Galveston in January or February 2022 for further repairs. The ship would be moved to its new home about a year later. Wherever we end up, were going to take our history with us, said Bramlett. Our history was in the Atlantic (where the Texas provided artillery support for the allies during and following the D-Day invasion). Our history was in the Pacific (Where the Texas provided artillery support for the allies during the battles of Okinawa and Iwo Jima). Our history was in Cuba. Our history was in South America. elliott.lapin@hearst.com A coalition of Latino organizations launched a video to celebrate the Fourth of July with the Hispanic Nurse Heroes Choir singing El Pendon Estrellado, the official Spanish language version of The Star-Spangled Banner that was commissioned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945. The initiative is part of a campaign led by the Latino advocate organizations Hispanic Star and We Are All Human Foundation to celebrate nurses who have been on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic and to raise funds for scholarships to increase the representation of Hispanics among nurses in the country. We are facing a shortage of nurses that, if nothing changes, could lead to a shortage of 1 million in the U.S. in about three years, said Perla Tamez, national director of Hispanic Star, an organization that develops hubs to unify Latinos around the country around health, education, empowerment and community relief efforts. Tamez, who lives in Houston, said that the video is a tribute to nurses in general, but especially to the one of every five that are Hispanics. She said that the pandemic illustrated how the shortage of nurses in the country was particularly evident for Hispanics. Hispanics were 20 times more likely than the general population to get COVID-19, and yet we dont have enough nurses that can understand their culture or speak their language, Tamez said. Only 2.2 percent of registered nurses in Houston are of Hispanic origin, according to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services in 2018. The percentage is a fraction of the more than 45 percent that Latinos represent in the citys population. The proportion of Hispanic nurses in Texas is higher, with 16 percent, but still small compared to almost 40 percent presence in the state population. Tamez said the coalition has the goal of raising $300,000 this year for scholarships, which she said would benefit the general U.S. population. Part of the reason for the expected general increase of nurse shortages is that one-third of that workforce will be at retirement age in the next 10 to 15 years. As the pandemic recedes, we hope the nation will celebrate those who put themselves out there to keep the country going, said a statement from the We Are All Human Foundation. What better way to thank our U.S. Hispanic community than by celebrating their American and Latino identities by proudly airing the official Spanish language version of the national anthem. The anthem was commissioned by Roosevelt as part of his Good Neighbor Policy with Latin America. The video was filmed in the Statue of Liberty in New York City and produced by Times Square Live Media, the creators of The Nurse Heroes Choir franchise that recently won the Golden Buzzer on Americas Got Talent. olivia.tallet@chron.com Twitter.com/oliviaptallet Houston police have arrested a suspect in a Wednesday night triple homicide, which included the death of a 6-year-old, and remain on the hunt for a man accused in a separate incident of fatally shooting the mother of his 1-year-old son and wounding the child, Mayor Sylvester Turner said Friday. All of us have been shaken by the senseless and I do want to underscore senseless violence that has taken place in the last 48 hours, Turner said during a news conference at City Hall. This week has been especially heartbreaking because some of the violence has harmed and taken the lives of innocent children. The suspect in the latter shooting, which took place Thursday morning at an apartment complex in west Houston, had been released on seven felony bonds and is wearing an ankle monitor, according to authorities. Turner vowed that police would find the suspect, whom he and Police Chief Trony Finner declined to identify. The shooting coincided with the birthday of the alleged gunmans 1-year-old son, Zeus, according to a GoFundMe page posted by family members. Authorities said Zeus survived after suffering a gunshot wound to his ankle as he was held by his mother, Layla Steele, who died after being shot four times. Turner chastised Harris County judges who approved the suspects release and that of others who bonded out while facing multiple felony charges. That is unacceptable, and there is no real justification for anybody to be out on five, six, seven felony bonds, Turner said. Meanwhile, police were continuing to search for a second person they said was involved in the Wednesday triple homicide, which happened at an apartment in southwest Houston. Authorities identified the victims as Harmony Carhee, 6; Donyavia Lagway, 29; and Gregory Carhee, 35. Police arrived at the scene after receiving a call from a 10-year-old girl who also had been shot. She was taken to the hospital in stable condition, officials said. Finner declined to identify the suspect who remained at large or the one arrested by police, though he said HPD would soon release names and photos. The one whos not in custody, even though Im not going to say your name, you know who you are, and so do we, Finner said. And the mayor said it: Turn yourself in. Since the start of the year, Houston police have recorded 240 homicides, a 40 percent increase from the same point last year, according to Finner. Rania Mankarious, chief executive officer of Crime Stoppers Houston, said her organization had tallied more than 120 killings committed in the last 18 months by suspects who were out on multiple felony bonds at the time of the incident. That figure includes nine children and 15 victims who were attempting to flee from a domestic violence situation, she said. At this point, if you are truly paying attention and honestly wanting to protect citizens, you can no longer hide from the reality that the repeated releasing on bond of violent felony defendants, it is a major contributor to this spike, Mankarious said. This is not political. But it is time for every elected official in this city and county to acknowledge this, talk about it and work to fix it. The Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association, the local criminal defense bar, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Turner said the city has sought to address Houstons crime wave by funding an extra police cadet class this year, adding $2.1 million in overtime to HPDs budget and increasing the monetary rewards offered by Crime Stoppers for information related to felony crimes. Turner also praised Harris County for approving funds to expand jury services and hire six associate judges to assist the countys 22 criminal state district courts, moves aimed at cutting into the countys massive backlog of cases. The mayor added that those who know the whereabouts of people accused of hurting and killing our children have an obligation to come forward to authorities. There should be no safe place in our city for any person that has committed a crime, Turner said. Let me just say, especially to those individuals who are harming our children, there should be no safe place. No single person in our city should find it acceptable for any person that has the gall to shoot or harm our children. Last month, Turner and Crime Stoppers tripled the reward, from $5,000 to $15,000, for information on the fatal shooting of Elsa Mikeska, a 62-year-old woman who was gunned down in a southeast Houston gym parking lot. Days later, authorities arrested a 16-year-old boy and charged him with capital murder for his alleged role in the shooting. jasper.scherer@chron.com Alamo truths Regarding Texas history museum pulls out of event on book re-examining Alamo myth, (July 2): Bravo for standing up to the cancel culture and distorted narrative, courtesy of Chronicle columnist Chris Tomlinson, to change the history of the great state of Texas. The battle of the Alamo was not a myth but a pivotal historical event in Texas revolution, a 13-day siege by Mexican troops, killing most of the Texians and Tejanos inside. Santa Annas cruelty during the siege inspired many in the Texas army todefeat the Mexican Army during the Battle of San Jacinto. This is the true narrative of the creation of the Republic of Texas. Patti Miller, Houston Borderline Regarding Galveston County Judge Mark Henry issues disaster declaration in response to border situation, (June 29): The never-ending crises at the border is only a symptom of the real crises that are the failed states of Central and South America. Nothing this country does is going to solve the border crises as long as the countries south of the border continue as they have been going filled with corruption, narco dealers, repeated climate disasters to name just a few of the problems down there. Desperate people will do desperate things. Coming to America is a sign of desperation. There are few good options in dealing with these failed states. This country will either have to resort to the same tactics East Germany did to secure its border with West Germany and create a cordon sanitaire along the entire southern border. That would involve using eminent domain to take control of a swath of land and fortify it with walls, barbed wire, minefields, guard towers manned by guards with shoot to kill orders. Or the United States could take a page from our past. After World War II, America launched the Marshall Plan to help Europe rebuild. It provided aid and security to the devastated countries of Western Europe. The failed states to the south need help. We can either provide help or shut those countries out entirely. Gonzalo Martinez, La Porte President Joe Bidens American Rescue Plan will pay an additional $66 million directly to Galveston County. Those funds were directed to Galveston County to fund the public health response to COVID-19; to address economic harms to workers, families and small businesses; to reduce the public sector revenue loss due to the pandemic; to help pay or reimburse the costs for essential workers during the pandemic; and for water, sewer, stormwater and broadband infrastructure. Republican County Judge Mark Henrys executive order approving funding of up to 10 percent of the American Rescue Plans Galveston County funds for construction of Gov. Greg Abbotts Texas boarder wall is a misuse of the funds. Any effort to divert those funds intended to help the citizens of Galveston County should be immediately met with litigation to stop the steal. The citizens of Galveston County were the intended recipients of those funds and they deserve to get them. Rand Nolen, Houston Regarding Just bring our guns: Paxton staffer resigns after being pushed to film at border without security, (June 24): I read with some interest about the press lady who resigned from the attorney generals office because she was afraid to go to Brackettville without armed protection. I noted that Attorney General Ken Paxton and his assistant wore vests and that they utilized DPS security when they traveled to Brackettville or similar areas. I spent over 40 years delivering new autos and other goods to every town in Texas big enough to have a Ford or Chevy dealer. The idea that we have elected officials or state employees who are afraid to travel to any city or town in Texas is beyond the pale. I have never felt threatened or afraid to travel anywhere in Texas and find it really weird to see that the chief law enforcement agency in Texas is staffed with people who seem to be afraid of other Texans. Brackettville is a particularly innocuous small Texas town which has nothing to fear but rattlesnakes and scorpions. Barney W Smith, Houston Cow masks? Regarding Cargill teams up to develop cow masks, (July 2): Im so sad, it makes me laugh. Its all I can do these days. Cargill Inc. and Zelp are going to make masks, for cows. To capture cows belches and burps. It makes one wonder, are they going to flare the methane after capture? Drive through South Texas early in the mornings and see Big Oils stacks belching and burping the flared methane. You can turn your headlights off at times. What a sad light. Raymond Janosky Jr., Bellville FACT CHECK See inaccurate information in this story? Tell us here. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Houston Area Chamber of Commerce sponsored an Independence Day parade Friday night in downtown Houston. A fireworks show followed at the fairgrounds on North U.S. 63. As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. West Side Legends President Tony Jackson, Mayor Linda Tyer and Ward 6 Councilor Dina Guiel Lampiasi cut the ribbon opening the new park on Dewey Avenue. Architect Tessa Kelly designed the park. Councilors Peter Marchetti, Peter White and Dina Guiel Lampiasi with Ben Downing. PreviousNext Community Celebrates Opening of West Side Riverway Park Mayor Tyer speaks at the park's opening Saturday. PITTSFIELD, Mass. Local officials and community members celebrated Saturday the opening of the Westside Riverway Park on Dewey Avenue that was 14 years in the making. "The people in this neighborhood of the West Side, many generations have beautiful stories to tell about their families," Mayor Linda Tyer said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. "They have many joyful moments to celebrate, and now they have a space where they can gather for these special events, where they can celebrate life where they can get to know each other. This is exactly what community really is all about." Plans for the park began in 2007 under the leadership of Mayor James Ruberto, who was in attendance Saturday. Ruberto had a vision of transforming the neighborhood by creating a connection to the Housatonic River. Also in attendance were state Sen. Adam Hinds, Council President Peter Marchetti, Ward 6 Councilor Dina Guiel Lampiasi, Ward 7 Councilor Anthony Maffuccio, Councilor at Large Pete White, District Attorney Andrea Harrington, and former state senator Benjamin Downing. The park along Dewey Avenue includes green space, steps that lead down to the river where canoes and kayaks can be launched, and a pavilion that can be utilized for community celebrations or block parties. As part of the Urban River Visions Plan of 2007 in partnership with the state, the city acquired two acres of abandoned and vacant land fronting the river with a goal of providing recreational opportunities and common open space for residents in the dense neighborhood. "This project really has been quite a journey for everyone in the community," Pittsfield's Permitting Coordinator Nate Joyner said. "It began back in 2007, its planning visioning a riverway that spans from Wahconah Park to Clapp Park, introducing the neighborhood back to the river, a great resource in the community." The project went back out to bid in August 2019 after the cost came out too high and in September of 2019, the project was tweaked and rebid for a lower cost. The new design eliminated a bridge that would connect the park to John Street. The total cost of the project was about $1.2 million. Community members celebrated the park's opening with a number of performances and events over the afternoon. Viewed of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. We've recently updated our online systems. If you can't login please try resetting your password. You must login with an email address. If you don't have an email associated with your account email circulation@idahopress.com for help creating one. Note: We've recently updated our online systems. If you can't login please try resetting your password. You must login with an email address. If you don't have an email associated with your account email circulation2@journalnet.com for help creating one. Imperial Valley News Center Mexican Man Who Tried to Breach Cockpit, Opened Emergency Exit and Jumped from Departing Plane Faces Federal Charge Los Angeles, California - A Mexican national, who was aboard a SkyWest Airlines flight taxiing to the runway at Los Angeles International Airport Friday evening, allegedly approached the cockpit banging on the cockpit door and trying to enter the restricted space before opening an emergency exit and jumping to the tarmac, according to a federal criminal complaint made public Monday. Luis Armando Victoria Dominguez, 33, of La Paz, Mexico, was charged with interference with flight crew members and attendants. Victoria Dominguez, who suffered a broken leg when he fell to the tarmac and later underwent surgery, is expected to make his initial appearance later this week in United States District Court. The complaint alleges that Victoria Dominguez was a passenger on United Airlines flight 5365, operated by SkyWest Airlines, that was scheduled to fly from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City. Soon after the plane pushed back from the gate, Victoria Dominguez sprinted to the front of the aircraft past a seated flight attendant and began banging on the cockpit door and manipulating the locked doorknob, according to an FBI affidavit that was filed with the complaint. When he failed to gain entry to the cockpit, Victoria Dominguez pushed past the flight attendant and went to the emergency exit on the right side of the plane, where he managed to partially open the door, causing the emergency slide to partially deploy, the affidavit states. While a nearby passenger attempted to restrain him, Victoria Dominguez managed to get away and jump from the aircraft, missing the emergency slide. Once Victoria Dominguez landed on the tarmac, he began crawling away from the aircraft. His right leg appeared broken, the affidavit states. A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The criminal complaint naming Victoria Dominguez was signed by a United States magistrate judge on Sunday and docketed by the court this afternoon. The charge of interference with flight crew members and attendants carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The FBI is investigating this matter and received substantial assistance from the Los Angeles Airport Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Solomon Kim of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case. Imperial Valley News Center Four L.A. County Residents Found Guilty of Fraudulently Obtaining Millions of Dollars from COVID-Relief Programs Los Angeles, California - A federal jury has found four Los Angeles-area residents guilty of criminal charges for scheming to submit fraudulent loan applications seeking millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) COVID-19 relief funds. At the conclusion of an eight-day trial, the following defendants were found guilty on June 25: Richard Ayvazyan, 42, of Encino; Richard Ayvazyans wife, Marietta Terabelian, 37, of Encino; Richard Ayvazyans brother, Artur Ayvazyan, 41, of Encino; Vahe Dadyan, 41, of Glendale. All four defendants were found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, 11 counts of wire fraud, eight counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Richard Ayvazyan also was found guilty of two counts of aggravated identity theft. Artur Ayvazyan also was found guilty of one count of aggravated identity theft. Vahe Dadyan also was found guilty of one count of money laundering. On June 28, the jury found the defendants must forfeit bank accounts, jewelry, watches, gold coins, three residential properties and approximately $450,000 in cash. According to the evidence presented at trial, the defendants used fake, stolen and synthetic identities including the created identities of Iuliia Zhadko and Viktoria Kauichko to submit fraudulent applications for PPP and EIDL loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under federal law. In support of the fraudulent applications, the defendants often submitted false and fictitious documents to lenders and the SBA, including fake identity documents, tax documents and payroll records. The defendants then used the fraudulently obtained funds as down payments on luxury homes in Tarzana, Glendale and Palm Desert. They also used the funds to buy gold coins, diamonds, jewelry, luxury watches, fine imported furnishings, designer handbags, clothing, and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The conspirators obtained more than $18 million in COVID-relief funds. United States District Judge Stephen V. Wilson has scheduled a September 13 sentencing hearing, at which time each defendant will face decades in federal prison. Prior to the verdict, the following defendants pleaded guilty to criminal charges in this case: Manuk Grigoryan, 46, of Sun Valley, pleaded guilty on June 7 to one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Judge Wilson has scheduled a September 13 sentencing hearing, at which time Grigoryan will face a statutory maximum sentence of 32 years in federal prison. Edvard Paronyan, 40, of Granada Hills, pleaded guilty on June 11 to one count of wire fraud. He will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison at his August 30 sentencing hearing. Tamara Dadyan, 39, of Encino, Artur Ayvazyans wife and Vahe Dadyans cousin, pleaded guilty on June 14 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. She will face up to 52 years in federal prison at her September 27 sentencing hearing. Arman Hayrapetyan, 41, of Glendale, pleaded guilty on June 21, to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He will face up to 20 years in federal prison at his sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for September 20. Seeking quick riches, the defendants stole federal funds intended to help Americans harmed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic carnage left in its wake, said Acting United States Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison. The verdicts in this case are the first in this district resulting from a pandemic-related fraud scheme, and we are prepared to bring additional defendants to justice as we continue our efforts to safeguard our nations disaster-relief programs. The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, the Small Business Administrations Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General investigated this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Scott Paetty and Catherine S. Ahn of the Major Frauds Section, Assistant United States Attorney Brian R. Faerstein of the Environmental and Community Safety Crimes Section, Assistant United States Attorney Daniel G. Boyle of the Asset Forfeiture Section, and Trial Attorney Christopher Fenton of the Fraud Section of the Justice Departments Criminal Division are prosecuting this case. On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Departments response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. Imperial Valley News Center Marina del Rey Man Sentenced to Over 4 Years in Prison for $3.3 Million Ponzi Scheme He Claimed Was Legitimate Forex Business Los Angeles, California - An accountant was sentenced Tuesday to 51 months in federal prison for running a four-year, $3.3 million Ponzi scheme that conned dozens of investors through false promises of generous returns on foreign exchange currency investments and was funded, in part, by his embezzlement from his non-profit employer. Steven F. Brown, 53, of Marina del Rey, was sentenced by United States District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez, who also ordered Brown to pay $3,313,346 in restitution. Brown pleaded guilty in October 2020 to one count of wire fraud. Brown controlled and operated Alpha Trade Analytics, Inc., a financial consulting-and-investment company he largely ran out of his home. Neither Brown nor Alpha Trade was a registered broker or dealer in securities. Brown also served as the accountant for a non-profit organization providing dance and theater arts education to children and young adults in Los Angeles, which gave him access to its bank accounts. From April 2014 to May 2018, Brown solicited investments in Alpha Trade, including from people he encountered through his position at the non-profit, and through his relationship with its executives and employees, which afforded him access to high-net worth individuals. To encourage those individuals to invest with Alpha Trade, Brown falsely promised that their investments would only be used for foreign exchange (Forex) currency trading and that they would receive guaranteed monthly payouts of around 10%. He also falsely represented that he had extensive experience in Forex investing, regularly made profitable trades, and achieved substantial and growing rates of return that exceeded the industry average. Contrary to his representations to investors, Brown only used a small portion of the total amount invested in Alpha Trade for Forex trading, mostly in 2015. Instead, he routinely used investor funds for other purposes, including his rent, car payments, restaurant and retail expenses, and lulling payments to other investors. To induce investors to maintain or supplement their investments with Alpha Trade and to conceal his scheme, Brown periodically provided investors with account statements that reflected fabricated investment returns that often showed steady, significant gains. Brown made some of the promised recurring payouts and provided demanded refunds, not based on any Forex investment returns, but instead from money stolen from new investors and through funds he embezzled from the dance academy through unauthorized wire transfers, credit card advances and cash withdrawals he was able to make by virtue of his position as the dance academys accountant. In total, Brown caused losses of approximately $3,313,346 to 48 victims, including nearly $700,000 in losses to his former employer based on the money he embezzled from it. The Securities and Exchange Commission in September 2020 filed a lawsuit against Brown alleging violations of federal securities laws. That litigation is pending. The FBI investigated this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Kristen A. Williams of the Major Frauds Section prosecuted this case. Imperial Valley News Center North Bay Accountant Charged With Bank Fraud And Embezzlement San Francisco, California - A federal grand jury has indicted Stephanie Simontacchi on charges of bank fraud, embezzlement, and tax evasion in connection with schemes to use her access as an accountant to enrich herself at the expense of two former employers. The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Craig D. Fair, and IRS Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI) Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Daniels. Simontacchi, 48, of Petaluma, was employed as a bookkeeper and assistant controller with Cavallo Point Lodge, a hotel near Sausalito, California, from December 2009 through April 2016. While employed at Cavallo Point Lodge, Simontacchi had access to her employers accounting records and accounting systems. Simontacchi also had signatory authority over Cavallo Point Lodges bank accounts which gave her authority to create and sign checks from the hotels bank accounts and to pay the hotels legitimate payments and obligations. The indictment alleges that Simontacchi embezzled funds from her employer by stealing accounts receivable checks that had been sent to Cavallo Point Lodge from third parties and depositing the checks into her personal bank accounts. Further, the indictment alleges Simontacchi embezzled accounts payable checks that were drawn from Cavallo Point Lodges bank accounts and made payable to third party vendors. Instead of sending these checks to the intended third parties, Simontacchi allegedly deposited them in her own bank accounts. Simontacchi allegedly embezzled at least $384,363.28 from, or owed to, Cavallo Point Lodge and deposited these stolen funds into her own accounts. In addition, the indictment alleges Simontacchi was employed by Redwood Credit Union from April 2016 through April 2019, during which time she embezzled over $437,000 from the credit union. The financial institution employed Simontacchi as a senior accountant and accounting manager. According to the indictment, Simontacchis responsibilities included processing voided official checks (also known as cashiers checks) and communicating with Redwood Credit Unions official check vendor regarding issues pertaining to the funding and voiding of these checks. Simontacchi also had access to checks intended for and made payable to Redwood Credit Union that were sent to the accounting department for processing, including reimbursement checks from the official check vendor and reimbursement checks from the United States Treasury Department and the State of California. The indictment alleges Simontacchi embezzled some of these checks, as well as official checks that had been returned to Redwood Credit Union by members and were supposed to have been voided, then deposited the checks into her personal bank accounts. She used the embezzled proceeds for personal expenses, including to make a payment towards her home equity line of credit. Further, the indictment alleges Simontacchi evaded taxes by failing to pay taxes on additional, unreported income received in years 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019. In sum, the indictment charges Simontacchi with seven counts of bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1344(2); seven counts of misapplication and embezzlement of credit union funds, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 657; and four counts of tax evasion, in violation of 26 U.S.C. 7201. Simontacchi was arrested on June 25, 2021. She made her initial federal court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tse this morning and was arraigned on the charges. Her next appearance is scheduled for July 15, 2021 before U.S. Federal District Court Judge Orrick. An indictment contains allegations only. Simontacchi is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. If convicted, the maximum statutory penalties for each violation of 18 U.S.C. 1344(2) and 18 U.S.C. 657 is 30 years imprisonment and a $1,000,000 fine. The maximum statutory penalty for each violation of 26 U.S.C. 7201 is 5 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. The court also may order additional terms of supervised release, fines, forfeitures, and restitution; however, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. 3553. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristina Green and Amani S. Floyd are prosecuting this case. The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS-CI. On Tuesday, Elon Musk appeared via video for an interview at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. I was there, along with a few hundred other people, to hear Musk talk mostly about the growth and rollout of Starlink. If you aren't familiar, Starlink is Musk's plan to carpet the heavens with low-orbit satellites to reach sparsely populated areas with high-speed internet. "There's a need for connectivity in places that don't have it right now, or where connectivity is very limited and very expensive," Musk said during the interview. That's an understatement, but it is clear Musk has ambitious plans for the company. "We are on our way to having a few hundred thousand users--possibly over 500,000 users within 12 months," he continued. As Musk talked about the company's goal of signing up a half-million subscribers within the next 12 months, something occurred to me. I don't know if it was the casual way Musk talked about it, but I couldn't help but think that Starlink isn't Musk's main thing. It's really just a side project. Actually, to be accurate, it's a side project within another of Musk's side projects--SpaceX, the rocket ship company for which Musk serves as CEO. Sure, SpaceX and Starlink are both doing interesting things--like sending people to the International Space Station. And, clearly, Musk is passionate about all things Space and rockets and satellites, but that doesn't change the fact that it's basically a side hustle. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed clear to me that really everything Musk does is just a side project, and I don't mean that in a bad way. I guess you could argue that Tesla, the electric vehicle and solar manufacturer, is his main thing. It is, for sure, the thing that made him one of the three wealthiest people on the planet, but Musk isn't even a full-time CEO at Tesla. Some people are able to dedicate themselves entirely to one cause or mission. That's noble, but it certainly isn't the way everyone is wired up, and it might not even be the best option for many people--especially entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs tend to have more big ideas than they can ever fit into one company or project. It comes with the territory of being creative and having the drive to bring ideas out of your head and into the world. A lot of really great things came into the world first as side projects. Gmail. Pixar. Slack. Even Nike. Look at Musk's primary rival for the title of "world's wealthiest man," Jeff Bezos. Sure, Bezos is best known as the founder and--at least for few more days--CEO of Amazon, but he's also the owner of Blue Origin, another space-focused endeavor, as well as The Washington Post. One of the primary reasons he cited that he was stepping down as CEO was so that he could spend time on other interests. Sure, you can argue that billionaires like Musk and Bezos have an advantage here because they have enough money to be choosy, but I'd argue that it's their choice that made them so successful in the first place. That's because having a side project has several advantages. In Musk's case, he amplifies those advantages because he treats everything like it's a side project. Here's the emotional intelligence part. When something is your side project, you treat it differently than you do your day job. Mostly that's because it's usually something you do not because it's a job, but because it's something you love. That's important because when you do something because you love it, it gets your best effort. You're willing to sacrifice and take risks and pour yourself into it. Of course, it's great if your side project makes money, but then there's always the risk that you start treating it like a job. Don't. The beautiful thing about having a side project is that it gives you an outlet for the urge to be doing something different. It gives you a place to direct your creative energy, which makes it easier to focus on the things you have to do. "You're fired." Most US employers don't need a reason to utter those words, but New York City's new legislation protecting fast-food workers is going into July 4, 2021. After this, employers will either need "just-cause" or layoffs for economic reasons to terminate a fast-food employee. The controversial new rule singles out one sector of employees and favors them above all other employees, with job protections that most employees don't have. It may be controversial (the New York State Restaurant Association has already filed a lawsuit), but it may be the start of a change in US employment law. A solution in search of a problem. At-will employment means that you can quit at any time with no notice. (Two week's notice is merely customary, but absent a contract, you're not required to even give five minutes' notice.) At-will employment also means that your boss can fire you at any time with no notice for any reason or no reason as long as that reason doesn't violate the law. That last part is key here: you can't fire someone because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristic. You can't fire someone for discussing salary with coworkers. You can't fire someone because she's pregnant. But, you can fire anybody just because it's Tuesday if you'd like. While that seems to be a minimal amount of protection, it's also extremely impractical for companies to fire at a whim for no reason. Bloomberg Businessweek gave the following termination examples as reasons for why this just-cause policy is necessary. "Fired for noting that a manager showed up two hours late." Fired for "suffering a panic attack on the job after being subjected to racist harassment." Fired for "disclosing to co-workers that they'd contracted Covid-19." While all of these are terrible reasons for terminating, it's important to note that none of these cases are straightforward and come through the eyes of the terminated employee. Terminating someone for a panic attack in response to racial harassment could violate the Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Code. In other words, this termination was probably already illegal. The Covid gag rule is also problematic if the employee was discussing working conditions. Employment attorney and HR consultant Kate Bischoff says, "Yes, an employer could fire an employee for talking about their experience COVID-19. Where it gets tricky is whether the employees were talking about it because the employer did not take appropriate safety measures to keep employees safe, like following CDC/OSHA guidelines. Then, it would likely trigger a whistleblower-style action." Employment attorney Jon Hyman concurs: "Does [the Covid gag rule] also violate an employer's general duty to maintain a safe and healthy workplace and therefore constitute retaliation under OSHA? I also think there's a really good argument that it does." In other words, this termination may be illegal, regardless of the employee's at-will status. Businesses need employees, and firing people for no reason doesn't seem to be a major problem. The new rules won't stop bad managers who fired people illegally before. Good employers will now need additional paperwork and documentation to fire bad employees. Both Bischoff and Hyman questioned the wisdom of implementing a new law, with Bishoff saying, "No fast food joint in the world is firing people willy-nilly right now. So, fine, an employer needs a cause reason for firing someone. Whoop-de-do." We don't need a law to protect people from something that doesn't generally happen anyway. The bigger problem with the new law. There are three major portions of the law that have fast food owners nervous. The first is the paperwork requirement. JD Supra reports that to terminate someone, you need paperwork proving the following: the employee knew or should have known of the employer's policy, rule, or practice that is the basis for the progressive discipline or discharge; the employer provided relevant and adequate training to the employee; the employer's policy, rule, or practice, including the utilization of progressive discipline, was reasonable and applied consistently; the employer undertook a fair and objective investigation into the alleged job performance or misconduct issue; and the employee in fact violated the policy, rule, or practice or committed the misconduct that is the basis for progressive discipline or discharge. While this sounds great and businesses often operate this way, fast food restaurants rarely have a qualified HR person onsite to handle this type of investigation. The second major problem is with layoffs. The new law allows fast-food restaurants to lay people off for economic reasons, but they have to use a last-in-first-out method. That means your struggling restaurant can't keep the best employees, only the ones with seniority. The third major problem for fast-food owners is the requirement to not lower an employee's hours by more than 15 percent from their highest hours in the past 12 months. That means if you have a super busy week and schedule people more, you can't just give them the extra hours that week. You have to keep them forever. This is a huge burden on fast food restaurants. Is this just the beginning? Few phenomena excite the American public like aliens. And with last month's publication of the U.S. government's highly anticipated Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena document--referred colloquially the "flying objects" report--alien-themed businesses are predicting a surge in tourism, and with it, rocketing sales. "People will start coming after they read the report," says Cindy Campbell, the owner of the Atomic Inn, an alien-themed hotel located a few miles from Area 51, a United States Air Force facility, formally known as the Nevada Test and Training Range. The site was developed during the Cold War as a testing and aircraft development facility, and has since become the seat of popular UFO conspiracy theories. "Area 51 is extremely famous, and people will travel here just to be close to it," she says. That's not to say the report itself is all that illuminating. Officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the federal agency behind the report, declined to confirm the existence of extraterrestrials. The report also failed to explain 143 of the 144 reported cases of unidentified flying objects seen by military pilots. The one incident it detailed was chalked up to a large, deflating balloon. Even so, local alien-themed businesses near both Nevada's Area 51 and in Roswell, New Mexico--another hot spot for extraterrestrial intrigue--are getting ready for an uptick in travelers, citing the renewed interest fueled by the report. For its part, the Atomic Inn is boosting its inventory of custom-made alien soap, shot glasses, face masks, and hair bows--all of which are designed by local artists. Campbell says she is also sprucing the place up, adding to the existing alien-decor that includes space-themed road markers that lead guests to their rooms. She pointed to a recent mural installation right outside the hotel, depicting a large desert with small aliens hidden throughout. While Campbell said most of the Inn's long-term guests, both historically and during the pandemic, are those who work at the government-contracted Nevada Testing Grounds, she believes traditional tourism will return. Dominic Vatista, souvenir shop co-owner at Roswell, New Mexico's Hangar 209, says he agrees that tourism will pick up--but it isn't fully a product of the report. He attributes the store's recent growth in sales both to the opening of businesses post-pandemic, as well as people's increased skepticism towards the government after Covid-19. "Recently, more customers than usual have come in and brought up questions about the UFO reports," says Vatista, whose shop sells alien-themed books, coffee, and jerky. "And in many of my conversations, people have hinted that the government is capable of hiding something from us. Covid has shown us there's a truth to that." No matter the exact reason for an uptick in sales, Hangar 209 remains prepared. The shop recently increased its backroom inventory stores, and expanded its book and shirt selection. Nine foot high flames were lapping at Pierre Quevillons Lytton home when he bundled his two dogs into his truck, ready to flee town. He ran back inside to rescue his cat, only to return to his truck to find it already engulfed in flames. With no choice but to abandon his burning vehicle, and the dogs inside, Quevillon fled town on foot, his cat in his arms. I ran towards the town and the fire was pretty much following me, he says. And in about 15 minutes, the whole town was gone. Quevillon is one of an estimated 1,000 residents of Lytton, British Columbia, who were forced to leave their homes behind and flee to neighbouring towns after wildfires razed much of the small Canadian town. The BC Coroners Service has said it has received reports of two deaths related to the blaze, and many are missing. The fire comes days after the temperature hit 121.1F (49.5C) in Lytton - the third day in a row that Canadas all-time highest temperature was recorded. In this aerial photo taken from a helicopter, structures destroyed by a wildfire are seen in Lytton (AP) Quevillons home was one of the first to go up in flames on Wednesday evening, after the towns mayor issued an immediate evacuation order. A friend had called to warn him about the incoming blaze when he set about saving his pets, only to be forced to escape the town on foot with his cat. I couldnt even see my truck anymore, the flames were nine feet high. So I ran, he says. All the town was burning, the fire was coming towards me. Then, I got to the end of the town and the only thing left to burn was me. A passing driver picked Quevillon up and took him to a nearby hill, where the fire had already torn through. He spent the night watching the town burn below me. It was a hard sight for the Vancouver native, who had moved to the tiny community four years ago to renovate a friends house, and never left. Nearby, 72-year-old Neil Dycke had managed to walk up the same hill on early Thursday morning, in order to escape the flames. Hed managed to gather a few belongings from his Lytton home before it became a blazing inferno. Hed mostly picked up photographs. Dycke is a longstanding member of the community, having moved to nearby Spencers Bridge in 1970 to work as a fuel station attendant, before moving to Lytton. He said it had always been hot in the area, with summers around 40 degrees Celsius, but nothing like what had occurred this year. It was a similar notion with wildfires; they were common, as the area was so dry, but not like this. Neil Dycke, 72 (Ashleigh Stewart) Dycke loved the town because it was quiet, everyone knew each other, and he used to delight in speaking to tourists passing through to visit Alaska and the northern reaches of British Columbia. Which is why watching it burn to the ground had been all the more devastating. Dycke spent Wednesday night in Lytton, despite the mayors evacuation order, as he couldnt find a way out. He slept at a friends house that was still intact. Early Thursday, he made for the hills. There were electrical wires down everywhere. I was crawling under them and over them, he says, still managing to smile at the memory. Finding each other on the hill, Quevillon and Dycke picked up a friends truck and travelled together from town to town, trying to find shelter, before ending up in Chilliwack, 180 kilometres south of Lytton, at a temporary evacuation centre set up at the towns secondary school. Dycke was then allocated a hotel room to stay in for five days, and Quevillon had decided to stay with friends in a town nearby, awaiting the moment he could return home to survey the damage. I want to get back and rebuild the minute they say you can go back, he says. Were not sure still if everyone is okay there. Im worried, because there are so many elderly people. Lytton evacuees were still trickling in to the evacuation centre on Friday morning, some with carloads of children and pets, desperate for a place to stay. Evacuees were then being offered hotel rooms, however, due to the number of wildfires in the area and the lack of accommodation, many towns were now full. Shxwha:y longhouse, a community centre run by a local First Nations family (Ashleigh Stewart) A Lytton resident, who asked not to be named, said Chilliwack was the fourth town he had tried to find accommodation in. Hed arrived in town at 4am on Friday morning and slept with his wife and children in his truck before heading to the evacuation centre. Weve been bounced from town to town. Im just trying to get my family situated. The road was now closed about five kilometres south of Lytton, as firefighters struggled to contain the out-of-control fires. Helicopters with monsoon buckets fly constantly up and down the narrow valley that leads into the town, collecting waters to spray the smouldering hills. Residents in towns in the region are ready and waiting to leave their homes at a moments notice, as wildfires nearby grow in size and threaten other communities. Fires near Kamloops, a larger town just north of Lytton, forced the evacuation of dozens of homes late on Friday. Karthryne Harrys home was part of an estimated 10 per cent of Lytton that was saved from the fire. Harry was inside her house with her four-year-old daughter Brooklynn blasting the air conditioning and TV when the sirens sounded to warn residents of the fire. We didnt hear the sirens so we didnt know the town was on fire. We went outside and there was all this black smoke coming from all the chemicals from the hospital burning - the propane tanks were exploding. Harry immediately set about furiously watering the lawn outside her house, as she battled to save the property. Luckily, the wind shifted and her home was spared, allowing the mother and daughter to remain in Lytton on Wednesday night as Harry didnt have a car to leave town. There was no power, wi-fi or cellphone service. I stayed up all night that night watching the town burn down. It was so scary, she says. From left to right: Karthryne, Brooklynn and Rainbow (Ashleigh Stewart) The next day, Harrys sister Rainbow Acoby drove in from the nearby town of Merritt to help her sister. Thinking the fires had died down, the siblings settled in for another night, aiming to leave the next day. We were just lying down to go to bed and we heard that wed been evacuated and the fire had jumped across the river. We freaked out and got in the car. The family arrived in Chilliwack at 5.30am on Friday morning, where they joined about 10 other displaced people from Lytton at Shxwha:y longhouse, a community centre run by a local First Nations family. The longhouse opened to provide food, clothing and mattresses to those fleeing the wildfires. Volunteers there had gathered truckloads of donations to send north to fire evacuees and firefighters. Tables full of clothes, toiletries, food, Tim Hortons takeaway containers and clothes were piled high on tables in the front room. On Friday evening, families from Chilliwack and fire evacuees alike gathered at the longhouse for a night of dance and song to offer support for fire evacuees. (Ashleigh Stewart) Ron Prest, who runs the longhouse with his family, said the night was intended to pick peoples spirits up and was for anyone who needs these prayers. The longhouse shook with loud chanting and dancing, as the audience warded off the stifling heat with handheld fans, before tables laden with food were carried out to feed the congregation. Prest said he expected more families fleeing the fires to turn up on Friday night, as other wildfires forced Lytton evacuees, and new evacuees, further afield. Were just here for anybody who needs it. Weve got beds and weve got food. We just want to look after the community. Influencers in Norway are now required by law to label when their images on social media have been retouched. The new regulations from Norways Ministry of Children and Family Affairs have been brought in to try and fight unrealistic beauty standards. Earlier this month, the law passed with 72 officials voting in favour and 15 voting against it. The King of Norway will later decide when it will come into effect. When the law is implemented, it will require influencers who are making money from their content, to label when an image has been retouched. This includes alterations that have been made to the subjects body size, shape, or skin, either before - like through a filter - or after the image has been taken. Specific examples include enlarged lips, edited muscles and cinched waistlines. Images that have been retouched will be legally required to carry a label designed by the government that alerts the viewer. Advertisers who use social media content for promotional purposes will also be affected by the law. In addition, influencers and celebrities who post on social media sites will be obliged to comply if they receive any payment or other benefits from the posts. A 2019 study found that viewing images of cosmetically enhanced females increased the desire for cosmetic surgery among women aged between 18 and 29 years old. In Norway, debate around kroppspress, which translates to body pressure, has been taking place. In the proposed amendments sent to the Norwegian parliament, the ministry said: The measure will hopefully make a useful and significant contribution to curbing the negative impact that such advertising has, especially on children and young people. In 2017, image database site Getty Images announced it would ban photos of retouched models. In the same year, France brought in legislation requiring magazines to say when an image has been retouched. A groundbreaking cervical screening programme which helps women with a history of trauma and abuse has succeeded in getting more than 90 per cent of female prisoners to attend a smear test. Cervical screening, commonly referred to as a smear test, helps to pick up early signs of cell changes in the cervix that can turn into cancer. But the prospect of having a smear test can be profoundly distressing and traumatic for survivors of rape or any kind of sexual violence. Many of the inmates at HMP Styal, a womens jail for adults and young offenders in Cheshire, had never had a smear test in their lives or were overdue one for a range of reasons, which includes having a history of trauma and abuse. Many male and female prisoners are vulnerable, with high rates of trauma, abuse and mental health issues among the UKs prison population. A previous report by the Prison Reform Trust found 80 per cent of women in jail were serving sentences for non-violent offences. Other studies have found high numbers of female prisoners have suffered domestic abuse and sexual violence, while many suffer from mental health issues with campaigners frequently warning women in prison are often victims of much more serious offences than the ones they have been convicted of. I felt frightened and apprehensive when I received a letter inviting me for a smear test at Styal, a prisoner from HMP Styal said. I ignored it and the letters that followed, but after the nurse came to see me for a chat and showed me all the equipment, I felt more in control of the situation. She added: I am very proud to say I had it done and now I even encourage other women to attend when they say they are scared. Some 19 prisoners were referred directly to colposcopy after an abnormal smear result and have managed to get treatment since the new cervical screening system was rolled out. While an additional 29 have had a positive test result for human papillomavirus (HPV) which means they require a yearly follow-up smear test. The vast majority of cases of cervical cancer are caused by HPV an infection that is very common, and which about eight in 10 people in the UK will contract at some point in their lives. While it is rare for women to be diagnosed with cervical cancer, with only 3,200 diagnoses in the UK every year, HPV is almost as common as the cold virus. The body generally clears HPV without it causing damage, but a deep-seated stigma about the infection remains. The new screening programme, which started in April last year, is the brainchild of the prisons specialist nurse and health lead and works by looking at inmates history and providing specialist support to encourage women to have smear tests. Women who are fearful are able to voice their anxiety in one-to-one sessions as well as being shown the equipment which will be used so they feel more at ease. There are also sessions held which debunk any myths about smear tests women have encountered over the years. Inmates can also write about their experience of having a smear test on a butterfly for others to read and get encouragement from colposcopy with this scheme called The Butterfly Model. Nicola Shufflebotham, a specialist nurse at HMP Styal who helped develop the screening programme, said: It really has been wonderful seeing patients grow in confidence to attend their smear test appointments. Our clinics are a huge success and patients actually come forward and ask for a test now. Recommended England and Wales spend more on prisons than all of Europe except Russia Jos Cervical Cancer Trust says many sexual violence survivors outside the prison population have told them they had not been to cervical screenings due to their experiences. Cervical screening can feel both intrusive and intimate because of the physical position the test is done in and the medical equipment used, the UKs leading cervical cancer charity adds. This means it can trigger flashbacks of the things you have been through, or evoke physical and psychological responses, like a panic attack, dissociation, or freezing. Many survivors are anxious about having to disclose their experience to a healthcare professional. But the charity notes there are a number of things survivors can ask the healthcare professional do to make the situation easier to handle. Dr Kate Paradine, chief executive of Women in Prison, said they welcome more prisoners taking smear tests and the overall initiative but warned prison environments pose significant barriers to getting healthcare. She added: Such as women needing to be accompanied by staff to appointments both within the prison grounds and outside, which can cause delays in accessing support. Women in contact with the criminal justice system have significantly poorer health outcomes compared to both men and the general population. Prison both compounds pre-existing health inequalities and creates additional ill health, for example rates of self-harm for women in prison are at a record high. There is another way by ensuring that women are supported in the community, women can better address their needs and root causes of being swept into crime, which often include poverty, domestic violence and mental ill health. Previous research by Nuffield Trust discovered almost 40 per cent of outpatient appointments were cancelled or missed by women in jail, which is double the number of appointments missed by the non-prison population. Michelle Quirke, HMP Styals governor, noted the initiative at the prison was already making a huge difference. She added: The screening could save lives so Im proud weve found a way to encourage more women to come forward to be tested. A plan to drop all isolation and testing rules for double-jabbed people who have been in contact with a Covid case is set to put Boris Johnson on a fresh collision course with scientists. Ministers are expected to agree that the fully vaccinated will not only be exempt from having to stay at home for 10 days, but will only be advised to take daily tests, with no legal requirement to do so. The change would bring England into line with countries such as the US and Germany, amid a warning that up to a million people a day will be forced into quarantine unless rules are relaxed. Follow live: Plans to axe isolation rules for double-jabbed under fire amid early second vaccine warning But a leading public health expert said those rules were slowing infections and urged ministers not to abandon daily testing, if isolation for fully vaccinated people is scrapped. The midway proposal is the daily testing of contacts, said Christophe Fraser, professor of pathogen dynamics at the University of Oxford. So, when you receive the close contact notification the one that says you have been close to somebody for an extended period of time the possibility being looked at is you would take a test for 7 days after you have been pinged by the app. That would be a very promising way to reduce the amount of disruption for people. Official estimates suggest that infections will increase by as much as 26 per cent if both restrictions are axed, according to The Times which reported it. Government scientific advisers have also warned that most people will refuse to take daily tests, which means compliance with quarantine guidance will go out the window, it said. Professor Fraser told BBC Radio 4: Yes, we are seeing a break of the link between infections and hospitalisations, but we are also seeing some young people, unfortunately, being hospitalised and being quite seriously ill. Stephen Griffin, a viral oncologist at the University of Leeds, told The Times: Lateral flow tests are not enough to absolve you from quarantine. Nevertheless, the plan for no isolation and only advisory tests is expected to be signed off at a meeting of the Covid operations committee on Monday. It would get underway towards the end of August with the government willing to accept the risks of higher infections to ease disruption for businesses and public services. It must first wait for results from a current trial where 40,000 people are being asked to take daily tests instead of self-isolating. Hospitality businesses want the rules changed more urgently, to avoid summer holidays being ruined by hundreds of thousands of people a day being told to isolate each day. At present, the test and trace system is telling an average of three contacts of each case to isolate but that number is expected to increase if all restrictions in society are lifted on 19 July. Ministers are also reportedly set to confirm that masks will become voluntary, rather than required by law, in settings such as public transport and that social distancing requirements will be removed to allow service at the bar in pubs. A man in full military gear livestreamed an early morning standoff with Massachusetts police that ended in 11 arrests and the seizure of numerous guns. Early on Saturday morning, a state police trooper encountered a group of heavily armed men in the breakdown lane of Interstate 95, who were refueling their vehicle. A standoff began, police said, when members of the group, called Rise of the Moors, said they didnt have or werent currently carrying gun and drivers licenses, and didnt recognize state laws. Parts of the encounter were livestreamed by one group member named Jamhal Talib Abdullah, who is identified on the groups website as Moorish American Consular Post Head. According to the site, Rise of the Moors is a group that believes various groups including Black people, native Americans, and other people of colour are part one people known as the Moors, descended from ancient African mariners, who now constitute a non-self-governing nation that is under the occupation power of the de facto United States Corporation. We already assured them that were going to go peacefully, so they have nothing to worry about, Mr Abdullah says in one stream. We are not sovereign citizens. I reassured them that we are not Black identity extremists. I reassured them that we are not anti-police. I reassured them that we are not anti-government. In another stream, the man claims that under federal law, they have no right or authority to detain us. Massachusetts state police said on Saturday that it was illegal to carry loaded or unloaded guns on public byways like the interstate. Police arrested all 11 men present without incident, after some attempted to flee and the highway was shut down temporarily. I have to applaud the actions of the trooper very patient, very understanding with them, very adept at de-escalation, state police colonel Christopher Mason said at a press conference. Rise of the Moors did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, members of the Moorish sovereign citizen movement are a collection of independent organisations and individual groups with roots in the Moorish Science Temple of America, founded in 1913. The MSTA has condemned sovereign citizen groups and those in the Moorish movement who use radical or subversive tactics against the government. Police said the men were traveling from Rhode Island to Maine for training. Close Storm Elsa turns into a hurricane as it slams Barbados Hurricane Elsa has torn through Barbados, reportedly ripping roofs off homes and sparking power outages and floods in the island nation as the storm made its way towards Haiti. In video posted to social media, the hurricane could be seen ripping through parts of the Caribbean country. Elsa strengthened into a hurricane on Friday, eventually blowing maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour (140 kph), according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC). The hurricane has forced schools, businesses and airports to close in the region, with a hurricane warning in effect for Barbados, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines. With the hurricane believed to be headed towards Florida, there are fears that it could hamper rescue efforts in Surfside, Miami, where responders have been working tirelessly to search for survivors following the 24 June partial collapse of a residential building. At least 18 people have been confirmed dead in the incident at the Champlain Towers South condominium, while 145 people are still unaccounted for. It is feared that the death toll will rise in the deadly building collapse. Follow live updates below President Joe Biden plans to use a visit Saturday to a Michigan cherry farm to talk up his bipartisan infrastructure package and additional plans for investing in families and education. He will go to Traverse City which is hosting the National Cherry Festivalan event previously attended by the presidents Herbert Hoover and Gerald Ford. Biden will also tour a cherry farm in nearby Antrim County. Bidens trip to Michigan, where he will be joined by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, is part of a broader campaign by the administration to drum up public support for the infrastructure package and other polices geared toward families and education. First lady Jill Biden is going to Maine and New Hampshire on Saturday, while Vice President Kamala Harris heads to Las Vegas. The president has said the key to getting his $973 billion deal passed involves taking the case straight to voters. While Republicans and Democrats might squabble in Washington Bidens theory is that lawmakers of both parties want to deliver for their constituents. White House officials negotiated the compromise with a bipartisan group of senators led by Ohio Republican Rob Portman and Arizona Democrat Kyrsten Sinema. The agreement, announced in June, features $109 billion on roads and highways, $15 billion on electric vehicle infrastructure and transit systems and $65 billion toward broadband, among other expenditures on airports, drinking water systems and resiliency efforts to tackle climate change. It would be funded by COVID-19 relief that was approved in 2020 but unspent, repurposed money for enhanced unemployment benefits and increased enforcement by the IRS on wealthier Americans who avoid taxes. The financing also depends on leasing 5G telecommunications spectrum, the strategic petroleum reserve and the potential economic growth produced by the investments. The president intends to pass additional initiatives on education and families as well as tax hikes on the wealthy and corporations through the budget reconciliation process. This would allow the passage of Bidens priorities by a simple majority vote, avoiding the 60-vote hurdle in a Senate split evenly between Democrats and Republicans. After he denied plans for a campaign fundraiser with a white nationalist who supported the Capitol insurrection, Republican US Rep Paul Gosar told supporters in a fundraising email that the FBI might have had a hand in planning and carrying out the attack on 6 January. His baseless claims have been circulating among congressional Republicans who have sought to distance themselves from the false stolen election narrative that inspired the attack in the first place. The conspiracy theory was shared across right-wing media amplified by Fox News host Tucker Carlson and has prompted GOP lawmakers to demand federal law enforcement to disclose whether undercover agents or informants were involved in the attack. The Arizona congressman also said in the email that Ashli Babbitt who was fatally shot by a US Capitol Police officer while trying to climb into the House of Representatives was executed in cold blood by an unidentified killer. During a House committee hearing, he accused the officer of lying in wait to execute her. In another hearing, he called her a veteran wrapped in the American flag who was executed. He said that federal law enforcement which has arrested more than 500 people on a range of charges in connection with the assault on Congress is harassing peaceful patriots across the country after they violently stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of millions of Americans votes. Right-wing figures, including Donald Trump on Thursday, have asked who shot Ashli Babbit? as congressional Democrats press for a comprehensive investigation into the causes and aftermath of the attack. Despite their questions and allegations, Republicans have nearly universally opposed an investigation while continuing to downplay the events on 6 January. The FBI conspiracy theory suggests federal law enforcement, with support from Democratic officials, intentionally provoked the attack that injured dozens of law enforcement officers and threatened elected officials in order to entrap Trump supporters an echo of the deep state narrative that has propelled far-right QAnon conspiracists, among others. During a recent House committee hearing, Rep Gosar claimed that outright propaganda and lies are being used to unleash the national security state against law-abiding US citizens, especially Trump voters. The theory was promoted by Darren Beattie, a former Trump speechwriter who was dismissed from the White House in 2018 after it was discovered he appeared at a conference with white nationalists. Mr Trump later appointed him to serve on a commission tasked with preserving sites related to the Holocaust. Mr Carlson brought him on a recent programme and asked him whether he believes the FBI and unindicted co-conspirators listed in charging documents were responsible for organising the riots. Undercover agents and informants cannot be co-conspirators in establishing an agreement to break the law. Among reasons they are not indicted: prosecutors dont know who they are, there is not yet sufficient evidence to indict them, or they are cooperating with investigators. Despite the spurious legal argument, Republican US Rep Matt Gaetz asked FBI Director Christopher Wray a series of questions that mirrored claims that Mr Beattie wrote on his website Revolver News published two days earlier. In the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election, Mr Beattie appeared on Fox News to suggest that the increase in mail-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic would create a very specific type of coup called the color revolution that deliberately commits election fraud to overturn the 2020 election. The former president repeatedly undermined mail-in ballots in the months leading up to the election and declared the outcome corrupt and a hoax before a single ballot was cast. The narrative fuelled conspiracy theories and a Stop the Steal campaign endorsed by several Republican members of Congress including Rep Gosar that culminated in the attack on 6 January. The Independents requests for comment to his office and campaign were not returned. They flaunted their participation in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol on social media and then, apparently realizing they were in legal trouble, rushed to delete evidence of it, authorities say. Now their attempts to cover up their role in the deadly siege are likely to come back to haunt them in court. An Associated Press review of court records has found that at least 49 defendants are accused of trying to erase incriminating photos, videos and texts from phones or social media accounts documenting their conduct as a pro-Donald Trump mob stormed Congress and briefly interrupted the certification of Democrat Joe Bidens election victory. Experts say the efforts to scrub the social media accounts reveal a desperate willingness to manipulate evidence once these people realized they were in hot water. And, they say, it can serve as powerful proof of peoples consciousness of guilt and can make it harder to negotiate plea deals and seek leniency at sentencing. It makes them look tricky, makes them look sneaky, said Gabriel J. Chin, who teaches criminal law at the University of California, Davis. One such defendant is James Breheny, a member of the Oath Keepers extremist group, who bragged in texts to others about being inside the Capitol during the insurrection, authorities say. An associate instructed Breheny, in an encrypted message two days after the riot, to delete all pictures, messages and get a new phone, according to court documents. That same day, the FBI said, Breheny shut down his Facebook account, where he had photos that he taken during the riot and complained the government had grown tyrannical. The Peoples Duty is to replace that Government with one they agree with, Breheny wrote on Facebook on Jan. 6 in an exchange about the riot. Im all ears. Whats our options??? Breheneys lawyer, Harley Breite, said his client never obstructed the riot investigation or destroyed evidence, and that Breheny didnt know when he shut down account that his content would be considered evidence. Breite rejected the notion that Breheny might have been able to recognize, in the days immediately after Jan. 6 when the riot dominated news coverage, that the attack was a serious situation that could put Breheny's liberty at risk. You cant delete evidence if you dont know you are being charged with anything, Breite said. Other defendants who have not been accused of destroying evidence still engaged in exchanges with others about deleting content, according to court documents. The FBI said one woman who posted video and comments showing she was inside the Capitol during the attack later decided not to restore her new phone with her iCloud content a move that authorities suspect was aimed at preventing them from uncovering the material. In another case, authorities say screenshots from a North Carolina mans deleted Facebook posts contradicted his claim during an interview with an FBI agent that he didnt intend on disrupting the Electoral College certification. Erasing digital content isnt as easy as deleting content from phones, removing social media posts or shutting down accounts. Investigators have been able to retrieve the digital content by requesting it from social media companies, even after accounts are shut down. Posts made on Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms are recoverable for a certain period of time, and authorities routinely ask those companies to preserve the records until they get court orders to view the posts, said Adam Scott Wandt, a public policy professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who trains law enforcement on cyber-based investigations. Authorities also have other avenues for investigating whether someone has tried to delete evidence. Even when a person removes content from an account, authorities may still get access to it if it had been backed up on a cloud server. People who arent involved in a crime yet were sent incriminating videos or photos may end up forwarding them to investigators. Also, metadata embedded in digital content can show whether it has been modified or deleted. You cant do it, said Joel Hirschhorn, a criminal defense lawyer in Miami who is not involved in Capitol riot cases. The metadata will do them in every time. Only a handful of the more than 500 people across the U.S. who have been arrested in the riot have actually been charged with tampering for deleting incriminating material from their phones or Facebook accounts. They include several defendants in the sweeping case against members and associates of the Oath Keepers extremist group, who are accused of conspiring to block the certification of the vote. In one instance, a defendant instructed another to make sure that all signal comms about the op has been deleted and burned, authorities say. But even if it does not result in more charges, deleting evidence will make it difficult for those defendants to get much benefit at sentencing for accepting responsibility for their actions, said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School. Some lawyers might argue their clients removed the content to lessen the social impact that the attack had on their families and show they do not support what had occurred during the riot. But she said that argument has limits. The words self-serving will come to mind, Levenson said. Thats what the prosecutors will argue you removed it because all of a sudden, you have to face the consequences of your actions. Matthew Mark Wood, who acknowledged deleting content from his phone and Facebook account that showed presence in the Capitol during the riot, told an FBI agent that he did not intend on disrupting the Electoral College certification. But investigators say screenshots of two of his deleted Facebook posts tell a different story. In the posts, Wood reveled in rioters sending those politicians running and declared that he had stood up against a tyrannical government in the face of a stolen election, the FBI said in court records. When diplomacy doesnt work and your message has gone undelivered, it shouldnt surprise you when we revolt, Wood wrote. His lawyer did not return a call seeking comment. Even though she is not accused of deleting content that showed she was inside the Capitol during the riot, one defendant told her father that she was not going to restore her new phone with her iCloud backup about three weeks after the riot, the FBI said. Stay off the clouds!" the father warned his daughter, according to authorities. "They are how they are screwing with us. A slightly different England fan army than usual descended on Rome on Saturday for the Euro 2020 quarter-final against Ukraine. English expatriates living in Italy and Europe stepped in to support the Three Lions when it became clear that English residents were not welcome in Rome due to fears over coronavirus pandemic and the more aggressive Delta variant. Brits came from as far afield as New York and Dubai for the big game and the slightly more well-heeled fans soaked up the culture, sightseeing and touring Romes historic streets on e-scooters before the match at the Stadio Olimpico. Ollie Burke from County Durham, who lives in the Netherlands, said he had been to visit the Spanish steps and Trevi fountain before coming to the Stadium. Its my first time seeing England play. The atmosphere has been great, considering there are not many fans able to come. Supporters said they fans had bonded more than usual. Andrew Hacking from Shrewsbury, who lives in France, came alone but said: Ive met so many people from all different places, all living abroad. Its nice to represent England but it feels like a slightly different kind of England fan thats here. We already live in Europe so maybe we have more respect. Kirwenn Nunes, originally from London but who currently lives in Lisbon, said: We are a slightly less barmy army, just as passionate, but slightly less ridiculous. It would be nice if we left and everyone said the English were lovely. My mum is Irish and people always say Irish fans are incredible. If English people behave that way today then maybe we could heal that reputation a bit. The worst we can do is sing. Fans in Rome prior to watching England v Ukraine during the UEFA Euro 2020 Quarter Finals (PA) Erica Rolfe, who lives in Rome and works at the European Space Agency, said it was a unique opportunity to get tickets as its normally impossible. Its the one benefit of Covid. Another Anglo living in Italy, Angela Mcdonald, said it was a last minute decision to attend the quarter-final. We heard that they would let fans in so we felt it was our duty to come and support, so here we are. Fans are being subjected to rigorous security checks to make sure they have not been in England in the past two weeks, by Italian police. Nunes said: I havent told any of my friends Im coming. I think they could still pull something and say youre English you cant come in. Once Im in my seat Ill tell them. Just 44 hours after the Balearic islands were added to the UKs quarantine-free list, unvaccinated British visitors will have to present evidence of a negative test before travel to Spain. Previously there were no requirements beyond completing a health control form. The government in Madrid says the prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, personally announced the rule change in order to protect both residents and visitors, given the rising infection rates in the United Kingdom. New coronavirus cases in the UK are running at about twice the rate of Spain. From midnight 2 July, vaccinated travellers who wish to avoid testing must present a vaccination certificate issued by the competent authorities in the UK (either electronically or in print) at least 14 days from the last vaccination dose. Presently only the Balearic islands - comprising Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca - are on the UKs green list. Mainland Spain and the Canaries are on the amber list, which mandates 10 days of self-isolation. Spains U-turn comes amid other territories tightening restrictions on British arrivals. The UK joined Maltas red list at the same time as the island was added to the green register, requiring all arrivals 12 and over to be fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, Hong Kong has blocked all arrivals if theyve spent longer than two hours on UK soil. remaining of Thank you for Reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech has claimed that India's first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine, COVAXIN has demonstrated 77.8 per cent effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2. The data from the phase-3 clinical trial of COVAXIN that was released on Saturday also showed that Covaxin has an efficacy of 65.2 per cent against the B.1.617.2 Delta variant. BCCL It also noted that the vaccine provides 93.4% effective against severe symptomatic COVID-19. Data speaks "Efficacy analysis demonstrates Covaxin to be 77.8 per cent effective against symptomatic COVID-19, through evaluation of 130 confirmed cases, with 24 observed in the vaccine group versus 106 in the placebo group. Efficacy analysis demonstrates Covaxin to be 93.4 per cent effective against severe symptomatic COVID-19," the company said. PTI As per the company, safety analysis demonstrates adverse events reported were similar to placebo, with 12 per cent of subjects experiencing commonly known side effects and less than 0.5 per cent of subjects feeling serious adverse events. "Efficacy data demonstrates 63.6 per cent protection against asymptomatic COVID-19. Efficacy data demonstrates 65.2 per cent protection against the SARS-CoV-2, B.1.617.2 Delta variant", Bharat Biotech said. Side Effects Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer claimed Covaxin was well tolerated and the Data Safety Monitoring Board has not reported any safety concerns related to the vaccine, adding, "The overall rate of adverse events observed in Covaxin was lower than that seen in other COVID-19 vaccines. Bharat Biotech has so far not sought indemnity for Covaxin from the governments." Reuters "The successful safety and efficacy readouts of Covaxin as a result of conducting the largest ever COVID vaccines trials in India establishes the ability of India and developing world countries to focus towards innovation and novel product development. We are proud to state that innovation from India will now be available to protect global populations," said Dr Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Biotech. Will improve COVAXIN Bharat Biotech also added that its commitment to continuous improvement of Covaxin is well underway with additional clinical trials to establish safety and efficacy in children between 2-18 years of age. "A clinical trial to determine the safety and immunogenicity of a booster dose is also in process. Several research activities are being carried out to study variants of concern and to assess their suitability for follow up booster doses", the company said. BCCL It claims Covaxin has been evaluated through neutralising antibody responses against several variants of concern, namely B.1.617.2 (Delta), B.1.617.1 (Kappa), B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P2- B.1.1.28 (Gamma). The vaccine was co-developed by ICMR and Bharat Biotech. Director General of ICMR, Balram Bhargava said, "I am delighted to note that Covaxin developed by ICMR and BBIL under an effective public private partnership, has demonstrated an overall efficacy of 77.8 per cent in India's largest COVID phase 3 clinical trial thus far. Our scientists at ICMR and BBIL have worked tirelessly to deliver a truly effective vaccine of highest international standards." He further said Covaxin will not only benefit the Indian citizens but would also immensely contribute to protect the global community against the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus. The number of daily COVID-19 cases has remained below 50,000 mark throughout the week. In the past 24 hours, the country added 44,176 new cases and also saw 737 deaths. Bharat Biotech Releases Phase 3 Trial Results Of Covaxin, Claims Efficacy Of 78.8 % Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech on Saturday concluded a final analysis for its vaccine Covaxin efficacy from phase-3 clinical trial claiming it to be 77.8 per cent effective against COVID-19.It also added that Covaxin gives 65.2 per cent protection against the SARS-CoV-2, B.1.617.2 Delta variant. PTI "Efficacy analysis demonstrates Covaxin to be 77.8 per cent effective against symptomatic COVID-19, through evaluation of 130 confirmed cases, with 24 observed in the vaccine group versus 106 in the placebo group. Efficacy analysis demonstrates Covaxin to be 93.4 per cent effective against severe symptomatic COVID-19," the company said. Kerala Remained The Only State Reporting More Than 10,000 Daily Cases Kerala recorded 12,095 fresh COVID-19 cases on Friday, pushing the infection count to 29,49,128, while the toll rose to 13,505 with 146 more deaths. BCCL As many as 10,243 people have been cured of the infection, taking the total recoveries to 28,31,394 and the number of activecases has touched1,03,764, a state government release said. Second Wave Of COVID-19 Not Over Yet, Cannot Lower Guard, Says Government The Union government on Friday stressed on vaccination and following COVID-19 protocols as it noted that the second wave of the pandemic is not over yet and people should not lower their guard. BCCL Though daily new CPVOD-19 cases continue to show a declining trend, 71 districts reported a case positivity rate of more than 10 per cent from June 23 to 29, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said at a press conference. DDMA Allows Reopening Of Laxmi Nagar Market, 2 Days After Shutting It The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Friday allowed the Laxmi Nagar market to reopen, two days after being ordered to be closed till July 5 for violating Covid protocol. AFP The DDMA has also directed officials to place a mobile testing van in the area, organise vaccination drives for shopkeepers, vendors and keep a strict vigil in the market. Goa Govt Notifies Scheme To Provide Aid To Kin Of COVID-19 Victims The Goa government has notified a scheme, under which one-time financial assistance will be provided to the family members of those who lost their lives due to COVID-19. BCCL State Director of Social Welfare Umeshchandra Joshi on Friday notified the scheme, which had been announced by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant last month. Reuters In over one-and-a-half years since the COVID-19 pandemic was reported in India, more than 4 lakh people have lost their lives to the infection. With this, India has become only the third country after the US and Brazil to record more than 4 lakh COVID-19 deaths. With 6 lakh deaths, the US is at the top of this list and is followed by Brazil (5.2 lakh), India (4.0 lakh), Mexico (2.3 lakh) and Peru with 1.9 lakh deaths. The others with five-figure death tolls are Russia, the UK, Italy, France and Colombia. Read more Below are the top stories making headlines across the country today. Six Indian States Continue To Bear The Brunt Of Deadly Second COVID Wave AFP The Centre rushed Covid-19 control teams to six states facing a high turnout of cases. The teams were sent for urgent control and containment measures of the coronavirus cases in these states, an official release stated. The six states are -- Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Manipur. The two-member high-level team sent to these states consist of a clinician and a public health expert. Read more Now, Uttarakhand Government Cancels Kanwar Yatra Owing To COVID-19 BCCL In view of the Covid-19 situation in the country, the Uttarakhand government has decided to cancel the annual Kanwar Yatra yet again, said state government spokesperson Subodh Uniyal. This is the second year in a row that the pilgrimage will stay cancelled. Uttarakhand government has cancelled Kanwar Yatra, held in the month of 'sawan' from Haridwar, as a precautionary measure amid COVID-19 pandemic, State government spokesperson Subodh Uniyal said. Read more Rajasthan Girl Sexually Abused, Blackmailed By Three Men Since 2019, Police Only Acted Now PTI In a shocking incident, a 20-year-old girl from Alwar, Rajasthan was sexually abused and threatened by a group of men. According to reports, the girl was first sexually abused in April 2019, but when she approached the Malakheda police they did not even register an FIR. She had gone to appear in an exam, when, the main accused, identified as Vikas Chaudhary who was known to her. Read more IIT Madras Assistant Professor Resigns, Alleges He Was Facing Caste-based Discrimination Wiki An Assistant Professor at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, has resigned from his post citing caste discrimination. The faculty member, Vipin Puthiyedathveetil, posted a letter on social media saying that he had faced caste discrimination even in his department of Humanities and that OBC's and SC/ST teachers are facing huge discrimination at the premier institute. Read more People who experienced Taj Hotels hospitality have always recommended it as a must-visit, at least once. It is, after all, one of the worlds most lavish hotel chains offered by the Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), South Asia's largest hospitality company. Recently, Taj Hotels quality and hospitality have been acknowledged at the international level as Taj has been rated the Strongest Hotel Brand in the World by Brand Finance. The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai | Stock But most of us didnt know the real reason behind the foundation of India's iconic hotel. Heres the story of a great Indian hotel and the inspiration behind them. A Sweet Revenge Story Of Jamsetji Tata Jamsetji Tata | Tata It is said that Jamshedji Tata was inspired to build this hotel after he was refused entry at one of the grandest hotels of British time Watsons Hotel, which was restricted to whites only. Jamsetji Tata took this as an insult to whole Indians and then decided that he would build a hotel where not only Indians but foreigners could also stay without any restrictions, and that's how India's first super-luxury hotel came into being. Now Taj is a centre of attraction all over the world. Foundation of iconic Taj Hotel Twitter Diamond by the sea the Taj Mahal Palace is an architectural jewel in Mumbai. The foundation of the Taj was laid in 1898 by Jamsetji Tata, the founder of the Tata Group. The hotel opened its gates to the guests for the first time on December 16, 1902, even before the foundation for the Gateway of India was laid on March 31, 1911. Taj Mahal Palace was the first building in Bombay to be lit by electricity. The hotel is made up of two different buildings: the Taj Mahal Palace and the Tower, which are historically and architecturally distinct from each other, the Taj Mahal Palace was built at the start of the twentieth century, while the Tower was opened in 1973. History of Taj Mahal Hotel The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai | Stock The hotel has a long and distinguished history, having received many notable guests, from presidents to captains of industry and stars of show business. Ratanbai Petit, the second wife of the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, lived in the hotel during her last days in 1929; her sister-in-law, Sylla Tata, had born into the Tata family, builders and owners of the hotel. During World War I, the hotel was converted into a military hospital with 600 beds. It has been considered one of the finest hotels in the East since the time of the British Raj. The hotel was one of the main sites targeted in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Recognised As A World's strongest hotel brand Despite many ups and downs after the 2008 Mumbai attack, the Taj luxury hotel chain scored very well on Brand Finance's 'Global Brand Equity Monitor' for consideration, familiarity, recommendation, and reputation especially across its home market of India. A pastor in Florida found himself inviting an alligator into his church after it was seen wandering close to the building. The hilarious encounter was captured on camera, showing Daniel Gregory, the pastor at Victory Church in Lehigh Acres, walking up to a four-foot alligator after it crawled out of a storm drain next to the place of worship, according to NBC News. No one will ever be able to take me seriously again, Gregory wrote in a Facebook post. Speaking to NBC2 News, Gregory said he was informed about the 4-feet alligators arrival on Tuesday afternoon by one of the churchs daycare workers. Hes coming to church, get ready, Gregory said in a recorded video. And yes, he took the opportunity to take a selfie with the alligator and even offered his business card in case the animal decided to attend services. "He came to our church. I don't know what his spiritual condition is. I need to invite this gator to church," Gregory says in the video. He then said: "We have services at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday mornings," as he took out a business card and offered it to the alligator, before asking the animal: "Want to check us out?" Obviously, authorities discourage anyone from doing what the pastor did. Adam Brown of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, told the outlet that the agency does not recommend that people get as close to alligators as Gregory did. Optical illusions are made to make you question reality. Your eyes see one thing and your brain deciphers it as another, and that makes it very difficult to decode some optical illusions. They leave us feeling confused and wanting to understand how the trick works. This happens mostly because when we look at an image, our brain wants to process it in the simplest way possible. However, the result can be pretty confusing sometimes. Here are some examples of such an optical illusion that got your head messed up or forced you to think Sab Golmaal Hai' 1. Your brain won't believe there are four people's hand in this pic. Twitter 5. This optical illusion lets you see colour never seen before. Screengrab/YouTube All you have to do is stare at a white dot in the centre of a red circle on a blue background for about 30 seconds. Then, if you shut your eyes tightly, you should see a glowing orb in the colour of true cyan. A similar video available on YouTube that indicates exactly to do. 6. How many coca-cola cans are actually being used? This optical illusion is called 'The Real Thing'. It was created by a British man named Matt Pritchard by using a Coca-Cola can and a mirror that shows the reflection of the same. Watch the video here. 7. Vehicles 'Disappearing' from the bridge has left people puzzled! A video shared on social media shows cars on a bridge seemingly disappearing as they drive towards a river. Take a look at the video: Eventually, a Twitter user explained that the bridge was not actually a bridge but a regular road. The river was just a roof of a parking lot that the cars were driving into. 8. Girl appears to make the palm of one hand pass through the other! In this video a girl can be seen doing something with the palms of her hands, and it might just make you question your eyes for a moment. She appears to be able to pass the palm of one of her hands THROUGH the other. heres something trippy for your night lol pic.twitter.com/lkcX25mgri LG Tori Pareno (@ToriPareno) November 21, 2019 8. Do you see a running man or a dog? Twitter When you first looked at the photo, you immediately saw a man wearing a backpack making his way through the snow. However, after a long second glance, a black dog frolicking in the snow. 9. If you focus on this image for about 30 seconds, it'll disappear completely. @primaryeyecare1/Twitter 10. Women sitting on a park bench...or NOT? Imgur Optical illusion snap shows three women sitting on a park bench ... On close inspection, there appears to be no seat on the bench. When you see the illusion, you'll be shocked you missed it at first. 11. Although you may see a bunch of swirling circles, this image is actually completely still. Cmglee/Wikimedia Commons 12.Is this cat going up or down the stairs? 9GAG 13. This photo of two people hugging confused the internet last year. Pinterest 14. Is this shoe pink and white or teal and grey? dolansmalik/Twitter 15. There are a total of 12 black dots in this image, but you can't see them all at once. Ninio, J./Stevens, K. A./Perception 16. The horizontal grey lines in this image look slanted, but they're actually completely parallel. Fibonacci/Wikimedia Commons 17. There's a phone hidden somewhere in this picture. Jeya May Cruz Estigoy/Facebook 18. Skull or lady Illusion? Pinterest 19. What did you spot first, men or women? Pinterest 20. This is not a GIF, the image is actually completely still. googleusercontent 21. Duck or rabbit? laliste 20. What color are the circles in this photo? novickprof/Twitter 21. An old man or many faces? thewonderlist Now don't blame us if your mind is messed up after seeing these mind-boggling optical illusions that have stumped the internet. In a shocking incident, a passenger who was stuck on a cancelled flight was arrested after opening the exit door of a plane while it was on the tarmac, then climbing out of the plane. The incident took place on American Airlines flight, which was travelling from Charlotte, North Carolina, US to Thurgood Marshall Baltimore-Washington International Airport in Maryland, but was cancelled due to severe weather conditions, Fox News reported. Representational Image/Reuters The flight was cancelled after 172 passengers and six crew members had already boarded the plane. One of the passengers on the flight, Brandon Goldner, took to Twitter to share the details of the incident. According to Goldner, the flight had been delayed by two hours, then eventually cancelled. The plane then sat on the tarmac for another 45 minutes while waiting for a gate agent. So a passenger had enough and crawled over us in the exit row and let himself out. They got him by the jet bridge @wcnc https://t.co/tddHxHvINN pic.twitter.com/NkxCEHS8qc Brandon Goldner (@BrandonWCNC) July 2, 2021 However, one passenger seemed to be frustrated and tired of waiting, then climbed over other passengers to get to the emergency exit. Once off the flight, Goldner saw as the passenger was led out of the airport in handcuffs. The customer has also been placed on American Airlines internal refuse list pending further investigation. As Im rushing to grab a rental car, the passenger is bring led out of the airport in handcuffs. pic.twitter.com/YoKwEB9zXX Brandon Goldner (@BrandonWCNC) July 2, 2021 American Airlines confirmed that the passenger was "immediately detained" by airline team members and was placed into custody by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police. The passenger was also placed on Americans internal refuse list pending further investigation. The rest of the passengers deplaned after waiting roughly 40 minutes on board. Each customer was rebooked on alternate flights, the airline confirmed. President Joe Biden listens as Vice President Kamala Harris speaks before Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law in the East Room of the White House on June 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. Indian American commentator Neera Kuckreja Sohoni writes: Even as we acknowledge Juneteenth and respectfully honor the memory of those in Galveston who were callously oppressed for additional two years after slavery was formally ended, we need not do so by running down the cherished memory of July 4th and its singularity as a marker of this nations independence. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) The dialogues are a highpoint and Kirti Kulhari, who never accepts a vacuous role, plays Sasha to perfection, a fearlessly frank girl who craves to do something for the helpless, hapless Arshi, played by Medha Shankar (publicity photo) Rockwells America: 'Life as I would like it to be' Real-time social media posts from local businesses and organizations across Northern Virginia, powered by Friends2Follow. To add your business to the stream, email cfields@insidenova.com or click on the green button below. It has been said that Garret FitzGerald was the best thing and the worst thing to ever happen to Fine Gael. The best in that he revolutionised the second party in Irish politics from a part-time ramshackle organisation to one that achieved near electoral parity with Fianna Fail. By doing so he offered a genuine alternative to the party which had held the levers of power almost uninterrupted for the previous 50 years. It was said he was the worst in that he sought to portray Fine Gael, a deeply conservative party, as a bastion of liberalism and progressiveness. By the time he stepped down as party leader in 1987, he left Fine Gael with a major identity crisis and badly divided, a split that would last for almost 20 years. His tenure at the time was roundly regarded as a failure, given his inability between 1982 and 1987 to get to grips with Irelands economic quagmire and, despite his economic expertise and background, it was the single greatest failing of his leadership. However, with the benefit of time, in the 10 years since his death in June 2011, the true extent of FitzGeralds successes have come to light. Following decades of deep conservatism at the top echelons of Irish life, FitzGerald embarked on a bold odyssey to modernise and liberalise not only his own party but the country at large. Mix of traditions The son of Desmond FitzGerald, the first foreign minister of the Irish Free State, and Mabel McConnell, a northern Presbyterian born in Belfast, Garretts own vision for Ireland was deeply influenced by this mix of traditions. He said many times before his death that his parents traditions gave him a strong sense of seeking a more inclusive Ireland, one espoused by Wolfe Tone. This would shape not only his social agenda but his vision for how to solve the conflict in Northern Ireland. Before joining Fine Gael, FitzGerald had voted for Sean Lemass, who had impressed him with his modernisation agenda. Given his pedigree, Lemass tried to persuade FitzGerald into Fianna Fail in light of his work at Aer Lingus, but the economics lecturer and journalist was put off by the partys narrow nationalist ideology. Having also flirted with the idea of joining Labour, he ultimately joined Fine Gael, with some saying it was out of loyalty to his father. A stint in the Seanad gave way to his entry into the Dail and he was quickly on the frontbench of his party. Leadership of Fine Gael On taking the leadership of Fine Gael, after the disastrous 1977 election which marked the departure of Liam Cosgrove, FitzGerald set about turning his party into a professional operation, to some internal disquiet. His desire to move the party to the left was not also immediately obvious. He is instinctively conservative in a philosophical sense, although his public image is one of radicalism, as he has taken a liberal stance on the Church-State question. His reflexive support for the institutions of state and for our form of Parliamentary democracy is also heavily influenced by his upbringing, wrote Vincent Browne in Magill in 1978. In spite of his political caution, he is remarkably open-minded for a politician and his articulateness and generous spirit are almost irresistible political qualities. These, added to his energy and determination, suggest that despite the formidable obstacles he can return Fine Gael to power, certainly within his own political lifetime, Browne concluded. By 1981, FitzGerald had proven he was an electoral asset and was Taoiseach, a post he would hold for the next six years, save for a nine-month gap in 1982. The image of the bumbling academic belied a slick understanding of the new medium of television and how important it would be. Rivalry with Charles Haughey Fianna Fail leader Charles Haughey, taoiseach Garrett FitzGerald and SDLP leader John Hume at a meeting of the New Ireland Forum in 1984. Picture: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie He was also aided by the contrast with his main political rival for the office of Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, who FitzGerald famously said had a flawed pedigree on the day the Fianna Fail leader was elected Taoiseach for the first time. Their rivalry would be the dominant political dynamic in Irish politics for almost a decade. But a decade after his death, it is FitzGeralds so-called Constitutional Crusade (a phrase he himself disagreed with) in which he sought to weaken the clutch of the Catholic Church on the institutions of State and to liberalise many aspects of Irish life which has become his enduring legacy. When you think of all of the social change that came about since his death, particularly marriage equality and the repealing of Irelands abortion laws, it is hard to not credit FitzGeralds bravery in those events coming about. As an affirmed feminist and liberal at the head of a Christian democratic and devoutly pro-life party, FitzGerald was able to carry the day over his colleagues on issues many of them would have preferred to have left alone. Liberalisation of contraception laws Perhaps his single greatest victory was the liberalisation of the countrys contraception laws. On February 20, 1985, FitzGeralds Fine Gael-Labour coalition defeated the opposition by 83 votes to 80 in the Dail on a substantive motion. The new legislation made non-medical contraceptives (condoms and spermicides) available without prescriptions to people over 18 at pharmacies. It also allowed for the distribution of these contraceptives at doctors offices, hospitals and family planning clinics. Though it was still illegal to advertise contraceptives and use of the birth control pill remained restricted, the vote marked a major turning point in Irish history the first-ever defeat of the Catholic Church in a head-to-head battle with the government on social legislation. Despite honouring a commitment to hold a referendum on the controversial and deeply divisive 8th Amendment in 1983, which reinforced the near-total ban on abortion, he opposed the measure. Divorce referendum Against much opposition from his own party and many others, he pressed ahead with a referendum seeking to introduce divorce in 1986. Having worked hard to ensure the Catholic Church did not oppose the measure, FitzGerald was left blindsided when the hierarchy duly came out and opposed it. A failure to neutralise an argument about property rights, put forward by William Binchy, torpedoed the proposals chances. But FitzGerald, supported by his Labour coalition colleagues, showed real leadership and determination to try and drag Ireland out of the dark ages and divorce did eventually become law following a second and knife-edge referendum nine years later. Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald and British prime minister Margaret Thatcher signing the Anglo-Irish Agreement at Hillsborough Castle, Co Down, in November 1985. Picture: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie After a controversial beginning when he refused to meet the families of the H-blocks hunger strikers, FitzGeralds major achievement in office was undoubtedly the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985, which was the forerunner of the Downing Street Declaration of 1993 and subsequent ceasefires in the North. Failure on the economy It is impossible to ignore his great failure on the economy while as Taoiseach between 1982 and 1987. Indeed, current Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar compared then taoiseach Brian Cowen to FitzGerald in the Dail 11 years ago. During a Dail debate, Varadkar told Cowen he was no Sean Lemass, no Jack Lynch but was like Dr FitzGerald, who he contended had tripled the national debt and had effectively destroyed the country. He also suggested to Cowen that he should enjoy writing boring articles in the Irish Times in a few years time, a reference to FitzGeralds weekly column in the newspaper at the time. But aside from that failure, there is no doubting the impact FitzGerald had on his party, on this country and the fullness of time has shown the extent of that positive impact, and that is worth remembering. I am a parent of a child with a rare disorder and complex needs. I am also a parent representative on the local implementation group for progressing disability services in Waterford. It is a conceptual and practical reorganisation of how children from 0-18 will access disability services and supports in future. I attended my first local implementation group meeting this week. The original timeframe for the reconfiguration of services to the new Childrens Disability Network Teams was July 5. We were informed at this meeting that there is still no national agreement between the HSE and partner agencies on documentation and data sharing. Essentially this means that the transfer files for each child cannot be provided to the new disability teams and the teams will remain non-operational. There is no timeframe for this agreement to be signed. This is catastrophic for children all over the country that have already experienced significant service delays as a result of the pandemic and the cyberattack. It is unconscionable that a legal framework for data sharing between the HSE and agencies is, at this late stage, still not in place. It seems likely that the progressing disability services core concept of family centred services will in reality place additional responsibilities upon already overburdened families and reduce direct interaction with professional therapists, yet even this would be better than the purgatorial uncertainty of nothing at all. Mike Masterson Portlaw Waterford Turkish border must remain open to Syria On July 10, the fate of over 3m people in Syria will be determined when the UN Security Council decides if the only remaining border crossing between Turkey and north-west Syria can stay open. The Bab al Hawa crossing allows humanitarian aid to be delivered to a region where 81% of the population, half of whom are children, are in need of immediate humanitarian support. Ireland is pressing hard to keep the border open and, along with Norway, is drafting the UN resolution to maintain the border crossing. We fully support Irelands leadership in the negotiations. Ten years since the war began, the need for humanitarian assistance has never been greater. The United Nations estimates that 22m civilians are now caught up in this horrific conflict. 80% of the population now lives below the poverty line, and 9.3m people are food insecure. Covid-19 continues to spread at an alarming rate while the healthcare infrastructure, decimated by years of conflict, remains woefully inadequate to respond. Access is critical to ensure that all humanitarian agencies can continue to provide life-saving assistance. Concerns work alone, with the support of Irish Aid, supports 1m people in Syria with food assistance, water and sanitation, shelter, education, and protection. In the run-up to the vote, Concern and more than 40 other NGOs operating in Syria have been calling on all members of the Security Council to approve the reauthorisation of the crossing for at least 12 months, and to reopen the Al Yarubiyah and Bab al Salam crossings. The stakes could not be higher. If the border crossings are closed, and there is a genuine fear that this might happen, the work of the entire humanitarian community in Syria could be in jeopardy, and the consequences will be disastrous for families whose lives have already been devastated by years of war. This cannot happen. Dominic MacSorley CEO, Concern Worldwide Take focus off moral ethos of hospital Further to Dr Don OLearys letter of July 1, I return to the topic of ethical ethos in the new National Maternity Hospital. The medical consultants who will provide the medical services in the new National Maternity Hospital issued a statement on July 28, specifically designed to answer doubts expressed publicly about the ethical ethos in the new hospital, and I quote: The misinformation that services at the new maternity hospital will be curtailed by any religious ethos is particularly troubling given its inaccuracy. The statement is crystal clear that all obstetric, neonatal, and gynaecological care within Irish law will be provided in the new hospital, that the consultants could not countenance any restrictions on medical practice based on religion and that a cast-iron guarantee in this regard is included in the proposed operating licence to be granted by the Department of Health for the new hospital. All relevant parties to this affair have stated their positions regarding ethos and all are on the same page. How could the outcome be more certain? The probability that a blind three-legged horse will win The Grand National is greater than the probability that a Catholic ethical ethos will operate in the National Maternity hospital. However, ongoing picking at this non-problem of ethical ethos, by Dr OLeary and others, takes the focus off real problems associated with the project such as the ballooning public cost of building this new hospital. Professor William Reville Waterfall, Co Cork Dismal record on trafficking fishermen The US State Departments annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report which profiles the performance of every nation in the combatting of human trafficking and force labour, has been published and Ireland and its fishing industry have been shamed yet again in the report. Findings tally with ITFs direct experience of abuses of Non-EEA migrants in the sector. The lack of tangible results in the many referrals from the ITF to the gardai of non-EEA fishers who reported abuses on Irish flagged vessels that fulfilled the internationally recognised DELPHI criteria for human trafficking is again a contributory factor in maintaining Irelands position alongside Romania as the only Tier 2 watchlist countries in Europe. We endorse the call in the report for the government to enforce the amended rules for the working scheme for sea fishers to reduce their risk of labour trafficking as well as the observation that Since the government amended its atypical working scheme for sea fishers in 2019, it has identified zero trafficking victims in the fishing industry, compared to 23 victims in 2018. Some experts also continued to raise serious concerns and asserted that foreign national sea fishers outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) were at even greater risk following the amendment of the scheme because the government failed to enforce the amended rules of the scheme, no longer identified victims, and had begun revoking the status and associated protections against previously identified trafficking victims within this sector. And furthermore: [the] labour relations committee was unavailable to undocumented workers, who could only pursue civil suits if they could prove they took all reasonable steps to rectify their irregular working status. In the course of the last five months since the ITF has been in a position to step up again its campaign in fisheries, we have thus far encountered directly over 20 undocumented fishers from Egypt and Ghana who to one degree or another report the usual abuses and deceptions. It is likewise with those we interview actually documented in the Atypical Scheme who suffer from overwork and underpayment that goes either undetected by the WRC and MSO or when it is detected has never resulted in dissuasive penalties for vessel owners. Further case studies in Irelands dismal record in preventing abuses in the fishing industry will be brought to the attention of the media and the Oireachtas in the coming weeks by the ITF. Michael OBrien Fisheries campaign lead in Ireland for the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) Landlords punished for States inaction The State has, for more than 15 years, exasperated the housing crisis by introducing populist anti property owner legislation. This has had a devastating impact reducing supply. 22,000 tenancies have been lost since rent pressure zones were introduced in 2016. Government policy cannot and should not be developed as a reaction to the hysterical posturing of left-wing politicians and tenant advocacy groups on social media and television. Legislation needs to be considered, measured, accountable, and effective. Additional supply is what is required and retaining existing supply is essential. Extending the rules to 2024 substantially disadvantage landlords trapped with unsustainable rents, negatively affected financially by Covid and those relying on income in retirement. Rental policy should be fair and equitable to all investors. Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (HICP) is not an acceptable or appropriate indices and does not reflect the cost of the provision of Irish accommodation. The provision of accommodation must be sustainable. HICP does not include mortgage interest, building materials, or insurance. Using the index will be difficult, with rates varying from month to month, depending on when a review is carried out. Rent controls have been proven in other jurisdictions to disincentivise investment and will further hasten the exit of landlords from the market and simultaneously deter new ones from entering. Government policy is to absolve themselves of responsibility to provide social housing, hoping others will do it for them and then penalise them when they do. Private Investors supply over 90% of property, throughout the country. Investors see this and react by investing elsewhere except those such as private investment funds heavily incentivised by the Government and supported with taxpayer funding. Stephen Faughnan Chair Irish Property Owners Association, Dublin 15. Putting welfare of all above crowd-pleasing The easiest thing for any politician to do is to take the easy and popular option. Over the past 25 years our country has almost been ruined by easy options and popular policies. Light-touch regulation was the angel on the bonnet of the Rolls Royce of easy politics. That is the creature of pressure from lobbyists and it has caused a havoc from banking to stockbrokers to construction and concrete blocks. Over the past week the Government has taken some unpopular decisions. Witness the hue and cry. Just like last autumn. Remember what happened after Christmas. I for one prefer a Government that is willing to put the welfare of its people before short-term crowd-pleasing easy political advantage. Michael Deasy Carrigart, Co Donegal The number of people missing in the Florida condominium collapse has been revised down, while a different nearby tower was evacuated after engineers found unsafe conditions in the building. The nearby city of North Miami Beach announced that an audit prompted by the deadly collapse of Champlain Towers found the 156-unit Crestview Towers building structurally and electrically unsafe. City manager Arthur H Sorey III said in a news release: In an abundance of caution, the City ordered the building closed immediately and the residents evacuated for their protection, while a full structural assessment is conducted and next steps are determined. The evacuation comes as municipal officials in South Florida and statewide are scrutinising older high-rises in the wake of the collapse to ensure that serious structural problems are not being ignored. Our top priority is search and rescue. We will take no action that will jeopardise our search-and-rescue efforts Our top priority is search and rescue. We will take no action that will jeopardise our search-and-rescue efforts Miami-Dade mayor Daniella Levine Cava Crestview Towers residents could be seen on Friday evening hauling suitcases and packing items into cars outside the building, which was constructed in 1972. City officials were trying to help residents find places to go. Meanwhile, authorities in Surfside said four more bodies had emerged from the rubble, including the seven-year-old daughter of a Miami firefighter, bringing the confirmed death toll to 22. But there was also relief. Closer inspection of missing persons list reduced the number from 145 to 126 after duplicate names were eliminated and some residents reported missing turned up safe, officials said. So this is very, very good news, Miami-Dade mayor Daniella Levine Cava said, adding the numbers were expected to keep changing because detectives are continually reviewing the list and verifying reports. In some cases, when detectives were able to contact people who had been reported as potentially missing, they found that not only were they safe, but other members of their families were safe too. That pushed the list of people who have been accounted for up to 188 and cut the number of missing, she said. Detectives have worked around the clock to contact relatives and others. In some cases, English and Hebrew names have been offered for the same missing relative, officials have said. Ms Levine Cava said the discovery of the seven-year-old girls remains was especially hard on rescuers. She said: It was truly different and more difficult for our first responders. These men and woman are paying an enormous human toll each and every day, and I ask that all of you please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. The mayor also said she signed an emergency order to demolish the remaining part of the building once engineers have signed off on it. The number of people still missing has been revised down to 126 (Mark Humphrey/AP) According to officials, it will likely be weeks before the demolition is scheduled. Ms Levine Cava said: Our top priority is search and rescue. We will take no action that will jeopardise our search-and-rescue efforts. The building poses a threat to public health and safety. No one has been rescued since the first hours after the June 24 collapse. During a meeting on Friday with relatives of the missing, Miami-Dade assistant fire chief Raide Jadallah said that only one voice has been heard during the entire search. A womans voice was detected until about 10am or 11am on the morning of the collapse, which happened around 1:30am. Rescuers were unable to reach her, and he said no other voices or human sounds have been heard since. Mr Jadallah also prepared the families for a possible suspension of the search if Hurricane Elsa now in the eastern Caribbean brings strong winds to South Florida that would make the work too dangerous. Search efforts have been stopped briefly several times because of inclement weather. Some rescue workers who are now staying in tents will be moved to cruise ships, which can stay safe during a tropical storm, Mr Jadallah said. Elsa moving quickly west-northwestward across the eastern Caribbean Sea. Here are the 11 pm EDT Key Messages for Hurricane #Elsa. For more information, visit https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB pic.twitter.com/bt51vumATK National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) July 3, 2021 About 600 first responders will stay on the Royal Caribbean ship Explorer of the Seas, the cruise line said. The ship, which can accommodate more than 3,000 passengers, began housing rescue teams on Thursday and likely will continue for the next month. Fridays announcements came the day after concerns about the structures instability prompted a 15-hour halt to the search for survivors. Crews noticed widening cracks and up to a foot of movement in a large column. The cause of the collapse is under investigation. A 2018 engineering report found that the buildings ground-floor pool deck was resting on a concrete slab that had major structural damage and needed extensive repairs. The report also found abundant cracking of concrete columns, beams and walls in the parking garage. Just two months before the building came down, the president of its board wrote a letter to residents saying that structural problems identified in the 2018 inspection had gotten significantly worse and that major repairs would cost at least 15.5 million dollars (11.16 million). With bids for the work still pending, the building suddenly collapsed last Thursday. Burma Married Couple Belonging to Myanmars NLD Slain in Their Home Daw Su Su Hlaing (left) and U Moe Hein A married couple who were members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) were shot dead by unidentified gunmen at their home in Mandalay Regions Myingyan Township on Friday night. U Moe Hein, aged over 50, a well-known tutor and an executive member of Myingyans NLD, was shot dead together with his wife Ma Su Su Hlaing at their home at about 7 p.m. on Friday. The assassination came after a junta-formed Pyu Saw Htee group on June 26 published a list of 38 Myingyan NLD members including the couple, saying it would take severe action against them if any attacks on government offices, schools, government staff, hospitals or other people occurred in the township. A local told The Irrawaddy that the NLD couple were killed just a day or two after they came out of hiding and returned to their house in No. 3 ward in the town. The couple had been in hiding as the juntas forces were hunting all NLD members in the township. The local source said the unknown gunmen also scoured the house and seized a mobile phone belonging to the NLD members after killing them. Some minutes later, junta forces arrived at the scene and arrested a civilian at a nearby house, according to local residents. A funeral was held for the couple on Saturday morning. Several ward and village administrators and junta personnel including junta informants have been attacked by unknown assailants in the township. The civilian resistance fighters of the Seven People Defense Force and Zero Guerilla Force have claimed responsibility for some of the attacks in the township. In mid-June, two detained civilians, including the son of a National League for Democracy (NLD) member, were shot dead by junta forces following a knife attack on an alleged junta informant in Myingyan, Mandalay Region. Local residents said the military regime had also formed a Pyu Saw Htee group with pro-military supporters to counter the anti-regime movement in the township. Pyu Saw Htee group members are trained and armed with firearms by the military. Several peoples defense forces claimed in May that members of the Pyu Saw Htee groups are intentionally conducting crimes, bombings and arson attacks on school buildings and private property in order to blacken the name of the civilian resistance forces. The peoples defense forces have announced that they will never harm schools or the lives and property of ordinary people. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Coup Makers Birthday Greeted With Curses, Nationwide Condemnation Four Myanmar Civilians Tortured to Death in Junta Custody Seven-Year-Old Son of Detained Myanmar Health Official Still in Prison Burma Myanmar Coup Makers Birthday Greeted With Curses, Nationwide Condemnation People set a coffin on fire during a mock funeral for Min Aung Hlaing to mark his 65th birthday on Saturday. His name was scrawled on coffins at mock funerals across the country. People shouted wishes for his death. Myanmars poker-faced coup leader stared out from burning pictures. This is how Myanmar people marked the birthday of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who turned 65 on Saturday. In other words, it was how they vented their simmering hatred of him for his seizure of power from the countrys democratically elected government five months ago and his forces lethal response to the popular protests against him. Exactly two weeks ago on June 19, Myanmar people at home and abroad marked the 76th birthday of their elected leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained by Min Aung Hlaing since the coup. The junta chief must be envious of the celebrations held at that time, which were in stark contrast to what Min Aung Hlaing witnessed on Saturday. For the State Counselors birthday, smiles and flowers were everywhere. People prayed for her good health and speedy release. Myanmars favorite social media, Facebook, was flooded with pictures of people wearing or holding flowers to show solidarity with their leader, who is known for wearing flowers. One user wrote: Come you Back, MomRevolutionary flowers are now in bloom. When she learned about it, she thanked the people for her birthday celebration and also wished good health to the people, according to one of her lawyers. On Saturday, activists in Yangon left free fans at bus stops as part of a mock funeral for the coup maker. It is a common practice to distribute fans at Buddhist funerals. Young people staged flash mob protests, vowing to take revenge for his brutality toward protesters. In Mandalay, people set coffins bearing his name, along with pictures of him, on fire in the streets, cursing him and calling for his speedy death. Due to the misery he has brought to the country since the coup, people said he should have been stillborn. He is so despised that some people went even further, urinating on pictures of him. On Facebook, people posted pictures of themselves holding placards with their birthday wishes for Min Aung Hlaing. One sign read: May you die in haste! In Ayeyarwady Region, villagers prayed May your birthday be your death day! For Min Aung Hlaing and his wife Daw Kyu Kyu Hla, both known for their superstitious beliefs, the peoples reaction on Saturday must surely make them quite uncomfortable. Until this year, few in the country would have had any interest in his birthday. Were it not for the coup and his deadly response to the protesters, there would have been no mock funerals for him on Saturday. His predecessor as dictator, Than Shwe, was the subject of similar protests, but largely by activists in exile and not in the sort of nationwide denunciation that Min Aung Hlaing is facing today. You may also like these stories: Four Myanmar Civilians Tortured to Death in Junta Custody Seven-Year-Old Son of Detained Myanmar Health Official Still in Prison Myanmar Regime Orders Citywide Lockdown in Mandalay Burma US Sanctions More Myanmar Junta Members, Their Relatives and Chinese Firms Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and his wife Daw Kyu Kyu Hla (right) with other senior military members and their spouses in 2020. / CinCds The US on Friday imposed another round of sanctions on Myanmars military regime, targeting its members, their spousesincluding the coup leaders wifeand adult children for its takeover in February, while adding Chinese companies to its trade blacklist for supporting the regime. The US along with other Western countries had already imposed sanctions on the regime while condemning the junta for seizing power from the countrys democratically elected government led by its de facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The latest sanctions target 22 individuals. They include seven key members of the regimes governing State Administration Council (SAC), four of whom are cabinet members. Furthermore, coup leader Min Aung Hlaings wife Daw Kyu Kyu Hla and seven other spouses of regime members have also been targeted this time. Seven adult children of regime members are on the list, too. Min Aung Hlaings two adult children were already under sanction. The U.S. Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the 15 relatives mentioned above are the spouses or adult children of previously designated senior Tatmadaw officers whose financial networks have contributed to military officials ill-gotten gains. Four entities are blacklisted by the U.S. Department of Commerces Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) for providing support to Myanmars military, according to the announcement. They include three Chinese copper companies that provide support to the Myanmar regime through revenue-sharing arrangements with the military-owned and already sanctioned Myanma Economic Holdings Limited. They are Wanbao Mining and its two subsidiaries, Myanmar Wanbao Mining Copper Ltd. and Myanmar Yang Tse Copper Ltd. A telecommunications company, King Royal, which has been providing satellite communications services to the Myanmar military, is on the list, too. OFAC Director Andrea Gacki said the militarys suppression of democracy and campaign of brutal violence against the people of Myanmar are unacceptable. Todays action demonstrates that the United States will continue to impose increasing costs on Burmas military and promote accountability for those responsible for the military coup and ongoing violence, including by targeting sources of revenue for the military and its leaders, the director said. Late last month, the European Union (EU) imposed sanctions on eight Myanmar officials, including the countrys police and navy chiefs, responsible for deadly crackdowns on pro-democracy protests and for cutting the internet in the wake of the juntas Feb. 1 coup. Here are the 22 individuals sanctioned by the US on Friday: i Saw Daniel, Banyar Aung Moe, Aye Nu Sein are members of the State Administrative Council (SAC) i Chit Naing is the Minister for Information; Aung Naing Oo is the Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations; Myint Kyaing is the Minister for Labor, Immigration, and Population; and Thet Thet Khine is the Minister of Social Welfare, Relief, and Resettlement. i Kyu Kyu Hla is the spouse of SAC Chairman Senior General Min Aung Hlaing; Than Than Nwe is the spouse of SAC Vice Chairman Vice Senior General Soe Win; Thet Thet Aung is the spouse of SAC member General Mya Tun Oo; Than Than Aye is the spouse of SAC member Admiral Tin Aung San; Aung Mar Myint is the spouse of SAC member General Maung Maung Kyaw; Khaing Pa Pa Chit is the spouse of SAC member Lieutenant General Moe Myint Tun; Moe Htet Htet Tun is the adult child of Lieutenant General Moe Myint Tun; Khaing Moe Myint is the adult child of Lieutenant General Moe Myint Tun; Yadanar Moe Myint is the adult child of Lieutenant General Moe Myint Tun; Daw Nilar is the spouse of SAC member Lieutenant General Ye Win Oo, Theit Thinzar Ye is the adult child of Lieutenant General Ye Win Oo; Ohn Mar Myint is the spouse of SAC member Lieutenant General Aung Lin Dwe; Shwe Ye Phu Aung is the adult child of Lieutenant General Aung Lin Dwe; Hlaing Bwar Aung is the adult child of Lieutenant General Aung Lin Dwe; and Phyo Arkar Aung is the adult child of Lieutenant General Aung Lin Dwe. You may also like these stories: Parent of Telenor Myanmar Weighing Options Amid Reports It Plans to Sell UN Demands Release of All Political Prisoners in Myanmar Almost 100 Myanmar Border Police Infected With COVID-19 in Rakhine State A two-year fraud scheme orchestrated by a Microsoft employee resulted in $10.1 million worth of Xbox gift cards stolen from the tech giant. A judge sentenced the swindler to nine years in prison, as reported by Bloomberg in depth. Xbox Gift Card Fraud Volodymyr Kvashuk, originally from Rivne Oblast in Ukraine, first arrived in the U.S. in 2015. He was attending the wedding of his aunt Alla who was marrying a dentist from Southern California. In Ukraine, Kvashuk studied computer science and economics at a top university where his mother and father taught. One reason Kvashuk's parents wanted him to stay in the U.S. after his aunt Alla's wedding was to seek asylum. He had joined protests in Kyiv in 2014 that culminated in the ousting of Ukraine's Russian-backed president. His aunt and uncle put him up, he sought asylum, and he got a software gig reviewing JavaScript code. He also met and started dating a fellow Ukrainian expatriate, Diana Leonhard. That following summer, in August 2016, Kvashuk secured a job as a software engineer at a company contracted with Microsoft to develop its online store. He was also able to set up a company with a fellow Washington-based entrepreneur named Lee Wang. SearchDom.AI was pitched as "our automated solution for all your marketing problems." Former Microsoft Employee Pleads Guilty for Stealing More Than $10 Million Worth Company Digital Asset: Recently, a former employee of the tech giant Microsoft, Volodymyr Kvashuk, who worked at Microsoft from August 2016 to June 2018, was convicted in https://t.co/NzKwKlOpuN pic.twitter.com/HVmUuKEa2X Shah Sheikh (@shah_sheikh) March 1, 2020 According to Bloomberg, it was unclear when exactly Kvashuk stumbled upon the gift card glitch in Microsft's security system, which is now closed for obvious reasons. Sometime in 2017, Microsoft recruited him for a full-time engineering position with a $116,000 annual salary. His team ran simulated purchases on Microsoft's online store to look for glitches in the payment system. The purchases were acknowledged as fake, so devices like PCs, tablets, and keyboards weren't shipped once a transaction went through. However, these didn't hold for Xbox gift cards. The error churned out real 5x5 codes. These codes are a string of 25 letters and numbers e-mailed to the buyer and had the same purpose as those numbers and letters found on other gift cards like Apple or Applebee's. These 5x5 codes have a dollar amount. So if you bought $20 in Xbox gift cards, you can spend $20 on Microsoft's store. And anyone can trade these 5x5 codes for cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and then turn that Bitcoin into cash. Trades can be done anonymously. too. Instead of reporting the glitch, Kvashuk placed test orders for dozens of gift card codes amounting to $2,000 and then $4,200, then, later on, worth a lot more. When he confirmed that the 5x5 codes were legitimate, one of the first things he redeemed with those codes was a $164.99 download of Microsoft Office. To conceal his identity, he used his co-workers' mock profiles and used their test logins. When working from his apartment, he would mask his internet traffic by routing it through servers in Japan and Russia. In January of 2018, to automate and speed up his fraud scheme process, he built a computer program called PurchaseFlow.CS. With a few clicks, gift card denominations, currency output, and the desired number of purchases were selected, and then it was off to embezzle from the company. Kvashuk was flipping so many 5x5 codes that prosecutors said he was singularly responsible for global fluctuations in the price of Xbox gift cards on reseller markets. https://t.co/in2xmV5TJ3 pic.twitter.com/NXD5hqFf20 Isaac (@IsaacYoho) July 2, 2021 The Trades and The Good Life In March 2018, Kvashuk did most of his business on Paxful.com under the name Grizzled Wold. He sold the gift cards for roughly 55 percent off and offered five more currencies for his overseas buyers. At the time, Paxful didn't require verifiable government IDs allowing anonymity for its users. The trades were done with cryptocurrency, usually Bitcoin, and for anyone interested in scrambling the blockchain, Kvashuk funneled some of his earnings through ChipMixer.com. The tool mixed Bitcoin around with different crypto of the same value to essentially clear the blockchain trail. Paxful has since strengthened its compliance standards and improvised its anti-money-laundering technology. A ChipMixer spokesperson says the system is intended for privacy used by many individuals including some bad people. The scrambled Bitcoin then goes into his account at Coinbase and there he'd sell it for cash. In March, he deposited $1.4 million from Coinbase into his personal Wells Fargo & Co. checking account. The following month, an additional $935,000 was deposited. When explaining this to his accountant, he says the Bitcoin earnings were simply a gift from his father. Kvashuk bought a red Tesla Model S for $162,899 and then a modern $1.67 million house on Lake Washington with its own boat dock, which he bought in cash. He sent a screenshot of the property to his girlfriend Diana with "love you" as his message. nice to see scammers real estate scrolling just like the rest of us Microsoft lost millions of dollars worth of Xbox gift cards in an online scheme. Turns out it was an inside job https://t.co/f3192PTlHT via @BW pic.twitter.com/OVBwc8I8uf Michael Zelenko (@mvzelenks) July 1, 2021 How Was the Xbox Gift Card Fraud Discovered? The business was still going along just fine until Kvashuk ran into trouble with his supply. Certain 5x5 codes no longer worked when buyers tried to redeem them online, for whatever reason. Buyers would demand refunds, some phoned Microsoft's customer service number and were warned that the gift cards were stolen. His larger clients were also beginning to worry about the invalid codes, contacting Microsoft as well. Grizzled Wolf was not happy, and called it a "s**t mess," saying if they had problems, send them to him, not to Microsoft. If the company starts tracking him down, he will just bail, per Bloomberg. Based on his search histories, he was looking into acquiring a Canadian visa. But since February 2018, Microsoft was already on the hunt. The company's Fraud Investigation Strike Team noticed an inexplicable spike in online purchases using gift card codes which were twice the normal redemption levels. The fraud team theorized that the hack was from an "external bad actor" but soon realized it was an inside job. In March 2018, corporate investigators traced irregular activity on two internal test accounts assigned to employees on Microsoft's store team. They blacklisted the accounts that had already wolfed down on almost $8 million in codes that were being sold on Paxful and other sites. A third account began buying codes a few days later, managing to steal $1.6 million more Xbox gift card codes within 26 hours before Microsoft blocked it as well. The owners of those mock accounts were interviewed and they were all stunned, no frauds were brought in for questioning at that time. The fraud team turned to Andrew Cookson, who handled forensic investigations into employee malfeasance at Microsoft for almost 15 years. The veteran detective of Scotland Yard's computer crime unit zeroes in on a new suspect: Volodymyr Kvashuk. This is where Kvashuk's mistakes started to unravel and lead to his being fired four weeks after being questioned. Read Also: Ethereum Price, Investment Predictions: ETH Value Decreasing, But JPMorgan Experts See $40 Billion Industry Amid Upgrades One mistake was Kvashuk's official test accounts showed a history of illegitimately acquiring Xbox gift cards in 2017 and some other stolen codes were connected to an order of three high-end GeForce graphics cards manufactured by Nvidia Corp. that was delivered to a "Grigor Shikor" in Kvashuk's old apartment building. He also used an outdated version of Firefox browser that had metadata that allowed Microsoft to connect him to the crime. And the Microsoft Office license he first bought at the beginning was registered to an administrative account for his startup, SearchDom. Kvashuk vaguely admitted to redeeming about 600 of the codes, but only to buy movies to watch with his girlfriend at home. He noted the Nvidia chips he used were for crypto mining, but he stressed that he neither remembered ordering them nor why they were mailed to a "Grigor Shikor." He told Cookson "I'm lost here." He and Diana still lived lavishly in their new house, taking boat rides and vacations. Kvashuk was able to secure another job at the digital division of the Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., where his co-workers recall him being warm, collaborative, with a very chill demeanor like any other tech dude. No one could have guessed how rich he was, although they had assumed he came from money when he showed up to work in his red Tesla. Microsoft lost $10 million worth of Xbox gift cards in an online scheme... https://t.co/JCvUmuLqAV pic.twitter.com/CX7M82FndX GameSpot (@GameSpot) July 1, 2021 Volodymyr Kvashuk Raided Over Microsoft Xbox Gift Card Scam In July 2019, the federal agents who took over the case after Microsoft referred it to them, raided his lakefront abode, PCGamer said. They discovered a lot of incriminating evidence like crypto wallet keys, notebooks with bank account information, USB drives crammed with stolen 5x5 codes, and a lot of cash, including more than $4,000 in Diana's purse. In a sheet of graph paper, Kvashuk also wrote his planned future investments in Ukrainian. Titled "How I will manage my next 10 million," the list included a $4 million home in Maui, a $1 million house in the mountains near a ski lift, a yacht, a seaplane, a house in California, and a house on Mercer Island. Volodymyr Kvashuk Trial In February 2020, federal prosecutors of the Western District of Washington took to trial for Kvashukthe following charges: money laundering, identity theft, and wire and mail fraud, as well as filing false tax returns. Microsoft blacklisted many of the stolen gift cards before they were redeemed, and the IRS managed to trace laundered crypto funds but Kvashuk could still have millions hidden somewhere. Kvashuk's attorney argued that he had no intention of defrauding anyone and he had generated those codes to help the company generate more popularity and in turn create more business. The list for his next $10 million he wrote was a motivational wish list, and it wasn't technically identity theft if the test accounts were fake IDs, to begin with. He was still guilty on all counts. The judge and jury found his defense ridiculous. After serving time in prison until March 2027, a total of nine years in jail, he is likely to be deported back to Ukraine and will have to make restitution of $8.3 million. Related Article: 'Escape From Tarkov' Wipe Patch Guide: Patch Notes and How to Fix Error 106015 After Update Commission-free stock trading service Robinhood Markets, Inc. cautioned investors Thursday that its business would deteriorate if the value of the meme-based cryptocurrency Dogecoin plummets. In its filing for its Initial Public Offering (IPO), Robinhood said Dogecoin accounted for 34 percent of its cryptocurrency transaction-based revenue in the first quarter of 2021. It rose from four percent in the last quarter of 2020, CNBC reported. Dogecoin value had been boosted in recent months primarily by tweets from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who just tweeted on Thursday "Release the Doge!" Dogecoin Value Slowdown Would Hurt Robinhood Business A steep decline in demand, Robinhood said in its IPO filing, would hurt its business. It emphasized other factors that would lead to a slowdown such as "negative perceptions about Dogecoin" or the rise in the "availability of Dogecoin on other platforms." In its S-1 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Robinhood said a large share of its revenue growth in cryptocurrency transactions is "attributable to transactions in Dogecoin," a report on The New York Post said. Meanwhile, per CNBC, Dogecoin-based income accounted for six percent of Robinhood's overall income in in the first quarter, with crypto making up 17 percent. Robinhood also offers other cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. Read Also: Dogecoin Price Today Falls, But Billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried Still Calls It 'Asset of 2020-2021' Robinhood's first quarter revenue rose to $87.6 million from $4.2 million year-on-year. Dogecoin reached its highest price in early May at $0.73, as Musk boosted bull trading with a barrage of tweets. It had since underwent a dizzying pace of volatility, with the joke coin hitting its all-time low of $0.17 when China extended its cryptocurrency ban in June. Dogecoin Value Up 0.34 percent in Last 24 Hours, 10,000% year-on-year Dogecoin is up 0.34 percent in the last 24 hours to $0.24 as of time of writing, Coindesk posted. It has soared 10,000 percent from the same period last year, The New York Post cited Coinbase data. The coin began as a prank in 2013 by Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, who fused popular online themes--cryptocurrency and the Doge meme bearing a Shiba Inu puppy--to tweet a joke. It has since been made a real cryptocurrency with rising value through the years. Robinhood first introduced crypto trading in 2018 with transactions ballooning in recent years. Robinhood earns its revenue from crypto by "routing orders to market makers" that would then offer "competitive pricing" and get a percentage from the order, per CNBC. Digital assets on the Robinhood platform rose year-over-year from $480.7 million to $11.6 billion, with total revenue skyrocketing 309 percent in the quarter from $128 million a year earlier to $522 million. Robinhood also faced scaling problems, as it revealed in its filing. It said it encountered partial service outages and degraded service during the massive crypto trading surge in late April to early May. In a Bloomberg report, Robinhood co-founders Vlad Tenev and Baiju Bhatt defended customers on the manner they are portrayed in media. They said they are "proud to serve the next generation of investors," adding that it pains them to see these investors "continually lambasted in media reports." Related Article: Robinhood App Hit With Massive $70 Million Penalty: How Does the Issue Affect its Stock Price, IPO? This Week in Review A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more. I'm going to watch some fireworks. I'm going to gather with family/friends. I'm going to take a short trip or start a long vacation. I plan to go to a theater and see a movie. I plan to binge watch movies/shows. I haven't planned anything yet. Vote View Results A funeral service for George Zickuhr, of Brownsboro formerly of Jacksonville, is scheduled at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 6, 2021 at Autry Funeral Home Chapel in Jacksonville. He will be laid to rest at Cathedral in the Pines in Tyler. George passed away on June 27, 2021. Arrangements by Autry Mike has reported on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem's wildlife, wildlands and the agencies that manage them since 2012. A native Minnesotan, he arrived in the West to study environmental journalism at the University of Colorado. Anson Burlingame graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1965 and served in the nuclear submarine force during 23 years of active duty. He is now a Captain, U.S. Navy, Retired. He lives in Joplin. Classes in the Wilkes County Schools will start on Aug. 23 and end on May 25 in 2021-22 as a result of a calendar approved by the Wilkes Board of Education on Feb. 1. Former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo flew into the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday to attend a wedding bash thrown by his former jail-mate at the International Criminal Court, a source told AFP. Just two weeks after returning to Ivory Coast after almost 10 years in detention, Gbagbo flew into Kinshasa and met Congolese politician and strongman Jean-Pierre Bemba as part of a strictly private visit, a person close to Bemba said. Gbagbo will attend the wedding of Bembas son this weekend, the person said on condition of anonymity. Gbagbo had recently said he had made friends with Bemba as both men were being prosecuted for different war crimes at the ICC. Both were initially convicted and later exonerated on appeal. Gbagbo returned to Abidjan on June 17 after being acquitted of crimes against humanity by the ICC in March. He was arrested in April 2011 after his refusal to accept electoral defeat sparked a conflict that claimed thousands of lives. San Diego (CNS)-The San Diego County District Attorneys Office issued a report on Friday stating that 20 local police officers will not face criminal charges related to five shooting incidents involving police officers, four of which resulted in deaths. The report investigated in detail the July 2020 shooting incidents involving highway patrol personnel in San Diego, Chula Vista, and California. Two of the cases involved the suspect shooting at the police. One of the men pointed an air gun at the police officer, and the other man ran towards the police officer with a metal rod. The last case involved a man who was shot and killed in a cross-county car chase. He pointed a black object at the police and found it was a toothbrush. The shooting incidents include: On July 9, 2020, 49-year-old Richard Price was shot dead in City Heights According to the authorities, a man was shot and killed by a police officer on the heights of the city on July 9, 2020. He pointed a gun at the police officer. price Shot and killed by seven San Diego police officers According to DAs review, after a police officer answered the 911 call, a man pointed a gun at someone on Menlo Avenue. Police said Price was holding a pistol in his hand when he was found. According to the DA office, he put down the pistol and was ordered to stay away from it, but he reached out and picked it up and pointed it at the police officer. He was shot multiple times and was taken to the University of California San Diego Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:24 pm DAs comments stated that the imitation firearm looked exactly like a Glock 17 pistol, so the police officer has reason to believe that the gun Price pointed at them was genuine. The officers involved are San Diego Police Joshua Crabbe, Ace Ibanez, Jason Gonzalez, Kevin Cummings, Miles McCadler, David Burns And Joshua Leber. On July 5, 2020, 25-year-old Keith Bergman (Keith Bergman) was shot in a non-fatal shooting in Port Salisbury at the San Diego Police Headquarters After Keith Bergman took off his handcuffs and got a police officers spare pistol in the garage of the police headquarters, the police surrounded him. (Photo: SDPD) After his arrest, Bergman slid his handcuffs out of a patrol SUV parked at the SDPD underground guard port, broke the partition between the back and front seats, and put his hand on a gun in the officers kit . Once the police officer realized that Bergman had a gun, surveillance and body camera footage released by the department showed that several police officers pulled out their guns and surrounded the vehicle while ordering Bergman to put down the gun. Bergman A shot was fired from the rear window of the patrol car The police opened fire and hit him in the upper body. Bergman shot but didnt hit the police officer. Bergman then got out of the car, carrying the police officers bag on his shoulder and the gun tucked in his belt. He tried to open the rear door of the SUV, but could not open it, then tried to open the drivers door and fired three bullets in his direction. Surveillance video showed that when Bergman put his head into the open window of the SUV, the shot penetrated the cruisers windshield. The gunfire knocked Bergman to the ground, but he tried to open the drivers door again and fired another shot in his direction. Bergman later pleaded guilty to charges including assaulting a sheriff with a semi-automatic gun, and was sentenced to 10 years in state prison in February. The DAs review found that Bergmans shooting indicated that the officers were defending themselves and the officers in the port. The police officers involved were San Diego police officers Timothy Aleola, Michael Rodriguez and Paul Yi. On October 3, 2020, 30-year-old Christopher Ulmer was fatally shot on Interstate 805 in Chula Vista After chasing to San Diego from Orange County, a police officer took cover and pointed a weapon at a stopped car. Soon after, gunfire sounded. (Photo: OnScene TV) Ulmer is Shot by four California Highway Patrol and two San Diego police officers After the police started the hunt from Orange County. Ulmer fled from officials who tried to stop him from driving under the influence. The chase continued south into San Diego County and eventually stopped on Interstate 805 near Olympic Park Avenue. According to DAs review, Ulmer opened the drivers side door but stayed in the car, and the police told him to raise his hands and get out of the car. A few minutes later, Ulmer got out of the car suddenly and pointed at the policeman with a black slender object while posing in a shooting pose. He was shot multiple times at the University of California San Diego Hospital at 2:09 am and was pronounced dead. A search of Ulmer and his car did not find a gun, but a black toothbrush was found under him. The DAs review stated that Ulmer had taken deliberate action to convince the police officers that he would shoot them and that they reasonably believed that Ulmer was an imminent threat. The police officers involved included CHP officers Lauren Chi, John Holm, Paco Mendes and Javier Mendoza, and San Diego officers Patrick Harvey and Edward Pidgeon. On July 20, 2020, Chula Vista police shot and killed 33-year-old David Angulo Chula Vista police shot and killed a man wanted for suspected attempted murder on July 20, 2020. Angulo Fired at police after kidnapping a driver and leading an officer chased by the police, And then was shot many times. According to the police, Angulo was the suspect in three shootings. He had an arrest warrant, which included attempted murder. DAs comments stated that during the hunt, Angulo ran into another car, got off the pickup he stole, and tried to enter a nearby home. According to the DA office, when the police arrived, Angulo fired at one of the policemen, prompting three policemen to shoot him and kill him, the office said, according to their time. The names of the three Chula Vista police officers were not included in the DAs review. On October 19, 2020, 39-year-old Jose Alfredo Castro was shot and killed in Mountain View In October 2020, a man was suspected of shooting at the police. Shortly after the police shot and killed him, the police gathered on a street in Mountain View. The police responded after a woman called the police saying that her roommate Castro was using metal curtain rods to break the windows of their home.Police say Castro Ran out of the house with a metal rod on his head And rushed to the officer directly. DAs review stated that San Diego police officer Isai Castillo fired his pistol, while the other two police officers fired with stun guns and bean bags. Castro was taken to the hospital, where he later died. The prosecutors office stated that Castros actions indicated that he tried to attack and harm Castillo and the police officer and therefore behaved reasonably. The following month, Castros family filed claims against the city for excessive use of force and negligent death. They claimed that Castro was experiencing a mental health crisis and that non-lethal options should be used. Copyright 2021, City News Service, Inc. San Diego-At the Embarcadero in San Diego, the pace is picking up. Entering the holiday weekend of July 4, the traffic volume of walking and driving has increased significantly, and the area is expected to attract a large number of tourists. But before the weekend celebrations, there were growing concerns about the emergence of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. The variant is spreading across the United States, and states such as Missouri, Colorado, and New Jersey have been hit hard. This prompted the World Health Organization to urge vaccinated residents to continue to wear masks indoors, and Los Angeles County health officials also strongly recommend this guidance. Although the CDC or San Diego County officials do not recommend wearing masks, they are closely monitoring the spread of the variant. The delta variant is more contagious, said Dr. William Tseng, head of vaccines at Kaiser Permanente in the San Diego area. What does this mean? It may spread more easily and may make your condition worse. So, we must be careful of those who are not vaccinated. Although the variant is abundant in other parts of the United States, Tseng pointed out that the variant has not yet appeared in large numbers in San Diego, and only 25 cases have been reported this week. According to local health officials, 15 cases were reported last week. Mr. Zeng is worried that the number of cases will continue to rise. If you want to take over here, it will take several months, he said. Enjoy time outdoors. Breathe fresh air. Try to stay away from crowded indoors. The most important thing is to get vaccinated. In addition, Big Bay Boom, which will be broadcast on FOX 5 this weekend, is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of viewers and bring 10 million U.S. dollars in growth to the local economy. For local businesses and suppliers like Eric Gomez, this is an excellent time. I think it is today, Gomez said. A good, big push that everyone is waiting for, do you know? He expects sunglasses sales this weekend to be as many as he has sold in a few months. Its getting busier, he said. A lot of people are from Arizona and Vegas. Everyone is here today, but I think tomorrow and Sunday, especially Sunday will be our busiest. The U.S. National Security Adviser has notified the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia that 4 million doses of Modernas COVID-19 vaccine from the U.S. are being shipped to Indonesia as the country is fighting recorded coronavirus infections and deaths, forcing Emergency lockdown from Saturday. A White House statement stated that Jack Sullivan said in a phone call with Retno Marsudi on Friday that these vaccines will be delivered as soon as possible through the COVAX Global Vaccine Sharing Program. Sullivan said the donation emphasizes the United States support for the Indonesian people as they are fighting the surge in COVID-19 cases. The statement said that the two officials also discussed the U.S. plan to increase assistance for Indonesias broader COVID-19 response. The statement said: Sullivan emphasized the importance of the Biden-Harris administration to Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and the wider end of the pandemic, and pledged to continue to provide support and high-level contacts. Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world and has been battling one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in Asia. The country has recorded a record number of new infections in 8 of the past 12 days, including 25,830 new cases on Friday and a record 539 deaths. In Jakarta province alone, Governor Anies Baswedan said at a press conference on Friday that the number of active cases has increased from 27,000 in February to 78,000. Anies said that if this trend continues, the number of active cases may reach 100,000 within a few days. Since the pandemic last year, Indonesia has reported 2,228,938 cases and 59,534 deaths. The surge in new cases and deaths prompted President Joko Widodo to announce emergency movement restrictions on Java and Bali starting on Saturday. The blockade is valid until July 20. Competitive vaccine diplomacy Penny K Lukito, head of the Indonesian Food and Drug Agency, said earlier on Friday that it has authorized the Moderna vaccine for emergency use. At the same time, the Minister of Health of the country also announced on Friday that Indonesia is planning to vaccinate children under the age of 18 with the coronavirus mRNA vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that the island of Java is home to about half of the countrys more than 270 million people and is where most outbreaks of the highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant have occurred. This variant was first discovered in India. She was healthy and her pregnancy was normal, but suddenly she disappeared. As Indonesias most populous island of Java responds to the biggest surge in COVID-19, families bid farewell to their loved ones in a temporary cemetery ? https://t.co/BzjHgUfJP2 pic.twitter.com/TeNcxTwXZb -Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) June 24, 2021 According to a report on the US website NBC Boston, Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is considered to be 84% effective after two doses. Even with the Delta variant, it is only 34% effective for one dose. Moderna also announced on Tuesday that, based on a study of the serum obtained by eight participants one week after receiving the second dose of the vaccine, its vaccine showed promise for the Delta variant. The company stated that the vaccine is more effective in generating antibodies against the Delta variant than the Beta variant first discovered in South Africa. Indonesia mainly relies on vaccines from China Kexing, But has been seeking to diversify supply sources. Washington has been competing with Beijing to deepen its geopolitical influence through so-called vaccine diplomacy, although it says that sharing vaccines is not for gains or concessions, but to save lives and end the pandemic. Worried about the difference in vaccination rates between developed and developing countries, the Biden administration pledged last month to share the original 80 million US-made vaccines globally. It has announced plans to provide vaccines to other Southeast Asian countries-the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Papua New Guinea and Cambodia. It also stated that it will purchase 500 million Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines and distribute them to the African Union and 92 low- and middle- and low-income countries. Experts say that the stubborn Prince William and Prince Harry and Princess Diana jointly declared that they have taken an important step in healing the rift Prince William and Prince Harry issued a joint statement to pay tribute to their late mother Princess Diana, who unveiled her special statue in London today. A royal expert said that their unified message implies that they have taken an important step in healing the rift. Expert Duncan Larcomb told Fabulous: In the weeks before the event, the palace was really worried that they would make their own statement, just like they did when the Duke of Edinburgh died. For most of their adult life, William and Harry always made joint statements on all matters related to their mother. Thats why William and Harry issued a joint statement last month after investigating the BBCs Diana interview. The reason they were so shocked by their own different statements. The conditions of William and Harry are so bad that they cannot even make a joint statement on such an important occasion. This has always been unthinkable. However, by paying tribute to their mother and celebrating her 60th birthday side by side, William and Harry are healing them Its an important step forward in terms of the rift in the country. Experts say that the stubborn Prince William and Prince Harry and Princess Diana jointly declared that they have taken an important step in healing the rift Prince William and Prince Harry issued a joint statement to pay tribute to their late mother Princess Diana, who unveiled her special statue in London today. A royal expert said that their unified message implies that they have taken an important step in healing the rift. Expert Duncan Larcomb told Fabulous: In the weeks before the event, the palace was really worried that they would make their own statement, just like they did when the Duke of Edinburgh died. For most of their adult lives, William and Harry always made joint statements on all matters related to their mothers. Thats why William and Harry issued a joint statement last month after investigating the BBCs Diana interview. The reason they were so shocked by their own different statements. The conditions of William and Harry are so bad that they cannot even make a joint statement on such an important occasion. This has always been unthinkable. However, by paying tribute to their mother and celebrating her 60th birthday side by side, William and Harry are healing them Its an important step forward in terms of the rift in the country. According to Cameco, which operates the facility, the Briggs fire near the Cigar Lake uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan has continued to burn, but it has now passed the main camp and has no serious impact on the site. Company spokesperson Jeff Hryhoriw told CBC News on Friday afternoon that early inspections showed no structural damage to any buildings and all assets were intact. He said that all 80 basic mine workers who remained at the site were safe and helped wildfire personnel to put out the hot spots. Cameco staff and a provincial wildfire team from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) are still at the scene. Hryhoriw said the fire was still active and some nearby roads were closed due to nearby smoke and flames. Forest fires are dynamic and the situation will definitely change rapidly, so we will continue to monitor the situation closely, he said. The weather conditions in the north on Friday are expected to remain hot and dry, and then ease during the weekend. Hryhoriw emphasized that the top priority is to keep the mine free of hot spots left by fire. This is also a question of smoke and wind patterns that will definitely change, he said. Wind can change direction, can change intensity [of the fire], So we know there is more work to be done. On Thursday, from the top of a mountain about two kilometers from the Cigar Lake Uranium Mine in Cameco, smoke from the Briggs wildfire could be seen billowing in. (Submitted by Robin Clark) Hryhoriw pointed out that there is no timetable for when Camecos approximately 230 workers evacuated from Cigar Lake will return or resume production. He said that the decision to restart will depend on the status of wildfire activity in the area, smoke conditions and the safety of roads and air passages to the site. The remaining miners formed an emergency team Hryhoriw said that the approximately 80 Cameco workers who remained in the mine had been working as emergency response teams. He explained that their job is to maintain critical machinery and keep the facilities in a safe state-including constantly watering the site and removing surrounding bushes as a preventive measure. Hryhoriw pointed out that if the threat of wildfires continues to grow, plans will be made to ensure the safety of workers there. [The SPSA] The officials have assessed the various locations and facilities on the site and made recommendations to us accordingly, he said. They believe that according to the design and construction of the building, the site layout, and the protective measures that have been taken, workers can be guaranteed Safety. Hryhoriw said that water bombers and heavy equipment have also been deployed to the area and continue to help with fire fighting. Pack a bag Dan Stillborn was one of approximately 230 miners who received a call on Thursday Leaving the Cigar Lake site. They just called us and said,pack up, Steeleburn said of the phone that woke him from his nap that morning. When Stillborn stood up and looked out the window, he saw flames spreading on the hills a few kilometers away from the workers camp. Before long, he and his colleagues were on their way to the safety of Cameco Rabbit Lake, about an hour and a half east of Cigar Lake. Looking south, the sky is so blue [from Rabbit Lake] -But when I look north, it is black, Steeleburn said late Thursday afternoon when there were multiple fires in the area burning. Its a sharp contrast; it looks like a cloudy sky in the north. Due to the threat of nearby wildfires, Cameco transported 230 non-essential workers from the Cigar Lake Mine to safety on Thursday morning. (Submitted by Robin Clark) The overwhelming majority of Sask. Under extreme wildfire risk: SPSA According to SPSA, as of Friday afternoon, there were 16 wildfires burning in Saskatchewan, 4 of which have not been controlled. SPSA said in an email statement to CBC News that the Briggs fire near the Cigar Lake mine was considered one of the very active fires, and high winds prevented wildfire personnel from extinguishing the flames. SPSA said tankers, helicopters and crews are also fighting a second fire in northern Saskatchewan south of Dillon, where wildfires increased from 60 hectares to 350 hectares on Wednesday night. Steve Roberts, SPSAs vice president of operations, said at a press conference on Friday that the agency is currently working with nearby communities to help deal with the smog that is expected to worsen in the area over the weekend. He said that industrial air purifiers have also been deployed for community ice rinks, halls and other indoor spaces to provide a safe environment for people with breathing problems. SPSA stated that the vast majority of the province is at extreme risk of wildfires, and this risk is expected to increase in the coming days. The latest statistics from the province show that there have been 202 wildfires in Saskatchewan so far this year, exceeding the five-year average of 195. As a result, the SPSA issued a provincial fire ban on Friday, Including royal lands, provincial parks and Northern Saskatchewan. The ban includes any open flames, controlled burns, and fireworks. The New Jersey State Prison will begin to place prisoners based on their gender identity rather than the gender assigned to them at birth, after the corrections department reached a settlement with a transgender woman who said she was forced to live in a male prison for a year and a half. Prison and become a target of discrimination and abuse. Earlier this week, system-wide policies and other changes were announced, including the provision of better medical and mental health care for transgender, intersex and non-binary prisoners. Statement from the ACLU of New Jersey. Sonia Doe, whose real name was concealed in court documents, Sued the New Jersey Department of Corrections in 2019 After she said that after entering the system in 2018, she was held in four different male prisons, despite her clear and well-documented gender identity as a woman. In the lawsuit, Does lawyer said that her being put in a mens prison made her worry about her safety and exacerbated her feelings of gender dysphoria. The court documents also described Does alleged harassment and beatings by disciplinary officers. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, Doe was transferred to Edna Mahan Womens Correctional Facility a few weeks after the lawsuit was filed. According to the settlement agreement, NJDOC will pay Doe US$125,000 in losses and US$45,000 in legal fees. When I was forced to live in a mens prison, I was afraid that I would not survive. Those memories still haunt me, Doe said in a statement along with news of the settlement. Although I was still having nightmares at that time, I knew that based on my experience, NJDOC had already adopted substantial policy changes, so no one should suffer the horror I survived. As part of Settlement, NJDOC will require staff to use the prisoners preferred pronouns and provide gender affirmative care which is medically appropriate. According to reports, this makes New Jersey one of the few states, including California and Massachusetts, to implement housing policies and provide medical services to transgender prisoners. New Jersey Net. Although we know that transgender, intersex and non-binary people still face a huge risk of harm, we hope that this policy will lead New Jersey prisons into a life that protects and affirms transgender, intersex and non-binary people. A new era in the world, said Robyn Gigl, attorney for Gluck Walrath LLP, who represents Doe at ACLU-NJ. Before NJDOC and Doe reached a settlement, Commissioner of Correctional Services Marcus Hicks resigned due to a state report that found that guards at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in northern New Jersey used excessive force. Then in January, a false report related to a series of violent cell extractions was submitted.to New Jersey NetThe states report also prompted Governor Phil Murphy to announce his intention to close the prison, which is the only female-only facility in New Jersey. A report New Jersey Net Said that while Does lawsuit was pending, multiple transgender prisoners were transferred to Edna Mahan. ACLU-NJ Legal Director Jeanne LoCicero said in a statement: This settlement is made at a time when the New Jersey prison system is under strict scrutiny, and the state needs to make every effort to ensure the detainees safety. Dignity, health and safety. Statement. This policy is the beginning and addresses the needs of some of the most vulnerable groups in state prisons. Communities across the state are paying attention to this moment in NJDOC history and working with them. We will continue to work hard to reduce the number of people in prisons and prisons. And advocate the human rights of detainees. Doe is no longer imprisoned, according to Inquirer, Which said her lawyer refused to specify when she was released in order to maintain her anonymity. Another graduation season has come and gone. However, because the COVID-19 pandemic is still a fact of life, it is not a viable option for many Canadian students to walk through a stage surrounded by peers. Young people across the country let it work, celebrating this important day safely, responsibly and creatively with family and friends. CBC News interviewed six recent high school and college graduates who marked their milestones in a unique way. Adriana Gonzalez, 27, and Devin Bowyer, 26 On June 22, Adriana Gonzalez (right) and Devon Bowyer celebrated their graduation from the University of Toronto Dalarana School of Public Health at the Auduzhe Mino Nesewinong Clinic. (Dr. Mona Haydar) Adriana Gonzalez and Devon Bowyer worked at the Auduzhe Mino Nesewinong Clinic in downtown Toronto on the day of graduation. This is a COVID-19 testing and vaccination center for Aboriginal people. Its name means a place to breathe healthy in the Anishinaabe language. In essence, we think the most public health thing we can do with our degree is to go to the clinic and graduate on the same day, Bowyer said. He and Gonzalez both have a masters degree in public health from the University of Toronto in Aboriginal Health. Bowyer is the clinics project and logistics manager, and Gonzalez supports him in this role. When they listened to their virtual convening ceremony on June 22, their colleagues organized a small celebration for them, including cakes and party props. Gonzalez and Bowyer said that they are both first-generation settlers and are grateful for their solidarity with the indigenous people. In our plan, we just learned that community leadership and community partnerships are indeed the key to promoting the health needs of indigenous people, Gonzalez said. This is just a special and important way to celebrate together. Javier Pervez, 18 years old On June 23, Javeria Pervez and her father, Pervez Akhter, wearing a hat and gown, were near Lake Ontario and graduated from Blyth College in Mississauga, Ontario. Follow collection Javeria Pervez celebrated her high school graduation in a stylish way: wearing a hat and gown to take outdoor photos with her parents. Pervez graduated from Bryce College in Mississauga, Ontario. The Adamson Manor campus of this private school overlooks Lake Ontario, and graduates have the opportunity to take professional photos by the water. She said she was most excited about the prospect of seeing her teacher again after distance teaching. Upon arrival, each graduate will receive a gift box containing a hoodie, glassware, a fountain pen, a lawn sign and a handwritten note from the principal. I am very happy that we can at least do the graduation ceremony by the lake, otherwise I thought it was completely virtual, she said. So this is definitely a very happy moment for me. Her father agreed. They gave us a chance to celebrate, Pervez Akhter said. I am truely thankful. Andrew Odegard, 22 years old On June 26, Andrew Odegard stood in an inflatable bar in his backyard, celebrating his graduation from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Science degree. (Melily Odegard) Andrew Odegards backyard celebration was the result of the joint efforts of him and his mother Merilee: a huge inflatable bar with a fake indoor fireplace and windows for drinks. The family won the device at an auction organized by a local radio station in St. Albert, Alta. Odegard graduated from the University of Alberta in Edmonton with a Bachelor of Science degree. He spent a day celebrating outdoors with friends and family. We made a reservation about a month ago, Merilee Odegard said of the inflatable bar. We dont know what the restrictions will be. And we think even if its just our family of six, we have to do something to celebrate graduation. Right? Its important. Odegard said the situation is disappointing. I would rather do it myself. Classes will be easier; I will meet my friends at school and have that traditional graduate. But this is impossible. But there is a silver lining: this special day gave Odegard the opportunity to be with his grandparents, whom he said he had only met once or twice since the pandemic began. Since the whole family has been vaccinated, they should have given a hug a long time ago. Its all very interesting. Watch | Canadian students share their unique graduation celebrations: Following the suspension of ceremonies across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, four Canadian students told CBC News their creative graduation day plan. 1:34 Rylee Macey-Reid, 17 On June 18, Rylee Macey-Reid stood in front of her home in Okotoks, Alta Province. The courtyard is decorated with stars and messages to congratulate the graduates of Ecole Secondaire Foothills Composite High School. (Lena Messi-Reid) Rylee Macey-Reids high school graduation plan was interrupted by a sibling who tested positive for COVID-19, and she spent an important day at her home in Okotoks, Alta. But this did not stop her family from going all out. My mother woke me up, she blindfolded me and took me outside. Then I took off my blindfold and our entire front yard was decorated with graduation supplies. It was a very big surprise, she said. Macey-Reid listened to her schools live broadcast, face-to-face ceremony, and watched her classmates walk onto the stage and throw their hats. Graduated Messi-Reid said: Because I have been with them for so long, I cant walk with them. Its a bit bittersweet, but Im very close to seeing them. From Ecole French immersion course at Secondaire Foothills Composite High School. She received a high school diploma from her family. Her father, Brad Macey, a member of the Beausoleil First Nation in Ontario, gave her a ceremonial blanket. Gift to indigenous graduates. The celebration will continue throughout the summer, said her mother Renae Macey-Reid. Honestly, it ended up being as good as a real graduation, Macey-Reid said. If I go to the real place, I will enjoy all the same things. Chelsea old man, 29 years old On June 19, Chelsea La Vecchia (second from right) celebrated her graduation from the University of Waterloo with her family in her parents backyard in Toronto with a masters degree in experimental digital media art. (Huang Ailing) Chelsea La Vecchia celebrated her graduation in her parents backyard in Toronto. Her mother Tracy, her father Tony and her husband George attended an intimate homemade lunch (beet salad, mango and scallops, grilled chicken and shrimp ) ). She has a masters degree in experimental digital media art from the University of Waterloo. In preparation for her virtual call, La Vecchia and her family moved their televisions outdoors and tried to broadcast the ceremony, but nothing went according to plan. Its a bit confusing, she said, referring to the series of technical difficulties that occurred at the beginning of the event. I was trying to figure out the technique while trying to eat. I think I missed the 30-minute ceremony. Most importantly, the screen froze before her name appeared. So I never really saw my name! Celebrating remotely is a strange experience because La Vecchia said she hopes to graduate with her classmates after completing a difficult but beneficial plan. Its weird, I wont lie. It takes away a little value. But she said it was great to celebrate with family at home. The Tunisian Red Crescent said that the ship departed from Zuwara in Libya and carried immigrants from Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Bangladesh. The Tunisian Red Crescent Society said on Saturday that at least 43 migrants and refugees were drowned and 84 people were rescued after a shipwreck off the coast of Tunisia. According to the organization, the ship departed from Zuwara on the northwest coast of Libya and was carrying immigrants and refugees from Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Bangladesh as they tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Italy. Red Crescent Society official Mongi Slim said: The Navy rescued 84 migrants, and another 43 people drowned on a ship from Zuwara, Libya, to Europe. Libya is a frequent starting point for migrants to Europe to cross the dangerous Mediterranean. Since 2014, more than 20,000 migrants and refugees have died at sea while trying to reach Europe from Africa. At least 866 people were drowned this year on their journey from North Africa across the Mediterranean. In April, a ship sank off the coast of Tunisia, killing more than 40 people. In March, 39 people died off the coast of Sfax. In June last year, a ship sank and at least 60 people were killed. Human smugglers launch boats, many of them fragile rubber dinghies or rickety fishing boats, crowded with migrants hoping to reach the coast of Europe seeking asylum. Some people are fleeing conflict or persecution, and many of the hundreds of thousands are fleeing poverty. According to data from the Italian Ministry of the Interior, nearly 19,800 immigrants have arrived in Italy since the beginning of this year, compared with just over 6,700 in the same period last year. After the West African countrys second coup in less than a year, France suspended operations at the beginning of last month. France announces that it will resume joint military operations in Mali time out At the beginning of last month, this West African country had its second coup in less than a year. The Minister of the Armed Forces said in a statement on Friday that after consulting with the Malian Transitional Authority and countries in the region, France decided to resume the joint military operations and national advisory missions suspended since June 3. After the Malian military strongman Asimi Goita who led the coup last year overthrew the countrys civilian transitional president and prime minister, it was decided to suspend joint operations. The move triggered diplomatic turmoil, prompting the United States to suspend security assistance to Malis security forces, and prompting the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to suspend security assistance to Mali. Mali and France played a key role in fighting the bloody rebellion that plagued the Sahel. France deployed approximately 5,100 soldiers in the Sahel region during the crescent dune operation in five countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. On June 10, French President Macron Announce The French armys military presence in the Sahel has been significantly reduced, where troops have been fighting rebel groups for nearly a decade. Macron stated that the existing crescent-shaped dune operations will end, and the presence of France will become part of the so-called Takuba International Task Force, in which hundreds of French soldiers will become the backbone. This Takuba unit currently has about 600 soldiers, half of whom are French. According to the public broadcaster NHK, at least 20 people were missing on Saturday after heavy rains in Atami, a city in central Japan, triggered a landslide. NHK quoted local officials as saying that the landslide washed away houses in the city in Shizuoka Prefecture. The report said that police and firefighters were looking for the missing, and officials in Shizuoka Prefecture sought help from the national government to deal with the emergency. A video posted on social media showed that turbulent currents swept Atami, destroying several houses along the way, and several frightened bystanders fled for their lives. In the video, a woman was also heard saying this is terrible a few seconds before the flash flood attack. Shocking footage of mudslides in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture.Media reports said about 20 people were washed away and their whereabouts are unknown https://t.co/FhA5rxy7Fw -Tomohiro Osaki (@jt_osaki) July 3, 2021 There will be more details soon. As the mining industry in northwestern Ontario heats up, an aboriginal in the Ninth Treaty territory filed for an injunction to stop mineral exploration and protect the sacred areas of its traditional territory. Some people say that this is a case that will set a precedent in Canada and establish the inherent rights and treaty rights of the indigenous people to protect the Holy Land. According to the submitted documents, Ginoogaming First Nation believes that Wiisinin Zaahgiigan is a piece of land with an area of ??about 360 square kilometers, located about 300 kilometers northeast of Thunder Bay, and is its granary, church, central zone, cemetery and hospital. Their lawyers. Since ancient times, the Jinugaming people have hunted, gathered, sacrificed, buried their ancestors and healed their wounds on this land; but Victor Chapais, a councillor and former head of Ginoogaming, said that mining exploration activities threaten the area. If someone comes in and destroys Wiisinin Zaahgiigan, it will never be the same. It will always be damaged-damage to Mother Earth-and these are the things we are trying to protect, Chapais was interviewed by CBC News Shi said. The injunction submitted to the Ontario High Court is intended to prevent the two companies from conducting mineral exploration activities in Wiisinin Zaahgiigan, and argues that the province has failed to meet its constitutional obligations to negotiate and adapt. While applying for the injunction, Ginoogaming continued to negotiate with the federal and provincial governments on the size of its protected area under the Treaty Land Rights (TLE) procedure. No one ever told us However, based on written opinions, at least one company in the province and the ban responded by saying that the indigenous people did not meaningfully participate in the negotiation process. In the 40 years I have been here, no one has told us that the place where we deal with claims is a sacred area, said Michael Malouf, president of Hardrock Extension Inc., one of the companies that Ginoogaming applied to be named. ban. In an interview with CBC News, Malouf stated that the company has obtained a permit for mineral exploration on a land about 24 kilometers long and 3 kilometers wide near Greenstone, of which about one-third of the land is located in Wiisinin Zaahgiigan. Inside the Holy Land. Maluf said he has invested approximately US$7 million in the exploration of the property in the past few decades, and believes that there may be as many as 64 million ounces of gold in the area in theory. If the ban is approved, we will not be able to perform any work on the property until they [TLE] The court case was resolved. But the problem is that these aboriginal court cases may take years or even decades to resolve. If someone comes in and destroys Wiisinin Zaahgiigan, it will never be the same. -Victor Chapais, former chief and current councillor of Ginoogaming First Nation When asked what would be the stakes if the ban was approved, Maluf said: This will cause real damage to exploration in Ontario, because there is no guarantee of the right of use. The contract you signed with the Ontario Mining Law will not take any weight. . According to the written materials submitted by the prosecutions lawyer, Malouf obtained an exploration license for the area in June 2019, and Ginoogaming First Nation did not raise an objection until the license was obtained. The submitted documents show that the province had previously sent four letters to Ginoogaming within a year, providing Maloufs notice of applying for a license, but did not receive a response to any of the letters. The document added that the provincial regulatory agency sought more information about the sacred site from the Aboriginal people and sought to resolve the potential impact, but Ginoogaming told Ontario that mineral exploration is not possible in the area. [Wiisinin Zaahgiigan]. Potential precedent case: lawyer However, according to legal documents submitted by the lawyers of Ginoogaming, the aboriginal said that since at least 2015, it has repeatedly notified the Ontario government of the need to protect Wiisinin Zaahgiigan, and has not been informed of exploration permits involving the Holy Land. It has been awarded Hardrock Extension until 2019. OKT Law partner and Ginoogaming lawyer Kate Kempton (Kate Kempton) said in an interview that the indigenous people have been working hard for many years to prevent industrial activities from happening and causing damage to the holy land. Kate Kempton, partner of Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP and lawyer of Ginoogaming First Nation, stated that the Ontario government must treat Aboriginals as equal treaty partners, otherwise they will continue to face the impact of court cases. (https://www.oktlaw.com/) She added that before that, the legacy of boarding schools and other colonial policies aimed at eradicating indigenous languages ??and cultures forced the indigenous people to hide their traditional knowledge and practices. When they share details about their own culture, they are afraid of being abused and beaten, or worse, she said. Its only in the last few years, perhaps the past 10 or 15 years, that the aboriginal people have really begun to be more vocal about their cultural details and have an open mind about it. Kempton accused the Ontario government of creating the conditions that led to Ginoogamings application for the injunction and the resulting legal cases. She said that the aboriginal people owned land long before the settlers arrived in North America, and therefore had inherent rights, as well as treaty rights to protect cemeteries and sacred sites under Treaty 9. By granting permission, Ontario violated official honor and constitutional consulting obligations. However, Kempton added that there is no legal precedent to determine whether aboriginal people have the right to protect sacred sites and practice sacred practices in the area. Similar cases, such as the Supreme Courts decision on a holy site in the traditional territory of Ktunaxa, British Columbia in 2017, either rely on different legal arguments or debates based on different treaties. This will be the first such case in Canada, she said. The injunction application was heard in early June, and the parties involved expressed that they hope the trial judge will make a ruling next month. Without prior permission from the authorities, flights to and from Ethiopia and Vietnam are also banned. Saudi Arabia has stated that it will suspend flights to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Ethiopia and Vietnam to prevent variants of the coronavirus. The move announced on Saturday was announced seven weeks after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia banned travel abroad for more than a year and allowed fully immunized citizens to travel abroad. The state news agency SPA quoted an official from the Ministry of the Interior as saying that flights to these three countries will be suspended from 11pm on Sunday. It added that Saudi citizens and residents returning from these countries will be required to quarantine for 14 days. Citizens will be prohibited from traveling directly or indirectly without the prior permission of the authorities. The reason for this decision was the ongoing outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the spread of a new mutant virus strain, it added, but did not explicitly mention the Delta variants that are increasingly emerging globally. Delta was originally discovered in India and now exists in at least 85 countries/regions. It is the most infectious of all coronavirus variants discovered so far. The UAE-many Saudis, especially Dubais popular leisure destination-announced last week that it had recorded cases of Delta Air Lines and suspended flights to and from India. At the same time, Saudi Arabia has imposed major restrictions on the annual Hajj. It has officially recorded more than 490,000 coronavirus cases, including nearly 7,850 deaths. South Africas Supreme Court agreed to hear former President Jacob Zumas challenge to his 15-month sentence for contempt of court. The South African Constitutional Court has agreed to hear the challenge of former President Jacob Zumas revocation of the 15-month imprisonment sentence for contempt of court. The Constitutional Court sentenced Zuma 15 months in jail On Tuesday, he failed to attend a corruption investigation led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo in February. The former president was asked to surrender before the end of Sunday, after which the police will have to arrest him. But the court agreed on Saturday to hear his application on July 12. Al Jazeera reporter Fahmeda Miller reported in Encandela, South Africa, that instead of surrendering before tomorrow or facing arrest in the next few days Jacob Zuma will return or at least appear in the Constitutional Court for the first time to defend himself Yourself. Miller said that before sentencing, the leader had different opportunities to express his concerns. He ignored [the opportunities], Miller said. It seems that he is willing to talk to the Constitutional Court just the day before he should surrender himself, she added. Zuma called this sentence a political statement of punishment. He insisted that he was a victim of political persecution, and Zongdo had a prejudice against him. In his application for revocation of the decision submitted on Friday, Zuma said that imprisonment will put him at the highest risk of death from a pandemic because he is nearly 80 years old and in poor health. Thousands of his supporters, mainly members of the Umkhonto Wesizwe military branch of the African National Congress, have camped outside his home in KwaZulu Natal province for several weeks. On Saturday, hundreds of people marched with Zuma in Zumas hometown of Encandela. They can give Zuma 15 months or 100 months. His son Edward Zuma told Reuters at the rally that he would not serve a single day or a minute in prison. They must put their hands on him. Killed me before. Zuma did not talk to his supporters but is expected to speak to them on Sunday. He wore a black and gold tropical shirt as he walked through the crowd, but did not wear a mask. He is guarded by people dressed in traditional Zulu warrior costumes, wearing leopard skins, holding spears and oval cowhide shields. Tensions have been heating up this week as members of the Umkhonto Wesizwe Veterans Association (MKMVA) threatened that the country would be unstable if the former leader was arrested and promised to form a human shield around Zuma. Fearing a showdown, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) said it had postponed the Supreme National Executive Committee meeting this weekend. Convoys of many provincial local leaders, including ANC Secretary Natal Mdumiseni Ntuli of KwaZulu and provincial governor Sihle Zikalala, appeared on the homestead. Zuma ally Karnihaus told AFP that the former president met with spiritual leaders at his residence on Saturday. Tucker Carlson named the joke Kamala Harris as the power-hungry clown in the border crisis and said that she was administering the country. The angry host claimed that no one thinks that Joe Biden is actually running the White House. 4 The stern Tucker Carlson said Kamala Harris did not do much to help Credit: Fox 4 Carlson added that because of Kamala Harris, the wave of immigration has become a tsunami Credit: Reuters He referred to Kamala Harris as the power-hungry clown on Fox News. Carlson growled: She is a joke. She can barely get through this day. She doesnt know what she is doing. Speaking of the US-Mexico border crisis, he added that the wave of immigration has become a tsunami. In his Friday night show, Carlson mocked Harris and asked If Joe Biden is not doing things, then who is the one who is in charge of the United States. Carlson described the vice president as a joking and pretending to be a competent adult. Carlson added that people around her must shut up and accept Kamaras rule over you. 4 Tucker Carlson doesnt think Joe Biden is really in power Credit: Agence France-Presse He complained: Point out that she is a power-hungry clown pretending to be a competent adult, and they will immediately condemn you as a racist. A lot of people, especially in the news media, still find that the idea of ??being called a racist is the scariest thing they can imagine. Its more scary than death. So they will do anything to avoid it, including ignoring Kamala Harris obvious mediocrity. So they barely hide her. Kamala Harris may be one of the least impressive people in public life, but on some days, she seems to be running our country. Last month, the President of Mexico raised this point. Obrador said: The meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris was very good. I called her thePresident and it was great. Carlson continued his curse: Obrador is not the only one. The President of the United States calls her the President. In this country, voters have concluded that, in fact, she is. He cited a new poll on American political leadership by the Trafalgar Group and the National Assembly. 4 The opinionated host said that the vice president is really responsible Credit: Alami It questioned Americans who they thought was running the federal government. The host said: In a survey of potential voters, most American voters stated that Joe Biden is not the real person in charge. And its not just Republicans who think so. One-third of Democrats say Biden is really in power. The other 10% are not sure. Outside this channel, no one on TV can say the obvious thing, that is, Biden cant really do his job. He responded to the comment of the popular podcast host Joe Logan, saying: Joe Biden is the president, he is our leader [but] He would hardly stay there. Carlson added: We didnt talk too much about Bidens decline in this show because it was frustrating, and our default stance is always to respect the elderlyso mocking them is bad karma. But as far as Biden is concerned, this is clearly correct. The question is, if Biden is not, who is really in charge? In more and more cases, Kamala Harris seems to be managing things. If you believe in democracy, this is a problem. There is no large group of people who want Harris to control this country. She got the job completely by default. Friday Sun Online reports on the chaos in Harris team -After several government officials described her office as s**tshow. The apparent confusion is detailed first by mePolitico reportThis also reveals the long-standing tension between the vice presidents staff and President Bidens staff. More than a dozen former and current staff members described the Harris office environment as toxic and said they were low morale, lack of trust, and frequent interruptions in communication. A source said: People are thrown under the bus from the highest point. The fuse is short. This is an abusive environment. This is not a healthy environment and people often feel abused. This is not a place where people feel supported, but a place where people feel treated, they claim. Report According to reports, dysfunction is causing some Democrats Questioned whether Harris can successfully participate in the 2024 presidential race if the 81-year-old Biden decides to retire. The United Nations said the Libyan representative failed to agree on a legal framework for holding presidential and parliamentary elections later this year, putting an agreed road map to end the conflict there in jeopardy. The United Nations Support Mission in Libya said on Saturday that the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF), an organization composed of 75 members from all walks of life in Libya, concluded a five-day meeting in a hotel outside Geneva on Friday. Participants in the UN mediation talks discussed several proposals to establish a constitutional basis for the elections, some of which were inconsistent with the roadmap for setting a December 24 vote. The delegation stated that others tried to create conditions for holding elections as planned. The UN delegation stated that the members of the LPDF had formed a committee whose task was to bridge the gap between the proposals submitted to the forum. But the deadlock still exists. This is regrettable, said mission coordinator Raisedon Zenenga. The people of Libya will definitely be disappointed because they still long for the opportunity to exercise their democratic rights in the presidential and parliamentary elections on December 24. The delegation urged members of the forum to continue consultations to agree on workable compromises and consolidate what unites them. It warned that proposals that will not make the election feasible and that an election may be held on December 24 will not be accepted. This is not the result many of us had hoped for, but given the options on the table, it is a better result, forum member Elham Saudi wrote on Twitter. This will only delay the fight, and will not solve the problem. Al Jazeeras Malik Traina reported from Tripoli that the continuing differences between Libyas major political groups proved insurmountable. This is a created body [by the UN] To help reach consensus and reach agreement.they [the delegates] It was intended to propose a constitutional framework for the elections to be held in December, but there are serious differences between them. Despite the appointment of an interim government in February, both sides proposed different candidates. Libya still has differences on how to hold elections in December, he said. UN Criticism More than two dozen LPDF members criticized the UN delegations proposal that the forum vote on proposals including keeping the current government in power and holding only legislative elections. The US special envoy for Libya, Richard Norland, accused several members of the forum of apparently trying to insert poison pills by extending constitutional procedures or creating new conditions that must be met to ensure that elections do not occur. . Hold elections. We hope that the 75 Libyans in LPDF will recommit themselves to giving the 7 million Libyans across the country a say in shaping Libyas future, he said. Christian Barker, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Department of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urged LPDF members to stick to the road map for the December elections. He tweeted: Any delay will open the door to dangerous situations. Hard road The interim government led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah appointment Earlier this year, the forum was caught in a vote on corruption allegations. Its main task is to prepare for the December elections in order to stabilize the divided country. Since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising overthrew and killed the long-time ruler Gaddafi, Libya has been plagued by corruption and instability. In recent years, the country has split into a United Nations-recognized government in the capital Tripoli and a hostile authority based in Libya. The east of the country. Each party has the support of armed groups and foreign governments.The United Nations estimated that at least 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries In Libya, this includes the Turkish army, Syrians, Russians, Sudanese and Chadians. In April 2019, with the support of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, the eastern commander Khalifa Haftar and his forces launched an offensive in an attempt to seize the capital of Tripoli.14 months in Haftar activity After Turkey used hundreds of troops and thousands of Syrian mercenaries to strengthen its military support for the government recognized by the United Nations, Turkey collapsed. Last October, a Ceasefire agreement The agreement reached led to elections in December and the inauguration of the transitional government in February. The agreement includes a requirement that all foreign fighters and mercenaries leave Libya within 90 days, but this requirement has not been met. Villagers worry that the human remains found in woodland beside a major highway were the work of serial killer Christopher Halliwell. Forensic officers are searching on the land next to M4 Near Swindon, Wiltshire Today after the old bones were discovered. 6 Residents of a quiet Wiltshire village worry that the human remains found in the woodland may be related to the serial killer Christopher Halliwell Credit: Hyde News and Pictures The taxi driver who murdered two young women is serving his sentence in jail-but linked to further terror But residents living near the picturesque village of Bradbury worry that the murderer of two young women may be the culprit. The taxi driver Halliwell is currently responsible for killing 22-year-old Sian OCallaghan and Becky Gordon, 20 years old. Sian was killed only two minutes after getting into Halliwells taxi In Swindon on March 19, 2011. She was brutally beaten and stabbed. After taking the police to the remote location where he dumped her body, Halliwell suddenly admitted: I am a sick man. I need help. Do you want another one? The devil then revealed where The police can find Beckys body -He was strangled to death by him in 2003. Now locals say they are very worried that the remains may belong to another of his victims. A pensioner who has lived in a hut in the village for 28 years said: My daughter said she thought it might be Christopher Halliwell Because she often passes by that bridge and there is a taxi parked there, and so do I. He killed Becky Gordon in 2003-when he was interviewed for the murder of Sian OCallaghan, he brought the police to her body 6 Now worried locals say they believe there may be more victims Credit: Hyde News and Pictures She used to work at Tesco, and went to work early in the morning, and she saw the taxi parked there. You didnt think about anything because other vehicles were parked there, but over the years we saw a taxi parked there. This was our first thought after we found the bone yesterday. The 72-year-old, who asked not to be named, said that residents often discuss the possibility of more victims. We thought,There must be more girls around here,' she said. The police have not yet ruled out the possibility of being related to the pending local case, and said that the detectives have maintained an open mind. However, they stated that there was no indication of any connection with Halliwell at this early stage. Another Bradbury villager said: This is such a beautiful area, I dont think it can be connected with anyone except Christopher Halliwell. 22-year-old Sian was murdered after getting into a Halliwell taxi in 2011 He committed such a horrible crime And the police always said that he may be related to multiple cold killings. I hope this is the beginning of disintegration, so that the family can end. Detective Sheriff Steve FulcherThe investigator of Sians disappearance was fired after he drove Halliwell to the scene in violation of police guidelines instead of taking him to an official interview. Policemen I believe he might still find the young woman alive. After Halliwell was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Xian in 2012, a judge ruled His confession to Becky cannot be used in court. It took another four years for the campaign to be allowed, and Halliwell was eventually convicted of killing Becky and burying her body in a field in Glucks Eastridge. In February 2015, the police tried to get Halliwell to re-confess, hoping that he would admit that he was suspected of committing more killings. Mr. Fulcher later wrote a book on tragedy. Unsolved murders related to sick Halliwell Some homicides are related to the date of March 19-Halliwell was dumped by his girlfriend on this day in the 1980s, which is also the date Sian was killed. Linda Razzell, 41, disappeared in Swindon on March 19, 2002. Her husband Glyn was sentenced to 13 years in jail for murdering her, but remained innocent. Halliwell became fascinated by Linda after she did construction work at Razzells home four years before her death. Halliwells father lived a few blocks away from chef Claudia Lawrences home, who disappeared on March 19, 2009. Another potential victim is the 24-year-old sex worker Sally Ann John, who disappeared from Swindon in 1995. She lives on the same street as Halliwell. The disappearances of 39-year-old Tina Pryer, 20-year-old Thi Hai Nguyen and 21-year-old Sandra Brewin are also related to the killer He claimed that clothes and other objects found around the pond in 2014 Pointing at the trophy of a murderer hoarding a victim. Approximately 60 objects were found on the scene in Rumsbury. The former policeman wrote: If my suspicion is right, If the evidence in the trophy shop shows the truth is still hidden, Then Halliwell has a prolific murder tendencyperhaps once or twice a year. In 2016, after the trial of Halliwells conviction for the murder of Becky, Superintendent Sean Memory said: Halliwell spoke frankly in 1985 about wanting to be a serial killer. I really believe this is an obvious possibility. The Wiltshire Police Commissioner confirmed that the police may remain at the location of Swindon in the next few weeks. A military spokesperson said: Expert officials are currently conducting a detailed search of the area to find any relevant materials before conducting forensic scientific analysis. This kind of investigation may take several weeks, but as this work continues, we will work hard to provide the latest information. In the next few days and weeks, the public will see the presence of police in the area. Former policeman Steve Fulcher said he was worried that Halliwell might murder two people every year Taal volcano has been spewing sulfur dioxide for several days, causing dense fog and triggering health warnings. More than 2,000 people were forced to leave their homes after Taal Volcano in the Philippines began to emit steam, the air was full of toxic gases and health warnings were issued. Sitting on the scenic lake, Thar has spewed sulfur dioxide for several days, causing dense fog in Manila and several surrounding provinces. Provincial disaster official Jose Castro Jr. told AFP that at least 2,400 people have fled so far since the government called for the evacuation of small villages on the shore of the lake. We expect more residents to evacuate in the next few days, he said, adding that they are seeking asylum in schools or relatives homes that have been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Taal Volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in a country. Because it is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire-an area of ??intense seismic activity, it is regularly hit by volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. It is located only 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Manila, and for most of the past week, it has released volcanic smoke, obstructing the capitals sun. Civil defense officials warned that in the worst case of the current eruption, more than 317,000 people may be vulnerable to the toxic emissions of the volcano. We feel unsafe In the city of Agoncillo, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of Manila, police officers handed loudspeakers from door to door asking people to leave. Residents only have a few hours to protect their belongings and move to a safer area again. In January last year, the last eruption of Taal Volcano spewed 15 kilometers (9 miles) high of ash and hot lava, destroyed dozens of houses, killed livestock, and sent more than 135,000 people into shelters. Some families are now reluctant to leave their homes, fearing that COVID-19 might break out in crowded spaces. We also dont feel safe in the evacuation center, so we will stay with our relatives, Agoncillo resident Ramon Anete told Al Jazeera. In a center in Laurel Town, Imelda Reyes, who was evacuated, said it was too hurt to see her child suffer. I really dont know what to say, she told Al Jazeera, trying to hold back her tears. Im just praying. This is a very difficult situation. Across the hall, another evacuee, Imelda Calapatiya, also felt distressed. Is it a volcano, it is sick and infected with the new crown virus? she asked. Its really hard for me to have so many children. I cant sleep just thinking about it. SURFSIDE, Fla. -- The confirmed death toll from the collapse of the condo in Florida has risen to 24 with the discovery of two more bodies in the rubble. Demolition workers are planning to bring down the rest of a partially collapsed condo building in South Florida. This comes ahead of an approaching storm that is heightening concerns that the structure could come down on its own. A Miami-Dade fire official tells relatives of people missing in the rubble that workers plan to demolish the remainder of the building as soon as Sunday. Gov. Ron DeSantis says it is structurally unsound and bringing it down will protect rescuers. YREKA, Calif, July, 3, 2021 The CA Incident Management Team 15 will be hosting a Community Meeting July 3 at 6 P.M. in partnership with Klamath National Forest, CAL FIRE, and cooperating agencies. Officials from CAIMT15, CAL FIRE, Klamath National Forest, and local representatives will be available to answer any questions. The meeting will be held at 6 P.M. for those who wish to join in-person, at the Butte Valley Community Center in Dorris, CA. It will also be live-streamed on Klamath National Forests Facebook page. Due to effective suppression efforts by Tennant Fire personnel, resources have been able to focus their efforts in containing hot spots on the western and southeastern areas of the fire perimeter. As of 6 A.M. the fire has burned 10,012 acres, and has a containment level of 17%. Fire suppression tactics will continue to be constructing and strengthening direct fire line, as well preparing for any possible increased fire activity. A heat advisory is in effect until Sunday, July 4th. Resources will be focused on keeping the fire held to its current perimeter and responding to spot fires as quickly as possible. A slight uptick in moisture on Saturday and Sunday may be enough to trigger an isolated shower or thunderstorm, but overall chances will remain low with about a 5-10% chance of development. Evacuation Orders and Warnings are in effect for areas surrounding the Tennant Fire. Up-to-date information regarding evacuations can be viewed at an interactive map managed by the Siskiyou County Office of Emergency Services. The cause of the Tennant Fire is still under investigation. Fire information can also be found on Facebook @KlamathNF, Twitter @Klamath_NF, and InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7584/. BIG SPRINGS, Calif. When the Lava Fire made a big push to the north on Monday, the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office issued a flurry of evacuation orders stretching from the outskirts of Weed nearly to the community of Big Springs north of Lake Shastina. Evacuees from Lake Shastina and Carrick received the go-ahead to return home on Thursday night good news for many people displaced by the fire earlier this week. "It's just pure relief . . . yeah," said Richard Lee Shin, who had to evacuate his home earlier on Monday. "And this was the third time for me. Like I say, two floods and then you get back in your house was not flooded. And then you get back and your house was not burned down and your community wasn't burned down. It's all good." For residents like Shin, evacuations are a familiar and necessary evil. But in some areas, the evacuation orders have inflamed already-simmering tensions between Siskiyou County's Hmong and Chinese communities and County authorities, recalling recent battles over illegal marijuana grows and water rights. While details on the case remain slim, evacuations near the Mount Shasta Vista Subdivision on Monday were punctuated by a deadly officer-involved shooting after a man tried to enter the area against officers' orders and pointed possibly fired a handgun at them, according to a Sheriff's Office statement. Officers shot and killed the man. Russell Mathis owns a plot within Mount Shasta Vista, and he says that he's been in contact with members of the Hmong community there many of whom stayed behind to either save their property or because they didn't have the means to leave. With bulk deliveries of water already strictly enforced over the last few months and the arrival of extreme heat and fire over the past few days, Mathis says that the Hmong are desperate for water, and enforcement of the evacuation order is keeping them from moving freely in and out of the subdivision. "There are some people in here who don't have cars they didn't leave," said Mathis. "And right now they're calling me and asking if I can bring them water . . . and of course, I asked for water for the community and they won't even give us bottled water, which I kind of feel like is cruel at this point." Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue doesn't agree with this characterization of the situation in Mount Shasta Vista. "The folks that we see have plenty of bottled water, and those questions are actually being asked out there," LaRue said, pointing to the Red Cross and other emergency resources in the area. "It's just not how the system is designed, and it's not designed to hurt anybody . . . we open [the shelters] up so people can get all that stuff." Residents who stayed in the subdivision have hampered firefighting efforts, LaRue said. According to the Sheriff, some fire crews have reported people throwing rocks or building roadblocks. "When people fail to evacuate, what they're essentially doing is . . . you know, they're on their own," said LaRue. "And if they don't have water or food and what-not . . . I mean, in a sense they're doing that to themselves because they don't have to be there. That's why we have these shelters open." Mathis and other members of the community don't think this is a good enough response. "We're not asking you to bring a water tender in," said Mathis. "We're asking to bring some cases of water to drink at this point. Unless he changes his narrative a little bit and meets halfway, this community is never going to get along." LaRue says that the evacuation order covering the Mount Shasta Vista subdivision will not be lifted until fire crews can put out hot spots in the area and until utility companies make sure that power has been restored. Fire officials say that this work is underway, but there's no estimated time for when residents can move freely through the area again. The last person who asked me that is still missing. If you need me, I'll be underwater. It's a dry heat. You call this hot? Bring it on. Vote View Results LANE COUNTY, Ore.-- A Clackamas County couple, Jessica Johansen (34) and David Proffitt (35), was arrested Friday night by the Lane County Sheriff's Office for several charges including one count of first degree rape, one count of second degree rape and three counts of first degree sexual abuse. Both Johansen and Proffitt were each charged with these crimes. This comes after the Oregon Department of Human Services sought the public's help in June to search for the couple, a group of missing siblings and the siblings' grandmother, Lorri Proffitt. The missing siblings were identified as 12-year-old Leilia Johansen, 5-year-old Adisenn Proffitt, 5-year-old Ansen Proffitt and 9-year-old Izabella Proffitt. ODHS said the children went missing on May 27 and are believed to be in danger. It is still unclear where the children are. Court documents show the couple was first indicted back in November 2019 in Clackamas County for one count of rape in the first degree, one count of rape in the second degree, one count of sodomy in the first degree, one count of sodomy in the second degree and three counts of first degree sexual assault. The documents also say the couple allegedly sexually assaulted a child. Johansen and Proffitt were reportedly released from custody in April 2020 with the following conditions: No direct or indirect contact with victims Obey all laws Sign waiver of extradition Keep the court informed of current residence at all times Not leave State of Oregon without permission of the Court No contact with non-family minors 8 p.m. curfew at reported residence This is a developing story. Stay with KEZI for the latest. ST PAUL, Ore. Missing a few hours of work could mean immigrant farmworkers' families miss their next meal. So even as the historic heat wave scorched the Pacific Northwest, thousands of immigrants went to work in fields, farms and nurseries. "A lot of them are being paid by piece rate. So they're not being paid by the hour, they're being paid by the volume of crop they're able to bring in," said Elizabeth Strater, United Farm Workers' director of strategic campaigns. "It's sick. It's sick the way that their productivity is literally pitted directly against their health and their life." An immigrant worker in St. Paul, Ore., was among those who died in the heat wave. Sebastian Francisco Perez collapsed at a nursery during the record-breaking temperatures. He immigrated from Guatemala just a few months prior to support his wife. "She wanted to start fertility treatment, so he came here to save money and go back and help her pay for that," PCUN executive director Reyna Lopez said. After moving irrigation lines at Ernst Nursery and Farms in St. Paul on Saturday, workers found Perez unconscious and dying in the field. Oregon OHSA listed his death as heat-related. "Heat death - heat illness - it is entirely preventable," Strater said. Farmworker advocates like Strater and Lopez are outraged and calling for greater protection for farmworkers. They say they asked the state to adopt a mandatory emergency rule and standards before the heat wave to protect people working outside in extreme heat. "It needs to be treated like the emergency that it is. It's a crisis," Strater said. "Some of things we'd like to see included in emergency rules and standards are pretty basic, frankly. What we want to see is access to cold, clean water at work sites for outdoor workers, provided by the employer," Lopez said. "We also would like to see access to shade that is going to be adequate to protect all farmworkers on shift and at the site that's close to fields." Lopez said they also want to see more frequent paid breaks when temperatures are above 90 degrees, mandatory paid training and retaliation protections. Oregon OSHA is investigating whether there were any workplace violations with Ernst and the contractor that hired Perez and other workers, which could take up to four months. Under its general rules for all workplaces, the agency can cite employers for not protecting workers during extreme weather. But the specifics about how to protect them are left up to the employer. "There needs to be enforceable binding requirements that if the employer fails to provide necessities of life to these people that there is going to be some element of holding them accountable when these disasters hit," Strater said. When Oregon Gov. Kate Brown ordered state offices to mitigate climate change last March, Oregon OSHA worked with the Oregon Health Authority to come up with specific rules and standards to prevent heat illness. But the pandemic delayed the effort and a formal rule proposal isn't expected until September. "If we would have had some of these things in place it could be that Senor Sebastian Francisco Perez could be with us here today," Lopez said. KGW reached out Ernst to ask about working conditions and have not heard back as of Friday afternoon. PCUN is holding a vigil for Perez in front of the nursery Saturday, July 3. By Ivan Ssenabulya The National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU) has asked the government to have its members included on the list of vulnerable people to benefit from Covid-19 cash relief. The call comes as registration of beneficiaries by local authorities in various cities and municipalities continues with the first list expected to be presented to the ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development today. Addressing journalists yesterday, the Unions Chairperson Bumali Mpindi asked the government to have an inclusive strategy to enable Persons with Disabilities to access the covid-relief cash to support them through the 42-day lockdown. Individuals from the groups of the vulnerable identified by the government will receive Shs100,000 each and upto 1 million people in over 500,000 households are targeted. Weather Alert ...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR THUNDERSTORMS FOLLOWED BY WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR EAST SLOPES OF THE CASCADES INTO THE COLUMBIA BASIN...PALOUSE AND SPOKANE AREA... The National Weather Service in Spokane has issued a Fire Weather Watch for thunderstorms early Wednesday morning followed by wind and low relative humidity in the afternoon and early evening. * Affected Area: Fire Weather Zone 673 East Washington Northern Columbia Basin, Fire Weather Zone 674 East Washington Palouse and Spokane Area, Fire Weather Zone 676 East Washington South Central Cascade Valleys, Fire Weather Zone 677 East Washington Central Cascade Valleys, Fire Weather Zone 680 East Washington South Central Cascade Mountains and Fire Weather Zone 682 East Washington Central Cascade Mountains. * Thunderstorms: Elevated early morning dry thunderstorms will be possible. * Winds: West 10 to 20 mph with gusts 25 to 35 mph. * Relative Humidities: 13 to 25 percent in the valleys and 25 to 47 percent over the higher terrain. * Impacts: New fire starts with rapid spread possible from gusty winds. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Fire Weather Watch means that critical fire weather conditions are forecast to occur. Listen for later forecasts and possible Red Flag Warnings. && Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading. To subscribe, click here. Already a subscriber? Click here. Fantastic news arrived yesterday with confirmation that Kilkenny has been designated a World Crafts Council Craft City and Region one of only four regions to achieve this recognition in Europe. Its a prestigious designation and one that will serve to enhance the citys reputation for craft and design excellence on an international scale. Kilkennys bona fides as a craft and creativity hub are no secret, but it is always welcome to see it recognised. Heres hoping it will bring more visitors to the region and lead to more opportunities for our local craftspeople. The achievement would not have been possible without a lot of hard work by multi-disciplinary craft group MADE in Kilkenny, whose members set out the case for the regions activities in the areas of making, education and training, and exhibition spaces. Well done to all involved. MEDIA TRUST The results are in. A new study has confirmed that trust in local media in Ireland remains high. The 2021 Digital News Report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism shows that trust in local newspapers and their digital content has increased from 71% to 73% over the past year. The number of people who say they are interested or extremely interested in news has also continued to increase. The importance of strong and independent local media has been particularly in focus during the pandemic. Many people turned to their long-established community newspaper or radio station for news and accurate information on what was happening in their local area. The gap between the quality and accuracy of this content and some of what was circulating on social media was stark. With many challenges facing newspapers and print media in changing times, new funding models must be considered. It is important that Government acts to support the sector which supports many jobs here and keeps local communities informed. AUSTIN, Minn. A trial date is set for a Mower County man accused of selling heroin. Michael Thomas Barren, 24 of Austin, was arrested in June and charged with two counts of second-degree sale of heroin. Authorities say Barren met with a confidential informant in March and April and Barren sold in the informant a total of 4.4 grams of heroin. Court documents state both drug sales happened in Austin. Barrens trial is scheduled to start on January 24, 2022. He remains in the Mower County Jail on $100,000 bond. CHARLES CITY, Iowa A Floyd County man has been arrested for child sex abuse. James Tyrone Teel, 32 of Charles City, is accused of second-degree sexual abuse. He was booked into the Floyd County Jail on $25,000 bond. Investigators say a child under the age of 10 told them Teel had sexual contact with the child in the bathroom of a Charles City business. DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A federal appeals court on Friday threw out a Trump-era Environmental Protection Agency rule change that allowed for the sale of a 15% ethanol gasoline blend in the summer months. The decision deals a significant blow to the ethanol industry and corn farmers who grow the crop from which the fuel additive is made. They had anticipated increased ethanol demand through year-round sales of the higher blend. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds released the following statement on the decision: Iowa proudly leads the country in the production of renewable fuels, and todays ruling is a gut punch to not only our renewable fuel industry but our fuel retailers as well. I worked closely with the Trump Administration to secure year-round sales of E-15, and I disagree with todays court decision. We will continue to stand up for renewable fuels and fuel retailers, and pursue every avenue to ensure they can continue to offer lower cost, cleaner burning E-15 to Iowans. Most gasoline sold in the U.S. today is blended with 10% ethanol. Corn farmers and ethanol refiners have pushed for the government to allow the widespread sale of a 15% ethanol blend. The Trump administration made the change to fulfill a campaign promise to Midwest farmers. The EPA under President Donald Trump announced the change in May 2019, ending a summer ban on the E15 blend. Provisions of the Clean Air Act have prohibited the sale of certain fuels with a higher volatility from June 1 through Sept. 15 to limit smog. Congress has allowed 10% ethanol, and the EPA in its 2019 ruling revised the interpretation of the exemption to federal law to include the 15% ethanol blend. Ethanol supporters contend that using more of the corn-based renewable fuel is better for the environment and helps meet federal climate change goals. Three judges on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued Friday's decision. They said it's clear from federal law that Congress balanced wide-ranging economic, energy-security, and geopolitical implications and that the wording of the law reflects a compromise, not simply a desire to maximize ethanol production at all costs. They concluded Congress did not intend to allow ethanol blends higher than 10% to be widely sold year-round. They said the EPA overstepped its authority. The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, the trade group for the petroleum industry that challenged the EPA decision, said the court simply followed government's interpretation of the law in effect for 30 years. There is no ambiguity in statute and the previous administrations reinterpretation overstepped the will of Congress, said AFPM President and CEO Chet Thompson. The Iowa Corn Growers Association said it will continue to work with the Biden administration, Congress and state officials to maintain consumer access to E15 year-round. It does not make sense to reinstate barriers that could inhibit market access to a cleaner-burning fuel choice that combats climate change, said Carl Jardon, a farmer from Randolph, Iowa, and president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association. The decision is the second major court defeat for the ethanol industry in a week. On June 25, the U.S. Supreme Court said some petroleum refiners may exempt themselves from requirements to blend ethanol into the gasoline they produce, further cutting into the amount of ethanol blended into the national fuel supply. In response to that ruling, Iowa Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra and Minnesota DFL Congresswoman Angie Craig have introduced the Small Refinery Exemption Clarification Act of 2021. The biofuels industry is an important driver of economic growth in Iowa, supporting hundreds of jobs and expanding market options for our corn and soybean growers, says Feenstra. That is why we must erase ambiguities and ensure oil refineries are not able to take shortcuts when it comes to blending biofuels. I would like to thank Rep. Craig for joining me in this effort. As a cleaner and more affordable option for consumers, I will continue supporting efforts that will help bolster biofuels. This legislation will help ensure transparency and predictability for family farmers and biofuels producers in Minnesota and across the country as they make important decisions based on the Renewable Fuel Standard, says Craig. I am grateful to Representative Feenstra for working alongside me on this critical issue, and I look forward to continuing our bipartisan work to ensure that the oil industry does not receive unnecessary assistance at the expense of family farmers. It is vital that we continue to support the clean biofuels industry as we reduce the carbon intensity of our transportation sector and make important investments across rural America. Ethanol supporters could ask the full D.C. Circuit Court to review the decision of the three-judge panel. They also could ask Congress to change the law to allow for year around E15 sales. The industry is hoping this year's sales will not be curtailed because by the time the court issues its mandate and the EPA is required to comply most of the summer season will have passed. This is the third summer E15 sales have been allowed and there were indications sales were increasing. Sales jumped 24% in Iowa from 2019 to 2020, surpassing 60.5 million gallons in 2020, the Renewable Fuels Association reported. That increase was despite a 14% drop in the state's overall petroleum consumption from 2019 levels due to fewer people driving because of the coronavirus pandemic. ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) A coalition of Minnesotas largest law enforcement groups has sued the state to overturn a state law that changed the standard for justified use of deadly force by police. The lawsuit claims the law, which took effect in March, violates officers rights to self-defense and unconstitutionally compels officers to forfeit their rights to refuse to testify against themselves in deadly force cases. The law underwent a major rewrite following George Floyds death in the custody of four Minneapolis police officers last May. FILE - In this Sunday, May 31, 2020, file photo, a police officer points a hand cannon at protesters who have been detained pending arrest on South Washington Street, as protests continued following the death of George Floyd, in Minneapolis. Minnesotas t FILE - In this Sunday, May 31, 2020, file photo, a police officer points a hand cannon at protesters who have been detained pending arrest on South Washington Street, as protests continued following the death of George Floyd, in Minneapolis. Minnesotas t Minnesota Public Radio reports the rewritten standard narrowed the conditions for when deadly force is deemed appropriate. SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) The number of people missing in the Florida condominium collapse fell substantially Friday, from 145 to 128, after duplicate names were eliminated and some residents reported missing turned up safe, officials said. Authorities also announced the recovery of two more bodies, including the 7-year-old daughter of a Miami firefighter. That raised the confirmed death toll to 20 people. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said the number of missing declined following an audit. In some cases, when detectives were able to contact people who had been reported as potentially missing, they found that not only were they safe, but other members of their families were safe, too. That pushed the list of people who have been accounted for up to 188 and reduced the number of missing, she said. So this is very, very good news, she said, adding that the numbers are expected to keep changing because detectives are continually reviewing the list and verifying reports. Detectives have worked around the clock to contact relatives and others. In some cases, English and Hebrew names have been offered for the same missing relative, officials have said. The 7-year-old who perished in the collapse was "a member of our fire family, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said. The discovery of the girl's remains was especially hard on rescuers, Levine Cava said. It was truly different and more difficult for our first responders. These men and woman are paying an enormous human toll each and every day, and I ask that all of you please keep them in your thoughts and prayers, she said at a news conference. No one has been rescued since the first hours after the June 24 collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South condominium. During a meeting Friday with relatives of the missing, Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah said that only one voice has been heard during the entire search. A womans voice was detected until about 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. on the morning of the collapse, which happened around 1:30 a.m. Rescuers were unable to reach her, and he said no other voices or human sounds have been heard since. Jadallah also prepared the families members for a possible suspension of the search if Hurricane Elsa now in the eastern Caribbean brings strong winds to South Florida that would make the work too dangerous. Some rescue workers who are now staying in tents will be moved to cruise ships, which can stay safe during a tropical storm, Jadallah said. About 600 first responders will stay on the Royal Caribbean ship Explorer of the Seas, the cruise line said. The ship, which can accommodate more than 3,000 passengers, began housing rescue teams Thursday and likely will continue for the next month. Fridays announcements came a day after officials said they were working on plans to tear down whats left of the building after concerns about the structures instability prompted a 15-hour halt to the search for survivors. Crews noticed widening cracks and up to a foot of movement in a large column. It will likely be weeks before the demolition is scheduled, officials said. The cause of the collapse is under investigation. A 2018 engineering report found that the building's ground-floor pool deck was resting on a concrete slab that had major structural damage and needed extensive repairs. The report also found abundant cracking of concrete columns, beams and walls in the parking garage. Just two months before the building came down, the president of its board wrote a letter to residents saying that structural problems identified in the 2018 inspection had gotten significantly worse and that major repairs would cost at least $15.5 million. With bids for the work still pending, the building suddenly collapsed last Thursday. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The U.S. Supreme Court has sided an Amish group in Minnesota that's fighting efforts to compel them to install septic systems. The case pits families with the traditionalist Swartzentruber Amish in southeastern Minnesota against Fillmore County. Minnesota courts have sided with the county. But the Supreme Court on Friday sent the case back to the Minnesota Court of Appeals with instructions to take another look, in light of its ruling last month in a different religious freedom case. While the order was a strong indicator what the justices think should happen, the next step is up to the Minnesota court. Jasper, TX (75951) Today Thunderstorms early, then becoming mostly clear after midnight. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Thunderstorms early, then becoming mostly clear after midnight. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%. Immigration policy experts say the recent wave of migrant crossings at the U.S./Mexico border might by partly the result of seasonal trends, not solely Biden administration policies. (Adobe Stock) The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering a 50/50 match on Nebraska dollars invested in outreach to get more eligible families enrolled in SNAP, the program formerly known as food stamps. (Adobe Stock) More jobless Americans are suing to get their pandemic unemployment benefits back Two Easy Ways To Subscribe! The Kodiak Daily Mirror offers full-service, five-day a week subscriptions with home delivery in addition to unlimited access to our online services (including our e-Edition). Online-access-only subscriptions include unlimited access to the Mirror's online services without delivery of the printed newspaper. (Note: New users: You must register and login before purchasing a subscription. Military band members rehearse before the event marking the 100th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of China, on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, July 1. Reuters-Yonhap A Chinese magazine marked the ruling Communist Party's centenary by publishing a detailed outline of a three-stage surprise attack which could pave the way for an assault landing on Taiwan. An accompanying video was also posted on social media platform Weibo by the publication Naval and Merchant Ships, with the message "we must solemnly warn some people that the road of Taiwan independence only leads to a dead end". Beijing regards the self-ruled island as a renegade province, to be returned to mainland control, by force if necessary. The magazine did not go into possible counter-attacks or responses from other key players such as the US and Japan in its scenario. According to the article, the first round would consist mainly of ballistic missile attacks aimed at destroying information gathering and decision-making assets including airports, early warning radar, anti-air missile bases, and command centers across the island. Weapons used at this stage could include the DF-16 a short-range ballistic missile which the magazine said the island's missile shield system would find difficult to intercept and ammunition dispensers, which would cause more damage per strike. "The attacks against Taiwan's airports would continue until [Chinese] surface troops had accomplished an assault landing," it said. Naval ports could be attacked with air strikes by China's H-6 bombers and J-16 fighter jets, the article said, adding that they should only be "temporarily suspended" rather than "completely destroyed" so the PLA could use them for a landing. The second stage of the magazine's three-pronged strategy would be several rounds of intensive cruise missile attacks, such as the YJ-91 and CJ-10, launched from land, ships and submarines and targeting military bases, ammunition depots, communications infrastructure and key road junctions. The article suggested that PLA surface ships could then use drones to assess the damage. Finally, the article said artillery strikes from surface ships and land-based rocket forces would remove any remaining obstacles for the PLA's marine corps and amphibious landing troops. Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, drinks from an anniversary mug as he looks over toward Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Chinese Communist Party at Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, July Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Clear to partly cloudy. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable. Angola, IN (46703) Today Clear to partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Weather Alert ...HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON WEDNESDAY TO MIDNIGHT MDT WEDNESDAY NIGHT... * WHAT...Hot conditions expected with highs in the upper 90s to near 100. * WHERE...Mud Lake, INL, Craters on the Moon, Pocatello, Blackfoot, American Falls, Shelley, Fort Hall, Albion, Almo, Malta, Rockland, Holbrook, Inkom, McCammon, Downey, Lava Hot Springs, Malad, Preston, and Thatcher. * WHEN...From noon Wednesday to midnight MDT Wednesday night. * IMPACTS...Hot temperatures may cause heat illnesses to occur. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. && Being proud of being an American Serving in the military or as a first responder Being an honorable citizen Freedom to speak your mind Vote View Results LAME DEER, Mont. - A Northern Cheyenne woman is recovering after a car accident involving a BIA officer. Northern Cheyenne Council Member Diane Spotted Elk says her daughter, Araya Beartusk, was driving down Cheyenne Avenue to meet her at work. Spotted Elk says she was waiting outside for Araya when she heard something. "I just heard this bang and I knew it was a car getting hit. I literally saw a tire rolling and a cup flying," Spotted Elk said. After hearing the crash, Spotted Elk went to check out the accident and was devastated with what she saw. "As I come around the truck, I noticed immediately that it's my daughter's car, and I just flipped out," she said. Spotted Elk says her daughter slowed to make a left turn into the Capitol parking lot when the BIA vehicle rear-ended her. She then said her daughter had to be extracted from the vehicle and was taken to the emergency room. Thankfully, her daughter is now resting at home. "She had a few scratches on her ankle, a cut under her chin, they had to take some glass out of her face, and that was it. And her car is so tiny, the impact that she took, it's just a miracle. I am just so grateful," Spotted Elk said. An investigation into what caused the collision is ongoing. UPDATE: JULY 3 AT 2:32 P.M. Information from the FAA identifies the plane as a Cessna 172R fixed-wing single-engine aircraft. The FAA also identifies the non-profit Valley Fliers as the owner of the plane. UPDATE: JULY 2 AT 9:44 P.M. The Sheriff and Coroner TJ McDermott released the names of those who died as a result of a plane crash near Missoula on Thursday, July 1. The husband and wife are identified as 42-year-old Brian J. Makar and 43-year-old Carrie R. Makar, both of Burien, Washington. Missoula County Sheriffs Office will continue to assist the National Transportation Safety Board as requested with their investigation. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. In a release, the Missoula County Sheriff's Office wrote, "Our heartfelt condolences go out to family and friends during this extremely difficult time." MISSOULA, Mont. - Two people are confirmed dead after a small aircraft reportedly went down southwest of Missoula. At approximately 2:30 p.m. the Missoula County Sheriffs Office was notified by Montana Aeronautics of a downed aircraft southwest of Missoula. Missoula County Search and Rescue responded and Two Bear Air was requested to assist in the search for the aircraft, according to a release. With the assistance of Two Bear Air, Deputies were able to locate the downed aircraft and secure the scene. Two people are confirmed dead. Missoula County Sheriffs office will continue to assist the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) with their investigation. Fireworks, charcoal grill-outs, a day at the beach: Its all fun until someone gets burned. And with the holiday weekend here, opportunities for accidental burns mount, say experts. According to the National Fire Protection Association July is the peak month for grill fires. The agency also reports that children under five accounted for 39 percent of contact-type burns per year. These burns typically occurred when someone, often a child, bumped into, touched or fell on the grill, grill part or hot coals. As for fireworks, the Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that on average, 180 people go to the emergency room every day with fireworks-related injuries in the month around the July 4th holiday. Sunburn prevention, treatment If youre lucky enough to avoid those burn factors, theres still the sun to look out for. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services more than one out of every three Americans reports getting sunburned each year. The severity of a sunburn, and whether it needs medical attention depends on a variety of factors, according to Mabria Loqman, urgent care physician at Aurora Urgent Care Racine, 8400 Washington Ave., Mount Pleasant. "I would ask specifically that the plan commission be told what we have in mind," Howell said. "Because they're going to ask, 'Why did you send it back and what are we suppose to do about it?'" When the plan commission members approved the general development plan, they added a provision that Kwik Trip officials update their traffic study near the intersection of Wells Street and Townline Road in three years to determine if a traffic control device is needed in that area at that time. If a traffic control device is needed, then the company would pay part of the cost to install it. "We just don't know what is going to happen," Michael Krajovic, plan commission member, said. "I think it's going to be very successful and an issue very well could develop." If the general development plan is approved, then city officials have to approve a precise implementation plan for the project, which includes landscaping, building design and site plan. Fesenmaier said she wants to address the issues in the general development plan before voting on the precise implementation plan. We all have so much to celebrate this Fourth of July. We can celebrate the independence of our nation, our friends, family and veterans and a return to normal. This past weekend the Town of Delavan got the celebration started with an early Independence Day event. Communities throughout the county have events scheduled for the coming weekend. While its a great time to celebrate, please do it safely! Dont drink and drive. If celebrating with a drink or two, have a designated driver or celebrate within walking distance of where you are staying. This designated driver system applies to boaters as well. The water patrol will be out so be safe or you could end up with a ride to the Walworth County Jail. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Speaking of boating, make sure everyone has life jackets either on or in the boat. Children 13 and younger are required to wear them while in a moving boat. And all adults must have one accessible. Holiday weekends mean a lot of people are going to be hitting the water, some less experienced then others. Its important for everyone to be safe. Two of Pennsylvanias largest meatpackers say support from the community and government officials has been crucial to keeping their businesses open throughout the pandemic. We did have some real help there. Otherwise wed have probably got shut down like in other states, said Scott Sechler, owner of Bell & Evans, a premium chicken company based in Fredericksburg. Sechler joined Doug Clemens, chairman of the board for Clemens Family Corp., for a June 23 talk at the Keystone Pork Expo/Poultry Progress Day/Mid-Atlantic Manure Summit. Meatpacking was one of the ag sectors hit hardest in the early days of the pandemic. Some plants closed briefly in Pennsylvania, and major closures at huge Western slaughterhouses led to retail meat shortages that unnerved consumers nationwide. But in the beginning, COVID-19 stole up on packing plant owners just as it did on everyone else. Sechler thinks he and his wife got the virus at a trade show in January 2020, before a pandemic had been declared. We didnt know what we had. We just lost our taste, Sechler said. And then comes March. All of a sudden, we get a name for it. Soon, 300 to 400 Bell & Evans employees were absent because they or someone in their social circle got sick. To keep the plant running at high volume, Sechler sought help from the community. Contract growers, neighbors, friends, laid-off construction workers and local Amish people all chipped in. To Sechler, the response showed that the company had been doing the right things in business relations and charitable contributions before the pandemic. The loyalty we shared in the past came back to us double through COVID, and as long as I live I will never forget that, Sechler said. After a few weeks, employee attendance rebounded, and few Bell & Evans workers have gotten the virus since April 2020, Sechler said. Bell & Evans found itself well positioned for the sudden increase in grocery store demand that resulted from restaurant closures. The companys premium product is a hard sell in the low-margin food service industry, so retail already provided 95% of sales, Sechler said. Retail accounts boosted their orders to make up for shortfalls from other suppliers. And with cheap chicken often out of stock at stores, many consumers stepped up to Bell & Evans more expensive product often sticking with the brand even after shelves became full again. The companys organic business jumped 40% last year, Sechler said. Community and Lawmakers Rally Behind Plants Clemens was in a different boat than Sechler. Before the pandemic his company, which produces pork under the brand Hatfield Quality Meats, got 65% of sales from diners, hotels, airlines, universities and other food service institutions. Clemens got a sense of how serious the situation would become in early March 2020, when he and his wife arrived for a weekend in Tampa to attend Phillies spring training only to find out that the entire preseason had been canceled. Everything that you knew about forecasting, production planning, all those kind of things are completely out the window, he told his staff the following Monday. With order cancellations piling up, the company had a warehouse full of pork products packed in 20- to 50-pound boxes for food service use. These packages were not an easy sell at the grocery store, but Clemens resolved to change production lines to consumer packaging and above all, to keep the business running. Both Hatfield and Bell & Evans kept their plants online, though it wasnt easy. Sechler said there was a lot of pressure to temporarily shut the plant down, which he attributed in part to labor unions and to reporting in the Philadelphia Inquirer that he described as inaccurate. Still, Bell & Evans had strong support from public officials. Sechler said he spoke several times a day with Ag Secretary Russell Redding, and Health Department staffers visited the plant to offer advice on putting up dividers and implementing other health measures. Clemens said he ended up on the phone with officials at all levels from local leaders to President Donald Trump and Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue who wanted the pork processor to stay open. They did offer support, but it was primarily moral support keep doing what youre doing because all of this came as a pretty big surprise to us, he said. In an official document almost two months into the pandemic, Perdue urged meatpackers to stay open and said he could take further action under the Defense Production Act. That law allows the government to require performance of contracts and to allocate materials, services and facilities for critical purposes, but Perdue never resorted to those powers. For Sechler and Clemens, one of the biggest challenges to staying open was getting personal protective equipment and other health supplies. These items were scarce, and companies across the country were scrambling to get them. We were into the middle of March before I think we got our first thermometer, Sechler said. Clemens held weekly calls to keep farmers updated on the situation, and he looked for face masks to address workers safety concerns. The Kurtz family, which owns Keystone Mills outside Ephrata, organized its community to make thousands of face masks by hand for workers at the Hatfield plant. Without that, I dont know what our future would have held as far as being shut down. But our people wanted to feel safe, Clemens said. Though the pandemic is now receding, Clemens said it has brought lasting changes to the company. The most obvious shifts are in marketing Clemens business today is more balanced between retail and food service than it was a year ago but other changes are philosophical. Clemens said he has gained a new appreciation for how much each step in the value chain relies on the others, and how open communication makes the system work. We have to rely on each other, he said, from the farm literally to the fork. On Earth, the United Arab Emirates boasts the tallest building, the largest artificial island and the biggest shopping mall, which includes an indoor ski resort and a colony of penguins. Earth, though, has its limits, so the Persian Gulf nation is looking elsewhere. If all goes as planned, a century from now it will have built a fully functioning city of 600,000 people on Mars. We aspire in the coming century to develop science, technology and our youths passion for knowledge, tweeted Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the countrys vice president and prime minister, when he announced the project known as Mars 2117 earlier this year. This project is driven by that vision. Advertisement The Emirates, as the country is known, has joined an elite club trying to put people on Mars, including the U.S., China, Russia and a consortium of European nations, along with a private effort by the entrepreneur Elon Musk and his California company SpaceX. The country is grooming a cadre of young scientists and engineers it hopes will collaborate with international scientists and other academics to figure out the best mode of transportation to Mars and options for food and housing once humans arrive. We see Mars 2117 as a multinational effort, which would set out to create a coalition of equals working together to fulfill a unified objective, said Saeed Gergawi, program director of the Mars project. The proposed settlement doesnt have a firm name yet, but the City of Wisdom is reportedly one possibility. The plan, which experts say is plausible with enough investment, reflects an ambition that has long distinguished the nation from many of its Middle Eastern neighbors. That ambition has been enabled by two things: oil and absolute monarchs. The oil was discovered in the 1950s, when the seven former British protectorates that now make up the Emirates were inhabited mainly by nomadic Bedouin tribes and the economy ran on fishing, date-farming and camel-herding. It has made the country of 9 million people one of the richest in the world per capita. Advertisement The monarchs have been in full control since independence in 1971, imposing a vision of modernity that often seems geared toward outdoing the worlds biggest powers and sometimes themselves. The country broke ground last year on a skyscraper that will be at least 3,045 feet, or 323 feet taller than Dubais Burj Khalifa, which is the worlds tallest building. The new tower sets another challenge in the history of human architecture a race the UAE deserves to lead, Maktoum, who is also ruler of Dubai, was quoted as saying. We strive for new achievements. A new heart for our city and global landmark. Humankind has no ceiling or border but our imagination. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, attends the opening ceremony of the 28th Arab League Summit meeting in Jordan in March. (Jamal Nasrallah / European Pressphoto Agency) Advertisement Maktoum, a 67-year-old poet, equestrian and author with a British education and nearly 8 million Twitter followers, has been a fount of inspirational messages for the Arab world and the driving force behind some of his countrys most extravagant projects. Many of them are located in Dubai, the emirate where his family has reigned since 1833. If we want to remain within the ranks of the advanced world, we need to match the speed at which the world is developing, Maktoum wrote in his 2012 book, My Vision: Challenges in the Race for Excellence. For the Dubai leader, a space program is as much about the endeavor as it is about the destination. Advertisement Maktoum has described the plan to settle people on Mars as part of a broad effort to build a science and technology sector, inspire young people, reduce the countrys economic dependence on oil and reclaim the regions historical legacy dating back to the 8th century as a center of science and astronomy. Mars 2117 is a seed we are sowing today to reap the fruit of new generations led by a passion for science and advancing human knowledge, he tweeted when he announced the plan. Colonizing Mars is a challenge like no other humankind has ever undertaken. Just getting there requires traveling more than 34 million miles, a journey that could take nearly nine months. The average temperature there is 81 degrees below zero (Dubai often tops 100 degrees). Some scientists say that living underground might be the only way to avoid cancer from cosmic rays. Advertisement We know that there will be several key requirements, for clean air, power generation, waste management and other aspects of city management, which we can map from our current cities, said Gergawi. Homes could possibly be built from Martian soil using 3-D printing technology, he said. It would be possible to cultivate fruits and vegetables in greenhouses, and some proteins could be grown in laboratories. The city would have to be wholly self-sustaining, Gergawi said. He said the political system would likely differ from anything currently on Earth. Advertisement Envisaging utopias is all very nice, but we have so far failed to define and operate a perfect society in thousands of years of modern human evolution, Gergawi said. Is Mars a chance to restart a new kind of society? Yes, it is. Sarah Amiri, deputy project manager and lead scientist at the Emirates Mars Mission. (Ann M. Simmons / Los Angeles Times) It might be tempting to dismiss such talk as space-age fantasy. But the country has already invested more than $5.4 billion in space technologies, according to the UAE Space Agency, which was created in July 2014 and aims to develop a world-class national space sector. Advertisement The agencys first goal is to send an unmanned weather probe called Hope to Mars in time to mark the nations 50th birthday in 2021. UC Berkeley, Arizona State University and the University of Colorado at Boulder are assisting on the project. On the team of more than 100 Emiratis working on the probe, the average age is 27, said Sarah Amiri, the 30-year-old lead scientist and a computer engineer. Women make up 30% of the engineers and scientists on the project, she said. The space agency has signed agreements with space programs in the U.S. and other countries to work together on exploration, research and technology. The pact made last year with NASA calls for cooperation in aeronautics research, and the exploration and use of airspace and outer space for peaceful purposes. The country has already worked with South Korea and India to send satellites into orbit and plans to build and launch another one next year on its own. Advertisement And in an effort to forge international space relations, Aabar Investments has invested $380 million in Virgin Galactic since 2010, giving the state-owned fund a nearly 38% share of the space travel and exploration company started by British entrepreneur Richard Branson, according to media reports. Were not afraid of taking on a monumental and very difficult goal, such as exploring another planet, Amiri said. This diagram states the objectives of the Emirates Mars Mission and Hope probe. (Image courtesy of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre) But could the Emirates actually build a city on Mars in 100 years? Advertisement I would say that an outpost on Mars is certainly possible, said Scott Pace, director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University. But a city a permanent settlement with an economy big enough to sustain itself, and not just a destination for cosmic adventure tourism would require extensive cooperation with other countries, Pace said. Its not really a solo endeavor, he said. Robert Lillis, a physicist at UC Berkeley, said that if any country is going to colonize Mars it is the U.S., because of its experience in space exploration. Advertisement Money and political will is the simple answer for why humans are not already living on Mars, said Lillis, who worked on the NASA mission that gathered data on the Martian atmosphere with an unmanned probe that orbited the planet in 2014. Nothing is beyond the technical or scientific scope of getting people to Mars. Mike McGrath, former director of engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulders Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, said the Emirates other successes make its Mars aspirations seem perfectly reasonable. I would say that its not only not a pie-in-the-sky ambition, he said. Its an opportunity that society as a whole is chasing, and I think that the objectives put forth by the leadership are helping to set the stage for what is happening now in space. Sometimes it takes somebody new to incentivize people to move forward, he said. Advertisement To read the article in Spanish, click here This story was reported with a grant from the United Nations Foundation. ann.simmons@latimes.com For more on global development news, see our Global Development Watch page, and follow me @AMSimmons1 on Twitter Advertisement ALSO This is Jupiter? Giant planet surprises scientists in Junos first flybys A growing competition: China and the U.S. space program, year by year UAEs minister of happiness insists her job is no laughing matter Daniel Navarrete greets friends with what seems an unlikely term of affection he calls them ox. Navarrete, a 19-year-old snack vendor, isnt being rude. Go anywhere in Mexico City and you can hear someone calling someone else guey, which means ox or slow-witted. The word, also spelled buey, once was an insult, but it has morphed over years of popular use to become Mexicos version of dude or bro. A guey (pronounced way) can be a spiky-haired boy, a stubbly-chinned jitney driver, a college student with a ring in her nose. Take a table near a bunch of Mexican teens and it often sounds as if all other parts of speech were designed to transport you from one guey to the next. Even narco thugs have scrawled the word as an epithet in threatening banners, misspelling it wey. Everyone I talk to, its guey, guey, guey, Navarrete said as he pulled a shift selling potato chips one recent afternoon with a friend named Edgar Martinez, who said he, too, uttered the term all day. Advertisement Its a custom of Mexican culture, Martinez, 33, said with a shrug. It can be like that in Mexico, a land so rich in slang and wordplay (much of it salty but freely used) that a newcomer armed with book-learned Spanish might feel he had studied for the wrong test. Although it never hurts to know the hola! greeting, you may be hailed with a slangy quihubo! a Mexican version of whats up? Someone who shouts aguas! isnt announcing the arrival of water; shes telling you to watch out. (Its aimed a lot at chamacos, slang for children.) The oft-heard no manches! literally means dont make a stain, but its used to express incredulity, as in get out. A person with lots of lana, or wool, isnt fuzzy, hes rich. Some Mexicans worry about a proliferating usage of slang terms once considered too coarse for common use. They blame the looser talk on television and radio, as well as social changes that have given Mexican women equal access to colloquialisms, even raunchy ones. A narco, a rube and a yuppie all speak alike, said commentator Guadalupe Loaeza, who said she has been shocked by the crude words that sometimes pepper the e-mail she receives. Theres a laxity of language that I would say is almost offensive, Loaeza said. Weve gone too far to the other side. Still, one can marvel at Mexicos genius for remixing the simplest Spanish words into any number of colloquialisms that veer puckishly from the mother tongue. Advertisement Take madre. The word for mother has enough vulgar usages here to have given Freud a Mexico fixation. If everyone loves his mother, how to explain the fact that the word can mean something that is very, very good or, seasoned slightly differently, something that is very, very bad? (At the same time, padre, or father, is often used to denote cool, though the younger set seems to favor the more recent chido.) 'Madre is so characteristic of Mexico. Its a matriarchal society in part because its such a macho society. The two go hand in hand, said Concepcion Company, who led research on a new dictionary of so-called Mexicanisms. Company, who was raised in Spain but has lived in Mexico since the 1970s, said Mexican colloquialisms have their own personality, playful and pun-soaked and full of double meaning. Unlike places where Spanish curses are often scatological or tinged with religion, Mexican oaths favor the sexual, she said. Advertisement The flexibility of Mexican slang allows even some profanities to be stretched and refolded into a mind-boggling variety of uses, some of which no longer carry an X-rated punch. Its a magical word. A change of tone, a change of inflection is enough to change its meaning, Mexicos revered man of letters Octavio Paz once waxed about a ubiquitous verb that wont be waxed about here. The lingo of Mexicans is also increasingly influenced by the Internet and social networking sites, bringing even more English terms to a country where stylish clothes are advertised as muy fashion and people bid farewell with a clipped Bye! To go on Facebook, for example, is facebuquear. Twitter devotees keep us posted by tuiteando, or tweeting. Someone in need of a new look might be told to fotoshopeate, or Photoshop yourself. Martinez, the snack seller, knows that some may be tut-tutting over the creeping coarseness. But he said the key is knowing how slang will be interpreted. To illustrate, he barked a familiar crude epithet at a young acquaintance nearby. The youth winced as if splashed with something foul. Advertisement But guey no, that is something else. Its an endearment, Martinez said, as benign as a soul handshake. When it was time for a visitor to leave, his friend Navarrete gave a friendly fist bump and then offered the same farewell his closest buddies get. Take care, guey, he said. ken.ellingwood@latimes.com An Ohio mom came forward and detailed how her 12-year-old daughter suffered extreme reactions and almost dying after she volunteered for a Pfizer COVID vaccine trial. Stephanie De Garay told "Tucker Carlson Tonight" Thursday, July 1, that the only diagnosis they got so far is that it is conversion disorder or functional neurologic symptom disorder, with experts blaming it on anxiety, Fox News reported. De Garay said her daughter did not have anxiety before the vaccine. She noted that her daughter could not digest food and have to be in a tube to get her nutrition. The Ohio mom also said that her daughter, Maddie De Garay, is now in a wheelchair as she can't hold her neck up. Multiple physicians told her that her daughter could not have become gravely ill from the vaccine. READ NEXT: Moderna Scientists Warn Against New COVID Variants That Could Drive a New Wave of Transmission Ohio Mom Shares Daughter's Bad Experience After Pfizer COVID Vaccine Trial Maddie De Garay was hospitalized several times after receiving her second dose of the Pfizer COVID vaccine. She participated in a clinical trial from December 2020 to January 2021, The Federalist reported. Stephanie De Garay said that all three of their kids volunteered and were excited to participate in the Pfizer COVID vaccine trial. The Ohio mom noted that her husband works in the medical field, and she has a degree in electrical engineering, citing that they are pro-vaccine and pro-science. De Garay said her 12-year-old daughter had painful electrical shocks down her neck and spine that forced her to walk hunched over after receiving the second coronavirus vaccine dose. She further noted that Maddie had extreme pain in her fingers and toes, which turned white. She added that they were cold when you touched them. The Ohio mom added that her daughter started developing severe abdominal and chest pains and experienced nausea, vomiting, gastroparesis, erratic blood pressure, heart rate, and memory loss. Stephanie De Garay said officials from the Biden administration or representatives from the Pfizer company have yet to reach out to the family. Republican Sen. Ron Johnson has sent letters to the CEOs of Pfizer and Moderna asking answers about the adverse effects of the COVID vaccine after a June 28 press conference with affected individuals. Pfizer COVID Vaccine On Young People A panel of independent advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the benefits of the COVID vaccine far outweigh the risks of heart inflammation in young people. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices agreed that a warning about the potential risks should be added to the Food and Drug Administration's official fact sheets on the vaccines, NBC News reported. The mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna had been linked to inflammation of the heart or surrounding tissue, with more than 300 cases that the CDC has confirmed in young adults. The CDC had also presented vaccination guidance for people who have previously had myocarditis. Health officials also advised that people who developed the condition after the first dose of the vaccine should not receive the second jab at this time. Dr. Katie Passaretti, medical director for infection prevention at Atrium Health in Charlotte, North Carolina, said you could have inflammation of the heart for various reasons. Passaretti noted that this is most common after you have a viral infection. READ MORE: Some People Fell Ill With Rare Blood Disorder After Getting Their First COVID-19 Vaccine WATCH: Sen. Ron Johnson With Families on Adverse Reactions to COVID Vaccine - From FOX6 News Milwaukee While search and rescue operations continue in the Florida building collapse, the Miami-Dade County mayor authorized the demolition of the remaining units at the Surfside condo building that partially collapsed last week. But Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said officials were still evaluating the possible impacts on the existing rubble and determining the best timeline to begin the demolition. Levine Cava noted that it would be weeks before the demolition can happen. According to KVIA, Levine Cava said the demolition of the building would proceed based on the engineers' recommendations. The Miami-Dade County mayor noted that signing an emergency order now allowing the demolition would help the process move quickly, especially once officials already decided how and when the rest of the building should come down. She said the demolition would most likely take weeks. When asked whether authorities would wait until every missing individual recovered before beginning demolition, Levine Cava responded that they were very concerned not to compromise their search. However, they also consider the building itself poses certain risks, so they have to balance those things in their decision. Levine Cava also shared that two more bodies were recovered Friday, July 2, at the site of the Florida building collapse, leaving 22 people dead. She added that 126 people are still unaccounted for. READ NEXT: Florida Condo Collapse Leaves Pet Owners Desperate Over Their Missing Emotional-Support Animals Rescue Workers in Florida Building Collapse Search teams that have been combing through concrete up to 16 feet deep were facing new challenges since the remainder of the building was unstable and a hurricane heads in the direction of Florida. Around 55 of 136 total units of the building pancaked to the ground during the June 24 deadly collapse, which shook the neighborhood in the north of Miami Beach. Jimmy Patronis, the State Fire Marshal, said the remaining condo units should be demolished to finish the mission. Patronis noted that the building would have to go because there's too much risk of working under it. Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the state is working on a "dual track" with the collapse site and Hurricane Elsa possibly hitting South Florida in the coming days, CNN reported. Body of Seven-Year-Old Daughter of Miami Firefighter Found Officials said search and rescue teams on Thursday night, July 1, found the body of the seven-year-old daughter of a Miami firefighter and one other victim. According to the officials, the body of Stella Cattarossi was found seven days after the collapse of Champlain South Tower. Friends of the victim posted online that the girl was found sleeping alongside her mother, Graciela. However, authorities have not confirmed whether the mother's body has been found. The father of the victim, Enrique Arango, is a ten-year veteran of the Miami Fire-Rescue Department. Arango was present when the body of Stella was recovered. According to Miami Fire Rescue Captain Ignatius Carroll, when Arango was made aware they were close to where his daughter may have been, he stood side-by-side with some of his fellow firefighters to help recover his daughter's body Daily Mail reported. READ MORE: Florida Building Collapse: Puerto Rican Artist and Costa Rican Accountant Among 18 Dead; Many Latin Americans Still Missing WATCH: Surfside Building Collapse: Death Toll Rises to 22 as Officials Discuss Building Demolition - From Global News White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended President Joe Biden after he cut off reporters asking questions about the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan instead of the upcoming July 4th. According to Daily Mail, Joe Biden told reporters on Friday, July 2, that he wanted to talk about "happy things" since it's July 4th after he was asked about the U.S. troops who left Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan after nearly two decades of war. At her White House press briefing, Jen Psaki had accused reporters of reading too much into Biden's snappy responses. Psaki said the president wants to convey that he is heading into July 4th weekend, "a weekend for family, we can celebrate America." She added that the president was ready to be done answering questions. "I think people are a little overreading into his response," said Psaki, adding that Joe Biden has already answered three questions on Afghanistan. Jen Psaki noted that the president does not think the war in Afghanistan could be won "militarily" and that the U.S. will continue on its diplomatic negotiations, Fox News reported. The press secretary also said the administration had identified a group of Special Immigrant Visa applicants who served as interpreters for the U.S. military. Jen Psaki said their lives are now in danger as they are targeted by the Taliban. But she noted that they would be relocated outside Afghanistan before the troops withdraw. READ NEXT: Kamala Harris' Chief of Staff Shut Out Some Longtime Allies of the Vice President: Report U.S. Troops Leaving Afghanistan American troops and its Western allies have left the U.S. military base in Afghanistan, the officials confirmed on Friday, July 2. The troops' withdrawal effectively ends the major U.S. military operations in the country for nearly two decades, The New York Times reported. Afghan officials said the American exit was completed quickly that some looters managed to get into the base before being arrested. The withdrawal highlights Washington's efforts to signal messages such as that its longest foreign war is ending and that the U.S. is not abandoning the country in the middle of a Taliban offensive. Joe Biden told reporters that the U.S. is on track, exactly where the U.S. is expected to be. Some U.S. intelligence predicts that the Afghan government could fall to its rivals, the Taliban, from six months to two years after the Americans complete the withdrawal. The Taliban are inching closer to Kabul after seizing about a quarter of the country's districts in the past two months. The top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S. Miller, said that civil war is certainly a path that can be expected. Fox News reported that the Afghan leader President Ashraf Ghani said last week that the decision of Joe Biden had been a strategic one. Ghani said they respect the decision. He noted that it's dealing with the new chapter of their friendship and relationship that they are focusing on. Meanwhile, Joe Biden promised Ghani at the time that the U.S. is going to stick with the country. Taliban Attacks Late last month, Taliban fighters have launched an attack on Ghazni in an attempt to dominate the central Afghan city. Afghan officials confirmed the offensive attack, noting that the Afghan forces were trying to regain control of lost ground, Aljazeera reported. Abdul Jami, a provincial council member in Ghazni, said the situation in the area is changing. Jami noted that most of the lost areas in the outskirts are being taken back by the Afghan forces. READ MORE: U.S. Military Launches Airstrikes Against Iran and Syria, Targets Militia Groups Behind Drone Attacks on U.S. Personnel WATCH: Biden Says US Troops Drawdown in Afghanistan is on Track - From FRANCE 24 English Bodies continue to pile up as the fight over turf between rival gangs the Jalisco Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico's Zacatecas state carries on. Alejandro Tello said the fierce fight for the control of territory had placed the state in a grave security crisis with opposing Mexican drug cartels as the protagonists, Mexico News Daily reported. On Tuesday, June 29, two bodies were found hanging from trees in Mexico's Zacatecas state - one in Fresnillo and one in Valparaiso. The next day, authorities located nine more bodies, all with torture marks. The two bodies were discovered in plastic bags in a street in Fresnillo, while four were found wrapped in blankets in Zacatecas city. The other three bodies with gunshot wounds were located on a road in Morelos municipality, north of the capital. Two of these bodies in Morelos were "crucified." The bodies were impaled back to back on the same cross. The nine murders were believed to be linked to the territorial dispute between the rival Jalisco Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel. READ NEXT: Clashing Mexican Drug Cartels Leave 2 Police and 7 Others Dead in Mexico Bodies Piling Up Amid the Jalisco Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel's Turf War Last February, the governor of the northern state sent a letter to Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, asking for federal government support to fight organized crime groups. The governor said that state and municipal security forces were outnumbered and outgunned by powerful Mexican drug cartels, World Akkam reported. Both the army and the National Guard operating in Zacatecas have been unable to stop the growing violence. The state was the seventh most violent area in Mexico in the first five months of the year, with more than 600 murders reported. On June 23, an alleged shooting between the Jalisco Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel left 18 people dead in Zacatecas state. Zacatecas state security department spokeswoman Rocio Aguilar said the confrontation occurred in the community of San Juan Capistrano in Valparaiso municipality, Al Jazeera reported. It happened a few days after three bodies were found hanging from a bridge in Fresnillo, and two bodies of police officers were discovered hanging from an overpass in Zacatecas city. Seven people were also massacred by gunfire in a Fresnillo home last month. Mexico's President on Mexican Drug Cartels Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's strategy to curb the violence has shown to be weak in the last two weeks and overwhelmed by unstoppable Mexican drug cartels, El Pais reported. Lopez Obrador has maintained his "hugs and not bullets" approach, distinguishing himself from former President Enrique Pena Nieto and his predecessor Felipe Calderon. Calderon and Nieto waged a war against drug trafficking. But Lopez Obrador dubbed it a failed war during his campaign in 2018. Security expert, Eduardo Guerrero, noted that Lopez Obrador had ordered to monitor the areas, but he avoided the conflict. Guerrero noted that the number of territories had been left at the mercy of crime, which in the long run will generate more violence as there will be more competition. The security expert also told Mexico News Daily that the government's non-confrontational security strategy has allowed Mexican drug cartels to operate with impunity in states like Zacatecas and Tamaulipas, where massacres recently occurred. He said criminals take advantage of the political limbo to carry out attacks since the chance of going unpunished is very high. In Tamaulipas, Governor Francisco Garcia Cabeza de Vaca is not set to leave office until late 2022. However, it is still unclear if he will be completing his six-year term as federal authorities seek to charge him with organized crime and money laundering. READ MORE: El Chapo's Sinaloa Cartel Continues to Thrive Despite the Drug Lord's Absence: Report WATCH: Mexico's Cartels Are Deadlier Than Ever Despite the Pandemic - From Vice News Megan Fox credits her kids with saving her life. The 35-year-old actress has sons Noah, eight, Bodhi, seven, and Journey, four, with her ex-husband Brian Austin Green, and has said welcoming her first child at the age of 26 gave her a new sense of purpose. She explained: "That kind of saved me honestly. I needed an escape." The Jennifers Body star said she was so lost before becoming a mother, and learned to be more empathetic when she had children. She told The Washington Post: "[I was] so lost and trying to understand how am I supposed to feel value or find purpose in this horrendous, patriarchal, misogynistic hell that was Hollywood at the time? [People had a] pervasive perception of me as a shallow succubus ... for at least the first decade of my career. [Having kids has] given me the ground that I needed to grow into something quite special. Meanwhile, Megan who is now romancing Machine Gun Kelly recently discussed what it's like being a working mother, as she said theres a weird pressure that comes with the territory. She said: "As an actor, it's just very unforgiving because you can't be on camera once you're past a certain stage of pregnancy ... Also, once you have the baby its like 'Okay, well you're going to have to leave to nurse every two hours and that costs us money and now we're dealing with insurance.' It becomes this big thing. "Hollywood is not adapted to women and us actually having lives and being moms. I don't have an answer for what we can do about that, other than as more women rise up the ranks and are in control and in power in Hollywood, then obviously those things will change. It's been a patriarchy for so long. "There is that thing in this industry of like, 'Well, are you giving up? Are you just a mom now?' There's this weird pressure, which also then creates guilt. You go to work too soon to satisfy those people." Irish people aged 18 to 34 can get the one-shot Covid-19 Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine in their local pharmacy from Monday, July 5 . You can call up your local participating pharmacy (list at end of story) and put your name down to be called. People are being asked to register early so pharmacies can prepare and no vaccines are wasted. Young people can also wait to register for a two shot mRNA vaccine in a vaccination centre. The portal to apply for these jabs, mainly Pfizer, will open for 30-34-year-olds in early July Vaccination centres will also begin vaccinating younger age groups from mid-July in line with the current age-based rollout plan. They are currently vaccinating those in their 40s and late 30s. When their age group is being processed, people can register online at www.hse.ie for a vaccination centre clinic with a Personal Public Service (PPS) number, Eircode, a mobile phone number and an email address. Alternatively, people can call HSELive on 1800 700 700 to register on the phone. List of registered Laois vaccinating pharmacies BELOW LINK. Adrian Dunne Pharmacy Upper Main Street, Portarlington. Eircode: R32F5EY, Tel: 05786 23124 Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 9:00-18:00 Boots Units 31-32, Laois Shopping Centre, Portlaoise. Eircode: R32 FW56 Tel 057 8688788 Opening Hours: 09:00-19:00 Mon-Weds, 09:00-21:00 Thurs-Fri, 09:00-18:00 Sat, 1100-18:00 Sun Breslin Pharmacy Parkside Shopping Centre, Abbeyleix Rd, Portlaoise.Eircode: R32VY96 Tel: 05786 21310 Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 09:00-18:00 Chemco Pharmacy Supervalu Shopping Centre, Main Street, Stradbally. Eircode: R32AY74, Tel: 05786 25044 Opening Hours: 9:00-18:00 Mon-Sat, closed Sun and bank holidays Chemco Pharmacy Graigue Village, Graiguecullen. Eircode: R93P2R4 Tel: 059 913 1567 Opening Hours: Mon - Sat 09.00 18.00 Clarke's CarePlus Pharmacy The Ossory, Pound Street, Rathdowney. Eircode: R32P950 Tel: 0505 48412 Opening Hours: Mon-Fri: 09:00-19:00, Sat:09:00-18:00 Clonaslee Pharmacy Main Street, Clonaslee Eircode: R32NX57 Tel: 057 8686990 Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 9-18:00, Sat 9.30-1.30 Flynn's Medical Hall Main Street, Rathdowney. Eircode: R32YF82 Tel: 0505 46172 Opening Hours: 09:00-19:00 Mon-Fri, 09:00-18:00 Sat Laois Pharmacy 1 Dunamaise House, Portlaoise. Eircode: R32HD72 Tel: 05786 61999 Opening Hours: 9:00 - 18:00 McCarthy's Pharmacy The Arlington Centre, Link Road, Droughill, Portarlington. Eircode: R32 DVF6 Tel: 05786 45416 Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 09.00-18.30, Sat 09.00 -18.00 McElwee Pharmacy O'Connell Square, Mountmellick. Eircode: R32YH61 Tel: 05786 24255 Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 09:00-18:00 Mihealth Pharmacy Unit 4A, The Kyle Centre, Portlaoise. Eircode: R32N966 Tel: 05786 32200 Mountmellick Local Pharmacy Lord Edward Street, Mountmellick Eircode: R32R6CT Tel: 057 862 4444 Opening Hours: Mon-Fri: 09:00-19:00, Sat: 10:00-19:00, Sun/Bank holidays: 11am-3pm Portarlington Pharmacy Eglington House, Park Lane, Portarlington Eircode: R32V3YK Tel: 05786 84532 You can find the list of participating pharmacies in all counties by TAPPING HERE. A man who falsely claimed over 100,000 in social welfare payments while continuing to work has been jailed for one year. Frank O'Donnell (56) claimed the money using his own name while being paid for construction work under the name Martin O'Donnell. O'Donnell of Belgard Park, Cookstown Road, Tallaght, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to thefts of Disability Allowance at various locations in Tallaght on dates between September 3, 2004 and September 11, 2011. He also pleaded guilty to possession of a false instrument to wit a safe pass in the name Martin O'Donnell at ESB, Fleet Street, Dublin City centre, on November 9, 2017. He has 11 previous convictions, including five convictions for possession of counterfeit notes. Detective Garda Anna Matheson told Kieran Kelly BL, prosecuting, that the offending came to light in 2017 when the accused's niece was being interviewed by an officer from the Department of Social Protection. Det Gda Matheson said that as part of this interview, the accused's niece provided bank statements which showed payments in the name of Martin O'Donnell going into her bank account. She explained that her uncle used her account as he did not have his own. Further investigation established that Martin O'Donnell was working with a construction firm and the investigating officer received a copy of this man's safe pass. The picture on this safe pass was in fact of the accused. O'Donnell had been in receipt of disability allowance beginning in 2002, but was employed for various periods of time between June 2004 and November 2017. During these periods he falsely claimed a total of 100,469.10. Det Gda Matheson agreed with Ian Woodland BL, defending, that there were no trappings of wealth in his client's home. She agreed his client is making repayments of 30 a week which comes from his social welfare and that around 3,500 has been repaid to date. The detective agreed that O'Donnell is genuinely remorseful for what he has done. Mr Woodland submitted that the impetus behind his client's offending behaviour is his addiction to alcohol and cocaine, which he currently seems to be overcoming. Judge Melanie Greally said it seemed the detection of these offences prompted a sea change in O'Donnell's approach to his addiction and mental health and he has made large strides. Judge Greally said the accused committed these offences over a very extended period of time. She said it seems clear that if he was not detected, he would have continued to claim while working for as long as he was able to do that. She said analysis of his urine has been clear of any illicit substances. She said a doctor's report before the court states that if the accused can continue his engagement with mental health and addiction therapy, then his risk of reoffending is at a low level. Judge Greally sentenced O'Donnell to two-and-a-half years imprisonment, but suspended the final 18 months of the sentence on strict conditions. A new Cathaoirleach has been elected to Laois County Council, replacing Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald from Portlaoise who held the position in a unique time, right through the Covid pandemic. In her final speech as Laois County Council Cathaoirleach on June 28, Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald focused on the difficult year it has been for those most affected by the pandemic in Laois. All our community, young and old, I thank all our hospital staff, nursing home staff for their courage dedication and kindness to all our patients over the last year in Laois. Our frontline staff, retail workers, binmen, and all the staff who worked in such difficult circumstances especially at the start when no one knew what was happening and they were all there meeting every one of us every day doing their job, keeping us all going. It was an awful difficult time for anyone who lost loved ones in the past year and I offer my deepest sympathy because what we really missed was the traditional Irish funerals. Not being able to grieve properly, with family and friends and neighbours has been extremely difficult for all our citizens and everyone in the country. She thanked the council staff and the IT section for their extreme support over the year. Working in partnership, with us as elected members for our community, we can really make this a great county. Im very proud of this county and we are increasing in population with a very bright future. She especially thanked Michelle McCormack, assistant to CEO John Mulholland. I dont think I would have survived without Michelle, she is the best official Ive ever worked with. No matter what party or colour, youre the best ever and so kind and helpful to us all, she said to spontaneous applause from councillors. Laois County Council CEO John Mulholland congratulated her for her year of work. You were elegant and eloquent in your role. You mastered the online tools with great professionalism and succinctness. The year culminated in handing over keys to 100 houses and seeing the joy on peoples faces, he said. He presented her with a photo album of her official events during the year. Cllr Padraig Fleming noted the final three busy months as the pandemic restrictions lifted. The first nine months were hard but you were like a leaving cert student in the last three months cramming everything in opening housing estates. You shone out and stood up for the people of Laois, he said. The new Cathaoirleach Cllr Conor Bergin recalled Cllr Fitzgerald speaking on national radio when Laois was hit with a localised Covid lockdown. Last August a second 20km lockdown you spoke with Mary Wilson on Drivetime on behalf of the county and there was an enhanced stimulus package announced soon after, he said. The youngest ever Cathaoirleach has been elected to lead Laois County Councillors for the coming year and he believes that Laois offers other young people a bright future. Fine Gael Cllr Conor Bergin from Borris-in-Ossory may well be the most politically qualified academically of the 19 Laois councillors as well as the youngest. Pictured below after his election with Deputy Charlie Flanagan, pic: Michael Scully. Deciding at the tender age of 15 that a career in politics was for him, he went on to get a degree in history and politics and a masters in public policy. My first experience of Laois County Council was when I worked in County Hall for two weeks as a Transition Year student. Even as a teenager, I remember being fascinated to sit in on a meeting of the council and see our local democracy in action. He worked in county hall for two summers while a UCD student, getting to know staff and learning how services like roads, housing and water services are delivered. Winning a seat in his first attempt in the 2019 local elections aged 25, he is one of the few full time county councillors in Laois, and is studying part-time to qualify as a solicitor. He is a proud Laois homebird. I have a lifelong commitment and interest in public service, working on behalf of the people of Laois. That is why I decided after my masters to return home immediately even though I was tempted to go abroad and work in Brussels or America. I worked with Charlie Flanagan TD and my great colleagues Rosemary Whelan and Rose Williams for the next 5 years in the constituency office in Portlaoise. That is where I really learned how our public representatives and our county councillors work daily on behalf of their communities, he said. Cllr Bergin says his focus as the Cathaoirleach for the next 12 months is on making rural Laois a place to work and raise families. I see first-hand the importance of living in a strong rural community. If one positive came out of the last year for Laois, remote working has become part of our everyday lives and is here to stay. Talking to friends my own age, remote working has opened up the possibility for thousands of people in their 20s and 30s to live and work and raise their children in Laois just as their parents did before them. There is a bright future ahead. Remote working hubs, regeneration of our rural towns and villages through the Rural Regeneration Fund, delivery of high-speed broadband and housing and the Just Transition Fund will be my main priorities for this coming year. I want to ensure that young people in Laois are able to own their own home and have the same career opportunities as someone in Dublin or Cork or any of our major cities. What has been described as the fourth industrial revolution has the potential to transform the way we live and work in rural areas, he said. Cllr Bergin thanked his parents Kathryn and Ger and brother Mark who came to his election in the Dunamaise Theatre, and all supporters to him over the years. Laois County Council CEO John Mulholland described his career rise to become first citizen as meteoric. I didn't know you existed on the planet three years ago. It's a great tribute to our system of local democracy that people of such a tender age can become Cathaoirleach and it's a tribute to yourself and your family. For us in management it will be a privilege to work with you, particularly in rural development, Mr Mulholland said. Cllr Bergin had been proposed by Cllr Mary Sweeney. Having served as chair myself I understand the great honour this holds for Conor, his family, his community and I congratulate Catherine in her year as chair, she did a terrific job given the difficult circumstances, Cllr Sweeney said. Cllr Thomasina Connell seconded. Conor is an excellent councillor, very bright, always well informed, capable. He spearheads the core values of Fine Gael, equality of opportunity, progress and free enterprise, she said. Sinn Fein Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley proposed Independent Cllr Ben Brennan for the seat. Ben was elected 12 years ago, he has never held the positions of Cathaoirleach or Vice Cathaoirleach. Hes an outstanding councillor, he works very hard for his local community and would make a great chairman, she said. Independent Cllr James Kelly seconded. Cllr Bergin won his seat by 14 votes to five with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael voting for Cllr Bergin as part of a standing agreement to keep power. I put my name forward hoping Fine Gael would get soft on me again and give me a vote, but I've no grudge, I'm behind you 100%, Cllr Brennan told Cllr Bergin. The previous youngest Cathaoirleach was Cllr Willie Aird's grandfather 98 years ago aged 30. It is great for people to see a person so young can be elected. You've created history in this building, Cllr Aird told him. The history of the Muldowney family from Killamuck may be of interest to people around Laois and Abbeyleix. A while back a call went out on behalf of the author Liam Muldowney for help with an issue for a book he was writing. Liam is now delighted to let us know that it is complete. It traces the story of his family who lived in the area from 1659 to the present and specifically follows 13 siblings born to Martin and Margaret Muldowney in Killamuck as they each left home and ventured out into the world. The family lived in Abbeyleix from 1890 until the 1960s. The family meandered the trials of family life in post-famine Ireland and into the emerging new century that held new challenges not just for themselves but also for an Ireland that was itself experiencing its own changes as it negotiated its way through independence. Headed by Martin Muldowney and his wife Margaret (Hogan), the couple benefitted from a caring Landlord and a healthy location as they welcomed thirteen children. This publication is the story of those thirteen children and their journey as they left the home one by one. With infant deaths, pauper's graves, presidential handshakes, Coroner's inquests and court cases against the King, the Muldowney family experienced more than most. The book can be sourced via the link below. The author hopes you share with families and friends that may be interested. Buy the book here Planes, Trains and the Postmans Bicycle. The Stacumney Ambush, Celbridge, Co. Kildare, 2 July 1921 is a new publication which has been produced as part of the County Kildare Decade of Commemorations programme 2021. The booklet was researched and written by Celbridge local historian, Seamus A Cummins, to mark the centenary of the ambush. It gives an in-depth analysis of the troop train ambush. We decided that if we were caught with the rifles, there would be no hope for us, but without them we might have a chance Commandant Matthew Barry By the summer of 1921, the Irish War of Independence had reached its pinnacle. Both the IRA and crown forces were war weary, with neither side having succeeded in delivering a definitive blow. Behind the scenes negotiations were taking place to bring an end to the conflict, and it was anticipated that the IRA would mount attacks to inflict damage to the British side to strengthen their hand at the negotiating table. On July 2, 1921, at Stacumney, near the town of Celbridge, Co Kildare, the IRA planned to derail a British troop train returning to the Curragh Camp after the opening of the new Northern Ireland Parliament. Seamus explores the key personalities involved in the operation, the challenges they encountered and its aftermath. The booklet contains a foreword by Michael Murphy, of the Teresa Brayton Heritage Group, as well as a list of all those who took part in the ambush, the eye-witness account of Robert Henry Wardell who was a 10-year-old at the time, and a selection of photographs donated by relatives. The booklet is available free in Celbridge, Kilcock, Leixlip, and Maynooth libraries. Kathy Simmons, who lives in New York, is the daughter of a Cloone woman. The well known website Irish Central recently asked readers to send in their 'Love Letter to Ireland' and Kathleen wrote a very poignant piece about her mother and ended up taking first prize. This is her story: Dear Ireland, It is not your distinct and lonesome scent of burning peat from distant cottages. Nor your fields of brilliant green. It is not the decades old waterfalls and winding rivers whose beauty inspire poets or your majestic cliffs that stand like loyal sentry men over the wild Irish Sea. It was not the magical taste of my very first ninety-nine ice cream cone with a flake bar neatly tucked atop. All of these things which you have given me I have loved. But none compare to my most prized possession. How do I thank you for the gift of a mother who almost never was? I would start at the beginning as stories often do and tell you of a girl named Mary Foley from Cloone, County Leitrim, tomboy by nature, explorer by heart. Who at age nine for reasons unknown, contracted Rheumatic Fever. As the days turned into night and her fever raged on, hope began to fade. A local priest was summoned to give her last rites. But then dear Eire, I would tell you of a miracle. My grandmother Rose heard of an old man who lived alone in the countryside. A man said to have the gift of healing. And on that very day, desperate and determined, a mother walked seven miles to see him and tell him of her daughters plight. As they sat together solemnly in his stark thatched cottage the old man spoke, your daughter will get well, but in her place an animal will die. As the sun rose the next morning in Drumharkan, Glebe a rooster crowed and a childs fever broke. And in the stillness of the barnyard a cow lay dead. And that was the day I got my mother back. She left her home in Cloone to become a maternity nurse at St Vincents hospital in NYC, was married and raised four daughters, though her heart never strayed from Ireland. I can still envision her singing and tapping her feet to a favorite Clancy Brothers tune in our Long Island kitchen. Ill tell my ma when I go home, the boys wont leave the girls alone Her best friend and first cousin Lily would visit often. I would arrive home from school to the sound of laughter and the whirr of the blender concocting their favorite orange daiquiris as they talked of memories of home. My mother was fiercely independent, stubborn and determined but above all loved by all who knew her. She took her road test late in life and after her eighth go proudly waved the coveted certificate before us announcing she had passed never mind how long it took her. I remember her driving instructor, now a close friend, nodding enthusiastically in approval as he sat sipping tea and eating a slice of her famous apple pie. Though my parents settled in the U.S. they celebrated their Irish heritage each and every day. My father was General Manager of Rosie OGradys restaurant in midtown Manhattan, a haven for all those Irish or those who wished to be. An Irish band played nightly and my father never failed to have the band sing 'Lovely Leitrim' when my mother would visit. During summers my father would rent a house for two weeks in a suburb of Dublin. My love for Ireland was solidified during those summers. I recall the misty weather and our Irish friends announcing a heat wave once the temperature reached 70 degrees as they ran to the beach. One summer, my father took us to a nearby farm where we picked out an Irish Wolf Hound pup we named Connell. My mother and Connell became inseparable and were a familiar sight around town; she driving and Connell sitting tall in the passenger seat. Each St. Patricks Day, my mother and Connell would travel to New York City to proudly march side by side in the parade. A tradition they shared till Connells death at age six - Wolf hounds do not live long due to the size of their huge heart My mother Mary like her beloved Connell, left us too soon. At her wake, an old man who I did not know walked in and quietly sat in the back of the chapel. As the hours wore on and the crowd thinned, he approached me to pay his respects. My name is Michael Dillon. I lived in the same town as your lovely mother and we walked to school every day. Then one day, she got very sick and I didnt see her for many weeks. As he turned to leave, he paused, then added: but your mother got well and a strange thing happened. A cow died. And in that moment a legend I had heard for so many years became a truth and my gratitude for having her as a mother forever realized. And for that Dear Ireland I thank you. Picture details: Kathy explains this photo was taken at the historic Roosevelt hotel in NYC on her parents wedding day. Both of my mothers bridesmaids were her first cousins and were sisters, all from Leitrim. Left is Bernadette Doherty currently living in the U.S., far right is Margaret Doherty, currently living in Fenagh. A third Doherty sister, Elizabeth (Lily) who now lives in U.S. was unable to be a bridesmaid but was my mothers best friend throughout her life. The lucky middle fellow is my dad. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider subscribing to our ePaper and/or free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. LIMERICK Institute of Technology has been awarded almost 1m in funding as part of a programme aimed at upskilling and re-skilling graduates. In total, the college has been given 995,000 with the sum approved by the Higher Education Authority as part of the Human Capital Initiative to deliver part-time, flexible postgraduate conversion programmes from September. These programmes are aimed at recent level eight graduates, employed professionals, those returning to education and unemployed applicants; and will provide between 90% and 100% funding support to upskill for future job prosperity. There will be 148 funded HCI postgraduate places on offer in LIT for September 2021. The programme areas covered under the scheme include process validation and regulatory affairs digital marketing and analytics plus visual effects for film, TV and animation. Head of flexible learning at LIT, Dr Philip Hennessy, said: LIT is a solution-based institution with a reputation for working closely with industry in the region, supporting research and ensuring our students are work ready and meeting the skills needs of industry. It is what were all about. The local and national economy is ever evolving and changing and the Human Capital Initiative funding for 2021 shows LITs ability to be flexible in meeting those requirements, both for graduates and employers. We are continuing to offer high quality blended and online postgraduate programmes to meet the needs of those developing their careers and for businesses in need of an upskilled workforce. Stonehall Wildlife Park has been delighting families for the past 21 years with fun-filled animal adventures. Located just 20 minutes from Limerick city making it the perfect escape for a few hours of fun surrounded by wildlife and nature. Come and meet our animals, from your farm favourites donkeys, sheep, alpacas and rabbits to the more exotic parrots, meerkats, owls and not forgetting 'Paddy', our white cockatoo. Stonehall Farm & Wildlife Park is surrounded with fabulous nature trails & walks where you can reacquaint yourself with nature on the trails along the wooded edge & help you rediscover the beautiful flora & fauna of Limerick from, animals in their natural habitats to wildflowers, native trees & natural wildlife. For the ever-changing Irish weather, we have purpose built indoor play areas which is a childrens paradise with a variety of mobile toys including Go Karts, Tractors & our Bouncing Castle for children to enjoy, while the adults sit back & relax. Indoor play areas will open in accordance to Covid-19 government guidelines when safe to do so. After working up an appetite exploring our nature trail why not enjoy one of our speciality coffees or an authentic Italian takeaway pizza. Relax in our dedicated picnic areas both in the play area or outside in the peaceful pleasant surroundings listening to the various calls of the large variety of animals or take afternoon tea in our traditional style tea rooms that provides coffee, teas & confectionary. We invite people to bring along their own picnic & enjoy it in the location of their choice. The Park is suitable for Childrens Birthday Parties, Summer Camps, School Tours, Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, Beavers, Special Needs Groups, and Family days out. All within a 20-minute drive from Limerick City. Book tickets now on stonehallvisitorfarm.com *SPONSORED CONTENT This artist's visualization shows a supermassive black hole surrounded by dust and gas forming tsunamis on its outer edges. (Image credit: Illustration by Nima Abkenar) Could gas escaping the gravitational grasp of supermassive black holes be forming "tsunamis" in space? In a new, NASA-funded study, astrophysicists used computer simulations to model the environment around supermassive black holes in deep space. They found that there could be massive, tsunami-like structures forming near these black holes that are essentially massive, swirling walls of gas that have narrowly escaped the intense gravitational pull of the black hole. They even think that supermassive black holes could host the largest tsunami-like structures in the universe. "What governs phenomena here on Earth are the laws of physics that can explain things in outer space and even very far outside the black hole," Daniel Proga, an astrophysicist at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada (UNLV), said in a NASA statement . Gallery: Black Holes of the Universe This artist's visualization shows a supermassive black hole surrounded by dust and gas forming tsunamis on its outer edges. The added close-ups show the tsunamis in more detail. (Image credit: Illustration by Nima Abkenar) In this study, researchers took a close look at the strange environment around supermassive black holes and how gases and radiation interact there. Supermassive black holes sometimes have large disks of gas and matter that swirl around them, feeding them over time in a combined system known as an active galactic nucleus . These systems, which often shoot out jets of material, emit bright, shining X-rays above the disk, just out of gravitational reach of the black hole. This X-ray radiation pushes winds that stream out of the center of the system. This is called an "outflow." This X-ray radiation could also help to explain denser, gaseous regions in the environment around supermassive black holes called "clouds," the researchers think. "These clouds are 10 times hotter than the surface of the sun and moving at the speed of the solar wind, so they are rather exotic objects that you would not want an airplane to fly through," lead author Tim Waters, a postdoctoral researcher at UNLV who is also a guest scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, said in the same statement. The team showed with computer simulations how, far enough away from the black hole to be outside of its reach, the atmosphere of the disk spinning around the black hole can start to form waves of gas and matter. With the addition of the outflow winds that are pushed out by X-ray radiation, these waves can grow into massive tsunamis. These swirling waves of gas can stretch up to 10 light-years above the disk, the researchers found. Once these tsunami-like structures form, they are no longer under the influence of the black hole's gravity , according to the statement. In these simulations, the researchers showed how bright X-ray radiation close to a black hole seeps into pockets of hot gas in the outer atmosphere of the disk. These bubbles of hot plasma expand into nearby, cooler gas at the edges of the disk, helping to spur the tsunami-like structures. The bubbles also block the outflow wind and spiral off into separate structures up to a light-year in size. These side structures are known as Karman vortex streets, which are weather patterns that also occur on Earth (though on Earth, this pattern of swirling vortexes looks quite different .) Karman vortex streets are named for the Hungarian-American physicist Theodore von Karman, whose name also marks the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and space. This research goes against previous theories that have suggested that clouds of hot gas near an active galactic nucleus form spontaneously because of fluid instability, according to the statement. This study also contradicts the previous notion that magnetic fields are necessary to move cooler gas from a disk around a supermassive black hole. While no satellites currently operational can confirm their work, the team hopes to bolster their findings with future research and hopefully telescopic observations. Additionally, observations of plasma near active galactic nuclei from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton space telescope are consistent with this team's findings, according to the statement from NASA. This work was published June 15 in the Astrophysical Journal. Email Chelsea Gohd at cgohd@space.com or follow her on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. Click here to read the full article. The night before her June 23 testimony, Britney Spears called 911 to report conservatorship abuse, according to a new investigation by Ronan Farrow and Jia Tolentino in the New Yorker. Members of Spearss team began texting one another frantically. They were worried about what Spears might say the next day, and they discussed how to prepare in the event that she went rogue, Farrow and Tolentino reported about the phone call aftermath. They also noted that though emergency calls in California are usually public record, Ventura County where the pop star lives sealed Britney Spears call because it is part of an ongoing investigation. During a court hearing on June 23, Spears spoke publicly about her conservatorship, which was instilled in 2008, for the first time. In her statement, Spears said that she wanted to sue her family and expressed that she would like to get married to her boyfriend, Sam Asghari, and have more children, but is unable to do so because the conservatorship does not allow her to remove her IUD. Britney Spearss Conservatorship Nightmare, like the New York Times Framing Britney Spears documentary before it, unfurls the power Britney Spears father, Jamie Spears, and a team of lawyers has over her life, in addition to the pop stars villainization by the media. However, Farrow and Tolentinos deep dive includes even more shocking revelations that further support the ending of her conservatorship. The duo spoke to numerous sources from Britney Spears inner circle, including mother Lynne Spears, Sam Lufti, Paris Hilton, hairstylist Kim Vo, anonymous stylists and makeup artists, an anonymous housekeeper and a court investigator who used to be on the conservatorship. According to the article, Lynne Spears thought the conservatorship would only last a few months. Farrow and Tolentino were able to get her on the phone in June, but she did not offer any details about the case, adding: Im good at deflecting. I got mixed feelings about everything, she told them. I dont know what to think Its a lot of pain, a lot of worry. Whats more, the story reports that the hearing to originally put Britney Spears under conservatorship in 2008 only took 10 minutes and the court, Farrow and Tolentino alleged, barely did any homework and just listened to her father. A judge even allowed the waiving of the requirement that conservatees be given five days notice before a conservatorship takes effect, Farrow and Tolentino claim. Jacqueline Butcher, a former friend of the Spears family who was present for the hearing, told the New Yorker: No one testified. No questions were asked A conservatorship was granted without ever talking to her. And, whatever they claim about any input she had behind the scenes, how could you have assessed her then? Shouldnt you wait a week, then interview her? She never had a chance. During this time, the judge, Reva Goetz, appointed Sam Ingham as Britney Spears lawyer. According to Farrow and Tolentino, she continues to pay him $520,000 per year and the article strongly suggests that he is in cahoots with Jamie Spears. Farrow and Tolentino compared Inghams annual salary to Britney Spears 2019 living expenses, which came to just under $450,000. Several sources close to the situation felt that Ingham was loyal to the conservatorship and to Jamie, despite nominally representing Spears, Farrow and Tolentino report. Butcher recalled Jamie saying that Ingham reported to him on Spearss movements and activities. Ingham has not returned Varietys request for comment. The New Yorker piece also said that Britney Spears suffered drugs and alcohol abuse, including cocaine and molly. It was her way of blowing off steam, the article says, while committed to a relentless grind of dance rehearsals, studio sessions, photo shoots, stadium performances, long nights on the tour bus, and hotel check-ins before dawn. The article states that a couple of months after Britney Spears second emergency psychiatric hold, Jamie Spears began plotting his daughters comeback, which translated to wearing her down. The New Yorker story alleges that he called her a whore and terrible mother and would only allow her to see her children if she cooperated. Representatives for Jamie Spears did not immediately return Varietys request for comment. Her public image rehabilitation included filming Britney: For the Record, which came out just after the release of her 2008 album Circus. Farrow and Tolentino described how Britney Spears would tense whenever her dad was around, but would open up when away from the chaos. I always wanted to feel free, and get in my car and go and not let people make me feel like I had to stay at my home, she says in the documentary. I had let certain people into my life that were just bad people and I really paid the consequences for that, big time. But I just feel like you do something wrong, and you learn from it, you move on. But its, like, Im having to pay for it for a really long time. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. MEXICO CITY (AP) MEXICO CITY In The Forever Purge, the bloodbath lasts more than 12 hours and takes place on the border between Mexico and the United States. Mexican director Everardo Gout uses the strengths of fellow countrymen actors Ana de la Reguera and Tenoch Huerta in the film now in theaters. The first film in the horror saga created by James DeMonaco was 2013's "The Purge.'' In this installment, De la Reguera plays Adela, who along with husband Juan (Huerta), tries to adapt as an immigrant recently arrived in the United States. But when the time comes to fight the purge an annual event where murders, rapes and all kinds of crimes are allowed it extends beyond the established 12 hours. Adela takes up arms and fights alongside the men. Where are strong women in movies? said Gout in Spanish in a recent video call interview from New York about his choice of the Mexican actress for this character. Where are the women like my mother who raised me with my brothers? 40 years old, complex, complete, beautiful. I was very excited to be able to do that. The filmmaker, who makes his debut as a Hollywood director with this film, said he always had Huerta in mind. The Mexican actor starred in his debut feature, Days of Grace (Dias de gracia) in 2011, and has been very vocal in his stance against the violation of immigrant rights and racism. In The Forever Purge, Huerta plays a horse trainer with almost magical abilities to control animals but is nevertheless rejected by the prejudices of Dylan Tucker (Josh Lucas), the white son of the owner of the ranch where he works. I knew he was the best actor for this role, so I stuck with my decision with the study saying I love Tenoch and Im not going to see anyone else until you show me that there is a better actor out there Gout said. That tape never came because there was no one better. Unlike Adela, who strives to learn English, Juan does not want to forget his origins. I think the authenticity that Tenoch gives it is very important and on the contrary, what I said to James (DeMonaco) was lets use his accent, lets use his imperfection of English, said the director. When the purge spirals out of control, Mexicans and Americans alike seek refuge in Mexico. It has a lot of ironies and a lot of messages that I think are important, Gout said. The movie never falls from its shell of being a horror movie and a thriller ... (but) with that shell the waves can be political, it can be racial, it can be anything because it is organic for the characters. Though "The Purge'' saga is fictional, with the very real rising levels of divisiveness, intolerance and violence in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic could fiction become reality? Obviously we shot it before all the disaster that happened in America in the last year, but I think thats the genius of James DeMonaco, who has the clairvoyance to see five minutes into the future, Gout said. It is a current film. If some aliens came to Earth, I think it would be one of the 10 films that represent who we are. And when it seems that the complicated relationship between Mexico and the United States has been introduced, the film reminds that long before the border issues, Native American people were in the region. In a prominent role, an indigenous ally (played by Gregory Zaragoza) who guides them through the desert points out that they have been fighting oppression and extermination for 500 years. Behind the camera there is also a Mexican presence. Gout called on his friend Luis Sansans to be the director of photography: I needed my guardian. For the director, the most difficult part of the production was to do everything that the apocalyptic script proposed and stick to the budget. You have to resort to Spielberg from Jaws, where the shark was broken all the time and thats why its so scary, because you dont see the damn shark until the end, he said. Although it looks very big, we did not have those conditions and that was the real challenge from start to finish. The record-high temperatures that have affected swaths of North America, including the Pacific Northwest, where an alarming and historic heat wave has caused hundreds of deaths, have signaled to health and environmental experts that the public needs to know how to deal with extremely hot weather. "As we move forward into essentially a hotter planet, we need to really rethink heat as a risk," said Sabrina McCormick, an associate professor of environmental and occupational health at George Washington University. "Everyone is vulnerable, and these exposures can creep up and unexpectedly affect you, so you need to really keep an eye on it." Below we've compiled answers to frequently asked questions about extreme heat, as well as tips from experts for how to best protect yourself and others this summer and beyond. Q: What is extreme heat? A: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines extreme heat as "summertime temperatures that are much hotter and/or humid than average" for a particular area. (Humidity and muggy conditions can make it feel hotter than it actually is, the CDC notes.) What would be considered "extreme" in Arizona, for instance, wouldn't be the same in Oregon. When someone who is not acclimated or more vulnerable to higher temperatures is exposed to extreme heat, their body's "ability to thermoregulate, or control its own internal temperature, begins to break down," said Steve Mitchell, medical director of the emergency department at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Grant Lipman, a clinical professor of emergency medicine at Stanford University, describes it this way: "Imagine frying an egg. That's what's happening in your body at these 106, 107 core temperatures. You have all these proteins and enzymes in your body that are basically being fried and you're losing cells and you're having this multi-organ dysfunction." Q: What heat-related conditions should I watch out for? A: Health risks associated with heat exposure exist on a spectrum ranging from milder conditions such as heat cramps to heat strokes, which can be fatal. It's important, experts say, to familiarize yourself with the symptoms of heat-related illnesses so you can head off potential problems. Mild dehydration and heat cramps - muscle pain or spasms - may be early signs that your body is not reacting well to the environment, said Matthew Levy, an associate professor of emergency medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Heat exhaustion symptoms are more worrisome. These can include heavy sweating, elevated heart rate, nausea and vomiting, headaches, dizziness, fatigue and generally feeling unwell. Some people who are experiencing heat exhaustion might also faint. "This is where things are getting dangerous fast," Levy said. If heat exhaustion is left untreated, you may progress to heat stroke, which means the body's core temperature has reached the point where cellular damage may start to occur, said Lipman, a wilderness medicine expert and the founder of Global Outdoor Emergency Support (GOES), an app designed to help people with outdoor health and emergency medical support. The key feature of heat stroke is central nervous system dysfunction. "You're confused, you're altered, you might have seizures," he said. Another sign is lack of sweat. "The dry person who's not thinking clearly is a big, big risk and should really rapidly seek help as soon as possible," Mitchell said. The best way to deal with heat stroke is to prevent it. "Once you get on that road to heat stroke, it's actually quite hard to get off," McCormick said. Q: How can I stay safe in extreme heat? A: Your priority should be keeping yourself cool and hydrated. Make sure you can access a space with air conditioning. If you can't, find out in advance what resources - such as designated cooling centers - are available in your community. Then, utilize them, especially during the hottest parts of the day. If you only have a fan, experts recommend misting yourself with a spray bottle of cold water. But, Levy says, that shouldn't be a substitute for air conditioning, especially in extreme heat conditions. You could also spend time at indoor public places such as malls or libraries. If you live in an urban area, consider going to a park, which can be "five to 10 degrees lower than being out on the concrete or in a building surrounded by concrete," McCormick said. If you have to work outdoors, dress in loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing and protect yourself from the sun with hats, sunglasses and sunscreen. The hotter it is, the more frequently you should be taking breaks. You can also try to stay cool by soaking your head and shirt in water. While you should be well-hydrated, you don't need to guzzle water. Drinking too much water could cause a potentially fatal condition known as hyponatremia, or when the sodium in your body becomes diluted and levels drop abnormally low. Lipman recommends keeping salty snacks on hand if you're going to be consuming large amounts of liquids. Experts also caution against drinking excessive amounts of alcohol or caffeine, both of which can be dehydrating. A good way to know if you're adequately hydrated is to pay attention to the color of your urine. "When you do urinate, if it's really dark yellow, that's not a good sign," Mitchell said. "If it's clear, that's a very good sign." In addition to making sure you have access to cooler environments and adequate hydration, plan your activities with the weather in mind. If you want to exercise outside, experts suggest choosing less intense workouts and doing them early in the morning or in the evenings. Q: Who is at increased risk of being affected by heat? A: While anyone can be negatively affected by hotter temperatures if they're not careful, certain populations are more vulnerable, including the elderly, young children, athletes, people who have chronic medical conditions, pregnant people and those who may be struggling with mental health issues. Heat can also exact a psychological toll on people who don't have preexisting mental health conditions. When people become dehydrated, "the electrolytes go out of out of sync, their brain isn't being well perfused, and that means their body isn't being well perfused," said Saul Levin, CEO and medical director of the American Psychiatric Association. "You're going to start feeling things that you don't usually feel, which only then increases the anxiety, increases the depression, increases the feeling of panic." If you know anyone who might be at increased risk, experts encourage regularly checking in on them during heat waves and making sure they're equipped to stay safe. This may mean inviting an elderly relative to stay with you, helping someone get to a community cooling center, or dropping by people's homes to see if their air conditioners are working or to bring them cold drinks. It's also important to stop and help strangers in need. "Don't ignore someone and just keep walking," Levin said. "Humanity is taking care of each other in those sort of situations." This can be as simple as providing someone with water or helping them find a place to cool down. Parents, experts say, need to pay particular attention to young children, who should never be left in cars on hot days, even if the windows are open. And it's not just humans who experience the toll of heat, pets are at risk, too. If it's too hot for you, it's too hot for your pet. Beyond making sure your animals can stay cool and hydrated and watching for signs of overheating, avoid unprotected walks on hot pavement or asphalt, which can cause burns to paw pads. Q: If I feel sick or notice someone else who isn't well, what should I do? A: "Listening to your body is just remarkably important," Mitchell said. If you notice any symptoms of heat-related illnesses, get into a cooler environment - preferably some place with air conditioning - as quickly as possible. Do whatever you can to lower your body's core temperature, including taking off clothing and wetting your skin with cold water. Hydrate with cold fluids, such as water or electrolyte drinks. For more severe cases of heat exhaustion or if you think someone is having a heat stroke, seek medical help immediately. While waiting for assistance to arrive, it's critical to take action. Get the person out of the heat and either into air conditioning or shade. The fastest way to cool someone down in an urgent situation is cold water immersion - "the colder, the better," Lipman said. If that's not a possibility, pour cold water on a person's head and clothing. No one suffering a heat-related condition should return to the activity they were doing until they are completely back to normal. "If you ignore these early warning signals and try to work through or play through, that's when you're going to get into trouble," Lipman said. Though many people are eager to get on with their lives again, he added, you need to keep in mind that you can so easily "get yourself in trouble and you can get ill and you can die," he said. "It's a tragedy and totally preventable." In the movie "Zola," Taylour Paige plays the title character, a 19-year-old Detroit waitress and exotic dancer who takes a road trip to Florida with a new friend named Stefani - played by Riley Keough - only to become embroiled in an increasingly perilous scheme involving sex trafficking, prostitution, murder and attempted suicide. The Sundance hit, which opened Wednesday, is based on a series of tweets posted in 2015 by A'Ziah King, whose wit, bravado and keen storytelling instincts made her tweetstorm an outrageous and gripping must-read. Janicza Bravo, who directed "Zola," was instantly captivated when she caught up with the thread after it went viral (she's not on Twitter). "I had never read a voice like that," Bravo says during a recent Zoom conversation from her home in Los Angeles. Recalling her own experience at 19, she remembers mostly being "really preoccupied with how men saw me. . . . I was so invested in losing my virginity, so invested in being attractive to men, so invested in just being some object of desire in some way." In King, Bravo saw a young woman bracingly liberated from male expectations and approval. "So much of what she possessed, to boil it down, was agency," Bravo notes. "And it was so sexy to me and so attractive to me. I thought, I want to do everything in my power to catapult that voice." "Zola," which Bravo co-wrote with playwright Jeremy O. Harris ("Slave Play"), is an audacious movie, propelled by Paige and Keough's fearless central performances and Bravo's own command of tone: The film hews to the familiar contours of a buddy road comedy, even though this friendship goes south literally and figuratively. Viewers who are laughing at Stefani's painfully affected White-girl "blaccent" one minute might find themselves squirming the next, as her manipulations put Zola in serious danger. As a tightrope act of shifting genres and moods, it shares squirm-inducing DNA with 2017's "Lemon," Bravo's bold, funny and thoroughly unclassifiable feature debut. Even the no-effs-given attitude that so impressed Bravo when she read King's original tweets isn't entirely unmediated: As much pleasure as Zola and Stefani take in reveling in their own bodies and sexuality, they still deploy them within an economic and visual economy controlled by men. Some of King's most popular lines - many of which Bravo and Harris made sure to include in their screenplay - were retweeted for laughs at the time. But most of them masked far more troubling truths about the lengths to which women, and African American women in particular, must go simply to survive. "In the days that followed after it came out on Twitter, and even when it was announced I was working on it, so many people said to me, 'Oh, my God, it's so funny.' And I was going, have you read the same [thing]?" Bravo recalls. "There are even a handful of people who watched the movie saying, 'I read the tweets and I thought it was going to be more fun.' I suggested that they go back and read the Twitter. . . . I know that the text 'P---y is worth thousands' is really funny, but the thing behind it is deeply unfunny." "Zola" arrives at a time when the term "female agency" is something of a catchphrase in Hollywood: It forms the narrative backbone of "Black Widow," in which Scarlett Johansson's title character battles a Russian spymaster who traffics in young women much the same way a pimp would, subjecting them to mandatory hysterectomies to solidify his control. (If you think that's a preposterous plot point, ask Britney Spears about her reproductive freedom.) Still, "agency" is just as often used as cover for sexist values that feel both dated and hopelessly ingrained. Underneath the celebration of bad-girl hedonism and role reversal in "Spring Breakers" was a shallow exercise in voyeurism. Even Maimouna Doucoure's "Cuties," a feminist examination of the hypersexualization of young girls, occasionally slipped into the ogling, objectifying spectatorship it purported to critique. A similar tension is inscribed in the visual language of "Zola," by design. "One of my early pitches on the movie was that I wasn't interested in adding to the catalogue of images of naked women," Bravo says. "I think we're good. The library is stock full, and I'm certain that many of my peers will continue to add to it, and I don't really need to add to that section of the library." We do see Paige and Keough twerk, pole dance and dress suggestively, but they never strip. "Something that's really hot to me specifically about women's bodies, is what I can't see," Bravo explains. And she tosses in some amusing winks at the cinema's entrenched "male gaze," such as a rote montage of male genitalia that slyly comments on the routine fragmentation of women into their respective body parts. Still, even at its funniest and most seductive, "Zola" is about a teenager who narrowly escapes being victimized, whose entertaining yarn masks real, if unresolved, trauma. Similarly in the documentary "Cusp," which recently played at AFI Docs and will air on Showtime later this fall, the film's subjects - three headstrong teenage girls running amok over a hot Texas summer - embody unfettered joy and physical freedom while simultaneously navigating the threat of sexual assault, exploitative social media, possessive boyfriends and controlling fathers. Triumph and trauma. Joy and fear. As Bravo says about King and her story, "There is some pleasure. But there's also discomfort." "Agency" may be pop culture's jargon-du-jour, but how genuine can it be when it's being conditioned by patriarchal values - social and political, cultural and cinematic - that are as intractable as ever? "Zola" leaves filmgoers with those questions dancing uncomfortably in their heads. Which is just where Bravo wants them. MARK FELIX/AFP /AFP via Getty Images I don't think anyone would claim Texas' beaches are the best in the world, but turns out they might contain something grosser than some crusty seaweed and dead jellyfish. According to an annual report from Environment Texas Research and Policy Center, 55 out of 61 Texas beaches tested in 2020 exceeded a federal safety threshold for fecal bacterial contamination at least one day out of the year. TULE LAKE, Calif. (AP) Ben DuVal knelt in a barren field near the California-Oregon border and scooped up a handful of parched soil as dust devils whirled around him and birds flitted between empty irrigation pipes. DuVals family has farmed this land for three generations, and this summer, for the first time, he and hundreds of others who rely on a federally managed lake to quench their fields arent getting any water from it at all. As the farmland goes fallow, Native American tribes along the 257-mile-long (407-kilometer) river that flows from the lake to the Pacific watch helplessly as fish that are inextricable from their culture hover closer to extinction. This summer, a historic drought and its consequences are tearing communities apart and attracting outside attention to a water crisis years in the making. Competition over Klamath River water has always been intense, but now there is simply not enough, and all the stakeholders are suffering. "Everybody depends on the water in the Klamath River for their livelihood. Thats the blood that ties us all together, DuVal said of the competing interests. Nobodys coming out ahead this year. Nobodys winning. Those living the nightmare worry the extreme drought is a harbinger of global warming. The system is crashing ... for people up and down the Klamath Basin, said Frankie Myers, vice chairman of the Yurok Tribe, which is monitoring a massive fish kill on the river. Its heartbreaking. Twenty years ago, when water feeding the irrigation system was drastically reduced amid another drought, the crisis became a national rallying cry for the political right, and some protesters opened the main irrigation canal in violation of federal orders. This time, many irrigators reject the presence of anti-government activists. Farmers who need federal assistance to stay afloat fear ties to the far right could hurt them. Meanwhile, toxic algae is blooming in the basins main lake, and two national wildlife refuges critical to migratory birds are drying out. The conditions have exacerbated a water conflict that traces its roots back more than a century. Beginning in 1906, the federal government reengineered a complex system of lakes, wetlands and rivers in the 10 million-acre (4 million-hectare) Klamath River Basin to create tens of thousands of acres of irrigated farmland. The Klamath Reclamation Project draws its water from the 96-square-mile (248-square-kilometer) Upper Klamath Lake. But the lake is also home to suckerfish central to the Klamath Tribes culture and creation stories. In 1988, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed two species of sucker fish as endangered. The federal government must keep the lake at a minimum depth to support the fish but this year, amid exceptional drought, there was not enough water to do that and supply irrigators. Agriculture should be based on whats sustainable. Theres too many people after too little water," said Don Gentry, the Klamath Tribes chairman. With the Klamath Tribes enforcing their senior water rights to help suckerfish, there is also no extra water for downriver salmon. The Karuk Tribe last month declared a state of emergency, citing climate change and the worst hydrologic conditions in the Klamath River Basin in modern history. Karuk tribal citizen Aaron Troy Hockaday Sr. is a fourth-generation fisherman but says he hasnt caught a fish in the river since the mid-1990s. I got two grandsons that are 3 and 1 years old. Ive got a baby grandson coming this fall," he said. How can I teach them how to be fishermen if theres no fish? The downstream tribes problems are compounded by hydroelectric dams that block the path of migrating salmon. In most years, the tribes 200 miles (320 kilometers) to the southwest of the farmers, where the river reaches the ocean, ask the Bureau of Reclamation to release pulses of extra water from Upper Klamath Lake. The extra water mitigates outbreaks of a parasitic disease that proliferates when the river is low. This year, the federal agency refused those requests. Now, the parasite is killing thousands of juvenile salmon in the lower Klamath River, where the Karuk and Yurok tribes have coexisted with them for millennia. An average of 63% of fish caught last month in research traps near the rivers mouth were dead. This is all unprecedented, said Jamie Holt, lead fisheries technician for the Yurok Tribe. Where do you go from here? When do you start having the larger conversation of complete unsustainability? Near the rivers source, some of the farmers who are seeing their lives upended by the same drought say a guarantee of less water but some water each year would be better than the parched fields they have now. Some worry problems in the basin are being blamed on a way of life they also inherited. I know turning off the project is easy, said Tricia Hill, a fourth-generation farmer. But sometimes the story that gets told ... doesnt represent how progressive we are here and how we do want to make things better for all species. This single-species management is not working for the fish and its destroying our community and hurting our wildlife. DuVals daughter dreams of taking over the family farm someday. But DuVal isnt sure he and his wife, Erika, can hang onto the land if things dont change. We had a plan on how were going to grow our farm and to be able to send my daughters to a good college, said DuVal, president of the Klamath Water Users Association. And that plan just unravels further and further with every bad water year. TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) President Joe Biden stayed mum on policy during a Saturday trip to Michigan, focusing instead on cherries and cherry pie and cherry ice cream and voters who were mask-free as coronavirus restrictions have eased. It had all the hallmarks of a campaign stop that he couldnt make last year. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer greeted Biden when he arrived midday in Traverse City, which is hosting the National Cherry Festival, an event that attracted Presidents Herbert Hoover and Gerald Ford in the past. They skipped the festival, however, in favor of a cherry farm in nearby Antrim County, where Biden pitched his immigration plans when chatting with two couples from Guatemala who were picking fruit. He then greeted a long line of enthusiastic supporters stretched out behind a rope. His trip was billed as part of a broader campaign by the administration to drum up public support for his bipartisan infrastructure package and other polices geared toward families and education. But the president was out for direct contact with voters and refrained from delivering remarks about his policy proposals. Whitmer told reporters she spoke to Biden about infrastructure, although not about any projects for Michigan specifically. Im the fix-the-damn-roads governor, so I talk infrastructure with everybody, including the president," she said. In recent flooding, she said the state saw under-invested infrastructure collide with climate change and the freeways were under water. So this is an important moment. And thats why this infrastructure package is so important. Thats also why I got the president rocky road fudge from Mackinac Island for his trip here," she said. Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow also said she spoke with the president about the infrastructure package as they toured the cherry farm, noting that her phone signal dropped to one bar and that the proposed broadband buildout was needed. Biden's host at King Orchards, Juliette King McAvoy, introduced him to the two Guatemalan couples, who she said had been working on the farm for 35 years. He told them he was proposing a pathway to citizenship for farmworkers. Biden then picked a cherry out of one of their baskets and ate it. He later bought pies at the farm's market, including three varieties of cherry. Before leaving Michigan, he stopped in at Moomers Homemade Ice Cream in Traverse City, where he bought Cherries Moobilie cones for Stabenow and Gary Peters, Michigan's other Democratic senator. But for himself it was vanilla with chocolate chips in a waffle cone. Told it was cherry country, Biden said, Yeah, but Im more of a chocolate chip guy. First lady Jill Biden also was on the road Saturday, traveling to Maine and New Hampshire, while Vice President Kamala Harris was visiting a union training center in Las Vegas. The president has said the key to getting his $973 billion deal passed in Congress involves taking the case straight to voters. While Republicans and Democrats might squabble in Washington, Bidens theory is that lawmakers of both parties want to deliver for their constituents. White House officials negotiated a compromise with a bipartisan group of senators led by Republican Rob Portman of Ohio and Democrat Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. The agreement, announced in June, features $109 billion on roads and highways, $15 billion on electric vehicle infrastructure and transit systems and $65 billion toward broadband, among other expenditures on airports, drinking water systems and resiliency efforts to tackle climate change. It would be funded by COVID-19 relief that was approved in 2020 but unspent, repurposed money for enhanced unemployment benefits and increased enforcement by the IRS on wealthier Americans who avoid taxes. The financing also depends on leasing 5G telecommunications spectrum, the strategic petroleum reserve and the potential economic growth produced by the investments. Biden intends to pass additional initiatives on education and families as well as tax increases on the wealthy and corporations through the budget reconciliation process. This would allow the passage of Bidens priorities by a simple majority vote, avoiding the 60-vote hurdle in a Senate split evenly between Democrats and Republicans. TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) Crowding and unsanitary conditions are getting worse at informal camps set up in northern Mexico by asylum seekers waiting to make asylum claims in the United States. U.S. President Joe Biden has abandoned some of former president Donald Trumps hardline policies, most notably one that forced asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court. Biden has also partly eased a pandemic-related ban on seeking legal asylum. But more asylum seekers are heading to the border, and many of them still cant cross. They have wound up at impromptu camps like the one in El Chaparral, near Tijuana, amid filth and a lack of services. The camp blocks pedestrian paths near one of the border crossings between Tijuana and San Diego. Hundreds of families are living under plastic tarps, without bathrooms and at the mercy of the elements and the vicious gangs that roam the area. The children are getting sick with diarrhea, they're getting fevers and infections because there are a lot of flies around, said Karitina Hernandez, 63. Hernandez's entire family six adults and three children fled the southern state of Guerrero because of violence there. They have been living for weeks in a tent in El Chaparral, along with about 2,000 migrants from Mexico, Haiti and Central America. There is no sanitation, there is garbage around, excrement, urine, Hernandez, who fled her home after a gang killed one of her sons and threatened her. I came blindly, fleeing what had happened to me. Mexico's governmental National Human Rights Commission issued a warning weeks ago about the conditions at the camps. Municipal authorities in Tijuana say they want to close it down, but many of the migrants and asylum-seekers fear if they go somewhere else, they might lose their chance at getting into the United States. Biden has abandoned a policy that forced asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court. He has also eased a pandemic-related ban on seeking legal asylum. Shortly after taking office, Biden exempted unaccompanied children from Title 42, named for a section of an obscure 1944 public health law that allows authorities to deny entry to prevent the spread of disease. The big camp of asylum seekers that once existed farther east along the border in Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville, Texas, was dismantled in March. But amid a fresh rush of people to the border, local shelters in places like Tijuana ran out of room. Armando Hernandez, a bricklayer who fled the violence-plagued state of Michoacan with his two sons, aged 16 and 17, wonders how they will ever get across. What proof do I need? To come here with my guts shot out? said Hernandez, who is not related to Karitina. Nicole Ramos, an activist with the migrant-aid group "Al Otro Lado, says asylum seekers and migrants at such camps are vulnerable to kidnapping and extortion by criminal gangs. The United States says its laws and programs are there to protect the migrant community from traffickers, but now they are doing even more business, Ramos said. CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) Some Venezuelans got a COVID-19 shot this week thanks to a donation of Cuban-developed vaccines, bringing relief to some residents desperate to protect themselves while simultaneously deepening the mystery around the countrys donation-dependent vaccination campaign. Thirty-thousand shots of the three-dose Abdala vaccine entered Venezuelas inoculation effort just days after Nicolas Maduro's government and Cuban authorities reached an agreement under which Havana is expected to deliver 12 million doses in the following months. That deal follows vaccine-donation agreements with other allies, but it remains unclear what the terms of the arrangements are, how many people have received a shot and how well priority groups are being respected. If we look at the promises with the Russian and Chinese vaccines, theres a lot of emphasis on the agreements and the numbers, and then the delivery of those vaccines and who gets what in Venezuela becomes much more mysterious, said Jacqueline Mazza, senior adjunct professor of Latin American studies at Johns Hopkins University. Simply put, the numbers just arent there. When we put it together, we are still in the same position we are with the handling of the coronavirus in Venezuela: Its all shrouded in mystery, and clearly, the figures that are not giving us the true story. Venezuela began the first phase of its vaccination campaign in February by focusing on the health, law enforcement and education sectors. It expanded the effort in late May to anyone 60 years of age and older. Since February 13, at least 380,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine have arrived in Venezuela, representing 3.8% of the 10 million initially agreed to in December. Venezuela in March also received a batch of 500,000 doses of the Vero Cell vaccine donated by the Chinese state company Sinopharm. Two months later, Maduro announced the arrival of 1.3 million vaccines from China without giving details. Those shipments plus the one that arrived from Cuba mean the country has received at least 2,210,000 vaccines. It has only administered 1,466,988 of them and only 223,858 people .8% of the population are fully vaccinated, according to data gathered by Johns Hopkins University. Maduro has said he is aiming to vaccinate at least 70% of the population by September. But health care workers and teachers are still waiting for their shots, and some Venezuelans have expressed reservations about the lack of information on the Abdala vaccine and the campaign. I have not been vaccinated yet, said 32-year-old worker Edwin Quintana. I dont really know if the Cuban vaccine has gone through the verification processes of the World Health Organization. Cuban officials last week said the vaccine has an efficiency of 92.28%. It has not been cleared by the WHO. The union representing health care workers and the National Academy of Medicine of Venezuela this week expressed concerns about the vaccine, which the latter group described as products of doubtful scientific credibility and hoped that the WHO and the Pan American Health Organization would weigh in. Beyond the doubts over Venezuelas agreements with allies, it is also unclear if Venezuela will receive vaccines through a United Nations-led effort. Through the COVAX mechanism, Venezuela expected to receive a supply of about 11.4 million doses from a pool of different vaccines. The government was able to make a down payment, but Maduro last month said $10 million that would have covered the amount required by COVAX was blocked because of international sanctions. Mazza expects years to go by before Venezuela can vaccinate its roughly 30 million population. How does a country with a collapsed distribution system and totally incapable bureaucracy now administer a vaccine? Theyre clearly not, in essence, ramping up to deliver on any scale, she said. Venezuela has recorded more than 274,000 cases and over 3,100 deaths of COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins. At a vaccination site Tuesday in the capital of Caracas, Yoleima Cartaya reasoned that a vaccine, regardless of brand, is better than no vaccine. I think the best thing is to have it, Cartaya, 37, said after getting her first shot of the Abdala vaccine. I feel great. ___ Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City. When authorities in the United States noticed an uptick in cartel violence using American-source firearms, Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection created Operation Without a Trace, a unified effort that focused on the illicit purchase, transport and distribution of firearms, firearm components and ammo from the United States to Mexico, said Joseph Lestrange, (Acting) Deputy Assistant Director, HSI Transnational Organized Crime Division. Operation Without a Trace is in federal partnership with HSI, CBP, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Government of Mexico. Intelligence, interdiction and investigations led to identify and dismantle the criminal organizations from trafficking firearms and the seizure of drug money, according to authorities. Lestrange pointed out that straw purchases at gun stores, gun shows and online, person to person sales often serve as the beginning of the supply chain, where weapons are financed with drug trafficking proceeds. Collaboration and information sharing between ATF, HSI and CBP and the Government of Mexico has proven critical in this partnership in our efforts to identify key suspects, intercept them at the U.S. border and through investigation, bring co-conspirators to justice, he said. Information and tips from foreign domestic sources have resulted in seizures and arrests. Since its inception in November 2019, Without a Trace has resulted in the opening of over 500 criminal investigations, conducted 140 search warrants, 400 criminal arrests, seizure of over 1,100 firearms, 4,300 magazines and 680, 000 rounds of ammunition in additinto $28 million in U.S. currency, Lestrange said. Firearms seized included .50 caliber rifles, military style, machine guns, assault rifles, automatic pistols, among others. To put this in more relatable terms, thats 1,100 fewer firearms in the hands of cartel members to commit acts of violence in Mexico. Thats over 680,000 fewer bullets flying through the streets of Mexico toward a loved one or a family member. Each time we prevent a high-powered rifle like the ones you see on the table from getting into the hands of cartel members, we reduce their ability to potentially outgun Mexican authorities who are in this fight with us against transnational organized crime and drug trafficking organizations, Lestrange said. He added, Although Operation Without a Trace is a national effort , we came to Laredo, Texas to highlight the outstanding work being done in this city in partnership not only with our federal partners but without state and local partners as well. Timothy Tubbs, (Acting) Special Agent in Charge of HSI San Antonio, highlighted a few cases involving gun and ammo seizures in the Laredo area. Tubbs said authorities will continue to work together to curtail gun smuggling. Mexican organized crime groups use firearms to wage deadly, bloody wars against rival criminal groups and government agencies, as well as to extort civilians, stated Timothy Tubbs, (Acting) Special Agent in Charge, HSI San Antonio. There is no safe hiding place for anyone engaged in illegal firearms trafficking to Mexico. Homeland Security Investigations agents will relentlessly pursue illegal firearms traffickers wherever they are, every day, at all hours with our law enforcement partners. Authorities are encouraging the community to report cross-border weapons trafficking by submitting tips at www.ice.gov/tips or by calling 1 (866) 347-2423 from the U.S. and Canada, or 1 (802) 872-6199 from any country in the world. Tips are kept fully confidential. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers seized more than $380,000 and arrested one man in connection with the case. Hugo Alfredo Mendoza-Martinez, 65, of Katy, was arrested and charged with money laundering. Webb County Jail records show he is out on bond. As part of Operation Lone Star, a trooper overheard Laredo DPS communications broadcast to be on the lookout for a white 2011 Buick Enclave possibly transporting a large amount of money from San Antonio. A trooper observed the vehicle traveling south on mile marker 68 of Interstate 35 in La Salle County. Trooper pulled over the vehicle for failure to signal a lane change. DPS identified the driver as Mendoza-Martinez. Asked if he had drugs, guns or large sums of money, Meondoza-Martinez stated he only had $2,300 in his baggage. He allegedly allowed troopers to search his vehicle but denied consent for his cellphone. A K-9 inspection of the vehicle allegedly resulted in a positive alert. Mendoza-Martinez agreed to have DPS take the vehicle to the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 35 for an X-ray scan. Further inspection of the vehicle with the assistance of Border Patrol yielded a well-constructed compartment, states the affidavit. The compartment had a trap door that was covered with Bondo and painted to match the vehicles original paint, states the affidavit. Troopers then discovered bundles of cash inside the compartment. The cash seized was $389,620, according to DPS. The currency was secured in bundles wrapped in tape with numbers written on them. This is common method used by drug trade organizations for transporting illicit proceeds, states the affidavit. Ed Tase Jr., of Lockport, the first vice president of the Firemens Association of the State of New York, recently presented Parker Gurnett with a Gerard J. Buckenmeyer FASNY Volunteer Scholarship. The pictured monument was Parker's Eagle Scout project. His parents, Paul and Darlene are also pictured. All serve with the Wolcottsville Fire Company. (Wolcottsville Fire Co. Facebook page) The beginning of the school year when you got to show off your new duds, new cars, new looks! Sports! Playing, cheering, watching high school athletics. The arts: Dramatic arts, musical groups and shows, graphic arts groups, debate, etc. The prom! No dancing the night away or punch bowl antics. The daily interactions. Just being with the group, hanging with friends and classmates. Access to college recruiters and advisors its harder to line up higher education. Walking onstage to get a diploma while all the family is watching with everyone elses family. Vote View Results Senator Carrigy spoke recently in relation to the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage where he paid tribute to the member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Actin for the huge amount of work they have done over the last 9 months and also acknowledged the work of his party colleague Hildegarde Naughton in the last Government. The passing of this bill is a great day for you Minister Ray and your party colleagues who put this Bill and its targets at the centre of going into Government. This is without doubt the most transformative bill to go through the House of the Oireachtas in a long number of years. However, he did stress that it will have many challenges over the years and how important it will be that we inform society about the changes needed and do whatever is necessary to bring society with us. Senator Carrigy also stressed the importance of the agricultural sector and that it is the backbone of the rural economy. It is our largest indigenous industry providing 173,000 jobs nationally and accounting for 10% of Irish exports, yet it is very poorly represented on the Climate Change Advisory Council. We are a world leader in food production and that must be protected Senator Carrigy concluded The sector understands climate change better than most. They see it every day with flooding, changing seasons etc. It is important that we identify long term solutions, solutions which do not reduce the capacity of those who live and work in rural Ireland and to allow them to earn a decent living. Livelihoods are at stake within farming and in the wider rural economy. I recently met with my local farming organisation in Longford who wish to point out a number of asks Carbon sequestered by farmers not recognised in the Governments budgets Carbon leakage less feed produced in Ireland resulting in these markets been filled from countries with higher carbon footprints. The idea that if we cut back on our production of food, particularly milk or meat, and the shortfall is filled by some other country which has higher emissions, there is no gain Biogenic Methane needs to be treated differently in setting Carbon Budgets as per Programme for Government and Climate Action Bill..this remains unclear. All good things must come to an end and unfortunately for that's the case with the latest spell of weather which Met Eireann is forecasting is about to be coming to an end with a week of wet 'fresher weather to come. Ireland's meteorologists at forecasting HQ in Glasnevin expect expect the dry, warm and sunny spell to end on Friday with widespread heavy slow moving showers are in the forecast for Sunday. The outlook is that after patchy rain on Friday night into Saturday it will become more humid and showery for the weekend and early days of next week. There are going to be spells of wet and breezy weather next week with conditions not picking up until the second half of the week. The forecaster has even borrowed a line from the ad before the RTE forecasts which has the unforgettable line 'heavy downpours expected'. Met Eireann's farming section sums up what we can expect in Ireland when it comes to rain over the next week. "Over the coming 7 days, more unsettled weather is expected with heavy or thundery downpours or longer spells of rain. As a result, rainfall totals will vary a lot with some places potentially averaging out 2 to 3 times wetter than normal, while local averages will vary most places will see at least near or above normal values for the time of year," says the forecaster. MORE DETAILS BELOW TWEET. What's in store the rest of this week? A lot of dry warm weather for the rest of the week, with hazy sunshine at times and just a few showers Turning more unsettled from the southwest later Friday and over the weekend with some heavy downpours expected pic.twitter.com/tHxnPOIHui Met Eireann (@MetEireann) June 30, 2021 NATIONAL FORECAST issued at 5.34 pm on July 1 SATURDAY: Overall cloudy with scattered outbreaks of rain mostly in Muster and Leinster during the morning. Sunny spells and slow moving thundery showers will spread from the southwest during the afternoon leading to spot flooding in places. Highest temperatures of 17 to 20 degrees, in a light to moderate easterly breezes veering southerly during the afternoon and evening. Very mild and humid with some further showery rain at times. Mist, hill and coastal fog in parts too. Lowest temperatures of 13 to 15 degrees, in just light southerly breezes. SUNDAY: Widespread heavy slow moving showers will develop once more, especially in north and east during the afternoon and evening with thundery downpours leading to spot flooding. Humid and rather warm with highest temperatures of 16 to 20 degrees Celsius, in a light to moderate southerly breeze. Scattered showers will continue, mixed with some clear spells. Lowest temperatures of 12 to 14 degrees, in light to moderate southerly breezes. Mist and hill fog in parts too. MONDAY: Further heavy showers will develop on Monday mixed with sunny spells. Remaining humid with highs of 17 to 20 degrees generally, holding a little cooler in the southwest as mostly moderate southwesterly winds become fresh at times along southwestern and western coasts. Further Outlook: Low pressure will move up across Ireland on Monday night with spells of wet and breezy weather. Fresher, showery conditions will follow on Tuesday and Wednesday with temperatures gradually recovering as the week progresses. People in Longford can now avail of quick access to relevant information on their water supply, based on where they live, due to the rollout of a newly designed Irish Water website. The changes will allow people in Louth to immediately see what works and projects are ongoing in their locality by setting their location at www.water.ie This is already proving helpful for customers experiencing issues such as water outages. A quick look at the Irish Water website immediately tells them what the issue is, the areas affected and when it will be rectified. With over 900,000 users on the site ever year, this revamp will ensure water.ie continues to provide an essential public service, Irish Water said. Designed to work on your mobile phone or any other device, the state of the art website lets you set your location with updates and news relevant to your locality served upfront on the homepage. It also enables Irish Water to deliver important public health messages and reassurance to the public that we are working every day to provide a clean and safe supply of drinking water for our customers while returning wastewater safely to the environment. Head of Customer Operations with Irish Water, Yvonne Harris explains how this dynamic, new-look website will better serve customers. We have upgraded our website so it is more user-friendly", she said. "We talked to our customers, we listened to their feedback and made changes to better improve the user experience for all. We are now keeping our customers informed, in real time, about any issues that may be impacting their water supply as well as updates on significant projects, leakage works and water quality. This new-look version of water.ie takes the effort out of the search for information by giving customers important, relevant, location-based information on the homepage. With one click to set your location or the option to choose a locality, visitors to the site can immediately view key information for their chosen geographical area. Now, instead of Donegal residents seeing news for Dublin, or Cork residents seeing information on outages in Offaly, they see local news, supply updates, and information on water quality and projects. "And its one click to turn it off and return to a national view. "In addition, a mobile-first design caters to the vast majority of visitors who use mobiles to access water.ie. Yvonne continued: From research and data analysis, Irish Waters Communications and Customer teams have a better understanding of what our customers want. "The previous site structure meant customers had to undertake separate journeys to check for an outage or find relevant information on water quality or local news stories, making it a laborious process. "The team wanted to give our customers the option to get a full picture of what was happening in their locality, all in one place. A Longford student is celebrating after her magnificent poster creation was selected as the overall national winner in the secondary school category of the Green-Schools Poster Competition Awards. Tanna Kruger from Mercy Secondary School Ballymahon was already a regional winner in the competition and at a virtual ceremony, streamed on screens in schools and homes all across the country, it was further revealed that Tanna's 'Conserve Water Conserve Life' poster was the overall national winner. Longford County Council Environmental Awareness Officer Gary Brady said, This is a wonderful achievement for Tanna and Mercy Ballymahon and I would like to congratulate Tanna on her amazing art work. The poster competition has twelve regional winners and three national winners in three categories Junior Primary, Senior Primary and Secondary. The regional winners win a professionally framed copy of their poster and a 250 Arts & Hobby Voucher. The national winners also win 500 for the Green-Schools committee in their school. The virtual ceremony featured a presentation from the award-winning Cartoon Saloon. The popular Green-Schools competition focuses every year on a theme around water sustainability and is open to Irish primary and secondary students. This years theme was valuing water which tied in with the UNs water theme for 2021. Despite the disrupted year for schools with Covid-19 restrictions and closures, there were over 1,400 entries for the poster competition, and it was an exceptional achievement for Tanna to emerge as winner. The families of Bloody Sunday victims today said they will 'fight on' to get justice for their loved ones. It follows the decision announced today by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) that charges against a former soldier in connection with the 1972 shootings are not to proceed. The PPS said it is to withdraw proceedings against Soldier F, a former member of the military facing trial for two charges of murder and five of attempted murder on Bloody Sunday in January 1972. Separately, proceedings will not be commenced against Soldier B who was to be prosecuted with the murder of 15-year-old Daniel Hegarty in Creggan in July 1972, and of wounding with intent of his cousin Christopher Hegarty. Families of the victims were told of the decisions not to proceed with the charges at a meeting in the City Hotel in Derry today. Speaking after the meeting, Mickey McKinney, brother of William McKinney, one of the men that Soldier F had been accused of murdering, said today's announcement represents 'another damning indictment of the British justice system'. A mass murderer has been permitted to evade justice without even standing trial, said Mr Kinney. Whilst Soldier F was being prosecuted for two counts of murder on Bloody Sunday, he in fact murdered five people that day. There is no dispute that his actions on Bloody Sunday resulted in 2 women being robbed of their husbands, 12 children being orphaned of their father, and dozens of young men and women deprived of a brother. 6 parents also lost a son. These are the clear findings of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry and the responsibility that it attaches directly and unequivocally to the actions of Soldier F. Whilst hiding behind the shameful cloak of anonymity, he has so far escaped prosecution for the entirety of the mass murder that he committed on Bloody Sunday and our family, with the support of the other families and wounded shall challenge this decision as far as we can. This issue is far from concluded. We will fight on. Ciaran Shiels, solicitor, of Madden & Finucane, which represents some of the Bloody Sunday families, said they intend to seek an immediate judicial review of the PPS decision to discontinue the prosecution of Soldier F. The reasons underpinning the PPS decision relate to the admissibility of statements made to the Royal Military Police in 1972 by a number of soldiers who were witnesses to events in Glenfada Park. The admissibility of RMP statements in relation to the events of Bloody Sunday is a matter already under active judicial consideration by the High Court following proceedings which we lodged last December. The High Court will hear detailed legal argument over five days in September. In those circumstances, the decision by the PPS to halt this prosecution is clearly premature in the absence of a High Court ruling on the issue." Tony Doherty, chairperson of the Bloody Sunday Trust, whose father Patrick was also shot dead by Soldier F, expressed his solidarity with the families of Jim Wray, Willie McKinney and Daniel Hegarty. "The decision today means that victims of state violence basically have been told that justice cannot be achieved within the Northern State," he said. "The British government and its agencies have played the dirtiest of games from the very beginning including the Widgery Tribunal, during the Saville Enquiry and during the course of these prosecutions. "No family should be forced to struggle for 50 years to achieve truth and justice. "There are no more channels available. British no longer has any moral authority in the North of Ireland," said Mr Doherty. It's the weekend and Ronan O'Meara has been scouring the TV schedules to find movies to watch over the next seven days. Here are 16 to choose from....enjoy! The Post: Saturday, RTE One @ 21.50 When the true depths of America's Vietnam war losses are exposed a new appointed newspaper owner and a seasoned newspaper editor must decide whether to publish their findings and face jail time or back down and face themselves. Steven Spielberg's drama is an interestingly tense look at a very turbulent time in American history. The cast is second to none with Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Carrie Coon, Sarah Paulson & Matthew Rhys amongst others firing on all cylinders. Turbulence: Saturday, Virgin Media Three @ 23.00 Ryan Weaver aka The Lonely Hearts Strangler is being transported by air across America. As tends to happen in films like this he escapes and the journey through the sky gets rather eventful. This 1997 thriller was derided on release but a fast moving storyline and a manic turn from an unhinged Ray Liotta turns it into silly Saturday night fun. Brendan Gleeson turns up in an early Hollywood part and Lauren Holly makes for a heroine you'll want to see survive. Denial: Saturday, RTE One @ Midnight An American professor called Deborah Lipstadt faces an uphill battle when she's accused of defamation after she calls an opponent to her work a holocaust denier in her new book. This might sound like a dull and worthy Oscar bait but instead it's a gripping and timely look at the absurdities of legal systems and the people who twist them to their own ends. Rachel Weisz, Tom Wilkinson and Timothy Spall are all excellent. Summertime: Sunday, BBC Two @ 00.55 France, the early 70's. Delphine is under pressure to marry but she's keeping the secret that she's gay from her farming parents. Until one day she meets Carole who introduces her to a way of life she never thought within her grasp. A beautiful looking and splendidly acted film about a dark period in a young life that starts in one place and ends rather differently. Izia Higelin & Cecile de France both do wonderful work. Clash Of The Titans: Sunday, BBC One @ 14.55 A Greek warrior by the name of Pegasus has annoyed the gods and now must literally face hell and high water in his efforts to save the woman he loves from a sacrificial death. Ignore the crappy 2010 cgi strewn remake, this 1981 adventure is the business. Filled with glorious effects work from Ray Harryhausen and a wicked cast that includes Harry Hamlin, Maggie Smith, Laurence Olivier and Ursula Andress, this is a perfect sunday afternoon watch. It may be a lil' too violent for the wee ones. Moon: Sunday, Great! Movies @ 21.00 After spending three long years working all alone on the moon with only a robot for company, Sam is coming to the end of his trip. Then he has an accident and things get....well they get weird. Sam Rockwell does amazing work in a film that's a grand example of hard science fiction, a story that asks deep thoughtful questions about human isolation and alienation without pretension. A rare treat in this genre. Metal Heart: Sunday, RTE One @ 21.30 Twin sisters Emma and Chantal could not be more different if they tried. Emma is quiet, confused about life and channels her energy into her music. Chantal is adored by all, loves a party and has her future all planned out. Hugh O'Conor's debut feature film is a charmer, a funny and heartfelt look at growing up. Some lovely Dublin locations and effective turns from Jordanne Jones, Aaron Heffernan and Moe Dunford ensure you'll like this. Notorious: Monday, Talking Pictures TV @ 21.00 To atone for the sins of her father a woman called Alicia Huberman delves into the world of espionage to investigate nazis living in South America. Of course, being that this is a Hitchcock film, she falls for her government handler too. 75 years old this year and still as enjoyable as it ever was, this thriller starring Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant is smooth as silk and full of tension, romantic and otherwise. Keep an eye out for one of the most famous kisses ever filmed. Posse: Monday, TCM @ 23.05 A group of buffalo soldiers are home from war and weary from travel. As black cowboys they face hatred at every turn and surviving the wild west is a tough prospect but a quest for justice is keeping their fight alive. Mario Van Peeples directs and stars in this fine slice of western revisionism. It was not well received back in 1993 but it's a definitely a film worthy of re-evaluation. The cast makes it sing too with solid turns from Van Peeples, Blair Underwood and Tiny Lister. Mommy: Tuesday, Film4 @ 01.15 Life is tough for Diane, she's looked down on in her job, her husband is gone and her teenage son is a constant source of stress in her life. Then two new neighbours arrive on the scene and dramatic change comes with them. Xavier Dolan's 2014 film is a harsh, troubling but deeply humane watch dotted with a surprising streak of humour. Anne Dorval, Antoine Olivier Pilon and Suzanne Clement do some wicked work here. Lakeview Terrace: Tuesday, The Horror Channel @ 21.00 A newly married couple move into a quiet community and life is good. Their next door neighbour isn't one bit happy about the fact that they're an interracial couple though, and he's not quiet about sharing that fact. Samuel L. Jackson playing a bad guy is strange to see these days but he gets the job done well in an unsettling look at racial politics. Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington do well as the couple in question. The Untouchables: Wednesday, ITV4 @ 22.05 It's the time of prohibition and Al Capone. 1920's Chicago was a bloody place because of both and now treasury agent Eliot Ness is putting together a team to enforce one and take down the other. Brian De Palma's boys own adventure is a brilliant way to spend a couple of hours. Action packed, exciting, even genuinely affecting in places and all laced with a magnificent Ennio Morricone soundtrack. Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, Sean Connery and Andy Garcia all add to the mix. Run Silent, Run Deep: Thursday, Film4 @ 11.00 Commander Richardson is obsessed with revenge and his men are worried. Years before the submarine he was on was scuttled by a Japanese destroyer and now he has a chance for payback and his obsession is risking the men below him. A thoughtful film about the shades of gray that exist in wartime and the moralities involved. Great performances from Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster and Brad Dexter keep things moving nicely. Man Of Aran: Friday, Talking Pictures TV @ 01.00 Life on Ireland's Aran islands has always been a tough proposition and this 87 year old docudrama shows us what living there was like in a pre electrical era. Yes, yes, we all know a lot of what's shown onscreen has been shown to be fictional since but it's still an affecting, almost poetic look at a way of life long gone that's packed with some astounding imagery. Out Of Sight: Friday, BBC One @ 22.35 A prison escape goes awry when Jack, a prisoner, bumps into Karen, a US Marshall and both become instantly smitten. What chance has a relationship when both parties are at odds with each other? Steven Soderbergh's romance/comedy/drama/thriller is one of the best films of the 1990's. A perfect amalgamation of star power and story. It's a joy. Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney have never been better while Don Cheadle, Steve Zahn and Ving Rhames offer memorable support. Amy: Friday, Channel 4 @ 23.00 A feature length documentary about the wild and at times sordid life of chanteuse Amy Winehouse and the events leading up to her tragic death in 2011 aged 27. The format is the usual talking heads one but a lash of home video clips and interviews with her family and friends turn this into a deeply personal and upsetting watch that will grip you even when you know how her story ends. A true cautionary tale. As always visit hamsandwichcinema.blogspot.com/ for more film and tv chat. The term pistol first came about in 16th-century Europe when the wheel-lock ignition system for firearms allowed a more efficient manner of carry than the matchlock (simply a smoldering cord attached to the hammer). The first pistols were intended for use in combat on horseback, with their grip designed to allow for convenient firing with one hand while allowing the other hand to control the horse. These were hefty, long-barreled pistols that were normally carried in saddle holsters. It didnt take long for gunsmiths to figure out that downsizing the horse-pistols into far more easily carried firearms (on the person in belts or concealed in pockets) found a ready market, not only for military applications, but for civilian self-defense as well. Firearms evolution soon created the more efficient flintlock, then the even more efficient (percussion cap) caplock, and eventually the cartridge firearms which remain commonplace today. Samuel Colt created a revolution in firearm design when he developed the first effective and dependable (caplock) revolving pistol in the 1830s. Before this, pistols were either single-shot or had multiple barrels, and the revolver allowed multiple shots per one barrel. Colt had an advertising slogan that stated his revolver made all men equal, which certainly boosted his sales, especially in the civilian market with regards to self-defense. Smith and Wesson developed the first successful revolver using a (rimfire) self-contained cartridge during the 1850s. This was actually a petite pistol designed for concealed-carry (usually in a pocket aka pocket-pistol), and employed the then-very new .22 rimfire round (which is Americas oldest and most used cartridge still in very popular production today). Colt would come out with the legendary .45 single-action revolver in 1873, which often gets credit for winning the West, at least in the movies. The Colt .45 revolver employed a very dependable centerfire cartridge that packed a punch, and it would remain the official U.S. Army sidearm until the early 20th century. The Colt .45 certainly was popular with the civilian market as well and even remains a popular commodity today (a prime example is the highly popular and fast-growing Cowboy Action Shooting). One of my favorite hunting revolvers is a customized Ruger Black Hawk in .45 Colt (using potent reloads). European gun manufacturers started the popular move into semiautomatic pistols during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which eventually caught the U.S. militarys interest and led to one of the most popular semiautomatic pistols of all time, the venerable Colt Model 1911 in .45 ACP. This pistol is still very popular today, and the 1911" besides Colt, is produced and marketed by several American and foreign manufacturers. Ive always admired this pistol/caliber combination and, needless to say, in 1985 I was rather distressed when the U.S. military dropped it in favor of the M9 Beretta 9mm double-action, high-capacity semiautomatic pistol (a very fine pistol in its own right) to keep in step with NATO. In 2017, the M9 Beretta would be replaced by the M17 Sig Sauer in 9mm. The M17 (as well as its compact variant, the M18) went through some very rigorous testing to achieve its place with the U.S. military, which certainly ensures the fact it is an outstanding performer. Today, thanks to the advent of the semiautomatic pistol, recent terminology seems to have changed (or is trying to). Some shooting experts claim that revolvers are only revolvers and are not properly described as pistols, and that only semiautomatics are properly called pistols." Being old-school and a history buff, I totally disagree, and to me, a pistol is a pistol, period, regardless of whether it is a revolver, semiautomatic, single-shot or two-barreled derringer." A perfect example is Michigans Concealed Pistol License (CPL), which is in reference to any concealable handgun. Also, being old-school, I frequently, and quite incorrectly according to the experts, still call a magazine a clip." U.S. law enforcement agencies began a major move toward high-capacity semiautomatic pistols during the 1980s and, of course, the civilian market followed suit because the semiautomatics worked quite well as advertised. On the civilian side of things, however, revolvers still have a strong following due to their simplicity in use and the fact they are less apt to jam. I can remember a notable and seasoned Wyoming sheriff I talked to 35 years ago (I met him near the Continental Divide during a Wyoming elk season), who refused to give up his .357 Magnum S&W revolver in favor of a well-publicized semiautomatic, high-capacity pistol, because according to him, If you cant resolve a typical gunfight in six shots, you are in a whole world of trouble." In other words, he put a lot of emphasis (and faith) in hitting the mark with something which packed a serious punch, and was very familiar with his revolver after years of use. When booming coal and oil enterprises came to his county, and crime followed, he was involved in a number of gunfights. A group of avid shooters I met several years ago at the Marlette Sportsmans Associations shooting range put a special emphasis on hitting the mark with their pistols, and having a lot of fun and very friendly competition doing so, with safety above all else being the top priority. I truly liked their pistol range, which was surrounded by a tall and very sufficient earth backstop. The targets were placed at basic combat pistol ranges, typically from seven to 15 yards, with the targets being both paper and/or metal. All the pistols I saw being used were stock (non-competition type) semiautomatic pistols of various models typically used for concealed carry. Performing shots around corners (actually plywood barriers) both right and left, using rapid, accurate fire at multiple targets (requiring a reload during the process) is all a part of the routine. A special timer comes into play once they get warmed up, and I saw for a fact each and every one of the contestants was a real shooter." I felt right at home with these folks, despite the fact I didnt bring a pistol (actually Im glad I didn't because I might have been a disappointment being an outdoors writer gives the impression I might even know how to shoot). But the main competition with this good-natured group is you against yourself, and I do like and appreciate that attitude. Actually, I do a lot of shooting with a variety of pistols, including revolvers, on my backyard shooting range, but I have never technically competed. About three years ago, I wrote an article about the Tuscola County Conservation Club (TCCC) near Caro and liked their shooting ranges (including pistol ranges) so much that I joined the club. I even pondered doing a bit of competitive pistol shooting for the first time. Two years ago, while browsing in a gun shop (one of my favorite pastimes), I came across and was able to handle a new Mossberg MC1sc (subcompact) semiautomatic pistol in 9mm, and it felt just right in my hand. It is also quite simplistic in handling function, it's ruggedly constructed, and yep, folks, I had to have one! My Mossberg MC1sc came with two magazines, one six-round and one seven-round, and since the seven-round fits better in my big paws, the six-round remains in the box, and I purchased two more seven-round magazines as spares in the event of doing some friendly competition. While getting fully acquainted on my shooting range with this pistol, which features a nice and smooth double-action trigger, I became totally enthralled with it. In my opinion, Mossberg hit a home run with this design. My goal was to do a bit of competition with my new pistol at the TCCC pistol range last year, but the pandemic and its restrictions threw a wrench into the works. Due to the more than year-long pandemic crisis, politics (including talk about defunding the police) and civil unrest, a whole lot of citizens decided to become new gun owners, and there was, and still is, a major rush on purchasing ammunition, not to mention certain firearms. Ammunition manufacturers are hard pressed to meet the ongoing demand. Even for those who reload their own ammunition, the necessities are lacking to do so because the ammunition manufacturers need all of it to meet their needs. (I was glad I had enough proper shotgun ammo still on hand for the recent spring turkey season, because there was very little available on the shelves anywhere). Needless to say, folks, my newfound competitive spirit is presently on hold once again, because I do not want to expend what little 9mm ammunition I still have on hand. I guess it is a sign of our challenging era, but I am quite optimistic there are better times ahead. Hopefully sooner rather than later! Email Tom Lounsbury at tlounsburyoutdoors@gmail.com. Barcelona are working around the clock to find an agreement with Lionel Messi to renew the contract that expired on June 30, leaving him, technically speaking, without a club. The Catalans have problems, though, and Financial Fair Play has become an obstacle that is proving tough to overcome in recent days, but that's not the only issue. Barcelona have to cut their salary expenses in order to accommodate Messi, even with him taking a significant reduction in terms of pay. Defining the finances and taxes Messi wants the tax matters to be perfectly clear and defined, as there are some ongoing changes that would affect Messi. A lot of payments have been delayed of late, and if he renews with Barcelona he'll likely head to the USA in two years' time. That will likely present problems as to where his tax should be paid when he collects any deferred money that he is to earn in Spain. This is likely to happen with any other player who moves abroad. Payment terms It's obvious that Barcelona are short of cash and this is why they're talking to players in an attempt to cut their salary expenses. Within those talks they have to decide how they are going to make the payments, and as of yet there haven't been any concrete decisions. Guarantees Messi wants to have guarantees that he will receive the money that is agreed when he signs, even in the event of a new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic that would lead to delay with regard to full stadiums and other issues. Nothing can be ruled out, and Messi wants to know where he stands. Deferred payments Again, the issue of money owed to Messi is a problem. His advisors want to see what happens with his pending payments and if they're added to the new contract. There's a lot of money that hasn't been paid to him. The sporting project Although it's gone into the background of late, Messi is desperate to see Barcelona be competitive again and to aim for big trophies. The signings of Sergio Aguero, Eric Garcia and Memphis Depay have come as good news for the No.10. For now, though, nothing is certain and there are still a lot of things left to iron out before anything is signed. Atlanta, GA (30303) Today Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low 69F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. If youre a Fulton County property owner and want to appeal your 2021 property tax assessment, you have until early August to do so. Submit A Press Release $25.00 / for 2 days Ensure your press release runs prominently on our website and in our E-mail Newsletter. Gauranteed placement on these platforms is $25. Note: All submissions will go through our editorial approval process before being posted. Note: We have changed our commenting system. If you do not have an mdjonline.com account, you will need to create one in order to comment. Using the German Pharmacoepidemiological Research Database (GePaRD), authors analyzed outpatient drug dispensations in 2016. Based on the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden (ACB) scale, they classified persons into four categories and determined the cumulative anticholinergic burden (AB) as continuous variable.Among 16,470,946 persons (54% female), the prevalence of AB (ACB3) was 10% among women and 7% among men. Below age 40 it was highest in persons 18 years.Antihistamines, antibiotics, glucocorticoids, antidepressants, contributed to more AB.AB is common in older persons, but the prevalence in younger age groups was also high-up to 7%. Given the risks associated with AB in older persons, targeted interventions at the prescriber level are needed. Furthermore, risks associated with AB in younger persons should be explored.The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. Moreover, this does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.Source: Eurekalert Immune response found to decrease to COVID-19 vaccines among organ transplant recipients and others on immunosuppressive drug regimens, as per findings in a new editorial by Peter Heeger, Christian Larsen, and Dorry Segev who discuss recent evidences - including a recent Science Immunology study by Hector Rincon-Arevalo and colleagues. The authors note that this presents challenges at both the individual and population levels, since current vaccine protocols may not provide adequate protection to immunosuppressed patients - who could, in turn, become reservoirs for new and dangerous variants of the virus. As such, Heeger, Larsen, and Segev argue that developing vaccination strategies for transplant recipients should be a high priority in the next wave of research focused on fighting COVID-19. "The global scientific response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has been a marvel," the researchers write. Developing vaccination strategies for transplant recipients should be a high priority in the next wave of research focused on fighting COVID-19. Read More.. Source: Eurekalert "But vulnerable populations remain, and there is no time to rest in the last mile. The full force of scientific effort is still needed to provide immune protection for those who remain at risk from this deadly virus and to control the reservoir to prevent fertile fields for mutations that put the entire population at risk."Source: Eurekalert As such, Heeger, Larsen, and Segev argue that developing vaccination strategies for transplant recipients should be a high priority in the next wave of research focused on fighting COVID-19. "The global scientific response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has been a marvel," the researchers write. Recommended Reading Two COVID-19 Shots can Protect Against Delta Strain The World Health Organization warned that the Delta variant first spotted in India, could fuel a new wave of cases in Europe. But, the new assessment concluded that 2 COVID jabs could protect from the strain. READ MORE Tongue Abnormalities Tongue is the only muscle that is attached to only one end. The abnormalities of the tongue include tongue disease, tongue tie and size-related anomalies. READ MORE Top 10 Vaccine Myths Debunked Childhood vaccination has saved many lives, yet lots more has to be done to increase awareness and eliminate myths regarding vaccines. READ MORE Traveling with Children Abroad? - Parents, Stay Alert! Traveling with children is always challenging as it involves careful planning. Here are some precautions that need to be taken when traveling abroad with kids. READ MORE The New York Times (NYT) is looking for a correspondent in India but the publications credibility came under fire because of the job description. The publication is looking for a South Asia Business Correspondent in New Delhi but has weird prerequisites and conditions for potential candidates. Reuters The job posting on its website described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as someone who advocates "self-sufficient, muscular nationalism, centred on the country's Hindu majority. The posting goes on to state that Under Narendra Modi, its charismatic Prime Minister, India has moved to rival Chinas economic and political heft in Asia - a drama playing out along their tense border and within national capitals across the region. New York Times Kanchan Gupta, advisor to the Indian Government took to Twitter and said "NYT has dropped all pretences of impartiality with this job ad for a South Asia Correspondent. They are clearly looking to hire an anti-Modi activist who can also stoke anti-Indian sentiments in our neighbourhood. With this, the paper qualifies as a foreign-funded NGO." he tweeted. Reuters Several social media users based in India questioned the need to make such scathing remarks in a job description and claimed that the NYT is clearly looking for a biased journalist in the country. The publication also goes on to mention the new IT rules saying that the governments growing efforts to police online speech and media discourse have raised difficult questions about balancing issues of security and privacy with free speech. The job posting also referred to the border clashes between India and China as a drama playing out along their tense border and within national capitals across the region. Its clear that the New York Times is looking to hire a correspondent in the country that has a clear bias and would be overly critical of the Indian Government and the Prime Minister. While criticism of the Indian Government is warranted when needed, hiring a correspondent in India that must meet these prerequisites defeats the purpose of unbiased reporting. At the time of writing, the job posting is still available to view, which you can read in full here (https://g.co/kgs/tgBdMd). Do you think a reporter should be unbiased at any publication and shouldnt have to meet such prerequisites for a job? Let us know in the comments what you think about The New York Times job posting. Sirisha Bandla will be the second Indian-born woman to fly into space after Kalpana Chawla on July 11th. She will be one of the five people who will fly into space in Richard Bransons Virgin Galactic. This will be the companys fourth manned test space flight and will take off nine days ahead of the departure of billionaire and Amazons founder Jeff Bezos. Instagram/Richard branson I am so incredibly honored to be a part of the amazing crew of Unity22, and to be a part of a company whose mission is to make space available to all, Bandla said on microblogging site Twitter. Sirishas role during the test flight will be to evaluate research experience according to Virgin Galactic. During the space flight, which is the 22nd for VSS Unity, Sirisha's role will be to evaluate research experience. Bandla was born in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh and grew up in Houston Texas. Her father, Muralidhar Bandla is an agriculture scientist. He emigrated to the United States for better opportunities and is currently working at the US Embassy in India. She is a graduate of aeronautical engineering from Purdue University. Bandla started working at Virgin Galactic in 2015 and is currently the companys vice president of government affairs. She also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Georgetown University. Bandla worked as an aerospace engineer in Texas before joining Virgin Galactic in 2015. She also served at the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF), an industry association of commercial spaceflight companies with responsibilities covering space policy. She has also worked as a technical engineer at L-3 Communications, a company that deals in command and control, communications, intelligence, surveillance, avionics, ocean products, training devices and services, instrumentation, aerospace, and navigation products. Virgin Galactic Hailing from Andhra Pradesh, former Chief Minister NN Chandrababu Naidu tweeted saying Indian-origin women continue to break the proverbial glass ceiling and prove their mettle. On July 11, Sirisha Bandla with Telugu roots is set to fly to space aboard VSS Unity with Richard Branson and the team marking the dawn of the new space age, making all Indians proud," the post read. Billionaire Richard Branson is set to travel to the edge of space on Virgin Galactics test flight on July 11th. The flight is expected to last approximately 60 to 75 minutes. The VSS Unity 22 will take off and land back at Virgin Galactic's Spaceport America in New Mexico. A Celebration of Life Service for Mr. Fred W. Gray will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 6, 2021, at Faith Baptist Church. Robert Barham Family Funeral Home is honored to be entrusted with arrangements. Click here to log in and see all of our other subscription options for the Mesabi Tribune, including online only & auto-renewal subscriptions. Where would we be today if social media was a thing in the 1770s? In summer 2020, The New York Times coordinated a nationwide project to document the lives of Americans out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involved collaborating with 11 other local newsrooms around the U.S. The Messenger-Inquirer was the only newspaper from Kentucky in the collaboration. The resulting collection of stories was published Oct. 23, 2020, in the New York Times print edition and at nytimes.com/outofwork. The following list is the Messenger-Inquirer's local unemployment coverage from that time period; read more by clicking the "New York Times Project" header. Click on "Out Of Work In America" to go to the full KABUL Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan commends the goodwill of the Russian Federation for a peaceful resolution of Afghanistans crisis through constructive peace negotiations. Although not a direct party to the Doha Peace Agreement, the Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has fulfilled all obligations, including the release of more than 6000 Taliban prisoners. The government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has always emphasized peaceful settlement of conflict and is committed to meaningful peace talks leading to a comprehensive ceasefire and lasting peace in Afghanistan. However, as the withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan almost completed, the Taliban have intensified their attacks. While appreciating regional and international support to our gains over the last two decades under the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, we call for establishment of an international committee to monitor the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2513. The monitoring of the committee will clearly affirm that the Taliban, while not fulfilling their commitments to peace, have escalated violence to a level that even threatens the security and stability of the region. BIG RAPIDS Artworks new exhibit, Geology Rocks! explores stones and geologic formations through photography. The exhibits images tell the history of the earth through rocks, making connections to Michigan along the way. The exhibit is open now through Aug. 26 in the Batdorff Gallery. The gallery features the photography of Stephen ross and his work Lithoscapes: The Abstract Art of Rock, sculptures by Autumn Bildson, and drawings by Julie Tyslicky. Special Brown Bag Lunch events include Earth History as Told by Rocks with geologist Fred Heck on Aug. 20. Roxanne Cullen, volunteer exhibit coordinator with Artworks, said the exhibit will be a unique opportunity to learn about Michigan history through geology. The idea for the exhibit grew out of the photography of Stephen Ross who is a longtime Artworks supporter, an artist, former board chair, and former about every job in artworks including keeping track of the upkeep on the building, Cullen said. He wanted to do a show with his photographs of the upper peninsula rock formations. His portion of the show is a series of beautiful photographs that look like abstract paintings, but they also illustrate the earth history and follow a timeline. We thought it would be nice to show some various artists' work that are influenced by rocks, so of course that meant including a sculptor who works in stone as a medium, Autumn Bildson, who some may remember from Festival of the Arts a few years back," she added. "And we also included an artist who creates pictures of rocks in colored pencil, Julie Tyslicky." The goal of the show is to explore the wonders of rocks. Along with the art in the show is a lot of Earth Science and information about Geology. Cullen said the mix of media, art, and information provides a unique experience for attendees. We have tried to create an atmosphere in this exhibit that feels like a Geology lab, Cullen said. There are lots of rocks on display along with the art and we have a microscope set up to look at rock crystals and a box with UV light to look at minerals. It truly is a blending of Arts and Science. During the event on Aug. 20 at noon, Fred Heck, emeritus professor of Geology at Ferris State University will give a talk about the work of geologists and how rocks reveal the history before humans were part of the equation. On July 15, there will also be an opportunity for attendees to meet the artists to learn more about their work and ask questions while enjoying the exhibit. Cullen said the hope is that people can gain knowledge about geology, Michigan history, and art as they explore the exhibit. We hope that people will come away from the show wanting to learn more, Cullen said. Its a great opportunity, and we hope people will come to expand their learning. To learn more about Artworks, the Geology Rocks! exhibit, upcoming exhibits, and events visit the Artworks website at www.artworksinbigrapids.org/. You can also reach out to Artworks through email at artworksmainoffice@gmail.com, and via phone at 231-796-2420. During the course of Americas longest war, more than 800,000 members of the U.S. military served in Afghanistan, a multigenerational fight against a tenacious insurgency. For the troops on the front lines, sometimes it meant holding a remote outpost as mortars, rockets or gunfire hit almost daily. It meant patrols through orchards hunting for hidden Taliban, down roads laced with explosive devices. They took missions into villages, trying to build support among residents. Raids targeting militant commanders turned into gun battles. TOKYO (AP) A gush of mud that swept away homes and cars in a resort town southwest of Tokyo left at least two people dead and about 20 missing, officials said Sunday. Ten people were rescued and as many as 80 homes buried in Atami, where hundreds of firefighters, military troops and three coast guard ships worked from daybreak Saturday to try to reach those believed to be trapped or carried away by the mudslide. Community services in the Upper Thumb are set to receive United States Department of Agriculture funds to replace vehicles and equipment used to save people The Harbor Beach Area Fire Department will receive $47,800 to purchase battery-operated jaws of life rescue equipment. The equipment will be used to help extract people from life-threatening situations, such as lifting objects off of trapped people. Harbor Beach Fire Chief Jason Lermont said this new jaws of life would replace a truck-mounted, gas-powered one and can allow the fire department to go anywhere. We try to apply for (this program) every year, Lermont said, to replace equipment or go on a new venture. Lermont said that past USDA grants the Harbor Beach Area Fire Department received allowed it to acquire an off-road firefighting vehicle that can carry six and uses firefighting foam and a Chevrolet pickup truck that contains equipment for fighting grass fires. The village of Pigeon will receive $37,500 to purchase a new patrol vehicle, which will be used mainly as a first responder unit to medical calls. The new vehicle will replace an older fleet vehicle that has begun to deteriorate. Sanilac County is set to receive two grants, with the first one being $34,900 for a patrol vehicle and emergency and patrol related equipment. It will replace a fleet vehicle that has a high mileage. The other grant is for $33,400 to purchase a K-9 patrol vehicle. It will be used to transport the K-9 to jail callouts, training and emergency situations for tracking, and be equipped with a special K-9 kennel with climate control. In Tuscola County, the village of Kingston will receive $40,900 to purchase a patrol vehicle to replace an older vehicle that is unreliable. The new vehicle will be equipped with emergency lights, a computer, an updated radar unit, and would be pursuit rated. The grants are part of $185 million the USDA is investing to rebuild and modernize essential services in rural areas across 32 states. The Biden-Harris Administration has made investing in infrastructure improvements a top priority, said USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Justin Maxson. These loans and grants will help rural communities invest in facilities and services that are vital to all communities, such as schools, libraries, hospitals and health clinics. They also will help rural communities continue to beat the COVID-19 pandemic as America builds back better and stronger. HAMDEN They design and sell apparel, run their own businesses and invest in the stock market. Last month, they published a book. At ages 11 and 12, respectively, cousins Kaydence Caporale of North Branford and Caron Hannans of Hamden are quite accomplished for students who have not even begun high school yet. It amazes me how they balance it all, said Tonia Holland, the cousins grandmother, who has helped them launch and run the businesses. Though she is the younger cousin, Kaydence will tell you she was the first cousin to pursue entrepreneurship. I started my business last year, she said. During quarantine, Kaydence was feeling bored, she said. When a teacher asked what she was doing to stay busy, she did not have an answer. Kaydence said she went to her grandmother, who helped her come up with the idea to start a business. Contributed photo / Sammeisha Caporale Lip gloss became her first product, and later she started selling shirts and bucket hats, Kaydence said. It was really cool and exciting, she said. Her brand is called Glitzy by Kay. Glitzy means bold, glittery, Kaydence said. As he saw his cousin turn entrepreneurial, Caron, then a seventh-grader at Hamden Middle School, decided he wanted in. Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media Last fall, he started making masks, and then progressed to designing hats, clothes and sneakers, he said. Right now, his favorite products are two pairs of sneakers he designed. The first, called Hoopers, are high-top shoes, mostly Army green but with bright-red soles. The second sneaker design boasts a combination of yellow, gray and red sections, with a patterned gray toe. The apparel bears the brand name Snoopy Fly Guy, Snoopy being the nickname that Carons grandmother Tonia Holland gave him, he said. His mother, Christina Holland, does his sales and marketing. She also buys clothes designed by her son and niece; one of her T-Shirts features both the logos for Snoopy Fly Guy and Glitzy by Kay. I am very excited. Im also very proud of him, Holland said of her sons business. I get to watch him flourish in many ways as a parent. The kids endeavors were inspired by Tonia Holland, who is a CFO. Business is my thing, she said. Because of that we kind of eat and breathe business. Tonia Holland sought to teach the children that just because youre young doesnt mean you cant start thinking about your career path now, she said. Its building a foundation to sustain growth and wealth. She remembered how, one day, her grandchildren started asking her excitedly about the stock market. They learned how to invest, and each chose their own stock they were interested in, Holland said, adding that they keep an eye on the stocks themselves and can talk to others about how to invest. But its not just about money. Holland also hopes her grandchildren learn how to give back to the community in any way they can, she said. Thats part of why they wrote a book. Titled Talking Business with Snoopy & Kaydence, the cover features cartoon versions of Caron and Kaydence standing in front of a bar graph. Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media Kaydence hopes the book shows people how you can change the world. Caron wants readers to learn how you can do anything you want to in life, he said. Aint nothin that can stop you. A book-signing in the backyard quickly cleared them out of their supply, according to Christina Holland. She said theyve already sold more than 90 copies and are awaiting more from the printer. meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com RIDGEFIELD After assessing multiple alternatives to keep a dam near Fox Hill Condominiums online, the U.S. Department of Agricultures Natural Resources Conservation Service is upholding its recommendation to decommission it. Talks surrounding the dam recently resurfaced when the NRCS released a new report in March containing modifications relative to the projects costs. Stakeholders, however, only received notice of that report much later in a June 3 letter. A decommissioning and removal of the dam was projected to cost $1.6 million, while a structural rehabilitation was projected to cost $6.3 million. The new report stipulates that it would cost more than $850,000 to decommission and remove the dam and $8 million to fortify it in compliance with current regulations. Both the NRCS and the states Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which owns the dam, would pay the proverbial bill. The report also includes details about a potential rehabilitation plan for the dam, which the public can view on NRCSs website. All comments and concerns submitted in reference to the plan will be accepted until Aug. 20 and addressed in the final report. A case for decommissioning The dam is located east of Danbury Road, southeast of Fox Hill Drive in Ridgefields Norwalk River watershed. It was constructed by the NRCS in the late 1970s as a flood-control measure. Although the dam is not in danger of breaching, it does not meet high hazard dam criteria, said Tom Morgart, NRCS state conservationist. In 2004, the dam was reclassified from significant hazard potential to high hazard potential by the NRCS and DEEPs Dam Safety program due to the possible threats to life, property and infrastructure in the event of a potential breach. Through hydrologic studies, we estimate that if the dam should breach, up to 24 people can be killed downstream, Morgart said. Morgat inferred that if the dam were decommissioned, it would pose less of a threat to residents who live downstream from it in event of a 100-year storm. Increased development upstream, he explained, has caused rainfall to reach the dam more quickly than if it were to travel through a field or a forest. This dam has a 100-year lifespan, but most of the dams that NRCS has put in across the country are not in such developed states, he said. Dams in more rural areas last a long time because the land use is remaining very constant. Morgart noted rainfall events statewide have increased significantly as a result of climate change. In Fairfield County, 12.5 percent of properties are at substantial flood risk, which is defined as being projected to experience a flood of one centimeter or more in the next 100 years, according to data collected by The Porch Group, a company that provides software and services to home service companies. Out of all large U.S. counties, Fairfield County carries the 11th biggest flood risk. Residents resist The report outlines two residential properties along Ridgefield Brook that would be adversely impacted if the dam were decommissioned: 4 Brookside Road and 91 Great Hill Road. The residents who live there, Nancy Lincoln and Chris Hopkins, have retained Hartford-based Hinckley, Allen & Snyder LLP as legal representation. Were gonna push to have the government buy our properties so that they (can) take all the risk of depreciation and damage if the dam is decommissioned, Hopkins said. Based on the analysis, residents who live along the Norwalk River in that location could see the wetlands on their properties increase by an average of 0.16 percent with the dam decommissioned. That accounts for almost 20 percent of Lincolns property. Her son, Bill Ostrand, argued that such action would cause neighbors to see a diminution in their home values. Who would want to buy a house that is now in a floodplain? he posed. Lincoln has lived at 4 Brookside Road for 20 years. In that time her home has weathered two hurricanes and a bad storm in 2010, which caused serious flooding around Route 7, she recalled. That was a pretty serious storm, (but) I didnt have any issues here I never had water in my basement, she said. When the stream is pretty full some of (the watershed) does come up into my yard, but never in my basement, never close to my house, so I just dont see the necessity. Next steps On Thursday, First Selectman Rudy Marconi held an informational meeting at the Recreation Center to update residents on the situation. He told attendees the state had retained the engineering firm Tata & Howard to conduct a third-party review of the dam, and that the town would hold another meeting with representatives from the NRCS and DEEP the week of July 19. There are many questions we hope to have answered prior to any decision being made, and I think the state of Connecticut feels the same, he said. His position, he told Hearst Connecticut Media prior to the meeting, is, If somethings not broken, dont fix it. You can do all the modeling (and) projections, (but) Mother Nature has a mind of its own, and we dont know what the impact of these changes will be. A hard copy of the plan is available at the Ridgefield Public Library and on NRCSs website. Those interested in submitting a comment by regular or electronic mail can visit www.nrcs.usda.gov for more information. alyssa.seidman@hearstmediact.com MADISON Steve Adkins hopes to burn through $35,000 in 23 minutes this weekend. Thats the budget that Adkins, president of the nonprofit Madison Fireworks Organization, had for pyrotechnics this year as he and local organizers prepare to bring back one of the largest Independence Day fireworks displays on the Connecticut shoreline. Since last years event was one of many canceled amid the pandemic, Atkins said this year, his organization has created the show a little larger than in 2019, even though that year was probably the best weve ever had. All we do is raise money and blow it up in 23 minutes, Adkins said. Its our little deal, its our little gig, its what we do well. Originally planned for Friday, organizers decided Thursday to push the show back to Monday due to inclement weather. While the later date may mean less attendance, Adkins said the display is still expected to draw thousands of onlookers, with many watching from nearby Hammonasset Beach State Park. Its really huge, because Hammonassets here, and many people are camping and boating, and they come to see the fireworks, said Eileen Banisch, a member of the Madison Chamber of Commerce. If you go along the shoreline, were really the only ones doing it on the Fourth of July weekend. Hammonasset Beach has no vacancies for camping this weekend, though state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection spokesman Will Healey said the park is not expected to reach capacity for the fireworks show, and has not in past years. Madisons annual fireworks show has been put on by the local nonprofit headed by Adkins since 2002, after the town cut back on its funding for fireworks, according to Madison Fireworks website. The pyrotechnics themselves are funded through private donations, while the town offers support services. The Exchange Club of Madison also sponsors an annual Fourth of July parade, which will step off at 10 a.m. Sunday at the Super Stop & Shop parking lot. While the town no longer runs the show, the Board of Selectmen last month designated $25,509 in COVID-19 relief funds from the federal American Rescue Plan for support services. First Selectwoman Peggy Lyons said the funds will pay for additional police and traffic management during the fireworks, as well as a fire watch team that will respond to any accidents. The cancellation of last years festivities, Lyons said, caused a pent-up demand among residents. She said the funds were committed in anticipation of larger crowds this year. It is really to allow people to get out and be a community, Lyons said. We thought this was important so that this can be done at another level this year. The fireworks will begin at 9:30 p.m. Monday from a barge moored off West Wharf Beach. They can be viewed from Hammonasset Beach State Park, as well as Surf Club Beach and East Wharf Beach in Madison. Venice, FL (34285) Today Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms overnight. Low around 75F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms overnight. Low around 75F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Venice, FL (34285) Today Partly to mostly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms overnight. Low near 75F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms overnight. Low near 75F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%. AUSTIN, Texas (AP) An Army soldier who shot and killed an armed protester after driving into a crowd demonstrating against police violence in the Texas capital last summer has been indicted on a murder charge, authorities said Thursday. Sgt. Daniel Perry, who was stationed at Fort Hood, was booked and released on $300,000 bail, said Kristen Dark, a spokeswoman for the Travis County Sheriff's Office. Perrys attorney, Clint Broden, has said the soldier was working for a ride-sharing company and acted in self-defense after Foster pointed a gun at him. Broden issued a statement Thursday expressing disappointment in the indictment and confidence that Perry would be acquitted. It is important to note that the standard of proof required for an indictment is significantly less than the standard of proof required for a conviction, the statement said. Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said in a press conference Thursday that the grand jury returned indictments against Perry for the charges of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and a deadly conduct misdemeanor charge in the July 25 death of Garrett Foster, 28. He said the grand jury reviewed evidence from investigations by the District Attorney's office and a three-week investigation by Austin officers, who reviewed over 150 exhibits and interviewed 22 witnesses. Garza said Perry declined to testify before the grand jury, but that Perry's attorney did provide a packet with information, which was shared with the grand jury with the exception of details not admissible in a trial. Garza said his office planned to request that Perry surrender his firearms, in addition to other conditions, for his release. Foster was killed during a night of protests and unrest in several U.S. cities. In the immediate aftermath, then-Police Chief Brian Manley said officers heard two separate volleys of gunfire and made their way to the crowd, where they found Foster with multiple gunshot wounds. Perrys attorneys have previously told The Associated Press that their client had just dropped off a rider when he turned onto a street filled with protesters who began beating on his vehicle. They said that Foster approached the car and motioned with his gun for Perry to lower his window. Perry initially thought Foster worked in law enforcement and put his window down, they said. But when Foster raised his weapon toward Perry, the soldier realized Foster was not a police officer and shot him in self-defense with a handgun in his car, the attorneys said. ___ Acacia Coronado is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. A wealthy Republican mega-donor gave South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem $1 million to cover the estimated cost of deploying National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, and both the National Guard Bureau and Defense Department are staying silent on whether this sets a precedent that military units are for rent. "We have no additional information or comment to make on Gov. Noem's decision," Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters Friday when asked by Military.com whether a billionaire funding a military mission suggests the National Guard is effectively for hire. The National Guard Bureau did not respond to multiple requests for comment to Military.com, referring questions to Noem's office. Read Next: Marine Raider Convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter, Hazing in Green Beret's Death Willis and Reba Johnson's Foundation -- helmed by billionaire Willis Johnson who lives in Tennessee -- made a $1 million donation directly to the state, according to multiple South Dakota state House members and Senators interviewed by Military.com. Willis regularly makes large contributions to Republicans, including $200,000 to the Trump Victory political action committee. Johnson declined to be interviewed on the record during multiple phone calls with Military.com. A wealthy partisan actor financing a military mission has raised questions over potential ethics concerns. Eight South Dakota state legislators interviewed by Military.com said that the deployment could easily be funded from other streams of state money. Tony Randolph, a Republican who chairs the state's Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, told Military.com that he applauds Noem's move to deploy troops to the border, but Randolph voiced concern about the state accepting the donation. "There's a lot of unanswered questions," Randolph said. "I don't know why there's a struggle to cover the resources ... It looks weird." Ten Democrats in the South Dakota Legislature called on Noem to reject the donation in a letter sent to her this week. Noem's office pointed to two state laws that staff say make the donation legal, 5-24-12 and 33-12-30, which covers gifts to the governor and state. "I've read the statutes, it's very vague, it's a huge concern of mine. It's sketchy ... I think we're treading pretty loosely here," Democratic State House member Linda Duba, who serves on the South Dakota appropriations committee, told Military.com. "You can give land to the state, you can give money and you're usually doing it for philanthropy. But this is a military mission." Roughly 50 guardsmen from the state will be sent to the border, according to a South Dakota National Guard spokesman. However, he said the mission is in the early planning stages and there is no specific mission outlined for soldiers yet. It is unclear what unit will be sent. That's a small figure compared to the 3,800 Guard troops currently on the U.S.-Mexico border. All of those troops are on federal Title 10 orders, according to a United States Northern Command spokesman. That entitles them to full federal benefits, including accrual of retirement points, free health care, GI Bill benefits, VA home loan eligibility and a housing allowance worth up to thousands of dollars a month. CNN recently reported that troop numbers on the border will go down to 3,000. Noem plans to send troops on State Active Duty orders, meaning they effectively will be state employees and miss out on some pay bonuses and other benefits, such as GI Bill accrual typically associated with active-duty service. Guardsmen on state orders also aren't eligible for care from the Department of Veterans Affairs if injured on the mission. It is not unprecedented for private interests to fund National Guard missions, but it was more prevalent in the early days of the United States, when wealthy donors would fund militias to fight the British. They included Robert Morris, who used his fortune and business connections to procure arms and ammunition for the revolutionary cause. Before the Militia Act of 1903, Guard units often were subsidized by wealthy interests to protect property from union strikes, criminals and Native Americans. In the early 20th century, "private contributions were so substantial in some states that they constituted the primary source of revenue for those state Guard units," according to a paper published by Georgetown professor Michael Golden. For some Guard units, this included railroad tycoons in the Industrial Revolution funding military missions to protect construction projects and rail systems in volatile areas. For a decade, leading to World War I, the Pennsylvania National Guard's "primary funding" came from "private, not government" entities, Golden wrote. -- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon. Related: Democrats Raise Ethical Concerns Over GOP Donor's $1 Million Funding of Border Deployment FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) The body of a Navajo woman missing for two years has been found in Nevada, and her boyfriend is facing murder charges. Authorities in Farmington, New Mexico, say the body was found in Clark County, Nevada, in February. DNA test results this week showed the remains belonged to Cecelia Finona, who was 59 when she was last seen at her Farmington home the evening of May 30, 2019. Police on Friday filed charges of murder, kidnapping and and tampering with evidence against her boyfriend, Jerry Jay. It was not clear if he had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. In court documents from 2019, Finona's mother recalled that Finona and Jay had been arguing the night she disappeared and then someone left the house in the middle of the night. According to a court document, Jay used Finonas ATM card several times, with the first withdrawal made around 6 a.m. May 31 in Farmington and the next around 9:30 a.m. the same day in Window Rock, Arizona. Window Rock is the capital of the Navajo Nation. He also used her debit card the following two days in Las Vegas and Kingman, Arizona, according to police. The total withdrawn amounted to more than $1,200. Police said surveillance footage did not show Finona with him. A missing persons report was filed for Finona on June 1, 2019, when her mother told others she hadnt been home in two days. Her family has since logged searches in Farmington and the nearby Navajo Nation, her daughter Julietta Finona said shortly after the disappearance. The daughter said the family found blood at Finonas home and reported it to police. She also said her aunts dog led them to her mothers eyeglass lens on the property. Police note in court documents that the blood at the home stretched from the bottom of the porch to Finonas gravel driveway and that someone had tried to cover it with potting soil. A single eyeglass lens covered in blood also was found, the officer said. Julietta Finona said in 2019 that she and her mother were close and the last time they spoke was the morning before she disappeared. Cecelia Finona had been excited about her nephews recent graduation, her daughter said. Finona had returned to New Mexico after 31 years in the U.S. Army. Months before her disappearance, she was featured in the Farmington Daily Times in a story about women in the military being honored in Shiprock. She was very active and involved in the community, Julietta Finona said. VENTURA, Calif. (AP) An investigative report on a 2018 mass shooting during a Southern California bars Country College Night found the likely motive of the military veteran who carried out the attack was disdain for civilians and especially college students, a newspaper said. Ventura County sheriffs detectives concluded in the 424-page report that Ian David Long, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Afghanistan, likely attacked the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks on Nov. 7, 2018, knowing of the college theme and that there would likely be many students present, the Ventura County Star said. Though we cannot say with absolute certainty that this was the suspects motive, this is the working theory that has been established, the report said. The Star reported that the investigative report was completed at least a year and a half ago and when it was finally released on Wednesday there were many redactions, including names of people interviewed by detectives. A different after-action report released in March noted without detail that the shooters friends said he expressed anger and hate towards civilians, especially college students, whom he considered disrespectful of the military. Long fired 61 rounds from a semiautomatic handgun, killing 11 patrons and striking sheriffs Sgt. Ron Helus multiple times before killing himself. In the chaos, Helus was killed by a rifle round fired by a California Highway Patrol officer who also responded. The investigators report said Long had attended California State University, Northridge, where a group of students learned of his military service and made disrespectful comments to him. Friends and associates of Long told detectives that some students expressed the opinion that people who join the military deserved to be shot and killed. The suspect began to hate individuals who felt this way, and said he felt that they were entitled, liberal civilians who had no understanding of what he experienced as a machine gunner in Afghanistan, the report said. He began referring to them as college-civilians, and said they should be wiped off the map, one person told detectives. It is believed these types of negative encounters only triggered his anger toward civilians and individuals who, in his mind, simply had no grasp or appreciation for what war veterans have done for the United States, the report said. The report stated that a friend of Long said he was very angry while attending the university. He hated college-age civilians. He hated them and he would just say awful things about them, you know? And thats why it doesnt surprise me, what he did, the friend said. The report said Long visited the bar five times in less than a year before the shooting. MOSCOW (AP) The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday reaffirmed a strong denial of U.N. experts' claims that Russian military instructors were involved in killing civilians and looting in the Central African Republic. In a written reply to the AP's request for comment, the ministry rejected the accusations as unfounded and argued that they were aimed to discredit the Russian efforts to stabilize the situation in CAR and help restore peace." A panel of U.N. experts monitoring sanctions on the conflict-torn African nation said in a 40-page report obtained Monday by The Associated Press that it collected testimonies from a large number of local officials, government military and internal security forces, and community-level sources in multiple locations in the country. It said they pointed to excessive use of force, indiscriminate killings, the occupation of schools and looting on a large scale by Russian military instructors. The panel said many of the officials and other sources reported that Russian instructors often led rather than followed Central African Republic troops as they advanced on different towns and villages in a counter-offensive against rebels linked to former President Francois Bozize. Bozize tried to prevent elections in December and then attempted to seize power from President Faustin Archange Touadera. Asked about the report earlier this week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov categorically rejected the accusations as yet another lie. Russian military advisers couldnt take part and didnt take part in any killings or lootings, Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. In its written comment sent to the AP Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry reaffirmed that the Russian military instructors had been in the country at the request of the country's legitimate government and in accordance with the U.N. rules. It added that the instructors' task is to train the CAR's armed forces and "provide consultative and humanitarian assistance to the country's security forces." It said their mission has helped the CAR's army to defeat the militants, reduce CAR military losses and take more effective measures to protect civilians. The ministry noted that if the insinuations about the instructors' abuses had had any real grounds and local residents actively voiced protest, CAR's legitimate authorities would hardly have insisted on Russian specialists' further presence. The mineral-rich Central African Republic has faced deadly inter-religious and inter-communal fighting since 2013. A peace deal between the government and 14 rebel groups was signed in February 2019, but violence blamed on Bozize and his allies threatens to nullify the agreement. The hostilities erupted after the constitutional court rejected Bozizes candidacy to run for president in December and have continued since Touadera won a second term later that month with 53% of the vote. Last week, the U.S., Britain and France accused Russian personnel in CAR of committing abuses against civilians and obstructing U.N. peacekeeping accusations that Russia angrily denied. The Western powers linked the Russian personnel to the notorious Wagner Group, a private security company allegedly tied to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman who has been indicted in the U.S. on charges of meddling in 2016 presidential election and whose companies have reportedly secured lucrative mining contracts in CAR. Abdulrahman Hamdan, of Avon, has received a scholarship to continue his high school education at United World College-USA in New Mexico. Footage obtained from the City of Sheffield Lake shows former Sheffield Lake Police Chief Anthony Campo placing a note with the words "Ku Klux Klan" onto the raincoat of a black officer on June 25. Following a complaint from the department's union, Campo subsequently retired on June 30. One of the goals of cultural humility is to create spaces for healing and equitable learning so that all are seen, heard, valued, loved and supported." James L. Knight Pull Quote Two local men combined their love for vintage sneakers and fresh haircuts with new business Sneakerhead Barbershop in Sheffield Lake. @MJ_JournalRick on Twitter Richard Payerchin covers Lorain City Hall, business news and other interesting stories for The Morning Journal. Reach the author at rpayerchin@MorningJournal.com or follow Richard on Twitter: @MJ_JournalRick. Lorain Schools CEO/Superintendent Jeff Graham speaks during the Feb. 16, 2021, online joint meeting of the the Lorain Academic Distress Commission and Lorain Schools Board of Education. Moultrie, GA (31768) Today Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds light and variable. With a new fiscal year approaching, the Railroad Commission is finalizing and monitoring an enforcement plan for FY 2022. The plan outlines the agencys strategic priorities in its oversight of the states oil and gas industry and ensuring the protection of public safety and the environment. In the next fiscal year, the agency will continue its ongoing work to modernize technology infrastructure, and inspectors will use improved technology tools in their field work as modernization projects get completed. The most critical mission for the Railroad Commission is the protection of public safety and the environment, Andrew Keese, agency spokesman, told the Reporter-Telegram by email. Among the agencys plans is modernizing and upgrading its computing systems away from a legacy mainframe to cloud-based software that utilizes tools to improve reporting and efficiencies. For systems that have already been developed, the agency is refining and expanding capabilities. For instance, inspectors utilize a system called Inspection, Compliance and Enforcement (ICE). Additional information will be added for certain types of inspections, such as well plugging and mechanical integrity tests. Also, an H2S indicator and GPS location will be integrated, alerting inspectors to potential hazards. The technological improvements mentioned in the plan will enhance an already robust inspection system by turning data that is currently captured in narrative form into data elements that can be analyzed, which would further improve the monitoring of oil and gas wells and facilities and enforcement of RRCs rules and regulations, Keese wrote. The plan affirms the agencys commitment to inspecting every oil and gas facility at least once every five years. It provides an overview of penalties and procedures and a current snapshot of various violations and the agencys progress. Inspections that are done every five years are standard compliance checks. The RRC also inspects oil and gas facilities more frequently as part of complaint investigations and pollution prevention efforts, noted Keese. The commission reported that, in April of this year, four months ahead of schedule, it had exceeded its FY 2021 legislative performance target for the number of completed oil and gas well and facility inspections. By mid-June, 236,466 such inspections had been conducted. The commission had also exceeded the five-year well inspection frequency goal for the fiscal year. It did so in January, seven months ahead of the end of the fiscal year. Another goal is to improve training for oil and gas staff. In 2019, the agency implemented a highly successful program for inspectors with fewer than two years of service. During COVID-19, training had to move to a virtual format. The lessons learned from the change presents the opportunity for expanded professional development for other oil and gas personnel, including administrative and technical staff based in Austin. While the agency will continue to leverage the virtual space to provide expanded educational opportunities to its regulated community, it intends to provide in-person training in FY 2022, including its annual regulatory conference in Austin, regulatory forums around the state, and presentations at industry events. During the 30-day public comment period, the Texas Oil and Gas Association provided feedback in concurrence with strategic priorities, Keese reported. DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A federal appeals court on Friday threw out a Trump-era Environmental Protection Agency rule change that allowed for the sale of a 15% ethanol gasoline blend in the summer months. The decision deals a significant blow to the ethanol industry and corn farmers who grow the crop from which the fuel additive is made. They had anticipated increased ethanol demand through year-round sales of the higher blend. Most gasoline sold in the U.S. today is blended with 10% ethanol. Corn farmers and ethanol refiners have pushed for the government to allow the widespread sale of a 15% ethanol blend. The Trump administration made the change to fulfill a campaign promise to Midwest farmers. The EPA under President Donald Trump announced the change in May 2019, ending a summer ban on the E15 blend. Provisions of the Clean Air Act have prohibited the sale of certain fuels with a higher volatility from June 1 through Sept. 15 to limit smog. Congress has allowed 10% ethanol, and the EPA in its 2019 ruling revised the interpretation of the exemption to federal law to include the 15% ethanol blend. Ethanol supporters contend that using more of the corn-based renewable fuel is better for the environment and helps meet federal climate change goals. Three judges on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued Friday's decision. They said it's clear from federal law that Congress balanced wide-ranging economic, energy-security, and geopolitical implications and that the wording of the law reflects a compromise, not simply a desire to maximize ethanol production at all costs. They concluded Congress did not intend to allow ethanol blends higher than 10% to be widely sold year-round. They said the EPA overstepped its authority. The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, the trade group for the petroleum industry that challenged the EPA decision, said the court simply followed government's interpretation of the law in effect for 30 years. There is no ambiguity in statute and the previous administrations reinterpretation overstepped the will of Congress, said AFPM President and CEO Chet Thompson. The Iowa Corn Growers Association said it will continue to work with the Biden administration, Congress and state officials to maintain consumer access to E15 year-round. "It does not make sense to reinstate barriers that could inhibit market access to a cleaner-burning fuel choice that combats climate change, said Carl Jardon, a farmer from Randolph, Iowa, and president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association. The decision is the second major court defeat for the ethanol industry in a week. On June 25, the U.S. Supreme Court said some petroleum refiners may exempt themselves from requirements to blend ethanol into the gasoline they produce, further cutting into the amount of ethanol blended into the national fuel supply. Ethanol supporters could ask the full D.C. Circuit Court to review the decision of the three-judge panel. They also could ask Congress to change the law to allow for year around E15 sales. The industry is hoping this year's sales will not be curtailed because by the time the court issues its mandate and the EPA is required to comply most of the summer season will have passed. This is the third summer E15 sales have been allowed and there were indications sales were increasing. Sales jumped 24% in Iowa from 2019 to 2020, surpassing 60.5 million gallons in 2020, the Renewable Fuels Association reported. That increase was despite a 14% drop in the state's overall petroleum consumption from 2019 levels due to fewer people driving because of he coronavirus pandemic. NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) Cyprus asked fellow European Union nations on Saturday to help battle a huge forest fire in a mountainous region of the east Mediterranean island nation that has forced the evacuation of at least seven villages. Cypriot Environment Minister Costas Kadis told state broadcaster CyBC that the fire has claimed huge tracts of forest and private property near the village of Arakapas in the Troodos mountain range. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said on Twitter that this was a very difficult day for Cyprus" and that the entire state apparatus" has been mobilized to assist in fighting the blaze which strong winds have fanned across multiple fronts in difficult, hilly terrain. The main priority is to avoid any loss of life, said Anastasiades. News reports showed homes going up in flames and massive plumes of brown smoke blotting out the sun. Arakapas residents who helped fire crews battle the fire told the CyBC the fire moved much too quickly through forested areas to be brought under control. The fire has cut power to at least eight villages. Cyprus government spokesman Marios Pelekanos that Greece is sending two firefighting planes and Israel has also dispatched two aircraft. He said another four aircraft have been requested through the EU's civil protection mechanism. Pelekanos said that fire crews will remain on duty throughout the night when winds are expected to die down, easing fire fighting efforts. He said Cypriot National Guard drones are mapping the entire expanse of the blaze in order to identify which fronts fire crews will prioritize. Authorities will provide accommodation to people who have lost their homes. Greek official Nicholas Hardalias posted on his Twitter account that Greece stands by Cyprus and that two Canadair CL-415 are on their way. Civil Defense official Olivia Michaelidou told state-run Cyprus News Agency that another two aircraft are expected to arrive from Italy. Four Cypriot firefighting planes were joined by helicopters from the Cypriot National Guard, the police and British forces based at two U.K. military bases on the island to help beat back the fire in remote areas that ground crews had difficulty reaching. A Cypriot National Guard spokesman said army water tankers have also been pressed into service to assist fire fighters. Fire Service spokesman Andreas Kettis said the entire Cypriot Fire Department has been mobilized with all off-duty firefighters called back into service to help. Police said they have arrested a 67 year-old man to assist in the investigation into the cause of the fire. The Midland Health Department reported Friday the first case of the highly contagious COVID-19 delta variant has been confirmed in Midland. And on Friday evening, Midland Memorial Hospitals Chief Medical Officer Dr. Larry Wilson told the Reporter-Telegram that three additional patients have tested positive for the delta variant. The first confirmed patient was tested at Midland Memorial Hospital, according to a city spokesperson. That individual was symptomatic and had traveled outside of Texas. Wilson said he was notified by the health department last week that the first patients coronavirus test was positive for the delta variant. He said the individual was not admitted as in-patient to the hospital. Those who are tested at the hospital have their tests sent to the state to identify any coronavirus variants, Wilson said. He said it takes one to two weeks to find out if someone tested positive for a variant. Wilson said the delta variant, which was first identified in India, is more contagious than the original strain of COVID-19 and any other variants. There's no question about that, its significantly more contagious, he said. So, if you're exposed to it, and you're susceptible, you will likely have a higher chance of getting it than you would have with the original, and probably even with any of the other variants. Its the most contagious one that's out there right now. However, its too early to say if the variant carries a higher risk of hospitalization, Wilson said. He said the delta variant is spreading rapidly among young people because they have the lowest rates of vaccinations. But because young people have a lower risk of serious COVID-19 complications, its difficult to know if the variant is more dangerous. The best way to prevent the spread of the delta variant and to prevent new variants from forming is to get vaccinated, Wilson said. I think it's valuable for people to be vaccinated, not just from the standpoint of protecting themselves against getting sick, but also stopping the replication of the virus in the community, he said. Because anybody who gets the virus, it has to reproduce in their bodies, and that increases the likelihood we're going to develop a new variant. Preliminary studies of the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines have indicated theyre effective against all known variants, including the delta variant. Data provided by the Texas Department of State Health Services shows that about 41 percent of those eligible in Midland County have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Thats below the state average of 58 percent and the national average of 67 percent. Of Texas counties with a population over 100,000 people, Midland is fifth from the bottom for the percentage of residents with at least a first dose. Ector County is in second-to-last place with 40 percent of eligible residents having received at least one vaccine dose. It was a little bit frustrating working in the emergency department yesterday and seeing persons come in really ill, in respiratory failure, Wilson said. If you ask them about vaccinations, they tell you about how they're afraid of the vaccine. He said there were five people admitted to the hospital Friday for complications of COVID-19, and there have not been any cases of someone who was fully vaccinated admitted to the hospital. TEHRAN, Iran (AP) President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday that Iran may face another wave of coronavirus infections, as health officials warned of the spread of the more infectious delta variant of the virus. Rouhani, speaking at a national coronavirus task force meeting, urged people to postpone their summer travels and gatherings to prevent the spread of the virus, particularly its Indian variant. Iran has reported cases of the delta variant in a number of cities and towns. There are concerns that we go into the direction of a fifth wave, he said. In southern provinces we should apply more treatment since the delta variant has infiltrated there. Rouhani's website reported his remarks. Iran remains among the countries hardest hit by the virus in the world and the worst hit in the Middle East. The capital Tehran and more than 90 other cities and towns have been declared red zones that require up to 70% of office staff to work from their homes. It also requires the closure of public places like movie theaters, gyms and restaurants. A recent spike in cases has pushed some hospitals to the limit in southeastern Sistan and Baluchistan province, which neighbors Pakistan, It already suffered from poor health care facilities. Fueled by tribal ceremonies and campaign gatherings ahead of June municipal elections, the 2.7 million-plus province has seen a daily death toll of about 15. On Thursday, provincial Gov. Ahmad Ali Mouhebati said some patients need to travel nearly 100 kilometers (60 miles) to reach a health care facility. Now, ten towns in the province lack hospitals," he said. Mouhebati predicted an increase in new cases because of ceremonies and travels related to the Muslim Eid holidays later this month. Authorities have promised to prepare field hospitals and more medical and emergency equipment and closed three border points with Pakistan in the province, too. Iranian officials said Saturday the death toll from COVID-19 rose by 111 over the previous 24 hours, putting the countrys total at 84,627 since the pandemic broke out last year. Authorities said 8,341 new confirmed cases were registered over the same period, bringing the total to more than 3.24 million. Reports said 3,207 of the patients are in serious condition, and that 2.91 million have recovered so far. In April, Iran experienced its fourth wave of the disease, with officials reporting the highest new coronavirus case numbers more than 25,000 a day. Its daily death toll surged to around 400, below the grim record of 486 it reached in November. Meanwhile, Iran suffers from a slow vaccine rollout despite the production of three vaccines. These include the domestic COVIran Barekat and Cuban-made Soberana, which is produced in Iran as the Pasteur vaccine. There is also the domestic production of Russias Sputnik V, which Iran also continues to import. So far, less than 7 million doses of vaccine, mainly imported ones, have been administered across the country, including nearly 2 million who have had a second dose. Only 300,000 of the 7 million were Iran-made. The government has promised to begin mass vaccinations in September. Irans local vaccine research has picked up steam even as officials allege that heavy American sanctions will hamper the efforts. Iran participates in COVAX, an international initiative designed to distribute vaccines to countries regardless of their wealth. But international banks and financial institutions are reluctant to deal with Iran for fear of American penalties. Under COVAX rules, Iran could order enough doses to vaccinate half of its 80 million plus people. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Thursday hell push to further upgrade relations with China, his main ally, as he struggles to navigate his country out of a deepening crisis linked to the pandemic. Kim made the comments in a message to Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulating him on the 100th founding anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. The Workers Party of Korea, by its firm unity with the Chinese Communist Party, would raise (North Korea)-China friendship to a new strategic point as required by the times and as desired by the peoples of the two countries, Kim was quoted as saying. In an apparent reference to the United States, Kim said that hostile forces vicious slander and all-round pressure upon the Chinese Communist Party are no more than a last-ditch attempt and they can never check the ongoing advance of the Chinese people, according to KCNA. Kims message came a day after state media said he had told a powerful Politburo meeting that a crucial lapse in the anti-virus campaign has caused a great crisis. He did not elaborate, but there was speculation that Kim may have aimed to raise a call for international assistance, including vaccine shipments. North Korea maintains some of the worlds toughest anti-virus measures, including 1 years of border shutdowns, despite its much questionable claim to be coronavirus free. Such draconian steps have devastated its already struggling economy, and Kim has said before his country faces the worst-ever situation. It's unclear when North Korea would reopen its border with China, and so far, there are no reports that it has received any vaccines. More than 90% of North Koreas trade goes through China, which has long been suspected of refusing to fully implement U.N. sanctions against North Korea imposed over its nuclear weapons programs. Experts say China worries about a collapse and chaos in North Korea because it doesnt want refugees flooding over the long border and a pro-U.S., unified Korea on its doorstep. On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin held out the possibility of sending assistance to North Korea. China and the DPRK have a long tradition of helping each other when they encounter difficulties, Wang said, referring to the North by the initials of its official name. If necessary, China will actively consider providing assistance to the DPRK. ___ Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report. Members of the Senate Finance Committee in late May voted out the Clean Energy Act for America after a 14-14 vote along party lines. Included in that act, which was designed to promote clean energy, was a renewed attempt to repeal tax treatments for the oil and gas industry percentage depletions for oil and gas wells, intangible drilling costs and the enhanced oil recovery credit. The proposal has drawn opposition from industry associations and others even as its fate remains uncertain. The proposal has drawn the concern of exploration and production executives. One commented in the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas second quarter energy survey that We are closely monitoring potential changes to the tax code that could negatively impact the oil and gas industry. We are especially concerned about the elimination of intangible drilling cost deductions and flow-through entity taxation. The proposal is an expected attempt by the administration to use the tax code to promote and subsidize clean energy at the cost of the oil and gas industry, Mickey Cargile of Cargile Investment Management told the Reporter-Telegram by email. The bill is projected to cost $32 billion in tax subsidies to the clean energy industry while penalizing oil and gas by the same amount. The result would be lower drilling activity and higher oil prices. Cargile noted that the Senate Finance Committee voted 14-14 along party lines on the bill. Without a back-room deal, I do not expect to see the bill in its current form. I do expect to see it again as a budget reconciliation item, he said. He also noted that Senate Republicans voted against the bill saying it would eliminate jobs in the oil and gas industry. The targeted tax changes against oil and gas would disproportionately affect smaller producers and independents, Cargile said. Ed Longanecker, president of the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, told the Reporter-Telegram by email, We are experiencing a more aggressive, politically driven campaign targeting the oil and natural gas industry. Despite an emboldened push by some, who have little to no regard of the ramifications of these poorly conceived policies, we are hopeful that common sense prevails. If not, we will experience a dramatic loss in domestic energy jobs, particularly among small businesses, and a significant blow to national security as our country becomes more and more reliant on imported oil from Russia and Saudi Arabia. It is also worth noting that eliminating critical tax provisions like percentage depletions and Intangible Drilling Costs would put further financial pressure on domestic producers and could actually restrict environmental investment and innovation. TIPRO, he continued, will continue to advocate for sound, science-based policies that support the responsible development of domestic oil and natural gas and the countless related benefits afforded to our country." Jennifer Pett Marsteller, director of public affairs and communications with the Independent Petroleum Association of America, told the Reporter-Telegram by email she does not know yet whether Senate Democratic leadership will try to bring the Clean Energy for America Act to the floor at some point down the road as a stand alone piece or incorporate it into other legislation. At any rate, she told the Reporter-Telegram, President Bidens budget proposal is just one more example of his administration's anti-oil and natural gas agenda. The repeal of tax provisions, including Intangible Drilling Costs and Percentage Depletion, are among the many tactics they are utilizing in their effort to eliminate support for oil and natural gas. IPAA remains opposed to any attempt from the administration or Congress to use the tax code to punish or discriminate against specific industries. Any attempts to do so would result in job losses, higher energy costs, and more burdens for American families and businesses as they work to recover from the worst economic recession since the Great Depression. Longanecker defended the percentage depletion deduction and intangible drilling and development cost deductions, noting that the percentage depletion deduction has been part of the US tax code since 1926. All mineral natural resources are eligible for the deduction, he pointed out, to reflect the decreasing value of the resource as it is produced. The deduction allows independent producers to reinvest cash into the expenses of existing wells and redeploy capital to drill new wells. He added that it is highly limited and applies only to smaller independent producers and royalty owners and its elimination would impact thousands of small producers and over 12.6 million royalty owners. He said intangible drilling costs has been allowed as a mechanism to attract new capital for exploring for and developing oil and gas. Drilling costs are unique to drillers but the deduction of costs is similar to cost recovery provisions provided to every business sector, Longanecker said. He stressed that IDCs are not a tax break, as drillers pay the full amount of taxes owed. Eliminating IDC would eliminate roughly 25 percent of the capital available to independent producers as well as diminish the economic benefits of domestic exploration and production Every four years, we as Americans have the opportunity to elect new representatives from the National level down to the local politics. The ability to vote allows us to select a competent leader to make decisions that affect our everyday lives. Last November, I had the privilege of running for an MISD school board seat in District 1. Although we fell short, I am still committed to improving education and holding elected officials accountable. As I became more involved with the school district and did my homework, it was clear that there was a disconnect between the school district and the community. As we campaigned, my message and the message of the other candidates were the same; parents and taxpayers should have a voice, and the school board should listen and represent the vision and values of the community. That message was spread throughout the campaign trail, two runoff elections, and brought to a complete halt on June 21 during an MISD Policy Committee meeting. MISD Policy Committee consisting of board President Bryan Murry, board Secretary Katie Joyner, board member Michael Booker, Superintendent Angelica Ramsey and General Counsel Sid Pounds reviewed, supported and proposed the following for further discussion with the entire school board: Agenda Item 7c The district is recommending changing policy to limit public comment to only those items which are listed on the posted meeting agenda for all meetings. The district is recommending this change in order to support the boards goal of focusing its time on student academic outcomes in accordance with the Lone Star Governance initiative. The MISD Policy Committee met on June 21 to review and discuss these recommended changes to local policy. The Policy Committee and the districts administration recommend the board adopt these changes to local policy. While it was not entirely removing public comment, it allows the school board and administration to control the narrative. Control the narrative and only allow the community to speak on what the school board and superintendent deem relevant. This policy change would have taken away the opportunity for taxpayers, parents and community activists to express their concern, advocate for students and teachers and praise and acknowledge the work happening in the school district. It is the one time you can stand in front of the entire school board and ensure your voice is heard by those elected to represent you. If the school district takes our hard-earned money and makes decisions on our childrens education, cant it give us three minutes of their time once a month to voice our concerns? Using the Lone Star Governance initiative as to why they are proposing these changes is just an excuse to get out of being held accountable by the very people they were elected to represent. Student academic outcomes will change when adult behaviors change, and it starts with the superintendent and board. Student outcomes will change when teachers and students have the support needed from the central office and when the school board LISTENS and represents the vision and values of the community. Regardless of what took place Monday night on this policy change, the message from the superintendent, board members Murry, Joyner, Booker and the general council has been made loud and clear. Not only was it a bad policy proposal, but it goes against the platform all three board members recently ran on. Hats off to those that emailed, called and voiced their concern regarding this possible policy change. As elections near and candidates and campaigns rev up for seats throughout Midland, I urge all registered voters to educate themselves, ask the tough questions, and most all VOTE. Your vote is the only way we break the cycle of poor leadership and representation in Midland. -Matt Reyes Galindo District 1 Resident and Parent Billie Vanderbilt, 72, resident of Boley, left us on Thursday, July 1, 2021 from her home. Service arrangements are pending in the Hyde Park Chapel of the Keith D. Biglow Funeral Directors, Inc., in Boley. biglowfunerals.com Discuss this article with your neighbors or join the community conversation. Click here to get access Discuss this article with your neighbors or join the community conversation. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Discuss this article with your neighbors or join the community conversation. DAVID BROOKS became a New York Times Op-Ed columnist in September 2003. He has been a senior editor at The Weekly Standard, a contributing editor at Newsweek and the Atlantic Monthly, and he is currently a commentator on The PBS Newshour. This July 4 marks the 245th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence at least in popular legend. Several locales across the state are named for the signers of the visionary document. In southwestern Illinois, Carrollton is named in honor of Charles Carroll of Maryland, while to the north, Rushville honors Pennsylvania physician Benjamin Rush. Franklin is also named for a Declaration signer, albeit indirectly. The Morgan County village took its name from a similarly named town in south-central Kentucky that honored Benjamin Franklin. Municipalities named for signers of the Declaration are found across Illinois. Four counties are named for men who put their names on the document, including Carroll, Franklin, Jefferson, Lee and Hancock, for the famous first signer. Overall, several towns and over 20 Illinois counties are named in honor of individuals who had some tie to the fight for independence. The Revolution was still fresh in peoples minds, and the country was still young, said Dr. Samuel Wheeler, the former Illinois State Historian at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield. We didnt have hundreds of years of American history to go on. The Revolution had been a common experience that Americans shared. Names of Declaration signers and Revolutionary figures also adorn dozens of schools and landmarks statewide. Carroll was a prosperous planter who later served as the first U.S. Senator from the state of Maryland. Considered by many to be the richest man in the colonies, his wealth has been estimated at $465 million in todays terms. The only Roman Catholic to sign the Declaration, Carroll outlived the rest of the signers, dying on Nov. 14, 1832, at age 95. Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin, is also named for him, as are twelve counties nationwide. Rush was a foremost physician who served as surgeon general of the Continental Army and later founded Dickinson College in Pennsylvania. A professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, he wrote one of the earliest studies of mental health treatment. Rush also created a medical kit for the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1803. Earlier in 1776, Rush married Julia Stockton, whose father, Richard, was another signer of the Declaration. Rush, who died in 1813, is credited with helping Thomas Jefferson and John Adams reconcile their long friendship. Some of Rushs students later founded Rush Medical College in Chicago in his honor. A town and county in Indiana also bear his name. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that only Washington has more places named for him than Franklin, a man of remarkably diverse talents. He is credited with the inventions of bifocals and the Franklin Stove, among others, and established the nations first lending library, the Library Co. of Philadelphia, in 1731. An astute businessman, Franklin also engaged in an early form of franchising with his print business. Though connected to Philadelphia, he spent extended periods in France on diplomatic and pleasure excursions where, despite his balding, dumpy appearance, he was a sort of heartthrob among the ladies. Fifty-six men signed the Declaration, mostly lawyers, merchants, or landowners. All thirteen colonies were represented in the signatures on the document, which was dated July 4, 1776. While that day is commonly celebrated as Americas birthday, the Continental Congress actually voted for independence on July 2. Adams, one of the signers, later wrote that July 2 would be marked with fireworks and celebrations. In addition, the Declaration was not actually signed until a ceremony on Aug. 2, though not all of the 56 signers were in attendance. Country artist Scotty McCreery is a known nice guy, a family man whose closest friendships date back to his early childhood and whose best-known song offers up a wish for Five More Minutes in which to enjoy a fleeting but precious moment. But after spending much of the past year at home in Garner, North Carolina, hes looking forward to being a little bit busier with his upcoming live shows, including one July 10 at the Morgan County Fair. For nine years of my life, all Ive known, basically, was the road, McCreery said by phone earlier this week. Last year we didnt escape that. Like most entertainers, 2020s pandemic-related shutdown forced McCreery off the road. He managed a few Facebook Live and Instagram Live concerts, he said, but hes looking forward to getting back on his tour bus and hitting the road. McCreerys already played a few shows in California and Alaska, where he had a couple of days off and was able to get in some fishing, he said. But just more than a decade after he won Season 10 of American Idol as a 17-year-old, he still tries to treasure every moment, he said. I get to do what I love for a living, he said. That was the goal, to be able to make country records (and tour). People show up, sing, dance. I never take a day for granted. It never gets old when people show up for the shows or I hear a song on the radio. His four studio albums to date track both his musical career and the stages of his life, McCreery said. Ive kind of grown up with my music, he said. At 17, even 23. Im 27 now turning 28 later this year. Theres been a lot of change. There was 17-year-old me and an album, 21-year-old me and an album. My last record, I was just about to get married to his longtime girlfriend, Gabi Dugal, whom he met in kindergarten and a lot of those songs were looking ahead to that excitement. Having the past year at home gave him some time to reflect, which in turn is reflected on his upcoming album, he said. The album we just finished up is looking back at the little things in life that make it great, he said. Its exciting. Its my favorite record so far. Part of the fondness comes from having had that year to slow down a bit. It gave him some of the You Time with his wife that he sings about in the new albums first single, which was released last year. Normally I dont think I have that time (to reflect) in a normal year, McCreery said. Its go, go, go. Even when Im home, Im on the phone. In 2020, everything shut down. I was home every day, the whole year. I havent had that since I was 15. It was time to sit back and reflect and realize whats important. While friends and family are important, so are his music and the fans. I grew up loving Elvis Presley, McCreery said. He was my guy. He just wanted to entertain, to be there and be sure people have a good time. Im no Elvis, but I love being on the stage. The stuff that means so much to you, you put it into a song, and to have it mean something to someone else It never gets old seeing people walk down the aisle to This is It or have their first dance to This is It. I didnt really have that until the third record. McCreery feels the same kind of connection every time he sings Five More Minutes. Idol changed my life, but Five More Minutes is what put us on the map in the country music world, he said. That still holds true today. Six years later, there are people clapping, cheering, tearing up (when McCreery performs that song). Its just a powerful moment every night. With the success of the past decade, McCreery doesnt plan to change much in the next decade. Our roots are so deep in North Carolina, he said. My friends I have today are friends I had when I was 3 years old. My wife, too. I dont see us ever leaving here. Hes not looking for much change, career-wise, either. Hopefully I get to do this for another 10 years. I love what I do, he said of performing and writing music. Touring, too. I get to do that with my wife now, he said. Maybe well have a bigger family than just me and her and the dog 10 years down the road. Scotty McCreery with opening act Mitchell Tenpenny will be in concert at 7:30 p.m. July 10 at the Morgan County Fairgrounds grandstand. Gates open at 6 p.m. Tickets, which are available online at themorgancountyfair.com, at the fair office, at WJVO radio station or at the fair the day of the show, are $30.05 for general admission and $45.53 for a Big Ticket that grants access to a gated area in front of the stage. Whats new at Jacksonville Public Library: ADULT FICTION Prime Directive by Davis Bunn: When a number of scientists are mysteriously killed on an insignificant scientific outpost on the planet of Loria and no alarm is raised, the Galactic Space Arm is assigned to investigate. Why are the scientists being killed? Is there more to the mission than first appears? ADULT NONFICTION The Confidence Men: How Two Prisoners of War Engineered the Most Remarkable Escape in History by Margalit Fox: Imprisoned in a remote Turkish POW camp during World War I, having survived a two-month forced march and a terrifying shootout in the desert, two British officers join forces to bamboozle their iron-fisted captors. Fox has written a gripping non-fiction thriller, a story of a con game played for a good cause. DVD The Judge: Big-city lawyer Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.) returns to his childhood home, where his estranged father, the towns judge (Robert Duvall), is suspected of murder. He sets out to discover the truth and along the way reconnects with the family from which he walked away years before. CHILDRENS PICTURE BOOK This Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhardt: Discover nine of the greatest legends of jazz in this fun, rhyming book! Music is a great way to bring color to your life, just like our summer reading theme, Reading Colors Your World! Check out our website to see what we are doing. JUVENILE FICTION Red, White and Whole by Rajani LaRocca: Reha is torn between two worlds. At school, she is the only Indian-American, and she doesnt quite fit in at home or in her community. As she tries to figure out these two worlds, she finds out that her mother is very sick. Reha dreams of becoming a doctor and becomes fixated on red and white blood cells, all to make her mother better. Did you know? The library will play host to summer reading program entertainer Hugo Kringle at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Celebrate Christmas in July at the library by joining Santas little brother in our outdoor space for stories about his famous brother. Bill Kelly and his daughter didnt even make it down the stairs before the windows in their house shattered around them. After hearing a tornado siren late Sunday night, Kelly had precious seconds, by his estimate, to wake up his daughter and dash for cover in the stairwell. They had just started heading down to the ground level when the tornado churned through their neighborhood, blowing out glass throughout his house, destroying the side of his garage and sending the door to his master bedroom flying into the landing. We had very little time, Kelly said. The tornado spun a 16-mile path from Naperville through Willow Springs in the middle of the night, developing rapidly out of a line of thunderstorms and underscoring why you shouldnt rely on sirens alone for alerts, meteorologists said. There was a warning, said Paul Sirvatka, a meteorology professor at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn. Though it may have seemed to be very little time for a warning, thats the nature of these events. The National Weather Service issued the first tornado warning for parts of DuPage and Kane counties at 10:43 p.m. Sunday. A second warning came at 11:05 p.m., about four or five minutes before the tornado reached its peak intensity, meteorologists said. At its strongest, the tornado hammered an area with winds of 140 miles per hour, reducing one home to a pile of rubble. Lead times how much advance notice is given before a twister strikes tend to run longer ahead of big tornado outbreaks or in the context of supercell thunderstorms, said Mike Bardou, warning coordination meteorologist for the weather services Romeoville office. The environment is more favorable. Some of the signals are clearer, Bardou said. But on Sunday, there was a line of thunderstorms moving pretty rapidly toward the east, Bardou said. Theres tornadoes that are associated with lines of thunderstorms, which is what we saw the other night, he said. Those tend to develop much more rapidly and with few solid indications that (a tornado) might be ready to occur. Sirvatka said he believes the sirens went off as quickly as they could have. But he stressed that the tornado siren system is an outdoor warning designed to instruct people who are not in their homes to seek shelter. Napervilles 911 center activated sirens just before 11:07 p.m. The fact that people can hear sirens from their house is a benefit, he said, but it shouldnt be their only method of warning. Even if you can hear an outdoor siren during the monthly test, the sound of rain and wind could block it out in a real storm. One of the most reliable methods to hear a warning inside your home or while youre sleeping is an emergency weather alert radio. Such radios will sit quietly until relaying the threat of a tornado or a severe thunderstorm warning, which also was issued before Sundays twister. We call it the smoke detector of severe weather, Bardou said. Make sure to enable the Wireless Emergency Alert function on cellphones to receive tornado warnings. Four alerts were issued on Sunday between 9:43 and 11 p.m. to customers in Illinois, a T-Mobile spokeswoman said. Theres another reason why people should have several sources for tracking extreme weather. Social science studies conducted after major tornadoes show that people sometimes need multiple taps on the shoulder before they actually take action, Bardou said. Despite the tornados destructive force in Woodridge alone, 400 houses were damaged, 157 of them significantly fewer than a dozen people suffered reported injuries that required medical treatment, village officials and the weather service said. A lot of folks were able to find safety and minimize their risk as much as they could in this situation, Bardou said. Given the number of homes that were affected and the number of people in those areas a lot of people were able to stay safe. The Jacksonville Rotary Club's July Fourth Parade had State Street filled with cheers, candy and flags as floats headed east toward the square. Plenty of bags were filled with candy as children, and adults, were grabbing as much as they could. TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) At least 43 migrants drowned off the coast of Tunisia on Saturday and 84 others were rescued after their boat capsized overnight, the Tunisian Red Crescent said. Mongi Slim, head of the organization, told The Associated Press that the boat, which was carrying 127 migrants, left Libyas coastal city of Zuwara on Friday to cross the Mediterranean Sea toward Italy. He said 46 Sudanese, 16 Eritreans and 12 Bengalis were among the migrants. The defense ministrys spokesperson, Mohamed Zekri, said the 84 migrants were rescued by fishermen. He declined to confirm the drowning of the other migrants. Libya is a frequent departure point for migrants making the dangerous Mediterranean Sea crossing. Several shipwrecks from smugglers boats carrying migrants have occurred in recent weeks, as attempts to reach Europe become more frequent amid warmer summer weather. Last week, Tunisian coast guards found seven bodies on the beaches of Djerba, an island off the southern coast. They were buried at the cemetery for migrants in Zarzis, Tunisia, who perished in the Mediterranean Sea. The head of the Red Crescent, meanwhile, launched an urgent call about the fate of hundreds of migrants who escaped death as his organization has no means to provide housing. The three centers in Zarzis are full and cannot shelter more people. We also have 380 other migrants in confinement in Djerba with nowhere to go, Slim said. ___ Follow all AP developments on global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration. Former EU head, ex-PM Tusk to lead Polands opposition View Photo WARSAW, Poland (AP) Former European Union leader and ex-Prime Minister Donald Tusk was elected head of the strongest party in Polands fragmented opposition on Saturday. Tusk, 64, said he is returning to Polish politics and to the opposition Civic Platform party to help fight the evil of the current right-wing government. His comeback is expected to reignite the bitter political rivalry of decades with Jaroslaw Kaczynski, 72, the leader and chief strategist of the Law and Justice party that now runs the government with two small partners. Tusk co-founded Civic Platform, a center-liberal party, in 2001. It ruled Poland for eight years most of the time with Tusk as prime minister before the current conservative team won power in 2015. I know that many Poles were waiting for this black dream to be over, Tusk said about the current government of Law and Justice that has put Poland on a collision course with the EU. Today, evil rules in Poland and we are ready to fight against this evil Tusk said. The EU and its court have opened procedures against Polands current government, saying its changes to the justice system and opposition to some EU decisions, including on relocation of migrants, have gone against the 27-member blocs principles and undermine democracy. Massive street protests have been held against changes to the judiciary and tightening of the abortion law. Tusk said his return was dictated by the conviction that Civic Platform is necessary as the force that can win the battle with Law and Justice over Polands future. There is no chance for victory without the Platform, said Tusk, adding he has a sense of responsibility for the party that he had founded and led for many years before taking on the position of EU Council head in 2014. Civic Platform seemed to lose its energy and high profile following his departure. Asked later by journalists about chances for a united opposition bloc, Tusk replied the more the better, the more together, the better, but gave no specifics. One of the strongest personalities in Polands politics, Tusk said he was launching a series of visits across the nation, with a trip Monday to the northwestern region of Szczecin, that was recently hit by torrential rains. Party member and former foreign and defense minister Radek Sikorski said Tusks main goal now is to restore the trust in victory among all those who do not accept the destruction of Polands position by Law and Justice. The Law and Justice government continues to lead opinion polls thanks to its generous family bonuses and conservative policies that appeal to the Catholic majority in society. But the pressure of accumulating disputes with the EU and an internal struggle for power and influence have been visibly shaking the unity and loyalty in the coalition, which recently lost its majority in parliament, after some Law and Justice lawmakers left the ranks. Polands parliamentary elections are scheduled in the fall of 2023, but some politicians have been hinting that the weakening power of the ruling coalition may result in an early vote. By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA Associated Press Lithuania declares emergency due to migration from Belarus View Photo HELSINKI (AP) Lithuania has declared a state of emergency due to an influx of migrants in the last few days from neighboring Belarus, as tensions between the European Union and Belarus escalate. Lithuanias Interior Minister Agle Bilotaite said late Friday that the decision, proposed by the State Border Guard Service, was necessary not because of an increased threat to the country of 2.8 million people but to put a more robust system into place to handle migrants coming in. Its very important to have a legal system and instruments to be able to swiftly make decisions in response to arising challenges, Bilotaite said during a government meeting Friday evening, according to the Baltic News Service. Belarus authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has warned that his country would retaliate against the latest EU sanctions on his regime by loosening border controls for undocumented migrants. The bloc tightened sanctions against Belarus after Lukashenkos government forced a passenger plane to divert and land and arrested a prominent journalist on the flight. Prime Minister Ingrida Simonytes Cabinet declared the emergency after border officials reported Friday that they had detained about 150 illegal migrants in the last day who had crossed over from Belarus, with whom Lithuania shares a 679-kilometer (422-mile) border. That number of detained migrants at the Belarus border is three times higher than the previous daily record, Lithuanian officials said. CCTV footage released by the Lithuanian border guard showed migrants jumping over a fence separating Belarus and Lithuania and either crawling, walking or running to the Lithuanian side. According to the Baltic News Service, the most of the migrants have already sought asylum in Lithuania and include citizens of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Iraq and Syria. Lithuania has set up tent camps to accommodate the growing number of migrants. Mantas Adomenas, Lithuanias vice minister for foreign affairs, said the main problem was identifying migrants who arrive with no documents. Were now talking about how to identify them, give them documents so that economic migrants can be returned to their country of origin, Adomenas told broadcaster LNK Lithuania. A total of 822 migrants crossing in from Belarus have been detained in Lithuania so far this year, up from 81 in 2020, the Baltic News Service said. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen paid a visit to Vilnius, Lithuanias capital, on Friday, and vowed to help the country, a former Soviet republic, cope with the influx of migrants. Your worries and your problems here in Lithuania are European worries and problems, von der Layen said in a joint news conference with Simonyte and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda. We really stand by your side in this difficult time. Von der Layen pledged assistance from Frontex, EUs border and cost guard agency, which said on Thursday said that it would deploy border guard teams not only to Lithuania but also to Latvia, a Baltic neighbor that also shares a border with Belarus. On Monday, Belarus foreign ministry announced that the government would suspend an agreement with Brussels intended to stem illegal migration into the EU. ___ Follow all AP stories on global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration By JARI TANNER Associated Press Aerial view of murder scene on Camp 9 Road in Vallecito View Photo Vallecito, CA A caller reporting a deceased male led to the arrest of a Vallecito man for murder. The suspect, 55-year-old Donald Baldwin, is accused of shooting another man in the Camp 9 Road area of Vallecito in Calaveras County. The name of the victim, who is a 40- to 50-year-old male, is not being released pending notification of family, according to sheriffs spokesperson LT. Greg Stark. Investigators worked through the night and into mid-morning today processing the crime scene, which is located about four miles in from Parrotts Ferry Road just past the shooting quarry on a dirt road. They also interviewed five to ten witnesses, while evaluating and collecting evidence. Lt. Stark details, More than one shot was fired from a small-caliber weapon that was not a handgun. He added that the two men were neighbors but regarding a motive, stated, The motive is not being released at this time. The investigators still have some follow-up investigation to do and they dont want to taint any possible witnesses. The crime scene was described as a site where numerous vehicles and trailers were present with Lt Stark calling it an impromptu residential living area. Due to electrical issues and the dumping of sewage, waste, and garbage, Calaveras Code Compliance was contacted. Also, one trailer had four dogs and 23 cats living in it, bringing Animal Control to the scene to round them up. Baldwin was taken into custody without incident for murder and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a prohibited person. Nathan Giese/Plainview Herald A handful of citizens came out Friday at noon to the Hale County Courthouse as county lawyers conducted their annual reading of the Declaration of Independence as part of the Fourth of July holiday celebration. This was the eighth annual reading of the Declaration, a tradition started in Plainview in 2013. The reading is an event put on annually by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. Mayor Charles Starnes was among the nine readers during Friday afternoons reading. Photo by Nathan Giese/ Plainview Herald MERIDEN City health officials have zeroed in on Meridens most socially vulnerable neighborhoods and residents as their push to deliver more COVID-19 vaccines into peoples arms continues amid slowed public demand. More than 56% of all COVID-19 vaccine-eligible residents in Meriden have now received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to state health data. Its a slight improvement over the week prior. At that time, the percentage of city residents who were eligible to receive a vaccine and had gotten at least one dose was close to 55%. The latest calculations fall short of the 70% vaccination rate goal health officials had set for achieving herd immunity against the coronavirus and its variants. They are slightly higher than rates reported in other cities across Connecticut. Still, they are lower than in surrounding suburbs, which have reported significantly higher rates of vaccination. The latest data also show disparities among different demographic groups within the city, although some gaps have narrowed. For example, across Meriden, just over 42% of Black residents eligible for the vaccine have received a shot, according to state estimates. That vaccination rate is higher than that for Native American city residents, which was around 33%. Meanwhile, just over 51% of eligible Latino residents have received a dose. Close to 52% of eligible white residents have started the vaccination process. Those estimates are preliminary and incomplete, as they do not include residents of multiracial backgrounds and whose race is not known. Locally, the gaps in vaccination rates for different racial and ethnic groups are less pronounced than statewide estimates. According to the latest figures, more than 61% of white residents eligible for the vaccine had received an initial dose. By comparison, less than 48% of the states Latino residents and less than 40% of its Black residents had done so. By the end of June, 34,047 Meriden residents out of a population of 59,395 had been at least partially vaccinated. Within that group, 30,551 residents were fully inoculated. According to estimates, 50.7% of city residents were considered fully vaccinated. A deeper look at vaccination rates across Meriden shows the rates of vaccination vary based on where residents live. Within the city there are pockets where vaccine rates are significantly lower than in others. The disparities appear to correlate with the characteristics of neighborhoods and surrounding areas. Those characteristics include household makeup, income, race and ethnic background and the numbers of residents who do not have motor vehicle access. An example is the neighborhood near downtown in an area just south of Interstate 691 that spans eastward from Chamberlain Highway to Lewis Avenue and stretches to West Main Street. That stretch, where an estimated 1,774 residents live, and the area just east of it, are sections of the city considered to have high social vulnerability. Both areas have ethnically diverse populations, with significant percentages of residents whose incomes fall below federal poverty levels. Across that second area surrounded by Lewis Avenue, I-691, Colony and West Main streets and marked on city census maps as Tract 1702 state Department of Public Health data show 85% of vaccine eligible residents have received an initial COVID vaccine shot. Within its neighboring tract, 1703, the area including Chamberlain Highway, the vaccination rate is just over 65%. Within a span of about six weeks, the vaccination rates in both areas had seen double-digit improvement. The two locations are among those targeted by local health officials in an effort to increase vaccine distribution, as local health officials shift from a strategy that for several months had focused on large vaccination sites to more localized efforts. State public health data show the switch has come with some success. Need to expand access Lea Crown, Meriden health and human services director, acknowledged the need to improve vaccine access. Crown shared documents that detailed how her agency had planned to expand that access, in emails exchanged with the Record-Journal. Crown explained it has been through community conversations and other discussions with partnering agencies that her department has learned of three key factors to describe those who have decided not to receive the vaccine. Lea Crown, Meridens director of Health and Human Services, Tues., June 22, 2021. Dave Zajac, Record-Journal Through those conversations local health officials learned that persons who have not yet received the vaccine have stated they do not want to get sick after their shot, they want to wait until more people have gotten it, or that they do not believe in the vaccine and have no plans on receiving the vaccine, Crown wrote. The Meriden Health Department has attempted to reduce barriers to vaccination, including eliminating the need to set up an appointment or to provide identification or medical insurance information at any of its clinics. Bilingual staff are at each clinic, and we provide the vaccine information sheet in the person's preferred language, Crown wrote. Meanwhile, the citys push to achieve that 70% vaccinated benchmark continues. So officials are targeting parts of the city considered vulnerable. Using census tracts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention measure characteristics to determine whether they may weaken a communitys ability to prevent human suffering and financial loss in a disaster through what is called the Social Vulnerability Index. According to CDC data and a map that shows each separate census tracts social vulnerability index ranking, seven of Meridens 17 tracts rank high in social vulnerability based on one or more of the measured characteristics. Another four tracts rank moderate to high on that index. Meanwhile the remaining six tracts rate as either low vulnerability or low to moderate. Census data show some of the most vulnerable stretches of Meriden are also among its least vaccinated. In one such area, around where Old Colony Road meets the lower stretches of Cook Avenue and South Colony Street, one in five residents lives below the federal poverty line. Single parent households make up close to 12% of overall households. Around 48% of the 6,700 total residents are non-white. In that area, just over 52% of residents over the age of 16 had received their first COVID vaccine shot as of late-June. Vaccination data showed roughly one-third of residents there between the ages of 16 and 44 had received one vaccine dose. Vaccination data show the distribution of vaccines in this area has been slow compared to other parts of the city. By contrast, in another area, the southeast corner of Meriden surrounding Research Parkway, a little more than 5% of residents live below the poverty level. Nearly 73% of the areas population over 16 years old is at least partially vaccinated. Local health officials at this point did not identify specific characteristics of neighborhoods with the citys lowest vaccination rates that could be factors impacting those rates. The city has utilized state grant funding, through DPHs Vaccine Equity Partnership Funding Program, to increase vaccine access. The city received a nearly $321,000 grant intended to increase vaccine access for medically underserved populations, which include communities of color, those with limited English skills, single-parent households and low income residents. DPH advised local officials using the vaccine equity funds to target such areas and to take into consideration communities disproportionately affected by the pandemic, in terms of infection rates, hospitalization, and mortality. City health officials sought those funds to address disparities in vaccination rates they observed early in the spring. In the citys application for the state vaccine grant, officials referenced the local health departments own vaccine distribution figures. By the second week of April, the Meriden Department of Health and Human Services had administered 9,046 vaccines. The recipients included 5,974 Meriden residents. The vast majority of recipients 89% identified as white, while 11% identified as Latino, 3.5% identified as Black and less than 1% as Asian. Roughly 8% of vaccine recipients did not report a race or ethnicity at the time. Local health officials also described an inability to provide vaccines for homebound residents. Officials observed national research that showed Black, Latino and Native American people were [four] times more likely to be hospitalized and nearly [three] times more likely to die of COVID-19 than white people. Yet, officials noted, nationwide, African Americans had nearly the lowest rates of vaccination among any ethnic group. In fact, white Americans are being vaccinated at a rate [three] times higher than Black Americans. Local officials promised to improve outreach to Black and Latino communities to address myths and misconceptions about the vaccine and reduce any barriers individuals have to accessing vaccination appointments. Having trusted messengers in the community is key, officials stated in the application narrative. In an April 30 notification to the city, state officials wrote, the grant funding came with a stipulation: the funded activities should be designed and delivered to the medically underserved communities and disproportionately affected populations, in places where they live, work, and socialize and by the people they know and trust. So city health officials have partnered with the Community Health Center, the Salvation Army, Casa Boricua, New Opportunities Inc., and Hartford Healthcare, which operates MidState Medical Center, to boost vaccination outreach efforts. Persuading the vaccine-hesitant Anabel Beltran Roman, Casa Boricuas executive director, is familiar with the challenges of persuading hesitant people to get vaccinated. Romans agency serves a largely Spanish speaking clientele. Generally shes encountered individuals who are hesitant to receive a vaccine because theyre awaiting more information or theyre unsure whether the benefits of being vaccinated outweigh the risks. On the day she spoke with the Record-Journal, she was able to convince three vaccine-hesitant people to get inoculated. Anabel Beltran Roman, executive director of Casa Boricua De Meriden at 204 Colony St., Meriden, Mar. 23, 2021. Casa Boricua De Meriden is a non-profit community working to improve the education, health and well-being of Puerto Rican/Latino people in the greater Meriden area. Dave Zajac, Record-Journal Thats a win for me, Roman said, adding she prefers to use the word educate in describing her conversations with hesitant individuals. I want to educate people so they make an educated decision on their own. Its not because Anabel told me. Its because I believe in this and I want to do the right thing the right thing for myself and for my family, Roman said of the outcome she hopes those conversations produce. Roman found that one of the most effective strategies she can employ is to use herself as an example. Almost everyone in her family is vaccinated. She chose to be vaccinated less for her own health than that of family members particularly her father. She sees vaccination as a way to protect him. The main reason is I dont want my dad to get sick, Roman said. My dad is 90. If a person has elderly family members, they can relate. Health officials are hoping messages about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines delivered by those who individuals trust will lead to increased inoculations. Crown acknowledged that messaging may not necessarily come from organizations, like hers. Friends and family are trusted messengers and can help encourage those who have not yet been vaccinated to do so, Crown wrote. Reaching a tipping point Deploying large-scale vaccination efforts where vaccine rates are low requires enlisting the support and backing of community leaders, religious leaders, political leaders and local celebrities, according to Yale University School of Public Health dean and epidemiologist Dr. Sten Vermund. Vermund started his decades-long medical career as a pediatrician. His work expanded to include infectious disease study ever since the HIV/AIDS pandemic began in the early 1980s. His work, in the United States and overseas, has also included treating ebola, Zika virus and tuberculosis patients. He explained how the CDC uses census tracts to prioritize areas and populations that may have difficulty recovering from a disease outbreak or natural disaster, by analyzing them as smaller units. Think about New Haven County. Its hugely diverse, Vermund said. In terms of COVID vaccination coverage, we are seeing tremendous variation by social vulnerability index. By engaging with local leaders, you can sometimes achieve a tipping point in attitude, Vermund said. Meriden Health and Human Services alone has conducted more than 70 vaccination clinics and administered more than 12,000 vaccinations since last December, Crown said. Due to our limited staffing, and our focus on vaccinating our residents according to the Governor's tiered system, we have not done any targeted clinics to specific populations, Crown explained. Meanwhile, other vaccine providers have, including Community Health Center and Hartford HealthCare. Crown noted Community Health Centers ability to provide multilingual staff who are able to assist homebound residents who cannot attend a vaccine clinic. In addition to outreach through local media, the Meriden Health Department has deployed mobile vaccination vans in areas like the neighborhoods just south of downtown, which are considered highly susceptible. The health department, through its mobile efforts, is now able to offer day, evening and weekend clinics, according to Crown. The challenge is now trying to reach persons who have not yet been vaccinated and provide opportunities to do so. It's putting 80% of our work to outreach to smaller populations while maintaining full public health and human services to our community, Crown wrote. This is when partnerships like the ones we have with other vaccine providers and community agencies is so important. Amy Taylor, regional vice president for Community Health Center, said her agency will be conducting more mobile vaccination clinics as a result of the grant. CHC, like other providers, is undertaking a dual effort: educating patients about the vaccine and addressing other concerns people have. Chief among those concerns is vaccine side effects and missing out on work. That is a real issue for people, Taylor said. Conversations with primary care doctors and community leaders have also been an important part of local outreach efforts. St. Rose of Lima Church and Mount Hebron Baptist Church both hosted vaccine clinics earlier this spring. Taylor said the churches validated for their community members this is a safe thing to do. It was also in an environment where people feel safe and protected. Accessibility and convenience are other issues CHC is hoping to tackle. On Friday, the center held a pop-up clinic at Hubbard Park. Pastor Willie Young walks through a worship room at Mount Hebron Baptist Church at 84 Franklin St., Meriden, Mar. 5, 2021 ahead of a COVID-19 vaccination clinic. Dave Zajac, Record-Journal The Rev. Willie Young, pastor of Mount Hebron, said after his church hosted vaccine clinics in the spring he was encouraged by the number of people he saw walk through the doors to receive a shot. Young acknowledged and said he understood the skepticism some individuals may have, especially those who have certain medical conditions. When people have questions about medical conditions, he recommends they consult with their doctors. He pointed to himself as an example that the vaccine is safe. I tell them, I took it. Im still living, Young said. Sonya Jelks, the majority leader of the Meriden City Council, is familiar with the discussions around Meridens previously stagnant, but improving, vaccination rates. Jelks, who is Black, also knows well the apprehension many individuals and families such as hers have struggled with in deciding whether to get vaccinated. We are battling co-morbidity. We also still have historical context of there being some distrust of the medical profession, Jelks said, noting the bloodclot issues that had been connected to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine early on scared some folks into reconsidering whether to get vaccinated. Other anecdotes suggesting potential heart-related complications from other vaccines have not made decisions easier for the hesitant, Jelks said. Theyve also seen the impact of the coronavirus on people they know. A close neighbor died from COVID-19. Others have recovered from the virus, but have experienced lingering complications from it. The conversation around whether to get vaccinated now, or to wait, played out within Jelks family. Jelks has been vaccinated. But her childrens father hasnt. And he wanted to wait before their daughters got vaccinated. Their fathers argument was the data and studies around youth vaccines were not as comprehensive as those around adult vaccines, Jelks explained. My kids really wanted to try to be back in school in the fall, Jelks said, noting that fact is what eventually led to her daughters receiving the vaccines. What you juggle is the risk of them being ill from the vaccine, or potentially having to sit out another school year and risking them getting COVID. Jelks said because she and her daughters are vaccinated, they feel more protected. We do that, not only to protect ourselves, but to protect the general public so it doesnt continue to spread, Jelks said. Of Meriden itself, Jelks said its vaccination rates are finally going up. But, then she references the number of city residents who died from COVID. That number as of late June stood at 156. Thats 156 people, who had this vaccine came out sooner, they would still be alive, Jelks said. mgagne@record-journal.com 203-317-2231 Twitter:@MikeGagneRJ Click here to read the full article. A California police officer played Taylor Swifts Blank Space in an attempt to prevent a Black Lives Matter activist from uploading a video to YouTube in the belief that the platforms copyright-detection system would block it. It didnt work. In fact, the video in question was not only shared successfully on YouTube, it has gone viral garnering widespread attention because of the controversy. On June 29, BLM protesters gathered at the Alameda Country courthouse in Oakland, Calif., before a pretrial hearing for Jason Fletcher, a former police officer charged with murdering Steven Taylor, a Black man, inside a Walmart store in 2020. As captured on video, an officer from the Alameda County Sheriffs Office confronted one of the protestors, James Burch of the Anti Police-Terror Project (APTP), to demand Burch remove his groups banner. Burch questioned why the banner needed to be moved before the cop takes out his mobile phone and starts playing the Swift song. Burch, confused, says, Are we having a dance party now? The officer eventually admits, You can record all you want. I just know it cant be posted to YouTube. Later, the officer, identified as Sgt. David Shelby, reiterates to Burch, Im playing my music so that you cant post on YouTube. The video, available at this link, has been viewed more than 170,000 times since it was shared Thursday. Free-speech advocates decried the attempt by a law enforcement official to use copyright law even though unsuccessful to try to avoid public scrutiny and try to thwart Americans First Amendment rights. This video of a police officer taking advantage of copyright laws to avoid accountability is the latest chilling example in a line of abuse that stretches back decades, Lia Holland, campaigns and communications director at digital-rights group Fight for the Future, said in a statement. The U.S. must fundamentally reform our archaic and corrupt copyright system to put the interests of artists and the public first in the digital era. The last thing we should be doing is giving copyright monopolies more power to abuse, and cops more tools to evade accountability. Police have reportedly tried to exploit copyright-takedown rules to try to block videos from online services before. In February, according to a Vice News report, a Beverly Hills cop played Sublimes Santeria as activist Sennett Devermont tried to film the encounter disputing a ticket he had been issued, evidently so that video of the conversation would be prevented from being livestreamed online. On a prior occasion, another BHPD officer blasted The Beatles In My Life as Devermont was recording video. The Alameda County Sheriffs Office has referred the incident to an internal affairs unit for investigation, the Washington Post reported. The department does not have a policy about whether you can play Taylor Swift or music in an attempt to censor YouTube content from a public encounter, spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly said. However, he said, the sheriffs office does not condone the actions of the deputy and added that there is a code of conduct on how we should carry ourselves in public. YouTubes automated Content ID copyright-flagging system looks for a match between a reference file (provided by a copyright holder) and a new video upload. If theres a hit, YouTube applies a policy to track, monetize or block the video, based on the preference selected by the Content ID owner. According to YouTube, Content ID claims usually are just to track or monetize the video, not to block it. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. PHILADELPHIA (AP) The seven justices who reversed Bill Cosbys conviction this week spent months debating whether he had a secret agreement with a prosecutor that tainted his 2018 criminal sexual assault conviction. In the end, Pennsylvanias highest court ruled that a district attorney had induced Cosby to give incriminating testimony in 2005 for a lawsuit, with the promise that no criminal charges would be filed. Then, a decade later, another prosecutor used it against him a fundamental violation of his Fifth Amendment rights. Americas Dad walked out of prison Wednesday and won't face any further trials in the case. The public outcry over Cosbys sudden release three years into a potential 10-year sentence was swift, with #MeToo activists worried it would have a chilling effect on survivors. And lawyers for another high-profile man convicted of sexual assault, Harvey Weinstein, praised the decision. But criminal law experts believe the court acted reasonably in finding that a prosecutors word should be honored, even by a successor. One called the ruling a wakeup call for prosecutors who might try to quietly resolve a case without a paper trail, or make a deal over a handshake. It probably would have been much better lawyering to get it all in writing, Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson, a former prosecutor, said of the hidden deal in the Cosby case. Its a teachable moment, I think, for prosecutors across the nation. Its a big lesson. Levenson, too, fears the quick takeaway is that another celebrity gets away with a crime. More deeply, she said, the case illustrates the need for legal agreements that are open, fair and transparent. For survivors of sexual assault, its got to be another incredibly upsetting, frustrating moment, she said. So (there are) good lessons for prosecutors and hard lessons for survivors. The court heard arguments in December. On Wednesday, a majority of the justices, 6-1, found Cosbys case should be overturned. But the justices split 4-2 on whether he should go free or face a third trial. The two dissenting justices questioned if Cosby had ever really been promised immunity or whether an abuse of power led to former Montgomery County prosecutor Bruce Castors odd and ever-shifting explanations of his promise to Cosby. They urged their colleagues to condemn the tactics, lest others follow suit and make promises that later entrap defendants who agree to talk. We should reject Castors misguided notion outright and declare that district attorneys do not possess this effective pardon power, Justice Kevin Dougherty wrote in a partial dissent. Castor, testifying for the defense soon after Cosbys arrest in late 2015, said he had promised Cosby's lawyer in 2005 that the actor would never be charged over his encounter with Andrea Constand, in part so that he could help her wage a lawsuit against Cosby. No legal documents were drafted. No immunity agreements went before a judge. Even Castors top assistant, who had led the initial investigation, said she knew nothing about it. Neither did Constands lawyer, according to testimony at the sometimes surreal preliminary hearing in February 2016. Castor said he discussed the agreement with a Cosby lawyer who had since died. And he said he issued a signed press release to announce the end of the investigation. Several courts have since parsed the wording of that press release, which opines that both parties in the case could be seen in a less than flattering light, and cautions that Castor would reconsider this decision should the need arise. Constand, in the wake of that decision, sued Cosby in federal court. In the depositions that followed, the trailblazing actor made lurid admissions about his sexual encounters with a string of young women. He acknowledged giving them drugs or alcohol beforehand, while he stayed sober and in control. The list included Constand, who said she took what she thought were herbal products at Cosbys direction, only to find herself semiconscious on his couch. Cosby, in the deposition, famously said he ventured into the area that is somewhere between permission and rejection as Constand lay still. Neither he nor his lawyers ever asserted his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself during four days of sworn testimony. Cosby wouldve had to have been nuts to say those things if there was any chance he couldve been prosecuted, Castor testified at the 2016 hearing. He said his goal in steering the case to civil court was to find Constand an alternate form of justice. I was hopeful that I had made Ms. Constand a millionaire, said Castor, who later represented former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial, where he was acquitted of inciting the violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. In 2015, a federal judge unsealed some of Cosby's testimony upon a request from The Associated Press, and Castors successor reopened the case. Judge Steven ONeill allowed some of the statements to be used at trial. It was that unusual sequence of events that troubled the Pennsylvania high court even though ONeill and a lower appeals courts had found Castors talk of a non-prosecution agreement not credible. Whatever their view of such blanket promises, the Supreme Court justices found that Cosby and his lawyers relied on it in giving the deposition. Therefore, the principle of fundamental fairness that undergirds due process of law in our criminal justice system demands that the promise be enforced, Justice David N. Wecht wrote for the four-person majority, which included all three of the high courts female judges. The panel avoided ruling on the thorny issue of how many witnesses should be allowed to testify about a defendant's prior bad acts in a criminal case an issue many lawyers hoped they would clarify. ONeill had allowed just one other accuser to testify at Cosbys first trial in 2017, but upped the number to five at the retrial the following year, when Cosby was convicted. Everyone was watching this case for the other evidence ruling. This (ruling) came out of the blue, said Jules Epstein, a Temple University law professor. At least one justice, Thomas Saylor, would have sent the case back for a new trial over the other accuser issue, according to his solo opinion. But it become moot when the majority agreed to bar any future prosecutions in the case. Washington lawyer Joseph Cammarata represented several accusers in defamation suits filed against Cosby, which his insurer settled after the 2018 conviction. He regrets that some people see the ruling as a vindication of the actor. They havent rejected the allegations of the 60-plus people who asserted that Cosby assaulted them. They havent rejected the five people that testified. Nor have they rejected the jurys verdict that Cosby was guilty of sexual assault-related charges," Cammarata said. ___ Follow Maryclaire Dale on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Maryclairedale Every week, we explore a different Texas ghost/story of the unknown. This week, we take a distinctly Texas crypto-zoological turn. In February of 1976, two school teachers in San Antonio's Southside school district found themselves driving in separate vehicles down a desolate road. The two identified a pair of what looked to be giant birds, with bony structures and wingspans stretching 15 to 20 feet, a look reminiscent to one teacher of a pteranodon, an extinct type of flying reptile that lived 160 million years ago. News coverage from the San Antonio Evening News documented the sighting. A reporter reached out to the then director of the San Antonio Zoo, Louis Di Zapato, to inquire about the claims that a pteranodon was flapping its wings in the Lone Star State. 3 1 of 3 Courtesy of Ken Gerhard Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Courtesy of Ken Gerhard Show More Show Less 3 of 3 "There's nothing in today's Texas that would be that. I know of nothing that looks like that, but I sure would like two of them for the zoo," said Di Zapato. Southside officials had directed the educational professionals not to discuss the event with the media during school hours for fear of alarming students. One teacher told the reporter that they are not designated to discuss non-school matters over the telephone while on the clock. What exactly the teachers saw that day is unknown, yet during that time and in the years proceeding, dozens of similar sightings have been reported in the San Antonio and Rio Grande Valley areas. That same year, several sightings were reported near Harlingen, Texas according to two San Benito police officers. One of the strangest reports came from Alverico Guajardo, who heard something slam into the side of his mobile home. When he ventured outside to investigate, he was met face to face with a bird-like creature standing 4 feet tall with eyes the size of silver dollars. "It's got wings like a bird but it's no bird," Guajardo said in the Houston Post. "That creature is not of this world." These massive birds (with no discernable postal code on Sesame Street) are San Antonio-based cryptozoologist Ken Gerhard's bread and butter. The San Antonio Zoo volunteer and TV personality (Gerhard has appeared on multiple colorful History Channel programs) has written several books on the "Big Birds" and spoken with countless individuals claiming sightings in the South-Central Texas region over the years. Often, he tells me, reports of these birds generally revolve around their staggering size and dark coloring. In 2006, while in the process of completing his first cryto-zoological tome, he relocated to San Antonio in an effort to be closer to the nexus of these rare and curious sightings. RELATED: Tales of Texas Ghosts: The spirits of the historic Menger Hotel For someone who deals in unknown and at times whimsical creatures, Gerhard comes across as strikingly pragmatic and self aware, scrutinizing every claim of a sighting he comes across. He tells me that traditional science absolutely rejects things like the crytozoology, and with good reason. "Theres a notable lack of physical evidence, so for example, if there was a population of giant birds, we'd expect there that someone might have found giant nest, eggshells, eggs, feathers or a giant pile of bird crap on someone's car," the crytozoologist tells me. Even so, that doesn't prevent his optimistic pursuit of these cryptid creatures, whose existence like ghosts and extraterrestrials would likely be confirmed by agent Mulder in The X-Files. Gerhard believes that the existence of these Big Birds is possible and fascinating, and that if they exist, their home base has to be somewhere remote and largely unexplored, like the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Mexico, for example. When they show up in Texas, that would make them massive unknown birds simply thrown off their path. Courtesy of Ken Gerhard According to a review by National Geographic in 2011, 86 percent of the earth's species have not yet been fully discovered. Many of these creatures are likely in the domain of the miniscule, but Gerhard maintains something strange and big might be out there. In 1976, he notes that most scientific defenses amount to sightings explainable by existing species in the area people are unfamiliar with. He concedes it's possible that perhaps a non-native species escaped, but no observed creatures match an overwhelming majority of these sighting descriptions. Social Phenomenon In 2013, Gerhard claims he received two reports out of Northeast San Antonio. One involved a man seeing something fly over his house on Christmas Day. Two months before, he tells me, two Bexar County Sheriff Deputies came to him with a police report where residents in a Northeast San Antonio neighborhood described, "there is something very dark, very large and alive flying in the air over the area." This incident is said to have occurred on Chestnut Bluff Drive in the Beach Trail community. "Many people are fearful of ridicule, they don't want to be considered crazy or like they're making up a story," says Gerhard, on the witnesses who come to him to report their stories, often not divulging their experiences even to their loved ones. "The cryptids that I view as the most credible, if they exist, I view as simply unknown animals, and while I have a healthy respect for nature and all living things, I think that a lot of the perception that people have that these cryptids are monsters, I think that's a social phenomenon." Large birds have been present in folklore in North America for years. Thunderbirds, giant supernatural birds, are present in many Native American stories and histories, including in the Ojibwa and Algonquian cultures.La Lechuza, a Texas and Mexican folk-legend, describes a shape-shifting woman who can convert herself into a giant owl. RELATED: Randy Rogers & La Maquinaria Nortena release spooky chupacabra track Social phenomenon or not, I think if I saw one of these creatures flapping their Pleistocene-era wings over 281 I would faint. Admittedly, I was a little terrified when I first heard about these sightings. It's hard not to be afraid of being in the dark, of not knowing. For now, whether or not these strange high-flying creatures exist is still up in the air, but it seems to me, whether they exist in the fossil record or the depths of peoples minds, they have already made their mark on Texas. San Antonio's Pub Run has been back in earnest for a few months now. A pre-pandemic staple, the First Friday Pub Run brings together runners, bar lovers and folks who love a good costume party. On July 2, Americans took to downtown to celebrate the start of a three-day weekend and MySA photographer Chavis Barron caught it all on camera. From the eagle onesie to the star-spangled leotard to the classic Old Navy tee, here are all of the San Antonians we saw enjoying a night out downtown. READ MORE: All the Fiesta fashion we saw during Fiesta Fiesta kickoff at Hemisfair Fourth of July weekend is upon us. As you fire up your grills, bake your pies and head to the parks, take a moment to reminisce on the holidays of weekends past. Using a database from our sister publication at the San Antonio Express-News, we found how San Antonio has celebrated the patriotic festivity over the decades (both in color and in black and white). Do you usually celebrate more casually with a backyard barbecue, or are you at the front lines of city-wide fireworks displays? Here are 20 archival photos to help jog your memory. READ MORE: SAPD reminds residents fireworks are illegal, can result in $2,000 fines For decades, the two little grave markers sat side by side in a Mississippi Coast cemetery, identified only as Baby Jane and Baby Jane II. The infants, both Jane Does, were found on different occasions, in 1982 and 1988, in Jackson County rivers and buried by community members, after investigators found no leads in either case. Then late last year, investigators were able to identify Baby Jane through DNA testing, almost 40 years after her death. This week, investigators exhumed Baby Jane II from her resting place in Jackson County Memorial Park in Pascagoula, with hopes of finding her true name. Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell said in a news release that the remains of the infant have been sent to the Mississippi Crime Lab. Once her DNA is collected, investigators hope to use it to build a family tree. Baby Jane II was found in the Pascagoula River on June 28, 1988, by two men fishing near the wildlife management area in Wade. The child was found tangled in a fishing line. An autopsy showed that the baby, 3 to 5 weeks old at the time, had died by drowning. The case has had a devastating impact on the community, even years later. Gina Marshall was just a young girl at the time, living a couple of miles from where Baby Jane II was found. She remembers crossing the bridge over the Pascagoula River to get to summer school that day. Shortly after she arrived at school, the infant was found. From that day on, Marshall said, she always had a sickening feeling when crossing the bridge or visiting the river with her family. "This is something I have carried with me many years, and still to this day tear up over it, she said. I pray they can find her identity. What made the case more painful is that the baby girl was the second child found in a Jackson County river in a decade. Baby Jane, an 18-month-old infant, was found on Dec. 5, 1982, floating in the Escatawpa River wearing a pink and white checkered dress and a diaper. In December 2020, DNA testing finally identified her as Alisha Ann Heinrich. Heinrich had gone missing from the Joplin, Missouri, area around Thanksgiving 1982, along with her 23-year-old mother, Gwendolyn Mae Clemons, according to the Jackson County Sheriff's Department. Clemons was planning to start a new life in Florida. Clemons is also believed dead but her body has never been found. A man who was traveling with the mother and daughter was a suspect in their disappearance, the Jackson County Sheriffs Department said last year. The man has since died. Season of Justice Corporation, a Baltimore, Maryland, nonprofit, is covering the cost of the lab work for Baby Jane II. Redgrave Research Forensic Services in Athol, Massachusetts, will attempt to build a profile of the childs family history. The owners of the Jackson County Memorial Park donated the cost of the babys exhumation. Marshall said seeing Baby Jane identified has given her hope that DNA testing will be the key to finding out the identity of the second anonymous child. Its going to be bittersweet, Im sure, she said. The thought of her not having an identity, I think, makes this the saddest. She wasnt a nobody she belonged somewhere. She would be approximately 33 right now, probably with children of her own, had she been given the chance. ___ Willingham is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Seattle, New York City, Fredericksburg? Public marketplaces are a tourist haven for big cities, and now, it appears, the Hill Country. Construction is already underway on of Grand Central at Milam, a massive indoor/outdoor market in Fredericksburg. Located at 206 N Milam Street, renovations are already underway on a former Super S grocery store on the property, which has been vacant for over a decade. Eventually, the building will offer 16,000 square feet of retail space, with spots carved out for eight different concepts, notes a release. Inspired by destinations like Magnolia Market in Waco and Pike Place in Seattle, Grand Central at Milam is designed to create "a single spot for multiple dining and shopping options, coupled with unique areas to sit, relax, and soak up local energy." 3 1 of 3 Courtesy, St. Croix Capital Corp. Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Courtesy, St. Croix Capital Corp. Show More Show Less 3 of 3 READ MORE: Texas is seeing sunflowers everywhere this summer for unexpected reasons With a location thats a mere 3-minute walk from Main Street towards the most household-dense part of Fredericksburg, we know its imperative our concept appeal to residents and visitors alike, says Ken Satterlee, founder and chairman of St. Croix Capital Corp., owners of the property. Thats why weve studied other successful indoor/outdoor concepts and are working to translate their best elements in a way thats authentic to Fredericksburg. Along with the market, the 1.6-acre site will eventually include: ghost kitchens outdoor space available for events picnic tables yard games fire pit small stage for performances food kiosks In picking tenants, the owners say they're being prudent with their partnerships. Were being highly selective with our tenant mix, and thankfully, current negotiations indicate theres demand for the kind of special place we aim to create," says Chris Kopacek, a principal with Lonestar Development Partners, a partner on the project. Its emphasis on local is also extending to its artwork and design. Grand Central at Milam is hosting an art competition with $8,500 in prizes, with first place winning $5,000 and the opportunity to paint a mural on one of the market's outside walls. Though an exact opening date was not given, a grand opening celebration is currently slated for mid- to late-fall. Yves here. IM Doc, whose father was a public health official, anticipated the findings of this study which found that faith in institutions is essential to implementing public policies. As he wrote in April: As a young child, I saw my father [a public health officer] struggle through the Swine Flu of 1976 and the vaccine debacle that accompanied that era. As I grew older, and especially once I entered medicine, he had several heart-to-heart talks with me about a career in Medicine and by extension public health. I can summarize what he told me in two large thrusts. 1) Integrity, truth, and honesty is EVERYTHING in public pealth. Once squandered, it will never return. 2) Public health is 10% science and 90% psychology. Do not ever forget that. You will get nowhere by screaming SCIENCE SCIENCE SCIENCE and you will certainly get nowhere by flashing credentials. And you must have an acute awareness of panic, fear and anxiety. They change everything and your response must always take that into account. The US has shown a steady decline in public confidence in official institutions. A recently-published study by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford found that Americans have the lowest trust in media of adults in 46 countries. The press has been a major channel for messaging about the desirability of getting vaccinated and Covid generally. And if you have been paying attention at all, the official responses to Covid have been so obviously politicized as to undermine confidence. The flip flop on masks. The flip flop (and maybe flop back) on the lab leak theory). The failure to acknowledge asymptomatic transmission (yet the full court press to vaccinate teens and children would seem to be all about that). CDC chief Rochelle Wallesnky (along with some public service ads) falsely saying the Covid vaccines prevent getting infected. The failure to acknowledge aerosol transmission, and even now, muddled discussions on official sites. The mission accomplished approach, over the objections of the national and largest California nurses unions. Readers no doubt can add to this list. In other words, the US has aggressively pre-positioned itself to have difficulty in getting compliance if its wager on the vaccines doesnt work out as planned and it has to exhort the public to engage in non-pharmaceutical interventions again, like masking up and staying largely at home. By Katrin Schmelz, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Konstanz and Thurgau Economic Institute and Samuel Bowles, Research Professor and Director of the Behavioral Sciences Program, Santa Fe Institute. Originally published at VoxEU Policy interventions may affect beliefs and preferences in counterproductive ways. This column presents panel evidence on COVID-19 vaccination willingness in Germany which suggests that policies that foster trust in public institutions will promote vaccination acceptance. But a vaccine mandate can also crowd out initial willingness. The data suggest that policies affect beliefs and preferences through both framing and learning effects. Beyond the pandemic, the findings may also be applied to other societal challenges such as climate change, where an effective combination of mandatory policies and values-motivated lifestyle changes will contribute to reducing our carbon footprint. Four decades ago, Robert Lucas rocked economics with a simple observation: taxes and other government interventions in the private economy affect not only the costs and benefits of actions citizens may take (as intended), but also their beliefs about the future actions of others (including the government), possibly in counterproductive ways. For example, announcing stiffer penalties for non-payment of taxes provides an incentive to pay up; but it also may convey the information that non-compliance is common, leading formerly honest citizens to cheat. Lucas point was that policymaking is not simply resetting the dials on a given model of how the economy works, but instead changing the structure of the model itself (Lucas 1976). In 1994, Henry Aaron of the Brookings Institution pointed to the failure of economists to take the formation of preferences seriously, and suggested that the Lucas critique be extended to cover preferences as well as beliefs (Aaron 1994). At the time there was little evidence on which policymakers could draw if they wished to take account of the endogenous nature of preferences and beliefs. But experimental economics has filled many of the gaps (as surveyed by Bowles and Polania-Reyes 2012). The response to COVID-19 vaccinations provides rare new evidence from outside the lab (Schmelz 2021, Schmelz and Bowles 2021). Framing and Learning: How Policies Affect Preferences and Beliefs There are two senses in which a policy may alter preferences and beliefs. We term these framingand learning. The first, a short-term effect, is that the incentives or constraints by which the policy is implemented frame the citizens decision in a particular way. The psychologist Mark Lepper and his colleagues wrote that superfluous social constraints, for example, unavoidably convey information about the presumed motives of the policymaker, as well as the reasons why the policy was adopted, and the relationship between the policymaker and the citizen (Lepper et al. 1982). The second sense in which policies may alter preferences and beliefs is a longer-term change in preferences due to learning. By structuring the daily experiences of the citizen in their interactions with others and the state a policy may alter the longer-term evolution of a persons preferences and beliefs (Bowles 2008, Bowles and Polania-Reyes 2012, Schmelz and Ziegelmeyer 2020). Our Evidence: Enforced COVID-19 Vaccination May Crowd Out Voluntary Compliance We have found evidence of both framing and learning in citizens responses to vaccinations and other COVID-19 pandemic policies. Our panel of 2,653 Germans, surveyed both in April/May and in October/November of 2020, allows us to track the attitudes of the same individuals during the first and second lockdowns. In both waves, respondents were asked: If there is an approved vaccine against the coronavirus, to what extent would you agree to be inoculated yourself if: vaccination is strongly recommended by the government but remains voluntary? vaccination is made mandatory and checked by the government? Answers were given on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (not agree at all) to 4 (fully agree). While support for voluntary vaccination remained high in the second wave, the fraction fully supporting enforced vaccinations was initially lower and then dropped from 44% to 28%, as shown in Figures 1A and 1B. Vaccination Willingness Has Declined Among Those Who Lost Trust in Public Institutions We found that trust in public institutions is a strong predictor of willingness to be vaccinated under voluntary or enforced policies. We measure trust in public institutions by the average of the subjects expressed general trust in the federal government and specific trust in its truthful information about COVID-19, as well as their trust in the state government, in science, and in media. We term this measure public trust. The fall in support for enforced vaccination occurred disproportionately among those whose public trust had declined between the two waves of the survey. This lends some support to the idea that the positive correlation between trust and vaccine support reported in cross-section data (e.g., Bargain and Aminjonov 2020) may reflect a causal relationship. The distrust effect is substantial: a one-point drop in our public trust measure (ranging from 1 to 6.6) would account for 37% of the observed reduction in support for enforced vaccines between the two waves. This is consistent with evidence from the UK that people in locations where intensive care units were under stress early in the pandemic were more resistant to vaccination later, perhaps because they had lost confidence in medical institutions (Blanchard-Rohner et al. 2021). Figure 1 Reduced support for enforced vaccination Notes: (A) Average agreement to get vaccinated if it is voluntary or enforced in the two waves of the survey (in Likert scale units). Error bars represent 95% CI. (B) Cumulative distributions of agreement in case of enforced versus voluntary vaccination for the two waves of the survey. For example, the dashed and solid red lines show that 44% and 28% of respondents fully agreed to get vaccinated in case of enforcement in the first and second waves of the survey, respectively. Why Enforcement May Crowd Out Intrinsic Motivation to Contribute to a Public Good The fact that enforcement reduces support for vaccinations is surprising in light of what we know from experimental public goods games. Most anti-COVID-19 policies share the fundamental structure of public goods dilemmas where all-encompassing cooperation maximises the wellbeing of all citizens, but since cooperation is costly each individual has an incentive to free ride on others if the level of cooperation is sufficiently high (Gollier 2021). Experiments with public goods games around the world have shown that in the absence of an option to punish free riders, substantial levels of initial cooperation typically decline as contributors become discouraged or angered by those not contributing (Herrmann, Thoni, and Gachter 2008). But a belief that most others will cooperate or be punished if they do not encourages conditional cooperators to do the same (Fischbacher, Gachter, and Fehr 2001, Shinada and Yamagishi 2007). This would lead us to expect that average agreement to follow antiCOVID-19 measures should be higher if a measure is enforced than if it remains voluntary. But the lesser support for mandated than voluntary vaccinations that we found suggests a different line of reasoning. An enforcement-based approach might be compromised because it crowds out voluntary commitment. Economists term this control aversion, a particular case of intrinsic motivation being diminished by explicit constraints or incentives (Falk and Kosfeld 2006, Ziegelmeyer, Schmelz, and Ploner 2012). Our data suggest that this occurs in the case of vaccine willingness. We have identified three mechanisms which might account for this (Bowles and Polania-Reyes 2012). The first, termed psychological reactance, is the result of individual strivings for freedom or self-determination (Lepper et al. 1982, Rudorf et al. 2018). It is consistent with our finding that the opposition to enforced vaccinations is substantially greater among respondents who reported that it would restrict their freedom. Second, moral disengagement occurs when the provision of explicit incentives or constraints frames the decision problem as one in which ethical convictions are not salient (Falk and Szech 2013). Voluntary vaccination policies may trigger moral deliberation and the desire to be a good citizen. By contrast, enforcement might relieve the citizen of any need to deliberate, and thus crowd out those moral convictions (Bowles 2016). Resistance to vaccination provides an example of moral disengagement. In the second wave of the survey, those reporting greater altruism willingness to help others were also more likely to support voluntary but not enforced vaccinations. The negative impact of enforcement is greater among citizens reporting more other-regarding preferences. The third mechanism through which enforcement may crowd out intrinsic motivation is by diminishing trust. Enforcement may signal that the policymaker knows that the vaccine is not something citizens would willingly subject themselves to. In addition to bad news about the vaccine, the distrust communicated by enforcement signals low expectations about citizens behaviour (Sliwka 2007). In the eyes of citizens, this may result in a mutually distrusting relationship (Bartling, Fehr, and Schmidt 2012, Fehr and Rockenbach 2003), promoting vaccine hesitancy, as our panel data show. Learning Control Aversion: The Role of Institutions Because the control-averse reactions shown in Figures 1A and 1B were responses to a hypothetical question about mandated vaccination, we consider them to be temporary framing effects, subject to reversal by reframing the decision, instead of a genuine change in preferences. But our survey also provides evidence of longer-term preference change. Respondents who had lived under liberal institutions in West Germany since the end of WWII were more control averse than those who had experienced two generations of authoritarian rule beginning of 1933. Figure 2 shows that the EastWest difference is qualitatively larger for older Germans who were at least 20 years old when the Berlin Wall came down (mean age at survey time: 62 years) than for younger Germans who experienced less than 20 years under different regimes (mean age: 35 years). This finding is in line with evidence from an online experiment in a setting unrelated to COVID-19 policies (Schmelz and Ziegelmeyer 2020). Figure 2 Effect of experience in East (compared to West) Germany on control aversion with respect to anti-COVID-19 policies Notes: Control aversion is measured by the difference between voluntary agreement and agreement in case of enforcement in the five domains. Shown are the coefficients and 95% CI on control aversion. For example, the upper part of the figure shows that older East Germans are somewhere between 13% and 16% of a standard deviation less control averse than older West Germans in all domains except for masks. Older East Germans are less control-averse than older West Germans in all domains except for masks. This is consistent with the effect of mere exposure (Zajonc 2001): those brought up in East Germany prior to 1990 were subject to ubiquitous surveillance, compulsory vaccination, and restrictions on movements. By contrast, wearing masks is rather exotic and not part of the experience of East (or West) Germans prior to the pandemic. This result is remarkable as it shows that people who experienced the coercive East German regime three and more decades ago are still less averse to enforced anti-COVID-19 measures. Policy: Putting the Survey Results to Use Legally required vaccination against measles and other diseases is an essential part of public health policies around the world. COVID-19 vaccination mandates, for example, targeting those caring for the elderly may be an important element of a policy response to the pandemic. But mandating COVID-19 vaccination may also have a substantial negative impact on voluntary compliance. Given limited state capacities and persistent citizen opposition, ending the pandemic in a timely manner by universal enforcement could be impossible. Moreover, enforcement could bear costs including heightened social conflict and citizen alienation from their government or professional elites. The result could be a downward spiral of public distrust fuelling vaccine resistance, triggering more extensive enforcement and in turn further eroding public trust. Costly errors may be avoided if policymakers understand that citizens preferences are not fixed but will be affected by the crowding-out effect of enforcement in varying degrees depending on the policies, as we have found (Schmelz 2021). Our findings may bear lessons beyond COVID-19. Consider policies to address climate change. Sustaining environmentalist values will be essential for the passage and implementation of the necessary mandatory policies. Moreover, green social norms will be necessary to promote the lifestyle changes that reduce our carbon footprint, given limited state enforcement capacities in this realm. So, the feasibility and effectiveness of environmentalist initiatives may depend on the ways policies themselves alter beliefs and preferences. Important considerations to evaluate the wisdom of voluntary versus enforced policies go beyond whether enforcement evokes substantial control aversion and include the level of compliance required for a policy to be successful, the share of citizens who would comply with a policy voluntarily, and the extent to which effective enforcement is feasible. See original post for references Top Economics Blogs Lars P. Syll Humans caught the ocean on fire: Gas pipeline fire in Gulf of Mexico creates shocking scene USA Today. The fire caught fire! Lets all please stop calling dollars fiat money FT GM to Source Lithium for EV Batteries from US-Based Startup Industry Week A Major EV Battery Bet for India Is on Aluminum Over Lithium Bloomberg How to solve COVIDs crew change crisis and protect global supply chains Hellenic Shipping News A New Kind of Ransomware Tsunami Hits Hundreds of Companies Wired Smart technology is not making us dumber: study Phys.org #COVID19 Physical phenotype of blood cells is altered in COVID-19 (in press) Biophysical Journal, n = 55. From the Abstract: While the pathology is not yet fully understood, hyper-inflammatory response and coagulation disorders leading to congestions of microvessels are considered to be key drivers of the still increasing death toll. Until now, physical changes of blood cells have not been considered to play a role in COVID-19 related vascular occlusion and organ damage. We found significant changes in lymphocyte stiffness, monocyte size, neutrophil size and deformability, and heterogeneity of erythrocyte deformation and size. While some of these changes recovered to normal values after hospitalization, others persisted for months after hospital discharge, evidencing the long-term imprint of COVID-19 on the body. IOW, Long Covid. * * * Ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trial (accepted manuscript) Clinical Infectious Diseases. A review of RCT literature. From the Abstract: Published and preprint randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing IVM effects on COVID-19 adult patients were searched until March 22, 2021 in five engines. In comparison to SOC or placebo, IVM did not reduce all-cause mortality, length of stay or viral clearance in RCTs in COVID-19 patients with mostly mild disease. IVM did not have an effect on AEs or severe AEs. IVM is not a viable option to treat COVID-19 patients. The Ivermectin Advocates War Has Just Begun Vice * * * Timing is everything: why some people return negative COVID tests despite being infected Brisbane Times UK pupils use orange juice to fake positive Covid test results Guardian (Re Silc). * * * More than 1 in 10 people have missed their second dose of Covid-19 vaccine CNN Lambda Covid variants unusual mutations puzzle scientists FT The Forever Virus Foreign Affairs (Natural News) The whole premise of getting a vaccine is based on the supposed science that proves there is more of a threat from the disease than the vaccine itself. Yet, three months after getting vaccinated with the Moderna Covid-19 jab, six of this doctors patients are STILL experiencing severe neurological side effects, and they only got the first shot. Was it worth it? The Chinese Flu is only killing people who are already suffering from cancer, diabetes, heart disease or autoimmune problems, so now why is everybody else told to get jabbed when the risk of vaccine injury FAR OUTWEIGHS the risk of dying from Covid-19, or Delta Variant, or Beta, or Gamma or whatever else Fauci and Gates release next. A family doctor in British Columbia cant stay silent about the dangers of these Covid-19 vaccines anymore Hes had enough. His patients that hes seen for 10, 20, 25 years are suddenly suffering severe neurological damage and allergic reactions like hes never seen before, and right after they got their China Flu jabs made by Moderna. Dr. Charles Hoffe is on the record now describing his First Nations patients life-threatening side effects as he shares this whistle-blowing information with other medical professionals and journalists alike so the word can get out. The vaccine is MORE dangerous than Covid-19. Period. In his open letter to B.C. Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Hoffe describes the mild effects coronavirus has had in his community, and how they havent had to give medical care to the people who catch it, because they just have mild symptoms and it goes away. Now the vaccine is quite clearly more dangerous than Covid-19, as people are suffering severe nervous system disorders that, months later, are showing signs of being permanent, while previously perfectly healthy other patients (around the world) are suffering blood clots in rare places, like the lungs and brain, just three or four days after vaccination. Why should any young person or healthy adult risk life-threatening blood clots to get inoculated protection when theyre not even at risk from natural infection? German scientists have discovered the Covid-19 vaccines cause blood clots, and so have thousands of patients whos cells now produce unlimited sticky protein prions that travel throughout the blood vessels, causing road blocks, and this is why were seeing the huge up-tick (pardon the pun) of heart inflammation cases right after vaccination. These injected patients now have cells that have instructions to clog the blood using a genetically modified adenovirus taken from monkeys (J&J and AstraZeneca use this kind of adenovirus-vector jab). There you go all you vaccinated folks. Youve got monkey-blood-clot disease now, and your cells have a new code for it that cant be undone. Enjoy. Right after being injected with monkey-blood-clot-disease, new genetically-coded SARS-CoV-2 virus information sneaks into your cells like a bio-weapon terrorist, forcing your cells to produce clones of inflammation-causing spike proteins. Your entire body believes its under attack, because it is. And now, that attack is relentless. Just wait until the next shot, for Delta or as a booster, that instructs your cells to produce billions more of these protein prions. Thats when all the vaccinated lose their minds, not just their central nervous systems and swollen, over-worked hearts. Once youre injected with foreign particles, they come into contact with platelets from your blood, and thats when the real problems begin. The body tries to stop the bleeding, but its fooled by clones. The platelets surround the adenovirus shells and the foreign proteins and all of a sudden the human body has an ABNORMAL number of platelets. The medical doctors in America are completely and utterly puzzled and baffled by this. So much for those eight years of medical school. What a waste. Next comes the blood clotting on top of blood clots. Yes, that happens. Your blood flowing over and around these clots starts clotting more, adding to the chaos. For some, death follows, like those four airline pilots that died just days after vaccination. Finally, the antibodies attack your own platelets, recruiting white blood cells, and the whole inflammatory response is so overblown it causes blood clots to form. Now the vaccine manufacturers are being required, one by one, to label the Covid toxic jabs with a blood clot warning. Its a little late, and just wait until the real carnage comes. All vaccine injuries and deaths will now be labeled as caused by the Delta Variant. Get ready for the big lie. Visit CovidVaccineReactions.com if you already got a toxic Covid jab or two and you are experiencing side effects, blood clots or other adverse events. Then tune your internet frequency to Pandemic.news for updates on these crimes against humanity being delivered under the guise of inoculation. Sources for this article include: Pandemic.news NaturalNews.com TruthWiki.org RebelNews.com (Natural News) An international group of scientists has issued another call for another inquiry into the exact origins of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic by an international investigative team. The call was voiced in an open letter published on June 28 by an association known as the Paris Group. The open letter has 31 signatories. They consist of doctors, scientific researchers and professors from 11 different countries: the United States, Spain, New Zealand, Japan, Italy, India, Germany, France, Canada, Austria and Australia. We still have no idea whether SARS-CoV-2 has a totally natural origin or if the virus went into a laboratory and there was an accident, said Virginie Courtier, one of the signatories. Courtier is an evolutionary geneticist and research director of the Institut Jacques Monod, a biological research institute in Paris. An earlier report by the World Health Organizations (WHO) investigative team that visited Wuhan a year after the initial outbreak published inconclusive findings. Further doubts were raised when it was revealed that key members of the team had clear conflicts of interest. We believe that the joint study process that the WHO is currently calling for, in its current form, does not satisfy the conditions to be credible due to serious structural gaps, wrote the letters signatories. The Paris Group explained that the Chinese government took significant measures to hide the true origins of COVID-19 and to stop even their own medical and biological experts from sharing crucial data and information regarding the virus. Failure to have an in-depth inquiry into the origins of a pandemic will cause us, and future generations, to run needless risks, the letter read. Paris Group presents two possible scenarios for conducting an investigation The Paris Group suggests two possible ways an inquiry could be conducted: one held with the cooperation of the Chinese government, and one option that would be proposed should Chinese authorities refuse to cooperate. If Beijing is willing to cooperate, it and other countries must guarantee that any investigation will be independent, data-driven and look into every single plausible option for the origin of COVID-19. This includes both natural and engineered origins. Chinese authorities must not engage in surveillance of the investigators and translators provided to the team must be independent and devoid of any potential conflicts of interest. This investigative team would be a multidisciplinary group of experts. It must avoid conflicts of interest as much as possible. With the help of Chinese authorities, this team must be given the means to conduct a proper and thorough scientific inquiry. This means being granted access to all relevant files, data and samples. We sincerely hope that, for the good of humanity, the Chinese government will join us in such a complete and scientific inquiry process, as an equal partner. If Beijing is unwilling to cooperate with another investigation, the Paris Group suggests that nations band together into an intergovernmental organization like the G7 or the OECD to coordinate the opening of an investigation using all available data at hand. (Related: China engaged in a massive coverup stonewalls international investigation into the Wuhan lab.) The Paris Group recognizes that such an inquiry would be limited by a lack of files and other important data only available in China. Despite this obstacle, an investigation could still be conducted and could still reveal a lot about COVID-19s origins. The Paris Group highlighted the fact that many governments, organizations and individuals have already gathered and started to analyze significant quantities of pertinent data. A well-organized and concerted effort, free of interference, drawing on all available sources of information and involving a large number of experts, may well end up providing unambiguous evidence supporting one particular hypothesis regarding the origins of the pandemic. The Paris Groups open letter is the fourth such letter issued this year calling for a new independent and thorough investigation into the origins of COVID-19. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com ConnexionFrance.com (Natural News) WASHINGTON, DC- A week or so back, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm acknowledged that the US electric grid was susceptible to a ransomware attack. What she didnt mention however is the vulnerability our electric grid has to an EMP, or electromagnetic pulse bomb. (Article by Pat Droney republished from LawEnforcementToday.com) For those unaware, the thriller 24 in year four had an EMP go off, resulting in lights going out, communications going down, a helicopter crashing to the ground and computers being rendered useless. It is a nightmare scenario. According to the 2009 EMP Commission Report, it presented a nightmareone might say a doomsday scenario if such a weapon were used against the US electric grid. According to the report, it predicted that if such a weapon were used in the United States, 90% of the American population would perish. Meanwhile we are concerned with climate change. The release of the report spurred a couple of books to be written about the subject, with all of them becoming best sellers. However according to Freedom First Networks reprint of a blog by Jeff Thompson, he theorizes that most Americans are unaware of the threats posed by an EMP. While our potential adversaries, namely Russia, Iran, China and North Korea recognize the dangers posed by an EMP, Thompson believes the United States is falling asleep at the switch. For example, Russian General Vladimir Slipchenko wrote a military textbook in which he called EMPs the greatest revolution in military affairs in history. The general noted that possession of such a weapon would render an enemys military completely obsolete. Meanwhile, the United States military is having drag queen shows, suggesting Navy personnel read books on critical race theory, and trying to understand white rage. According to Thompson: If you cant get your missile defense systems online, if your tanks wont run, if your planes have all just fallen out of the sky, youre kind of screwed, arent you? Furthermore, the journal of the Russian General Staff, Military Thought carries the concept further. One article within the journal entitled Weak Points of the US Concept of Network-Centric Warfare identifies the use of an EMP as a means of defeating the US military. Thompson notes that Russia has in its possession a so-called Super-EMP, a weapon which is capable of disrupting spacecraft, radar sites, ICBMs, energy supply systems, military command systems and economies. Nothing to see here. To make matters worse, Thompson notes this particular weapon is designed for first strike capability. He noted that as of 2017, the US has no super EMPs, at least none the public is aware of. In China, they too are working fast and furious on EMP technology as well. The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) in their textbook, The Third World WarTotal Information Warfare, addresses the importance of developing Chinas EMP defenses to neutralize and check the US if necessary. China is also aware of US vulnerability to an EMP attack, noting that the US is more vulnerable than any other country in the world to EMP attacks. Thompson notes the fact China singled out the US in this book is cause for grave concern. Meanwhile in good old Iran, which Biden is prepared to lift sanctions on, they have fully endorsed the use of EMPs and are aggressively developing battle plans for their use. In a military textbook called Passive Defense, it reaffirms Slipchenkos ideas on EMPs. In fact, former CIA Director James Woolsey pointed out that Tehrans military is planning to be able to make a nuclear EMP attack[emphasis added]. RememberBiden is planning on lifting sanctions against Irans nuclear program, which is widely believed to be developing nuclear-grade weapons. According to Woolsey: Passive Defense and other Iranian military writings are well aware that nuclear EMP attack is the most efficient way of killing people, through secondary effects, over the long run. The rationale appears to be that people starve to death, not because of EMP, but because they live in materialistic societies dependent upon modern technology. Thompson said another Iranian military journal, within an article titled Electronics to Determine Fate of Future Wars, it notes that in order to defeat the United States, it is necessary to do so through an EMP attack. The article says: if the worlds industrial countries fail to devise effective ways to defend themselves against dangerous electronic assaults, then they will disintegrate within a few yearsAmerican soldiers would not be able to find food to eat nor would they be able to fire a single shot. Thompson notes Iran is in the process of gearing up to deploy such a weapon. For example, he notes they have been attempting to purchase RF weapons from Russia, and that the Iranian news agency MEHR reported the nation is attempting to protect itself against an EMP attack. Ambassador Henry Cooper, former director of the Strategic Defense Initiative previously warned Irans satellite launches are, in some cases, believe to be in preparation for such an attack against the United States. And what of our old friend North Korea? Thompson notes that back in April 2013, North Korea was able to gain orbit of its KMS-3 satellite, deployed at the perfect trajectory to enable it to evade early warning radar and National Missile Defenses in the United States. Such a trajectory would enable that rogue nation to launch an EMP field over the continental United States. Later on that same month, they were able to orbit a satellite over the New York-Washington, D.C. corridor. Thompson warned that if an EMP had been activated in such an orbit, the entire Eastern Grid of the United States would have been taken out, a grid that accounts for over 74% of US electricity generation. On that same date, April 16, 2013, unknown actors used AK-47s to launch an attack on the Metcalf transformer substation which services Silicon Valley in California as well. North Korea, which seems to be at a much more aggressive stance than the other three nations, also in July 2013 had one of their freighters found in the Panama Canal with SA-2 missiles mounted on their launchers hidden under bags of sugar. The ship had sailed through the Gulf of Mexico with such a configuration, which, if armed would have allowed the freighter to execute an anonymous EMP attack from offshore. A hearing in the House of Representatives on October 12, 2017 saw experts warn members of Congress that an EMP attack by North Korea would kill 90% of Americans within a year, and referred to it as an existential threat, as reported in Newsmax. Ironically, electric power lobbyists in Washington, DC are actually fighting against EMP protection of the US energy grid, which clearly seems to fly in the face of common sense. That fact is probably worth examining. Fortunately for the United States, while many of our leaders have been asleep at the switch regarding EMPs, former president Donald Trump attempted to prepare the United States against an EMP attack. On March 26, 2019, Trump signed Executive Order 13865Coordinating National Resilience to Electromagnetic Pulses. After this orderthe first time EMP preparedness became a priority of the US governmentwas issued, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began to investigate techniques, backed up by research, to protect critical American infrastructure against EMP attack. While Joe Biden overturned a boatload of Trumps executive order during his first few weeks and months in the White House, he has left this particular one intact, indicating perhaps his administration realizes the threat EMPs pose to the homeland. So, while Trumps order is a step in the right direction, we are still behind the other four nations mentioned above as far as where we are at with an EMP program, and more importantly a defense against an EMP. With all of this in mind, its time to lose the virtue signaling, the critical race theory, the drag queen shows, and white rage and worry about protecting and defending our country. That is the most importantno the onlymission of the United States military and security apparatus. Read more at: LawEnforcementToday.com and EMP.news. (Natural News) Philippine authorities increased the alert level on Taal volcano, located south of Manila, after it showed signs of volcanic activity on June 1. Its alert level was raised from level 2 to level 3 on a five-level scale due to magmatic unrest, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS). Because of this, the agency warned of potential eruptions and urged people in nearby areas to evacuate. According to a PHIVOLCS bulletin issued July 2, a short-lived phreatomagmatic eruption caused by the interaction of magma and water occurred on the afternoon of July 1. A column of dark gray smoke that rose 1,000 meters followed the eruption. The bulletin added that magma located at the volcanos main crater could drive explosive eruptions. Speaking to the Manila Times, PHIVOLCS Director Renato Solidum Jr. further explained the heightened alert level at Taal. This means that there is magmatic intrusion at the main crate that may further drive succeeding eruptions, he said. PHIVOLCS Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division Chief Maria Antonia Bornas remarked that Taals phreatomagmatic eruption is deadlier than the usual eruptions. Phreatomagmatic [eruptions are] more dangerous because theres already an interaction with magma, she told a news conference. PHIVOLCS also recommended that villages near the volcano, located in the southern Philippine province of Batangas, be evacuated at the soonest. It warned of possible hazards of pyroclastic density currents and volcanic tsunami for residents who refuse to evacuate. PHIVOLCSs bulletin elaborated: The public is reminded that the entire Taal volcano island is a permanent danger zone. [Entry] into the island must be prohibited, [and all] activities on Taal lake should not be allowed at this time. The bulletin also called for a ban on entry into high-risk villages in the municipalities of Agoncillo and Laurel in Batangas. The provincial government of Batangas heeded PHIVOLCSs warning and evacuated citizens in affected areas, an Al Jazeera report said. Gov. Hermilando Mandanas said at least 3,500 families composed of 14,495 individuals have been evacuated in the province. Agoncillo Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Junefrance De Villa added that preparations were underway in case residents needed to be evacuated from the lakeside community. The officer said some residents have already taken shelter with relatives. (Related: Prepping for the unexpected: What to do before, during and after a sudden disaster.) Taals eruption the year prior caused a pre-pandemic shortage of face masks Back in January 2020, Taal also exhibited volcanic activity affecting thousands living near its perimeter. The volcanic ash it emitted spread to nearby provinces and even reached the capital. According to Philippine news outlet Rappler, the 2020 eruption followed a dormancy period of more than four decades. The resulting ashfall also caused a shortage of face masks as Filipinos scrambled to protect themselves from harmful volcanic emissions. Rappler also reported on the mad rush for face masks in January 2020, two months before the onset of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Many retailers in Manila and nearby provinces, including a number of drugstore chains, ran out of face masks. A staff member at a hardware store shared that supplies of face masks were depleted in a matter of 15 to 30 minutes. The staffer added: Many people still want to purchase face masks until now. But we cant tell when the new stocks will be replenished. The southern province of Cavite experienced the same situation at that time. A Rappler staff member shared that security guards were already shouting no more face masks as people approached drugstores. On the other hand, some Filipinos took to social media to complain about individuals profiteering from the face mask shortage. Users called out online retailers engaged in price gouging of N95 masks, which were effective in filtering out volcanic ash. The masks usually cost around 25 to 30 Philippine pesos (51 to 61 cents) apiece, but some sold the masks as high as 200 pesos (US$4). According to the Cebu Daily News, Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo said: Masks need to be available in the severely affected areas where [volcanic] smoke is thickest, and for people who are high-risk and with pulmonary illnesses. He added that the fine silica dust in volcanic ash can accumulate and the lungs, causing inflammation and scarring in the long run. Domingo advised Filipinos to wrap their clothes around their heads and wear protective goggles for their eyes in the absence of masks. (Related: 3 DIY gas masks you can make to prepare for disaster.) Fifty-seven-year-old Rowena Espina said she had looked for face masks and N95 masks in pharmacies and a department store in the city she resides in, but in vain. She instead improvised her own face covering using a few of her remaining disposable face masks with two layers of tissue paper for extra protection. Espina said: Its not enough, but this will do for the meantime until I can buy a proper mask. Head over to Disaster.news to read more articles on volcanic eruptions. Sources include: Bloomberg.com PHIVOLCS.DOST.gov.ph ManilaTimes.net AlJazeera.com Rappler.com 1 Rappler.com 2 CebuDailyNews.Inquirer.net (Natural News) All encyclopedic content on Wikipedia, declares a policy page, must be written from a neutral point of view (NPOV). This is essential policy, believe it or not. Maybe that will be hard to believe, if you have read many Wikipedia articles on controversial topics lately. But it is true: neutrality is the second of the Five Pillars policies that define Wikipedias approach to the craft of encyclopedia-writing. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales made a statement that Wikipedia now regards as definitive. Doing The Right Thing takes many forms, he wrote, but perhaps most central is the preservation of our shared vision for the NPOV and for a culture of thoughtful diplomatic honesty. (Article republished from LarrySanger.org) Yes, Wikipedia is very earnest about its neutrality. But what does neutral mean? This is easy to misunderstand; many people think it means the same as objective. But neutrality is not the same as objectivity. If an encyclopedia is neutral about political, scientific, and religious controversiesthe issues that define the ongoing culture warthen you will find competing sides represented carefully and respectfully, even if one side is objectively wrong. From a truly neutral article, you would learn why, on a whole variety of issues, conservatives believe one thing, while progressives believe another thing. And then you would be able to make up your own mind. Is that what Wikipedia offers? As we will see, the answer is No. Like Switzerland. Sort of. What Is Neutrality, Anyway? Now wait a second, I can already hear some people saying. I reject this distinction between objectivity and neutrality. Neutrality does not mean giving equal weight to all opinions. Neutrality means approaching issues without emotion, following standards of logic and science. The neutral approach seeks hard facts and assembles hard-won truths for a critical audience. That might be a fine thing, but I am afraid that is not what neutrality means, certainly not according to Wikipedia. Logic, science, and factuality are admirable, but the words summing up those ideals are objectivity and rationality. Neutrality is something else. Wikipedia is supposed to be like Switzerland, proverbially speaking: not casting any side as the enemy, and certainly not taking pot-shots at one side. And this is roughly how Wikipedia still officially characterizes neutrality: Wikipedia aims to describe disputes, but not engage in them. Jimmy Wales is right. We did originally adopt the neutrality policy to foster a culture of thoughtful diplomatic honesty. In other words, the way to keep the peace among a radically diverse set of contributors is not to declare winners and losers. But that is only one reason we adopted the policy. There was another key reason: as I have explained, no one has a right to make up your mind for you, especially in an open, global project. That does violence to our basic autonomy and, if the project ever became very large and important, it would place an enormous amount of power in the hands of a ideological cabal. And on Wikipedia, There is no cabal (ask them; theyll tell you). Such ideological control would turn Wikipedia into an engine of propaganda. The neutrality policy was supposed to prevent that. There is a crucial difference between propaganda and information that supports individual deliberation. The difference is neutrality. So does Wikipedia meet its own ideals of neutrality? Lets find out. I already explored this question by looking for (and easily finding) bias in articles on important topics. In the present article, I take another approach: we can list a few big political issues, briefly summarize the warring views on them, and then look and see whether these views are presented neutrally, in a way that allows the reader to make up his own mind. Does that sound fair? I think it does. And does Wikipedia take such an approach? I propose to look and see. Which issues in the last year or so have caused the most acrimonious dispute? We can look at the main battlefronts of the culture war: politics, science, and religion. I will spend most of my time on politics. In U.S. politics, four of the biggest political issues would include: Trumps impeachments Bidens scandals The Antifa and BLM riots Alleged election irregularities The impeachment managers. Trumps Impeachments Democrats and (most) Republicans were sharply divided on the question of whether Trumps impeachments had any merit. The Democratic view was that Trump abused his office by encouraging the president of Ukraine to investigate his opponent, Biden. Later, he egged on the January 6 invasion of the Capitol building. The Republican view was that Trumps call with the Ukrainian president was wholly innocent, that he had committed no high crime or misdemeanor, and that Biden was in fact guilty of dirty shenanigans in Ukraine. As to the January 6 invasion, his remarks did not cause it. Of course, there is much, much more to be said on all sides. Now, a neutral Wikipedia would not come down clearly on either side, and would fully lay out the Democratic and the Republican cases fairly and fully. Is that what we see on Wikipedia? No. As of this writing (and this caveat goes for all of the following), there was a section of the Donald Trump article about the first impeachment (2019-20). That section had absolutely no information about the Republican side in the House impeachment proceedings; only the Democratic side is presented. As to the Senate trial, here is the total extent of Wikipedias remarks about the Trump (i.e., majority Republican) position: Trumps lawyers did not deny the facts as presented in the charges but said Trump had not broken any laws or obstructed Congress. They argued that the impeachment was constitutionally and legally invalid because Trump was not charged with a crime and that abuse of power is not an impeachable offense. That is all; two transparently biased sentences. Among other things, the article omits the essential point that Trumps lawyers also denied that there was any abuse of power in the first place. There is, of course, much more information to be found about the Republican case in the (very long) article, First impeachment trial of Donald Trump; but, and I suppose you will just have to take my word for this, the relevant section is extremely biased, for example, dismissing various what it calls conspiracy theories. As to the second impeachment trial (that of January, 2021), in the Donald Trump article, no information is offered on either side about the arguments for impeachment, either in the House or the Senate proceedings. Certainly there is nothing remotely representing the perspective of Trump and his defenders. Again, there is a much longer article, Second impeachment of Donald Trump, with a Background section that essentially lays out the Democratic case against Trump. No Trump rebuttal is given at all. The rest of the article is also extremely biased; there is a long section of opinions whether Trump should have been impeached. The Opposition section (i.e., listing people opposed to impeachment) skips entirely over all House Republican opposition, and presents only Senate opposition. This is hardly fair, neutral treatment on events that deeply divided the American people. Wikipedia took the Democrats side against Trump, period. The articles are so biased, in fact, that it is fair to call them propaganda. Hunter looks on as Joe speaks. The Biden Family Ukraine Scandal President Biden faced, and has so far easily escaped, two potentially devastating scandals that were unleashed in the 2020 election. One concerned Ukraine and the other concerned the shady business dealings Hunter and his father allegedly had with a company controlled by the Chinese government. The issue dividing Republicans and Democrats here, obviously, was: Was there any evidence of wrongdoing? Not all national-level Republicans thought the scandals were worth talking about, but some certainly did; and a lot of the rank-and-file did. The Democrats, meanwhile, essentially circled the wagons and refused to report on or discuss the issues involved. When they did, they typically issued blanket denials and dismissals. A neutral handling of the many confusing accusations would not imply that Biden was guilty of anything. But it also would not clear him of all charges. Rather, it would present enough detail about the accusations and the purported evidence for them, leaving nothing important out; then it would explain in some detail how Biden was defended by Democrats and his allies. That much is the least that one would expect to find in a neutral treatment of the scandals. Is that what we see in Wikipedia? Not at all. We can look at some relevant articles, first about the Ukraine scandal. In the Campaign section of the Wikipedia article on Biden, there are two paragraphs explaining the allegations (footnotes and links have been removed from this quotation): In September 2019, it was reported that Trump had pressured Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate alleged wrongdoing by Biden and his son Hunter Biden. Despite the allegations, as of September 2019, no evidence has been produced of any wrongdoing by the Bidens. The media widely interpreted this pressure to investigate the Bidens as trying to hurt Bidens chances of winning the presidency, resulting in a political scandal and Trumps impeachment by the House of Representatives. Beginning in 2019, Trump and his allies falsely accused Biden of getting the Ukrainian prosecutor general Viktor Shokin fired because he was supposedly pursuing an investigation into Burisma Holdings, which employed Hunter Biden. Biden was accused of withholding $1 billion in aid from Ukraine in this effort. In 2015, Biden pressured the Ukrainian parliament to remove Shokin because the United States, the European Union and other international organizations considered Shokin corrupt and ineffective, and in particular because Shokin was not assertively investigating Burisma. The withholding of the $1 billion in aid was part of this official policy. This is, of course, an obviously one-sided whitewash which takes Bidens side throughout. In these dismissive paragraphs, one cannot fully make sense of what the case against Biden was even supposed to be; Bidens withholding of aid is mentioned, but the context and explanation essential to the case are omitted. Anyone passingly familiar with the story knows there is much more to it. There is nothing here about the fact that Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma paid Joe Bidens son Hunter approximately $600,000 per annum from 2014 to 2019 to serve on the Board of Directors, never mind that he had no industry experience but only a connection to his father, the Vice President of the United States. Wikipedia even has the temerity to make the claim that Trump and his allies falsely accused Biden of getting the Ukrainian prosecutor general Viktor Shokin fired, because he was supposedly pursuing an investigation into Burisma Holdings, which employed Hunter Biden. While it was in dispute why Biden sought Shokins ouster, it is perfectly true that he did so. The statement, in fact, was one Joe Biden specifically made himselfwith braggadocio and to laughterin an infamous video of an interview before the Council on Foreign Relations. The video, of course, is not so much as mentioned by Wikipedia. Nor is there any discussion of Hunter Bidens infamous laptop and the damning evidence it contained. Wikipedia does have a whole article titledindeed, its bias showing right in the titleBiden-Ukraine conspiracy theory. It begins, The BidenUkraine conspiracy theory [bold in original] is a series of unevidenced claims centered on the false allegation that while Joe Biden was vice president of the United States, he engaged in corrupt activities relating to the employment of his son Hunter Biden by the Ukrainian gas company Burisma. There are, of course, a great many people who believe the claims are not false and no mere conspiracy theory. Their point of view is not presented but dismissed out of hand. The article goes downhill from there, serving essentially as a hit piece on Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and the New York Post, with very few actual details about what the allegations even were. More details can be found in a section of the Hunter Biden articlewhich is somethingbut even this reads as a blatantly biased brief written by the Biden familys own lawyers. The family in China. The Biden Family Chinese Deals At this point, Wikipedias defenders might well fall back on their notion that only reliable sources are permitted, and, gee, no reliable sources thought much of the above-mentioned video or laptop. But, you might well observe, it was big news for a time. And Wikipedia thought there were no reliable sources at all? Why not? The reason is that the sources that provide mainstream coverage of conservative points of view, including Fox News, The New York Post, and the (U.K.) Daily Mailas well as pretty much all of newer conservative news media sources, which are the only outlets doing any reporting on many important storieshave all been added to a list of sources deprecated for their coverage of political news. This is not a joke and not an exaggeration. Republican-favoring sources, even quite mainstream ones, simply may not be used on Wikipedia, not even to explain a Republican viewpoint. (I will discuss this more in the last section below.) The Biden China scandal is similar and is treated similarly in Wikipedia. Here, Hunter was a director of a joint venture between an American company, Rosemont Seneca, where Hunter was a partner, and Bohai Capital, a Chinese government-controlled investment firm. The joint venture was called BHR. According to the explosive testimony of Tony Bobulinski, the Bidens top executive for handling certain deals in China, Hunter arranged for Jonathan Li, CEO of Bohai Capital, to shake hands with his father, and Joe Biden was, according to Bobulinski, directly involved in the deals. In addition to the Bobulinksi interview, a great deal of supporting evidence comes from the same Hunter Biden laptop mentioned above, such as an email indicating that brothers Hunter and Jim Biden, along with the big guyBobulinski identified him as Joe Bidenwould each be assigned equity shares in a business venture with Chinese energy giant CEFC. Can any of this information on the China Biden scandal be foundeven in a twisted, biased formin the Wikipedia article on Joe Biden? Nope. As of this writing, that article contains not a single word about the China deals, Rosemont Seneca, Tony Bobulinksi, the laptop, or the CEFC. But surely information can be found elsewhere on Wikipedia about these matters? Well, yes, there is a little. Most of it is again in the article on Hunter Biden, written in a way to make Hunter look as good as possible, the hapless victim of Trumps false charges (those precise, dismissive words are actually used). Again, there is much more to the story, but the point is that the Biden scandals deeply divide the American people. An ideologically neutral resource would explain both sides fully and fairly, leaving the reader to make up his own mind. Is that what Wikipedia does? No. Wikipedia is clearly aligned with one side. You might maintain that it is the only legitimate side; but then, that is what many ideologues say of their own side. What you cannot seriously maintain is that Wikipedias treatment of the Biden scandals is neutral. It is grossly biased. Not one of the peaceful 93%. The Antifa/BLM riots Next I propose to look at some articles on the 2020 Antifa and BLM riots. There could not be a starker cultural divide in the American body politic than in the reaction to these riots. The rioting was sparked particularly following the May 26, 2020 death (or, as most people think, killing) of George Floyd. National Democrats generally supported the rioters; portrayed them as mostly peaceful activists against fascism and racism, even contributing money to their defense; took seriously the notion that we should defund the police or backed similar police reform proposals; and stubbornly minimized the months of bloodshed, danger, and destruction the riots caused. Republicans made no secret of their hatred of the riots, if they had no objection to peaceful protests; their contempt for the violent rioters; their sympathy for the afflicted neighborhoods; and their wonder and disbelief at the very suggestion that we should defund the police. They also pushed back, somewhat, against the notion that the United States was so woefully racist that the country must make dramatic changes to, e.g., policing practices or anti-white indoctrination at schools. Both sides generally agreed that real examples of police brutality needed to be dealt with more severely and that society, more than ever, had no place for real racism. A neutral treatment would, of course, give broad factual coverage of such things as where the rioting took place, how many people were arrested, and numbers of injuries and deaths attributable to the rioting. The main Wikipedia article actually seems to do a good job there, as far as I can tell. But in addition, the reaction to the riots on both sides would be fully and fairly canvassed. Varying theories of the causes of the riots would be offered; Democratic theories would dwell, of course, on police brutality and racist attitudes and groups, while Republican theories, acknowledging that to some degree, would also discuss deliberate left-wing organization and dispute the extent of the problems exemplified by the George Floyd case. Wikipedias coverage is, unsurprisingly, very extensive. There is a long summary article, George Floyd protests, as well as a List of George Floyd protests in the United States, and a long article titled, 2020-2021 United States racial unrest. The concern that conservatives have is not with any protest, but with political violence in the form of rioting. So let us focus on the last article. The article does helpfully have useful statistics. While labeled unrest, there is a Casualties section in the articles infobox, saying there were At least 25 deaths, injuries to 2000+ law enforcement offers and to an unknown number of civilians, and $12 billion in property damage. Indeed, after pointing out that 93% of the protests were peaceful and nondestructive, the bottom line was that, owing to that pesky remaining 7%, the riots were the civil disorder event with the highest recorded damage in United States history. So far, so good: the article in those respects states facts that all sides would want presented. As one gets farther into the article, however, the bias becomes much more pronounced. A wave of monument removalsan odd way to describe the deliberate, illegal destruction of public sculptureand name changes has taken place throughout the world, especially in the United States. But what about the reaction to the riots? It was a cultural reckoning, we are told. Public opinion of racism and discrimination quickly shifted in the wake of the protests, with significantly increased support of the Black Lives Matter movement and acknowledgement of institutional racism. It is true that there was an increased of support for BLM early on. But support quickly dropped as the organization became associated with destructive violence in black neighborhoods, agitation against police funding, and radical communist views. Even by September of 2020, support had dropped 12% from 67% to 55%, in a Pew poll. The latter point can be found further down in the article, but is not mentioned in the more important article introduction, which says simply that BLM enjoyed significantly increased support. Also, BLM support later continued to drop to pre-riot levels. Even the New York Times, hardly a conservative mouthpiece, puzzlingly observes, The datacontradicts the idea that the country underwent a racial reckoning. The rest of the articlewhich, I confess, I did not read entirely, as it is very longlooks like a lovingly detailed Establishment brief about the causes and events of the 2020 riots. As to the causes, one key claim is: Black people, who account for less than 13% of the American population, are killed by police at a disproportionate rate, being killed at more than twice the rate of white people. While this is no doubt true, a relevant fact, often cited by Republicans, is omitted: black men are much more likely to commit crimes that might bring a call to the police. Hence, as one study put it, We find no evidence of anti-Black or anti-Hispanic disparities across shootings, and White officers are not more likely to shoot minority civilians than non-White officers. Such information, which appears inconsistent with Democratic viewpoints on racial injustice of police, does not seem to be found in the article. Finally, there is a Social impact section. This is focused entirely on broader social and political changes that were supposedly caused by a reaction to the riots (and protests). In this section, and indeed all throughout the article, there is complete silence about the Republican criticism of the riots and of Democratic politicians who supported the violence or pretended that it was not happening; of the conservative backlash against Antifa and BLM; and of resistance to the social fallout such as the Defund the Police campaigns and some police reform proposals that would make policing much more difficult. There is absolutely no mention of conservative and Republican claims that the riots were deliberately and even centrally organized by left-wing organizations. Criticism of Black Lives Matter cannot be found in the article in any form, despite looming large in the Republican reaction to the riots. Their opinions are worthless and need no mention, says Wikipedia. The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election Then of course there is the disputed 2020 U.S. presidential election. This was controversial not only across party lines, it was a wrenching fight within the Republican Party, with Establishment Republicans and centristswho never liked Trump much in the first placefacing down Trump and his noisy rank-and-file supporters. Irregularities with massive amounts of mail-in ballots, failure to permit observers, and much more, caused massive uproar from Republicans. It came down to January 6, when Congress was going to vote on whether to accept the Electoral College vote count. As the Wikipedia article on the Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election has it, some 140 House Republicans and 11 Senate Republicans were prepared to lodge objections. Then, of course, the infamous invasion of the Capitol building happenedjust in time to make such objections even more politically costly for representatives holding shaky seats. The above-linked article was bound to be another propaganda piece. And so it isshot through and through with egregious bias. Here is how it begins: After the 2020 United States presidential election in which Joe Biden prevailed, then-incumbent Donald Trump, as well as his campaign and his proxies, pursued an aggressive and unprecedented effort to deny and overturn the election. The attempts to overturn the election were described as an attempted coup detat and an implementation of the big lie. Trump and his allies promoted numerous false claims that the election was stolen from Trump through an international communist conspiracy, rigged voting machines, and electoral fraud. Further down, we have another gem: Stop the Steal [bold in original] is a far-right and conservative campaign and protest movement in the United States promoting the conspiracy theory that falsely posits that widespread electoral fraud occurred during the 2020 presidential election to deny incumbent President Donald Trump victory over former vice president Joe Biden. I will not go into more details; you can imagine. There are actually several articles related to irregularities in the 2020 election and its aftermath. In addition to the one discussed above, there is also Republican reactions to Donald Trumps claims of 2020 election fraud, which states, Trump falsely claimed to have won the election, and made many false and unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. Of course, the very title here is a good example of Saul Alinskys Rule 11: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, polarize it. In other words, the backlash against the 2020 election was not a broad Republican movement, but only one hated and discredited mans outrageous and illegal attempt to overturn the election. Obviously, I could go on and talk about the January 6 Capitol invasion: what really happened? In 2021 United States Capitol Attack, you will learn that the Capitol was stormed during a riot and violent attack against the U.S. Congress, by a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump who attempted to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. Never mind that several details here are in dispute. Many Republicans believe a number of leftists and FBI agents were among those who invaded the Capitol building. In any event, precisely what happened is not clear to those of us who have watched hours of video footage of the invasion. I watched with increasing horror and had questions even as it happened. Republicans are naturally of differing views on Trumps speech on the day of January 6some think it was justified, others concede it was irresponsiblebut they generally agree that he cannot be blamed for the attack. Such nuanced points of view so unpopular with Wikipedia are, unsurprisingly, not presented in the article at all. Instead, it tells a story that, by omitting key details, makes it sound as if the invasion was a spontaneous uprising of crazy MAGA people that Trump deliberately whipped up into a treasonous rage. Perhaps that is precisely what happened; but a neutral article on the topic would sketch alternate narratives as well, present all the relevant information from which various people build their cases, and leave the reader to make up his own mind about what actually happened. I hardly need add that Wikipedia is firmly aligned with one political party, and its articles on the 2020 election read like party propaganda. Rumble Other Recent Issues in the Culture War This article is already long enough and I have made my point, but it will be interesting to dip briefly into other culture war topics, drawn from science and religion, that were in the news in the last year. In science, even more than global warming (or climate change), there has been significant controversy over Covid-19 and the official measures to combat it. You will not be surprised to learn that Wikipedia debunks everything the Establishment debunks, all conveniently collected into a single article on COVID-19 misinformation. Alongside silly things almost no one would take seriously, you can learn that it is misinformation to suggest a Wuhan lab origin of the virus. You will also be relieved to know that masks do actually work. Another article assures us, Several researchers, from modelling and demonstrated examples, have concluded that lockdowns are effective at reducing the spread of, and deaths caused by, COVID-19. Of course, there is no mention of any other research. What about the Covid-19 vaccines: are they effective? Safe? In the COVID-19 vaccine article, the introductory section mentions demonstrated efficacy as high as 95%, but nothing about side effects; further down in the article, a very short paragraph in a Misinformation section informs us that claims about such side effects are overblown. And that is it. You read that right: in an article about the experimental Covid-19 vaccines, the only thing Wikipedia has to say about their side-effects is that concern about them is overblown. Needless to say, you will not find anything in the way of information from the many skeptical physicians and medical researchers, who must not exist. Let us be clear on something here. You might support Wikipedias approach to Covid-19; but you cannot maintain that it is neutral. A neutral approach would acknowledge and fairly represent alternative views on the origin of the virus, the efficacy of masks, the effectiveness and defensibility of lockdowns, and the effectiveness and safety of the Covid-19 vaccines. You might maintain that the articles are better without such an approach; but then what you are saying is that you prefer the articles Establishment bias to a neutral approach that would let the reader decide. In religion, recently, a few different issues have divided conservatives from the more liberal Establishment, represented by mainline denominations and most (but not all) seminaries. One is this: Is Christianity in decline in the Westor just liberal denominations and churches? Wikipedias Decline of Christianity in the Western world article begins, The decline of Christianity in the Western world is an ongoing trend. Developed countries with modern, secular educational facilities in the post-World War II era have shifted towards post-Christian, secular, globalized, multicultural and multifaith societies. But, the article correctly notes, a similar decline is not happening in Latin America and Africa, and even recently, 71% of Western Europeans identified themselves as Christian, according to a 2018 study by the Pew Research Center. In the section about the United States, the focus is (unsurprisingly) on mainline denominations, despite the fact that they are now among the smaller denominations; even as of ten years ago, taken together, the mainline Protestant denominations had fewer than half the adherents of evangelical and conservative Protestant denominations. Only at the very end of the article do we learn that intense religion including evangelicalism has persisted. You will not learn, in this article, the name of the single largest Protestant denomination: the Southern Baptist Convention, with 16.2 million members. (The information can be found in the Southern Baptist Convention article.) You will also not learn that in an important segment, conservative church membership is actually growing: among others, nondenominational churches were booming as of 2014, and actually outnumbered even the Southern Baptists. Basically, to hear Wikipedia tell it, Christianity is in decline, because mainline denominations are in decline, and the conservative denominations and churches are barely worth caring about. And I can just hear the response: Well, yeah. Sounds about right. But if you agree with the Wikipedia articles approach, that does not mean it is neutral; the point is that it is clearly biased. Among the hot-button topics in church politics is one that appears to be causing a schism in the United Methodist Church: same-sex marriage. The relevant article is Blessing of same-sex unions in Christian churches. The article has a section with five bullet points offering Theological views of those who support same-sex unions and/or marriages, but there is no parallel sectionor any information at all, believe it or notabout the theology of those who believe same-sex marriage is unbiblical. Some major denominations that strictly forbid same-sex marriage, like the Southern Baptists, are simply not mentioned in the article. Banning Fox News as a source is just good sense, says Wikipedia. Conclusion These contentious issues are exactly where we should expect to see fair treatment of alternative views on Wikipedia. But we do not. This is hardly news, but it bears repeating. Wikipedia openly repudiates neutrality, and therefore it is shamelessly hypocritical in how it continues to pay lip service to its neutral point of view policy. Wikipedias editors embrace their biases sometimes so fervently that their articles emerge more as propaganda than as reference material. But wait, you say. Come on. Fine, theyre hypocritical, but dodgy claims to neutrality are just marketing. Why should we care about actual neutrality? For journalists, it is totally passe. Sure, most of them dont actually want you to make up your own mind on important issues. So? Of course they want experts to declare what is known, and then you should learn thata lot of times thats the whole point of journalism. And heres another thing. Wikipedia strongly prefers mainstream secondary sources. When it comes to the culture war, the educated classes, the readers of those mainstream sources, naturally skew liberal. Wikipedia just represents that mainstream view. And thats reasonable; it is not a fault with Wikipedia. Live with it. Its the new reality. How do you respond? First, I refuse to accept such excuses for the bully tactics of propagandists. Second, its also false that Wikipedia just represents the mainstream. Wikipedia does not just mirror the biases found in the mainstream news media, because some of it is conservative or contrarian. A lot of mainstream news stories are broken only in Fox News, the Daily Mail, and the New York Postall of which are banned from use as sources by Wikipedia. Beyond that, many mainstream sources of conservative, libertarian, or contrarian opinion are banned from Wikipedia as well, including Quillette, The Federalist, and the Daily Caller. Those might be contrarian or conservative, but they are hardly radical; they are still mainstream. So, how on earth can such viewpoints ever be given an airing on Wikipedia? Answer: often, they cannot, not if there are no reliable sources available to report about them. In short, and with few exceptions, only globalist, progressive mainstream sourcesand sources friendly to globalist progressivismare permitted. It is true that Wikipedia permits a few sources, such as Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Daily Telegraph, and Weekly Standard, which are more often tolerant of conservative viewpoints, but these are (or have become) as often centrist as conservative, and they are generally careful never to leave the current Overton Window of progressive thought. They are the loyal opposition of the progressive media hegemony. Why has Wikipedia systematically purged conservative mainstream media sources? Is it because such sources have become intolerably irresponsible and partisan? Thats what Wikipedians will tell you. As they put it, it is because they do not want what they dismiss as misinformation, conspiracy theories, etc., to get any hearing. In saying so, they (and similarly biased institutions) are plainly claiming exclusive control over what is thinkable. They want to set the boundaries of the debate, and they want to tell you how to think about it. A good illustration of just how radical Wikipedias source-banning policies have become can be seen in their treatment of Newsweek magazine, which is now marked as no consensus (i.e., avoid and use with caution), because ownership passed in 2013 to IBT Media, the publisher of the centrist, sometimes conservative-leaning, International Business Times, which is itself deemed unreliable. For these reasons, it is not too far to say that Wikipedia, like many other deeply biased institutions of our brave new digital world, has made itself into a kind of thought police that has de facto shackled conservative viewpoints with which they disagree. Democracy cannot thrive under such conditions: I maintain that Wikipedia has become an opponent of vigorous democracy. Democracy requires that voters be given the full range of views on controversial issues, so that they can make up their minds for themselves. If societys main information sources march in ideological lockstep, they make a mockery of democracy. Then the wealthy and powerful need only gain control of the few approved organs of acceptable thought; then they will be able to manipulate and ultimately control all important political dialogue. Wrecking intellectual autonomy, to make the world safe for the socialist utopia. Read more at: LarrySanger.org and Biased.news. (Natural News) In a story that will sound familiar to anybody who followed the collapse of Canadian crypto exchange Quadriga, two brothers who ran a South African crypto exchange have absconded with Bitcoin worth $3.6 billion stolen from their clients, demonstrating once again the one glaring security weakness: While hackers are believed to have brought down Mt. Gox, disillusioned insiders with the right kind of access can easily run off with a life-changing amount of wealth. And in many cases, clients who trusted the exchange to safeguard their assets will be left holding the bag. (Article by Tyler Durden republished from ZeroHedge.com) Africrypt Chief Operating Officer Ameer Cajee, the older of the two brothers, reportedly informed clients back in April that the company had been the victim of a hack, but asked them to keep quiet, claiming that involving the authorities could slow down the recovery of the missing funds. However, the crime has since been reported to the Hawks, South Africas federal police in charge of disrupting organized criminal enterprises. Ameer Cajee started the company with his brother Raees in 2019 and initially it provided bumper returns for investors. The Cajee brothers But that didnt last long. According to Bloomberg, investigators have apparently determined that the brothers likely absconded with some 69K digital tokens worth approximately $4 billion at the April peak. Shortly after being informed of the hack, a group of clients brought in a law firm called Hanekom Attorneys, and a separate group started liquidation proceedings against Africrypt. We were immediately suspicious as the announcement implored investors not to take legal action, Hanekom Attorneys said in response to emailed questions. Africrypt employees lost access to the back-end platforms seven days before the alleged hack. The law firms investigation quickly revealed that the coins had been moved from the firms wallet by somebody who took the care to cover their tracks and make the coins untraceable. The firms investigation found Africrypts pooled funds were transferred from its South African accounts and client wallets, and the coins went through tumblers and mixers or to other large pools of bitcoin to make them essentially untraceable. Bloomberg made several attempts to contact the brothers, but their phone numbers appeared to have been shut off. The law firm involved says it has been unable to locate the brothers. South Africas Finance Sector Conduct Authority is looking into the scam at Africrypt. However, its currently prohibited from launching a formal investigation because crypto assets are not legally considered financial products, according to the regulators head of enforcement, Brandon Topham. This isnt the first time a South African crypto exchange has turned out to be a scam. Last year, South African Bitcoin trading platform Mirror Trading International collapsed, and 23K coins went missing, totaling about $1.2 billion in what was called the biggest crypto scam of 2020, according to Bloomberg. Crypto prices have been struggling lately thanks to a crackdown on mining by the Chinese government. While incidents like this will undoubtedly alarm regulators, for crypto traders, its just a reminder of the importance of keeping your coins somewhere safe. Read more at: ZeroHedge.com (Natural News) You can bet that when violent Antifa and Black Lives Matter rioters are brought to trial, a quite rare occurrence, they wont be asked to renounce their beliefs in exchange for leniency. But not so for the first January 6 trespasser to be sentenced, even though shes a grandmother guilty only of entering the Capitol and peacefully strolling about for a few minutes. So much for equality under the law. (Article by Sewlyn Duke republished from TheNewAmerican.com) In fact, Anna Morgan-Lloyd, a 49-year-old from Indiana, got the same message that was delivered to Chinese dissidents and bad elements during Maos Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution: confess to thoughtcrimes, embrace the state-sanctioned ideology, and you will be shown mercy, writes commentator Thomas Lifson. In the case of Morgan-Lloyd, the message was delivered to her by her own defense lawyer, a public defender paid by taxpayers. And it worked. She received three years probation, a $500 fine, and no incarceration beyond the two days she had spent in jail following her arrest. The truth is that Lloyds experience will seem spooky to anyone acquainted with history. As Julie Kelly wrote last Wednesday in an American Greatness piece titled Deprogramming of January 6 Defendants Is Underway: My lawyer has given me names of books and movies to help me see what life is like for others in our country. Ive learned that even though we live in a wonderful country things still need to improve. People of all colors should feel as safe as I do to walk down the street. That passage is part book report, part white privilege mea culpa submitted to a federal court this month by Anna Morgan-Lloyd, one of the more than 500 Americans arrested for her involvement in the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. On Wednesday, Lloyd, who has a clean criminal record, pleaded guilty to one count of parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building but not before she consented to undergo a reeducation exercise at the urging of her court-appointed lawyer. (Like many January 6 defendants, Lloyd does not have the means to hire a private attorney.) Both Lifson and Kelly make the likely safe assumption that Lloyds lawyer, D.C.-based defense attorney Heather Shaner, doesnt share the beliefs of the January 6 trespassers shes representing. After all, as Kelly also informs, In an interview with Huffington Post, Shaner explained her belief that this is the most wonderful country in the world, its been great for all kinds of immigrant groups, except for the fact that it was born of genocide of the Native Americans and the enslavement of people.' (Talk about a left-handed compliment and being dead wrong. As I explained here, there was no genocide of American Indians. Moreover, as one of historys oldest institutions, slavery was once status quo throughout the world until Western lands such as Britain and the United States outlawed it. Given its ubiquity and viewing matters within the leftist world views context, how many nations, then, werent born of slavery?) But this all appears born of Critical Race Theory, the latest intellectual fad of the unintellectual. And Lloyd supposedly is learning well how many fingers that figurative government agent is holding up. As Kelly also tells us: I have had many political and ethical discussions with Anna Lloyd, Shaner wrote in her motion agreeing to the plea and probation for Lloyd. I tendered a booklist to her. She has read Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Just Mercy, and Schindlers List to educate herself about government policy toward Native Americans, African Americans and European Jews. We have discussed the books and also about the responsibility of an individual when confronting wrong.' Shaner also told the court that Lloyd watched the Burning Tulsa documentary on the History Channel as well as Mudbound, a story of two families, one black and one white, living on the same property after World War II. My, thats quite a curriculum. Things were in a way easier during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, points out Lifson, with a somewhat shorter reading list: It was just Chairman Maos Little Red Book, The Thoughts of Chairman Mao. But, hey, just affirm that this is an awful, racist country and that you are the beneficiary of white privilege, and you can escape lengthy imprisonment for parading in the Capitol, Lifson also writes. While others at other times have invaded and disrupted hearings, and wrought far more havoc (the Kavanaugh hearings, for example) with little or no punishment at all, and certainly no requirements for thought reform. Then theres the following moment, which Lifson correctly states smacks of a Cultural Revolution struggle session. Kelly again: During her sentencing hearing on Wednesday, Lloyd broke down while apologizing for her actions. I apologize to the court, to the American people, to my family, she told Lamberth. I was there to support Trump peacefully and am ashamed that it became a savage display of violence. She said shes never experienced racial negativity but realizes many people do. She was not charged with any racially motivated crime. Really, its a bit reminiscent of the 1995 film Bravehearts torture scene, during which freedom fighter William Wallace was told hed receive mercy if he just got on his knees and kissed the royal emblem (video below. Relevant portion begins at 2:25). Of course, this was just art imitating life, as pledging loyalty to a leader or belief has often been required as a condition for leniency in many times and places. In our country, we traditionally might view it as a mitigating factor in sentencing if a defendant exhibited contrition, but generally just when having committed actual crimes (e.g., rape, murder). The exceptions to this were perhaps cases of neo-Nazis or the like who committed serious crimes and then, seeking leniency, might have claimed (sincerely or not) that they were in the grip of beliefs they now know to be false. In Lloyds case, however, its not just that all she did was trespass, but that the demand isnt only that she show remorse for having trespassed. Rather, her minor infraction is being used by hard-core, hatred-driven ideologues as an opportunity to put the hapless grandmother in a re-education-camp situation in which she can be coerced into accepting their dogma. Worse still and as so often is the case in history, their dogma is a lie. This is, of course, what the Left wants to do with all who dissent from their ideology. Its minions will just need to find pretexts to do so that is, until they have enough power to render pretexts unnecessary. Read more at: TheNewAmerican.com (Natural News) Johnson & Johnson on Saturday, June 26, agreed to pay $263 million to resolve claims that it fueled an opioid epidemic in New York state and two of its largest counties. The settlements removed the pharmaceutical company from a jury trial that started Tuesday, June 29, on Long Island, New York. Several big opioid makers and distributors are also defendants in the case. Johnson & Johnson did not admit liability or wrongdoing in settling with New York state and with Nassau and Suffolk counties, but the $229.9 million settlement with the state also called for the company to stop selling the painkillers nationwide. Johnson & Johnson fuels opioid epidemic New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement that the opioid epidemic has wreaked havoc across the nation and that Johnson & Johnson helped fuel this fire. James said her focus remains getting funds into communities devastated by opioids as quickly as possible. Johnson & Johnson said the settlements were consistent with its prior agreement to pay $5 billion to settle opioid claims by states, cities, counties and tribal governments nationwide. The company and the largest U.S. drug distributors AmerisourceBergen Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. have proposed paying a combined $26 billion to end thousands of opioid lawsuits. Tuesdays opioids trial was one of several scheduled for this year, with others underway in California and West Virginia. Drugmakers AbbVie Inc. and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and several distributors are among the defendants. Pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. is also a defendant, though it was sued only by the counties. (Related: Kentucky sues WALGREENS for promoting opioid epidemic.) Walmart Inc., Rite Aid Corp. and CVS Health Corp. were detached from the trial during jury selection. CVS reportedly settled with Nassau and Suffolk counties although terms of the settlement have not been disclosed. Johnson & Johnson has also been appealing an Oklahoma judges 2019 ruling that the New Jersey-based company pay that state $465 million for its deceptive marketing of opioids. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said nearly 500,000 people died from opioid overdoses from 1999 to 2019. Johnson & Johnson causes all sorts of health problems The pharmaceutical giant knew for decades that its baby powder was tainted with carcinogenic asbestos and chose to keep that information from regulators and the public. A government-funded study from the mid-1990s found that Johnsons baby powder caused cancer in rats and other studies have found an increased risk of cancer in women who used the companys talc-based products. In 2018, the company was ordered to pay $4.7 billion to thousands of victims who reportedly developed cancer from using Johnson & Johnsons products. In that case, 22 women alleged the companys talc-based products, including its baby powder, contained the known carcinogen, asbestos, which caused them to develop cancer. According to reports, there are over 9,000 similar talc lawsuits against the company. These cases may have contributed to the hesitancy of many Americans to take the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine manufactured by Johnson & Johnson one of the three COVID-19 vaccines to receive emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The other two were manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna. Pfizer has long history of misleading public about its drugs Pfizer also had a long history of misleading the public about its drugs. In 2000, the Washington Post published a major expose accusing Pfizer of testing a dangerous new antibiotic called Trovan on children in Nigeria without receiving proper consent from their parents. The experiment occurred during a 1996 meningitis epidemic in the West African country. In 2001, Pfizer was sued in U.S. federal court by thirty Nigerian families, who accused the company of using their children as human guinea pigs. (Related: MAKING A KILLING: Pfizer demands global indemnity against lawsuits before it provides Wuhan coronavirus vaccines.) Interestingly, the Washington Post is now defending the same company in regards to COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer pays $2.3B in largest health care fraud settlement The pharmaceutical giant also paid out $2.3 billion in 2009 to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from the illegal promotion of certain pharmaceutical products. It was the largest health care fraud settlement in the history of the Department of Justice. Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Inc., a subsidiary of Pfizer, has agreed to plead guilty to a felony violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for misbranding Bextra with the intent to defraud or mislead. Bextra is an anti-inflammatory drug that Pfizer pulled from the market in 2005. The company agreed to pay a criminal fine of $1.195 billion, the largest criminal fine ever imposed in the U.S. for any matter. Pharmacia & Upjohn also forfeited $105 million, for a total criminal resolution of $1.3 billion. In addition, Pfizer has agreed to pay $1 billion to resolve allegations under the civil False Claims Act that the company illegally promoted four drugs Bextra; Geodon, an anti-psychotic drug; Zyvox, an antibiotic; and Lyrica, an anti-epileptic drug. The federal share of the civil settlement is $668,514,830 and the state Medicaid share of the civil settlement is $331,485,170. Pfizer has gotten all those money back and more as its COVID-19 vaccine became the first to get EUA from the FDA. Follow BigPharmaNews.com for more news and information related to Big Pharma companies. Sources include: WakingTimes.com Reuters.com Justice.gov (Natural News) San Francisco used to be a picturesque tourist destination and great place to live, but all that has changed dramatically in recent years as crime and homelessness rise, prompting residents to flee the city in droves. Homeless encampments and human feces on the streets are quickly replacing the Golden Gate Bridge and cable cars as the dominant images that people associate with the city. A poll that was released by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce that involved feedback from more than 500 city residents revealed the serious problems the city is currently facing. Remarkably, more than 40 percent of residents have said that they intend to move out of the city within the next few years. One of the biggest problems there is, is crime, with four fifths of residents saying that crime has gotten worse in recent years. Meanwhile, 88 percent say that homelessness has worsened and 70 percent feel that their overall quality of life in the city has declined. A greater police presence is desperately needed One potential solution to the citys woes is a greater law enforcement presence, something that may be difficult to attain as people continue to push for police defunding across the nation. More than three fourths of those surveyed said that increasing the number of police officers patrolling high-crime neighborhoods should be one of the citys biggest priorities. Eighty two percent said they would like there to be more case workers on the streets helping people with substance abuse and mental illness issues. The poll also revealed that 60 percent of respondents feel that San Francisco should place a high priority on maintaining funding for its police academy classes to recruit younger members to replace officers who have retired or left the department. The city is dealing with a dramatic drop in police recruits, which is a big problem as the city needs around 400 more officers to address its 18 percent shortage. Departments are struggling to attract applicants because of relentless calls to defund the police, officers being assaulted on the streets, and escalating violent situations. The city has been hit with brazen property crimes in recent months as COVID-19 restrictions loosen. Car break-ins have been climbing steadily as tourists return to the city. In May, the San Francisco Police Departments Central Station recorded a 753 percent rise in car burglaries compared to May 2020. Although lockdown restrictions were in place in May 2020, this years break-ins still represent a rise of 75 percent compared to 2019. Break-ins rose 94 percent between April and May this year. Burglaries and shoplifting are also climbing, with people stealing from stores in full view of helpless clerks and other shoppers because there just arent any repercussions. Walgreens has closed more than a dozen stores in the city in the last five years because of organized crime rings. In addition, San Francisco registered 712 drug overdose deaths in 2020 and is already on pace to outnumber that this year. This year, police have already seized 8.8 kilograms of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, according to CNN. That amount could theoretically kill the entire population of San Francisco seven times over, and it easily outpaces the 5.5 kilos of fentanyl seized last year, which itself was quadruple the amount seized the year prior. Although San Francisco has been on a downward spiral for many years, this should serve as a precautionary tale of what happens when we stop supporting law enforcement and let crime run unchecked. A once-beautiful city that many people were proud to call home and even more enjoyed visiting is now a crime-ridden dump that nearly half of its residents are desperate to escape from. Sources for this article include: SanFrancisco.CBSLocal.com Edition.CNN.com SFChronicle.com KRON4.com (Natural News) Russia warned the U.K. that it would bomb any British warships it finds in the Black Sea. The June 24 threat from the Kremlin followed a British Royal Navy vessel passing by the waters of Crimea which Russia annexed in 2014. On the other hand, Downing Street has insisted that the disputed territorys waters belong to Ukraine and the warship made no provocative actions. On June 24, British Ambassador to Russia Deborah Bronnert was summoned for a formal diplomatic reprimand over Britains purportedly dangerous action in the Black Sea. Reports said the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Defender set sail from the Ukrainian port of Odessa toward Batumi in Georgia. The ships visit to Odessa was part of an agreement between the U.K. and the beleaguered country, in which Britain will help upgrade the Ukrainian navy. According to Russia, the HMS Defender had ventured three kilometers into Russian waters near Cape Fiolent at the southern coast of Crimea. The cape was located near the port of Sevastopol incidentally the headquarters of the Russian Navys Black Sea fleet. Furthermore, the Kremlin released footage from a Russian SU-24 bomber flying close to the British vessel. The BBC released footage from the ship in response. The video showed a Russian coast guard vessel warning the HMS Defender that they will fire at the warship if it refuses to change course. The British national broadcaster added that as many as 20 Russian aircraft were flying around the ship. However, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova slammed this version of the encounter and accused London of barefaced lies. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the countrys news agencies: We can appeal to common sense [and] demand respect for international law and if that doesnt work, we can bomb. The official added that in the future, bombs would be dropped not only in [the ships] path, but also on [the] target. Ryabkov referenced Moscows claim that a Russian plane bombed the British vessels path. (Related: Russia feeling newly aggressive now that Trump is gone: Moscow threatens to BOMB British warship HMS Defender if it sails close to Crimea again.) The incident was part of a longstanding feud between the U.K. and Russia On the other hand, Downing Street defended that British vessels right to pass through international waters. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the HMS Defender was acting in accordance with the law. These are Ukrainian waters and it was entirely right to use them to go from [point] A to [point] B, he explained. Meanwhile, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace accused Russian pilots of conducting unsafe aircraft maneuvers 152 meters above the warship. These aircraft posed on immediate threat to HMS Defender, but some of these maneuvers were neither safe nor professional, he said. Nevertheless, the minister said that the Royal Navy will always uphold international law and will not accept unlawful interference with innocent passage. Furthermore, the U.K. commented that Russias account of the incident was inaccurate. It added that there were no warning shots fired and no bombs dropped in the HMS Defenders path. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab also put in his two cents on the account, calling it predictably inaccurate. (Related: UKs Royal Navy shadowed 9 Russian warships in recent weeks.) In 2014, Russia forcibly seized the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine and annexed it into its territory including its waters. But western countries considered Russias claim on the area and its waters invalid and insisted that Crimea is Ukrainian territory. Prior to the HMS Defender incident, London and Moscow had been at odds with each other for some time now. Two former Russian spies had been poisoned while staying in the U.K. causing a diplomatic rift between the nations. In 2006, former Russian Federal Security Service officer Alexander Litvinenko was killed after radioactive polonium-210 was dropped in his cup of tea. The spy took tea with former agents Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitri Kovtun in early November. Litvinenko, a long-time Kremlin critic, fell ill soon after the meeting and spent the rest of the night vomiting. Litvinenko was hospitalized on Nov. 4 and his condition eventually worsened, eventually dying on Nov. 23. His wife Marina said the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin was responsible for his demise. Moscow denied it had a hand in the death of the spy. Lugovoi and Kovtun likewise denied any involvement. Twelve years later, another erstwhile Russian spy was poisoned with the A234 nerve agent. Former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were targeted in the March 2018 poisoning. It was revealed that the elder Skripal betrayed hundreds of Russian agents to the British Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. British law enforcement named two Russian military intelligence officers, Alexander Mishkin and Anatoliy Chepiga, as the perpetrators of the attack. Moscow again denied involvement in the Skripals poisoning. Both Sergei and Yulia spent weeks in critical condition, eventually recovering from the poison. They have since left the U.K. under new identities to start anew. Visit WWIII.news to read more about Russias conflicts with the U.K. and other western nations. Sources include: News.Trust.org BBC.com 1 BBC.com 2 (Natural News) The World Bank is set to inject more money into Big Pharma companies as the focus of global vaccine rollouts shifts to poor countries. World Bank President David Malpass said on Wednesday, June 30, they will boost total financing for coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine purchases and deployment to $20 billion from the previous target of $12 billion. The initial $12 billion had been approved by World Banks Board of Executive Directors in October last year for developing countries to finance the purchase and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments for their citizens. Financing for poorer countries is on grant or highly concessional terms. The World Bank also announced Wednesday that it is providing over $4 billion for the purchase and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines for 51 developing countries, half of which are in Africa. More than half of the financing comes from the International Development Association (IDA), the banks fund for the worlds poorest countries. This financing is part of the banks $20 billion commitment to help low- and middle-income countries acquire and distribute vaccines and strengthen their health systems. (Related: Coronavirus pandemic creates 9 new Big Pharma billionaires.) That commitment will be scattered to developing countries for their vaccine rollouts within 24 months. In April, World Bank announced that $2 billion of that fund will support COVID-19 vaccination in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cabo Verde, Cote dIvoire, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eswatini, Ethiopia, the Gambia, Honduras, Lebanon, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Rwanda, Tajikistan and Tunisia. Access to vaccines is key to altering the course of the pandemic and helping countries move toward a resilient recovery, Malpass said at the time. Our programs are helping developing countries respond to the health emergency and have financing available for vaccines. World Banks vaccine finance package designed to be flexible The World Banks vaccine finance package is designed to be flexible. It can be used by countries to procure doses through COVAX or other sources. It can also finance other key deployment and health system strengthening activities, such as medical supplies, personal protective equipment, vaccine cold-chains, training health workers, data and information systems and communications and outreach campaigns to key stakeholders. Additionally, the International Finance Corporation, World Banks private sector development arm, has a $4 billion health platform to increase the supply and local production of personal protective equipment in developing countries and unlock medical supply bottlenecks in emerging markets, particularly in medical equipment and vaccines. The World Bank is working with governments and partners to assess the readiness of over 140 developing countries to deploy vaccines. Initial findings show that while 85 percent of countries have developed national vaccination plans, only 30 percent have plans to train the number of vaccinators needed and 27 percent have put public engagement strategies in place to address vaccine hesitancy. To get a vaccine into someones arm, there is a whole system of interdependent actions that needs to function properly, said Axel van Trotsenburg, the banks managing director for operations. We are working together with the international community and partners to accelerate the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccines are a key element in how we return to school, to work and to growth. Financing demand from developing countries goes up by $40B during pandemic According to van Trotsenburg, they have seen a sharp increase in overall financing demand from developing countries during the pandemic. (Related: Pandemic widens gap between rich and poor, analysis shows.) He told reporters that World Bank had made nearly $100 billion in lending commitments since the outbreak of the crisis in early 2020, well above the normal level of just under $60 billion. High demand for financing was expected to continue well into 2022, he said. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank Group has approved more than $150 billion to fight the health, economic and social impacts of the pandemic. Since April 2020, the Bank has scaled up its financing by over 50 percent, helping more than 100 countries meet emergency health needs, strengthen pandemic preparedness, while also supporting countries as they protect the poor and jobs and jump-starting a climate-friendly recovery. It is assisting over 100 countries with COVID-19 health emergency projects, reaching 70 percent of the world population. The World Bank Group is comprised of the IDA, the IFC, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Follow PharmaceuticalFraud.com for more news and information related to Big Pharma companies. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com WorldBank.org 1 WorldBank.org 2 ReliefWeb.int Weather Alert .A weather system will move across the region late Tuesday into Wednesday. Scattered thunderstorms are expected followed by increasing winds. ...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR ABUNDANT LIGHTNING FOLLOWED BY WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES OR610, OR611, OR639, OR640, OR641, OR642, OR643, OR644, OR645, WA639, WA641, WA643, WA645, WA675, AND WA681... The National Weather Service in Pendleton has issued a Fire Weather Watch for abundant lightning followed by wind and low relative humidity, which is in effect from late Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday evening. * AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zones 610 East Slopes of Central Oregon Cascades, 611 Deschutes National Forest -minus Sisters Ranger District, 639 East Slopes of the Northern Oregon Cascades, 639 East Slopes of the Southern Washington Cascades, 640 Central Mountains of Oregon, 641 Lower Columbia Basin of Oregon, 641 Lower Columbia Basin of Washington, 642 Southern Blue and Strawberry Mountains, 643 Northern Blue Mountains of Oregon, 643 Blue Mountains of Washington, 644 Central Blue Mountains, 645 Wallowa District, 645 Asotin County, 675 Eastern Washington Southern Columbia Basin and 681 Yakama Alpine District. * THUNDERSTORMS...Scattered thunderstorms are expected to develop over central Oregon late Tuesday afternoon and evening then move across northern Oregon into southern Washington overnight and Wednesday morning. These storms have the potential to be high based with minimal rainfall. LAL of 2 to 3 expected. * WINDS...West winds will increase on Wednesday to 15 to 30 mph. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY...10 to 25 percent on Wednesday. * IMPACTS...The potential for lightning followed by gusty winds will lead to increased fire danger. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Fire Weather Watch means that critical fire weather conditions are forecast to occur. Listen for later forecasts and possible Red Flag Warnings. && SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) One Missouri hospital official is telling anyone making disparaging remarks about the COVID-19 vaccine to Shut up as state officials ask for federal help dealing with a surge in cases that has some counties urging new precautions. Deep vaccine resistance has allowed the delta variant, first identified India, to take hold in the state, straining hospitals, particularly in the Springfield area. If you are making wildly disparaging comments about the vaccine, and have no public health expertise, you may be responsible for someones death. Shut up, tweeted Steve Edwards, who is the CEO of CoxHealth in Springfield. CoxHealth and the city's other hospital, Mercy Springfield, were treating 168 COVID-19 patients Friday, up from 31 on May 24, before the surge began, said Aaron Schekorra, a spokesman for the Springfield-Greene County Health Department. He said that 36 of them were on ventilators. Erik Frederick, the chief administrative officer of Mercy Springfield, also turned to Twitter in an effort to bolster vaccinations, noting that they prevent deaths. So if youre vaccinated there is a light at the end of a tunnel, he said. If youre unvaccinated thats probably a train. State data shows that 44.6% of residents have received at least one shot, far short of the 54.7% rate nationally. And in more than 60 Missouri counties, less than 30% of the population had received their first shot, according to state data. The situation has grown so dire that Missouri health officials announced Thursday that they were asking for federal help from newly formed surge response teams. Meanwhile, St. Louis and St. Louis County health departments along with health officials in Jefferson County begged even immunized people to resume mask-wearing in public, citing the threat of the delta variant. The Jefferson County Health Departments advisory said children are being exposed to COVID-19 as they resume normal activities without protection. During the last two weeks, the number of new cases had increased 42%, with the highest number of cases among 10 to 19-year-olds. This is concerning," the advisory said, since most of that age group is eligible for the vaccine, but only 10.82% have completed the full series of vaccination." In the southeast part of the state, the Stoddard County Public Health Center this week asked residents to get vaccinated as officials grapple with climbing COVID-19 cases, including an outbreak at a nursing facility, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The center said Thursday it was monitoring 33 cases up from the 5-10 weve been experiencing over the last few months. The health center said an outbreak at a nursing facility in Advance made up a large portion of cases, and that one resident who tested positive had died. WASHINGTON (AP) A ransomware attack paralyzed the networks of at least 200 U.S. companies on Friday, according to a cybersecurity researcher whose company was responding to the incident. The REvil gang, a major Russian-speaking ransomware syndicate, appears to be behind the attack, said John Hammond of the security firm Huntress Labs. He said the criminals targeted a software supplier called Kaseya, using its network-management package as a conduit to spread the ransomware through cloud-service providers. Other researchers agreed with Hammond's assessment. Kaseya handles large enterprise all the way to small businesses globally, so ultimately, (this) has the potential to spread to any size or scale business, Hammond said in a direct message on Twitter. This is a colossal and devastating supply chain attack. Such cyberattacks typically infiltrate widely used software and spread malware as it updates automatically. It was not immediately clear how many Kaseya customers might be affected or who they might be. Kaseya urged customers in a statement on its website to immediately shut down servers running the affected software. It said the attack was limited to a small number of its customers. Brett Callow, a ransomware expert at the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, said he was unaware of any previous ransomware supply-chain attack on this scale. There have been others, but they were fairly minor, he said. This is SolarWinds with ransomware, he said. He was referring to a Russian cyberespionage hacking campaign discovered in December that spread by infecting network management software to infiltrate U.S. federal agencies and scores of corporations. Cybersecurity researcher Jake Williams, president of Rendition Infosec, said he was already working with six companies hit by the ransomware. Its no accident that this happened before the Fourth of July weekend, when IT staffing is generally thin, he added. Theres zero doubt in my mind that the timing here was intentional, he said. Hammond of Huntress said he was aware of four managed-services providers companies that host IT infrastructure for multiple customers being hit by the ransomware, which encrypts networks until the victims pay off attackers. He said thousand of computers were hit. We currently have three Huntress partners who are impacted with roughly 200 businesses that have been encrypted," Hammond said. Hammond wrote on Twitter: Based on everything we are seeing right now, we strongly believe this (is) REvil/Sodinikibi. The FBI linked the same ransomware provider to a May attack on JBS SA, a major global meat processer. The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a statement late Friday that it is closely monitoring the situation and working with the FBI to collect more information about its impact. CISA urged anyone who might be affected to follow Kaseyas guidance to shut down VSA servers immediately. Kaseya runs whats called a virtual system administrator, or VSA, thats used to remotely manage and monitor a customers network. The privately held Kaseya says it is based in Dublin, Ireland, with a U.S. headquarters in Miami. The Miami Herald recently described it as one of Miamis oldest tech companies in a report about its plans to hire as many as 500 workers by 2022 to staff a recently acquired cybersecurity platform. Brian Honan, an Irish cybersecurity consultant, said by email Friday that this is a classic supply chain attack where the criminals have compromised a trusted supplier of companies and have abused that trust to attack their customers. He said it can be difficult for smaller businesses to defend against this type of attack because they rely on the security of their suppliers and the software those suppliers are using. The only good news, said Williams, of Rendition Infosec, is that a lot of our customers dont have Kaseya on every machine in their network, making it harder for attackers to move across an organizations computer systems. That makes for an easier recovery, he said. Active since April 2019, the group known as REvil provides ransomware-as-a-service, meaning it develops the network-paralyzing software and leases it to so-called affiliates who infect targets and earn the lions share of ransoms. REvil is among ransomware gangs that steal data from targets before activating the ransomware, strengthening their extortion efforts. The average ransom payment to the group was about half a million dollars last year, said the Palo Alto Networks cybersecurity firm in a recent report. Some cybersecurity experts predicted that it might be hard for the gang to handle the ransom negotiations, given the large number of victims though the long U.S. holiday weekend might give it more time to start working through the list. ___ Bajak reported from Boston; O'Brien contributed from Providence, Rhode Island. ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) New York is seeing signs that more people are testing positive for the coronavirus, a contrast from weeks of declining rates of new positive tests. An average of 365 people tested positive each day over the seven day period ending Thursday, according to state data. That's up 17% from 312 as of a week ago. Exactly why is unclear, but data show the numbers are rising even as less testing is occurring. The state averaged 75,500 COVID-19 tests in the seven days through Thursday, down from nearly 87,000 the previous week. Department of Health spokesperson Abigail Barker said the highly contagious Delta variant represents an increasing percentage of the coronavirus variants identified in New York, which is in line with national trends. As the rate of vaccination increases and the rate of testing decreases, individuals getting tested are more likely to be positive, Barker said in an email. Parts of New York City and its suburbs are driving much of the increase in positive tests: Staten Island averaged 33 new positives each day, up 45% from the previous week. Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx also saw upticks to an average of 39, 58 and 29 people testing positive each day, while the rate was flat in Queens at 50. Still, far fewer people are testing positive in New York now than during this spring: 781 people were testing positive each day in the last week of May. Meanwhile, hospitals statewide reported a record low of 330 COVID-19 patients as of last Saturday. That figure has fluctuated in recent days to 349 patients as of Thursday. Hospitals in Manhattan, Staten Island and Suffolk counties are reporting among the most patients per-capita in the state. The uptick in new positives comes weeks after New York removed most COVID-19 restrictions, and ahead of the Fourth of July weekend and a busy travel season. Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged residents to get vaccinated. Public health experts say the variant poses the most danger where vaccinations are sparse. About 54.2% of New York's 20 million residents are fully vaccinated, according to federal data. Rates are lowest in parts of western New York and New York City: from one-third of residents in Allegany County, to 42% in the Bronx, to 44% in Brooklyn. POMONA, Calif. (AP) Teenage boys chased down soccer balls on grassy fields. Dormitory beds were organized into small pods with a TV in each section. Some kids laid on the cots reading, while others played cards nearby with caseworkers. The Biden administration on Friday gave a rare look inside an emergency shelter it opened to house migrant children who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border alone, calling the California facility a model among its large-scale sites. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, whose agency is in charge of caring for migrant children, was joined by elected officials as he toured the shelter housing nearly 1,400 children at the Los Angeles County fairgrounds in the city of Pomona. Two journalists from The Associated Press were allowed to accompany them and shared notes and photos of the tour with other news outlets as part of a pool arrangement. The facility was a sharp contrast to conditions reported at other emergency shelters, where children have complained of foul-smelling food, little outdoor recreational space and having to spend their days sleeping with little to do and no knowledge of when they would be released to relatives in the United States. We consider this a model, Becerra told reporters after touring the Pomona facility, which has a 30,000-square-foot (2,787-square-meter) air-conditioned room with foosball and ping pong tables, wooden blocks and other games. Large signs in Spanish above the rooms entryway read welcome, hope, and love. In a room filled with caseworkers, Becerra spoke to the kids in Spanish about when they would be reunited with their families. We are trying to do this as soon as possible, but in a safe manner," he said. Within four hours of arriving at the shelter, each child can use the call center, a room with brightly colored paintings of butterflies and sea creatures. After that, they can call their families twice a week. Next to the call area, scores of blue, pink and silver stars with names nearly covered a wall. An official said staffers post a star with a childs name when they are discharged from the facility. Youre running out of space, Becerra noted. Staff at the shelter roam the dorms and outdoor spaces to be on alert for any emergencies. Teachers from the Pomona Unified School District provide 90-minute classes twice a week to each child, with half the time spent developing their English skills. With its existing buildings and green spaces, the Pomona site had some advantages over places like Fort Bliss Army base near El Paso, Texas, where the governments largest shelter was erected as a tent camp from scratch, Becerra said. Advocates have said Fort Bliss, which Becerra visited days ago without allowing media to accompany him, has been particularly problematic. It is not easy to stand something up like this quickly, and do it right, but I think you can see that this is a place where kids can be healthy and safe," Becerra said of the Pomona facility. The government set up the temporary shelters this spring as tens of thousands of children crossed the border alone. Of the 14 centers that opened, two have been shuttered because they did not meet government standards; others have been closing as more children are released to family in the U.S. or to facilities with higher levels of care. While the emergency shelters are widely considered an improvement over border holding facilities packed with kids, the Biden administration is facing increasing pressure to address concerns that migrant children have been languishing in the unlicensed centers rather than being quickly reunited with their families in the United States, causing anxiety and panic attacks. Republicans say the administration was caught flat-footed by the situation at the border and that President Joe Bidens immigration policies have encouraged unaccompanied children to come. Nearly 19,000 children traveling alone were picked up along the border in March, by far the highest month on record. Advocates say no shelter can replace a family or licensed facility in terms of providing care for children. They say the emergency sites were meant to be a safe place to house children for a couple of weeks to give the government time to contact and vet their relatives. Those without family in the U.S. are supposed to be sent to a state-licensed facility. As of this week, the average stay at temporary shelters was 37 days, with the network of facilities filled at just over half its capacity, according to Health and Human Services data obtained by the AP. More than half of the 5,300 children at emergency shelters have close family in the U.S. such as a parent or grandparent. No such contact was identified for a third of the youth at those sites, the data showed. Immigration attorney Karina Ramos of Immigrant Defenders Law Center in California visits the Pomona shelter twice a week. Of the 2,605 children who have come there, more than half have been reunited with their families, Becerras agency said. The number one question is: When am I going home? Ramos said, which is obviously understandable. But Ramos said the children generally don't have complaints. Most at the Pomona facility are teenage boys, with fewer than 300 children under 12. Most are from Guatemala and Honduras. This is definitely not Fort Bliss, Ramos said. Children are generally active, and theyre happy, and they come talk to us. In transcripts of interviews done by attorneys from March to early June and filed in federal court in Los Angeles, more than a dozen migrant children described their desperation to get out of the emergency facilities. In one account, a teenage girl said she had been at Fort Bliss for nearly 60 days and had resorted to eating only popsicles and juice because the food was foul. Becerra said conditions have improved in recent weeks with additional spiritual, recreational, educational and mental health services. The Fort Bliss shelter also was being reconfigured to a more child-friendly pod system with single cots instead of doubles. More caseworkers have been added, speeding up family reunifications. Because of the progress, Becerra said the number of children his agency is caring for has dropped from a high of more than 22,000 to just over 14,400, with more than half at licensed shelters. His agency said it will close four emergency facilities this summer, with Pomona and Fort Bliss staying open. ___ Watson reported from San Diego. New Methodist President has East Anglia links New Methodist President has East Anglia links The Methodist Conference in Britain has elected former East Anglia District Chair, Rev Graham Thompson, to serve as its next President. Anthony Boateng was also elected to serve as Vice-President, both men starting their year of office when the Representative Session of the Methodist Conference opens in Telford in June 2022. Graham Thompson, said: I am overwhelmed by the designation and humbled by the belief that Conference has in me. I will do all I can to serve God and the Church as we discern our path, emerging from the pandemic. Graham Thompson currently serves as Chair of the Plymouth and Exeter District, a role which he assumed following his service as Chair of the East Anglia District. Before offering for Methodist ministry, Graham worked as an accountant. He has served in a variety of Circuits, urban and rural, both as Presbyter and Superintendent as well as serving on variety of Methodist trusts, boards and Connexional committees. He has broad ecumenical experience and is an ecumenical Canon of Exeter Cathedral. Anthony Boateng is a Local Preacher from the London District, with a passion for social action, politics, church unity, spiritual revival and creative ways of worship. He has been a member of the Conference since 2014. Anthony serves on several committees across the Church including as a convenor of the London District Social Responsibility Commission and member of Church Action for Tax Justice management committee. In his day job Anthony is a caseworker for Ingeus - a government Work and Health Programme. Anthony Boateng said: As a young Ghanaian immigrant who has spent all his life in the Methodist Church, it is an honour and privilege to be given this opportunity by my siblings to serve the church at such a challenging time. I am enthusiastic about stepping into this leadership role, and working alongside the whole Church to discern and move towards God's vision for us in the year ahead." The role of President of the Methodist Conference is reserved for presbyters and that of Vice-President for lay people or deacons. Read more at www.methodist.org.uk Pictured above are Rev Graham Thompson and Anthony Boateng. Credit www.methodist.org.uk Keith Morris, 03/07/2021 Amesbury - Lorraine I. (Eaton-Clark) Short (95) died at Vero Health Nursing Home in Amesbury on June 23, 2021. She was born in Newburyport on January 13th 1926. She was the daughter of Samuel and Alberta Eaton of Amesbury and the sister of Shirley Webber of Newburyport. She leaves three chil By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Gautam Adani, promoter of Adani Group and Indias second richest billionaire, has lost his position in the worlds billionaires list after losing a whopping $18.8 billion in less than 20 days. The stocks of Adanis group firms have been on the sliding path since June 14. The investors have been shying away from the stock following a report that the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) had frozen the accounts of foreign investment firms which had stakes worth Rs 43,500 crore in Adanis four listed companies Adani Enterprises, Adani Green Energy, Adani Total Gas and Adani Transmission. Adanis notional wealth stood at $56.1 billion on Friday, down from $74.9 billion at the beginning of June 14, according to Forbes Real time Billionaires index. Due to this plunge, Adani has slipped out of the top 20 global billionaires list. On Friday alone, Gautam Adanis wealth fell $3.7 billion after 4 Group company stocks fell around 5% each on the BSE. At present, Adani is at 22nd place on the list and Ma Huateng, chairman of internet giant Tencent Holdings, overtook him on Friday. Meanwhile, Relaince Industry Ltd head Mukesh Ambani added $700 million to his wealth on Friday. With $81.1 billion, Ambani continues to remain Asias richest billionaire. Adani Group had termed the reports of account freezing as blatantly erroneous and a deliberate attempt to mislead the investors. By PTI NEW DELHI: The government will release a new cybersecurity strategy this year, National Cyber Security Coordinator Rajesh Pant said at an event organised by Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI). He said the strategy would holistically cover the entire ecosystem of cyber space in India. The government is expected to release a new cybersecurity strategy this year, he said speaking at the PAFI event on Friday. "The vision of this strategy is to ensure safe, secure, resilient, vibrant, and trusted cyber space," Pant said. The new strategy would serve as a guideline to tackle various aspects, be it data as a national resource, building indigenous capabilities or cyber audit. "There are about 80 odd deliverables coming out of this new strategy," the PAFI statement quoted Pant as saying. The theme of the PAFI Dialogue was 'Cyber Security in the New Normal. ' On the national security narrative for the telecom sector, Pant said, "While other nations have created a black-list of companies that cannot operate in the country, India is the only nation to create a white-list of telecom companies that are allowed to operate in India". The companies allowed must be a 'trusted source', he said adding, "We were able to create and launch the trusted telecom portal during the pandemic and within six months. By PTI NEW DELHI: A fire broke out at a house in the city's Rohini area on Saturday morning, following which four people were rescued, Delhi Fire Service officials said. The blaze was brought under control but during the fire-fighting operations, a fireman also got injured, they said. At around 6 this morning, a fire broke out at a house in Delhi's Budh Vihar area. About 3-4 people hospitalized with burn injuries including fire personnel. Five fire tenders at the spot: Delhi Fire Service ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2021 "A call about the fire in Budh Vihar area in Rohini was received around 6.00 am and four fire tenders were rushed to the site. Fire was brought under control very quickly. Four people were rescued and shifted to a hospital," said Atul Garg, Director, Delhi Fire Service. The cause of the fire is not known yet, he said. By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Cops with the Punjagutta police station and Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) raided a five-star hotel under Somajiguda police station limits in the evening hours of Friday and arrested a total of nine persons, including two customers, for being involved in a sex racket. Sudheer Kumar, Circle Inspector, Punjagutta police station, said: A gang of nine individuals involved in sex trafficking were arrested from The Park in Somajiguda. All the processes were run through online management, including bank and mobile transactions and showing the girls portraits. The prostitution racket is now hi-tech and the dealings too are taking place online. Among those apprehended, seven are victims from Bihar, Kolkata, Chandigarh and other places, he added. No information on the main organiser is available with the police as of now. Toby Antony By Express News Service KOCHI: The smuggling of high-dose synthetic drugs, including LSD and MDMA, via courier service is posing a headache to enforcement agencies. For smugglers are using the channel frequently now. Repeated incidents of drugs parcelled through courier service reported in Kochi has put the police and the excise on high alert.Recently, the police arrested a Thrissur native staying at an apartment in Palarivattom, recovering 18 grams of MDMA known as ecstasy from him. The accused admitted that he procured ecstasy from New Delhi cheaply and that it was delivered via courier service. In March, 700 LSD stamps were seized from a gang in Kochi and that was also trafficked through the courier route. Last month, three bottles of whiskey were seized from a parcel that arrived via Speed Post in Kochi.Using the courier parcel route for the smuggling of drugs is increasing, especially with international and inter-state travel being restricted following the Covid outbreak last year and the subsequent lockdowns, a senior excise officer told TNIE.Pointing out the limitation for the enforcement agencies, the officer said thousands of parcels come to a city like Kochi on a daily basis. Checking each parcel has several practical hindrances. Drugs like ecstasy and LSD are easily concealed in the parcel. But all agencies have taken the issue seriously resulting in more such incidents coming to light, he said. Ernakulam Excise Circle Inspector Anwar Sadath said that courier service centres have been directed to report the arrival of suspicious parcels. We have given a set of directions to courier service agencies to identify parcels that may contain contraband. The smugglers adopt new methods frequently to continue with their operations. Once more parcels with drugs get detected, they will switch to a safer mode, Sadath said.Police Anti-Narcotic Cell Assistant Commissioner Thomas K A said persons arrested with drugs sometimes mention the courier parcel route to divert the investigation.To safeguard the original suppliers, the arrested person will claim that he received drugs via a courier parcel from an unidentified person who he met via social media or dark web. A thorough investigation is required in such cases so that the main supplier behind the case doesnt go unidentified. But there are a number of drugs cases in which the delivery was made via some courier service, Thomas said. The Thrissur native who was arrested in Kochi with ecstasy claimed that he contacted the unknown supplier in New Delhi via Instagram and Snapchat. Social media platforms are widely misused for drugs trade now. It has become easier to identify the supplier via these channels. The use of bitcoins is also getting popular for such illegal trade. Cybersecurity firms are monitoring these platforms and dark net to cut the root of the network, said a police officer. By PTI KOLKATA: The Kolkata police has sent samples of the fluids contained in the vials seized from the arrested fake IAS officer Debanjan Deb's Kasba office to the city-based National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED) to identify them, a senior police officer said on Saturday. Officials informed during the day about arrest of another associate of Deb, who was apprehended for allegedly masterminding fake vaccination camps in the metropolis. So far, nine people have been held in connection with the case, they said. "We need to know what those fluids are. That's the reason we have sent it to the NICED. This will help us in our investigation. "Once the nature of the fluid is ascertained we will try to identify where from they were procured," the officer said. Investigating officers of the SIT of Kolkata Police's Detective Department Saturday conducted another round of search at Deb's Kasba office. "Today, we conducted another round of searches at Debanjan's office. A 3D scanner was deployed to recreate the entire thing. "A voluminous material has been seized like attendance registers, visitor slips, applications for jobs, fake tender documents etc," he told PTI, adding that during the entire episode the arrested accused was with them. About the fresh arrest, the police said they acted on a complaint lodged at the Amherst Street Police Station and conducted a raid and arrested the accused. He was also an employee of Debanjan Deb, from Central Metro station gate on BB Ganguly Street on Friday late evening, he said. "The accused is a resident of Tangra Road and had taken Debanjan to City College and played a key role in organising vaccination camp there. We are trying to find out in how many other illegal works he was involved in," the IPS said. Deb was arrested last week for masquerading as the joint commissioner of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and operating a dubious immunisation camp in the Kasba area, where actor and Trinamool Congress MP Mimi Chakraborty also took a jab. Six of his associates have been arrested as police included the charge of an attempt to murder along with other sections of the IPC against them. Aathira Haridas By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As social media erupts in rage, and support pours in from all quarters for Bruno, the labrador dog which was killed by a team of individuals belonging to Adimalathura in Thiruvananthapuram, senior BJP leader Maneka Gandhi has intervened in the issue and directed the Trivandrum unit of People for Animals to join the petition, seeking action against the perpetrators of the crime, as a party. Maneka Gandhi has directed the organisation to file a PIL citing that the animal cruelty cases from Kerala arent being properly attended. There have been many cases in the past where people easily go scot-free after perpetrating animal cruelty. They get bail easily and escape as the punishment is low. The PIL will be filed to seeking redressal in the issue, said Latha Indira, secretary, PFA, Thiruvananthapuram. The organisation has joined in the petition filed by the owner at the Vizhinjam police station. Friday was observed as Justice for Bruno day by PFA. It asked the people to join the movement by posting a picture of themselves wearing black and holding a lamp and a placard for Bruno saying I am Bruno today. I seek justice for my murder. The campaign was supported by many and is set to continue until justice is served for Bruno. The campaign will continue until we get justice for Bruno. Animal welfare groups across Kerala are set to organise campaigns in the coming week. In fact, what happened on Monday was a second attempt at killing Bruno. We will go ahead with the complaint, says Sreedevi S Kartha, PFA trust board member of Thiruvananthapuram unit. Bruno, a pet dog owned by a coastal folk G Christhurajan was assaulted and killed at Adimalathura by a team of three. The dog was killed by hanging it on a fishers hook and thrashing him heavily with a rod. Ram Venkat Srikar By Express News Service A sci-fi action flick featuring aliens, The Tomorrow War exists along with a surfeit of similar filmsfrom genre classics such as Ridley Scotts Alien and James Camerons Aliens to contemporary blockbusters like Independence Day and Edge of Tomorrow, with which this film shares more than just the word tomorrow. The Tomorrow War too has a lip-smacking premise. Soldiers from 2051 land in 2022 to warn people about an alien invasion in the future thats bound to wipe out the human race. Governments across the world (read America) send people into the future for a seven-day window to fight the Sisyphean war that has a 30% survival rate. The stakes are high, and during the first 30 minutes of the film, though we are yet to catch a sight of the menace, there is an enjoyable undercurrent of tension. The first act might have well made for a high-tension human drama set in a world on the verge of insanity. While Dan Forester (Chris Pratt, playing Chris Pratt) an Iraq War veteran and biology teacher, takes a class for a room full of visibly insouciant students, one of them asks, Whats the point of anythingschool, grades, and college? Doom is imminent in this opening act. The relationship Dan shares with his wife (Betty Gilpin), daughter, and with his estranged father (JK Simmons), add to the play, although the healing of the wounded father-son dynamic can be seen happening from a mile away. Dan gets, expectedly, drafted, and almost immediately sent to the precarious future without preparation. His military training, of course, comes in handy. When Dan and his acquaintances, Charlie (the funny Sam Richardson), and Dorian (a stoic Edwin Hodge), among others, land in an unassigned, remote location, you expect the stakes to only grow manifold. Surprisingly, it works inversely. The more we are exposed to the obnoxious future and the closer characters inch towards the vicious, man-eating creatures called Whitespikes, the danger and threat get reduced to a trickle. The blockbuster tag is a major impediment, constraining it to operate in a family-friendly zone and in turn, debilitating its potential. Take, for instance, the first spotting of the whitespikes. The sequence is neatly set up, built on quietness and anticipation. It is similar in treatment to the anxiety-inducing stretch in Aliens where the crew explores the shady interiors of a deserted colony in space before aliens wreak havoc. What The Tomorrow War lacks, though, is the ominous mood. Although we get graphic details, there is no room for fear and anxiety when the slow-burning scene suddenly transforms into action. Credit where its due thoughthe action sequences are the strongest link of this Chris McKay directorial. The first set-piece, set in an apocalyptic Miami, is striking, with Lorne Balfes pumping score burnishing it. It is a sequence where everythingmusic, writing, and cinematographycomes together wonderfully. The biggest deterrent in The Tomorrow War is how it relegates the creatures into disposable CG objects. The whitespikes, despite intimidating design and powers (they release sharp objects from their tentacles, hence, the name), never rise above, say, the generic monster armies of Suicide Squad or the Avengers: Infinity War films. Had they been nearly half as intimidating as the aliens in the original Alien trilogy, The Tomorrow War might have become a sci-fi actioner for the ages. When Dan learns that Colonel Muri Forester (Yvonne Strahovski) is his daughter from the future, the strangeness of this relationship is not leveraged completely, but it does add a profound dimension to this otherwise flimsy story. On account of the weird, time-bending father-daughter relationship, the screenplay is able to provide some much-need breathers amid all the clamour. The bits I enjoyed about The Tomorrow War are those where it shows self-awareness. During a refreshing climactic showdownwhose glacier setting adds realism to the actionbetween Dan Forester and a whitespike, things get personal for Dan. He utters a word thats mocked later on. Its a sign that the film isnt all caught up in its own seriousness, but its also a sign of the heightened hysteria the screenplay constantly overwhelms us with. By Express News Service CHENNAI: Days after Kamal Haasan condemned the Ministry of Information and Broadcastings proposed Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, the new amendments to The Cinematograph Act, 1954, many other Tamil film personalities have come out against the bill calling it a blow to freedom of expression. The implementation of the act with new amendments will empower the union government to recertify or re-censor films that have already been certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Actor Suriya, on Twitter, wrote, Law is to protect freedom of expression and not to strangle it. He also shared the link to a draft opposing the bill and requested the public to endorse it or make individual suggestions to the ministry. The actor also urged the people to act fast. Similarly, director Karthik Subbaraj also shared the draft on the micro-blogging site and wrote, The proposed amendment to the Cinematograph Act, if implemented, will be a big blow to freedom of Speech in Art. Director Gautam Menon, Mani Ratnam, actor-filmmaker Prakash Raj, director Vetri Maaran, cinematographer PC Sreeram, and actor Pranita Subhash are among celebrities from the south to voice out against the bill.The filmmakers petition has so far received more than a thousand signatures. Many other filmmakers from across the country like Anurag Kashyap, Hansal Mehta, and Zoya Akhtar have endorsed this open letter. This proposed bill of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting comes just two months after the abolishment of the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), a statutory body, that came to the rescue of filmmakers, who sought to challenge the decisions of CBFC. Mayank Singh By NEW DELHI: India Plans for 300 youth from foreign countries to attend the National Cadet Corps Republic Day Camp in 2022 which also happens to be the 75th Independence Day. The expenditure for those children will be borne by the Ministry of Defence. Defence Secretary Dr. Ajay Kumar said on Friday, Around 300 youngsters from 25 foreign countries will participate in the next years Republic Day camp of National Cadet Corps (NCC) as a part of celebrations leading to 75th Independence Day. It will be part of the Youth Exchange Programme (YEP) which is an annual feature of the important NCC RD Camps through which exchange of cadets is done with the member nations. The cadets will be selected through a competition wherein their knowledge of India's history, economy, culture and growth will be tested. These competitions will be organised by the Indian Embassies and high commissions in those countries, added Dr Kumar in a media briefing. Till now such foreign cadets joining the RD Camps used to get nominated by their respective countries. The initiative is to make the participation aspirational In 2020, around 160 youngsters from 10 countries had participated in the NCCs Republic Day Camp. There was no YEP in this years Republic Day Camp due to COVID-19. In the 2022 camp, youth delegations would be invited for the first time from 15 countries - USA, Canada, UK, France, Japan, Oman, UAE, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria and Seychelles. These 15 countries will be in addition to the existing 10 foreign countries - Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Singapore, Kyrgyz Republic, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Vietnam - with whom NCC already has an ongoing Youth Exchange Program. Kumar said that a timeline has been worked out with the results of the competition to be declared in October. These embassies, with the help of the corresponding organisations in 25 countries, would inform about the competition and the selection process in July. In September, the selection process will be conducted and in October, the results will be announced, he added. Kumar said the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian embassies in the 25 countries will assist in the selection process. Only 1000 cadets were able to attend the 2021 RD Camp but this year's plan is to take it back to around 2000 cadets. The Defence Secretary said that just like this year, the NCC's camp in 2022 would be conducted with entire COVID-19 protocols. Government is pushing towards expansion of the NCC which happens to be the worlds biggest uniformed youth organisation with a strength of nearly 14 lakh cadets at present. It helps develop a sense of patriotism and leadership among the youth with the help of various activities including military training and various socio-cultural programmes. Vineet Upadhyay By DEHRADUN: When Tirath Singh Rawat tendered his resignation to the Governor Friday late night at around 11.15 pm, he ended up with the dubious distinction of being the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand for the shortest duration - 115 days. Before Rawat, the record for the shortest tenure as Uttarakhand CM was with Bhagat Singh Koshyari who was the CM for 122 days. Rawat's time in office was marred by some of the biggest controversies in the history of Uttarakhand since it was carved out of erstwhile Uttar Pradesh in November 2000. There was the holding of the Mahakumbh despite many experts warning it could turn into a Covid 'Super Spreader', his questioning of women who wore 'ripped jeans' and then his observation that those who had produced fewer children should not feel jealous if others got more ration from the government. Jay Singh Rawat, a political commentator based in Dehradun, says, "His actions as well as speeches caused huge uproar nationwide including the ripped jeans comments. Kumbh becoming a super-spreader event made things worse as it harmed the reputation of India internationally. Later, the fake-testing scam of the Kumbh acted as a last nail in his coffin. Could it have been any worse?" The ripped jeans comment came in March 2021, barely a month after he became the CM. While speaking at a workshop to prevent substance abuse, Rawat said that ripped jeans pave the way for 'societal breakdown' and were a result of the bad example parents set for children, which also leads to substance abuse. ALSO READ | Uttarakhand BJP legislature party to elect new leader one day after Tirath Singh Rawat's resignation Narrating an incident that occurred while he was travelling on a flight, he told the audience that he saw a woman with 'gum boots' and 'ripped jeans' sitting beside him. He further said that the woman had her two children travelling with her. "I asked her what does she do. She told me that she runs an NGO while her husband is a professor at JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University). I thought she runs an NGO, husband is a professor at JNU, (yet) she goes into society like this. Where are her sanskars (values)?," the CM asked. He then went on to recall how in his childhood torn clothes were not considered good and normal and how kids used to get them repaired whenever they were torn. He went on to say, "Where is this (wearing of ripped jeans) originating from, if not at home? What is the fault of teachers or schools? Where am I taking my son, showing his knees and in torn jeans? Girls are no less. Is this good? All of this, in an attempt to match the mad race of westernisation. While the western world follows us doing yoga and covering their body properly, we run towards nudity." If that observation was targeted at the relatively well-off sections of society, there was soon to be another that would have rubbed many poor people the wrong way. It came later in the same month, while he was addressing an audience in Nainital's Ramnagar. Rawat was talking about the difference in rations being doled out to different families when he said, "Now brother, who is to blame for this? He (the person who got more rations) produced 20 (children) and you produced only two. So he gets a quintal of ration. When there was time, you produced only two why not 20? Now, why the jealousy? He said that the government provided 5kg per person and those with 20 got a quintal (100 kgs) of ration during pandemic times. "Every house was provided with 5kgs of ration per unit (person). Those with 10 got 50 kgs, those with 20 got a quintal of ration and those with two got 10kgs. People started a 'store' out of it and got themselves a buyer. The rice was so good that no one has got such quality in even normal days, leave aside pandemic times. But then they started to get jealous of each other that I got only 10 kgs for two and another person got a quintal for 20," Rawat said. Then there was the Mahakumbh. One of the first decisions by Rawat on the day he was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand was to shower flowers on devotees attending the Haridwar Mahakumbh. Immediately after starting the ceremony, Rawat in his first meeting also instructed the officials to make the Kumbh 'Divya Bhavya'. Rawat himself was seen attending the 'Shahi Snan' on the occasion of Mahashivaratri within a week of becoming the CM. In the process, he withdrew the restrictions imposed by his predecessor Trivendra Singh Rawat who had said that he wanted the Kumbh to be 'symbolic' due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Later, the situation got out of hand and active cases in Uttarakhand surged by over 2600% from March 31 to April 30, 2021. On April 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi through a tweet urged the Kumbh be curtailed and kept prateekatmak (symbolic), but the number of active cases had already reached 15386 registering a more than 800% increase from March 31. Towards the end of Rawat's tenure came the controversy triggered by a preliminary inquiry into Covid-19 testing during the Kumbh that revealed there had been fake testing, which led to an uproar and an FIR being registered. A special investigation team was also constituted to probe the alleged scam. The issue reached the Uttarakhand High Court and at present is subjudice while the interrogation of officials of the mela administration goes on. "His legacy will be of controversies, Kumbh becoming super spreader and fake testing. His short tenure was not easy for him but more difficult for the people. History won't be kind to him," noted Yogesh Kumar, another political analyst in Dehradun. Sumi Sukanya Dutta By NEW DELHI: A promise by the Centre to supply 51.5 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses to the states and Union Territories by July-end may fall short by over 10 per cent, an analysis of the vaccine supplies so far and the projections for this month shows. The figures shared by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare show that while about 34 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines were supplied to the states till June end, the projected availability of vaccines in July is 12 crore. Together, this adds up to 46 crore, 5.5 crore or 11 per cent lesser than the figure projected earlier by the government for supply till July. This shortfall in the projected supply of vaccines does not paint a happy picture, as only about 4.4 per cent of the 94 crore adult population in the country has been fully vaccinated so far. Of the projected supply of vaccines for July, 10 crore doses will be Covishield and 2 crore Covaxin both in government and private hospitals. A further break-up proposed by the government for this month shows that 7.5 crore Covishield doses will be supplied to the government hospitals, while 2.5 crore doses will go to the private entities. Similarly, 1.5 crore Covaxin doses will be available for government facilities and the private hospitals will get a share of only 50 lakh doses. This is in line with the Centres revised Covid-19 vaccination strategy, under which it will directly procure and supply 75 per cent of the vaccine doses available in the country to government hospitals for free vaccination of all adults and the rest will be procured by private hospitals for paid vaccination. This new policy has come into effect from June 21. A look at the daily Covid-19 vaccination graph, however, suggests that after reaching a peak of over 85 lakh daily vaccinations on this day, the figures have been dropping. In June, the average daily vaccination was less than 39 lakh doses and given that a maximum of 12 crore doses are available for July, the average daily vaccination for this month too will remain only about 40 lakh. Biostatisticians, however, have estimated that in order to fully inoculate all of the adult population in the country by the year-end, 90 lakh doses should be administered daily a target that looks nearly impossible given the vaccine shortage at the moment. Despite the Central governments efforts to ramp up the production of vaccines in the country, it itself conceded in an affidavit in the Supreme Court recently that only about 135 crore vaccine doses may be available between August-December this year. This is a revision from its earlier and far more ambitious target of 216 crore vaccine doses projected for the last five months of the year. By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Covaxin, the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Hyderabad-based vaccine maker Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has been found to be 77.8 percent effective in the Phase-III clinical trials. Also, Covaxin has been found to be 93.4% effective against severe symptomatic form of Covid-19 and 63.6 percent effective against asymptomatic Covid-19. Covaxin has also been found to be 65.2 percent effective against the dreaded Delta variant of Coronavirus, which is becoming the dominant strain of the virus across the world. ALSO READ | Despite claims of ramping up manufacturing, Covaxin laggard in vaccine pool, shows affidavit Bharat Biotech announced the results in a press release during the wee hours of Saturday. Bharat Biotech informed that the phase-III clinical trials of Covaxin was an event driven analysis of 130 symptomatic cases, reported at least two weeks after the 2nd dose, conducted at 25 sites across India. It said that the safety analysis of Covaxin demonstrates that the adverse events reported after vaccination with it were similar to placebo, with 12 percent of the subjects experiencing commonly known side effects and less than 0.5 percent of subjects feeling serious adverse events It also said that Covaxin was well tolerated, the Data Safety Monitoring Board has not reported any safety concerns related to the vaccine and the overall rate of adverse events observed in Covaxin was lower than that seen in other Covid-19 vaccines. Bharat Biotech highlighted that no licensed Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer has reported efficacy results against asymptomatic infection in a randomised controlled trial, based on qPCR testing and that it is the first to publish such data. ALSO READ | Congress raises questions over Covaxin supply deal with Brazil, seeks probe Dr. Krishna Ella, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Biotech, said, The successful safety and efficacy readouts of Covaxin as a result of conducting the largest ever COVID Vaccines trials in India establishes the ability of India and developing world countries to focus towards innovation and novel product development. We are proud to state that Innovation from India will now be available to protect global populations. Dr Balram Bhargava, Secretary Department of Health Research & Director General Indian Council of Medical Research, said, I am delighted to note that Covaxin, developed by ICMR and BBIL under an effective public private partnership, has demonstrated an overall efficacy of 77.8% in Indias largest Covid phase 3 clinical trial thus far. Our scientists at ICMR and BBIL have worked tirelessly to deliver a truly effective vaccine of highest international standards. Covaxin will not only benefit the Indian citizens but would also immensely contribute to protect the global community against the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus. I am also pleased to see that Covaxin works well against all variant strains of SARS-CoV-2. The successful development of Covaxin has consolidated the position of Indian academia and Industry in the global arena." Bharat Biotech also said that continued improvement of Covaxin is well under way with additional clinical trials to establish safety and efficacy in children between 2-18 years of age. A clinical trial to determine the safety and immunogenicity of a booster dose is also in process. Several research activities are being carried out to study variants of concern and to assess their suitability for follow up booster doses. Covaxin has been evaluated through neutralizing antibody responses against several variants of concern, namely B.1.617.2 (Delta), B.1.617.1 (Kappa), B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P2- B.1.1.28 (Gamma). The data from these studies have been published in peer reviewed journals and available for review in the public domain. ALSO READ | Covaxin effectively neutralises Delta variant of Covid, says top US health institute Dr Priya Abraham, Director of the ICMR National Institute of Virology, said, The overall efficacy of 77.8 percent following the phase-III clinical trial of Covaxin is wonderful news. Sera from Covaxin recipients have also been evaluated against viral variants detected in India i.e., the Alpha, Beta, Zeta, Kappa and Delta. The making of this vaccine entirely on Indian soil is a matter of great pride to every Indian Covaxin has now received emergency use authorizations in 16 countries including, Brazil, India, Philippines, Iran, Mexico, etc. with EUAs in process in 50 countries worldwide. The company is in discussions with WHO to obtain emergency Use Listing for Covaxin. Bharat Biotech has established Covaxin manufacturing at four facilities within India, further expansions are in process to reach an annualized capacity of 1 billion doses by the end of 2021. Technology transfer activities are in progress to companies in United States, and other countries. By PTI LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday claimed the BJP-backed candidates have achieved a "historic victory" in the district panchayat chief polls and asserted that it was an outcome of the welfare policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Uttar Pradesh BJP has claimed that the party-backed candidates won 67 of 75 seats of the district panchayat chief, the voting for which was held on Saturday. The polling for the seats had begun at 11 am and continued till 3 pm. ALSO READ | District panchayat chief polls: Party-backed candidates won 67 of 75 seats, claims Uttar Pradesh BJP In a tweet in hindi, the chief minister said, "The historic victory of the BJP in the election to the posts of zila panchayat chairpersons in Uttar Pradesh is the result of the public welfare policies of the respected prime minister." "This is the manifestation of public confidence in the good governance that has been established in Uttar Pradesh. Thanks to all the people of the state and a hearty congratulations for the victory," he said. In another tweet, Adityanath congratulated the victorious candidates. "Hearty congratulations to all the winning candidates for the post of zila panchayat chairpersons in the three-tier panchayat elections. This victory of yours will give more strength to the panchayati raj system in India. Best wishes to all of you for a bright tenure," he said. Chairpersons of 22 zila panchayats were declared elected unopposed on Tuesday. Of these, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed to have won 21 seats. The state Election Commission did not announce the party affiliation of the winning candidates. The panchayat polls or those for district panchayat chiefs are not held on a party symbol but candidates enjoy the tacit support of various parties. Zila panchayat chiefs are elected from among the elected members of zila panchayats. The four-phase panchayat polls concluded in the state last month. Express News Service By NEW DELHI: A judge has been appointed to lead a judicial investigation in France into alleged corruption and favouritism in the Rs 59,000 crore Rafale fighter jet deal with India, the French media has reported. The judicial investigation has been ordered by Frances national financial prosecutors office following investigative website Mediaparts fresh reports in April of alleged wrongdoings in the deal as well as a complaint filed by French NGO Sherpa that specialises in financial crime. French news agency AFP also reported that the PNF had tasked a judge to investigate corruption suspicions in the deal. The highly sensitive probe into the inter-governmental deal signed off in 2016 was formally opened on June 14, a media report said. In April, Mediapart, citing an investigation by the countrys anti-corruption agency, reported that Dassault Aviation had paid about one million Euros to an Indian middleman. Dassault Aviation had rejected the allegations of corruption, saying no violations were reported in the frame of the contract. Based on the reports by Mediapart, Sherpa, which works in the field giving support to victims of financial crimes, filed a complaint in April with the PNF, requesting the opening of a judicial investigation for corruption, favoritism and various financial offences that are likely to have occurred in the sale of 36 Rafale aircraft manufactured by aviation major Dassault Aviation. Sherpa said its first complaint was filed with PNF in October 2018 to bring to attention to the facts which, in our opinion, should have justified the opening of an investigation. The NGO said it was based on a complaint filed by former Indian union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie and lawyer Prashant Bhushan with the Central Bureau of Investigation. In 2019, the Supreme Court of India had dismissed a batch of review petitions seeking a probe into the governments purchase of the 36 fighter jets, saying there was no ground to order an FIR in the case. Anuradha Shukla By Express News Service NEW DELHI: India has extended its support for an international tax framework, which calls for global minimum corporate tax of 15% and makes way for countries to tax multinationals, especially tech giants like Google, Facebook and Amazon, on their earnings there. According to finance ministry officials, India will be able to tax big MNCs doing business in the country without having physical presence here up to 20% of their profits. In 2017-18, the Indian operations of Google and Facebook reported total revenues of Rs 9,800 crore ($1.4 billion). Their tax payments were Rs 240 crore ($38 mn) primarily on income.According to sources, India may have to let go of the 2% equalisation tax levied on these firms, which is also a major hurdle in the trade negotiation between the US and India. After remaining a non-starter for many years, the tax proposal got a big push after US president Joe Biden and his Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sought to stop American firms fleeing to countries like Ireland, Hungary and Lichtenstein and those in the Caribbean region that offer lower corporate taxes.According to OECD, profit shifting practices cost countries $100-240 billion in lost revenue annually, which is the equivalent to 4-10% of the global corporate tax revenue. Some experts warn the proposal is tilted in favour of big nations. What will be the long term implications of the tax for India, is still a matter of debate. Finance ministry officials however claim that they have bargained hard on their demands. By PTI NAGPUR: A 46-year-old policeman, who recently lost both his eyes to Mucormycosis, allegedly killed himself using his service pistol in Maharashtra's Nagpur city on Saturday, police said. Head constable Pramod Mergurwar shot himself in the mouth with his service weapon at his home in Mankapur area of the city around 3 pm, an official said. Mergurwar, who had joined the special protection unit (SPU) on deputation a few years ago, had recovered from COVID-19 and later contracted black fungus infection, the official said. The head constable was admitted to a hospital for treatment, during which doctors had to remove one of his eyes, and soon when the infection started spreading fast, he lost the other eye as well, he said. The policeman had been depressed following his recovery, the official said, adding that the deceased's body was sent for post-mortem and a case of accidental death has been registered. The deceased policeman is survived by his wife and two children, he added. (If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.) ALSO WATCH | How Mumbai, India's most crowded city, beat the odds, and the coronavirus By PTI JAMMU: Security forces on Saturday arrested a Pakistani intruder along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, officials said here. The troops picked up a suspected movement along the LoC in the forward area of Gulpur and intercepted the intruder, they said. He was arrested and is being questioned, the officials said. The man has been identified as Javaid of Chopur, they added. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Conceding that the projection of 216 crore vaccine doses between August and December this year was aspirational, the government on Friday conceded that the figure revised to 135 crore doses in the Supreme Court may be more realistic. In a press conference on Covid-19 status in the country by the health ministry, authorities said these projections should be seen in the right context. In May, the government had projected 216 crore doses for the last five months of this year, but in a submission before the apex court on June 26, the target was lowered to 135 crore.The earlier estimate of 216 crore doses between August and December was an aspirational or optimistic one, said V K Paul, member (health), Niti Aayog, and chairman of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration. Paul added that when the government proposed the estimate of 216 crore vaccines between August and December, it had collated the figures provided by vaccine makers, through their responsible, optimistic and aspirational roadmap. The private sector is very influential in India. They have such a major contribution to the GDP. We collated what they showed, he said. The official added that in its earlier estimate of 216 crore, the government had taken into account future availability of Biological E, Zydus Cadilas DNA vaccine, Novavax and Bharat Biotechs nasal vaccines. But as far as the main vaccine makers Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech are concerned, at present 90 crore vaccine doses are estimated from each and this can also go up, explained Paul. As per the affidavit filed in the court, the Centre has now projected an availability of 50 crore doses of Covishield and 40 crore doses of Covaxin between August-December. In addition, 30 crore doses of vaccine by Bio E, 10 crore doses of Sputnik V and 5 crore doses of vaccine by Zydus Cadila are also slated to be available. The government also claimed that the vaccination drive will get a further boost if it succeeds in its attempts to procure vaccines available outside India such as vaccines of Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna. For the purpose of procurement from abroad, efforts are on at the level of the highest political executive and also at the highest diplomatic level, read the affidavit. The Centre has maintained that since these efforts are at an advanced stage, it is not possible to give comprehensive details but as and when these efforts materialise, speed of vaccination will be further augmented and enhanced. By PTI NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to a man who allegedly assaulted a policeman on duty with a spear during the violence which erupted at the Red Fort on Republic Day this year. On January 26, protesting farmers had clashed with police during the tractor rally against the three farm laws and stormed into the Red Fort, hoisting religious flags on its domes and injuring scores of policemen. Granting him relief, Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau said neither the photographs and videos relied upon by the prosecution are very clear nor accused Khempreet Singh can be seen attacking anyone in them. "The charge sheet against the accused has already been filed and he is no longer required for investigation," the judge said, adding that an accused is "deemed innocent till proved guilty". She further said that most of these offences in the case are bailable in nature and 14 accused out of the 18 arrested, including main conspirators Deep Sandhu and Iqbal Singh, are already out on bail. Th judge also relied upon the observations in the bail order passed by the Delhi High Court in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) case filed against three student activists -- Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, and Asif Iqbal Tanha. "The Delhi High Court observed that at a time when the society is polarised and fractured across various lines and ideology reached vanishing point, the court will do all within their mandate to prevent the misuse of the law and alleviate the anxiety which has come to surround these individuals," ASJ Lau noted. The Hon'ble Delhi Court observed that the courts do not function in a vacuum and judges surely have a view on what is happening around them and that the India democracy is undergoing metamorphosis, she added. According to the police, accused Khempreet Singh entered the Red Fort through Lahore Gate with an unruly mob, waived the spear from the ramparts, and severely attacked and assaulted the on-duty policeman. Denying this claim, advocates Jaspreet Singh Rai and Jagdeep Singh Dhillon, representing the accused, told the court that there is not even an iota of evidence against him, and is being falsely implicated in the case. By PTI LUCKNOW: BSP chief Mayawati on Saturday accused the erstwhile Samajwadi Party and Congress governments and the current BJP regime in Uttar Pradesh of misusing official machinery and failing to establish the rule of law in the state. In a series of tweets in Hindi, Mayawati said, "As it is known that in UP, whether it was the government of the Congress party, Samajwadi Party or the current BJP, the police and official machinery was grossly misused and they were not allowed to work impartially. As a result, all these governments have been extremely unsuccessful in giving a rule of law to the public. " She claimed under the Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) rule, the government machinery was allowed to function in an impartial manner, and one of her party MP was even jailed for breaking the law. "The BJP should allow the newly-appointed DGP and other government machinery to function in an impartial manner," she said in another tweet. Mukul Goel was appointed the new Director General of Police (DGP) of Uttar Pradesh on June 30. In another tweet, Mayawati highlighted the electricity crisis in Punjab and claimed that the ruling Congress in the state is riddled with infighting and factionalism because of which issues related to people's welfare are being neglected. "Owing to serious electricity crisis in Punjab, normal life, industries and farming is seriously affected. The Congress is reeling under factionalism and infighting and neglecting issues of public interest and welfare. The people should take cognizance of this," she said. She urged the people of Punjab to get rid of the Congress government in the state and vote for the BSP-SAD alliance in the upcoming Assembly elections. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the BSP have formed an alliance for the 2022 Punjab Assembly election. As part of the tie-up, the BSP would fight 20 of the 117 Assembly seats in Punjab, while the rest would be contested by the SAD. By PTI DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand BJP legislature party will meet on Saturday afternoon to elect its new leader, a day after Tirath Singh Rawat resigned as chief minister after a less than four-month stint. Ending days of speculation about a change of guard in the state, Rawat on Friday handed over his resignation letter to Governor Baby Rani Maurya past 11 pm, hours after returning from Delhi where he was summoned by the top BJP leadership on Wednesday. The legislature party meeting will begin at the BJP headquarters at 3 pm in the presence of central observer Narendra Tomar and BJP general secretary in-charge of Uttarakhand Dushyant Kumar Gautam. Just in: U'khand BJP state president Madan Kaushik says central observers- union minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Dushyant Kumar will reach Dehradun at around 10.30am! @NewIndianXpress @TheMornStandard Vineet Upadhyay (@VineetTNIE) July 3, 2021 All the MLAs have been asked to be present at the meeting, Pradesh BJP president Madan Kaushik, who will chair the meeting, said. However, the names of nearly half a dozen MLAs have already begun doing the rounds as probables for the top job, including Chaubattakhal MLA and cabinet minister Satpal Maharaj, Shrinagar MLA Dhan Singh Rawat and Khatima MLA Pushkar Singh Dhami. A section of party leaders have also suggested the name of former chief minister and Doiwala MLA Trivendra Singh Rawat. Their argument is that with less than a year to go for the next assembly polls it is safe to reinstate Trivendra Singh Rawat, who has the experience of helming the affairs of the state, rather than gambling on a new candidate. However, nothing can be said with a degree of certainty given the BJP' s penchant for springing surprises. Even Tirath Singh Rawat had emerged as the surprise choice of the party for chief minister belying all speculation when Trivendra Singh Rawat was replaced by him in March this year. The choice is by no means easy for the BJP as the new chief minister also has to lead the party to the next assembly polls, which are due early next year. Rajesh Asnani By JAIPUR: After a 22-year-old resignation letter penned by Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia went viral recently, a purported audio clip of Vasundhara Raje has gone viral on Friday, where the former Chief Minister can be heard recognising the members of 'Vasundhara Raje Samarthak Manch' as her own people. In the clip, Raje can also be heard directing the forum's district president Tarachand Sharma to continue running the platform. The audio clip has established that Raje is directly associated with the activities of the Manch. This audio leakage is being seen in political circles as a retaliatory move by Vasundhra critics, especially from the RSS lobby, who are angry that a 22-year-old letter of Poonia was leaked last week to embarrass the state BJP president. The leakage of the Vasundhara Raje audio clip is being linked to the infighting in the Rajasthan BJP. Over the past several months, Vasundhara loyalists have not only formed the Manch but have demanded that Raje be declared as the partys chief ministerial face for the 2023 elections. It needs to be mentioned here that the 'Vasundhara Raje Samarthak Manch' is a platform being run on social media for the past few months. The forum has been demanding Raje to be announced as the CM face for the next Assembly elections scheduled in 2023. However, to date, only the followers of Raje were seen voicing their opinions on social media. But the latest audio clip has raised questions about whether Raje herself is backing this platform. ALSO READ | No honest tehsildar in India, even upright ones take 2 per cent bribe: Rajasthan minister Many eyebrows were raised at the start of the year when the list of presidents of this forum was announced for each district of the state, giving rise to speculation that Raje is floating her own political party. But Raje's silence over the next few months has put an end to the discussions, while her followers still continue to declare her as the CM face for the 2023 elections. Raje continued doing philanthropic work during the Covid-19 pandemic through this forum, running a parallel entity to the state BJP unit. Now with the release of this audio clip, silent whispers in the political corridors are once again hinting at Raje planning to go solo in the upcoming Assembly elections. However, there has been no response from the Raje camp till the filing of this report, while district president Tarachand Sharma has said that Raje was speaking about continuing the philanthropic work, and there is nothing more to it. The audio clip has gone viral a few days after a three-page resignation letter written by Poonia 22 years back went viral on social media. Factionalism is running deep within the saffron party in Rajasthan ever since the appointment of Poonia as the state BJP President. Since then, Raje has been maintaining a distance with the party office, even staying away from the campaign for the recent bypolls. Recently, her posters were removed from state BJP headquarters. Poonia is presently in Delhi holding discussions with senior party leaders on a range of issues concerning the party in Rajasthan. (With agency inputs) M P Prashanth By Express News Service KOZHIKODE: Clubhouse, the popular application that provides a new platform for deliberations, have redefined the contours of debates on Islam in Kerala. Issues related to Islam dominate the chatrooms ever since the App became popular among the Malayalees. Key players in the debates including MM Akbar, Saeed Ibn George, C Ravichandran and EA Jabbar have started appearing in the Clubhouse chat rooms, drawing huge audiences. Clubhouse is more suited for discussions than other forums because it provides avenues for real-time interaction. Lots of people, who have renounced the religion, have dared to come forward to air their views publicly in our discussions, said Arif Hussein Theruvath, a regular presence from the side of Ex-Muslims group. Social media have dug out many Islamic texts that were deliberately buried by Islamists for ages because they contain embarrassing content for the believers. We put these texts under the microscope to bring out the anti-human elements in them. The clubhouse has enabled us to penetrate into areas hitherto inaccessible for us, Arif said. He discounted the allegations that Sangh Parivar is behind the Ex-Muslims campaign against Islam. The religion always wants enemies for its survival. Earlier it was Jews and Christians, now it is us. We believe that our efforts do contribute to the secularization of the society, Arif said. Farhana Ashique, research scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), who represented the Muslim perspective in many debates, has a different view. The discussions have brought in a drastic change in the public perception that the traditional Muslim scholars are incapable of engaging a modern audience. Clubhouse discussions have witnessed the emergence of a number of Muslim scholars in the traditional attire answering with ease the questions on various subjects like cosmology, philosophy and legal theory, she said. The discussions have also opened up opportunities for Muslim women to access the religious texts. They have realized that many of the rights they were fighting for have scriptural backing. This is indeed a new realization for Muslim women because we are sure that our issues can be settled within the framework of Islam itself, he said. At the same time, Farhana is concerned about the attempts to create communal divide by raking up unnecessary topics. The concern over the toxic content of the discussions is real, especially from the ones emanating from the chatrooms organized by the so-called Ex-Muslims, she said. Quite often such debates stoop to the level of maligning the entire community. Theclanguage of the speakers is clearly that of the RSS and issues they raise are Islamophobic, Farhana said. Dr C Viswanathan, who participated in the debate on criticism on Islam in India, feels that non-Muslims should keep away from the discussions on Islam. I strongly support the rights of Ex-Muslims to campaign against Islam. We should attempt to free people from the clutches of religions of every kind, he said. But Dr Viswanathan expressed serious doubts about the intentions of non-Muslims who cheer criticism on Islam. The issues Ex-Muslims discuss mostly affect only 14 percent of the population, but the Hindutvaisation affects the whole population because it is in power in the country, he said. By Express News Service KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Friday declined to stay the investigation in the sedition case registered by the Kavaratti police against filmmaker-activist Aisha Sultana over her alleged remarks that the central government had used Covid as a bio-weapon against the islanders. Justice Ashok Menon directed the Kavaratti police to inform the court of the progress of the investigation within two weeks. When the counsel for Sultana sought an interim order staying further proceedings in the case, the court observed that the investigation is at an infant stage and that the prosecution would have to be given more time to collect necessary material. It is too early to throw away the prosecution case at the threshold itself. Therefore, no interim order could be passed, the court said.When the petition filed by Sultana seeking to quash the FIR came up for hearing, Aman Lekhi, the Additional Solicitor General of India, who is appearing for the Lakshadweep administration, submitted that the court can interfere in the investigation only in exceptional cases and not in a case like this. He said the investigation in the case is at the initial stage. Repeated assertions by the accused that the Central government used bioweapon are seditious, he said. Lekhi further argued that no reason pleaded in the petition is sufficient to quash the FIR and investigation is to be permitted to go on. Sultana said that the offence alleged against her did not come under Section 124 A of IPC as the words are spoken or written has to bring about hatred, contempt or displeasure against a government and such words should have resulted in imminent violence. There was no case that the statement of the petitioner has created disaffection towards the government. The criticism on political matters, candid and honest discussion itself do not constitute an offence of sedition, the counsel for Sultana submitted. It was further argued that the offences under Section 153 B of the IPC too will not stand against Sultana as the words spoken are not prejudicial to national integration or causing disharmony. The alleged statements of the petitioner can only be termed as an expression of disapprobation of actions of the government and its functionaries so that the prevailing situation could be addressed quickly and effectively. She never intended to incite people or disturbance of public peace by resorting to violence, said Sultanas counsel. The High Court had granted her anticipatory bail observing that prima facie the alleged offences, including the sedition charge, are not attracted. By Express News Service KOCHI: Denying allegations of political intentions behind the raids on the Kitex Group, Industries Minister P Rajeeve said the government will not try to interfere in the functioning of any industry. The government is very transparent on this issue. We have taken the issues raised by the Kitex CMD very seriously and the Chief Minister has convened a high-level meeting on Monday to discuss the issue. Ministers and secretaries of the departments of industries, health and labour will attend the meeting. We have instructed officers that there should not be any raids on industrial units. An officer can conduct a raid only if he gets credible information and he feels that there is a prima facie case of violation. Meanwhile, the government will not support any illegal activities, Rajeeve told mediapersons at the Meet the Press programme organised by the Ernakulam Press Club on Saturday. ALSO READ: Alleging witch hunt by government, Kitex Group withdraws from Rs 3,500 crore project in Kerala He said the CPM does not nurture any political rivalry with Kitex. Though the CPM has its own opinion about the kind of politics promoted by Twenty20, the Kitex-backed organisation that rules Kizhakkambalam panchayat, the party does not see it as a rival. The party did not lose any assembly seat due to the stand taken by Twenty20. It is the Congress that has been waging a political war against the Kitex, said Rajeeve. Rajeeve said he was not able to contact Kitex CMD Sabu Jacob as his phone was busy. I rang up his brother Bobby and we had a very friendly chat for around 10 minutes. He said departments of labour and sectoral magistrate have raided the company and I offered to look into the issue. We have taken the issues raised by Sabu seriously. We are open to discussions. He should have shown the maturity to discuss it with the government before going public about it. Sabu should not have resorted to disgracing the state, he said. ALSO READ: Five states have invited us for investment, says Kitex CMD Rajeeve said the FICCI has praised the state for its proactive attitude in giving single-window clearance to industrial projects. The Chief Minister had proposed in the first Cabinet meeting itself a statutory mechanism to address the issues related to various departments regarding industrial clearance. The Malayalee industrialists who attended a meeting had appreciated the steps taken by the Chief Minister to promote industrial investment in the state, he said. Rajeeve said though Sabu Jacob has announced the decision to scrap the Rs 3,500 crore project, the government will provide all support if he changes his mind. I have asked the industries secretary to look into the issues raised by Kitex, he said. Government intervention to control cement price The industries minister said the government will increase the share of public sector cement manufacturing units to 25 percent in a bid to control the soaring price of cement. Public sector cement manufacturers Malabar Cements and Travancore Cements will increase production to meet the demand and to keep a tab on the prices. Malabar Cements has already reduced the price by Rs 5. Rajeeve said the acquisition of land for the proposed Global Industrial Finance and Trade (GIFT) City, slated to come up on 220 hectares of land at Ayyampuzha near Aluva will be completed by December 2021. A meeting of elected representatives of the area was convened by the minister on Saturday which decided to complete the acquisition within the time frame. Though the initial proposal was to acquire 300 houses, the district administration has redrawn the project to ensure the minimum acquisition of houses. A Zoom meeting will be held on Monday to review the project and the public hearing will be held on July 7,8 and 9. T Muruganandham By Express News Service CHENNAI: One more inter-state water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka assumed centre stage on Saturday with political parties protesting a new dam across the Markandeya river, a tributary of the Thenpennai river, which would affect irrigation and drinking water requirements of six districts in Tamil Nadu. However, Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister Durai Murugan said the dispute would be resolved through a tribunal. Referring to reports that Karnataka has completed the construction of a dam at Yarkol village across the Markandeya river, Durai Murugan said that the state government would urge the Union government to constitute an inter-state water disputes tribunal expeditiously to resolve the dispute over the construction of a dam, despite opposition from Tamil Nadu from the very beginning. "The Tamil Nadu government, in its communication dated June 29 to the Union Jal Shakti Ministry, reiterated its demand for early constitution of the tribunal. The new dam built by Karnataka will affect irrigation in 870 hectares of lands in Krishnagiri district. This issue will be resolved through the tribunal," the minister said in a statement here. Durai Murugan further said the state government would take appropriate steps to safeguard the rights of farmers and the public who depend on water from the Markandeya river which originates in Karnataka and flows into the Pennaiyar river in Tamil Nadu. When engineers of the Central Water Commission inspected work on the new dam in 2017, Karnataka said the dam with 0.5 tmcft storage capacity was being constructed to fulfil the drinking water requirements of people in the area and to fortify the groundwater. In 2019, Karnataka announced that the construction of this dam was almost over. Tamil Nadu has been consistently opposing the Karnataka government in this regard and a petition was filed before the Supreme Court on May 18, 2018. Later, on an interim petition, the Supreme Court directed that a tribunal should be constituted to resolve this issue. In 2019, the Tamil Nadu government urged the Union government to constitute the tribunal at the earliest. As per the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956, the Union government should constitute a tribunal within a year from the date of request. But the tribunal is yet to become a reality. Farmers' associations have been opposing a new dam across the Markandeya river by Karnataka since it will affect the irrigation and drinking water requirements of six districts -- Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Kallakurichi, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram and Cuddalore. MDMK general secretary Vaiko charged that Tamil Nadu lost its rights due to the lethargic attitude of the previous AIADMK regime. The SC had dismissed the petition of Tamil Nadu against Karnataka constructing a dam across the Markandeya river, he said and asked why the state failed to immediately make a request for forming an inter-state water dispute tribunal to resolve the issue. In a belated move, the government headed by Edappadi K Palaniswami requested the Union government to form the tribunal, he said. A committee comprising representatives from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Puducherry was formed to hold talks on the issue. This committee submitted its report to the Union government on July 31, 2020 recommending the formation of a tribunal. "The Union government headed by Narendra Modi has let the issue drag on without taking any decision for one full year thus betraying Tamil Nadu. The Union government which diluted the final verdict of the tribunal in the Cauvery water dispute has now betrayed Tamil Nadu again in the Thenpennai river issue. I urge the present government to check the storing of Thenpennai river water at the new dam across the Markandeya river," he added. CPI state secretary R Mutharasan said, "On such occasions, the Union government should take an impartial stand and resolve the issue. But the present BJP-led government is siding with Karnataka betraying Tamil Nadu. The Tamil Nadu government should initiate a legal battle against the illegal activities of the Karnataka government." Condemning the Karnataka government for completing the construction of a dam across Markandeya river, PMK youth wing president Anbumani Ramadoss blamed the Union government for delaying the formation of a tribunal to resolve the issue. "Now, only if the new dam across Markandeya river reaches its full capacity can the overflowing water reach Thenpennai river in Tamil Nadu. Since there is no chance for that, lakhs of acres in six districts will be affected and drinking water requirements cannot be fulfilled," he added. He said the state government should take up the issue with the Union government as this dam has been constructed without the consent of the Tamil Nadu government. By Express News Service CHENNAI: BJP's challenge against the constitution of the NEET committee by the Tamil Nadu government is nothing but an attempt to throttle the spirit of democracy, the state has said. The contention that a sovereign state cannot even attempt to study the consequences of an existing law and to attempt to examine issues raised by students from rural areas and from poor socioeconomic background is constitutionally incorrect, it added. The state made the submissions in its counter affidavit opposing the PIL moved by BJP state secretary K Nagarajan seeking to quash an order issued by the Tamil Nadu government on June 10, constituting a committee headed by Justice A K Rajan to study the impact of NEET. ALSO READ | We didn't raise NEET issue during meeting with PM Modi: BJP TN chief L Murugan According to the petitioner, any recommendation made by the committee cannot be implemented in view of the orders passed by the apex court on NEET as it would be violative of the judgement. Denying the allegation, the counter filed by advocate-general R Shunmugasundaram contended that the petitioner has presumed the outcome of the report and the action government will take on the report, which is entirely hypothetical and is nothing but conjecture. The committee only gives a platform to the stakeholders to state their concerns, which will be in turn submitted to the government as a report, the state said. Being a welfare state, the grievances of the students, parents and stakeholders on the impact of NEET have to be heard, which is one of the sovereign functions of the government, it added. Hearing the public in order to address the grievances is the constitutional power and mandate of a welfare state and such action of constituting a committee to hear the people is not justiciable as it would amount to transgressing into the executive and legislative domain of the state, the state asserted. Moreover, the issue in the present plea is only the constitution of the committee and not the legislative power of the state legislature to enact laws on subjects in concurrent list of the Constitution. The government will have to study the report and then only decide the further course of action, the counter said. The plea is scheduled to be taken up for hearing on Monday. Meanwhile, a slew of political parties and organisations in the state have moved the high court seeking to implead them in the PIL opposing the challenge. The parties include DMK, MDMK, CPM, and Dravidar Kazhagam. By Associated Press RAMALLAH: Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Saturday to demonstrate against President Mahmoud Abbas, hoping to inject new momentum into a protest movement sparked by the death of an outspoken critic in the custody of security forces. Palestinian security forces and groups of men in plainclothes violently dispersed a similar protest a week ago, drawing expressions of concern from the United States and the U.N. human rights chief. There were no immediate reports of violence on Saturday. The Palestinian Authority was established as part of the peace process in the 1990s and governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It has grown increasingly autocratic and unpopular, and Abbas cancelled the first elections in 15 years in April when it looked like his fractured Fatah party would lose badly. ALSO READ | EXPLAINER: Why are Palestinians protesting against Abbas? He was largely sidelined during the Gaza war in May amid an outpouring of support for his rivals, the territory's militant Hamas rulers. Saturday's demonstration began with a few hundred protesters gathering in al-Manara Square in central Ramallah, where the Palestinian Authority is headquartered. The mother of Nizar Banat, the activist whose death last month sparked the protests, and other family members were welcomed with applause and gave brief speeches. The crowd then made a loop through downtown, gathering force as it marched until thousands could be heard chanting "The people want the fall of the regime," and "Abbas, leave," slogans used during the so-called Arab Spring protests that swept the Middle East in 2011. There was initially no visible security presence, but when the protesters marched down a main street leading to the headquarters of the PA they approached a line of riot police manning barricades. The protesters halted and sat in the street several meters (yards) away. Fatah meanwhile held a rally in the southern West Bank city of Hebron in which supporters waved the party's trademark yellow flags. The PA's official Palestine TV covered the Hebron rally and ignored the demonstration in Ramallah. State Department spokesman Ned Price said this week that the U.S. was "deeply disturbed by reports that non-uniformed members of the Palestinian Authority security forces harassed and used force against protesters and journalists" during last weekend's demonstrations. Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Thursday that Palestinian security forces had beaten protesters with batons and attacked them with tear gas and stun grenades. She said they appeared to have singled out female demonstrators, reporters and bystanders, many of whom said they were sexually harassed. She called on the PA "to ensure freedom of opinion, expression and peaceful assembly." By PTI KATHMANDU: Nepal's election commission is preparing for the mid-term elections in November despite the uncertainty over polls due to the pending petitions in the Supreme Court against the dissolution of the House of Representatives, according to a media report. At the recommendation of Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved the lower house for the second time in five months on May 22 and announced snap elections on November 12 and November 19. Prime Minister Oli is currently heading a minority government after losing a trust vote in the 275-member House. The constitutionality of the President's move is being heard at the Supreme Court, raising the question if the elections would be held on set dates. But the Election Commission of Nepal said that it would start to procure materials required for holding the polls next week after the Finance Ministry approved 7. 72 Nepalese Rupees billion for holding the elections, The Kathmandu Post reported. The ministry said it approved the budget for the commission to procure election materials and election management. This budget, however, does not cover the expenses for security arrangements for the polls. We are planning to issue a tender next week for all the goods required for holding the elections, except for ballot boxes which we have in adequate numbers, said Raj Kumar Shrestha, spokesperson at the commission. Officials at the election body say though the House dissolution case is being challenged in the Supreme Court, the commission cannot say no to holding elections. The commission is currently preparing the specifications for over 50 types of goods to be procured. Some of the items that the election body plans to procure are ballot box stickers, identity cards, poll books, security seals, rubber stamps, voting stamps, markers, stamp pad and ink, polythene bag and shack, photocopy paper; glue sticks, stapler machines, scales and scissors and pens. Besides these materials, we will also procure medical goods considering the COVID-19 pandemic, said Komal Dhamala, assistant spokesperson at the commission. The commission is also updating voters' lists in different districts. More voters will be added for the elections in November, said Dhamala. According to him, there will be around 22,000 polling centres for the upcoming elections. Considering the health risks due to COVID-19, the commission is also preparing health and safety guidelines to make the election process safer. Some health officials have projected that a third wave of COVID-19 could hit the country around the same time when elections have been planned. Officials at the election body admit the risk and are planning various measures not to turn the elections into a super-spreader event. Through code of conduct, we can limit the participation of people in the assembly of political parties, said Dhamala. While the commission is making logistical preparations, the political situation continues to remain fragile for holding elections. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is likely to pass its verdict on the House of Representatives dissolution case next week as both the petitioners and defendants have concluded their arguments, myrepublica reported. Some 30 writ petitions have been filed against the dissolution of the House of Representatives. Oli has given an ultimatum to the Madhav Kumar Nepal-led faction to withdraw the signatures in the writ petition filed at the Supreme Court demanding the restoration of the House of Representatives and the appointment of Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba as prime minister. Nepal plunged into a political crisis on December 20 last year after President Bhandari dissolved the House and announced fresh elections on April 30 and May 10 at the recommendation of Prime Minister Oli, amidst a tussle for power within the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP). In February, the apex court reinstated the dissolved House of Representatives, in a setback to embattled Prime Minister Oli who was preparing for snap polls. Oli repeatedly defended his move to dissolve the House of Representatives, saying some leaders of his party were attempting to form a "parallel government". By Associated Press VANCOUVER: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday denounced the burning and vandalism of Catholic churches that has followed discovery of unmarked graves and former schools for Indigenous children. Several Catholic churches have recently been vandalized or damaged in fires following the discovery of more than 1,100 unmarked graves at the sites of three former residential schools run by the church in British Columbia and Saskatchewan that generations of Indigenous children had been forced to attend . The nation also saw a series of attacks Thursday -- Canada Day -- on statues of Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth and other historical figures. Trudeau, himself a Catholic, said he understands the anger many people feel toward the federal government and Catholic church. The government has apologized for the schools and Trudeau has called on Pope Francis, too, to make a formal apology. "It's real and it is fully understandable given the shameful history we are all become more aware of," he told a news conference. "I can't help but think that burning down churches is actually depriving people who are in need of grieving and healing and mourning from places where they can grieve and reflect and look for support." On Thursday, statues of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth on the grounds of the Manitoba legislature were tied with ropes and pulled down by a crowd. The statue of Queen Victoria was covered in red paint and its base had red handprints on it. On the steps behind the statue were hundreds of tiny shoes, placed there to recognize the children who went to residential schools. Arlen Dumas, grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, was at a separate event at the time but said he was shocked at what happened. "I personally wouldn't have participated in that," he said, though he added, "Mind you, it has been a very triggering time over the past few weeks." ALSO WATCH: Full Canadian village burns due to wildfires, thanks to climate change "It's unfortunate that they chose to express themselves the way that they did. But it's actually a symbol of the fact that there is a lot of hurt and that there's a lot of frustration and anger with just how things have happened," Dumas said. Premier Brian Pallister called the vandalism "a major setback for those who are working toward real reconciliation." "Those who commit acts of violence will be pursued actively in the courts. All leaders in Manitoba must strongly condemn acts of violence and vandalism, and at the same time, we must come together to meaningfully advance reconciliation," he said in a statement. In other incidents on Canada Day, a statue of Queen Victoria in Kitchener, Ontario, was doused in red paint. In Victoria, British Columbia, a statue of Captain James Cook was dismantled and thrown into the harbor. The statue was replaced with a wooden cutout of a red dress -- a symbol representing murdered and missing Indigenous women and its base was smeared with red handprints. In St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, two prominent buildings and a statue dedicated to the local police force were vandalized with bright red paint. Earlier this week, a First Nations group in British Columbia said it had used ground-penetrating radar to find 182 human remains in unmarked graves at a site close to a former residential near Cranbrook, 525 miles (845 kilometers) east of Vancouver. That followed reports of similar massive findings at two other such church-run schools, one of more than 600 unmarked graves in southern Saskatchewan and another of 215 bodies in British Columbia. Some 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools, which operated for more than 120 years in Canada. More than 60% of the schools were run by the Catholic Church. BANGKOK (AP) Health authorities in Thailand reported over 6,200 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, setting a record for a third straight day, as concerns mounted over shortages of treatment facilities and vaccine supplies. Officials also reported 41 deaths, bringing the total to 2,181. Around 90% of Thailand's over 271,000 reported coronavirus cases and 95% of the deaths have been recorded during a surge that began in early April. There were 992 deaths in June, more than 15 times Thailands total for all of 2020. The number of patients in ICUs and on ventilators has risen nationwide over the past two weeks. The governments Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration said 39% of the new cases reported were in Bangkok, 25% in neighboring provinces and 36% in the other 71 provinces. Center deputy spokesperson Apisamai Srirangsan said Bangkok authorities must urgently set up isolation stations to separate infected people in their local communities and add beds for treatment of serious cases. Critics since the beginning of the year have charged that the government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has failed to secure timely and adequate vaccine supplies, and efforts to obtain more have proceeded slowly. Experts at a Health Ministry briefing on Friday painted a grim picture of how to prioritize who gets vaccinated. Epidemiologist Kamnuan Ungchoosak said the arrival of the delta variant of the virus, believed to be more contagious, could push the number of deaths up to 1,400 in July and more in coming months. He said 80% of the deaths are among the elderly and people with chronic diseases, and if they are vaccinated it could significantly reduce the death rate while also lowering the demand for ICU beds. Around 10% of elderly and infirm patients die, while the rate for those age 20-40 is less than 0.1%, he said. But at the same time, significant outbreaks are occurring among other groups, including people in construction worker camps and restaurant workers, who also need to be vaccinated, he said. We currently have closed the camps and businesses, but the number of cases is not declining and the economy is bad. But if we focus on old people and those who have chronic diseases, we might not have to shut down the businesses and the bed demands from these two groups will also decline, Kamnuan said. Prayuth has targeted mid-October for opening up the country to vaccinated visitors from abroad without quarantines. Sopon Mekthon, chairman of the governments subcommittee on COVID-19 vaccine management, said only 2 million of about 16 million old and infirm people have received vaccines. Nakorn Premsri, director of the National Vaccine Institute, said a Thai company, Siam BioScience, was supposed to provide the country with 10 million doses a month of the locally produced AstraZeneca vaccine, but that has been cut to 5-6 million doses. The company, owned by Thailand's king, reportedly has had production problems. It also has contracts to provide vaccines to other countries. He said Thailand is trying to negotiate with other producers to fill the gap. So far, Thailand has only used vaccines from AstraZeneca and China's Sinovac and Sinopharm, although the government says it has agreements to also buy from Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. The worst job I ever had was as ... "a bagger and a cashier at a grocery store during high school. It was in this job that I first realized how rude people can be and while 'the customer is always right,' thats not always true." Reporter Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk). Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death. Submit Researchers in the Netherlands have conducted a study showing that Janssens Ad26.COV2.S coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) vaccine was effective against variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) among eight individuals. However, while all variants of concern tested were susceptible to vaccine-induced neutralizing activity, the effect was reduced compared with that observed for the first variant of SARS CoV-2 (B.1 lineage). Compared with vaccine-induced neutralizing activity against the B.1 virus, the reduction in neutralization was greater for the B.1.351 (Beta) and P.1 (Gamma) variants than that observed for the rapidly spreading B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant. Boerries Brandenburg and colleagues from Janssen Vaccines & Prevention in Leiden say that while the efficacy of the Janssen vaccine against B.1.617.2 is currently unknown, they suspect that just one dose will be sufficient to confer protection. A pre-print version of the research paper is available on the bioRxiv* server, while the article undergoes peer review. Janssens vaccine is currently being tested in clinical trials The Ad26.COV2.S vaccine developed by Janssen is currently being tested in several clinical trials, and interim data on immunogenicity and efficacy have been reported. The data have so far shown that the vaccine induces robust antibody and cellular immunity against the original SARS-CoV-2 isolate identified in Wuhan, China (Wuhan-Hu-1) and shows high efficacy (more than 80%) in preventing severe COVID-19. The vaccine was also shown to completely protect against COVID-19-related hospitalization and death, including in South Africa, where more than 95% of individuals for whom sequence data was available were infected with the B.1351 (Beta) variant of concern. As of July 2021, the single-dose Janssen vaccine had been granted emergency use authorization or marketing authorization in more than 50 countries, and more than 19 million people have now received the vaccine globally. Vaccine-induced neutralization of B.1351 and P.1 may be reduced Brandenburg and colleagues recently demonstrated that the neutralization activity was reduced against B.1351 and P.1, by 5.0- fold and 3.3-fold, respectively, compared with activity against the Wuhan-Hu-1 variant. However, non-neutralizing functions including cellular phagocytosis, complement deposition, natural killer cell activation and CD4 and CD8 T cell responses were comparable across the Wuhan-Hu-1, B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1351 and P.1 variants. As the B.1617.2 lineage that first emerged in India continues to spread across the world rapidly, data on vaccine efficacy against this variant are urgently needed, says the team. What did the researchers do? Now, Brandenburg and colleagues have tested sera from recipients of a single dose of the Janssen vaccine for neutralizing activity against several variants of concern, including B.1.617.2. The study included eight participants (aged 47 to 91 years) from the phase 3 ENSEMBLE trial that began on September 23rd, 2020. Sera were collected from the participants 71 days after they had received the vaccine. What did the study find? The team reports that all variants tested exhibited susceptibility to vaccine-induced neutralization. Neutralizing antibody titers against the B.1.1.7 and B.1 variants were comparable. However, neutralization titers against all other variants were reduced by 1.5- to 3.6-fold, compared with those observed for the B.1 strain. Spike protein schematic structure and alignment of substitutions in SARSCoV2 variants evaluated in this study. S, Spike protein; NTD, Nterminal domain; RBD, receptor binding domain; SP, signaling peptide; TM, transmembrane domain; AA, aminoacid. The B.1351 and P.1 variants exhibited the greatest reduction in neutralization activity (3.6- and 3.4-fold, respectively) compared with activity against B.1. For the rapidly spreading B.1617.2 variant, neutralizing titers were only reduced by 1.6-fold. The team says these results are in accordance with those of recently published studies of individuals who had received the Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines. Across all of these vaccines, greater reductions in neutralizing activity were observed for B.1.351 than for B.1617.2. What do the authors advise? At this point, no data on vaccine efficacy against the Delta variant is available, although real-world evidence studies have suggested that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine are effective against this new variant, says the team. Brandenburg and colleagues say that while the efficacy of the Janssen vaccine against B.1617.2 is currently unknown, it may become available through the phase III ENSEMBLE trials later this year. However, the researchers say they previously observed that the vaccine was highly effective at protecting against severe COVID-19 and fully protective against COVID-19-related hospitalization and death in South Africa. In that study, more than 95% of people with genomic sequencing data available were found to be infected with B.1351, against which neutralizing titers were more severely impacted on day 21. This strongly suggests that the vaccine efficacy of a single dose of As26.COV2.S against the Delta variant will be preserved as well, either because lower neutralizing antibody titers are still sufficient to be protective or by the contribution non-neutralizing antibody functions and the strong cellular immune response that As26.COV2.S elicits, they conclude. *Important Notice bioRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. Gilbert J. Rake, 88, of Bonita Springs, FL passed away on Wednesday, June 30, 2021 with his loving wife by his side. He was born in Starlight, IN, son of Henry and Catherine Rake. Gil proudly served his country in the United States Army. Following the service, he worked as an accountant with Goldsboro, NC (27530) Today Mainly clear skies. Low 67F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear skies. Low 67F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. (Newser) John McAfee's widow says she doesn't believe he took his own life in a Spanish prison last month, but the software entrepreneur's own attorney says his death was a suicide, and that's how authorities believe he died. Now, a prison system source bolsters that theory, telling Reuters that McAfee tried to kill himself earlier this year, leading to a closer watch over him by prison officials. The source says the incident happened Feb. 28 at the Brians 2 prison complex near Barcelona, and that after it took place, McAfee was put under suicide watch. story continues below It's not clear how long he was under such monitoring. A representative for Catalonia's Justice Department declined to comment. A source has also told the AP that McAfee's body was found with a suicide note in his pocket, though as of last week, McAfee's attorney in Spain said the family hadn't been told by authorities of such a note. Spanish newspaper El Pais reports that an autopsy has also found McAfee died by suicide, but officials haven't confirmed that. (Read more John McAfee stories.) (Newser) Phylicia Rashad has long been a defender of Bill Cosby, who played her husband on The Cosby Show, but her recent glee over his release from prison has her facing new backlash. On Wednesday, Pennsylvania's highest court vacated the 83-year-old's sexual assault conviction, making him a free man, and Rashad, 73, immediately took to Twitter to express her feelings on the news. "FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righteda miscarriage of justice is corrected!" she wrote in a now-deleted tweet, posting a photo of Cosby, per CNN. Rashad, just named in May as dean of Howard University's College of Fine Arts, soon found herself in a storm of controversy. The New York Post reports that the hashtag #ByePhylicia began circulating, as both current and former students took Rashad to task for her tweet and called for Howard University to fire her. story continues below "Rashad should not be an educator," tweeted one alum and rape survivor who, in a piece for the Independent, added that, "as a former student of Howard ... I would not have felt safe under her guidance." Later Wednesday, Rashad walked back her initial post, tweeting, "I fully support survivors of sexual assault coming forward. My post was in no way intended to be insensitive to their truth." And in a letter penned to Howard University parents and students, Rashad noted, per CNN: "My remarks were in no way directed towards survivors of sexual assault. I vehemently oppose sexual violence, find no excuse for such behavior, and I know that Howard University has a zero-tolerance policy toward interpersonal violence." Howard University's take: "Survivors of sexual assault will always be our priority. While Dean Rashad has acknowledged in her follow-up tweet that victims must be heard and believed, her initial tweet lacked sensitivity towards survivors of sexual assault." (Read more Phylicia Rashad stories.) (Newser) A powerful mudslide carrying a deluge of black water and debris crashed into rows of houses in a town west of Tokyo following heavy rains on Saturday, leaving at least 19 people missing, officials said. Dozens of homes may have been buried in Atami, a town known for hot springs, said Shizuoka prefecture spokesman Takamichi Sugiyama, per the AP. Public broadcaster NHK gave the number of missing people at 20, but Sugiyama said the prefecture confirmed at least 19, although he said the number may grow. Torrential rains have slammed parts of Japan, starting earlier this week. Experts said dirt had been loosened, increasing landslide risks in a country filled with valleys and mountains. Shizuoka Gov. Heita Kawakatsu told reporters the Coast Guard had discovered two people who'd been washed into the sea by the mudslide. Their hearts had stopped, but their deaths were not yet officially declared, he said. story continues below "I offer my deepest condolences to everyone who has suffered," he said, adding that utmost efforts will be made to rescue lives. Both Kawakatsu and Sugiyama said it had been raining hard in the area all morning. Self-defense forces will join firefighters and police in the rescue operation, and a minister from the national government had also arrived, they said. Japanese media reports said Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga called an emergency meeting for his Cabinet. Evacuation warningsincluding the so-called Level 5, which is the highest possible alertwere issued for a wide area. The landslides appeared to have struck multiple times, about as fast as a car. Footage showed a powerful, black mudslide slither down a mountain, knocking over and crushing houses and sweeping away cars in its path. Helpless neighbors watched in horror, some recording on their phones. NHK TV footage showed a part of a bridge had collapsed. (Read more Japan stories.) (Newser) If you happened to see "Sauron's eye" or "Cthulhu" trending Friday evening, it wasn't because some fictional entity was making headlines. It was something even more real and disturbing a fire in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, caused by a leak from an underwater gas pipeline. The blaze spotted on the surface of the water early Friday west of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula erupted about 500 feet from an oil drilling platform belonging to Pemex, Mexico's state oil company, and it took Pemex about five hours to put out the fire, extinguishing it for good at 10:45am local time, per Reuters. That dousing didn't stop the mesmerizing image of an "eye of fire" in the middle of the ocean from going viral, with ABC7 noting it looked like "a scene from a disaster movie." "Others said it looked like the portal to hell opening up," the station added. story continues below So how can an ocean, filled with water, actually catch on fire? Simon George, an organic geochemistry professor at Australia's Macquarie University, tells CNET that the blaze "was caused by methane and probably other wet gas components (ethane, propane, etc.) igniting at the ocean surface after leaking from the pipeline," with enough gas continuing to flow from the rupture to keep the fire burning. George adds that the fire may have even been helpful in one regard: "It consumed some of the leaking hydrocarbons," containing some of the damage. Pemex brought boats in to douse the fire with water, per USA Today, with Reuters noting that nitrogen was also used. Pemex says no injuries were reported and that it's investigating the incident, per Reuters, which notes the company "has a long record of major industrial accidents at its facilities." (Read more gas leak stories.) (Newser) As investigations continue into why and how the Champlain Towers South condo crumbled in Surfside last week, officials are turning an eye toward other older high-rises in South Florida and around the state. Now, after a suggested audit by the Miami-Dade County mayor of all buildings 40 years or older, the city of North Miami Beach has shut down one of its own, ordering the evacuation of a 156-unit condo complex just 5 miles from Champlain Towers, reports the AP. Per a city release, the 10-story Crestview Towers Condominium, built in 1972, had been found in January to be electrically and structurally unsafe, and so, "in an abundance of caution, the city ordered the building closed immediately and the residents evacuated for their protection," City Manager Arthur H. Sorey III says. A "full structural assessment" of the complex, which had reported millions of dollars in damages from 2017's Hurricane Irma, will be carried out to help officials decide what to do next, he adds. story continues below Among the issues noted by Miami's B&A Engineering Services in the Jan. 11 report, turned in to the city by the condo association on Friday, were columns, beams, walls, sills, balcony slabs, and other structural pieces "showing distress," including "cracks and spalls found throughout," per the Miami Herald. Also, "some previous repairs were visible," and multiple repairs were recommended, including to emergency lights, fire alarms, smoke detectors, an electrical room, and an emergency generator. Sorey tells the paper the condo association was "keeping [the report] from us," until the city threatened to shut the building down. The North Miami Beach Police Department helped with the evacuation Friday, the first since the Surfside collapse, with the American Red Cross assisting displaced residents. NBC Miami notes there are more than 300 residents. One evacuee tells the AP the situation is "unfortunate" but adds: "Knowing what happened in Surfside ... it's understandable." (Read more Florida condo collapse stories.) (Newser) As people get ready to celebrate the holiday weekend with barbecues and other get-togethers, a COVID outbreak at the site of the South Florida condo collapse reminds us that the pandemic isn't over just yet. Six firefighters helping out at the scene in Surfside have tested positive, Miami-Dade Fire Chief Alan Cominsky said Friday, reports CBS Miami. "We do have our medical procedures in place," he noted, per the Miami Herald. "Unfortunately, this is another challenge, but something we've been dealing with for over the past year." Cominsky added that the firefighters weren't from a Miami-Dade unit, but with another Florida rescue team. Cominsky said the infected firefighters have been isolated and their particular task force taken out of service, but it's not clear if other rescue workers outside of that have been quarantined. story continues below Meanwhile, NBC Miami reports on more distressing news for firefighters at the site: The body of the 7-year-old daughter of one of their own has been recovered. Miami-Dade County's Urban Search and Rescue team on Thursday night found the body of the girl, IDed as Stella, in the Champlain Towers South rubble, officials said Friday. They note that the father of the girl, who works with that unit, wasn't on the scene when her body was recovered. Stella was said to have lived in the building with her mother and grandparents, who are still missing. "It goes without saying that every night since this last Wednesday has been immensely difficult for everybody," Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a a Friday presser. "But last night was uniquely different ... and more difficult for our first responders." In a statement, the fire department asks for privacy for the family and the department "while we grieve our loss and support our own." (Read more Florida condo collapse stories.) (Newser) The Vatican announced Saturday that 10 people, one of them an Italian cardinal, will be put on trial this month on financial charges including extortion, corruption, and fraud. Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu was indicted on charges of abuse of office, bribery, and embezzlement, CNN reports. Becciu, 73, issued a statement saying he's innocent and calling the case against him a conspiracy. Church rules require that the pope approve the investigation or indictment of a cardinal. Pope Francis elevated Becciu, who was at one time the No. 3 Vatican official, to cardinal in 2018 and removed him from his job last year. Becciu had run the office in charge of naming saints. The indictment also names a former president of the Vatican's Financial Information Authority, a former director of the authority, and four companies. The trial is scheduled for July 27. story continues below The pope had promised to address the Vatican's handling of finances, and Saturday's indictment takes his effort to a new level. There appears to be no modern precedent for the Vatican putting a cardinal on trial, per the Washington Post. The Vatican News detailed the allegations by prosecutors, who say money intended "for the personal charity of the Holy Father" was funneled into "extremely high-risk financial activity" for personal gains, including the fossil fuel industry in Angola. Other charges involve an investment in a luxury residential building in London in which the church lost millions while middlemen reportedly cleaned up. "Finally the moment of clarity is coming, Becciu's statement said, "and the tribunal will be able to assess the absolute falsehood of the allegations against me." ("Why are you doing this to me?" Becciu reportedly asked the pope when he lost his position.) (Newser) There was a moment when Darren James thought the $50 billion that showed up in his bank account might really be his. "I was excited for sure," James said, "really surprised how it got there and wondered if I had a rich uncle that gave it to me." The inheritance only lasted four days, until Chase Bank returned the account to its rightful balance, CNN reports. James, a real estate agent in Baton Rouge, and his wife had noticed the deposit last Saturday. On Tuesday, it was gone, he said. "We're still trying to figure out what happened," James said, adding, "but we know we aren't the only ones this happened to." story continues below Chase told a slightly different version to CNN, saying that a technical glitch a couple of weeks ago caused the errant deposits, and that the balances were corrected the next day. That's more than Chase told him, James said. "The concern is whether my account was compromised, and the bank hasn't even called me," he said. "We haven't heard anything from anyone." Either way, James said he didn't consider tapping the $50 billion. "My moral compass only goes one way and that's the correct way," he said. Then James conceded: "Unless it was a rich uncle or one of those emails I probably responded to from a Saudi Arabian prince who promised to give me $50 billionthat's a different story." (Spending this sort of windfall can come at a price.) Here's the latest on the COVID-19 pandemic from around the world. Europe Portugal The country hopes to vaccinate a further 1.7 million people against COVID-19 over the next two weeks as authorities scramble to contain a surge in infections caused by the more contagious Delta variant. Cases in Portugal, a nation of just over 10 million, jumped by 2605 on Saturday, the biggest increase since February 13, taking the total cases since the pandemic began to 887,047. Hundreds of dead sea animals have washed up on the shore of Sri Lanka, after a cargo ship carrying tonnes of dangerous chemicals sank in June. Since the X-Press Pearl caught fire and sank off the coast of Colombo, the remains of four whales, 20 dolphins and 176 turtles have washed ashore, the BBC reports. As well as the dead animals, pollution such as oil, debris and plastic pellets have also washed up on Sri Lankan beaches, and there are now fears the impact of the sinking will be felt in the area for decades. Please purchase a subscription read this premium content. If you have a subscription, please sign up for a digital website account or log in. Soldiers with the 603rd Aviation Support Battalion participate in a drill and ceremony competition at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia, June 4, 2021. Master Sgt. Ijpe DeKoe, personnel security manager and equal opportunity leader for the U.S. Army Reserve, participates in a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer panel discussion June 24, 2021. Fairbanks, AK (99707) Today Cloudy with showers. Low 56F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Cloudy with showers. Low 56F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Summer chum salmon runs are the lowest on record for this date, while king salmon runs are around the lower end of the forecast, according to the 2021 Yukon River Salmon Summer Fishery Announcement. Part one of a three-part series. A delegation of leaders from Tanana Chiefs Conference and Alaska Department Fish and Game discussed fishing closures in three villages in the Yukon region on June 25, hearing peoples frustration and ideas on adjusting restrictions. Part two of a three-part series. Fairbanks, AK (99707) Today Showers this evening becoming less numerous overnight. Low 56F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Showers this evening becoming less numerous overnight. Low 56F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Congratulations galore for Bahrain for maintaining Tier-1 status on US Department of States 2021 Trafficking in persons report Congratulations galore for Bahrain for maintaining Tier-1 status on US Department of States 2021 Trafficking in persons report TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Congratulations poured in yesterday for His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, on Bahrain maintaining its Tier-1 status on the US Department of States 2021 Trafficking in persons report. Confirming Bahrains status, the report said: The Government of Bahrain meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The government continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts during the reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore Bahrain remained on Tier 1. Labour and Social Development Minister and LMRA Chairman Jameel Humaidan attributed Bahrains success to His Royal Highnesss directives to foster an inclusive environment promoting development while safeguarding human rights. Bahrains achievements reflect the Kingdoms belief that safeguarding workers rights and promoting increased cooperation and social dialogue serve as the foundations for sustainable development, said the minister. Council of Representatives Speaker Fawzia bint Abdulla Zainal said the honour reflects the human rights culture prevailing in Bahrain. Shura Council Chairman Ali bin Saleh AlSaleh said the exploit adds to Bahrains landmark achievements in respecting human rights. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Bahrain and Russia enjoy a strong friendship, which reflected deeply in the bilateral talks between the two sides, said Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, the Bahrain Minister of Foreign Affairs, during a press conference yesterday with Sergey Lavrov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. Lavrov said Dr Al Zayani paved the way for opening up new areas of cooperation between the two friendly countries, including in education, tourism and parliamentary work. We are discussing a deal for peaceful exploration of open space and on more coordination at various international levels, said the Russian minister. Lavrov said that Bahrain and Russia enjoy an identical vision on various international issues, including that there is no alternative to a peaceful settlement of the situation in Syria, which requires urgent efforts to tackle the humanitarian crisis. Sergey Lavrov also highlighted the inalienable right of the Palestinians to establish their state, pointing to the need to activate efforts to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This should begin with direct negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis and activating the work of the International Quartet in cooperation with the League of Arab States. The Russian minister also stressed his interest to present an updated version of the concept of collective security in the Gulf region to the Gulf Cooperation Council. Sputnik production Dr Al-Zayani said the two sides discussed ways to boost bilateral trade, investment and cultural ties and intensity visits. A third meeting is scheduled in Bahrain by the end of this year. Talks also focused on the repercussion of the COVID-19 pandemic, efforts to confront them, and the production of the Sputnik vaccine for use in the Middle East and North Africa region. Two-state solution On questions regarding Palestine, Dr Al Zayani said Bahrain believes in solving the issue through the two-state solution, thanking Russia for calling to activate the work of the International quartet for peace in the Middle East. Two invitations to Qatar He also said that Bahrain had sent two invitations to Qatar to send a team to Bahrain following the Al Ula summit, and the Kingdom is yet to receive a response. Iran crisis On the Iran nuclear crisis, he said Bahrain wants the region to remain free of weapons of mass destruction. He pointed out that GCC is aware of the ongoing developments in the talks. The minister called on to end Irans destabilising practises in the region, its sponsorship of terrorism, militias and ballistic missile programmes. Minus all these activities, the Middle East will be a secure and stable place. From concerts to parades, festivals and more, News-Press NOW is the place to find out about events in the community. Subscribe for only 25/ week. Thank you for trusting us for your local news coverage. You have reached the maximum number of free articles per month. Subscribe today for unlimited access to News-Press NOW. It's a fast and easy way to support local journalism. Lifelong Danbury resident Jerry Barton and his aunt, Danbury native Terry Waterhouse Scalzo, now of Bethel, plan to open City Center Cafe in the West Street space formerly occupied by Barristers Coffee Company. Were trying to bring something that will help revitalize downtown a little bit, Barton said. Ive lived in Danbury my whole life and I just want to see that area grow strong. Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Barristers closed last summer after two years in business. Barton said he and his aunt decided to pick up where the coffeehouse left off and offer even more. The menu being planned for City Center Cafe includes caffeinated and blended beverages, as well as sandwiches, salads, ice cream, bagels and baked goods. We want to open something where people can go in and grab a sandwich, ice cream or coffee, he said. Just about everything we can do, were going to try to do. Although Barton does not have experience in the food industry, Scalzo does. Before she was a certified nursing assistant, Scalzo said she worked in the food services industry dating back to her teenage years working at Dunkin Donuts locations in Danbury. Scalzo said she went on to work for companies that provided food services to area businesses like the Ethan Allen headquarters, the former headquarters of the Grolier publishing company and Cendant Mobility. Barton said City Center Cafe will feature a full coffee bar with coffee, tea, espressos, cappuccinos and frappuccinos, as well as some very unique things you cant find at places like Starbucks and Dunkin. One of its unique offerings will be something Barton calls signature frappuccinos. Its basically going to be like full fudge brownies inside frappuccinos. It will be something new to the area that nobody is doing yet, he said. Theyre doing it down South a little bit, so we want to bring that up here and see how it goes. In addition to a wide variety of food and beverages, Scalzo said a box will be set up at City Center Cafe where people can provide suggestions for new drinks and foods. We are going to be at a busy intersection in town and we want to have enough variety for people to stop in and enjoy, she said. Barton said the cafe will be City Center-focused with artwork of historic Danbury places and events like the Great Danbury State Fair and 1955 flood. Throughout the coming months, we plan to add pictures and keep adding more as we get them, he said. Barton said he hopes City Center Cafe will attract more people to the downtown area and help revitalize CityCenter Danbury. We dont have as many people as wed like to see walking around down there, he said. With Kennedy Flats and the incoming Brookview Commons II development, Barton said hes hopeful that will change. Scalzo said she is excited to open City Center Cafe and hopes it will be a hit with residents of Danbury and surrounding towns. I hope to see many people come in and give us a try, she said. The future home of City Center Cafe will undergo some minor remodeling, Barton said, and although its opening day has not been set in stone, hes hoping it will be some time in August. With college students returning to school in less than two months, Scalzo said it would be ideal to open the cafe by then. The college comes back towards the end of August and wed like to be all set and ready, she said. DANBURY As the highly contagious COVID-19 delta variant continues to take up a larger share of cases in Connecticut, the message from local health care officials remains: Get vaccinated if you can. While theyre not waving red flags about the new strain because of the states relatively high vaccination rate and low case rate, doctors and health care workers are keeping a close eye on the variant that has devastated India and is increasing in other countries. If youre vaccinated, you really dont have that much to be concerned about, said Laura Shulman Cordeira, director of community health and wellness with RVNAhealth. Youre protected, which is a beautiful thing. Studies shown the vaccines continue to provide strong protection against the new variants, including the delta variant. With 63.4 percent of the state and 60.6 percent of Danbury residents having received at least one dose of the vaccine, the states daily positivity rate remains low, at 0.59 percent. New daily cases in Danbury have mostly remained in the single digits throughout June. Last week saw 10 new cases total, and the week before, just seven. In Danbury, Health Director Kara Prunty reported Friday that she has yet to see a delta variant case reported in the city, according to Taylor OBrien, the city's public relations coordinator. Much of the local focus has been on stopping the spread in the sometimes hard-to-reach, unvaccinated populations. Everyone that weve seen coming into the hospital have been unvaccinated people, said Dr. Paul Nee, an infectious disease specialist at Danbury Hospital. Nee said theyre still seeing hospitalization numbers drop, likely because many vulnerable residents have chosen to get vaccinated based on health history and comorbidities. According to state data, only 42 patients were hospitalized with the virus as of July 1. Still, health care workers are not yet ready to let their guard down. Were watching very, very closely, Nee said. Were just seeing how this breaks, which way the numbers will go, and what will happen over the next couple weeks. Specifically, theyre keeping an eye on what he calls the mini hot spots that pop up in the area, but these hot spots are not resulting in increased hospitalizations, which is a good thing. As demand for the vaccine falls, several mass vaccination sites and testing clinics have started to close in the Danbury area and beyond. Just this past week, Danburys Community Health Center closed their statewide public COVID-19 testing and mass vaccine sites and Hartford HealthCare was set to close its mega vaccine sites, as well. The Connecticut Institute for Communities halted its public COVID-19 testing in Danbury on Wednesday, but will still offer the vaccine. Even as these sites wind down, some people still may want to get vaccinated. Last week, more than 43,500 vaccinations administered were across the state. Its far from the 315,157 vaccines given during a peak week in early April, but its still tens of thousands of residents. According to Cordeira, the groups could roughly be sorted into those who havent had the time, information, or adequate resources to get a vaccine, and those who have been taking the wait and see approach, as she called it. To meet this demand and close vaccine access and equity gaps, RVNAhealth has been working with other community partners to reach populations that might not have easy access or have questions about the vaccine. Theyve been setting up vaccination stations outside of churches, at farmers markets, public libraries and stores. As their vaccination teams revisit certain community hubs and word spreads, Cordeira said they have seen the number of people showing up increase slightly. When we show up at the same place week after week, word is getting out, she said. Nee knows of at least two patients who decided to get the vaccine after being hospitalized with COVID-19, which he said was encouraging to the staff. While vaccination campaigns continue, health care workers will be cautiously observing the variant. Like everything in COVID, its constantly changing. We have to keep close eyes on this, Nee said. Its not over yet. Whether students will need to wear masks in the classroom this fall may depend on COVID-19 vaccination and transmission rates. Its too early to tell, to be honest, said Dr. Thomas Murray, the associate medical director for infection prevention at Yale New Haven Childrens Hospital. For now, many Danbury-area school districts say they will mandate masks indoors, according to the 2021-22 opening plans submitted to the state. But thats expected to change once Connecticut updates its guidelines, which still require masks inside. Other districts say theyre waiting on the state. The state suggested in a memo to educators last week that officials are awaiting updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We are actively working with the Connecticut Department of Public Health on the issue of school public health rules and guidance for the fall, with particular attention to the rules for use of masks, wrote Charlene M. Russell-Tucker, acting commissioner of education. A health and safety meeting is planned for 8 a.m. July 13, she said. The state hopes the CDCs guidance will come shortly. Students and staff are required to wear masks indoors during summer school, said Peter Yazbak, spokesman for the state education department. Jeff Leake, president of the Connecticut Education Association representing teachers statewide, urged the state to clarify its mask protocols in light of concerns about the highly contagious delta variant. The states rules should be based on the CDC guidance, he said. We anxiously await the new, updated mask guidance to ensure that districts develop plans to keep all in our school communities safe and allow educators to provide for the educational, social, emotional, and mental health needs of their students, he said in a statement. We will continue to advocate for policies that keep students safe and help them grow as we work to move past this pandemic. Parents, meanwhile, have urged during school board meetings across the region for the mask requirements to be dropped. A group of parents formed in Redding, Easton, Wilton, Westport and Ridgefield to unmask our kids. Please, please let their be parent choice for masks next year, a Danbury mother of two children said at the boards latest meeting. She and other parents have argued argued the COVID-19 risks to their children are low and that mask-wearing affects students mental health, among other reasons. When kids are wearing masks, they cant see each others facial expressions, she said. Theyre not getting vital feedback from what their words (are) or how theyre impacting their friends. And you want to talk about germs I dont know how many of you have kids, but oh my God, what those masks look like when they come home at the end of the day. Its disgusting. Health concerns Masks have proven highly effective at preventing transmission of the virus, with a Duke University study released last week showing masks stopped the virus from spreading in North Carolina schools and buses, even when social distancing was not practiced. Community transmission rates will be key to determining whether masks can be removed in schools, Murray said. Hes not sure whether current COVID-19 rates would signal unmasking. Certainly the levels right now are very encouraging, he said. I would certainly be inclined to have the conversation. A high percentage of eligible students must be vaccinated, he said. That would be the situation where one could at least consider not requiring masks in schools, said Murray, adding unvaccinated people should still wear masks. The more contagious delta variant should also be appropriately considered, especially since children under 12 are not yet eligible for the vaccine, he said. Nations across the globe have had to tighten restrictions again due to the variants driving up cases. We dont want to do that, Murray said. Most children, especially younger kids, do not get severely ill from COVID-19, but thats not always the case. Older teenagers can become quick sick, Murray said. We have had children admitted to our intensive care unit who even required breathing tubes in some cases. Children can spread the virus to others, even if they dont exhibit symptoms. The more we protect against the spread, the sooner it goes away and we can get rid of the masks, Murray said. Im all in favor of getting rid of masks, just when its safe to do so. Local plans All Danbury students and staff will be required to wear masks indoors and on buses, the district states in its reopening plan. But once new guidance from the state and CDC comes this summer, the districts reopening and policy committees will reexamine the issue to help determine our collective next steps regarding masks, said interim Superintendent Kevin Walston. Ridgefields draft plan mandates masks, but the district notes its document is only a starting point. Given the changing (but optimistic) trajectory of this pandemic, we will not know until later in the summer months exact answers to all health and safety mitigation strategies, the district writes. Brookfield states in its plan that staff and students will be expected to wear face coverings inside and on the school bus. But Superintendent John Barile has told families he hopes masks will not be needed and will only be required if the state mandates them. In Brookfield, parents submitted overwhelming email feedback against masks, while several parents argued against them at a school board meeting last month, the district wrote in its plan. New Milford parents asked in surveys about masks, the music program and snow days. We have heard the concerns, the district wrote in its plan. Answers to these questions await updated guidance from the CSDE (Connecticut State Department of Education) and CDPH (Connecticut Department of Public Health) and are not individual district considerations. Newtown, meanwhile, aims to make masks optional for staff and students. However, we made it clear that: Adults working with students should wear a mask unless fully vaccinated, Superintendent Lorrie Rodrigue said in an email. Volunteers working with students will be asked to wear a mask unless fully vaccinated. Bethels fall plan states the district will follow the state guidelines on masks. Parents will be allowed to decide whether their children wear masks if the state doesnt require them. If the state isnt feeling like they have to mandate that mask wearing is appropriate in schools, then its not in my scope of expertise to make that decision, Superintendent Christine Carver said. At that point, it really should be a parental decision. Region 12, which includes Bridgewater, Roxbury and Washington, plans to decide on masks based on CDC guidance. New Fairfield, however, plans to require masks indoors at least at the beginning of the school year. The district may revise its policy once it knows how many students are vaccinated and upon updated guidance from the CDC, Superintendent Pat Cosentino said. A lot of our kids are not vaccinated and we just want to get a handle on the beginning of the year, she said. She expects to keep masks on at the start of the year, even if the state says they may be removed. There are so many things that go on at the beginning of the school year, she said. Plus, were under construction, plus some kids are just returning to school. Were going to have everyone start in masks and then go from there. NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) The city of North Miami Beach ordered the evacuation of a condominium building Friday after a review found unsafe conditions about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the site of last week's deadly collapse in South Florida. An audit prompted by the collapse of Champlain Towers South in nearby Surfside found that the 156-unit Crestview Towers had been deemed structurally and electrically unsafe in January, the city said in a news release. Officials did not immediately release details about the structural problems that prompted the evacuation, but the building had reported millions of dollars in damage from 2017's Hurricane Irma. In an abundance of caution, the City ordered the building closed immediately and the residents evacuated for their protection, while a full structural assessment is conducted and next steps are determined, City Manager Arthur H. Sorey III said in the news release. It is the first building to be evacuated since municipal officials in South Florida, and statewide, began scrutinizing older high-rises in the wake of the Surfside collapse to ensure that substantial structural problems are not being ignored. The Crestview condo association could not be immediately reached for comment on the delay between the January recertification report and Fridays evacuation. Evacuating residents hauling suitcases packed items into cars Friday evening outside the Crestview, which was built in 1972. Harold Dauphin was on his way home from picking up his son Harold at camp Friday when he noticed a helicopter buzzing around his apartment and a heightened police presence. He wondered whether there had been a shooting nearby but then came home to find out that his building was being evacuated. The two live on the second floor of the building. He said he hadnt heard anything about the problems that have come to light. He grabbed what he could clothes, his work uniform and some electronic devices and they left. Its unfortunate, but I understand. Knowing what happened in Surfside, you know, its understandable, he said. North Miami Beach commissioner Fortuna Smukler rushed to the building Friday afternoon. She said authorities were working to help the evacuated residents find places to go. She said with the approaching storm it was an especially stressful time for the residents. Smukler knows two people who are still unaccounted for in the Surfside building collapse. I ran here right away because this is important to me. I needed to ensure that what happened in Surfside doesnt happen here, she said. It could have been our building instead of Surfside. The mayor of Miami-Dade County had suggested an audit of buildings 40 and older to make sure they are in compliance with the local recertification process after the condo building collapse last week that killed at least 22 people and left more than 120 still missing. After reviewing files, the city Building and Zoning Department sent a notification that the Crestview building was not in compliance. On Friday, the building manager submitted a January recertification report in which an engineer hired by the condo association board found the property unsafe. The city then ordered all residents to evacuate immediately. I am concerned that more buildings are in this condition. Hopefully, this is an easy fix. Thankfully, we have at least evacuated the residents and no harm will come to them or their pets, Smukler said. The North Miami Beach Police Department was helping with the evacuation. The Crestview Towers Condo Association said in a lawsuit in federal court that it suffered $8.1 million in damage from Hurricane Irma. The condo association had sued its insurer, Liberty Surplus Insurance Corp., for not paying the claim. Itemized estimates listed in the lawsuit showed repair needs of more than $533,000 for the roof, $750,000 for concrete restoration, $605,000 for electrical work and $405,000 for new windows, among other repairs. In court papers, the insurer said that the condo association reported the damage in 2019, two years after Irma tore through Florida. An inspection conducted for the insurer showed the pooling of water on low spots of the roof and multiple layers of previous repairs to the aged roof. It also showed that windows in the units were deteriorated from age. Plaintiff did not provide Liberty with notice as soon as possible and further, at Libertys post-loss inspection there was still confusion regarding where the loss or damage occurred at the subject property, the insurer said. A parallel lawsuit also was filed in state court in Miami. This spring, the parties asked that the federal lawsuit be dismissed and agreed to begin mediation in May in the state lawsuit. ___ AP writers Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida, and Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report. PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Three employees at the famous Voodoo Doughnut shop in Portland, Oregon, were reportedly fired this week after they walked out during the scorching Pacific Northwest heat wave. The Oregonian/Oregon Live reported that some on-duty staff walked out of the downtown shop on Sunday afternoon and planned to return to work Tuesday, according to a statement from Doughnut Workers United, which had unsuccessfully attempted to unionize staff at the location earlier this year. Not all staffers walked out, and the store remained open on Monday. Voodoo Doughnuts, known for its extravagant doughnuts with unusual toppings, is a popular tourist draw. One of the employees who joined in the strike, Skyler Irvine, told the newspaper he felt close to passing out from the heat during a couple of his shifts last week. Workers said on one day they recorded a temperature of 96 degrees Fahrenheit (36 Celsius) inside the store. Portland set an all-time record high temperature on Monday when the mercury reached 116 F (47 C). When Irvine returned to work Tuesday, he said the stores general manager called him into his office and fired him for an unexcused absence. Two other workers were fired for the same reason, according to the unions statement. Voodoo Doughnut spokesperson Audrey Lincoff declined to discuss the firings but said the unionization effort was defeated in an election certified by the National Labor Relations Board last month and that the union was not recognized by the company. The store is air-conditioned and we took measures to address warmer than normal conditions, including providing employees extended or additional breaks, and shifting production to early morning and late evening hours, she wrote. Employee and customer safety is our highest priority; if we felt either were at risk during this time, we would have adjusted operating hours and otherwise made sure everyone was safe. Doughnut Workers United said in its statement it planned to respond to the firings with legal action and picket lines. CHICAGO (AP) ILCHS801,802, ILSPR801 set for time release at 8a Saturday, July 3. After decades of organizing by parents, activists and unions, Chicago is on the verge of having a fully-elected school board for the first time in its history. A proposal awaiting Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzkers signature phases out a seven-member board of mayoral appointees for an elected panel triple the size by 2027. With the shift, Chicago would join most U.S. cities in having an elected board, which supporters say is critical for equity in a district where most of the roughly 350,000 students are low income and of color. However, the Chicago plan has prompted backlash, even from supporters, and disagreement over whats next, previewing what the third-largest U.S. city can expect in the transition. Itll be a little messy, but it will demonstrate a real step forward for all students and families, said Rep. Delia Ramirez, a Chicago Democrat who championed the bill. Going from an appointed to elected board is uncommon, leaving Chicago without a clear roadmap. Lawmakers must tackle the politically charged mapmaking process for the elected districts, while government watchdogs seek campaign finance limits. And some want legislation allowing immigrants without legal permission to live in the county to vote for school leaders. Chicagos Board of Education which passes an $8 billion budget, confirms a CEO and approves contracts and policies was created by the Legislature in 1872. After many versions, a seven-member board was instituted in 1999. The fight for an elected board began shortly after, as parents and activists felt their concerns werent heard. Poll-style city ballot questions showed overwhelming support for elected boards, including in 2015. That was two years after then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who sought more privately run, publicly funded charter schools, moved to close an unprecedented roughly 50 schools. Activists say an appointed board in Chicago, where roughly 60% of its 3 million residents are Black and Latino, is racist. A 2018 National School Boards Association survey shows about 90% of school boards are elected. People talk racial justice, they dont want to walk it, said Shannon Bennett of the Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization. It is very easy to call people marching with tiki torches racist. To deny people the right to vote is the same voter repression that everyone wants to get all up in arms about. His organization has fought for elected boards but rejects the proposal's timeline. The shift would start in November 2024, with 10 elected members and 11 mayoral appointees, including board president. Two years later, voters would have say in all 21 races. Serving four-year terms, members wouldnt be paid. Parent and activist Jitu Brown said school closures and other policies have disproportionately affected minorities and contributed to Black residents leaving. There are also fewer Black teachers, whom he wants as role models for his son. In 2000, about 40% of district teachers were Black, which has dropped to 20%, according to district data. To subject Chicago students to six more years of mayoral control opens the door to really immeasurable levels of harm, he said. Activists' push for equity also includes giving immigrants without legal status a voice. One proposal would require the State Board of Education to create an affidavit to help non-citizens register to vote for school board. But county clerks say that could leave room for error in other contests. Mayor Lori Lightfoot who campaigned on an elected board in 2019 but stands to lose control of a rubber stamp board if she's reelected has emerged as a vocal opponent of the bill. She calls 21 members unwieldy. Supporters say 21 people better represents a diverse city, but some experts fear inefficiency. The typical number is seven, according to the NSBA. In New York, the nations largest district, the mayor and borough presidents appoint a panel of 15. There is so much potential for non-substantive conflict, said Michael Ford a professor of public administration at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. It is setting Chicago up to have an incredibly politicized and incredibly fragmented electoral process. Among the most critical steps is mapmaking, said University of Illinois at Chicago education professor Pauline Lipman. Legislators must ensure equality by race and neighborhood. Chicago has never had democracy in public education, she said. There should be a community process for discussing how the districts are drawn so the spirit of this demand can be met. Still, turnout for school board races is typically low. Experts say that gives organized groups like the Chicago Teachers Union, which calls mayoral control an unmitigated disaster, an edge. While most school board races arent expensive, costs in Denver and Indianapolis have raised concerns. In November, more than $17 million was spent in Los Angeles in a fight between charter school advocates and the union. Government watchdogs say campaign finance limits are needed to curb outside influence and allow people without means a chance. Lawmakers say theyre discussing it. Chicago will become one of these districts that get flooded with outside money, said Domingo Morel, a Rutgers University political scientist. That is something that the community needs to be fully aware of. There's also more chance that national issues having little to do with school operations will creep into board matters, said Sarah Reckhow, a Michigan State University professor who co-wrote a book about money in board races. She said Chicago can expect heavily contested races with an elected board. She said: It will create a new competitive realm of electoral politics for the city." ___ Follow Sophia Tareen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sophiatareen Pushkar Singh Dhami has been appointed as the new chief minister of Uttarakhand. He will be taking reigns from former CM Tirath Singh Rawat. The Bhartiya Janata Party has appointed BJP leader Pushkar Singh Dhami has the new chief minister of Uttarakhand. He is a two-time MLA from Khatima. The BJP leader will take charge from former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat, who submitted his resignation on Friday night. His resignation came only four months after taking charge. This development comes at a time when Uttarakhand is due for its next Assembly election in less than a year. Elated on her sons appointment as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhamis mother Vishna Devi said that she is very happy. However, she is also feeling a little sad as his father is not with them to see him become the CM of the state. She added that her son has worked very hard for this. Meanwhile, his wife Geeta thanked senior leaders of the party, including PM Modi and Amit Shah. She further highlighted that Pushkar singh comes from a middle class family and understands the problems of people. Pushkar Singh Dhami is meeting Governor Baby Rani Maurya in Dehradun today and will be taking the oath tomorrow. Uttarakhand: Pushkar Singh Dhami met Governor Baby Rani Maurya at her residence in Dehradun pic.twitter.com/Qo0yrThDzA ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2021 Bharatiya Janta Party names Pushkar Singh Dhami as the next Uttarakhand Chief Minister pic.twitter.com/aqAHUNQB5u ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2021 Uttarakhand: "I'm very happy but feeling a little sad that his father is not with us to see him (Pushkar Singh Dhami) as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. He worked very hard for this," says Pushkar Singh Dhami's Mother Vishna Devi in Khatima pic.twitter.com/nuqH3UA7BV ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2021 Uttarakhand: "I want to thank the party's high command, PM Modi, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, and JP Nadda, & the people of the Khatima constituency. He came from a middle-class family & is aware of the problems of people," says Pushkar Singh Dhami's wife Geeta in Khatima pic.twitter.com/cBtdCFhcaQ ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2021 Tirath Singh Rawat, who had been in Delhi for the past three days holding meetings with the BJPs top leadership, was asked yesterday afternoon to quit. Soon after, he sought an appointment with Governor Baby Rani Maurya, but before that he handed his resignation to party Chief JP Nadda. Given the constitutional crisis, I felt it was right for me to resign. Bye-polls could not be held because of COVID-19,. I am thankful to the central leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for every opportunity they have given to me so far, Tirath Singh Rawat said in a press conference. Rawats resignation came less than four months after he took over as Chief Minister replacing Trivendra Singh Rawat. With this, the BJP is now expected to choose a new leader and the state is likely to get its third chief minister in nearly four months. Responding to the situation, Senior Congress leader and former CM Harish Rawat attacked the BJP on Friday, saying it was false propaganda that a by-election could not be held due to Covid or that Rawat was resigning because of constitutional compulsions. The saffron party has given three chief ministers during a period of five years he added. On the 100th anniversary of the ruling political party, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and the founder of SpaceX, lauded China for its "economic success." as he replied to a tweet from China's main news agency, Xinhua News, highlighting a speech by the country's president, Xi Jinping. On the 100th anniversary of the ruling political party, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and the founder of SpaceX, lauded China for its economic success. as he replied to a tweet from Chinas main news agency, Xinhua News, highlighting a speech by the countrys president, Xi Jinping. The Chinese Communist Party is commemorating the historic occasion with great fanfare, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is also the partys general secretary, delivered statements praising the achievement. Mr. Musk said Chinas economic success is absolutely incredible, especially in terms of infrastructure! He encourages others to visit and see for themselves. China has become an important market for Tesla in the last year or so. Tesla has a manufacturing plant in Shanghai and has recently established a data centre there. Regulatory authorities recently ordered the recall of almost all Tesla vehicles designed in China, citing concerns about the cruise control system. Musk not only complimented China and the Chinese people for their hard work, but he also had a few thoughts for the United States. He claims that Americans are considerably more entitled than Chinese people. I see in the United States increasingly much more complacent and entitlement, especially in places like the Bay Area, and LA and New York. Musk added. During the centennial anniversary, Chinese President Xi Jinping cautioned that China would not be bullied. Xi warned that anybody who attempts to intimidate China would suffer broken heads and bloodshed in a strong address praising the countrys growth. Xi looked to be fighting back against the United States and other critics of Chinas trade and technology policies, military development, and human rights record. The New York Times has gone ahead to make comments on Indo-China border tensions, PM Modis vision, media discourse and economy, making its prejudices against the country quite apparent. The New York Times has found itself under the scanner of Indian diaspora across the world, not for another anti-India reportage but a job advertisement. After countless stories passing several critical remarks at India, the newspaper has now gone ahead to post a job advertisement for a correspondent, with an anti-India bias. In the garb of job description, The New York Times has gone ahead to make comments on not just Indo-China border tensions but also PM Modis vision, media discourse and economy, making its prejudices against the country quite apparent. The job description for South Asia Business Correspondent, New Delhi reads that NYT is looking for an experienced, enterprising journalist to lead economic and business coverage of India, an aspiring global superpower with a rich history on the cusp of a major inflection point. In the agenda bared open ad, it mentions that Mr. Modi is advocating a self-sufficient muscular nationalism centred on the countrys hindu majority. That vision puts him at odds with the interfaith, multicultural goals of Modern Indias founders. It adds that technology has become a hindrance due to Indias bid to police online speech and media discourse, which has raised difficult questions about balancing issues of security and privacy with free speech. As one would expect, Indians has not spared The New York Times. #NYTimesExposed is trending on Koo and here are some of the top koos, that reflect the mood of the nation. PARIS (AP) Paris on Saturday was the only place to be for die-hard Jim Morrison fans. Fifty years after his death at age 27, rock music lovers from France and across the world came to the Pere-Lachaise cemetery in eastern Paris where The Doors' frontman is buried. Many brought candles and pictures, and some burned incense sticks near his grave as police watched nearby. Jim and The Doors have been heroes of ours since we were kids. It's an honor to be here and celebrate the 50th anniversary of his death today, said Dutuar Platzek. The 50-year-old fan made the trip from Halle, Germany with his childhood friend Mathias Barthel. The two had not been back to the Pere-Lachaise cemetery in over 25 years. Year after year, the place has become a pilgrimage for fans of Morrison, known for his dark lyrics, wavy locks, leather pants, steely gaze and theatrical stage presence. He propelled The Doors to several major hits between 1965 and 1971, including Light My Fire, Hello I Love You, Touch Me and Riders on the Storm. Michelle Campbell was 21 when Morrison died in 1971, living in Texas and studying photography. Her first July 3rd the anniversary of Morrisons death was in 1989. Back then, the grave was unmarked and a fan had crafted a wooden cross. Shes since moved to Paris and has been coming to Pere-Lachaise almost every year, taking photographs of Morrison's grave and his fans, many of whom have become friends. (It's like) people sitting around on couches in someones apartment, rather than a graves, just talking and meeting each other, she recalled. It was really lovely ... I still come as much as I can because its just always so wonderful." Colleen Amblard drove seven hours from her hometown of Domancy, in the French Alps, to visit the grave. The 21 year-old student told The Associated Press its very emotional to be here, to remember Jim Morrison ... to show that hes not forgotten." "We acknowledge his talent and the fact that he was a brilliant person, he was really a genius, she said. Like many other fans, Amblard was planning to visit other sites Morrison spent time in while living in Paris, from his apartment to the former nightclub where some say he died of an heroin overdose. Born in 1943 in Melbourne, Florida, Morrison was the son of a U.S. Navy officer and moved constantly as a child, growing up in Florida, Virginia, Texas, New Mexico and California. He said he witnessed the aftermath of a terrible car accident on a Native American reservation as a child, an event that loomed large in his later lyrics and poetry. An avid reader, he was heavily influenced by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, the poet Arthur Rimbaud and the surrealist dramatist Antonin Artaud. In 1965, while living in Los Angeles' bohemian neighborhood of Venice Beach and frequently taking LSD, he and keyboardist Ray Manzarek, a fellow UCLA film student, founded The Doors. Guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore joined soon after. Morrison and The Doors would burn brightly, releasing albums The Doors and Strange Days in 1967, The Soft Parade in 1968 and Morrison Hotel in 1970. Morrison's dynamic stage presence was on full display during appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and at the Hollywood Bowl. But the band would burn out quickly as Morrison sank into alcoholism. He was twice arrested for his on-stage antics, including a Miami concert that saw him convicted of indecent exposure and profanity. He received a posthumous pardon in 2010. Morrison made his final album with The Doors, L.A. Woman, in 1971, and moved to Paris soon afterwards. There, on July 3, 1971, he was found dead in a bathtub. No autopsy was performed and accounts of what caused his death are disputed. He was one of several rock stars including Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and the Rolling Stones Brian Jones to die at 27. His status as a mythic figure for rock fans has never waned. On the 20th anniversary of his death in 1991, the Oliver Stone-directed biopic The Doors" was released, starring Val Kilmer as Morrison. ___ Sylvie Corbet wrote from Saulieu, France. AP Writer Andrew Dalton contributed from Los Angeles. So there was that time I offered to fight an 88-year old man at the local Walmart, but he started it, and I only half-meant it. That was Wednesday, and I was at the Webb City, Mo., Walmart, which serves as a shopping mecca and social center, as the store does in so many small towns. I was standing in line with my suitcase of Dr Pepper because my aunt planned a get-together for the cousins and I couldnt arrive empty-handed. In front of me was an old man who looked like hed been left out in the field too long. He had a couple of items, and the cashier, who was waiting on another customer, told us there was a self-service check-out, if we didnt want to wait. The old man looked at me, and I shrugged, and told him I was too lazy to walk any farther with the soda pop. You have to understand that out here, you cant go to town or the library or the Walmart without getting into a conversation. Its just being friendly. The man told me he was mostly here just to get cash back -- $20, which he was going to spend on a haircut. I nodded - he looked a little shaggy - and then he said haircuts once were four bits (50 cents) and if the damn Democrats have their way, his haircut would cost $40 by the end of the year. He laughed, I laughed, and as I was loading my soda pop onto the belt, I said, Would you hate me if I told you I was a Democrat? The cashiers head jerked up and the old man asked me to repeat it. I did and he gave a long, drawn-out Noooooo as if Id greatly disappointed him. Jasper County is about as red as you can get. In 2016, nearly 73% of voters here went for Trump. In 2020, just over 72% turned around and did the same thing all over again. Yes sir, I told the old man. I am like Harry Truman, a name you invoke in Missouri when you want to win an argument. It didnt work. Why, them Democrats, he said, they are all about gay marriage, and thats all you see on television these days, and I told him the gays havent hurt him, and he can always just switch the channel. I said all this with a grin. I like arguing. I like old men. Combining the two makes me happy and I have looked forward to this trip until four days before I got on the plane. About that time, CNN started talking about Springfield, Mo., (the city I flew in to!) as a hotbed of the Delta variant because people wont get vaccinated out here because Jesus and freedom. Or maybe its freedom and Jesus. In one week, the positivity rate in Missouri rose to 8.2%. The intensive care beds are full, deaths are rising, and the counties in my corner of the state have been leading the nation in daily new cases per capita. Of the people who died of COVID recently in one Springfield hospital, none had been vaccinated, so the departed now have the freedom to say hello to Jesus, I guess. Its the same thing all over the country. The variants are hitting the young and unvaccinated. This is what happens when you refuse to listen to science. A virus doesnt just go away. It must be starved to death, by people who refuse to serve as its host. Vaccinations have slowed nationwide, but they are barely creeping along in the Show-Me State, whose natives tend to lean toward the skeptical, conservative side. But yes, I flew out here, and here was this old man mouthing off. I have spent years on social media mouthing off, myself. It gets you nowhere. I asked the man his name - Dale Hart, and he was quick to say he is 88, but if the Democrats stay in officeHe wants to die? I finished his sentence for him. Does his family know of his plans? Wont they miss their grumpy old man? He started grinning. I told him I could still be his friend, but if he preferred, Id fight him but only if he would tie one arm behind his back because I have a bum arm from tendonitis and we were absolutely going to fight fair. Now he was giggling, and it was a sweet giggle. He told me he still fishes and hunts and that hed caught 10 catfish out of Grand Lake just the day before. As he talked, he held his hands apart to show me how big the fish were, and I started laughing because everyone lies about the size of their fish, and he laughed, too. I told him I dont eat catfish because theyre bottom feeders, just like his political party, and he laughed at that, because honestly? Dale and I arent ever going to agree, but were not going to fight, and as we shook hands, he gave me his address and told me hed take me fishing. If I didnt have such a big family I wanted to see, Id have gone. You bet I would. This is America, after all. If you cant sink a line with a guy you meet at Walmart, whats the point? NEW HAVEN The apartments just keep coming. Popular Wooster Square is attracting more growth, which in turn is causing tensions with some alders and residents as the latest plan starts to unfold. This time, Epimoni wants to build an additional 186 units that would be located on Olive Street and feature a public plaza greenway along a reclaimed Fair Street that the developer would give to the city through a long-term easement. The mini-city of sorts on Olive Street between Epimoni and a separate real estate developer, Hines then would grow to 617 apartments stretching from Chapel to Fair streets. Epimoni, principal of which is Darren Seid, currently is building Olive and Wooster 299 luxury apartments bound by 44 Olive St. and 87 Union St. and intersected by Wooster Street. They are scheduled for a soft opening in November. Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media Also in the mix is The Whit two complexes, one for 166 apartments and one for 66 apartments units, next to Olive and Wooster and across Chapel under construction by Hines, a Houston-based real estate firm. A recent meeting on the Fair Street project 3 1 of 3 Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Catherine Avalone / Hearst Connecticut Media file Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Seid shared the preliminary plans, much of which have placeholder elements, while he concentrated on the plaza and greenway. We think what we are going to do here will be such a beautiful value added to the community, to the area, to Connecticut, Seid said. It is a very expensive design. It is something we are going to be giving to the community, but we believe that it is really worth it, Seid said. We are very excited to be delivering the greenway. He said Epimoni is under contract to imminently purchase 20 Fair Street and 34 Fair Street, which now are owned by Fair Properties LLC. There are elements tied to the planning and zoning process and then we will close on the land, Seid said. He said the design for the greenway and plaza opens it to cyclists, pedestrians and slow-moving cars that could come through in a one-way entrance from Olive Street. Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media Seid said this shared space concept is popular in Europe and is growing in acceptance in the U.S., which allows for a more dense urban environment. He said at first he was hesitant with the idea, but now is convinced it will work. It is very restrictive as to how a car can move through, Seid said. There will be trees, bollards and maybe planters in the greenway to slow vehicular movement. He said it wont be obvious that it is open to cars. A similar proposal is part of the housing development by Spinnaker Real Estate Partners that will begin to fill the space where the Veterans Memorial Coliseum was located off Orange and State streets downtown. Phase 1, which has 200 apartments, has a public plaza that mixes pedestrians, cyclists and cars, a proposal that brought some pushback to Spinnaker. Seid compared his latest plans to Court Street where there is greenery in the middle of the block with townhouses on either side. Catherine Avalone / Hearst Connecticut Media He is applying for approval of a Planned Development Unit for the Fair Street property, which demands more open space per apartment in exchange for modifications of other zoning requirements. The apartment proposal, which would be bound by Olive, Fair and Union streets, is seven stories and covers 52,639 square feet. The plaza blends into the retail and amenity space on the first level with the potential to semi-open the amenities to the public. We are really trying to bring a community feel to it, Seid said. The apartments would be on the second through sixth floors and feature terraces with more open space on the mezzanine. There will be trees in the stamped concrete plaza and greenery could be draped from the terraces, as shown in some of the conceptual photos. The developer also will seek a variance to include 850-square-foot apartments, reduced from the 1,000-square-foot requirement. He said they have found there is a market for these. The rest would be studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom units and potentially four-bedroom units. Seid said they are open to feedback from the community and he mentioned such things as recommendations for the facade material. He said they are looking for something that plays a little bit differently from Olive and Wooster, which is next door, and The Whit. At a recent hearing arranged for Alder Carmen Rodriguez, D-6, Alder Ellen Cupo, D-8, the Downtown Wooster Square Community Management Team and the Hill South Community Management Team, about seven people spoke. Cupo, Rodriguez and other residents questioned the rents for the new apartments, which Seid confirmed would be based on the current high prices downtown. Both alders said they couldnt afford to live in them. I moved here from D.C., but I didnt expect to pay D.C. prices, another resident told Seid. Cupo said adding affordable units was a major goal of the alders and it didnt appear that there would be any in the Fair Street development. Seid said it was very preliminary, but they are looking at executing a lease by bed strategy, as a way to cast a wider net on the tenant base and allow some entry-level pricing for some of the units. Ian Dunn, the new chairman of the Downtown Wooster Community Management Team, said he was disappointed that they had less than a weeks notice on the meeting and said the community should have been brought in sooner for feedback. This is actually not a good faith effort to engage the community, Dunn said. He also asked about Epimonis long-term commitment to its development projects. Olive and Wooster, according to the land records, is owned by 44 Olive Street Ground Owner LLC, principal of which is Caret Ventures LLC, a subsidiary of Safehold a real estate investment trust. Seid said Epimoni is a small piece of the puzzle. He said he and his investors want to stay long-term, especially in New Haven. Its an exciting place to be, but I cant promise that. Seid said they will have a 98.5-year lease on the land. Olive and Wooster will have just under 8,000 square feet of retail and a public plaza of its own with outdoor seating. For the Fair Street property, Seid imagined consumers picking up pizzas from Wooster Street and then walking to the greenway. Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media A resident of the Columbus Mall Co-op on Wooster Street said the Fair Street development is not like Court Street, which is closer to half the height and has only a few townhouses, not almost 200 apartments. He also worried that there will be a tunnel effect between Olive and Wooster and the new proposal given the height of the buildings and questioned the amount of community space and greenery and said there was a need for a shade study. Seid said he would get the dimensions but it wont be a tunnel. Anstress Farwell, who heads the New Haven Urban Design League, said a traffic study early in the process was a necessity. Farwell said there was a study in 2007 which generated much community involvement. She said it did not anticipate the traffic demands from more than 600 tenants and the eventual development of the Coliseum site and State Street lots. Farwell said a new traffic study should be part of the PDU submission, rather than later in the process when the site plan is reviewed. There was agreement that more hearings were needed and would be a part of the planning approval process. One resident suggested Seid contact more local voices and fewer marketing groups for feedback. Several residents worried about changes to what is now a quiet neighborhood. Seid said there is an age-old push and pull to development, where attractive areas draw more inhabitants and generate the fear that things will change for the worse. I dont have an answer that is going to be the perfect solution to this. I will ask for feedback from the community and, where we can, we will deliver that into the project, Seid said. Given the increase in tenants, he projected there will be more retail, which should be a plus. Steve Fontana, deputy economic development director, said it was important to remember that before Epimoni came to the city, the area featured dilapidated commercial buildings and parking lots. I think through this process we are going to improve the community and I think that is what we are all striving to achieve, Fontana said. MEXICO CITY (AP) Salma Luevano was arrested for publicly identifying herself as transgender in provincial Mexico in 1985. Now she is set to take office as a member of Congress. It has been a long journey, but one that appears to be breaking through the rigid definitions of gender that long prevailed in Mexico. Luevano is one of two transgender federal legislators elected to the lower house in the countrys June 6 elections. Luevano plans to lead a campaign to get gender equality written into the constitution and gain recognition nationwide for same-sex marriage and gender identity. Luevano, a hair stylist who ran on the ticket of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's Morena party, is under no illusions about how hard the task still is. The fact that I was able to get here doesn't mean they're going to roll out the red carpet for me, and everything is solved, Luevano said in an interview this week. Lopez Obrador himself is socially conservative, and has not pushed gender issues. What comes next is the struggle to try to convince 500 colleagues, but it is not impossible, Luevano said, referring to the number of seats in the lower house. At the age of 17 in 1985, Luevano was surrounded by dozen of police in the central plaza of the provincial city of Aguascalientes and detained amid shoves and blows, accused of being a threat to public decency and morals. That started Luevano on a three-decade struggle for equality, alongside Maria Clemente Garcia, the other transgender person elected to Congress this year. One of their first efforts will be to get the national statistics institute to perform a census of LGBT people. More than 100 candidates from the LGBT community ran in the June 6 elections, and more than 20 of them were transgender. But on the other hand, 79 people from the LGBT community were murdered in 2020, 43 of them transgender, according to the activist group Letra S. That was a decline of about one-third from 2019, something that may be associated with the coronavirus pandemic. But Mexico still holds second place in the world for murders of gay and transgender people between 2008 and 2020, trailing only Brazil, according to a study by Transgender Europe and the academic journal Liminalis. Same sex marriage is recognized in 20 of Mexico's 32 states and only 13 have laws recognizing self-identified gender. Society must turn its attention on us because it's not fair that we are getting killed, said Luevano, who identifies as female. Rocio Suarez, a member of the activist group Support Center for Trans Identities, said the two legislators face a hard battle. There are going to face a lot of inertia, but we trust that their ability to start a dialogue inside Congress will allow them to reach agreements and consensus, said Suarez. They are our hope. TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Irans sole nuclear power plant is back online following an emergency shutdown two weeks ago, state TV reported Saturday. The report quoted Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, spokesperson for the country's energy ministry, as saying the Bushehr plant returned to the production of energy after the completion of needed maintenance. Mashhadi did not elaborate but last week, Irans nuclear department said engineers were working to repair the plant's broken generator. Also on Saturday, Kazem Gharibabadi, Irans representative to the IAEA said that Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards of the IAEA, Massimo Aparo, will visit Iran in coming days, the official IRNA news agency reported. Gharibabadi said Aparos visit to Tehran is in direction of routine safeguards, and added that No talks have been planned for him in Tehran. He said Iran is in regular contact with the IAEA. The visit comes nearly 10 days after the expiration of a deal between Tehran and international nuclear inspectors to preserve video data at the countrys atomic installations. Tehran is trying to push European powers to provide relief from oil and banking sanctions imposed three years ago when then-President Donald Trump withdrew America from the landmark accord. Authorities earlier this year had warned of Bushehr's possible closure because of American sanctions barring Iran from procuring equipment for repairs. Bushehr is fueled by uranium produced in Russia, not Iran, and is monitored by the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA acknowledged being aware of reports about the plant, but declined to comment. Construction on Bushehr, on the coast of the northern reaches of the Persian Gulf, began under Irans shah in the mid-1970s. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the plant was repeatedly targeted in the Iran-Iraq war. Russia later completed construction of the facility. The 1,000-megwatt plant feeds the grid with enough energy for a tiny part of Iran's nationwide 64,000-megawatt consumption. Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media NEW HAVEN A man was arrested early Friday and charged with criminal possession of three firearms, as well as a variety of controlled substances, according to city police. Officer Scott Shumway said in an email that members of the New Haven Police Shooting Task Force, Criminal Intelligence Unit, and the Narcotics Enforcement Unit, conducted an investigation on Cedar Street at 5:16 a.m., allegedly finding two handguns, a revolver and controlled substances. Niagara Falls, NY (14301) Today Partly cloudy this evening. Scattered thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low 71F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening. Scattered thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low 71F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Niagara Falls, NY (14301) Today Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms overnight. Low 72F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms overnight. Low 72F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%. An Ogun State indigene, Pastor Kunle Garb has been arrested by policemen from Benin Republic, who stormed Igbokofi, a border community in Og... An Ogun State indigene, Pastor Kunle Garb has been arrested by policemen from Benin Republic, who stormed Igbokofi, a border community in Ogun State over boundary disputes. It was gathered that the activist was arrested over his involvement in preventing the unlawful takeover of Nigerian lands in Yewa North Local Government by the Beninoise government. But, the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, on Friday appealed to the Federal Government to immediately secure the man, who he said is currently languishing in detention in Benin Republic. According to Abiodun, Garb was abducted at the village market, last week by gendarmes (Beninoise Police) who he claimed crossed illegally into the Nigerian territory to carry out the daring act, after they have succeeded in scaring away traders and Nigerians at the market. According to Gov Abiodun, the arrested Ogun indigene had consistently campaigned against incessant harassment of Nigerians by the government of Benin Republic, which is attempting to forcefully annex the Nigerian territory. In a statement on Friday by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, the Governor lamented that Garb was taken away in a gestapo manner by the armed security agents from the neighbouring country. Pastor Garb, it was learnt, has since been charged to a court and remanded under inhuman conditions in Benin Republic and was denied access to his lawyer, doctor and family members. In a protest to the Federal Government, Abiodun narrated the ordeal of Nigerians living at the border towns, calling for prompt action by relevant authorities to prevent further harassment of Ogun indigenes and encroachment on the Nigerian territorial borders. He called on the National Boundary Commission to do more in clearly demarcating Nigerias international borders with Benin Republic, even as he charged security agents to properly secure Nigerians in the border communities. The Federal Government says security and intelligence agencies were on the trail of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) lead... The Federal Government says security and intelligence agencies were on the trail of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu for over two years before he was re-arrested The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed who disclosed this at a media briefing on Thursday in Abuja, said Kanu was living a five-star life across several countries. He was travelling on chartered private jets, living in luxury apartments and turning out in designing clothes and shoes. Of course, as we all saw, he was wearing an attire made by Fendi, a luxury Italian fashion brand, when he was arrested, he said. The minister said Kanus re-arrest and repatriation was made possible through the collaboration of Nigerian security and intelligence agencies. He described the re-arrest and repatriation as one of the most classic operations of its type in the world. Mohammed, however, did not comment on the speculations on how the re-arrest was pulled off and in which country the hitherto fugitive leader of the proscribed IPOB was nabbed. What we can tell you, once again, is that the re-arrest was made possible by the diligent efforts of our security and intelligence agencies, in collaboration with countries with which we have obligations. We will continue to respect and honour the obligations, he sa Mohammed disclosed that the forensic investigation carried out so far had revealed a treasure trove of information on the proscribed IPOB leader and his collaborators. While the investigation continues, we assure you that none of the collaborators, irrespective of their standing in the society, will be spared.\ They will all face the full wrath of the law for their activities that challenge our nations sovereignty and threaten its unity. No one, no matter how highly placed, is bigger than the country, he said. The minister also assured that Kanu would get a fair trial in measure with the offence he was being prosecuted over. It is interesting that many are suddenly calling for a fair trial for Kanu as if he didnt get one before he decided to jump bail and flee. However, I can assure you that the fair deal that Kanu denied many of the victims of the violence which he willfully instigated through his broadcasts and tweets will not be denied him, he said. He commended the Nigerian security and intelligence agencies for their professionalism, diligence, patriotism and painstaking efforts as well as sister international agencies that collaborated to pull off the arrest. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Kanu, who is facing an 11-count charge of treason, treasonable felony, terrorism and illegal possession of firearms, among others, jumped bail in 2017 and left the country. He was re-arraigned before a Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday and ordered to be remanded in the custody of the DSS, while the case was adjourned till July 26 and July 27. Popular American comedian and actor, Bill Cosby has issued another statement following his release from prison. Recall that Cosby was rele... Popular American comedian and actor, Bill Cosby has issued another statement following his release from prison. Recall that Cosby was released days ago after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his s3xual assault conviction, ruling that the comedian could not be prosecuted for the same crime again. Cosby, took to his Twitter page denying both non-consensual s3x and drugging women in a thread. He accused the media of sharing false reports and taking his words out of context. His tweets read: In response to the rhetoric that the media keeps pushing, Bill Cosby never admitted in his deposition testimony, or anywhere else, to non-consensual sexual contact with any woman and/or the drugging of anyone. Cosby restated his innocence, adding that he has never admitted to spiking drinks, as widely reported in the media. Cosby has never admitted to spiking drinks, as the media would like you to believe. He has steadfastly maintained his innocence, before and after being falsely convicted of aggravated indecent assault, the statement read. He warned the media against misleading the public about his case. Mainstream media has irresponsibly, egregiously, and inexcusably misled the public with out of context coverage regarding Bill Cosbys deposition testimony. This shall serve as a grave reminder of the consequences that come with lying to the American people to satisfy an agenda, the statement added. The embattled Yoruba National agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has debunked the news of his arrest. Igboho, whose... The embattled Yoruba National agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has debunked the news of his arrest. Igboho, whose house was invaded on Thursday, escaped the invasion, although two persons were killed and 13 persons were arrested and paraded by the Department of State Services in Abuja. But late on Friday night, an online medium had reported that Igboho was arrested by the DSS at the Sat Guru Maharaj Ji Camp and had been taken to Abuja. Igbohos aides, as well as those close to Guru Maharaj Ji, told our correspondent in separate interviews that the story was not true. Igboho also debunked his rumoured arrest in a recorded voice message played on Facebook by his media aide, Olayomi Koiki, during a live show at about 11:59pm on Friday. Igboho, who spoke in Yoruba language, said he was still at his house in Ibadan. He said, Good evening my fans. I thank you all. My name is Sunday Igboho and today is July 2 , 2021. I have been hearing that they have arrested me at Guru Maharaj Ji. It is a lie. I was not at Guru Maharaj Ji. I am in my house in Ibadan and nobody arrested me. (sic) Meanwhile, one of Igbohos maternal uncles simply identified as Alfa, was said to be one of those killed during the invasion of his residence by DSS operatives. Our correspondent gathered that Alfa was a younger brother of Igbohos mum. One of Igbohos aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Alfa was on a visit to the house and was praying when the security agents stormed the house and opened fire there. The second person who was shot dead during the raid on the house was identified as Saheed, popularly known as Adogan. Adogan, was said to have hailed from Osogbo, the Osun State capital, where Igboho has business interests. The source said that Adogan was popular around Alekuwodo and that his killing had been described as a sad incident among Igbohos aides. The source said, You know that people were always many in the house. There are even some persons there that chief does not recognise. Getting their full identities is difficult. But the Alfa that cane on a visit from Ogun State was chiefs uncle. He was praying when the soldiers and DSS arrived and started shooting. He was shot and he died there. His corpse was taken away. Adogan was also shot dead. His death pained everybody. He hailed from Osogbo, Alekuwodo area. His first name is Saheed, but I dont know his surname. The Methodist Church Nigeria (MCN) on Friday passed a vote of no confidence on its British counterpart, over the latters approval of same... The Methodist Church Nigeria (MCN) on Friday passed a vote of no confidence on its British counterpart, over the latters approval of same-sex marriage. The Nigeria variant of the church said this in a statement by its Director, Media and Public Relations, Rev. Oladapo Daramola, in Lagos. Daramola said that the Church expressed its displeasure over the decision of the British Church in favour of same-sex marriage. According to him, the position of MCN was made known by its Prelate, His Eminence Chukwumerije Kanu-Uche, in a message he shared with members, on July 2. Kanu-Uche announced that MCN was cutting formal ties with the British Methodist Church (BMC) due to the latters decision to vote in favour of same sex marriage at the just-concluded conference. I wish to let you know that I was invited to the British Methodist Conference this year, 2021 but I was duly represented by Rt. Rev. S. R. Nortey. He was part of the Conference and he has given me preliminary information and report. I have requested him to publish and circulate the full report on the SSM to the Conference office and all of us, he said. He said that what the British Methodist Conference had done was predicted by John Wesley that, a time will come when the Methodist Church will exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion and denying the power thereof unless they continue with the spiritual fervency with which they first started. The prelate reminded the members that the British Methodist Church was no longer the mother Church of MCN. She is only a sister Church. MCN gained autonomy in 1962 and became autocephalous in 1963. So, we can part ways with the British Conference and have nothing to lose. I only pity those romancing with them because of pecuniary interest. Suggestion to write or visit the British Methodist Conference is an insult on Methodist church. He, however, said the Church will wait to receive a detailed report from the accredited delegate to the Conference and take an informed decision at Aug. 2021 consultation. As a remedial measure let every Bishop, and Archbishop tell our members that MCN does not support gay or same-sex marriage, Kanu-Uche said. Nigeria has enacted a law making same-sex marriage illegal and punishable by imprisonment. Despite the massive presence of policemen at the Gani Fawehinmi Park in Ojota, venue of the Yoruba Nation rally, agitators played some trick... Despite the massive presence of policemen at the Gani Fawehinmi Park in Ojota, venue of the Yoruba Nation rally, agitators played some tricks to defy the cordon. According to a NAN report, the activists came individually to the front of Gani Fawehinmis park, betraying no sign they were part of the protest. While the Commissioner of Police in Lagos, Mr Hakeem Odumosu, was briefing journalists at the venue, the agitators began to bring out fliers, banners and putting on T-Shirts with Sunday Igboho picture printed on them. Odumosu, however, appealed to them to be civil. Odumosu said the group did not notify the Police about their protest and that, therefore, the rally could not hold. NAN further observed that as the crowd surged and became thicker, the activists began chanting Yoruba Nation songs. One man dressed in white, even walked to the policemen, demanding to speak to Inspector Jack. He was ignored as more protesters congregated behind him. At this stage, the Police started using water cannon to disperse them. Teargas was also used. Journalists were not spared. The agitators, comprising men and women then retreated towards Ikorodu end for their safety. Meanwhile, unconfirmed sources close to the Police said five persons were arrested at the venue and were taken away in RRS vehicle. A 14-year-old girl, simply identified as Jumoke, was also reportedly killed by a stray bullet. But the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, denied the report in a statement, saying the Police did not fire a single live bullet at Ojota rally today. A eye witness told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the body of the girl was found in front of No. 428, Ikorodu Road, closed to Ojota Motor Park. A woman, Miss Tosin Oyemade, who claimed that the deceased was her salesgirl, said that she had sent her to go and open the shop while she (Oyemade) went to the church for an event. I asked her this morning to go and open the shop while I went to the church for an event, planning to join her later. My cousin called me while in church that the Police had killed Jumoke; I quickly rushed down only to see her dead body in the pool of her blood. I was told while the Police were shooting, that people started running towards the compound, where Jumoke fell down bleeding, she said. Another eye witness, one Mr Julius Onaguruwa, told NAN that he was amongst those running into the compound when the girl fell and bleeding from the chest. The Police spokesman said in a statement that the Police did not kill the girl. The attention of the Lagos State Police Command has been drawn to a news making rounds that a 14-year-old girl was hit and killed by police bullet today July 3 at the venue of the Oodua Republic Mega Rally in Ojota, Lagos. The command hereby wishes to debunk the rumour and state categorically that its a calculated attempt to create confusion and fears in the minds of the good people of Lagos State and the country at large. The command did not fire a single live bullet at Ojota rally today. The said corpse was found wrapped and abandoned at a distance, far from Ojota venue of the rally, behind MRS Filling Station, inward Maryland, on the other side of the venue, with dried blood stains suggesting that the corpse is not fresh, Adejobi said. Watertown, NY (13601) Today Thunderstorms likely - possibly strong, especially this evening. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 71F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely - possibly strong, especially this evening. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 71F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Gov. John Bel Edwards has signed a bill that encourages Louisiana industrial plants to report some pollution mishaps to the state government but keeps records of those accidents hidden from the public for as long as two years. House Bill 72 by Rep. Jean-Paul Coussan, R-Lafayette, passed both chambers of the Legislature this spring with overwhelming majorities. The new law lets industries report toxic spills and releases that wouldnt normally qualify for mandatory reporting to state or federal authorities. During debate on the House floor in May, Coussan and other lawmakers touted the idea as a way to provide the Department of Environmental Quality with information on minor accidents that it wouldnt normally receive. Coussan said it also would allow industries to be good stewards of the environment by reporting minor incidents that pose little or no risk to the environment or community. However, Broderick Bagert of Together Louisiana, a coalition of religious and community groups, said industrial plants have long been disclosing releases on their own. He said the legislation actually has more to do with hiding those records from the public. What was presented in committee was an inaccurate representation as it turns out, Bagert said. Coussan disagreed, saying the bill doesnt expand any confidentiality statutes that dont already exist. Basically the current policy right now is when DEQ is in an enforcement action, the enforcement action is not public. This bill doesnt change that, Coussan said. This program falls under the enforcement authority of DEQ. The new law states that information contained in a voluntary environmental self-audit authorized by R.S. 30:2044 shall be held confidential by the department and shall be withheld from public disclosure until a final decision is made, or for a period not to exceed two years, whichever occurs first. The environment department is required to publish any final decision on its website once the secrecy period expires. The law also instructs the department to establish regulations regarding the self-audit program, and Bagert said these regulations will likely determine what information will be kept secret and what will be available to the public. He pointed to an accident last month at the Domino Sugar refinery. A contractor called the environment department to report an acid gas leaking into the air. The contractor did not report how much gas or for how long it had been leaking, thus the Department of Environmental Quality deemed it to be below the reportable level, according to public records provided by Bagert. Bagert referred to records submitted to the environment department for several other accidents in which the actual levels of the pollution were either unknown or left off the record, prompting the department to accept them as minor non-reportable incidents. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Louisiana polluters could report violations to receive lower fines, confidentiality The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality would craft an environmental self-audit program for industry use In one case on May 8, the oil and gas company Lobo Operating Inc. discovered one of its pipelines leaking in Breton Sound after someone noticed a sheen of oil on the surface. According to the document submitted to the environment department, the oil sheen was measured at 10 feet wide by 2 miles long yet was deemed to be less than a half gallon and below the reportable quantity. The report further indicated that the sheen escaped beyond the incident location and was unrecoverable. Bagert said he worries the public might no longer have access to these types of records if such accidents involving unknown quantities of released pollution are deemed minor events and accepted under the self-audit program. But he said he is optimistic after the governors office told him it would work with Together Louisiana on implementing the new regulations. Violations that should not qualify for environmental self-audits, according to the new law, include ones: That result in serious actual harm to the environment That may present an imminent or substantial endangerment to public health or the environment Discovered by the department prior to the written disclosure of the violation to the department Detected through monitoring, sampling or auditing procedures that are required by statute, regulation, permit, judicial or administrative order or consent agreement. Another significant change under the new law is that the environment department is no longer required to hold public hearings on environmental assessments of plants that apply for pollution permits. Rather, it states, the department may and, if requested, shall conduct a public hearing on the environmental assessment statement in the parish where the facility is located. Additionally, the law instructs the department to develop new regulations that, among others, establish financial incentives for companies in the form of reducing or eliminating civil penalties for violations disclosed in a self-audit. The Louisiana Illuminator is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization based in Baton Rouge. Louisiana lawyers could soon be freed from mandatory membership in the State Bar Association, after a pair of federal court rulings that threaten to weaken the group's influence at the state Capitol. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday reopened a First Amendment case brought by New Orleans attorney Randy Boudreaux, who challenged the Louisiana Supreme Courts requirement that all of the 20,000-plus lawyers licensed in the state be dues-paying bar members. Boudreaux, an insurance defense lawyer, argues that mandatory membership violates his constitutional rights of free speech and free association because the bar takes political positions; he opposed the use of his dues, about $200 annually for most lawyers, for lobbying and other political activity. A three-judge panel of the appeals court didnt say that those lawyers dont have to be bar members, but it ruled the bar association failed to disclose its activities properly. That reversed a 2020 ruling by U.S. District Judge Lance Africk, whom President George W. Bush nominated to the bench and who had dismissed Boudreauxs arguments. At the same time, the 5th Circuit panel issued a preliminary injunction against the Texas bar requiring lawyers to join or pay dues while that case plays out. In Texas, the court found, the bar engaged in activities unrelated to regulating the legal practice, such as lobbying to amend the definition of marriage and to create civil unions in the state constitution. The court gave Texas options: Stop engaging in non-germane activities Create a voluntary bar association Adopt some kind of hybrid, as it said California has done. Boudreaux's attorney, Dane Ciolino, said the situation is similar in Louisiana, and that he expects a like outcome. I would hope in fairly short order well get an order temporarily prohibiting the Louisiana Supreme Court from forcing lawyers to join" the Louisiana State Bar Association, Ciolino said. Judge tosses lawsuit against forced membership in Louisiana State Bar Association A federal judge in New Orleans has dismissed an attorneys lawsuit that challenged the Louisiana State Bar Associations monopoly over who can He argued that the Louisiana bar frequently engages in political or ideological initiatives that have nothing to do with the practice of law. In a recent amicus brief filed by the Pelican Institute of Public Policy in an Oregon case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Ciolino cited positions taken by the Louisiana bar on more than 500 legislative bills since 2007. In particular, he cited the associations activism in lobbying against tort reform in the Legislature. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up In his challenge, Boudreaux opposed the bars advocacy against executions, for changes to the high school civics curriculum and against letting school personnel carry guns on campus. New Orleans lawyer sues state bar association over use of dues for lobbying efforts A libertarian attorney filed a lawsuit on Thursday taking aim at the Louisiana State Bar Associations monopoly on the legal profession, joini Thirty-one states, including Louisiana, require practicing attorneys to become members of their state bar associations. In some states, the associations discipline attorneys for misconduct; in Louisiana, discipline is left to the state Supreme Court. Minor Pipes III, president of the Louisiana bar association, said Friday that bar leadership was still reviewing the court's ruling. He argued that the association does very little lobbying and that it has strict rules that stop us from getting into ideological issues. But Pipes acknowledged that the state Supreme Court might be required to change the rules. The 5th Circuit sent the case back to Africk for now. Were disappointed with the decision, but well obviously abide by what the ultimate decision is, Pipes said. The case is one of several similar ones that are now wending their way through federal courts. The 5th Circuit called them bar wars. The Goldwater Institute of Arizona, a libertarian think tank, is backing related litigation in other states. In Louisiana, it teamed with the Pelican Institute. The groups argue that a recent Supreme Court ruling, which bars public sector unions from forcing members to pay dues that might fund political lobbying efforts opposed by the members, should also apply to bar associations. In Boudreaux's case, the 5th Circuit ruling was written by Judge Don Willett of Austin, Texas, an appointee of President Donald Trump. Joining the opinion were Judge Jerry Smith of Houston, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, and Kyle Duncan of Baton Rouge, another Trump appointee. Steve Corbett, the high-profile principal of Lusher Charter School, is set to become CEO of Audubon Schools, officials confirmed Friday. Corbett is slated to start at Audubon this month following "an extensive search process" for a new CEO, according to Javier Jalice, chair of French Montessori Education (FAME), the board that runs Audubon Schools. "Dr. Corbett has over 15 years of educational experience and has served in various school leadership roles since 2012," Jalice said in a statement. "We welcome Dr. Corbett to the Audubon Schools family and look forward to him utilizing his extensive experience in leading Audubon Schools." His departure will leave Lusher looking for a new principal. Corbett, who also worked as adjunct instructor for University of New Orleans, stepped into the role of high school principal in the 2017-18 school year at Lusher, an A-rated kindergarten through 12th grade selective admissions school located Uptown. He had been a social studies teacher and dean at the school from 2009 to 2012. He also was principal at several schools in New York from 2012 to 2017. At Audubon, he will oversee the French and Montessori programs at lower and middle-school campuses of the B-rated, pre-K through eighth grade school Uptown and the so-far unrated, Gentilly-based school that opened in 2019 and will serves kids in pre-K through fifth next year. Audubon, grappling with budget woes, had announced multiple staffing changes in 2020, including the departure of Latoye Brown, chief executive officer of the organization's Uptown campus who oversaw the school's expansion into Gentilly. Justin Anderson, the chief financial officer of FAME, also left. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Multiple sources said Corbett's appointment to Audubon came when his contract was not renewed with Lusher Charter after some tension with school leaders over a variety of issues, including how administrators were addressing racial equity at the school. Corbett's departure comes following a year of unrest at the school as officials have told parents in emails they are still considering changing the name of the program following the Orleans Parish School Board's vote to change the name of the schools' facilities so they no longer honor White supremacists or former slaveowners. In a letter sent to staff and faculty at the high school on Wednesday, Corbett said it "had been an honor of a lifetime to work with each of you, and with our exceptional students and community." On Friday, Corbett said in a media statement that he was excited to step into his new role. "I am thrilled for the opportunity to lead Audubon Schools, and look forward to working with their exceptional faculty and students very soon," Corbett said. Lusher officials haven't yet started looking for a new leader for the high school, according to spokesperson Heather Harper. "Lusher Charter School wishes Dr. Steven Corbett well in his new job as CEO of Audubon Charter Schools," the CEO, Kathy Riedlinger, said in a statement. Just as vacationers head to the coast to beat the July heat, a new study offers a bit of caution: 82% percent of the almost 300 Gulf Coast beaches that recently underwent water testing were found to have potentially unsafe levels of fecal bacteria. In Louisiana, 21 beaches were judged likely unsafe for swimming at least one day in 2020, according to a national study of pollution at public beaches by Environment America Research and Policy Center. Cypremort Point Beach in St. Mary Parish and Rutherford Beach in Cameron Parish topped the Louisiana list with 12 unsafe days, and the popular Lake Pontchartrain beach at Fontainebleau State Park near Mandeville was just behind with 11 unsafe days. In Mississippi, each of 21 beaches tested had at least one day of high fecal bacteria levels and 16 were judged unsafe at least a quarter of the time. Alabama fared a bit better with 21 of 24 beaches showing spikes in fecal bacteria at least one day. In Florida, almost 70% of the 266 beaches were found to have at least one day when swimming wasnt advisable. The study used a federal database of water sampling data from almost 330 beaches in 29 coastal and Great Lakes states and Puerto Rico. About one in 10 beaches surveyed showed concerning levels of fecal bacteria on at least a quarter of the days they were tested. Each year, about 57 million Americans are sickened by swimming in contaminated water, the study said. Fecal bacteria can cause stomach problems, lung illnesses, ear and eye infections and skin rash. Common causes for spikes in waterborne bacteria include runoff from streets and other paved surfaces, sewage system overflows, failed septic systems, pet waste and manure and fertilizer from farms. Some call this bacteria-laden stuff nutrients, but its basically poop. The threats are getting worse as climate change increases the number of hard and heavy rains that flush bacteria into drainage systems and waterways. The study's results were no surprise to officials with Louisiana State Parks. Fontainebleau, in particular, has struggled with contaminated lake water for years. A no swimming advisory was issued for the park's beach on Monday. Its not a new thing to us, said Clifford Melius, assistant secretary of the state parks system. I wish it wasnt that way. During the rainy season, large amounts of water flows from north shore creeks and drains into Lake Pontchartrain. Environmental news in your inbox Stay up-to-date on the latest on Louisiana's coast and the environment. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up All that dumps a heavy nutrient load, Melius said. And a lot of it comes drifting in front of Fontainebleau. Weekly water testing shows unsafe levels of bacteria so often that the park has a warning sign that can easily be flipped to show when swimming isnt a good idea. Melius admits swimmers often don't heed the warning. Bacteria sometimes gets so high the beach must be closed. Environment Americas study recommends a series of steps to curb fecal pollution: Policymakers should protect wetlands and other natural areas that absorb runoff, and curb the spread of impervious surfaces such as streets and parking lots. Coastal areas lost about 640,000 acres of wetlands and 10 million acres of forest to development since the mid-1990s, according to the study. Wide-ranging sewage infrastructure improvements are also needed. Many cities design their sewerage to overflow into drainage systems and waterways during heavy rains. But with the number of intense rain events on the rise, overflows are happening more frequently. By Environment Americas estimates, overflows are now happening almost 80,000 times per year into U.S. waters. Agricultural practices across the United States should be revamped. Large factory farms often produce more manure than can be safely stored, the study said. Heavy rains often wash through these poop piles, eventually dumping bacteria and other pathogens into waterways frequented by beach goers. The study said the data on which it relied is limited. The availability of test results from fewer than two dozen beaches in Louisiana, for instance, isnt enough. Unsafe levels of contamination could be lurking at other beaches and popular swimming holes that receive no testing. Policymakers should ensure that swimmers are presented with the best possible information to make decisions regarding their health, the study said. Officials should expand funding for beach testing to ensure adequate testing at all beaches. +9 Another Louisiana bayou is added to list of waterways with mercury-laden fish Despite a shrinking budget and an uncertain future, Louisiana's fish testing program is still finding waterways where fish might be unsafe to eat. With Mayor LaToya Cantrells proposal to move City Hall to the Municipal Auditorium all but dead, the city now faces the question of whether progress can be made to fix a building that has been left vacant and virtually unrepaired since Hurricane Katrina. Following a Thursday City Council vote that sets up several hurdles to Cantrells plan, the Mayors Office indicated it would not move forward with spending the $38 million in FEMA funds earmarked for the Armstrong Park building until a permanent solution was found. But council member Kristin Gisleson Palmer, the sponsor of the measure that would block the City Hall plan, and Amy Stelly, one of the leaders of the effort to halt the move, both said that the city should now turn its attention to simply fixing the building and leave its ultimate use up to a longer community process. The issue is not merely an academic one: the damage to the Municipal Auditorium has been getting worse as the years have taken their toll. And it is likely to deteriorate further if it is allowed to remain as it is, with an unstable and partially blown off roof that allows the elements in. Everyone agrees the building should be fixed, needs to be fixed and actually because of its historical value deserves to be fixed, said Stelly, an advocate with the Claiborne Avenue Alliance and an urban designer. We have enough demolition by neglect, we dont need it from the government, Stelly said. They should be curing these things, not contributing to them. Cantrell Press Secretary LaTonya Norton said in a statement Thursday that it would leave the building in its current state until a clear path for its future was found. New Orleans City Council approves temporary ban on City Hall move to Municipal Auditorium Dealing a direct blow to Mayor LaToya Cantrells plans to move City Hall to Municipal Auditorium, the City Council put a hold on any attempts That came hours after the council unanimously voted for an Interim Zoning District that would prevent any government offices from being developed in Armstrong Park for a year. Council members also indicated their support for a longer-term plan to require council approval to move City Hall. The Mayors Office is not ready to completely call it quits on the City Hall move. Norton said by email on Friday that the administration is reviewing our options. But with unanimous council opposition, there currently appears no path forward for the plan. The administration has raised the specter that the councils actions could imperil the FEMA funds for the repair of the building, which must be undertaken by 2023. But Palmer argued that not only could the needed repairs be undertaken, they should happen quickly so the site does not deteriorate further. +5 LaToya Cantrell backs away from plan to move City Hall to Municipal Auditorium Mayor LaToya Cantrell backed away Friday from plans to move New Orleans City Hall to the Municipal Auditorium in Louis Armstrong Park, saying She said that such steps are specifically allowed under the motion she authored. Palmers office provided an email with the Governors Office of Homeland Security which oversees FEMA funds saying that type of work would appear to be permissible. During her previous term on the council, Palmer noted the city proceeded in a similar fashion with the St. Roch Market, which was also repaired with FEMA money. Without a clear tenant in mind, the city repaired and stabilized the building, leaving it in a condition that could be adapted when those decisions were made. I just want to be clear this is possible with FEMA money, thats what we did, we secured the building, the exterior and interior, allowed people to walk in and see what it could be utilized for, Palmer said. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up +17 Photos: Protestors march and dance against the proposal to move City Hall to Municipal Auditorium Protestors met in Congo Square to listen to speakers before taking to the streets against the proposal to move City Hall to the Municipal Audi The administration doesn't agree that they can undertake the stabilization without a complete plan in place. We cant do the stabilization without a permanent use for Municipal Auditorium being defined, Norton said. We are working with FEMA to explore the options that we have. The lack of repairs to the Municipal Auditorium and the growing damage to the building have been a longstanding issue, though one that only occasionally received citywide attention until Cantrells attempt to redevelop it brought the issue into the spotlight. While temporary repairs were made in the immediate aftermath of Katrina, attention shifted to more pressing priorities in the years that followed. A report on the damage wasnt submitted to FEMA until 2012. By 2015, the city was calling for $89 million in FEMA funds to repair the building. While the agency boosted the money available up to $42 million, it balked at the estimates put forth by the city. An arbitration to settle the issue during the Mitch Landrieu administration found that many of those additional costs were due to damage that occurred because the building had not been fixed up in the decade following Katrina. A panel eventually trimmed the amount the city would receive to the $38 million available today. The problem with (the city of New Orleans) approach is that the condition of the auditorium deteriorated further while waiting for FEMAs approval of new estimates for changing scopes of work, according to the decision. The $38 million in FEMA dollars can be spent for any costs that would go toward returning the building to service. The Landrieu administration made some repairs, boarded up the building and added security. Under the Cantrell administration, the citys Property Management Department made repairs to keep water out of the basement and further secure the building from vagrants, Norton said. But, to date, none of the FEMA money has been spent. Norton said the administration has no current estimate for how much it would cost to fix the building. Longer term, council members seem to agree that whatever happens at the Municipal Auditorium has to be dictated by the community, though the focus has been on some sort of cultural use or museum. But in the meantime, Stelly said shes hoping the attention that has been brought to the auditorium could serve to speed the basic repairs that are needed. As citizens we have to push to ensure the work is done, she said. The Lycoming County commissioners approved new personnel, COVID relief funds, and an extension to the COVID-19 disaster declaration. In addition, as steel prices continue to increase the county landfill is amending its contract for more steel baling wire not to exceed $120/carton. Find the full list of action items here: ACCOUNTS PAYABLE CASH REQUIREMENT Approve the following cash requirement report(s): Approve accounts payable Cash Requirements Report in the amount of 1,955190.40. PASS 3-0 This includes area projects such as the Muncy Township building, the Gold Star Families Memorial and the Dr. W. B. Konkle Memorial Library renovation project. The funds are taken out of Act 13 gas impact fund. Part of the funds also include pass through funds from the federal government for rental assistance programs. SALARY BOARD ACTIONS Approve update to the following salary schedule(s): PASS 4-0 Information Services Rename the Following Positions: One (1) Programmer I position to a Software Specialist paygrade 7/8 One (1) Programmer II position to a Software Analyst paygrade 9/10 Maintenance- Creation of Deputy Director position paygrades 11/12 RMS- Business Office- Removal of Purchasing Agent/RMS paygrade 7/8. PERSONNEL ACTIONS Approve the following personnel action(s): PASS 3-0 Planning & Community Development- Mark L. Haas, Full-Time Replacement/Promotion, Development Services Supervisor, Paygrade 9, $42,986.70/Salary. Effective: 7/11/21. Courts- Janine M. Mastracco, Full-Time Replacement, Clerk III, paygrade 4, $14.09/hourly. Effective: 7/6/21. Domestics- Dawn Coleman, Full-time Replacement, Clerk III, paygrade 4, $14.09/hourly. Effective: 7/6/21. Pre-Release- Conner A. Morse, Full-Time Replacement, Resident Supervisor, paygrade 5, $15.37/hourly. Effective: 7/12/21. Sheriff- Adam J. Ross, Part-Time Replacement, Deputy Sheriff, paygrade PDS, $21.338194/hourly, not to exceed 1000 hours annually. Effective: 6/27/21. ACTION ITEMS Vote on update to Policy number 101- Reaffirmation of Policies Equal Employment Opportunity. PASS 3-0 Vote to extend the Coronavirus Disaster Declaration PASS 3-0 This will extend the disaster declaration until September and allows the county to continue to receive federal funds related to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Director of Public Safety Jeffrey Hutchins. It doesnt hurt us in any way, Hutchins said. This should be our last one. Vote on Agreement with John Galaznik, M.D. 2021 budgeted item. PASS 3-0 Consultation on cases specifically related to physical abuse of infants or children. Vote to purchase mental health first aid training manuals for Lycoming-Clinton Joinder Board in the amount of $9,030. CRBG Convenience Funds. This will be used to purchase new training manuals. Vote on Amendment to Lease Agreement with ARD Operating, LLC. PASS 3-0 May 1, 2021 to April 30, 2022. Rent will stay the same at $10/squarefoot. 8.6 Mya Toon- Vote on COVID-19 American Rescue Plan Act Local Fiscal Recovery funds grant application and award in the amount of $22,000,000. PASS 3-0 These are COVID-19 relief funds as part of the federal COVID stimulus package. The county will receive $11 million in 2021 and $11 million in 2022. Its vital that we spend this money wisely and we do so efficiently and with partnerships with municipalities across the county, said Commissioner Scott Metzger. All of the funds must be spent by Dec. 1, 2024. The commissioners encouraged the public to... Read the whole story on On the PULSE Wellsboro, Pa. - On Sat., July 10 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Park Naturalist Bob Edkin is hosting a free, in-person Introduction to Fly Fishing for those interested in learning more about this sport. Fly fishing can seem daunting to a beginner, but it isnt that complicated, said Edkin. During the program, he will teach fly-fishing basics, including selecting a rod and tackle and the types of flies to use, along with a brief introduction to casting. The program will be at the Schloder Pavilion behind the Leonard Harrison State Park office at 4797 PA-660, Wellsboro. The park is about 10 miles from Wellsboro on Route 660 west, and is located on the east rim of the Pine Creek Gorge, also known as the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. Register now to reserve a spot to attend this free program by visiting clicking here. For more information, call (570) 724-3061 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays, 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays or email Edkin at redkin@pa.gov. Raytown Lake, Pa. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Baltimore District staff, and Pennsylvania Game Commission officers successfully coordinated the rescue of a grounded bald eaglet fledgling (or flying away from) the eagle's nest at Raystown Lake Dam, June 29, 2021. Brent Chronister, Raystown Lake's head dam operator, first noticed the eaglet near the dam's spillway and within the proximity of the eagle's nest. Once the eaglet was spotted, Alicia Palmer, Raystown Lake's Natural Resource specialist, and Laney Reasner, Student Conservation Association intern, quickly sprang into action. Mike College, Pennsylvania Game Commission officer, assisted in the rescue and safely captured the fledgling eaglet, who could not fly for unknown reasons. After the rescue, the eaglet was transported to Centre Wildlife Care where it is receiving necessary care after testing positive for West Nile Virus. The nest at Raystown Lake Dam has been operational since 1999 and has fledged 37 eaglets since. A mated pair of bald eagles have been nesting at the Raystown Lake dam since its development. In 2019, the pair rebuilt their nest in a new location on a large pine tree above the Hydroelectric Power Plant. The pair has since raised six eaglets. The eaglets have become a huge tourist attraction to wildlife photographers and nature enthusiasts visiting the area. Since the pair's relocation, visitors have a better eye-level view of the nest from the road on the dam, providing the unique opportunity to watch the eaglets as they grow. The increased visibility of the nest not only benefits visitors but also helps USACE staff monitor the eaglets as they begin to spread their wings and learn to fly. Throughout the Raystown Lake project, there are currently four Bald Eagle nests. USACE staff advises the public to prioritize their safety if they come across an injured eagle. Like most wildlife, an injured eagle can be defensive and dangerous. As a reminder, it is common for an eagle to sit in one place for several hours. However, if an eagle or other raptor remains in one place, especially on the ground, for more than 24 hours and does not fly away on approach or is seemingly injured, contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator or a state game conservation officer for assistance. Please keep in mind the following: Eagles have incredibly sharp talons and beaks that can cause serious injury quickly. Unless there is visible injury, a bird on the ground is not necessarily a sign that it needs help. Do not attempt to capture an eagle unless directed to do so. If directed to capture an eagle, be sure to have protective gloves, eyewear, a towel, and a cage to transport the animal. Bald Eagles are solely native to North America, making them the United States national emblem, representing our nation's strength, determination, and independence. In Pennsylvania, Bald Eagles generally fledge from their nest by July 4 (also known as our nations Independence Day. Coincidence?). Williamsport -- Jane L. Hess, 88, affectionately known as Nanny, formerly of Williamsport, passed away on June 30, 2021 at her sons home in Jersey Shore while surrounded by her loving family. Jane was born in Williamsport on Aug. 5, 1932, the daughter of Lewis W. and Margaret C. (Saar) Kane. She was a member of St. Joseph the Worker Parish. Jane had worked with her husband at Hess Building Maintenance, cleaning businesses and houses, and she also worked at the Port Drive In Theatre and the Harvest Moon Dairy Bar. Jane was also a foster parent for multiple children. Her husband of 59 years, Samuel W. Hess Jr., died April 9, 2013. Surviving are her children and their families; Christopher W. (Bernardine) Hess with whom she lived, Michael D. Hess, Debora (William) Clarkson and Samuel W. (Connie) Hess III all of Williamsport; 10 grandchildren; 21 great grandchildren and 6 great great grandchildren; brothers, William Kane and Lawrence Kane. In addition to her parents and husband, a grandson, Brian Clarkson and a brother John Kane preceded her in death. The family will receive family and friends at Crouse Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 133 E. 3rd St. Williamsport on Wednesday, July 7, 2021 from 7 to 9 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 10 a.m. Thursday, July 8 at St. Joseph the Worker Parish, 702 W. Fourth St. Williamsport, with the Rev. Robert J. Antonelli officiating, burial will follow at Wildwood Cemetery. The family suggests memorial contributions may be made in Janes name to, St. Joseph the Worker Parish, 711 W. Edwin St., Williamsport, PA 17701. Please visit www.crousefuneralhome.com to sign a register book or share a memory. To plant a tree in memory of Jane Hess as a living tribute, please visit Tribute Store. Calhoun, GA (30701) Today Clear to partly cloudy. Low near 65F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. Low near 65F. Winds light and variable. Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by subscribing. Associate Editor and business columnist Doug Walker is always looking for news and tips about area businesses. To contact Doug, email him at DWalker@RN-T.com or call 706-290-5272. Joe Phillips writes his Dear me columns for several small newspapers. He has many connections to Walker County, including his grandfather, former superintendent Waymond Morgan. He can be reached at joenphillips@hotmail.com. Joey Haynes is a follower of Jesus, married way out of his league, has two of the coolest children in the universe and is blessed to work with an amazing community of believers known as The Church at Rome. Roseburg, OR (97470) Today Clear skies. Low around 60F. N winds at 10 to 15 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph.. Tonight Clear skies. Low around 60F. N winds at 10 to 15 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph. Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com. George Bowers is the Senior Pastor of Antioch Church of the Brethren and has authored sixteen books including Blessings Volume 3 which is a collection of these articles. It is available at Four Star Printing and Shenandoah Stuff. He can be reached through www.georgebowersministries.com or at gabowers@shentel.net. CITY ORDINANCES: When it comes to summer fireworks usage in Iowa, state law allows the pyrotechnics to be set off 9 a.m.-10 p.m. June 1-July 8. Expanded hours for fireworks usage are 9 a.m.-11 p.m. July 4, and the Saturday and Sunday before and after the Fourth. Alton, Inwood and Paullinas fireworks rules match state law, although several other NWest Iowa communities have tighter restrictions on when fireworks can legally be used in the summer. In Boyden, for instance, fireworks are only allowed 9 a.m.-10 p.m. July 1-7. The hours are extended to 11 p.m. on July 4. Hartley only lets residents use fireworks 10 a.m.-11 p.m. July 3-4. Hawarden limits fireworks to noon-10 p.m. June 28-July 4, with extended hours to 11 p.m. on the Fourth of July. In Hospers, fireworks usage is restricted to noon-10 p.m. for the period of the Friday before July 4 and through July 8 and noon-11 p.m. on July 4 and the Saturdays and Sundays immediately preceding and following that date. Orange City set fireworks usage to 9 a.m.-10 p.m. June 15-July 8 and to 11 p.m. on July 4 and the Saturdays and Sundays immediately before and after the Fourth. Rock Valley and Sanborn have adopted those same hours, except in those communities the extension to 11 p.m. applies only to July 4. Primghar only allows fireworks to be used 9 a.m.-10 p.m. July 3-4. Rock Rapids hours are 9 a.m.-10 p.m. June 29-July 7 and 9 a.m.-11 p.m. on July 4. Sheldon has restricted fireworks to noon-10 p.m. June 20-July 5 and noon-11 p.m. for July 4. Sibley lets residents use fireworks noon-9 p.m. June 24-July 4 on weekdays and noon-11 p.m. on weekends and on the Fourth. Sioux Center lets fireworks be used 9 a.m.-10 p.m. June 13-July 8 and 9 a.m.-11 p.m. July 4 and the weekends before and after the Fourth up to July 8. Sutherlands fireworks hours are 1-10 p.m. June 28-July 8 and 1 p.m.-12:30 a.m. July 4-5. No consumer fireworks may be set off in Archer or George. Raise a shot glass because George Thorogood and The Destroyers will return to Four Winds New Buffalo this fall. The band known for "Bad to the Bone," "I Drink Alone" and "One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer" last played the Southwest Michigan venue in 2016. It's slated to perform at 9 p.m. Eastern on Sept. 11 at the Silver Creek Event Center at 11111 Wilson Road in Harbor Country. "Since 1976, George Thorogood and The Destroyers have sold over 15 million albums, built a catalog of classic hits, and played more than 8,000 ferocious live shows," Four Winds said in a press release. "They broke records with their 50 Dates/50 States Tour, delivered landmark performances at Live Aid and on SNL, and became mainstays of radio, MTV and stages worldwide for more than two generations. Through it all, theyve remained one of the most consistent and consistently passionate progenitors of blues-based rock in pop culture history." The band is on its 45 Years of Rock tour with Thorogood, drummer Jeff Simon, bass guitarist Bill Blough, rhythm guitarist Jim Suhler and saxophonist Buddy Leach. Since I was 17, all I wanted to do was see how far I could go with my guitar, putting my own spin on music I loved," Thorogood said. Crown Point Fire Rescue Chief Dave Crane said this isn't the first time Crown Point agencies have sent their own to aid in natural disasters around the country. Crane said Cusack is leading as the K-9 Coordinator for Indiana Task Force One. Jake is also a K-9 member of Crown Point Fire Rescue and he and Cusack are an inseparable team. "Ryan is definitely dedicated to his craft and has great leadership skills. anytime someone is intertwined with a state team like this, it speaks volumes," Crane said. "Jake is part of the team, too. If we have a building collapse or there's a missing person we send him out; we have used him in searches in the past." Cusack and Lazowski and their K-9 partners were also dispatched in September 2018 to North Carolina when Hurricane Florence swept through the Atlantic Coast. With the amount of time and effort we put into training, we hope we never have to use it, Cusack told The Times in 2018 while being sent to the hurricane disaster zone. People calling for us in their time of need- that feeling is paramount to anything else. To see the difference in their face when they see we're here to help. Also meeting other responders and volunteers from all around the country is always a really neat experience. In addition to honoring Gary's fallen police officers, the 29 retired Gary officers who died in the past 24 months were remembered prior to the playing of taps, and a performance of "Amazing Grace" by the pipes and drum unit of the Lake County Sheriff's Department. Gary Mayor Jerome Prince acknowledged to the 40 or so friends and family of the deceased officers that no ceremony ever could sufficiently recognize all the work their loved ones did, and the on-the-job experiences they had that would give most people nightmares. "When these men and women are called into a dangerous situation, they run head-first," Prince said. "When you consider the ultimate sacrifice that the officers who are being recognized today have paid, I know that thank you could never be enough." Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. likewise observed that police officers often have no idea when an otherwise routine call might turn out to be a life-threatening situation. "Law enforcement officers are called upon to respond. When they're called upon, they don't question, they just respond," Martinez said. CROWN POINT A Tennessee man rejected the state's plea offer Friday and was preparing for a trial next week on charges alleging he murdered a woman and her 4-year-old daughter nearly 29 years ago. Victor Lofton, 56, of Humboldt, Tennessee, has pleaded not guilty in the slayings of 21-year-old Felicia Howard and her 4-year-old daughter DenNisha Howard on July 15, 1992, in Howard's apartment in the 3800 block of Washington Street in Gary. Felicia Howard died from a gunshot wound to the chest, Lake Criminal Court records state. She was found nude and lying partially on a mattress as she reached for DenNisha, who had been shot in the head, records state. Lofton was charged in February after analysis showed Lofton likely was the source of DNA found in Felicia Howard's sexual assault kit, according to court records. Lake County Supervisory Deputy Prosecutor Michelle Jatkiewicz said Lofton had been offered a plea agreement calling for him to plead guilty to two counts of voluntary manslaughter, which was a class A felony in 1992. Jatkiewicz and Lofton's attorney, Lemuel Stigler, would have argued how long Lofton should spend in prison and whether the sentences on each count should be served consecutively or concurrently. CROWN POINT Lake County prosecutors dropped a murder charge Thursday against an 18-year-old man who had been scheduled to stand trial starting Tuesday. Arshield Honeycutt, of Gary, and another teen were charged in August 2020 in connection with the fatal shooting of a 60-year-old pizza delivery driver in October 2019 in the 3500 block of Pierce Street in Gary. Phillip Hearne, of Gary, a driver for Rico's Pizza, was shot in his left side and crashed into two other cars before his vehicle came to rest just south of the address where he was to deliver food, according to Lake Criminal Court records. He died at a local hospital. The charges against Honeycutt were based largely on the word of his co-defendant, Melvin M. Brown, 18, of Gary, who was already in custody in connection with a different homicide in Gary when prosecutors filed charges in Hearne's homicide. In a motion to dismiss, Lake County Deputy Prosecutor Maureen Koonce wrote, "The state of Indiana cannot meet the strict and heavy burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt as to each element of the charged offense." WASHINGTON (AP) The two-decade war in Afghanistan has given U.S. spies a perch for keeping tabs on terrorist groups that might once again use the beleaguered nation to plan attacks against the U.S. homeland. But that will end soon. The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan is leaving intelligence agencies scrambling for other ways to monitor and stop terrorists. Theyll have to depend more on technology and their allies in the Afghan government even as it faces an increasingly uncertain future once U.S. and NATO forces depart. You may not be blind, but youre going to be legally blind, said Rep. Mike Waltz, a Florida Republican and Green Beret who served in Afghanistan. Waltz said in an interview that while he believed American forces would still be able to detect threats, they would have to respond with lesser intelligence and more complex operations from bases outside the country. The Afghanistan withdrawal was ordered by President Joe Biden. He has said it's time to end America's longest war after two decades of a conflict that killed 2,200 U.S. troops and 38,000 Afghan civilians, with a cost as much as $1 trillion. HAMMOND A St. John business owner pleaded guilty late this week to a federal tax evasion charge. Stacey Mikler appeared Thursday afternoon before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Andrew P. Rodovich on a felony tax charge that carries a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment. The U.S. Attorneys office alleges Mikler filed false federal income tax forms between 2013 and 2017. It alleges she did this to hide nearly $742,000 in income she received those years from a St. John tax preparation and personal management services company she owned and operated. It alleges she did so avoid having to pay Internal Revenue Service taxes. Court records state she signed a plea agreement last week with federal prosecutors. Prosecutors promise to recommend she receive leniency in return for her giving up her right to a jury trial and pleading guilty to evasion of assessment of federal taxes for the year 2017. She also agreed she owes the IRS $236,795, in restitution and that the IRS may still seek additional taxes, interest and penalties from her, once she has made a full financial disclosure to the government. So far, Whites office has worked with Google and Microsoft to identify 104 fraudulent websites connected to the prolific scam and placed a warning on 76 of them to alert consumers since problems first arose around April, Druker said. The office also is working to put labels on the other sites, but they are popping up so quickly that one agency official said combating the websites is like a game of whack-a-mole. It is unclear who is behind them, Druker said. The text sent to a Tribune reporter, like other suspect texts and emails, provided a link that was not to a state website. But the text also carried a series of red flags, including the typo in the first sentence: Office of illinois Secretary of State. You are required to update your drivers license. The text also purportedly originated from a 708 Area Code rather than the 217 traditionally associated with Springfield, the state capital, or even a 312 from Chicago, where many state offices are located. Still another clue was that the drivers license of the reporter who received the warning wouldnt expire for nearly two more years. Days after Darren Cole went public last March about being detained by Chicago police more than 60 times because he shared a name with a man with a downstate warrant, the city helped clear the matter up. But the cooperation did not last long. Now the city of Chicago and Cole are embroiled in a more complicated and potentially protracted court fight over whether the departments computer data system was to blame for the repeated stops. The Chicago man faced scrutiny for some 15 years because of an outstanding arrest warrant for another man named Darren Cole in Marion County. Coles attorneys have argued that the departments data system has been flagged by oversight agencies as deficient and in need of reform and that the database directly contributed to the repeat stops and accompanying fear and harassment the Cole in Chicago lived with. Now city officials have countered in court filings that the repeated stops happened because the outstanding warrant for the downstate Cole was entered into a statewide database they have no control over. And when Chicago officers stopped Cole, they were performing their duties and lawfully and constitutionally detained him to investigate the warrant, the city argued. Oil officials failed for a second day on Friday to resolve a dispute over quotas that prevented OPEC, Russia and their allies from reaching an agreement on raising production. Members of OPEC Plus, the oil producers group, will resume their negotiations on Monday, they said. OPEC Plus, which curtailed production last year when prices plummeted because of the global economic slowdown caused by the pandemic, had been leaning toward an increase in production by 400,000 barrels a day each month for the rest of this year, beginning in August. Also on the table was a proposal to extend the current production agreement which will expire at the end of April, for the rest of 2022. But the talks, which opened on Thursday, were tripped up when the United Arab Emirates insisted on what would amount to a substantial increase in its production quota if OPEC Plus extended the output agreement. Saudi Arabia, which along with Russia has come to dominate the group, says revising the quotas the country-by-country rules that govern how much oil each is allowed to produce would lead to chaos because other countries would also insist on new deals. The chairman of a House subcommittee is demanding that executives of Exxon Mobil Corp., Shell, Chevron and other major oil and gas companies testify before Congress about the industrys decades-long effort to wage disinformation campaigns around climate change. Representative Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, said Friday he was prepared to use subpoena power to compel the companies to appear before lawmakers if they dont do so voluntarily. The move comes a day after a secretive video recording was made public in which a senior Exxon lobbyist said the energy giant had fought climate science through shadow groups and had targeted influential senators in an effort to weaken President Bidens climate agenda. Several of those senators said this week that the lobbyist exaggerated their relationship or that they had no dealings with him. The video was appalling, Mr. Khanna said in an interview on Friday. He called it the latest evidence of the fossil fuel industrys efforts to engage in climate denialism and to manipulate public opinion and to exert undue influence in shaping policy in Congress. INTERNATIONAL An article on Monday about a meeting between Israels foreign minister, Yair Lapid, and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken incorrectly described management of the Temple Mount. The area is administered by an Islamic trust known as the Waqf, funded and controlled by Jordan. It is not managed by Israel. NATIONAL Because of an editing error, an article on Friday about an inquiry delayed by Joseph V. Cuffari, the inspector general in the Department of Homeland Security, misstated Mr. Cuffaris former position at the Justice Department. He worked for 20 years in the departments Office of Inspector General; he was not an inspector general for 20 years. METROPOLITAN A picture caption with a cover story this weekend about visitors returning to the city misidentifies a park. The image shows people seated on the grass in North Fifth Street Pier and Park, not Domino Park. ARTS A theater review of Enemy of the People in one instance reversed the names of two characters. They were Ibsens Thomas and Ickes Joan, not Ibsens Joan and Ickes Thomas. Asked about the cyberattack after he landed in Michigan on Saturday on a trip to celebrate Covid-19s retreat in the United States, President Biden said he had been delayed in getting off the plane because he was being briefed about the attack. He said he had directed the full resources of the federal government to investigate. The initial thinking was it was not the Russian government, but were not sure yet, he said. Victims of the breach were hit through a Kaseya software update, Kevin Beaumont, a threat researcher, said. Instead of getting Kaseyas latest update, they received REvils ransomware. Kaseya was initially breached through a previously unknown vulnerability in its systems known as a zero day because when such vulnerabilities are discovered, software makers have zero days to fix it. In the meantime, cybercriminals and spies can use the vulnerability to wreak havoc. Mr. Beaumont said the attack marked a serious escalation in the tactics of ransomware gangs. In previous attacks, REvil was known to break in through a combination of phishing, stolen passwords or a lack of multifactor authentication. Dutch researchers said they had reported the vulnerability to Kaseya, but the company was still working on a patch when it was breached and its software updates were compromised, according to people briefed on the timeline. The attack became public on Friday, when Kaseya said that it was investigating the possibility that it had been the victim of a cyberattack. The company urged customers that use its systems management platform, called VSA, to immediately shut down their servers to avoid the possibility of being compromised by attackers. The recertification report, which the city received on Friday, documented cracks and corrosion in the buildings structure, and noted that repairs would be required to shore up the buildings concrete frame. In the buildings parking lot, Chief Richard Rand of the North Miami Beach Police told dozens of residents that officers would be delivering boxes of pizza to them and would not ticket cars left overnight. As you all know, this building has become unsafe, Chief Rand said. The last thing I want to do is need to find out that another building collapsed, and multiple people are dead. President Donald J. Trump twice sought to talk on the phone with the Republican leader of Arizonas most populous county last winter as the Trump campaign and its allies tried unsuccessfully to reverse Joseph R. Biden Jr.s narrow victory in the states presidential contest, according to the Republican official and records obtained by The Arizona Republic, a Phoenix newspaper. But the leader, Clint Hickman, then the chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, said in an interview on Friday that he let the calls made in late December and early January go to voice mail and did not return them. I told people, Please dont have the president call me, he said. At the time, Mr. Hickman was being pressed by the state Republican Party chairwoman and Mr. Trumps lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani to investigate claims of fraud in the countys election, which Mr. Biden had won by about 45,000 votes. Liz Harrington, a spokeswoman for Mr. Trump, said in a statement that its no surprise Maricopa County election officials had no desire to look into significant irregularities during the election, though there is no evidence of widespread problems with Arizonas election. She did not directly address the calls reportedly made by Mr. Trump. Two former campaign aides said they knew nothing about the outreach to the Maricopa County official. None of that means that the Delta variant is no longer a concern and that we can entirely give up on precautions. The Public Health Agency has published a handy chart, offering some advice for fully and partly vaccinated Canadians, and an interactive risk-assessment questionnaire. In short, if we want to hold off a fourth wave and another round of restrictions, more Canadians need to continue to get vaccinated. Dr. Theresa Tam, the chief public health officer of Canada, has said that even fully vaccinated people cant go back to normal lives until 80 percent of Canadians are inoculated. While we continue to make great progress with more than 36 million doses of vaccine administered by provinces and territories to date, precautions are still needed as immunity builds up further across our communities, Dr. Tam said in a Canada Day message. In the same way that provinces imposed different restrictions, reopenings have varied across the country. On Canada Day, Alberta lifted nearly all of its pandemic restrictions, although it still allows businesses and institutions to require measures such as wearing masks. Saskatchewan is set to make a similar move on July 11. On Wednesday, Nova Scotia reopened its border to the rest of Canada or at least to fully vaccinated people from other provinces. June Finch, a dancer, choreographer and teacher who specialized in the technique of the choreographer Merce Cunningham, imparting it to generations of students, died on June 18 in a hospital in Manhattan. She was 81. The cause was lung cancer, her niece Amy Verstappen said. Known for her sophisticated sense of rhythm, egalitarian spirit and fierce devotion to the Cunningham technique a system of movement that Cunningham developed to prepare the body for his complex choreography Ms. Finch began teaching at the Merce Cunningham Studio in Manhattan in the late 1960s. Often one of the first instructors people encountered in their study of Cunninghams work, she trained hundreds of dancers who passed through the studio, including many who went on to join the illustrious ranks of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. (Ms. Finch never joined the company herself.) Lauren Berlant, an influential scholar best known for exploring the effects on people of declining economic prospects and fraying social bonds in the 2011 book Cruel Optimism, which spoke to the frustrations of Americans reeling from the financial crisis of the late 2000s, died on June 28 at 63 in a hospice facility in Chicago. Professor Berlants partner, Ian Horswill, said the cause was cancer. Professor Berlant (pronounced burr-LANT) who used the pronoun she in her personal life but they professionally, Mr. Horswill said taught in the English department of the University of Chicago and wrote books and essays that focused on a grab bag of Americana, from Nathaniel Hawthorne to Anita Hill, seeking in history and current events broader lessons about nationalism, sexuality and power. The professors signature phrase, cruel optimism, referred to when something you desire is actually an obstacle to your flourishing. That state of being is widespread in the United States, Professor Berlant argued, where the tools we depend on to achieve the good life a safety net, job security, the meritocracy, even durable intimacy in our romantic lives have degenerated into fantasies that bear less and less relation to how people can live. In a profile in The New Yorker, the staff writer Hua Hsu said that Professor Berlants thought illustrated how despite a gut-level suspicion that hard work, thrift, and following the rules no longer guarantee a happy ending, many people keep on hoping. The financial system could probably withstand one large institution getting knocked out, but if multiple large financial institutions were shut down by a cyberattack, the disruption could last for weeks, he said. Additionally, if attackers struck during a particularly volatile period in the markets for example, on one of the triple witching Fridays that occur each quarter when stock options, stock index futures and stock index options all expire on the same day the effects could be amplified. Such an attack would require skill, resources and immense coordination, which so far adversaries have not shown. Most cyberattacks against financial institutions to date have involved criminal theft of bank card numbers and account credentials; although a few incidents involving nation-backed actors have occurred, theyve been contained in scope and impact. In late 2011, Iranian hackers associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a monthslong denial-of-service campaign against dozens of U.S. financial institutions, including American Express, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo, according to Justice Department documents. The onslaught disabled banking websites and locked hundreds of thousands of customers out of online accounts. And in 2016, hackers associated with North Korea broke into Bangladesh Bank and hijacked employee credentials in an attempt to steal $951 million via the Swift network, a messaging system used by financial institutions. They succeeded in nabbing $81 million. More sophisticated and destructive attacks are not out of the question, however. The New York Cyber Task Force a group of government and private industry experts convened by Columbia University and led by Mr. Rattray examined a severe but plausible scenario involving multiple financial institutions. In the theoretical scenario, described in a report the task force published this year, North Korean hackers compromise a third-party service provider, such as a cloud computing company, to slip into a financial institutions network and install a self-propagating digital worm that wipes data. As other financial institutions communicate with the infected bank, the wiper spreads to their networks as well. The scenario highlights how swiftly an attack could cascade and how financial institutions that are focused on securing their own networks from adversaries could miss the risk of being compromised by the network of trusted partners. If this scenario were to occur as the task force imagined, an initiative called Sheltered Harbor would help address at least the loss of data. The program, launched by the industry in 2015, is designed to protect banks from losing valuable data because of cyberattacks the data of participating banks is encrypted and backed up daily to offline secure storage so that if it gets deleted or altered, or access to it is blocked, it can be restored. Its not just about banks Under a 2013 White House executive order, the Department of Homeland Security was asked to identify critical infrastructures for which a cybersecurity incident could have catastrophic regional or national effects on public health or safety, economic security or national security. Within the financial sector, D.H.S. and the Treasury Department identified more than two dozen key financial institutions that fit the description, according to sources who asked not to be named because the information is sensitive. When Kroger customers in Cincinnati shop online these days, their groceries may be picked out not by a worker in their local supermarket but by a robot in a nearby warehouse. Gamers at Dave & Busters in Dallas who want pretzel dogs can order and pay from their phones no need to flag down a waiter. And in the drive-through lane at Checkers near Atlanta, requests for Big Buford burgers and Mother Cruncher chicken sandwiches may be fielded not by a cashier in a headset, but by a voice-recognition algorithm. An increase in automation, especially in service industries, may prove to be an economic legacy of the pandemic. Businesses from factories to fast-food outlets to hotels turned to technology last year to keep operations running amid social distancing requirements and contagion fears. Now the outbreak is ebbing in the United States, but the difficulty in hiring workers at least at the wages that employers are used to paying is providing new momentum for automation. As the second pandemic summer progresses, it will be crucial to tease these strands apart and address the roots of each one. Much of the growing mistrust of vaccines can be traced to an anti-vaccination movement that is well funded, politically connected and media savvy. Its efforts have succeeded to such an alarming degree that vaccine hesitancy ranked as one of the worlds leading global health threats well before the Covid pandemic emerged. But its important to remember that this contingent makes up a small portion of unvaccinated people. A large majority of Americans are not opposed to vaccines, only hesitant. That means they can still be won over. The Biden administration has started a multimillion-dollar campaign to dispel vaccine misinformation and educate Americans about the benefits of getting the shots. Among other things, it has partnered with WhatsApp to reach Spanish-speaking communities and with NASCAR and the Christian Broadcasting Network to get the message out to other groups. Those are smart and crucial moves. It will be equally important for officials to act locally, because the best vaccine ambassadors are likely to differ from one community to the next. Younger people might be swayed by celebrity influencers. Older people might trust their religious leaders above all others. Parents might want to hear only from doctors, doulas or other parents. Those who study vaccine hesitancy and science communication say that the most important thing such ambassadors can do is listen. Showering doubters with facts doesnt work. But hearing them out, validating their underlying concerns and addressing those concerns whenever possible can make a huge difference. No matter how successful these efforts are, they will be wasted in the long run if the rest of the world is not also vaccinated. In the past two months the Biden administration has donated or promised to donate tens of millions of vaccine doses to countries that need them. Mr. Biden has also supported a global patent waiver that would make it easier for countries and companies to make vaccines themselves. Those are welcome and urgently needed steps. But much more is still needed. To beat this coronavirus, and to prepare for the next pandemic, the United States and other wealthy nations will have to help the world increase its capacity for making and distributing vaccines. That will require a concerted effort and clear leadership. In the meantime, every unvaccinated person is an opportunity for the virus to spread, multiply and mutate and every mutation is a chance for it to penetrate all our best defenses. If you have access to any of the coronavirus vaccines and your immune system is not compromised, the single most important thing you can do for yourself, your loved ones and your country is to get vaccinated right away. Jalissa Fletcher, a vice president of Cheyennes chapter of the N.A.A.C.P., has another word for this: privilege. When you have an entire system, you have an entire country that has bent to your will and the rules have never really applied to you before and now the rules are being enforced, it becomes like a symbol of oppression, she said. Ms. Fletcher moved to Wyoming from Georgia in 2018. She hesitated at first over whether to get vaccinated; pressures from the government on people of color to get it made her suspicious, she said. But she overcame her reluctance so she could travel abroad for her wedding. Wyomingites who consider themselves very patriotic, she said, are not willing to do their civic duty, essentially, to keep the people here in the U.S. safe. As of June 28, only about 40 percent of adults in Wyoming were fully vaccinated, excluding those vaccinated by military facilities, according to the state Health Departments website. Over seven days recently, the state recorded about 89 cases per 100,000 people, among the highest rates in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Wyoming case counts have remained stable for over three months, but hospitalizations had increased in recent weeks, Ms. Deti noted in an email in June. We continue to vaccinate more individuals each day, but of course we wish the percentage of population was higher, she wrote. The department is running a statewide campaign to encourage vaccinations. When Ive argued with vaccine-resistant people close to me, Ive used strategies citing C.D.C. data, for instance that seem doomed to fail in Wyoming. Surgo Ventures, a health nonprofit, found that the state has among the highest percentage of adult Covid skeptics in the country. WASHINGTON When you are the presidents best friend, you may be called on for many services some dicey, some soothing, some world-shaking, and some profoundly personal. In his new book, First Friends, Gary Ginsberg chronicles the unelected yet undeniably powerful people who shape presidencies. We know too well how the advisers of presidents with all-access passes to the Oval can make or break legacies. Look at how George W. Bushs presidency was ruined when Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld got him to invade Iraq. [Race/Related is available as a newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.] NATCHEZ, Miss. When driving through Natchez, Miss., a town popular with tourists, it is easy to overlook an awkwardly shaped patch of land, only modestly marked by a few signs, free-standing exhibits and shackles cemented in the ground. But from 1833 to 1863, the land, Forks of the Road, was among the largest slave markets in America. And now, local historians, residents and officials are celebrating its recognition as a new national historical park site. Once long forgotten by many outside the region, Forks of the Road was where tens of thousands of enslaved men, women and children were taken to work in homes and plantations. The domestic slave trade was such a central feature of the nations economy, and it made millionaires out of many Natchez residents. In an emotional ceremony late last month in which the city donated nearly three acres of land to the National Park Service, officials unveiled a large National Park Service sign that now marks the acknowledgment that residents and many outside the region said was a long time coming: Forks of the Road, Natchez National Historical Park. SURFSIDE, Fla. Elena Blasser kept her two-bedroom, two-bath condo in the Champlain Towers South as a beachside gathering place for family reunions. She adored the ocean and the small town of Surfside, Fla., because they reminded her of homes in Cuba and Puerto Rico. She sank at least $100,000 into renovations when she bought Penthouse 11 a little more than a decade ago. Then the complexs problems began. Hairline cracks in the pool deck. Newly painted walls that chipped easily. Water pooling in the garage. To pay for it all, the monthly maintenance fees and special assessments grew. Were paying those fees and where are they going? Ms. Blasser, a 64-year-old former schoolteacher, kept telling her family and neighbors, according to her son Pablo Rodriguez. Little did she know that the problems identified in the building were about to get much worse. A consultants report commissioned in 2018 had identified serious problems of crumbling concrete and corroded rebar problems that engineers warned had already led to major structural damage. NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. Miguel Jimenez was busy at work Friday, detailing a car, when a neighbor called. They had an hour to evacuate their apartments at Crestview Towers in North Miami Beach. He immediately started thinking about the loud cracking sound he heard last week, and the time a pipe burst, flooding all the units in the building. The floors were still ruined, and the buildings concrete columns have seen sturdier days. Everything is damaged in this building, everything, he said, standing beside the yellow crime-scene tape outside the building where Mr. Jimenez and his family have lived for six years. Mayors in many cities and Miami-Dade County ordered audits of all buildings over 40 years old, which were supposed to be getting certifications at that age. Crestviews certification was nine years overdue, and the building was cited by the city of North Miami Beach every year that it did not comply, a spokeswoman for the city said. That is also true of Mr. Bidens top priorities, nearly all of which lack the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster and cannot garner even a simple majority if Mr. Manchin refuses to sign on. Mr. Nelson balked at the initial stimulus proposal put forward by the Obama administration, writing in his book that the House, under leadership from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, basically grabbed everything off the shelves that might be deemed economic stimulus and lumped it into an $819 billion package. Working with Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine and an occasional collaborator, Mr. Nelson organized a group a gang, as they were known at the time to press for the cost of the stimulus to be pared down and devote more to projects guaranteed to create jobs, eliminating some of the partys priorities. It passed with the support of all Democrats and three Republicans, and has been criticized ever since for being inadequate. Mr. Nelson then played a major role in shaping and finally approving the Affordable Care Act, holding out over a provision that he said would put an undue burden on states by requiring them to expand Medicaid. Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada and the majority leader who was pulling out all the stops to pass the measure, suggested that the bill include $100 million to cover the costs to Nebraska. Republicans, even some Mr. Nelson had worked closely with, quickly derided it as the Cornhusker kickback, and the name stuck. Mr. Nelson said that the proposal was misconstrued and was simply a place-holder as the administration worked out a more permanent solution and options for states. For my part, I had faced a critical choice, Mr. Nelson writes, to legislate or to vacate. I chose to legislate. Had I chosen the path taken by the Republicans, I could have just sailed along say no, no no. The political consequences in my largely red state would be considerably less for vacating than the benefits accrued for legislating, he said. But I couldnt have lived with myself. Six emergency medical workers helping with rescue efforts at the site of a collapsed condo in Surfside, Fla., have tested positive for the coronavirus, Alan R. Cominsky, the chief of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, said at a news conference on Saturday. The workers, who were all part of the same task force, were no longer at the site, Chief Cominsky said, adding that contact tracing had been performed and that 424 members of other Florida task force teams responding to the site had been tested. Chief Cominsky did not address the conditions of the six workers in his comments. It was unclear whether they had been vaccinated. The chief told The Miami Herald on Friday that the six emergency medical workers were firefighters from Florida, but that they were not from Miami-Dade. NAIROBI, Kenya At least 10 people were killed and dozens injured in a suicide explosion in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Friday evening, the authorities said, the second such attack to rock the city in weeks as the country enters a crucial election season. A suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vest near a cafe close to the well-known Juba Hotel, which is in a strategic area that houses government ministries and the intelligence headquarters. The cafe, frequented by members of the Somali security forces, was crowded with patrons when the attack took place, officials said. The Somali government blamed the terrorist group Al Shabab, and the group itself took responsibility, saying that it had targeted intelligence, police and military forces. Al Shabab claimed the blast killed at least 15 people and wounded 22 others. Somali security officials did not respond to multiple requests for information on whether government officers might have been killed or injured in the attack. GIJET, Ethiopia The convoy sped down from the mountain, slipping and sliding on roads greasy from a recent shower of hailstones. As it descended toward the regional capital of Tigray, curling through rocky hills and remote hamlets, people clustered along the route in celebration. Women stood ululating outside stone farmhouses, and fighters perched atop a ridge fired their weapons into the air as the vehicles curled around the detritus of battle: burned-out tanks, overturned trucks and a mucky field where on June 23 an Ethiopian military cargo plane, shot down by the Tigrayans, had smashed into the ground. The leader of Tigray, Debretsion Gebremichael, was going home. Two days earlier, his scrappy guerrilla force had retaken the regional capital, Mekelle, hours after Ethiopian troops suddenly abandoned the city. Now Mr. Debretsion, a former deputy prime minister of Ethiopia, was leaving the mountains where he had been ensconced for eight months leading a war to re-establish his rule over the region. I didnt expect to make it back alive, Mr. Debretsion said on Thursday night in an interview, his first since the fall of Mekelle. But this isnt personal. The most important thing is that my people are free free from the invaders. They were living in hell, and now they can breathe again. A leak in an underwater gas pipe sparked a swirling fire that raged for hours in the Gulf of Mexico on Friday, creating a biblical scene that drew comparisons to Mordor, the volcanic hellscape from The Lord of the Rings. The circular inferno formed at 5:15 a.m. after a pipeline about 12 inches in diameter leaked, according to a statement from Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, Mexicos state-owned oil monopoly, which controls the pipeline. Video footage of the fire showed ships dousing water onto the flames. The fire was finally extinguished at 10:45 a.m. and valves connected to the pipeline were shut off, according to a statement from the company. Pemex said that no one was injured and that it would investigate the cause of the leak, which occurred in an underwater pipeline 150 meters from a platform at Ku-Maloob-Zaap, an offshore oil field in the Bay of Campeche. At Bagram, the new tenants are the Afghan security forces who will inherit the conflict the United States built for them, along with fields of military equipment, vehicles and weapons that will long represent the wars grim legacy and the countrys uncertain future. To continue the fight, the United States has left behind its tan and green pickups and its Humvees, along with its Hesco barriers, the cube-shaped, dirt-filled boxes used to build and protect American, now Afghan, outposts. But so many U.S.-supplied weapons have been captured, bought or stolen by the insurgents that if the Taliban said they had more American M16s than Russian Kalashnikovs, it would be hard to fact-check. Even the U.S. special inspector general who oversees the war in Afghanistan isnt sure how many American firearms were sent into the country to prop up the security forces in the past two decades. The physical objects left behind are reminders of decades of loss staggering numbers of deaths on all sides, especially among Afghan civilians, as well as devastating injuries. Also part of history now are the failed strategies cobbled together by a string of American generals, who said that everything was on schedule and all was going well. After leaving school, Mr. Ding used his savings to rent a room in Shenzhen. He tried to find a regular office job but realized that most positions required him to work long hours. I want a stable job that allows me to have my own time to relax, but where can I find it? he said. Mr. Ding thinks young people should work hard for what they love, but not 996 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week as many employers in China expect. Frustrated with the job search, he decided that lying flat was the way to go. To be honest, it feels really comfortable, he said. I dont want to be too hard on myself. To make ends meet, Mr. Ding gets paid to play video games and has minimized his spending by doing things like cutting out his favorite bubble tea. Asked about his long-term plans, he said: Come back and ask me in six months. I only plan for six months. TOKYO At least 19 people were missing on Saturday after heavy rainfall caused a mudslide that washed away homes and covered roads in debris in a resort town about 60 miles southwest of Tokyo, Japanese officials said. Police, fire and military personnel had begun a search-and-rescue effort in and around the coastal town, Atami, and the Japanese Coast Guard was also called in to help after a torrent of mud and debris tumbled down hillsides and into the ocean. An official in charge of mudslides in Shizuoka Prefecture, which includes Atami, said that the safety of 19 people is unknown. About 2,800 homes in Atami had lost power as of Saturday afternoon, according to the Tokyo Electric Power Company. Massachusetts and Michigan this week joined the parade of U.S. states that have introduced lotteries for residents who get Covid-19 shots, seeking to bolster vaccinations with titles like Shot of a Lifetime, Vax for the Win, Comeback Cash and even Do It for Babydog (thanks, West Virginia). In Massachusetts, the 73 percent of adults who are fully vaccinated can enroll for a chance to win one of five $1 million cash prizes. Residents ages 12 to 17, more than 60 percent of whom have received at least one shot, can, on full vaccination, have a chance at one of five $300,000 scholarship grants. In Michigan, the lottery allows residents with only a single shot to register. So the 58 percent of adults who are fully immunized and an additional 4 percent with partial protection can register once for a drawing of $50,000 on any of 30 days, or the opportunity to win a single $1 million drawing or one $2 million drawing. The more than 32 percent of the states 12- to 17-year-olds who have received at least one shot can register for one of nine chances to win a four-year grant valued at $55,000. Whether the lotteries work is another question. Some states have reported boosts in vaccinations after starting their lottery programs. But Ohio, the first state to offer a lottery, saw an early bump evaporate and has given up the program. In Arkansas, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said last week that the incentives the state had tried were no longer getting the results that we want and would end. CIRENCESTER, England During a spring day of sun and showers in Gloucestershire in southwestern England, Mike Robinson, a restaurant owner and self-styled hunter-gatherer, was out counting the deer on his land. On any given morning he can see up to 40. He spotted a hind, a female deer, walking more cautiously than normal, a sign that she had company. Generally baby roe deer are smaller than the height of the grass, he said. So very often you just see the top of their heads or their ears. Hinds had only started giving birth in recent days. Were going to see this colossal increase in numbers, he said, sounding worried. In a normal year, deer hunters and government culling programs help limit the herd, and restaurants form an important market for the venison. With the pandemic, hunting and culling stopped, the market for venison collapsed and, as a result, the deer population of Britain is exploding, decimating the plant life that many species depend on. Heavy browsing and grazing can impact severely on woodland plants and heath land, and salt marsh habitats, said Martin Fowlie, a spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. That can lead to declines in bird populations, he added. The official pictures aimed to display the next generation of the Ukrainian Army: Dozens of female cadets marching in their fatigues and high heels, ahead of a parade next month for the countrys 30th year independence anniversary. But after a flurry of angry responses from lawmakers, a demonstration in front of the Ministry of Defense and skeptical feedback from the cadets this week, the Ukrainian military changed its position on the footwear, acknowledging the challenges of marching in heels. Walking in the heat on our roads, the military risks injury, damage to shins, ligaments and even rubbing their feet, Inna Sovsun, an opposition lawmaker, wrote on Facebook. Why? To bring to life someones stereotypes about the only role of a woman as a beautiful doll? The photos have prompted a widespread debate in Ukraine over the adequacy of the equipment for women in the Ukrainian Army, and the broader failure of the military to better integrate women in the armed forces, despite welcomed changes in recent years. In 2018, the Vatican decided to buy the building outright, and turned to another broker, Pierluigi Torzi, to help with the deal. But Vatican prosecutors who have charged Mr. Torzi with extortion, embezzlement, fraud and money-laundering say he refused to turn over ownership of the building. Mr. Torzi has denied any wrongdoing. In all, the Vatican invested around 350 million in the venture, according to Vatican media. Prosecutors accused the Vaticans financial watchdog of failing to raise the alarm on the deal. Rene Brulhart, a Swiss anti-money-laundering expert hired by the Vatican in 2011 to head the unit, was charged with abuse of office. He said in a statement that the indictment was a procedural blunder and that he would be cleared at trial. The deal was initiated when the Secretariat of State was under the watch of Cardinal Becciu, who was indicted on embezzlement charges and abuse of office. His boss at the time, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Popes No. 2 at the Vatican, authorized the deal but was not indicted. Francis was also aware of the transaction. Last year, Francis ousted Cardinal Becciu from his job as the head of the Vaticans saint-making department. Prosecutors also set their sights on operations in which they claim that Vatican funds were inappropriately used by Cardinal Becciu to finance his brothers businesses and charities in Sardinia, as well as an external consultant who had been hired to help free Catholic hostages held in Africa. Instead, the consultant, who will also stand trial, made personal luxury purchases, prosecutors say. Some defense lawyers expressed concern about the Vatican City-States legal code, which dates to a 1889 Italian code no longer in use. Critics say the code severely limits the rights of defendants, particularly in the pretrial phase when the defense has no access to the evidence that will be presented against their clients. A legal code that is over 100 years old runs counter to modern judicial systems, said Filippo Dinacci, who is representing Mr. Brulhart. President Hassan Rouhani of Iran on Saturday warned that the country could see a fifth wave of coronavirus infections as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads. There are concerns that the whole country may enter a fifth wave if enough care is not taken in following health protocols, Mr. Rouhani said in remarks broadcast on state TV. The Delta variant entered the country from the south and southeast, and we should have been careful to prevent its spread in the country. Iran borders Afghanistan and Pakistan, which have had recent outbreaks. Over the past two weeks, average daily reports of new cases in Iran have risen by 21 percent, according to a New York Times database. Since the pandemic began, the country has reported more than 3.2 million cases and more than 84,000 deaths. During a meeting with members of Irans coronavirus task force on Thursday, Mr. Rouhani said that people needed to fully observe safety protocols so that we do not have to impose severe restrictions again. What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 716-372-3121 or email nfinnerty@oleantimesherald.com. In an unpublished interview Pope Francis talks about his party newspaper A newspaper of the streets, or a newspaper that is able to go outside, into the streets, to see history, touch history and reflect on history: todays and yesterdays. This is how Pope Francis sees L'Osservatore Romano, his newspaper, the party newspaper, as he likes to describe it. He shared his thoughts in an interview with director, Francesco Zippel, who is filming a documentary, produced by Dazzle Communications, dedicated to the 160 years of the Holy See newspaper. The following is a translation of the Holy Fathers words, which he shared in Italian. I know the expression is somewhat ambiguous, but I like to call LOsservatore Romano the party newspaper. I read it every day and, when it doesnt come out on Sunday, theres something missing. Not just now. In Argentina too, I used to read the entire weekly edition in Spanish because I know it is a connection to the Holy See, to the Magisterium and to the life of the Church, to the history of the Church. The danger is the workshop. For a newspaper to be current, it cannot be a workshop newspaper, consisting only of thoughts. It has to be a paper of the streets, so to speak, but in the figurative sense: a newspaper that is able to go outside, into the streets, to see history, touch history and reflect on history: todays and yesterdays. For example, the issue dedicated to the International Holocaust Remembrance Day was a catechesis, a true catechesis for todays young people: that they may see what has happened over time and what can happen today. It is thus a living newspaper, which helps us; for this reason it cannot be from a workshop or a desk. It has to be of the streets, in order to capture life, and life is taken as it comes, not as I wish it came. Paul vi said that LOsservatore Romano is not simply a daily newspaper of information, but is a newspaper of formation, and it is true. Let us consider again the edition that was issued for International Holocaust Remembrance Day: the people who read that piece on remembrance are formed because we are giving them elements of recollections, of remembrance and of history in order to look at the world with that perspective. Therefore yes, a newspaper of formation. It was also good for me to read that issue; there were things that I did not understand well about this and that now, in this way, I understand. A newspaper that trains. A newspaper that, beyond the work of evangelization, also has a very important diplomatic dimension. Especially in relation to the dissemination of the Popes magisterium. I think of Pius xii who spoke of all possible subjects: his was a very rich magisterium. He instructed and taught doctrine through LOsservatore Romano. I think of Pius xii because I believe he was a revolutionary in this regard: his magisterium was spread from the Church through LOsservatore Romano. A Pope who would meet with everyone and everyone came to him and he spoke to them, artists, intellectuals, obstetricians and it was disseminated by LOsservatore Romano and by Vatican Radio, but it was easier to find this magisterium with the newspaper, which is a tool that persists. In Argentina there was a weekly summary edition in Spanish. I used to read all of it, from beginning to end. Because I needed to understand. Unfortunately, now it no longer comes out in paper format there. We have to work for LOsservatore Romano to reach everyone, in everyones language. For this, I would like to thank all the people who help us economically for this gift, the benefactors and the businesses who help us. I read it in order, from the first page to the last. Unless there is something of particular interest. I look for it, but I usually read from the first to the last page and when I finish I say what a shame, its over. I read it at night. What will LOsservatore Romano be like in 200 years? I havent thought about this; I have never asked myself the question. I hope it will always be topical. On Thursday , 1 July, Pope Francis was joined by religious leaders who came from the Middle East to the Vatican to participate in The Day of Prayer and Reflection for Lebanon. Lebanon, the Holy Father said, is, and must remain, a project of peace.... a land of tolerance and pluralism, an oasis of fraternity where different religions and confessions meet, where different communities live together. The following is the English text of the words the Pontiff shared with his fellow pastors. Dear Brothers and Sisters, We assembled today to pray and reflect, impelled by our deep concern for Lebanon a country very close to my heart and which I wish to visit as we see it plunged into a serious crisis. I am grateful to all the participants for having readily accepted the invitation and for their fraternal sharing. Sustained by the prayers of the Holy People of God, in facing this dark situation, we, as pastors, have sought together to be guided by Gods light. And in Gods light, we have seen our own lack of clarity: the mistakes we have made in failing to bear consistent witness to the Gospel, and above all the opportunities we have missed along the path to fraternity, reconciliation and full unity. For all this, we ask forgiveness, and with contrite hearts we pray: Lord, have mercy (Mt 15:22). This was the plea of the woman from the region of Tyre and Sidon, who in her suffering insistently begged Jesus: Lord, help me (v. 25). Today her plea has become that of an entire people, the disillusioned and weary Leb-a-nese people in need of certainty, hope and peace. With our prayers, we have sought to accompany this plea. Let us not desist, let us not tire of imploring heaven for that peace which men and women find so difficult to build on earth. Let us insistently offer this prayer for the Middle East, and for the beloved country of Lebanon, a treasury of civilization and spirituality that has radiated wisdom and culture down the centuries and bears witness to a singular experience of peaceful coexistence. Lebanon cannot be left prey to the course of events or those who pursue their own unscrupulous interests. It is a small yet great country, but even more, it is a universal message of peace and fraternity arising from the Middle East. A phrase from the Scriptures resounded among us today, as if in response to our fervent prayer. In a few short words, the Lord declares that he has plans for peace and not for woe (Jer 29:11). Plans for peace and not for woe. In these woeful times, we want to affirm with all our strength that Lebanon is, and must remain, a project of peace. Its vocation is to be a land of tolerance and pluralism, an oasis of fraternity where different religions and confessions meet, where different communities live together, putting the common good before their individual interests. Here I would reiterate how essential it is that those in power choose finally and decisively to work for true peace and not for their own interests. Let there be an end to the few profiting from the sufferings of many! No more letting half-truths continue to frustrate peoples aspirations! (Address at the Conclusion of the Dialogue, Bari, 7 July 2018). Stop using Lebanon and the Middle East for outside interests and profits! The Lebanese people must be given the opportunity to be the architects of a better future in their land, without undue interference. Plans for peace and not for woe. Dear Lebanese brothers and sisters, even in the most difficult moments over the centuries, you have distinguished yourselves by your resourcefulness and industriousness. Your tall cedars, the symbol of the country, evoke the flourishing treasures of a unique history. They remind us that large branches can only grow from deep roots. May you be inspired by the example of those who have gone before you, who saw in diversity not obstacles but possibilities, and could thus build common foundations. Sink your roots in their dreams of peace. Never more than in recent months have we come to realize that we cannot save ourselves alone or remain indifferent to the problems of others. Therefore, we appeal to all of you. Citizens: do not be discouraged, do not lose heart, find in the roots of your history the hope of a new flowering. Political leaders: in accordance with your responsibilities, may you find urgent and durable solutions to the current economic, social and political crisis, mindful that there can be no peace without justice. Beloved Lebanese of the diaspora: place the best energies and resources at your disposal at the service of your homeland. Members of the international community: through joint efforts, may conditions be created so that the country will not collapse, but embark upon a path of recovery. This will be to everyones advantage. Plans for peace and not for woe. As Christians, today we wish to renew our commitment to building a future together. For our future will be peaceful only if it is shared. Human relationships cannot be based on the pursuit of partisan interests, privileges and advantages. No, the Christian vision of society arises from the Beatitudes; it is born of meekness and mercy, and it inspires us to imitate in this world Gods own way of acting, for he is a father who desires his children to live in peace. We Christians are called to be sowers of peace and builders of fraternity, not nursing past grudges and regrets, not shirking the responsibilities of the present, but looking instead with hope to the future. We believe that God has shown us but one way: the way of peace. Let us therefore assure our Muslim brothers and sisters, and those of other religions, of our openness and readiness to work together in building fraternity and promoting peace. For peace does not call for winners or losers, but rather for brothers and sisters who, despite the misunderstandings and hurts of the past, are journeying from conflict to unity (Address, Interreligious Meeting, Plain of Ur, 6 March 2021). It is my hope that this day will be followed by concrete initiatives under the aegis of dialogue, of efforts to educate, and of solidarity. Plans for peace and not for woe. Today we have made our own the hope-filled words of the poet Gibran: beyond the black curtain of the night, there is a dawn that awaits us. Several young people have just given us lighted lamps. The young are themselves lamps burning brightly at his dark hour. Their faces reflect hope for the future. May their voices be heard and heeded, for the countrys rebirth depends on them. May all of us, before making important decisions, learn to look to the hopes and dreams of young people. Let us also look to little children: may their eyes, shining brightly yet brimming with tears, disturb our consciences and guide our decisions. Still other lights are shining on the horizon: they are women. We think of the Mother of us all, who from the mountain of Harissa, looks out upon those who have come to the country from the Mediterranean. Her hands are outstretched towards the sea and towards Beirut, to embrace the hopes of all. Women generate life and hope for everyone. May they be respected, valued and included in decision-making processes in Lebanon. Let us also look to the elderly; they are our roots. Let us look to them and listen to them. May they give us the sense of history, the foundations of the country, to carry forward. They desire to dream once more: may we listen to their voices, so that, in us, their dreams may become prophecy. On Monday, 28 June, Pope Francis received in audience a Delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in the Private Library of the Vaticans Apostolic Palace as part of the traditional exchange of greetings to mark the respective Feasts of the Patron Saints (29 June in Rome for Saints Peter and Paul, and 30 November in Istanbul for Saint Andrew). The Delegation was led by Metropolitan Bishop Emmanuel Adamakis of Chalcedon, who greeted the Holy Father at the beginning of the encounter. Also present were Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, Bishop Brian Farrell, Secretary, and Msgr Andrea Palmieri, Under-secretary . On Tuesday, 29 June, the Delegation participated in the Eucharistic celebration presided by Pope Francis in the Vatican Basilica. The following is the English text of the Holy Fathers address to the Delegation on Monday. Dear Brothers in Christ, I greet you with joy and I welcome you with affection to Rome for the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. I thank Metropolitan Emmanuel for his kind and brotherly words. This annual exchange of delegations between the Church of Rome and that of Constantinople for the feasts of our respective Patrons is a sign of the communion real, albeit not yet full which we already share. I am deeply grateful to His Holiness Bartholomew and to the Holy Synod for sending you to be with us and I thank you for your welcome visit. This year we will celebrate Saints Peter and Paul in a world still struggling to emerge from the dramatic crisis caused by the pandemic. This scourge has tested everyone and everything. Only one thing is more serious than this crisis, and that is the risk that we will squander it, and not learn the lesson it teaches. It is a lesson in humility, showing us that it is not possible to live healthy lives in an unhealthy world, or to go on as we were, without recognizing what went wrong. Even now, the great desire to return to normality can mask the senseless notion that we can go back to relying on false securities, habits and projects that aim exclusively at pursuing wealth and personal interests, while failing to respond to global injustice, the cry of the poor and the precarious health of our planet. What does all this have to say to us as Christians? We too are called to reflect seriously on whether we want to go back to doing what we did before, as if nothing happened, or instead to take up the challenge of this crisis. Crisis, as the original meaning of the word shows, always implies a judgement, a distinction between good and bad. In ancient times, it was used of the farmer who separated the good grain from the chaff to be discarded. In a similar way, the present crisis calls us to distinguish, discern and sift, in everything we do, between what is enduring and what is passing. We believe, as the Apostle Paul teaches, that what endures forever is love, because, while everything else passes away, love never ends (1 Cor 13:8). Far from a romantic love, closed in on our personal feelings, desires and emotions, this love is concrete, modelled on that of Jesus. It is the love of the seed that gives life by falling to the earth and dying; the seed that gives life by being broken. It is a love that does not insist on its own way, that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (vv. 5, 7). In the end, the Gospel promises abundant fruit not to those who acquire riches for themselves, or to those who seek their own advantage, but to those who generously share with others, sowing abundantly and freely in a humble spirit of service. For us Christians on the path to full communion, taking seriously the current crisis means asking ourselves how we wish to move forward. Every crisis represents a crossroads: we can withdraw into ourselves, seeking our own security and expediency, or we can be open to others, which entails risks but also Gods promised fruits of grace. Dear brothers, has not the time come for giving further impetus to our efforts, with the help of the Spirit, to break down ancient prejudices and definitively overcome harmful rivalries? Without ignoring the differences that need to be resolved through charitable and truthful dialogue, could we not begin a new phase of relations between our Churches, marked by walking more closely together, by desiring to take real steps forward, by becoming more willing to be truly responsible for one another? If we are docile to love, to the Holy Spirit who is the creative love of God and who brings harmony to diversity, he will open the way to a renewed fraternity. The witness of growing communion between us Christians will also be a sign of hope for many men and women, who will feel encouraged to promote a more universal fraternity and a reconciliation capable of healing past wrongs. This is the only way to the dawn of a future of peace. A fine prophetic sign would be closer cooperation between Orthodox and Catholics in the dialogue with other religious traditions, an area in which I know you, dear Eminence Emmanuel, are very much involved. Dear friends, I thank you once more for your presence, and I ask you kindly to convey to His Holiness Bartholomew, whom I regard as my true Brother, my cordial and respectful greetings. Please tell him that I joyfully await his visit here in Rome next October, an occasion for giving thanks to God for the thirtieth anniversary of his election. Through the intercession of Saints Peter and Paul, Princes of the Apostles, and of Saint Andrew, the First-Called, may Almighty God in his mercy bless us and draw us ever closer to his own unity. Finally, dear brothers, please find a place for me in your prayers. Thank you. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $185 million to equip, rebuild, and modernize essential services in rural areas of 32 states. The investments will benefit 3 million rural residents. The Biden-Harris Administration has made investing in infrastructure improvements a priority, stated Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Justin Maxson. These loans and grants will help rural communities invest in facilities and services that are vital to all communities, such as schools, libraries, hospitals and health clinics. They also will help rural communities continue to beat the COVID-19 pandemic as America builds back better and stronger. RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Saturday to demonstrate against President Mahmoud Abbas, hoping to inject new momentum into a protest movement sparked by the death of an outspoken critic in the custody of security forces. Palestinian security forces and groups of men in plainclothes violently dispersed a similar protest a week ago, drawing expressions of concern from the United States and the U.N. human rights chief. There were no immediate reports of violence on Saturday. The Palestinian Authority was established as part of the peace process in the 1990s and governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It has grown increasingly autocratic and unpopular, and Abbas cancelled the first elections in 15 years in April when it looked like his fractured Fatah party would lose badly. He was largely sidelined during the Gaza war in May amid an outpouring of support for his rivals, the territory's militant Hamas rulers. Saturday's demonstration began with a few hundred protesters gathering in al-Manara Square in central Ramallah, where the Palestinian Authority is headquartered. The mother of Nizar Banat, the activist whose death last month sparked the protests, and other family members were welcomed with applause and gave brief speeches. The crowd then made a loop through downtown, gathering force as it marched until thousands could be heard chanting The people want the fall of the regime, and Abbas, leave, slogans used during the so-called Arab Spring protests that swept the Middle East in 2011. There was initially no visible security presence, but when the protesters marched down a main street leading to the headquarters of the PA they approached a line of riot police manning barricades. The protesters halted and sat in the street several meters (yards) away. Fatah meanwhile held a rally in the southern West Bank city of Hebron in which supporters waved the party's trademark yellow flags. The PA's official Palestine TV covered the Hebron rally and ignored the demonstration in Ramallah. State Department spokesman Ned Price said this week that the U.S. was deeply disturbed by reports that non-uniformed members of the Palestinian Authority security forces harassed and used force against protesters and journalists during last weekend's demonstrations. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said Thursday that Palestinian security forces had beaten protesters with batons and attacked them with tear gas and stun grenades. She said they appeared to have singled out female demonstrators, reporters and bystanders, many of whom said they were sexually harassed. She called on the PA to ensure freedom of opinion, expression and peaceful assembly. ___ Associated Press writers Imad Isseid and Nasser Nasser contributed to this report. LANSING, Mich. (AP) Michigan rescinded a 10-month-old order requiring coronavirus testing of agricultural and migrant workers, citing increased vaccinations and a lower number of infections. The state Department of Health and Human Services' measure had taken effect last summer after nearly a dozen outbreaks at farms and food-processing plants. The most important tool we have is the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, and we encourage everyone to join the nearly 62% of Michiganders who have already been vaccinated as soon as possible, director Elizabeth Hertel said Friday in a statement announcing the order's termination, which occurred Thursday. She said Michigan recently awarded contracts totaling nearly $60 million to boost vaccine access for high-risk populations and settings, including more than 28,000 migrant and seasonal employees. Separate emergency agriculture rules remain intact. They require labor housing camps to have coronavirus preparedness and response plans, to notify heath authorities of cases and to quarantine infected individuals. The move came more than a week after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer scaled back COVID-19 workplace safety rules, keeping mask and other requirements only in health care settings. Michigan on Friday reported 101 new confirmed cases and 0 deaths in the most recent 24-hour period. Infections are at their lowest levels since March 2020. The governor said that as of 8 a.m., nearly 465,000 vaccinated people had registered for multimillion-dollar sweepstakes drawings that were announced Thursday in a bid to boost vaccinations. Almost 24,000 12- to 17-year-olds had signed up for the chance to win four-year prepaid college tuition contracts. It was too early to tell if the prizes were actually enticing people to get vaccinated. State health department spokeswoman Lynn Sutfin said health providers have 24 hours to report, so there is a lag. The holiday weekend also could impact vaccinations, she said. We might not see changes until next week, Sutfin said in an email. ___ Follow David Eggert at https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00 A group of Saginaw Valley State University students will fuel their passion for leadership and service through their participation in the Roberts Fellowship program. The Roberts Fellowship program challenges talented, hard-working students to expect more of themselves, to do more, and to be more than they originally thought possible, said Julie Foss, SVSU associate professor of modern foreign languages and chair of the Roberts Fellowship program. The 23rd class is another outstanding group of students who are well-equipped to grow into more effective leaders and global citizens. Students are selected for the Roberts Fellowship on the basis of demonstrated academic achievement, campus and/or community service, leadership potential, and potential to engage with diverse cultures and perspectives. One of SVSUs Programs of Distinction, the program provides outstanding students with the academic, professional and service opportunities that help students develop leadership skills. Throughout the 2021-2022 academic year, the 12 Roberts Fellows students selected for the 23rd class will participate in weekly seminars, engage in a year-long service project of their own creation and interact with campus and community leaders. The program culminates in an international travel experience that exposes students to professional and cultural differences in different countries. The Roberts Fellowship program was established through a gift from Donna Roberts, who served as corporate secretary and assistant general counsel of Dow in the 1990s. Local members of the 23rd Roberts Fellows cohort are: Zachary Archbold of Midland, a cell biology, molecular biology and biomedical sciences student; Kacy Clark of Freeland, a communication major; Skyler Steward, a biology major from Auburn; Paige Talaga of Auburn, majoring in elementary education and English language arts. Before beginning his pre-medical studies at SVSU, Midland's Archbold earned the rank of Eagle Scout, engaging in numerous service and leadership activities in the Scouting program. Archbold has continued his service activities at local food pantries and the United Way, providing flood and COVID-19 relief to Midland residents after the 2020 dam breach. He is a member of the Health Professions Association and the Phi Delta Epsilon medical fraternity, and he received the SVSU Alumni Legacy and Deans scholarships. Those who recommended Archbold for the Roberts Fellowship commended his commitment, strength of character and willingness to stand up for ideals. In her application to the program, Freeland's Clark described how she came to value serving others after her family received help from her community during a difficult time. Her campus involvements include membership in the Optimistic Club, which has led her to serve community organizations including the Underground Railroad resale store and the Good Samaritan Rescue Mission, membership in the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity, and volunteer service at the First Robotics Competition and Fresh Start. Her past leadership experience includes seven summers as a volunteer youth camp counselor. Those who recommended Clark recognized her deeply considered sense of values and unlimited potential. Auburn's Steward plans to attend medical school. Her on-campus involvement include serving as pre-medical senator on the executive board of the Health Professions Association and as vice president of finance in Phi Delta Epsilon fraternity. She also tutors biology and chemistry and conducts research in the biology department. Steward's volunteer service includes work at the Toni and Trish Hospice Center and Saginaws Christian Outreach Center. Those recommending her to the program recognized her willingness to actively seek out ways to test her views and her compassion and caring nature. Auburn's Talaga began her undergraduate career at Delta College and is pursuing a degree in elementary education and English language arts at SVSU. She describes herself as on a constant quest for knowledge and aims to use that knowledge to influence change. She volunteers in Hope Lutheran Churchs food truck program and is a blood donor. One recommender to the program described Talaga as a student with exceptional intellectual gifts and an enthusiasm for learning that just wont quit. After displaying it in an upcoming festival, Mike Oberloier will begin disassembling a nearly extinct machine for a lengthy restoration. Last year, Oberloier, his family and community members unearthed a rare steam shovel from the Wixom Lakebed after it was stuck underwater for 95 years. Now he has the task of restoring this 19-ton machine, of which there are only two left in the world. The search for this machine began with Oberloiers dad search for the illusive machine. The boom arm used to poke out of the water, so people knew it was there. He said after the frame broke, the boom arm sunk further. It was like the Loch Ness Monster, Oberloier said. People knew it was there. Mike Furlo, a Midland resident who grew up around Wixom Lake, said he used to go scuba diving at the steam shovel in the early 70s. But he was unable to find the steam shovel for the Oberloiers due to the murkey conditions of the lake. After the Edenville dam failure, the now dried up lakebed offered an opportunity to find the shovel all these years later. After a volunteer effort, the early twentieth century monolith was once again brought out to the world. The steam shovel in question is a 1901 type O Thew model, with the only other one owned by a man who lives in Pennsylvania, Bob Kelly. Its scarcity comes from the fact they were produced before World War II, so after steam shovels were phased out for gas engines, most of them were used up as scrap metal during the war effort. Since pulling the shovel out of the lake, Oberloier has power washed the entire machine. He also got some new boilers from an old fire truck to replace the old ones, along with some wood to rebuild the driver house. While its far from operational, he plans on displaying at the upcoming Midland Antique Engine Association annual tractor show that takes place July 9-11. After this, the bulk of the restoration will take place. Oberloier will disassemble the machine and put a coat of paint on it. The paint is to protect the machine from rusting further, now that it is once again exposed to oxygen. His goal is to make the machine operational with as many original parts as possible. All original parts that are not used will be on display. Oberloier said his goal is to complete the restoration in about five years. The original plan for the shovel was to sell it to Kelly, but Oberloier decided it should stay with the community. (One reason to keep it) was to make it stay here, rebuild it and put it on display where the people of Wixom Lake can come in and see it, Oberloier said. Furlo was there when the machine was dug up from the lakebed and finally got to see it again all of these years later. I'm glad that they got it up and they want to restore, Furlo said. I think that is awesome that they want to restore it. To keep track of the progress, people can visit the Wixom Lake Steam Shovel Facebook page for updates. Palestine, TX (75801) Today Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 71F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 71F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Palestine, TX (75801) Today Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 71F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 71F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%. Tripoli, Libya (PANA) Despite all the opportunities availed to the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) members during their five-day in-person meeting in Switzerland from 28 June to 2 July 2021, no consensus was reached among the Forum members on a constitutional basis proposal, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said on Saturday South Roxana Fire Chief Todd Werner died Thursday after suffering a heart attack earlier this week, according to the city administrator. "To know Todd is to understand he was born into public service," South Roxana City Administrator Bob Coles said. "He was the epitome of selfless service to his community." Werner had a heart attack while visiting his mother in Wood River on Sunday night. He died at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Werner was 48 and joined the fire department in 1996, becoming chief in 2013, The Alton Telegraph reported. In addition to serving as fire chief, Werner served on the Chouteau Township Board and as a member of the South Roxana, and was a former South Roxana police officer. Werner served as a role model for young firefighters and mentored them "as if they were his own," Coles said. "Todd was a community leader and not only was I blessed to have him within my life but the entire town benefited from Todd's generosity," Coles added. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 When hammer-thrower Gwen Berry turned her back on the American flag at the Olympic Trials last weekend, it made me think of Sergeant William Carney. Berry probably doesnt know who Carney was. Neither, I bet, do the Black Lives Matter activists who spent last summer blindly tearing down statues of historical figures to protest the racist origins of America and the systemic racism they claim exists today. Thanks to the lousy way history is taught in our schools, most Americans of every color have never heard of William Carney. But who he was, what brave things he did on a Civil War battlefield, and what he thought about America and its flag should have become common knowledge many July 4ths ago. Carney was born a slave in Virginia in 1840, but his father escaped to the North on the Underground Railroad and made enough money in Massachusetts to purchase the freedom of the rest of his family. In 1863 Carney, at age 23, joined a local militia and became part of the all-Black Company C of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. As shown in the Oscar-winning 1989 movie Glory, the historic 54th and 55th regiments were founded to prove that Black men could be good, brave soldiers and they quickly proved it. During the bloody battle of Fort Wagner in Charleston, S.C., in 1863 Carney saw that the soldier carrying the 54th regimental colors had been wounded. He left his position and ran into the thick of the fighting to save the American flag from being captured or hitting the ground which was something they cared about deeply in those days. Despite being hit four times by bullets, Carney was able to bring the U.S. flag safely to Union lines, where he collapsed. It took 40 years for Carneys battlefield heroics to be rewarded, but in 1900 he was awarded the Medal of Honor in Boston. The first Black person to receive the award, he explained his heroics by simply saying, I only did my duty. Can you imagine how Carney a former slave and the other patriotic Black men who enlisted in the 54th and 55th would react today to the protests of Gwen Berry or the constant complaints of the BLM crowd and Critical Race Theorists? Americas not perfect now, and it never was. But BLM and the others are fixated on the past on the shameful stuff that our white ancestors did to Blacks that we regret and are ashamed of but cant do anything about today. That shameful stuff includes the horrors of slavery, 70 years of legalized racism in the Jim Crow South, the de facto discrimination and segregation in the North and white race riots like the Tulsa Massacre of 1921. Activists need to acknowledge all the good that has been done to make America a better, fairer, freer country that lives up to its founding ideals. Blacks in America live far better and freer lives than Carneys generation could ever dream of living. Yet they constantly disrespect the flag and the country it represents, which they claim was founded on racism and is still systematically racist. Gwen Berry said this week she doesnt hate America. She said she turned her back to the flag because she doesnt like the third (and basically unknown) stanza of the National Anthem, which she claims disrespects Blacks with its brief reference to slaves. Berry says she knows her history, but she really doesnt. She and the BLM and its allies have no appreciation of what life was like for Black people like Carney and his generation. They take a knee to the national anthem or turn their backs on the same flag that Sergeant Willian Carney, a former slave, loved and risked his life to keep from touching the ground. What would Carney say to Gwen Berry, Colin Kaepernick and the members of BLM today? Hed probably want to turn his back to them. Download the movie Glory if you want to see why. Michael Reagan is a columnist for Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 Photo: (Photo : Samir Hussein/Contributor/Getty Images) Aquaman superstar Jason Momoa extended a heartfelt comment to his co-star Amber Heard, who revealed she had a baby via surrogacy. Momoa, a dad to teens and a stepfather to a young adult, posted a heart emoji on Heard's Instagram and congratulated his co-star for the birth of her first child. Momoa has been married to actress Lisa Bonet. Heard, 39, shared a photo of herself as she cuddled her sleeping baby to her chest. The actress wrote in the captions that she wanted to have a child "under her own terms" since four years ago, so she chose to have a baby via surrogacy. Read Also: Gestational Surrogacy: A Way to Grow the Family The Aquaman star also revealed that she welcomed her daughter on April 8 and gave her the name Oonagh Paige Heard, after her mother Paige Heard, who died in May 2020, leaving the actress "devastated and heartbroken." However, with Oonagh's birth, Heard has found renewed hope. "She's the beginning of the rest of my life," the actress said. Normalizing Baby Without Marriage Heard also said that she hopes society will learn to normalize having a baby without getting married. Though she reiterated that her private life is "none of anyone's business," she felt that she had to say something about her choice to have a baby via surrogacy. It's no secret that Heard is bisexual and has been having a relationship with cinematographer Bianca Butti since January 2020. However, it's not clear if the pair are still together following the arrival of Oonagh. Before Butti, Heard was also married to Pirates of the Caribbean superstar Johnny Depp for two years. The couple had a turbulent and very public divorce in 2017 as Depp sued for libel in the U.K. over claims of abuse. Depp lost the case in November 2020, but the ex-couple will still go to court for a separate defamation case filed in Virginia. A Besotted Mom Meanwhile, a friend of Heard exclusively told Page Six that the actress is "besotted" to her gorgeous baby girl. The friend intimated that the actress always wanted to be a mother, but a doctor told her that she could never have children. Related Article: Want To be A Surrogate Mother? Consider this First However, Heard had much support from friends and family when she expressed her desire to have a baby despite her fertility issues. The source stated that it was important for Heard to be open about the details surrounding Oonag's birth and felt that she didn't have to feel embarrassed about having a baby via surrogacy. Heard is due to return to work with Momoa for the sequel to Aquaman for Warner Bros, where she plays Mera, the Atlantean princess and the partner of the actor's lead character. Sources from the set said that the two co-stars get along, but Momoa hasn't made any comments about Heard's divorce and life's choices because he believes it's not his place to talk about his friend's life. Photo: (Photo : Beatie Family/TB/Contributor/Getty Images) The world's first pregnant man, Thomas Beatie, captivated the world when he first revealed in a 2008 TV interview with Oprah Winfrey that he was expecting. At that time, the public has never heard of the word "transgender," but things were drastically changing for him, his family and the world. Beatie, now 47, recently sat down with Today Health to discuss how things have been in his life since he became a media sensation. Now working as a Phoenix stockbroker, the former pregnant man revealed that he is now a dad of four and enjoying the quiet life sans the sensational headlines. After giving birth to his first baby, whom he named Susan, Beatie revealed that he had two more children. The dad also shared that he separated from his first wife, Nancy Beatie, in 2012. He found a second shot at love after meeting his second wife, Amber, who gave birth to their child, and his fourth baby, in 2018. How Did He Get Pregnant? Beatie was born Tracy in 1972 and used to compete in beauty pageants in Hawaii despite identifying as a man since he was ten years old. He made a life-changing decision to transition in the late 1990s. He admitted that it was a novel and shocking idea, but he went through testosterone treatments and had his breasts surgically removed. Read Also: Toronto Dad Creates a Swimwear Line for Transgender Teens However, Beatie opted not to undergo a sex change operation because he was still hoping to bear his children. He met Nancy in the years following his transition, and the two agreed that he would carry their child when they decided to have a family since Nancy had a hysterectomy. Their daughter was conceived via artificial insemination using his eggs and donor sperm. He revealed to People in 2008 that the pregnancy was not different from any other woman, except that he could breastfeed Susan. Beatie also carried his two other children with his first wife. The father said that he doesn't see anything wrong with his choices because the bottom line was he was proud to be a dad. His children with Nancy, are now entering their teenage years, and they divide their time between both parents since his ex-wife lives 10 miles away. Can't Shake Off 'Pregnant Man' But the dad of four said that though a lot has changed in 13 years and people are now more receptive to transgender issues, Beatie could never shake off the label of being the first man who got pregnant. Despite this, he is grateful that his story got out to shine the light on what it means to be transgender. His experience gave the world a wider understanding of gender identity. Related Article: Viral Video: Missouri Dad Wants to Stop Transgender Youth Discrimination In 2018, The Guardian reported that six transgender men have also gotten pregnant after Beatie, including Hayden Cross and Scott Parker, the first two British pregnant men. Transgender pregnancy has also been widely studied, including the effects of testosterone treatments on the uterus. According to the experts, it is the stigma and not the medical issues that are the biggest barrier for trans men. Photo: (Photo : Xinhua News Agency/Contributor/Getty Images) As the U.S. prepares to reopen fully, health officials are urging people not to stop wearing a face mask if they are in public or crowded indoor places amid the rising cases of COVID-19 Delta variant infections. Despite the country's high vaccination rate, with 47 percent of the population fully vaccinated as of June 2021, doctors have some concerns over the possibility of another spike in cases. This time, the worry is among children below 12 years old, now considered the vulnerable population since they have yet to receive the vaccine. So, how can parents protect their children from the Delta variant if they can't get the jab? In an interview with CNN, Dr. Peter Hotez of the National School of Tropical Medicine recommended that children "old enough to wear masks" should do so to protect themselves from the Delta variant. Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases also said that children out in the community should be wearing a face mask. Read Also: Reasons for Children's Coughs Other Than COVID-19 US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy agreed with the recommendations that families should consider wearing face masks at home if they have unvaccinated children, especially if the parents' jobs "have a high degree of exposure." Why Are Children Vulnerable? American Academy of Pediatrics chair on Infectious Diseases, Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, explained that "a 'pod' of vaccinated individuals" now exists around the children, making them more vulnerable to the virus. She also agreed that it's best to continue practicing social distancing in crowded settings. Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen said that the Delta variant, now present in 85 countries, is highly transmissible than the Alpha variant by as much as 60 percent. According to the experts, 20 percent of the new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are classified as Delta variants. "There is a higher likelihood that those unvaccinated people are going to contract Covid-19 -- and that includes children," Wen said. The variant is also more virulent, causing more hospitalizations and severe illnesses, and while the kids are not likely to suffer severe symptoms or die from COVID, there are studies suggesting they could become "long haulers." Choose to Be Cautious The timing of the Delta variant spread coincides with summer camp and summer activities in the U.S. The experts understand that parents have different takes on what counts as risky in their situation. However, Wen said that it's best for families to choose to be cautious. If there are backyard barbecues, playdates or gathering with friends, it would be better to hold off on these plans for unvaccinated households. Related Article: Kids Infected With COVID-19 Experience Long Term Symptoms For children below 12 years old who are going to summer camp, wearing a face mask and social distancing are still necessary. On the other hand, some summer camps require children to be vaccinated before they can join. Families that plan to go on road trips are also encouraged to exercise care and caution. The experts believe that the risks decrease when the activities are done outdoors, so it might be better to go to parks than indoor amusement centers or have outdoor meals than indoor meals. This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions In late June Microsoft declared war on Apple by introducing a new App Store Model coming to Windows 11 that offers larger companies zero commission while promising security. With that now in place, Europe's tech chief Margrethe Vestager has openly warned Apple against using privacy and security concerns to fend off competition on its App Store, reasons CEO Tim Cook gave for not allowing users to install software from outside the Store. Vestager, who is also the European Commission's executive vice president, last year proposed rules called the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that would force Apple to open up its lucrative App Store so that users can download apps from the internet or third-party app stores in a practice known as side-loading. Cook, speaking at an event last month, said the proposal would destroy the security and privacy of iPhones. While Vestager said she shared Apple's CEO position on security concerns and privacy she stated yesterday that "The important thing here is, of course, that it's not a shield against competition, because I think customers will not give up neither security nor privacy if they use another app store or if they sideload." Microsoft's recent App Store announcements could be heard buried in that statement. Lastly, Vestager indicated that she was still open to changes in her proposal, which needs input from EU countries and EU lawmakers before it can become law. "I think that it is possible to find solutions to this," she said. For more read the full report on Yahoo! Finance. Of course that was a disingenuous statement from Vestager knowing full well that Spain and France are already investigating and suing Apple over the App Store. EU countries are not looking for a compromise with Apple, they simply want the EU Commission to give them the green light to sue Apple. Vestager is also emboldened by her left-wing counterpart Klobuchar in Washington who is confident that their multiple antitrust proposals will reign in Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon. While Apple's lobbying efforts may make a tiny dent in the final wording of U.S. antitrust legislation that will soon be voted on, Europe is bent on damaging Apple so as to promote European tech companies. France's President Emmanuel Macron recently stated that his goal is to promote 10 large tech companies in Europe to rival U.S. companies. The EU is bent on killing U.S. domination in technology and Margrethe Vestager is the leader that will see this through. Peacefmonline.com can authoritatively state that Ghana has become the latest country to record the Delta Variant of the SARS-Cov-2 virus within a community. The detection of the Delta variant - said to be more contagious and resistant to vaccines than the dominant Alpha (U.K.) strain - in the latest round of Ghana's genomic sequencing, was announced at about 10:00hours on Friday, July 2, 2021, by the Ghana Health Service, reliable sources told Peacefmonline. Fortunately, positive persons are reportedly in good health. This was confirmed on the Facebook wall of the Ministry of Information-Ghana. Accordingly, all relevant agencies have been asked to take the necessary steps to ensure that the spread is contained. Peacefmonline.com is also reliably informed that , "the task force will provide further details at 13:00hours on Sunday, July 4, 2021". Meanwhile, the general public is advised to adhere strictly to the Covid-19 preventive etiquette while going about permitted activities in the country. KIA Detection On June 22, 2021, a statement signed by the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, indicated that though Ghana has detected six Delta variants of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19 virus) from samples taken between April and June 2021 at the ports of entry, no case of the Indian strain of Covid-19 had been found in our communities. "No Delta variant has been detected from samples taken from cases in the community," the statement said. The six persons were picked up at the Kotoka International Airport. Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video NPP National Youth Organizer, Henry Nana Boakye has called for calm at Ejura following the death of an activist, Ibrahim Mohammed alias Kaaka and two residents during a protest march in the community days ago. Ibrahim Mohammed reportedly died from a mob assault while the other two met their untimely death when some soldiers shot into a crowd of protesters at Ejura when trying to de-escalate the situation there. Four other protesters sustained serious gunshot wounds and were rushed to the hospital for medical treatment. Addressing the issue on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'', Nana Boakye, popularly called Nana B expressed his sincere condolences to the bereaved families. ''Although there is nothing we can do to bring the dead back to life but we commiserate with the families of the deceased.'' He condemned the murder of Kaaka as well as the Military action and pleaded with the youth at the vicinity to avail themselves for peace to prevail in the area saying ''death is painful because we can't resurrect the dead but we plead with them to forgive''. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has launched an investigation to fish out the persons behind the intended export of some five containers of rosewood species. The documentation on the containers was being prepared by the Global Container Terminal (GCT) at the Tema Port when the content was discovered to be the banned species. During a fact-finding mission to the port on the detention of the species by the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Deputy Minister, Mr Benito Owusu-Bio, tasked the managers of the GCT to submit the documentation on the containers to enable investigations into who the exporters of the species were. The containers were impounded on June 17, 2021, by the Customs Division after officials of the Energy Commission had trailed it to the terminal on suspicion that it contained charcoal meant for export without the requisite permit. The Principal Revenue Officer at the Customs Division in charge of export at the Amaris Export Terminal, Mr Emmanuel Dzakpasu, said officials had to issue a detention notice on the containers although no individual or organisation had come forward to process the export declaration on them. We issued the detention order when officials of the Forestry Commission confirmed that they were rosewood species and we are only waiting for the 30-day mandatory period to elapse so that the confiscation notice can be issued, Mr Dzakpasu explained. Statistics The logging of rosewood tree species for export has persisted in the face of a ban on the act and reports suggest it has depleted the Savannah forest zone in the northern areas of the country. The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) in 2019 reported that illegal trading of rosewood trees cost Ghana nearly six million of the wood species, which were mostly exported to China. The report indicated that over 540,000 tonnes of rosewood, the equivalent of 23,478 24-footer containers, were illegally harvested and exported to China from Ghana from 2012 to 2019 although the ban on harvesting and trade of the tree species was still in force. Local use Mr Owusu-Bio indicated that the ban on harvesting, transportation and export of rosewood was still in force, noting that the seizure clearly showed that there were some loopholes in the monitoring and enforcement regime, and tasked the Forestry Commission to step up its monitoring efforts. He said although the seizure was the first to have been carried out in the last eight months, it showed that the system needed an improvement. Similarly, he said discussions were being held with stakeholders to grow the local wood manufacturing sector by way of value addition and efficient regulation in the exploitation of the species in accordance with agreements with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). We want to use this investigation to check the loopholes in the system to increase enforcement of the ban on the harvesting and exportation of rosewood, Mr Owusu-Bio said. Henceforth, rosewood that may be impounded, confiscated and auctioned would not be allowed to be exported. Rather, we are going to create the local market for its use since we have come to identify that rosewood sent to China could equally be used for the production of luxury furniture which is exported to the global market, including Ghana, he added. The ministry, he said, was engaging local producers by giving them some of the species for free for assessment to check whether their machines could process them. The Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, Mr John Allotey, indicated that officials had initiated mechanisms to monitor the loading of the species at bulk loading points since most traders often purchased them in singles from different harvesting locations. Source: graphic.com.gh Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Former General Secretary of the People's National Convention (PNC), Atik Mohammed, has backed the calls by Ex-President John Dramani Mahama on the Ejura killings. The former President, speaking on the death of a social media activist and resident of Ejura named Ibrahim Mohammed a.k.a Macho Kaaka, has asked President Nana Akufo-Addo to direct an immediate de-escalation of the situation at Ejura in the Ashanti Region. I add my voice to calls for calm following the shooting to death of two persons and the injury to many in Ejura today, following the murder of youth activist Ibrahim Kaaka Mohammed. I have just seen a video of the firing of live ammunition into a crowd by persons wearing military attire, after the burial of the murdered youth activist. There must be a very thorough investigation of both the murder of the youth activist and the security rules of engagement, which resulted in the shooting to death of the two others, Mr. Mahama stated on his website. Reacting to the Ejura incident, Atik Mohammed commended Mr. Mahama for adding his voice to the calls for calm. "I think the Ex-President has every right to say there is the need to de-escalate the situation in Ejura. It is not a misplaced call. In fact, it is important that he makes such a call, but of course, usually when politicians make calls like this; it's easy for us to read meanings into these calls . . . If there's a conflict, the first thing to do is to de-escalate the situation, then you move to management and probably resolve the conflict. "So, if he says we should de-escalate what's happening in Ejura, it's a good call because if we don't de-escalate, maybe tomorrow; another group, probably because of the shooting incident, might be upset and, in that process, could also decide to do something. They might decide to attack a Police station or something," he stated on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo'. Atik added; ''...it's important that we de-escalate the situation and I think that call and that of the President's instructions are mutually reinforcing because he also said the Interior Minister and all other security Chiefs should move very swiftly to deal with the situation and also conduct public inquiry into what happened. So, the two, I think are not mutually exclusive. They're actually mutually reinforcing, so it's not a bad call at all.'' Watch video below Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Vice President, Dr. Alhaji Mahamud Bawumia has condemned the recent killings and disturbances in Ejura that has claimed three lives. He has however, asked the youth to cease fire and let calm prevail. He described the incident as unfortunate and prayed such incident wont repeat itself again in the future as the country waits for the report by the 3 member Ministerial committee set up by the Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery. The Vice President, who was in the company of the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, disclosed this at the Ejurahenes Palace when they visited the community to commiserate with the bereaved families. The Vice President together with the National Chief Imam and other Ministers had gone to the town following the murder of one social media activist, Macho Kaaka which further led to the untimely death of two people during a deadly clash with the military during a protest by some irate youth in the community. The vice president also presented 1000 bags of cement and an amount of GHc 50,000 to support the construction of a Divisional Police Command in the municipality He also made a cash donation of GHC 20, 000 to each family and assured them of the government's commitment to ensuring justice. The Spokesperson for the National Chief Imam, Sheik Shaibu Aremeyaw implored the Muslim youth who are heavily affected to calm down as the 3 member Ministerial committee work efficiently for their recommendations. Paramount Chief of Ejura Traditional Area, Barima Osei Hwedie ll appealed to the Vice President for the installation of a Military detachment to address the rate at which violence is creeping into the community. Source: Prince Kwadwo Boadu / Hellofm Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The annual Kids Count report ranked Arizona 47th among states for the educational well-being of its children. The state finished in bottom half of states for all categories, including health, economic welfare and family, but education was the only ranking to get worse from the last report. The last thing you expect to see while spending a quiet day fishing is a Bigfoot moving about on the shoreline and throwing rocks. A Kentuc... An Afghan flag is raised during a handover ceremony from the U.S. Army to the Afghan National Army, at Camp Anthonic, in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, May 2, 2021. Afghan Ministry of Defense Press Office via AP Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff speaks during a ceremony on Christmas Eve 2017 at Bagram Air Base, in Afghanistan. In 2001 the armies of the world united behind the U.S. and Bagram Air Base, barely an hours drive from the Afghan capital Kabul, was chosen as the epicenter of Operation Enduring Freedom, as the assault on the Taliban rulers was dubbed. It's now nearly 20 years later and the last U.S. soldier is set to depart the base. AP Photo/Rahmat Gul Thank you for reading the Philadelphia Tribune. You have exhausted your free article views for this month. Please press the "subscribe" button below and see our introductory price of $0.25 per week for 13 weeks. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you next month. Michael Coard, Esq. can be followed on Twitter, Instagram, and his YouTube channel as well as at AvengingTheAncestors.com. His Radio Courtroom show can be heard on WURD 96.1 FM or 900 AM. And his TV Courtroom show can be seen on PhillyCAM/Verizon Fios/Comcast. The views expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Philadelphia Tribune. Norristown man sent to prison for role in woman's fatal overdose in Upper Merion Vermillion, SD (57069) Today Isolated thunderstorms this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. Low 69F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Isolated thunderstorms this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. Low 69F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Vermillion, SD (57069) Today Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. partypoker & McLaren "Share a Lot in Common" Says Managing Director Paris Anatolitis July 03, 2021 Will Shillibier It is now over a month since partypoker and PartyCasino entered a multiyear partnership with McLaren Racing Formula 1 Team. The PartyCasino logo first appeared on McLaren's cars at the Monaco Grand Prix, and Party branding remains visible on the protective halos of both McLaren MCL35M cars ahead of this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix. Party and McLaren's "Journey of Transformation" "McLaren are a global sporting icon" Paris Anatolitis, Managing Director of Party Brands, says the partnership provides the opportunity to reach new audiences alongside the McLaren brand. "I have always been inspired by McLaren, the story behind the brand, its attention to detail and its drive to continuously push the boundaries. McLaren are a global sporting icon, so to see us as part of their team, on a unique livery, flying around the legendary Monaco street circuits sent shivers down the spine. "The partnership gives us an amazing opportunity to take the Party brands to a new audience of customers in regulated markets around the globe. It really is an incredible platform to enable us to connect with customers new and old, and communicate the unique excitement of the Party offer." Anatolitis himself is a Formula 1 fan, having followed the sport since childhood. "In Formula 1, it's not only about the performance and how the cars have developed over the years, but also the strategy behind the race, the tactics that are deployed and the decisions that are made to take advantage of given situations during a race. Anatolitis says that both McLaren and Party are on a "journey of transformation", and that a partnership would benefit all involved. "When the proposal was presented to us, we immediately saw the synergies between our brands. From our business perspective to target new audiences and build products & experiences that delight our customers. For McLaren to focus on expanding their fan base through opening up the world of Formula 1 as well as continue to advance their technology to bring them back to the podium. "This showed us there was a huge potential to create a long term partnership that would benefit all parties. I have met Zak Brown, the Chief Executive Officer for McLaren Racing, a few times, so we immediately connected to ensure we could move on this opportunity quickly. " Safety of Paramount Importance For All Involved The big question is why would a company like Party partner with a Formula 1 team like McLaren? For Anatolitis the answer is simple. "We share a lot in common, despite being in different fields. There is this absolute drive to succeed in everything we do. We are both technology businesses at heart who are continuously looking to innovate to develop a compelling end product. We do that to excite our customers, and they do it to excite their fans! "But perhaps most importantly, we both want to offer an exhilarating and entertaining product, while remaining aware of the importance of doing so in an environment where safety is at the forefront." This weekend the 'PartyResponsibly' message will again appear on the McLaren car at the Austrian Grand Prix, with driver Daniel Ricciardo playing a key role in sending the message of responsible gambling. Read More: Formula 1 Driver Daniel Ricciardo in partypoker Responsible Gambling Video "We were delighted to get Daniel Ricciardos insight into the importance of maintaining control in our Time to Pit film which we launched on the new hub. From what weve heard he has the makings of a very strong poker player." Just how good players will have to wait and see, with an exclusive tournament coming up where players will be able to battle against Ricciardo. "It will be a unique experience for our players to go up against him," says Anatolitis. "This will also allow some of our partypoker and PartyCasino customers to live money cannot buy experiences, through this partnership. "Of course we are also really excited to be supporting McLaren to cheer them on to even greater success on the track. As the partnership matures, we are planning to roll out a number of activation initiatives that we think our customers will love." Future Plans The multiyear deal is only a month old, and Anatolitis says the feedback from customers is already "very encouraging." However, there is a lot of work going in behind the scenes on future aspects of the partnership that Anatolitis says players will be able to take advantage of very soon. "There is lots more in the pipeline which we cant wait to share with the world" "The feedback from a lot of our customers has been very encouraging too. "Weve been hard at work with the McLaren team on developing and launching our sponsorship platform ACCESS where we will be opening the doors to the world of Formula 1 and McLaren. We are in the process of creating a lot of new content. The Party Responsibly website and content was the first output, but there is lots more in the pipeline which we cant wait to share with the world" Before his election as Irans new president, Ebrahim Raisi was head of the countrys judiciary. And earlier, during 1980s and 1990s, he was a deputy prosecutor in Tehran. In 1988, according to Human Rights Watch, Raisi played a role in the extrajudicial killings of thousands of political prisoners in Iran. Given his new, higher-profile position along with recent moves in Iran to further restrict speech and media freedom a statement Raisi made while head of the judiciary is worthy of review. In May of 2019, Raisi had just been appointed to the top judicial post by Irans Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. This branch (the judiciary) supports the freedom of the press, Iran International quoted Raisi as saying. The judiciary sees the media as its colleagues and does not oppose fair criticism. But the claim is false. Raisis court system is the entity responsible for prosecuting journalists and human rights defenders in Iran. And its one of the most barbaric judicial systems on the planet. Like most everything in Iran, the judiciary is ultimately controlled by Supreme Leader Khamenei. He appoints not only the head of the judiciary but its members and the general prosecutor. Irans judiciary includes courts that deal with civil and criminal cases, clerical courts that deal with crimes committed by Islamic clerics, and revolutionary courts that prosecute political cases, including those targeting protesters, journalists, human rights defenders and reformist politicians. In his 2019 remarks, Raisi emphasized that the press must respect the regimes rights. He also encouraged news media to incite public hatred toward enemies rather than report on corruption, and he warned journalists they would end up in jail if they failed to respect red lines. The United States has sanctioned Raisi for crimes against humanity. With close ties to Irans clerical hierarchy, some experts see him as Khameneis likely successor. Raisis election has raised fears that suppression of the media in Iran will intensify. This week, Reuters reported that the United Nations investigator for human rights in Iran called for an investigation into the state-ordered executions while Raisi was deputy prosecutor in Tehran. Irans judiciary is known for issuing brutal sentences. The United States Institute of Peace (USIP), a U.S. government-funded research institution, described the judiciary this way in 2015: The judiciary implements the Islamic penal code, including stoning, amputations and flogging, all considered torture under international law. Iran also has the largest number of executions of any country proportional to its population. According to Freedom House, a Washington, D.C., global human rights monitor, Irans judicial system is a tool for silencing regime critics. Political dissidents and advocates of human and labor rights have continued to face arbitrary judgments, and the security apparatuss influence over the courts has reportedly grown in recent years, Freedom House said in its most recent annual report. Executions of high-profile dissidents and anti-government protesters also continued during the year. According to the press freedom watchdog group Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Iran executed more journalists in the past 50 years than any other country. Last year, Iran ranked 173rd out of 180 in RSFs World Press Freedom Index. Rouhollah Zam, an Iranian journalist and activist, was abducted in Iraq in 2019, taken to Iran and sentenced to death by an Iranian revolutionary court in June 2020. Zam was accused of spreading corruption on earth because of his Telegram channel, AmadNews, which had helped spark economic protests across Iran in 2017. Irans Supreme Court later claimed it had suspended Zams death sentence, but Amnesty International reported that he was hanged in December 2020. The Committee to Protect Journalists, in New York City, reported that as of December 2020 at least 15 journalists were imprisoned in Iran. They included award-winning journalist Mohammad Mosaed, arrested for covering a November 2019 crackdown on protests and the governments lack of preparedness in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison, followed by a two-year ban from journalism. Mosaed was able to flee Iran to Turkey in early 2021. Environmental journalist Elaheh Mousavi was summoned by authorities several times for exposing illegal logging and deforestation by the military and other governmental entities in northern Iran. In May, prosecutors summoned her again for her environmental activism. In May, Mousavi sent a message to Raisi via Twitter saying that those who reveal corruption must be honored not punished. Fighting corruption was one of the promises Raisi made during his campaign for the presidency. Al Jazeera reported on June 25 that while conservative factions in Iran control most influential media outlets, some space is given to moderate newspapers. But they cant stray too far. Iran International, an independent U.K.-based news agency focusing on Iran, reported that in the wake of Raisis election allies in Irans parliament plan to regulate social media messengers. A new bill requires the ministry of communications to reveal all user names and ban virtual private networks, or VPNs, which Iranians use to get around digital censorship. In January, Irans prosecutor general, who operates under the judiciary and heads a committee tasked to identify and censor online criminal content, blocked the Signal phone messaging app, which allows for encrypted communications on smart phones and computers. As Al Jazeera reported, the Iranian authorities have already blocked other top social media applications, including Telegram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The nonprofit Iran Human Rights reported on June 10 that Irans parliament is also considering a bill that could institute harsh penalties against citizen journalists who run afoul of authorities. The proposed law, called Intensifying Punishments for Collaborators with Actions of Hostile States Against National Security and Interests Bill, provides for prison terms of two to five years and even a death sentence. A recently released fiscal year 2022 defense funding bill would provide money to the U.S. Army to speed the renaming of bases and other facilities bearing the name of Confederate commanders including Fort Gordon in nearby Augusta. The $706 billion legislation, unveiled Tuesday by the House Appropriations Committee, allocates $1 million for the renaming effort, spearheaded by the Naming Commission, a congressionally mandated panel. Fort Gordon, home to the Armys cyber center of excellence, is among 10 installations the Naming Commission planned to visit and consider throughout the summer and fall, according to retired Navy Adm. Michelle Howard, the commission chairwoman. Others include Fort Benning, near the Georgia-Alabama border, Fort Bragg in North Carolina, and Fort Lee in central Virginia, according to a Department of Defense announcement made in May. Fort Gordons namesake is John Brown Gordon, a famed general who played a role in many Civil War battles, including Antietam and Gettysburg. Gordon a Reconstruction foe and reputed Ku Klux Klan leader was later elected to the U.S. Senate and, separately, to the Georgia governorship. The New Georgia Encyclopedia describes Gordon in the early 1900s as the living embodiment of the Confederacy. Calls to rename military installations wiping out the Confederacy link, often established during the Jim Crow era have spiked in the wake of white-supremacist attacks, including the massacre of nine Black people at the Emanuel AME church in Charleston. Efforts most recently intensified following the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of police in 2020. Current events are a stark reminder that it is not enough for us to remove symbols that cause division, Gen. David H. Berger, the Marine Corps commandant, said in statement around this time last year. Rather, we also must strive to eliminate division itself. More than 1,895 Confederate symbols are still publicly present in the U.S., according to data compiled by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The tally includes military bases as well as government buildings, monuments, statues, streets, schools, parks and plaques. A final briefing and report from the Naming Commission are due to Congress by Oct. 1, 2022. The Pentagon has several years to implement changes. READERS: You may recall how last year my wife, Becky, suggested we expand Independence Day celebrations by designating July as Freedom Month. Taking inspiration from her idea, I sat down again to write three Freedom Month columns. Todays makes liberal exaggerations of some recent conversations. NB Chaplain, I want to report a theft! a reader wrote. No, he didnt exactly say that, but his email definitely sought to account for the freedoms he considered missing. I wasnt sure how a chaplain could help him recover his losses, and I considered reciting the commonly recorded message, If you want to report an emergency, please hang up and dial 911. Nevertheless, I promised Id do my best at search and recovery or SAR as we called it during my Air Force career. I began the recovery investigation by asking two key, journalistic questions: WHO and WHAT. First, WHO has taken away your freedom? Most everyone to whom I pose this question answers the same. He was no exception. The government. I should have known, I said. Those pencil whippers are always stealing something or tapping my phone calls or squelching the UFO reports. I posed my second question. WHAT freedom did they steal? Theyre trying to take my guns, he said. Im not a gun owner myself, so I knew I had no business suggesting common-sense regulation, like registration, waiting periods and background check for private sales as well as gun-show sales. Instead of making that argument, I fired a follow-up question point blank: BUT, has the government actually taken your personal firearm? His silence asserted his Fifth Amendment right over his Second Amendment rights. Its likely that his guns were never confiscated, unless he was writing from prison where they put the bad guys who misuse guns. Sign up for our new opinion newsletter Get a weekly recap of South Carolina opinion and analysis from The Post and Courier in your inbox on Monday evenings. Email Sign Up! In another case, a neighbor voiced a similar complaint about freedom losses, I repeated my question WHAT exactly have you lost? Ive been denied my right to breathe, she answered, overstating the mask mandate. Yeah, I get it. I hate surgical masks too. They were such a pesky detail, pre-COVID, when my chaplain duties sent me to visit double-lung transplants or premature babies in our ICU. My guess is that its not the mask that bothers her. Its the other M-word: mandate. Yes, we temporarily lost some freedom. But the last time I checked, the U.S. wasnt alone in suspending that freedom. The entire world lives under masking restrictions while the U.S. remains the least restrictive. So, I keep pressing folks WHAT have you personally lost? Name it. Chaplain, you of all people should know, said one pastor. We lost our freedom of worship. Again, temporary is the operative word. Even so, many churches responded with innovative answers. During the worst of the lockdown, I maintained that freedom of worship wasnt threatened as long as restrictions were applied equally among churches, institutions, and businesses. In other words, if the Rotary Club wasnt meeting in person, then it was fair to restrict meetings, religious assemblies. Gratefully, vaccinations are steering our lives back to normal. We have returned to church and will resume our July Fourth fireworks intended to celebrate our freedoms. Fortunately, American freedoms are resilient little boogers. To paraphrase a military reply, All freedoms present and accounted for, sir. I call this return to normal, Vaccinated, Liberated and Vindicated. Even Dr. Fauci concurs. He has publicly proclaimed that fully vaccinated people are free to do whatever they like on July Fourth. But seriously, Dr Fauci. Really? I now have the freedom to do anything? If thats true, maybe I should ask Nicolas Cage if hell help me reprise his role in the 2004 Walt Disney Pictures film, National Treasure. Lets steal the Declaration of Independence. These days, I know a few folks who need to read it. It feels like theres more red, white and blue on display in the lead-up to our Fourth of July. Flags on poles, bunting on porch rails, and a more-than-usual amount of patriotic paraphernalia in the various aisles at the grocery store. Are we feeling better about ourselves or is it just a reflection of normalcy returning bit by bit to every corner of our daily lives? Maybe were all just happy to cut loose a little and July Fourth provides an opportunity to gather outside and stick out our chests as proud Americans. As we take this cleansing breath in the middle of a long weekend, heres hoping we genuinely appreciate the fireworks, the flag and freedom. As it turns out, theres another pandemic related shortage that might impact our celebrations. Because many factories that produce the pyrotechnics in China were shut down, fireworks are in short supply and prices are higher. In some areas out West, some communities have banned any firework shows due to drought conditions. In Miami Beach, in an effort to show respect for those who died in that condo collapse, the city is canceling its annual fireworks festival. Here in the Charleston area, whether in Moncks Corner, Mount Pleasant, North Charleston, Summerville or Goose Creek, plans to light up the sky are all a go for July Fourth. Theres also music and food and fireworks scheduled this evening at Riley Park. For a lot of us, it provides a chance to escape much of the COVID-connected shackles weve lived with this last year and a half. We can be in large crowds and shake some hands and see what people look like without masks. In a sense, weve regained some freedom. A grand old flag In the late '60s and early '70s, I never really understood why anybody would exercise their right to protest by burning the American flag. To tell you the truth, I still dont. As we unfurl our flags today, to me, theres an inherent belief that the flag should always be respected. Were seeing more and more actions involving the flag, and some of it is wrapped in reasoning that, at times, makes us uneasy. Sign up for our new opinion newsletter Get a weekly recap of South Carolina opinion and analysis from The Post and Courier in your inbox on Monday evenings. Email Sign Up! In a few weeks, the Olympics will be on full display in Tokyo. We should be prepared to see some American athletes make some statements. Apparently, there will be no punishment for such political protests. Im not sure what form that protest might take. Will the athlete raise a fist, take a knee, sit down as the flag is raised? The protest, I believe, will be peaceful, but the message figures to be powerful. I hope the Olympic Games dont serve as yet another vehicle that divides us. Our country is not perfect. Id like to believe that when we fly the flag we project a message of love for the best of what being an American represents. With liberty and justice Ill wrap this up with a memory of just a few years ago that involved new U.S. citizens being sworn in at a ceremony at Middleton Place. I was there as a reporter to cover the event but, unexpectedly, was overcome with emotion. These new citizens had already taken tests and undergone certain scrutiny to prove their desire to make this country their own. There was a woman from Germany, two or three of Hispanic heritage and a couple from Russia. Each one had a different upbringing and culture that shaped who they were. But the one common denominator was to be a citizen of the United States of America. At the end of the ceremony, they recited, in unison, the Pledge of Allegiance. The very same declaration that we all once started every school day by saying this time took on a distinctly different tone. I could detect the different dialects and accents as they swore allegiance to ideas and ideals that are the cornerstones to our way of thinking and living. As they neared the final words, their voices became louder and prouder with liberty and justice for all. The area then filled with applause and people started hugging each other. For those who became Americans that day, I dare say that fireworks, flags and freedom meant a great deal. Maybe at some point today, in your own way, youll appreciate the importance of those things, too. There are pieces in the new exhibition at the Columbia Museum of Art you were never supposed to see. That is, if the former Soviet Union had its way. The display is called The Ironic Curtain: Art From The Soviet Underground, and it features artists like Ilya Kabakov, Alexander Kosolapov, Oleg Vassiliev, and Leonid Sokov taking nearly a century of Soviet propaganda and deconstructing it. Imposing, iconic figures like Lenin and Stalin are shown in sculpture, photography or paintings in ridiculous or menacing situations, balancing comedically on a ball or appearing as the antichrist. Making the work posed a very real danger to the artists, all of whom lived in the country in the years before its late 80s collapse. Its a fantastic mix of sculpture, painting, print, portfolios, it really spans the gamut, said Catherine Walworth, the museums curator of art and the creator of The Ironic Curtain exhibition. Each gallery is completely different. There will be lots of Stalin in the show in terms of sculpture and paintings, but there are also dreamy images. We have a whole gallery thats just about escapism and the idea of wings. They called it immigration of the mind, this idea of escaping the confines of Soviet life in your imagination. The Soviet artists worked in a style called Sots Art, a Russian cousin of Americas Pop Art style. Only instead of the Campbells soup cans that Andy Warhol incorporated, these artists used the communist propaganda they were surrounded with. In fact, Walworth purposely planned a parallel exhibition of the museums Pop Art prints to point out the connection. The difference with Sots Art is that artists looked around and realized that there were just ideological images everywhere, sculptures of Stalin and Lenin everywhere, the curator explained. Instead of the masses being consumers, the masses were consumers of ideology. So it became this theme for many of the artists to recycle and reappropriate these images. There are 143 works by 33 different artists in The Ironic Curtain, all provided by collector Neil Rector, who began purchasing the pieces after the collapse of the Soviet Union. He said that before that time, it wouldve been difficult for the average Russian citizen to see these pieces at all. There were certainly no official exhibitions during the Soviet period of this kind of work, Rector offered. People would have apartment exhibitions. Someone in the apartment would put work like this up for a day and the word would get out and the people who are interested in this work, the underground artists and musicians and critics, would all go to that apartment and look at the work for a day. Walworth said the secrecy was necessary because the Soviet government would impose harsh penalties on any artist that they caught creating this kind of work. You had to be a member of the Union of Soviet Artists in order to make work and get paid and have materials, she says. So some of these artists did have official jobs. But some of these artists didnt have day jobs, and it was dangerous for them. The government would crack down on these artists and sometimes the threat was that they would be sent to labor camps, that they would be forced into the military or forced to emigrate. Or sometimes it would be threatening phone calls, or your windows would be broken. But there was always this level of intimidation. The KGB was always watching and trying to make sure that the people hewed the party line, Rector added. These artists werent, and they were always playing that kind of hide and seek game with the Soviet government. There were artists who are part of the same art movement who were imprisoned for various crimes against the state. The collector said hed like those with or without knowledge of Soviet Sots Art to walk away from The Ironic Curtain with a deeper understanding of these artists. These are extraordinary artists technically, but also extraordinary artists conceptually, he posited. And I think for people who know Russian Art and art history, they'll be surprised at the breadth of this work. The Ironic Curtain: Art From The Soviet Underground Through Sept. 12 (Lifting the Curtain: Neil K. Rector in Conversation with Catherine Walworth, July 9, 7 p.m., free, registration required). Columbia Museum of Art. 1515 Main St. columbiamuseum.org. Soup to Nuts: Pop Art Prints from the CMA Collection July 15-Oct. 17. Columbia Museum of Art. 1515 Main St. columbiamuseum.org. The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control is asking S.C. residents to maintain COVID-19 safety measures over the holiday weekend. Disease transmission can easily occur in group settings that include people who are not fully vaccinated, the agency said in a news release. Those who are unvaccinated should wear masks in public and physically distance themselves from others. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, attending a crowded, outdoor event is one of the least safe activities for unvaccinated people. Those who are vaccinated are safe in these environments. DHEC said only 48.6 percent of the state's residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Ahead of the holiday weekend, close to 140 new cases of the coronavirus were reported in the state on July 2. The agency will not release a COVID-19 data report on July 5 because of the Independence Day holiday; since DHEC does not release the data on weekends, its next report will be on July 6. Statewide numbers New cases reported: 139 confirmed, 85 probable. Total cases in S.C.: 493,316 confirmed, 103,945 probable. Percent positive: 2.8 percent. New deaths reported: 4 confirmed, 0 probable. Total deaths in S.C.: 8,648 confirmed, 1,182 probable. Percent of ICU beds filled: 65.3 percent. S.C. residents vaccinated Sign up for our new health newsletter The best of health, hospital and science coverage in South Carolina, delivered to your inbox weekly. Email Sign Up! DHEC's vaccine dashboard shows that 48.6 percent of the state's residents have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine. Hardest-hit areas In the total number of newly confirmed cases, Richland County (38), Horry County (15) and Greenville County (13) saw the highest totals. What about tri-county? Charleston County had seven new cases on July 2, while Berkeley County had eight and Dorchester County had five. Deaths Three of the deaths from COVID-19 confirmed July 2 were people 65 and older. One was a patient age 17 or younger. Hospitalizations Of the 124 COVID-19 patients hospitalized as of July 2, 37 were in the ICU and 16 were using ventilators. What do experts say? According to the CDC, people who are fully vaccinated can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by law, rules or regulations, including in local businesses. The center has compiled a list online of the safest activities for unvaccinated individuals. Because of the continued rise in the spread of the Delta variant, DHEC said it is more important than ever for people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. People ages 12 and older can receive the Pfizer vaccine. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are available for people 18 and older. Go to vaxlocator.dhec.sc.gov to find a nearby vaccine provider. SURFSIDE BEACH With calls from far away as Brazil, Surfside, S.C., authorities say hundreds of people have reached out about the Surfside, Fla., condominium collapse over the last week, some offering donations while others were trying to get word on loved ones. Even national news outlets and some military officials have reached out to the fire department in a town with the same name 675 miles away from the disaster. The calls to the South Carolina town south of Myrtle Beach started coming into the fire station almost immediately after news broke of the collapse on June 24, Acting Fire Chief Larry Carter Jr. said. So far 20 people have been confirmed dead from the collapse with another 128 still unaccounted for, according to the Associated Press as of the evening of July 2. Some of the calls to the Surfside Beach, S.C., fire station were heart-breaking. "One individual was trying to find his parents, and could not get an answer on their cell phone," Carter said. The station was quickly able to collect resources for donations and get updates on condo residents to give people who mistakenly called, Carter said. Sign up for our Myrtle Beach weekly update newsletter. Sign up for weekly roundups of our top stories, news and culture from the Myrtle Beach area. This newsletter is hand-curated by a member of our Myrtle Beach news staff. Email Sign Up! "If it did happen here, we'd have had so much help," he said. "Everybody was calling in to help." The Surfside Beach Fire Department often gets other mistaken calls. The station will get calls meant for Surfside Beach, Texas, near Houston, especially during Gulf hurricanes. While the situation in Florida is tragic, Surfside Beach Town Administrator William Shanahan Jr. said the collapse is a reminder why governments need to check building safety and they must do the same for public projects. "We're building a pier, we're building a bridge, we've got buildings coming up and people get mad because we've got this international code of building we have to follow," Shanahan said. "This is an example of what happens when you don't make them do it right, so to me it reinforces that we're doing the right thing by making our citizens, whether they like it or not, follow the rules to keep them safe." Carter said people seeking information about their loved ones who were in the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside, Fla., should call Miami-Dade Emergency Operations at (786) 331-5000. For those who wish to donate, The Miami Herald suggested visiting Support Surfside and The Miami Foundation. On July 4, 1776, Charleston was one of the largest and wealthiest cities of the newly formed United States. It wielded significant political power and influence in the fledgling nation. On this Fourth of July, 245 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, residents and visitors in South Carolina have a vibrant history to reflect on. Through reenactments, preservation and education, Charleston and the Lowcountry offer a unique window into the Colonial period and early America. This photo essay will take you on a journey into Charleston's early history. The first president Some in Charleston still herald the weeklong visit of George Washington in May 1791. The parties held in the first president's honor and the places he visited are still talked about in detail by docents and tour guides discussing our history today. He stayed a week at the house, said Heyward-Washington House interpreter Patrick Carlson. It shows how important the city was. Most stops on his Southern tour were maybe a night or two." The 1670 landing Three ships, set out from England the Albemarle, Port Royal and Carolina. Two separate storms wrecked the Albemarle and Port Royal, leaving only the Carolina to land at Albemarle Point in 1670. It brought 130 or so free men and women, indentured servants and enslaved peoples. The name was later changed to Charles Towne to honor King Charles II. The Lords Proprietors not only wanted people to explore the area but also granted land so that it could be settled, said Tony Youmans, director of the Old Exchange Building. The Lords Proprietors and the British Colonial government encouraged them to plant anything, see if it grows, Youmans said. Charleston was the site of America's first orange groves. Colonial Dorchester The colony of Carolina continued to grow with a new trading town, established on the Ashley River, named Dorchester. It was founded in 1697. The town served as an inland trading hub. Early items available were for shipbuilding, including lumber, pitch and tar, said Noah Letter, park manager at the Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site. It was the farthest you could travel with a schooner, Letter said. Today, the site has remains of the tabby walled fort and a bell tower from an Anglican Church that can be seen above ground, but archeologists are continuing to the work at the site. Its an entire time capsule of a Colonial village thats underground, Letter said of the Summerville site. Rise of the plantation Crops of rice and indigo brought success and wealth to Charleston. Because of the labor of the enslaved, this allowed the White male landowners to acquire money and power, Youmans said. When you look at the rest of the state of South Carolina, they didnt enjoy that prosperity. The Lowcountry planters did. Charleston was unique because of that plantation power. The wealth built a church, an exchange, a college, the first theater. "That wealth allowed them to create the fine buildings so that would encourage population growth, Youmans said. The politically powerful landowners made decisions, had meetings, established organizations to help and better govern not only themselves but the colony, Youmans said. Five of them, with surnames familiar to most Charlestonians John Rutledge, Edward Rutledge, Henry Middleton, Thomas Lynch Sr. and Christopher Gadsden took part in the First Continental Congress. As tensions between English rule clashed with the colonists, Charleston residents were at the forefront of the fight. Four South Carolinians signed the Declaration of Independence: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Lynch Jr., Arthur Middleton and Thomas Heyward Jr. Battle of Sullivan's Days before the Declaration of Independence was signed, the 2nd Regiment of South Carolina defended a new palmetto log fort against the Royal Navy on Sullivans Island. Led by William Moultrie, the 2nd Regiment overcame long odds to win the battle over the British. "Those men who signed the Declaration of Independence, knew when they signed it, they knew it could be used as a death warrant," said Ed Forte, retired Marine and history teacher who is also a member of the 2nd Regiment of South Carolina living history group. "It was serious stuff." The group annually celebrates Carolina Day on June 28 to honor the history of the Battle of Sullivan's Island that many believe turned the tide of support toward the war. Its the formation of who we are, Forte said. This is our countrys genesis. It would take two more months for the Declaration of Independence to be read publicly in Charleston. So important was the proclamation that it was printed and read in full at three locations throughout the city. NORTH CHARLESTON In October 2018, Stall High School teacher John Huber-MacNealy had an eye-opening conversation with a graduating senior. The student was one of the teachers best. He had a strong GPA, better than average ACT scores and was actively engaged in class. Huber-MacNealy asked him what he thought was a simple question: Where are you thinking about applying to college? The teacher received a blank stare. He looked at me like a deer in headlights as if Id asked the craziest question in the world, Huber-MacNealy said. Not because college had never dawned on him, but because he had literally no awareness that it was time to apply for college. Huber-MacNealy went on to find out that the student hadnt given college much of a thought at all. He didnt have an idea of where he might want to go or what he would want to study. The history teacher quickly realized that many seniors at the school were in the same situation. Although they were high-performing students who were told they could go to college, they didn't have a clue about how to actually get there. The realization gave Huber-MacNealy the idea to start a college access program for the schools top-performing juniors and seniors. There was a lack of awareness about not only when to start the process but how to actually engage with it in a way that was going to make it more likely to actually get accepted into a college that would be a great fit for them, he said. Navigating the system The college access program is now in its third year and just graduated its second class of students. Each year, Huber-MacNealy works with the schools director of school counseling to identify the 50 to 60 highest-performing students in the junior class to invite into the program. Students who dont necessarily fit into that qualification but show promise for college acceptance are also admitted, he said. From that invited group, around 30 to 35 tend to follow through. However, the teacher hopes to expand in coming years as the program starts to show more success. Starting in the spring semester of their junior year, the group of students meet with Huber-MacNealy weekly after school to discuss researching colleges, creating a list of schools, completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, writing a personal statement and more. The beginning sessions work to give the students the basics while theyre in the beginning of their college admissions process. As they move into their senior year, the students start having one-on-one sessions with Huber-MacNealy at which point they evaluate college acceptances, troubleshoot any issues with financial aid or FAFSA, and create a plan for the student to be able to attend their school of choice. The ultimate goal is to have every student be able to attend their college of choice for free. Access leads to opportunity So far, the program has been a huge benefit to the students enrolled. In the fall, Yahira Gonzalez, who graduated from the school on June 18, will be attending the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Her four-year business degree will be paid for in full thanks to financial aid and the Meeting Street Scholarship, a program for Charleston students created and funded by philanthropists Ben and Kelly Navarro. Without the college access program, Gonzalez doesnt think she would have gone to college right after graduation, if at all. Huber-MacNealy was sure to stay on the students about meeting deadlines and working with him regularly. Gonzalez remembers sitting on a Zoom call with the teacher and other students who qualified for the Meeting Street Scholarship. Huber-MacNealy wouldn't let them leave the Zoom until their applications were submitted. (Huber-MacNealy) was constantly emailing us, texting us, asking us Well have you done this? Do this. It really helped a lot, Gonzalez said. Gonzalez isnt the only student who has benefited from the program. Of the 27 students in the Class of 2021 group, 21 will be attending a four-year college with the remaining six set to attend two years at Trident Technical College with the intent of transferring after their freshman or sophomore year. As a group, the seniors applied to 150 colleges and received 110 acceptances. On average the seniors earned nearly $25,000 in scholarships with seven preparing to attend school on a full ride. Hunter Kirby, the schools 2021 valedictorian, said the program helped him get into the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. The school allows students to attend for free and pays them monthly stipends for their service to Air Force. Once he graduates, Kirby will have to serve at least five years in the Air Force. Without Huber-MacNealy and the program, Kirby said he and his parents would have been lost in the process. For a lot of us, our parents didnt go to college or no one in our family went to college, he said. It really helped having someone to talk to and having that program. Room to expand As the program continues to grow, the teacher hopes to include more freshmen and sophomores in the process so students can start creating their college goals from their first day in school. The teacher hopes that freshman and sophomore students can use the program to identify what classes they need to take to achieve their goals. That way they won't have to play catch-up later on. While every high school has a set of counselors dedicated to helping students prepare for college, not every one has a program like the one at Stall. Principal Jeremy Carrick said the effort can help schools meet college and career readiness goals. We continuously are confronted with that struggle and the numerous invisible barriers that prohibit students from going to college, Carrick said. You kind of scratch your head after some years and are like, This student was a top 25 student. Why didnt they matriculate to college? Carrick said he often hears from top-performing students that finances and the wearisome process of applying to college keeps them from getting there. The new program has been able to help some of those students navigate the hurdles and come out the other side with acceptance letters and scholarships in hand. Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations. The writer of a June 25 letter to the editor is accurate about the need for action on Johns Island in the wake of so much new development. The city of Charleston and Charleston County continue to allow the deforestation of Johns Island; tons of fill dirt are being used to raise the developments; and wetlands are being filled in for new homes and apartments without providing enough infrastructure to support this massive increase of development. Why arent the developers being charged impact fees to provide sufficient infrastructure to support it? Our city and county councils need the political will to make that happen. The impact this is having on existing property owners who have paid taxes for decades is not even considered. Not only is this causing major traffic problems and an extreme increase in flooding, it is a major safety concern. JEANNE FINNERTY WILLIAMS Old Pond Road Johns Island Hospice a true godsend On June 20, Jackie Gillen, my beloved wife of 72 years, passed away after a courageous four-year battle with cancer. She endured two major surgeries, one lasting 16 hours, and ultimately chose to forgo any additional surgeries or medical treatments. In so doing, she knew that the decision would lead to the end of her life. She turned her care over to Hospice of Charleston. The last 18 months of her life were under hospice care. I would like to thank and commend the outstanding staff and professionals of Hospice of Charleston and to share this story so others would know that their final journey would be under the care of extraordinary people. Every hospice care professional who cared for Jackie including nurses Cynthia, Sinita and Will; personal aides Madeline and Cory; and social worker Robin exemplified the same extraordinary professionalism, skill and compassion. If medical equipment such as a wheelchair or oxygen tank were needed, the equipment arrived promptly and in good condition. The hospice staff not only cared for Jackie but also provided emotional support to me and my family. Sign up for our opinion newsletter Get a weekly recap of South Carolina opinion and analysis from The Post and Courier in your inbox on Monday evenings. Email Sign Up! They were at our home in the pre-dawn hours on Jackies last Sunday and stayed several hours, assisting with all the necessary paperwork and procedures. Thank you, Hospice of Charleston, for you indeed do Gods work. ED GILLEN Seabrook Island Road Johns Island Honor sacrifices for US A sleepy sophomore floats in and out of reverie and attention in history class. It was l965 and the Vietnam War is being covered by our diligent teacher. Nearly 56 years later, the teachers words have popped into my mind, as the sleepy student was me and I was listening: When communism comes, it will come from within. My l5-year-old mind could only imagine that communists do not believe in anything other than their way. Freedom, honor, individuality, hope, happiness and sheer joy are prevailed over by a government, under the presumption of unity, shared wealth, control and concentrated power. On this Fourth of July, let us remember, honor and celebrate those who have given their lives for our freedom, our Constitution, our way of life and everything that represents the good in America. We treasure those who lost their lives in the fight against communism, which has been a subversive effort since World War II. Remember and remain grateful. P.D. MCCARTHY Caledonia Lane Awendaw Note: We've recently updated our online systems. If you can't login please try resetting your password. You must login with an email address. If you don't have an email associated with your account email circulation@postregister.com for help creating one. Northwesterns Gary Saul Morson takes a look at three new studies of Dostoyevsky in the July 1 New York Review of Books review Dostoevsky and His Demons. Subhead: Three biographers take different approaches to the great writers life, which often resembled his most fantastic tales. Its an excellent review that takes a brief detour into Freudian analysis of Dostoyevsky. I found this funny: After Dostoevskys death, more legends accumulated. Best known is the one included in Freuds Dostoevsky and Parricide and elaborated by later biographers and critics. Relying on a document mentioning an unspecified tragic incident in Dostoevskys life, Freud presumed that it must have been punishment by a tyrannical father for masturbation and the consequent onset of a nervous disease. When serfs murdered Dostoevskys fatheras Dostoevskys daughter Lyubov reportedDostoevsky, who in Freuds view must have desired his fathers death, experienced intense guilt. The quasi death of epilepsy ensued as a self-inflicted punishment, and so the disease was not organic but hysterical in origin. Freud speculated that when Dostoevsky was actually punished in Siberia, the substitute punishment of epilepsy must have temporarily ceased. As [Joseph] Frank and [Thomas Garton] Marullo demonstrate, everything about this widely accepted story is wrong. To begin with, the comment on which Freud based his analysis referred not to an event in early childhood, as he supposed, but to the death of Dostoevskys father when Dostoevsky was seventeen. Since the authors own son Aleksey died of an epileptic seizure at the age of three, it seems likely that the fathers epilepsy was inherited, and so organic rather than hysterical. Of course, as Frank observes, this argument would not have impressed Freud, who, as an unreconstructed Lamarckian, believed in the heritability of acquired characteristics. Did Dostoevskys epilepsy begin when he learned of his fathers murder? Did it cease in Siberia? As Marullo notes, when his father died in 1839, Dostoevsky was studying at the academy of military engineering, and a seizure would not have passed unnoticed by the hundred or so schoolmates with whom Dostoevsky lived on close terms. If Dostoevsky had had such an attack, he would have been dismissed immediately by the administrators of the institution. Far from ceasing in Siberia, Dostoevskys epilepsy began there. Other than that, Freud was right on the button. In its weekly email last week, NYRB linked to the Morsons review and interviewed Morson. I found everything in the interview of interest. NYRB has posted it under the heading The prophetic character of Russian literature. Here is one exchange with staffer Andrew Katzenstein. In your essays on Grossman and Dostoevsky, we end up at a place where the most consequential political acts are those of common, everyday decency toward those in our immediate surroundings. Is this because violenceperpetrated by the state, terrorists, or revolutionariesrenders political decisions essentially moral, such that the political and personal become inseparable? How do the challenges of forming non- or sub-political communitieswhether traditional or radical onesmanifest in the work of these writers? I thought some readers might find Professor Morsons response of interest (below the break). * * * * * I address these questions in a book I am writing on the broad significance of Russian literature and experience from 1855 to the present. Russian living conditions have been extreme. In the Soviet Gulags at Kolyma in the far north, for instance, people labored at seventy degrees below zero in camps that supplied too few calories to sustain life. During the terror, people would spend the night dressed and prepared for arrest; they knew that every word was monitored and informers were everywhere so that it became a society of whisperers. Personal innocence was regarded as an outmoded concept, and there were camps for wives of enemies of the people. During the famine that accompanied the collectivization of agriculture, millions were starved to death as officials prevented them from gleaning grain left in fields or fishing in rivers. As with the Nazis, people were deliberately dehumanized. For the Russians, these conditions provided a test of ideas. How would people who thought a given way behave? Who would steal food from a weaker prisoner or turn stool pigeon? Memoirists testified that intellectuals readily succumbed and always had some ingenious way to justify their loathsome behavior. Soviet ideology taught that there is no such thing as non-class morality, no abstract good and evil; whatever benefits the Communist Party is by definition good. And the result alone counts. That was not the first principle of morality, it was the only one. To believe in the sanctity of human life, for instance, or that one should not be needlessly cruel was to show that one still adhered to ideas derived from religion or idealist philosophy and that one was therefore not a true materialist. By the same reasoning, compassion was regarded as an impulse to be rooted out, and children were taught to overcome it. People who accepted this way of thinking behaved especially awfully in camps; after all, if only the result counts, why not save oneself at the expense of the life of another? Many people asked: Doesnt that show there is something wrong with materialism, atheism, and relativism? The camps made it no mere intellectual exercise to argue that all is relative, and, for many, their experiences convinced them, as no arguments could have, that good and evil are as real as the laws of physics. Evgeniia Ginzburgs remarkable memoir Into the Whirlwind points out what many observed: the people least likely to behave badly, and to refuse to do what they regarded as evil even under severe punishment, were the religious believers. She describes one group who were made to stand barefoot on the ice because they refused to work on Easter; they withstood the punishment while singing hymns. She and other atheists wondered if that showed heroism or fanaticism. And an uncomfortable question occurred to them: Would atheists have had sufficient courage to resist doing what they regarded as wrong? It was considerations like these that led manynot Ginzburg herselfto become believers. Westerners often take for granted that the purpose of life is happiness. What else could it be? Mainstream economics presumes that maximizing utility is the only human motivation. Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Chekhov exposed the shallowness of such a view of life, and Soviet conditions made it seem, as Solzhenitsyn writes, like the prattle of a child. In short, the Russians asked ultimate questions under extreme conditions. One could, of course, question whether extremes, rather than the everyday, are the reality against which ideas should be tested, and Russians have wondered that, too. Tolstoy insisted that it is the sum total of ordinary conditions that comprise life, and one needs to acquire prosaic wisdom, as Levin, the hero of Anna Karenina and Pierre in War and Peace do. The Supreme Courts decision upholding two Arizona voting provisions has brought a sharp rebuke from the White House. Joe Biden issued a statement that begins, I am deeply disappointed in todays decision by the United States Supreme Court that undercuts the Voting Rights Act, and upholds what Justice Kagan called a significant race-based disparity in voting opportunities. The Department of Justice issued a separate statement on the decision. It promises that the Department of Justice will never stop working to protect the democracy to which all Americans are entitled, and urges Congress to enact additional legislation to provide more effective protection for every Americans right to vote. I would call Biden and his DOJ sore losers, except that the administration didnt lose this case. In a letter to the Supreme Court, the Biden Justice Department told the Justices it did not disagree with its prior conclusion, set forth in a brief by the Trump DOJ, that the two provisions of Arizona law at issue do not violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Strictly speaking, there is no inconsistency between the DOJs agreement that the Arizona provisions are lawful and Bidens disappointment with the Courts decision. The majority opinion didnt just uphold Arizona law, it also discussed the circumstances under which Section 2 challenges to time, place, manner restrictions on voting will be upheld. Clearly, Team Biden is not on board with that discussion. But Biden didnt just express disappointment with the majoritys reasoning. He agreed with Justice Kagans complaint in dissent that the Courts decision upheld a significant race-based disparity in voting opportunities. If thats what Team Biden believes, why did it tell the Court when the case was pending that the two provisions under challenge dont violate the law? And if it was concerned about the standards under which the case would be decided, why didnt it file a brief saying what the proper standard should be? The DOJ told the Court it disagreed with the analysis of the Trump DOJs brief, though not its bottom line, but did not present its own analysis. Its odd enough that the supposedly apolitical Biden-Garland-Clarke Justice Department is taking pot shots at the Supreme Court in public statements about a voting rights case. Odder still is the fact that its making arguments it declined to make when it had the chance to make them to the Court. And its beyond odd that Biden now is publicly disagreeing with a result his administration told the Court it didnt disagree with. Whats going on? I can only guess. One guess centers around the fact that Kristen Clarke had not been installed as head of the DOJs Civil Rights Division when the Biden DOJ sent its letter to the Supreme Court approving of the Arizona provisions. Maybe Clarke along with Vanita Gupta, the Associate Attorney General, persuaded the administration to balk at the outcome of the case, notwithstanding the Biden DOJs prior position. Its also possible that the Solicitor Generals shop didnt see the case the way the Clarke Civil Rights Division sees it (or pretends to). Or maybe that shop didnt want to do an embarrassing complete about-face on the issues presented to the Supreme Court from the position it took during the Trump administration. Whatever else may be true, Im pretty sure that the statements by Biden and the DOJ are intended to fire up the base, both on the issue of voting rights and the Supreme Court generally. Biden intends to pack the Supreme Court if, after the 2022 election, he has the votes to do it. His statement about the Arizona case can be viewed as building a record. Finally, lets note once again the absurdity of claims that Merrick Garland is a moderate. No moderate would have filed the Georgia voting rights case, issued yesterdays press release, or authorized the West Virginia transgender athlete filing. Garland is a perfect tool of the left. He presents a mild, cerebral public image, while rubberstamping whatever leftist proposals that he receives from the likes of Gupta and Clarke. Theres very little Joe Biden has done as president with which I agree. However, I agree with his policy of striking Iranian-backed militias whenever they attack American troops. According to the Washington Post, Donald Trumps policy was to retaliate only if the Iranian-backed attacks resulted in American deaths. If so, I think Bidens policy is better. One sign that Biden is on point with this policy comes from the protests of the left. For example, lefty congressman Peter DeFazio moaned that Bidens latest airstrikes were not authorized by Congress and are therefore unconstitutional. The notion that an American president must go to Congress before retaliating against isolated attacks on our troops is ludicrous. Some Democrats also fret that Bidens policy reflects a policy of protecting Syrian oil fields from pro-Iranian forces. In my view, theres nothing wrong with such a policy. But Biden denies that our troops are in the region for that purpose. The administration says they are there as a stabilizing presence in the former heart of the ISIS caliphate. Stripped of its euphemistic quality, thats a better reason for their presence. We ought not turn the area over to our sworn enemies in Tehran. But Bidens policy of standing up to Iran in portions of Iraq and Syria is no substitute for the strong anti-Iran stance of the Trump administration. Biden is intent on reentering the Iran nuclear deal, and seems willing to appease the mullahs to accomplish this. Whats the point of having troops in Iraq and Syria to limit Irans influence if were going to facilitate Iranian aggression throughout the region by enriching the regime whether directly in cash or indirectly through the lifting of sanctions? Indeed, some of these assets would likely go to the very militias that attack American troops. Biden would say the point is to make sure Iran doesnt develop nuclear weapons. But the nuclear deal wont stop Iran from doing so at a time of its choosing. That time might be sooner, under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini, or later under his probable successor, hardliner Ebrahim Raisi or someone like him. The U.S. did not negotiate seriously with Iran regarding its nuclear program until the election of Hassan Rouhani as president in mid-2013. It was only then that John Kerry engaged with Iran, declaring that with the new president, there were now very different possibilities for progress towards a deal. It was only then that Barack Obama called the Iranian president, initiating the highest level contact between the U.S. and Iran since 1979. Now Rouhani is gone, replaced by Raisi. Bidens adviser Jake Sullivan declares this fact largely irrelevant because Khomeini is the real boss. But Rouhanis election was relevant to the Obama-Biden administrations decision to engage Iran in 2013, or so it claimed, even though Khomeini, the supreme leader, had the same power he exerts now. The Democrats are playing bait and switch for the purpose of doing what they wanted to do all along appease Iran. Occasional strikes against militias in Syria and Iraq appear to be mostly for show. Minnesota federal district court judge Patrick Schiltz has undertaken an investigation into the leak of grand jury information bearing on the civil rights charges against Derek Chauvin and his fellow officers. I first wrote about it in The Chauvin leaks: Judge Schiltzs order and subsequently in the series of which this is part 5. I have been particularly interested in the leak that formed the basis Star Tribune reporter Andy Mannixs April 29 story reporting the then forthcoming indictments. The Star Tribune itself has shown no interest in the story since Rochelle Olsons initial report. As of June 18, the United States Attorney for Minnesota and the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General had filed responses to Judge Schiltzs order. They also appeared in court before Judge Schiltz for a status conference on June 30. In that all filings and proceedings have been sealed, its a difficult story to cover. I wrote Judge Schiltzs chambers by email this morning: Dear Judge Schiltz: I am writing as a member of the media covering this matter for the site Power Line and not as an attorney (retired from practice, but with an active law license). Since your original order in this matter, all proceedings and filings in the case have been under seal. I understand the interests that are to be protected by this arrangement, but there is of course a public interest in the proceedings as well. I write to ask whether the parties papers might be unsealed in redacted form consistent with the interests to be protected or whether you yourself might summarize the status of this matter in a public memorandum. Thank you as always for your courtesies and consideration. Judge Schiltz responded by letter this afternoon. He advised that the filings cannot be meaningfully redacted. The matter is ongoing. He promises to monitor future filings with the right of public access in mind. I thought that readers might find this of interest. Schiltz Letter by Scott Johnson You may or may not have heard about the Chabad rabbi and father of 12 who was stabbed eight times in broad daylight outside a Jewish day school in Boston. Im going to go out on a limb and take a guess that this was a bona fide hate crime. I also guess that it would be a big deal if the victim were black, Muslim, gay, trans, or some combination thereof, so long as the (alleged) perpetrator fit the requisite profile. David Harris conveys the essence of the story in the tweet below. For anyone who wonders if Jew-hatred in the US is a clear & present danger: This is Rabbi Shlomo Noginski. On July 1, he was stabbed 8x in broad daylight outside a Brighton, Mass. synagogue. A suspect, Khaled Awad, has been arrested. Prayers for the rabbis full recovery. pic.twitter.com/I5bgEEu25b David Harris (@DavidHarrisAJC) July 2, 2021 The Washington Free Beacons Matthew Foldi sought a comment from the voluble haters known as the Squad: Aside from Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D., Mass.), who represents the district where 24-year-old Khaled Awad nearly murdered Rabbi Shlomo Noginski, none of the Squad members have condemned the anti-Semitic attack. The Washington Free Beacon contacted each of the House Democrats associated with the SquadReps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.), Jamaal Bowman (D., N.Y.), Cori Bush (D., Mo.), and Pressleynone of whom responded to requests for comment about the attack. Compare and contrast (tweet below), as Foldi also does (whole thing here). For 13 years (1999-2012), Farouk Lawan was the poster boy of the House of Representatives. At the height of his influence, Mr Lawan served as the chairman of an ad hoc committee that investigated fuel subsidy scam. It turned out to be his waterloo. We were told that we were not going to live long [enough] to even finish the exercise. They were death threats, very clearly death threats. Fortunately, we are still around, Mr Lawan said to the BBC during the probe. Unknown to Nigerians then, the self-acclaimed Mr Integrity was using the free publicity to negotiate deals with those he was investigating. The Probe Committee The selection of Mr Lawan to head the probe committee was not a coincidence. For the over a decade that he had been a federal lawmaker, the diminutive politician had publicly carried himself as an outspoken critic of corruption and injustice, often challenging the Executive on crucial issues to the admiration of many Nigerians. And so, when he was appointed to chair the ad hoc committee investigating the multi-billion naira petroleum subsidy fraud, the expectations were high. The petrol subsidy fraud under the Goodluck Jonathan administration was one of the largest and most daring frauds in the country. Billions of naira had been paid to private businesses from the public purse for imported petrol; most of which turned out to have never been imported or which figures were extravagantly inflated. The public knowledge of the fraud was triggered by the decision of the Goodluck Jonathan administration to abruptly remove the subsidy on petrol on January 1, 2012. There were nationwide protests against the policy, which was later partially reversed. But it was allegations of corruption in the scheme that necessitated the investigation by the House. The Speaker of the House at the time, Aminu Tambuwal, had called for a special session on a Sunday, for members to discuss the removal of subsidy. Tajudeen Yusuf (PDP, Kogi) moved the motion and it was adopted by the House. Mr Lawans committee was mandated by the House to investigate the allegations of fraud in the subsidy regime. The Kano lawmaker was not shy to name names. He called out many companies for collecting billions from the government but failing to import any fuel. Two companies Synopsis Enterprises Limited and Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, the latter belonging to billionaire Femi Otedola were listed in Mr Lawans black book. Zenon allegedly collected $232, 975, 385.13 while Synopsis Enterprises allegedly collected $51, 449, 977.47, according to Mr Lawans findings. But they collected the said sum in 2010 without importing any petroleum, he said. On April 21 that year, when the report was presented to the House, Mr Lawan moved a motion for the two companies to be removed from the list. Emeka Ihedioha, the then deputy speaker, who presided over the session, was obviously startled and asked Mr Lawan: Hon Farouk, is this recommendation coming from you? The committee presented 60 recommendations, of which 29 were adopted by the House. It later emerged that the motion to delist the two companies was purchased with $620,000 upfront, with a promise of $2,380,000 as balance. Mr Lawan had requested $3 million to remove those two companies. Unknown to the lawmaker, however, the hunter had become the hunted Mr Otedola only played along with the bribery after consultation with a security agency. ADVERTISEMENT A sting operation between the State Security Services (SSS) and Mr Otedola produced both audio recording and video evidence. In one of the videos, Mr Lawan reportedly hid the wads of dollars he received from Mr Otedola in his cap; thus the term cap banking. According to Mr Otedola, his companies were not involved in the importation of petroleum but diesel, a product that was already deregulated. Mr Lawan had initially claimed that he did not collect any bribe from Mr Otedola. He, however, later admitted to collecting the bribe from the oil magnate in what he said was a sting operation with police. The court, last month, said that claim was spurious. Following the scandal, the then Speaker, Mr Tambuwal, convened an emergency session on Saturday, June 16, 2012. At the session, Isiaka Bawa, the then Chief Whip, moved a motion for Mr Lawan to be removed as the chairman of the ad hoc committee and he was also suspended as the chairman of the standing committee on Education. The secretary of the committee, Boniface Emenalo, who was also involved in the scandal, was removed. The motion to remove Mr Otedolas companies from the black book was rescinded, and Mr Lawan was referred to the committee on ethics. Mr Tambuwal had said the resolutions of the House over the fuel subsidy regime remain valid despite this recent controversy. He urged the Executive to implement the recommendations. By March 2013, Mr Lawan was sacked by the Speaker as the chairman of the House committee on education and replaced by Aminu Suleiman from Kano State. Head of Integrity group against Patricia Etteh Mr Lawan, a federal lawmaker since 1999, was part of the famous Integrity Group that, in 2007, spearheaded the campaign that removed Patricia Etteh, the first female speaker of the House of Representatives. Mrs Etteh had emerged as the Speaker in June 2007 with the support of the Executive arm of government. However, a N628 million house renovation contract presented the Integrity Group, led by Mr Lawan, the opportunity to remove the woman from the office, alongside her deputy, Babangida Nguroje. Mr Lawan, who was then a member of the ruling party, was able to work with the two major minority parties in the House then the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Action Congress (AC). The alliance tamed lawmakers supporting Mrs Etteh, including controversial ex-lawmaker Dino Melaye. Even a brawl at the investigative hearing on the allegations against Mrs Etteh did not stop the probe. The probe led to the successful removal of Mrs Etteh and her replacement with Dimeji Bankole. Mrs Etteh would later be cleared by her colleagues on the last day of the 6th House. The former whip, Ita Enang, moved a motion for an apology to her and also cleared her of any indictment. Lawan: The kingmaker From Salisu Buhari to Ghali Naabba to Aminu Masari to Dimeji Bankole to Aminu Tambuwal all former Speakers of the House of Representatives one name was there through it all, Farouk Lawan. A member of the 6th House of Representatives (2007 to 2011), Hakeem Aiyedun, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES, described Mr Lawan as outspoken and a man who made things happen, based on his experience in the House. He said the scandal that eventually led to Mr Lawans fall was a shock to most members of the House back then. Mr Aiyedun, who was a first-timer back then when he represented Ekiti/Isin/Irepodun/Oke Ero federal constituency of Kwara State, said Mr Lawan was able to reach out to some newbies during the speakership battle between Mr Tambuwal and Mulikat Akande in 2011. Mr Akande was the choice of the PDP and then President Jonathan. Once again, Mr Lawan and others in the PDP were able to work with the minority parties to install Mr Tambuwal. Mr Lawan represented Bagwai/Shanono Federal Constituency of Kano for four consecutive terms. And there were reports of a possible bid for the Kano State governorship in 2015. All that ended with the 2012 bribery scandal. Instead of going to the Kano State Government House, Justice Angela Otaluka, last month, sentenced Mr Lawan to Kuje correctional centre in Abuja where he would be for the next seven years. An irony, considering the fact that the man who later became governor of the state was also caught on video stuffing wads of dollars into his traditional attire. The prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant (Mr Lawan) demanded and received the sum of $500,000 from Mr Femi Otedola in order to exonerate his oil firm from an investigation by the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee on fuel subsidy probe, the judge ruled. At the end, despite the overwhelming evidence of bribery against Mr Lawan, it took nine years, after the bribery incident to get him convicted. But for many Nigerians, it was worth it as Mr Integrity cum cap banker finally went to a deserved jail. About 100 houses have been burnt down in Boku village in Lavun Local Government Area of Niger State, during a clash with Doko, a neighbouring village in the same council area. The Boku/Dogo communal clash was traced to an age-long land dispute between the two communities. Multiple sources said although the lingering crisis has been on for more than three decades, it turned violent on Wednesday. As a result of the clash, 86 houses and valuables were burnt and two people killed in Boku village. PREMIUM TIMES obtained some pictures of the deceased, Alkali Kolo and Ahmadu Yabata, but cannot publish because they are gory. One of the affected houses belongs to the head of the community, Hussain Liman, whose car was also burnt. However, while the community was yet to get over its ruins, another attack occurred on Friday morning and more houses were razed, residents told our correspondent. After the renewed attack, more residents of Boku community, including Mr Liman, fled for their lives, seeking refuge at different locations while those seriously injured are currently receiving treatment at both the Kutigi and Bida general hospitals. How it happened Sources have told PREMIUM TIMES that the orgy of violence in the community on Wednesday and Friday followed several botched attempts to resolve the land dispute. The last intervention was a meeting brokered by the Etsu Nupe and Chairman of Niger State Council of Traditional Rulers, Yahaya Abubakar. According to Mr Liman who was in attendance, Mr Abubakar later resolved that both communities should seek resolution in court. In the process of settling the issue, the emir asked them to settle between the two communities, over a week ago. They held several meetings together. They called us to the emirs palace and said that they should go to court, he told our reporter. Narrating how the Wednesday clash erupted, Mr Liman said: They (Dogo residents) came to Boku and threatened villagers on more than three occasions. The last one that happened (on Wednesday), they pretended as if they were going to a farm. When they went to the farm. They selected some people amongst themselves and they started by chasing rams and goats owned by Boku residents. ADVERTISEMENT He added that the mayhem began when Boku residents challenged those who caught the livestocks. They (Dogo people) approached them and started shooting guns. That was how they killed the two people. Several people were injured. A relative of the deceased, Dauda Kolo, who corroborated Mr Limans account, said those killed are his cousins. This communal crisis has started since the days of our fathers but the land belongs to us. When we exchanged wives, because of inlawship, we gave them some piece of land to farm. On Wednesday, in the morning, they came to the village and attacked two of my cousin brothers. According to him, police officers who visited the community took the corpses to the hospital for autopsy before they were buried on Thursday. On Wednesday, they set about 80 to 100 houses ablaze. Today, they almost burnt all the houses. Nobody can count the casualties, Mr Kolo said about Fridays attack. PREMIUM TIMES was unable to speak to residents of Dogo community for their side of the story, at the time of this report. When contacted, the spokesperson of the police in the state, Wasiu Abiodun, said more policemen were deployed to the area and normalcy has been restored. Nevertheless, both Messrs Liman and Kolo have lamented the helpless state of the people despite the intervention of the police. Other several valuable items were also destroyed (on Friday) in the presence of security operatives. When that one happened, people of the village ran away. As Im talking to you Im in hiding. Because we are not safe. Nobody is safe, said the village head. We only rely on God. We are hopeless. Nobody has taken serious action. Somebody is in uniform but they cannot protect you. They said they dont have the authority to shoot anybody, he added. ADVERTISEMENT More than a dozen police vehicles have been stationed around the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in Ojota, Lagos, ahead of todays Yoruba nation rally. A combined unit of OP MESA, task force, and Rapid Response Squad and police officers numbering over 60 are present around the vicinity of the park. Despite a warning from the police in Lagos against the rally, the organisers had vowed to proceed with the event. Sunday Igboho, a pro-Yoruba self-determination campaigner and one of the organisers, also insisted the rally would go ahead despite the attack on his home by operatives of the State Security Service. Details later The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), an ecological think tank and advocacy organisation, has called on smallholder farmers to boycott continuous propagation of Genetically Modified Organisms(GMOs) in order to preserve and protect the countrys biodiversity. The organisation made the call in Abuja on Tuesday at a dialogue with medical practitioners on GMOs and the state of Biosafety in Nigeria. The group stressed that the bedrock of biosafety is to take necessary precautions towards ensuring that indigenous crop species are not compromised, adding that the key to food safety and food sovereignty is food diversity preservation. However, they decried that adoption of genetically engineered crops will only streamline the countrys food variety, with possible negative impact on human and environmental health. The adoption of GMOs in Nigeria has always been a subject of debates. While some experts believe that the Nigerian farmers are yet to fully understand the efficacy of planting GM seeds, others argue that planting of GM seeds will help to produce enough food for the growing global population. Some analysts have posited that genetic engineering in agriculture ignored the fact of interdependence of species, which is greatly contributing to soil toxicity, destruction of several other crops, as well as beneficial soil microorganisms. What are GM crops? Genetically modified crops (commonly referred to as GM crops) are plants used in agriculture, whose DNA has been modified using genetic engineering methods. In most cases, the aim is to introduce a new trait to the plant which does not occur naturally in the species. Food crops for example can be genetically engineered to be resistant to certain pests, diseases, environmental conditions, reduction of spoilage, chemical treatments (e.g. resistance to a herbicide), or just to improve the nutrient profile of the crop. Genetic modification can also be applied to non-food crops for the production of pharmaceutical agents, biofuels, and other industrially useful goods, as well as for bioremediation. Major concerns In his remarks, Nnimmo Bassey, HOMEFs country director, stated that smallholder farmers need to be fully integrated into the Nigerian farming system in order to achieve sustainable agriculture and food security. He explained that this farming system (subsistence farming) helps to protect the three dimensions of sustainability which include the ecology, society and economy of people. To achieve this, he said theres a need to preserve the diversity of crops and varieties that provide the nutrition that we need for good health. This requires the protection of farmer-saved seeds and protection of varieties that local farmers have selected and developed over the centuries. Mr Bassey lamented that there are over 3000 crops that can be cultivated in Africa, but that farmers have been pushed into cultivating just a few varieties which is at the detriment of the majority of people. Today we see increasing pressures for the adoption of genetically modified crops in Africa. These crops are mostly genetically engineered to withstand dangerous herbicides which kill other varieties except the engineered ones. The basic fact here is that the crops serve the interests of the chemical companies who concentrate their power of control over the sector and expose farmers and consumers to harm, Mr Bassey said. He stated that other crops are genetically engineered to act as pesticides and kill identified pests that would otherwise attack the crop or seeds. ADVERTISEMENT Examples of such crops include Bt Cotton and Bt Cowpea or beans, he said, adding that the implication of eating a seed engineered to kill a pest is that you are eating a pesticide. What we need in Nigeria is to support our local farmers. The local farmers do not feed Nigerians alone, theyre the ones feeding the world, he said. The HOMEF official noted that responsible use of technology in agriculture requires that we keep careful watch on their effect on human and environmental health. Also, he stated that there is a need to consider the fact that technologies that promote monoculture and erode our biodiversity are not sustainable and must be avoided in a world that is almost at the brink of ecological collapse. Scourge While speaking on GMOs and their implications on human and environmental health, Ifeanyi Casmir, a molecular biologist at the university of Abuja, said genetically modified crops have been found to have implications on humans and environmental health. He said they are body of evidences laying credence to the fact that some the genetic elements, such as Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) fragments and Double- stranded Ribonucleic Acid(DsRNA) fragments that are used in GMOs modifications have been found in animal tissues, human blood, maternal blood, as well as in the blood of unborn children and that scientists do not have a comprehensive knowledge of the unintended outcomes that comes with this. It is not the intention of those who are modifying crops that when you eat them, the DNA should escape cooking, escape digestion in the intestine and end up in the blood,he said. Mr Casmir explained that some of these traces have been linked to be causing hormonal disturbances,immune response disturbances, some forms of abnormalities in kidney and liver, and that ultimately it has been fingered to cause cancer in humans. These are the worries we expressed as health professionals and health experts, and we are saying that these things are not healthier than what we have here in Nigeria, he added. He said the thought that GMOs can maximize yields of crops is half truth because a farmer is not concerned about the potential of a crop to yield, but that farmers are concerned about their actual yield, which is what they will take to the market. African countries that have embraced GMOs According to a report published by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) in December last year, the numbers of countries in Africa that have adopted GM crop production doubled between 2018 and 2019. It says Nigeria is among six African countries leading in GM crop adoption. The ISAAA report noted that Nigeria, Ethiopia, Malawi, South Africa, Sudan and Swaziland are now the African countries where the planting of Genetically Modified (GM) crops thrives. According to the report, the aforementioned six countries grew three major biotech crops (maize, soybean and cotton) on approximately three million hectares by the end of 2019. It says the seventh country, Kenya, granted approval for cultivation of Bt cotton and may soon join the league of adopter nations on the continent. Rose Gidado, a deputy director at the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), who is also the country coordinator of the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) in Africa, had confirmed this to be true. She said two crops were approved for commercialisation in 2018 and 2019 (Bt cotton and Bt Cowpea). In 2019, Bt cotton was planted in 12 states as demonstration plots on farmers fields, and in 2020, more states joined. For Bt Cowpea, the year 2020 was a year of establishment of demonstration plots on farmers fields to enhance their adoption of the crop based on evidence, she said. Legal justification Nigeria endorsed the National Biosafety Management Act of 2015 that permitted the free flow of GMOs, giving room for the trial, commercial release and trans-border movement of these breeds in Nigeria. The Nigerian Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), the agency saddled with the mandate to ensure proper regulation of modern biotechnology and its products so that it does not cause harm to human health and the environment, has been reported to have given Monsanto, a leading producers of genetically modified seeds, the permits to try and release GMO in Nigeria. However, some concerned Nigerians have called for a review of the signed National Biosafety Act of 2015. Ifeanyi Nwankwere, a legal practitioner and Biosafety food advocate, said he feels Nigeria can do without GMOs and that we have all that it takes to handle food issues in the country. He said the National Biosafety act of 2015 is highly defective and that it gives the NBMA so much powers to do and undo. Theyre so many flaws we the current law, and we are saying that the law needs to be amended, he said. Adding that the consumption of organic foods is the sure path to thread by Nigerians. Joyce Brown, a programme manager at HOMEF believes that adoption of Agroecological practices is a viable alternative for Agricultural productivity and resilience. She said increasing awareness among farmers about adopting agroecology instead of GMOs will help to boost healthy food production, encourage dryland restoration and as well help to mitigate climate change effects. As reactions continue to trail the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) by the House of Representatives, a member of the ad hoc committee on the bill, Kingsley Chima, said its passage would benefit everyone. He explained that the bill as passed by the House protected the interests of the host communities, the oil companies, frontier basins and Nigeria at large. The lawmaker made this known while briefing journalists on Friday in Abuja on the passage of the bill. The executive bill was considered by the Committee of the Whole of the House on Thursday, and the recommendations proposed by the ad hoc committee were adopted by the House. One of the most controversial parts of the bill is the frontier basins exploration fund. The executive had proposed 10 per cent rent for the fund which is meant for exploration of oil in other frontier basins. However, in passing the bill, the lawmakers resolved to allocate 30 per cent of the proposed NNPC Limited oil profit for exploration. Mr Chima said the decision was made following consultation with experts and the executive. From all the reports we got, it is a win-win approach, for all stakeholders in the country. Frontier basin is not an exclusive reserve of a part of a country. Frontier basins are areas with oil prospects, he said. According to the NNPC, they said we have about six basins. Yes, we can say the bulk of the basins are domiciled in a section of the country. Let me give you what will impress you today, whatever funds made available to these basins is not for chop. That fund is reserved for future explorations. This involves seismic operations, this involves geological analysis and to some extent, sub exploration, to convince investors that Nigeria has oil in commercial quantity in those places. The more we have oil, the better for us. In fact, the wish of the people of Niger Delta is, let oil be found in every community in Nigeria, if it is benefits that the people of Niger Delta are enjoying, let everyone enjoy it. In the last two weeks, we have been moving around offices, having meetings, trying to resolve the so-called grey areas. We invited the NNPC GMD (Mele Kyari), we invited the Minister of Petroleum (Timipriye Sylva). Two days ago, the GM of National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) was here, on this same issue of grey areas. We cannot be talking about Nigeria without getting numbers. The essence of their coming was to give us professional advice, giving us what is accruable to frontier basins and host communities. The lawmaker also disclosed that the committee had to accommodate the concerns of the oil companies by reviewing the proposal made by the government on the tax regime. He noted that more countries are discovering oil, hence, Nigeria needs to have a competitive law. To encourage the investors to participate in the oil and gas sector, the National Assembly has a right, in consultation with experts, to do away such sections. I dont see it as a compromise, what we tried to do is to make the best laws, that will meet international standards, he said. Let me tell you why the National Assembly is so much in a hurry to pass this bill. You may be well informed that almost all the countries in Africa today are finding oil in commercial quantity. If we are not in a hurry to provide enabling environment and good governance arrangement, by way of law to encourage investors, we may end up keeping our oil like we have our coal today. We have coal in Enugu, Benue Kogi and other places, who is going to buy coal? We are trying to use this law to encourage IOCs and other investors. Mr Chima also expressed satisfaction with the 5 per cent host committee trust fund as passed by the House, although, the Senate passed 3 per cent. ADVERTISEMENT The five per cent would no longer be sent to proxies. These monies would be sent directly to a fund that would be established by the same host communities and which will be managed by the same host communities. So we would not have a situation where the host communities would say that they did not get their due share from oil explorations. So this fund would be sent to the host communities, deductible from the source. What it means is that you do not need to go begging for the money to be released to you, he said. The bill will still need to go for harmonisation by the joint committee of the Senate and the House due to differences in the bill passed by them. ADVERTISEMENT Kano residents came out en-masse on Saturday to welcome Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and other dignitaries to the coronation of Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado-Bayero. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the vice-presidents jet landed at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport from where he and his entourage proceeded to Sani Abacha Stadium, venue of the coronation. In his entourage were Ibrahim Gambari, Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari; Minister of Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi, and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Garba Shehu. Governors at the occasion included Aminu Masari of Katsina, Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa and Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State. Others were Yahaya Bello of Kogi, Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto, Bello Matawalle of Zamfara and Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State. Ministers, National Assembly members, diplomats, traditional rulers, religious leaders and business tycoons also graced the occasion. There were also representatives of traditional rulers from Niger Republic and Cameroon. Born in 1961, Emir Aminu Ado-Bayero is the 15th Emir of Kano from the Fulani Sullubawa clan. He ascended the throne on March 9, 2020, following the deposition of his nephew Muhammad Sanusi II by Governing Abdullahi Ganduje. (NAN) The Federal Government on Saturday returned a Swiss vessel, MT San Padre Pio, to the Government of Switzerland, three years after it was seized by the Nigerian Navy. The navy arrested the vessel and its 16 Ukrainian nationals on January 23, 2018 for illegal entry and transport of gas oil into Nigerias waters without permit. An official in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Francis Oni, handed over the vessel and cargo to the representatives of the Swiss government at a brief ceremony in Onne, Rivers. Mr Oni said after the seizure of the vessel its crew were charged to the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt for trial. MT San Padre Pio was caught transferring gas oil into another ship on Nigerian waters in the middle of the night without permission from relevant authorities. Unfortunately, the Swiss government, probably not understanding how the system of Nigeria works, instituted a court action. The Swiss government sought the prescription of provisional measures at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg, Germany. Thereafter, the court made a provisional ruling requesting Switzerland to issue in favour of Nigeria, a bond of 14 million US Dollars. The court also requested Switzerland to enter into an undertaking that is binding under international law, to produce the suspects wherever their presence was required by the court, he said. Mr Ini said that based on the ruling of the ITLOS, Nigeria was required to release the vessel, pending final determination of the tribunal. According to him, the federal government later discharged and acquitted the sailors while some members of the crew stayed onboard to maintain the vessel. He said in spite of Nigerias willingness to comply fully with the ruling of the court, Switzerland could not fulfil the condition of the tribunal hence further detention of the ship. Subsequently, the then Vice President and now President of Switzerland, Guy Parmelin, and Nigeria Vice President Osinbajo entered into high level talks. Both vice presidents held talks for the two countries to amicably settle the matter through the diplomatic channel. The talks culminated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on May 20 for the unconditional release of MT San Padre Pio to the Swiss government. The MoU also stated that after its release, the vessel would depart Nigerias maritime space, while the Swiss government would proceed to withdraw the suit from the tribunal, he explained. The ministry official said the merchant ship was released to its owners because of the bilateral relationship that existed between both countries. The News Agency on Nigeria (NAN) reports that the ship was released to its captain, Shajedul Islam, and the Nigerian partners, Blue Sea Maritime Services Limited. ADVERTISEMENT On his part, the Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder, Abdullahi Ahmed, said the navy had a mandate to arrest international vessels which entered Nigerias territorial waters without permit. Ahmed, who jointly signed the handover documents with others, said after the arrest of such vessels the defaulting ships were handed over to appropriate agencies for investigation and possible prosecution. This is because illegal entry into any countrys maritime space without permission from relevant authorities is a very serious offence. So, the Nigerian navy is on high alert to prevent illicit vessels from entering the nations waters to carry out illicit activities such as oil theft and illegal fishing, among others, he added. The naval officer said that international waters could not be policed by one country alone hence the collaboration of countries to keep the maritime environment safe and secured. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT The Sultan of Sokoto, Saad Abubakar III, has blamed the lack of understanding among Nigerians, as the major challenge facing the country. He said for Nigeria to achieve peace, citizens must understand one another. The Sultan, who stated this at the inauguration of the Inter-Tribal Traditional Leaders Association of Nigeria, in Kano, on Friday, described the formation of the association as timely, in view of the countrys security challenges. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Sultan, who is also the President, Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Nigeria, explained that the leaders must work assiduously towards unity and tolerance among ethnic groups in the country. He pointed out that it was with understanding that Nigerians would tolerate one another, for peace to reign in the country. Our major problem as a country is lack of understanding, we need to understand one another. If we understand one another, we will surely tolerate one another and peace will reign. We should embrace one another; we should not feel superior to one another. Though, we may have different ideas and knowledge, but understanding is paramount, he said. He also advised the steering committee of the association to reach out to minority ethnic groups and integrate them into their fold, by going round the country and meeting with all the groups in order to have a broader idea on how to move the association forward. In his remarks, Kano State governor Abdullahi Ganduje said that no part of Nigeria could live in isolation because the citizens needed one another to survive. The governor described the formation of the association as a great step forward in the journey towards uniting ethnic groups in Kano and the nation in general. He revealed that the country was going through a trying period, in view of the security challenges facing the nation, but that citizens needed to renew their faith in Nigeria and love one another to achieve peace. In his acceptance speech, the National Chairman of the Association, Boniface Ibekwe, stated that Kano was the most integral part of unity in Nigeria as it harboured many ethnic groups withhout discrimination or harassment. He said that Kano was also a true example of unity because its citizens were found across many parts of the country, especially in the South-east were most of the Sarkin-Hausawa were of Kano origin and had married indigenous Igbo women there. He expressed appreciation to Mr Ganduje for sponsoring the inauguration ceremony and for carrying along non-indigenes in the state. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT In a bid to arrest the theft of clips on rail tracks around the country, the Federal Government has commenced massive installations of anti-theft clips to check acts of vandalism, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said. The minister also advocated death penalty for anyone caught vandalising railway facilities. The minister revealed this while briefing State House correspondents on Friday, in Abuja, on the measure adopted by his ministry to guard against the thefts. He stated that the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) lost no fewer than 15,000 clips along the Abuja-Kaduna rail line in the last five years. As a result, he revealed that his ministry had resolved to henceforth install anti-theft clips to guard against the stealing of the rail tracks and other facilities. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the briefing was organised by the Presidential Communication Team led by Femi Adesina, the Presidents Special Adviser on Media and Publicity. Mr Amaechi said: Like the Kaduna-Abuja rail line, where over 6,000 to 10,000 clips have been stolen and have to be replaced daily so that we dont have a situation where the train derails. These clips are not made in Nigeria. They are bought overseas. So, we buy them in dollars. Part of the solution is something called anti-theft clips. But, they are more expensive. It is three times more expensive than the current one. But its better. We are now replacing them with anti-theft clips in Lagos-Ibadan. All other constructions will now be anti-theft. With anti-theft, you cant open it. You cant remove it. We need to now go back to the Abuja-Kaduna line and change them to anti-theft clips. I dont know why we have not made that decision earlier, because we have changed up to 10,000 to 15,000 clips in six years. Death penalty The minister advocated the death penalty for anyone caught vandalising railway facilities, so as to deter others. He decried what he described as light punishment for those caught buying vandalised narrow gauge and other stolen railway facilities. I think the law should deal with those who break it. The law should not be quiet. I dont know what the law says, but a Chinese company arrested for buying those tracks got away with only a N200,000 fine. The law should give us much more than that. We got a Chinese company in Jos buying those stolen facilities from the vandals. A few months later, we arrested a Chinese man in Nasarawa. That is the issue of vandals. (NAN) India was the largest export market for Nigeria in the first quarter of 2021 with a net worth of N488.1 billion, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said. The bureau said this in its Commodity Price Indices and Terms of Trade (Q1 2021) report published on its website. According to the report, Nigerias export trade to India accounted for 16.8 per cent of it total exports. It said the largest export commodity to India was petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude valued at N462.12 billion followed by liquefied natural gas, cashew nuts in shell, leather further prepared after tanning, and coconut. Those items were valued at N11.61 billion, N5.13 billion, N3.17 billion and N1.10 billion respectively. On the other hand, Nigeria imported motorcycles and cycles valued at N86.67 billion, followed by parts of machinery for working rubber valued at N67.81 billion, other antibiotics valued at N45.32 billion among others during the period under review. The NBS said Spain, China, the Netherlands, and France were other major trading partner countries of Nigeria in the first quarter of 2021. The bureau also said that the countrys major exports to these countries were crude petroleum and natural gas. According to the report, the major imports from these countries are motorcycles and cycles, machines for reception, conversion, motor Spirit ordinary and antibiotics. Nigerias export trade with Spain in the first quarter, it said, was dominated by petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude valued at N213.1 billion. On the other hand, the bureau said, the value of imports from Spain during the quarter stood at N78.9 billion. Motor Spirit (ordinary) ranked first in imports, valued at N20.82billion, and was followed by mixed alkylbenzenes & mixed alkylanaphthalenes, valued at N13.75 billion, petroleum bitumen at N6.38 billion and gypsum; anhydrite worth N5.81billion, it said. The bureau also said that Nigerias major export to China in the period under review was petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude valued at N57.61 billion, natural gas liquefied at N47.50billion and sesame seeds valued at N23.11 billion. It explained that imports from that country during the quarter were machines for the reception, conversion & transmission valued at N75.12 billion, T-shirts, singlets and other vests of cotton worth N62.60 billion, herbicides worth N60.35 billion and others. According to the bureau, Nigeria also exported crude worth N144.79 billion to the Netherlands. Other major export commodities included Good Fermented Nigerian Cocoa Beans valued at N9.15 billion, Superior quality Cocoa beans valued at N1.95 billion and other frozen shrimps worth N1.06 billion. According to the report, the trade in goods statistics, a compilation by NBS was largely from secondary data sources including the Nigerian Customs Service through the Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System. The report said more data sources were from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Cobalt International Services Ltd. ADVERTISEMENT Others are Carmine Assayer Ltd Inspection Services, NerolIi Technology, Nigerian Export Processing Zone Agency, Oil and Gas Free Zone Agency, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria. It added that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) were also among the data sources which include government and non-government shipment of goods. The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, says he has been given an assurance that there will be no APC congress in Kwara until all members of the party are duly registered and have revalidated their membership. The minister said the APC Caretaker Chairman and governor of Yobe, Mai-Mala Buni, gave him the assurance when he led a team of party leaders from Kwara to him. Mr Mohammed disclosed this on Saturday in Ilorin at the inauguration of a new state secretariat of the party. While addressing APC members who thronged the new secretariat, the minister gave an assurance that those who were denied registration or revalidation of their membership during the last exercise would be captured before congress is held in the state. Let me assure you that there will be no congress in Kwara State until and when we are all registered and that is when such congress will be free and fair. About two weeks ago, myself, Prof. Oba Abdulraheem and Makama, went to the national chairman of the party and he assured us that Kwara State is a special state. He assured us that there will be no congress until we are all registered. I am therefore appealing to all of you to come out and register when they come, he said. The minister decried what he called the non-inclusive administration being run by Governor AbdulRazaq AbduRahman, contending that it was tantamount to biting the fingers that fed him. He said he single handedly funded the run-off and 2019 elections in the state which the APC won landslide. By the grace of God, I single-handedly, with the support of friends, politicians and families raised all the money for the five elections. I challenge anybody here to say who gave the party one penny apart from what I gave them. The money paid to party agents and leaders to mobilise voters was raised by me. I challenge anybody here to say that he gave logistic support to the party, I did it by the grace of God. I distributed 500 motorcycles, 20 vehicles and many of the beneficiaries are here, he said. The minister also refuted the allegations that he diverted campaign funds to personal use. He said if he had not deployed the funds he raised judiciously, the party would not have been able to record the resounding success in the elections. Mr Mohammed alleged that Tunji Ajuloopin, representing Ekiti/Irepodun/Isin/Okeero Federal Constituency embezzled N70 million campaign fund. ADVERTISEMENT He alleged that during the re-run election in the constituency, the lawmaker could only account for N30 million out of the N100 million raised. They should explain what happened to the balance of N70 million that Ajulo kept and refused to give us during the election. I have to go to friends to raise another 150 million (N) to prosecute that election which we won, he said. He stressed that it was unfortunate that after he laboured with other party leaders to win Kwara for APC, the governor and his cohorts were maligning him. The factional state chairman of APC in the state, Bashir Bolarinwa, said the minister led the campaigns that resulted in the overwhelming defeat of PDP in the last elections. Mr Bolarinwa also denied the allegation of diversion of party funds during the elections. Other party leaders, who spoke at the event, were AbdulGaniyu Olododo representing Ilorin East and South in the House of Representatives, Oba Abdulraheem, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin and Iyiola Oyedepo. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the high point of the event was the inauguration of the new secretariat by the minister.(NAN) For Adeleye-Fayemi, feminism has become a necessary tactic of engagement to enhance a balanced society where values and virtues are deployed for making political statements that are not necessarily demonstrated through verbal means. She accepts that attaining the political and economic relevance that feminist activists want begins with their exhibition of a receptive and warm relationship with other women, irrespective of their economic conditions. Contentions have always emerged whenever the concept of feminism pops up in intellectual or political discussions in Nigerian circles. These contentions, when observed, are products of an assortment of reasons. Most notable is the amorphous nature of the concept, which allows it to slip into different realisations and manifestations whenever political conversations arise. More critical is the ignorance that it imposes on people, raising questions around its legitimacy when viewed as a Western concept. The former reason is legitimately understandable precisely because feminism, a sociopolitical movement that some claim originated from the Western world, can obscure historical representations and realities at its fiercely high level. The movement gains substantial support from women, primarily, and some men too. In many African countries, contemporary history deliberately or purposefully undercuts the roles of pre-colonial African women in building the African society. This is again possible because the African colonial and postcolonial relationship erected by political patriarchy has shortchanged women. In some spaces, it is stuck in this quagmire as Western agencies and governments support it. However, in some circles, feminism remains very controversial in an African sociocultural space; predominantly, the concept is often associated with Westernisation, somewhat in a misleading manner, by which agenda-seeking people consider it as another attempt at recolonisation. Often, feminism is erroneously equated with misandry or man-hating, and Africans also reject this. Advocating for gay rights through feminism is another luxury that some Africans cannot especially embrace, further explaining their suspicion of the concept. For example, how does one convince a man who continuously fraternises with the thinking that womens involvement in social development and nation-building is unnecessary, regardless of their educational attainment or social awareness, basically because they have genital and other biological characteristics different from him? How does a healthy society spring up with the collective orientation that women are meant to be confined to the kitchen, regardless of the possibility of transformative contributions they could make to society? These are questions that people like the First Lady of Ekiti State, Erelu Adeleye-Fayemi, ask, making them situate their struggles around feminism. In the recent Toyin Falola Interview Series held with the First Lady, which featured a cornucopia of questions from seasoned academics and well-informed journalists, Adeleye-Fayemi was unambiguous in her focus and definition of feminism. She stated in plain words that feminism is a global struggle against all patriarchal establishments, contrary to the generally held misconceptions. One would most likely look at this and immediately assume that in the spirit of defending the sociopolitical movement, the feminists have come with a uniquely appealing narrative to explain their positions and foreground their participation in the cause. But then, it reveals more. In the definition, to be carefully unpacked are the ideas of struggles, globality, and then institutional manoeuvring that favour the patriarchal system. One would naturally think about why women have to struggle, in the ordinary sense of the word, to preach their significance in national or international development, especially when it is a fact that almost everything would be impossible to accomplish in every human society without the presence and contributions of women. They determine electoral results, either by political mobilisation or the motivations of electorates. They nurture children and build good homes. The marginalised sociopolitical role of women is a global issue and it can be addressed by harnessing womens combined global power. Her deep-diving insights strengthen Adeleye-Fayemis position that institutional legitimacy underscores the age-long womens silence against blatant marginalisation and suppression that patriarchy has cast on gender imbalance and not necessarily on the understanding that women wanted to be silent. For example, in a situation where the woman is chastised about everything, including the untamed moral delinquency of men, like actions of male-perpetrated rape or domestic violence, how does the woman feel free to narrate her side of the experience? To whom would she tell her ordeals, especially when the society would say that she deserves rape because of her choice of clothes, her parents would accuse her of keeping late nights, and the authorities already believe that she has no right to challenge what men do? According to the First Lady, feminists have considered it carefully and concluded that they would continue to be exposed to danger if they do not rise to the societal challenges confronting them. Women have continuously been targeted as prey, as all the beneficiaries of patriarchy consider them as the underclass. It, therefore, begs the question of how a gender, which is already seen from this lens, could vie for positions of governance, of directors in corporations, of economic roles, or social roles. Given this, scholars who are aware of the immeasurable gender disadvantages against which the female gender is placed, social icons who are aware of the inherent damages, both emotional and psychological that would always confront the marginalised gender, public opinion shapers who are educated about the potential dangers in ordinarifying women, have risen to the challenge of calling out the beneficiaries of the patriarchal system, who are already blinded by the scores of advantages unduly allocated to them, believing that it is a normal thing to flex their muscles against women. This means that the challenge goes beyond the men themselves. The challenge is to make concerted efforts to give people adequate reorientation about how society should be structured. If people have been raised to believe a woman or any gender, for that matter, deserves back-bench roles for no particular reason other than their differences in biological features, then changing such sociocultural orientation is a necessary precondition for achieving a gender-balanced society. Notably, the eventual relationship between females and males is usually shaped by their domestic experiences and social environment while growing up. For individuals like Adeleye-Fayemi, identifying with the feminist movement is what they do with their full attention. They believe women have the reasonable leverage of numbers, intellect, political might, and religious rights to push their freedom agenda in society, which has historically and currently remained unyielding to the demand of logic. As a result of such belief, the employment of their position, be it political or economic, is very integral to the cause of freedom. In any case, women who are already equipped with the proper knowledge that their emancipation as a gender depends mainly on the commitment shown to the feminist struggles must, as a matter of necessity, give the movement a voice through what they do and represent. In other words, being undecided is not an option because the problems that women face in a patriarchal system are not individualistic; it has always been collective. In essence, they must rise to meet this challenge as needed to attract all the necessary motivations and support required from the public. It is by no coincidence that activist women in the political circle occupy the forefront of the struggle. Those who have made commendable feats in literary endeavours worldwide give their moral and ideological backing to the struggles. At the same time, those at the economic front do not refuse to offer the necessary monetary assistance to the cause of womens freedom. to throw a wrapper around a woman by another woman is suggestive of solidarity, affection, and sisterhood. The Yoruba believe that a woman who does this has demonstrated her capacity to identify with her counterparts existential challenges and shown that her development, freedom, respect, and social strength can only be achieved when others are not threatened. People like the First Lady tend to be associated with one form of controversy or the other, given their political connections. In most cases, they avoid the feminist tag, mainly because even fighting for womens rights has been mis-labelled to please the patriarchal establishment. Name-calling is not unexpected in such a struggle that seeks to validate womens rights and position in society, owing to the understanding that those who have benefited from the existing structure would always find means of keeping the status quo. For this reason, they would constantly collide with individuals who have demonstrated hostility to their commitment to feminist struggles. In essence, being considered radical is necessary and should be considered a disguised encomium, especially because she appears to have been doing something right or threatens the sustainability of a status quo that represses women. Of course, she has the political platform at her disposal to use. This challenges many individuals who already feel that institutions would continue to favour egoistic males against their female counterparts, who have been extensively oppressed. However challenging the jungle is, a pride of lions would not submit to defeat by a family of antelopes. When I asked the First Lady directly about whether feminism could be converted to politics, her response indicated that the movement is well-established and adequately planned. Above other things, Adeleye-Fayemi, in response to the consolidating question put forward by Professor Peyi Soyinka-Airewele, who asked about the strategies employed by the First Lady to build a formidable structure that empowers and provides shelter for women, conceded that the affirmation of their own identity as a gender begins by the understanding that certain cultural and political traditions are circumscribed in the patriarchal system, which means that they further marginalise women in most cases and eclipse their significance in the social development index. While as African women, they have every moral right to defend their historical achievements as a people, however they would not be emotionally bludgeoned to accept cultural traditions and ideas that treat them not as viable icons and symbols of the society but as marginal figures in the annals of political and cultural development. They believe that cultures evolve, and the responsibility to make them follow a helpful direction rests on them, and this can only be achieved by their ability to identify the strengths and weaknesses of these cultural economies inherited so that they would provide the appropriate means of interacting with them, and making sense of their image. It became crystal clear that womens emancipation, even when its primary motivation is drawn from the collaborative efforts to challenge cultural traditions that are gender-stratified, is achievable through a roadmap designed from themselves and society. But this must be preceded by a wave of sociological actions of uniformity and ideas. The highly celebrated intellectual work of Adeleye-Fayemi, titled Where is your Wrapper, gathered beautiful reactions for the way she metaphorises the wrapper as a social and cultural phenomenon. This is what encouraged one of the questioners to ask the Ekiti First Lady pointedly what it means to throw your wrapper around women. This metaphor gives a different dimension, which appears to be indigenous and laced with cultural understanding to the concept of feminism. An outsider who does not understand the symbolic importance of a wrapper to the Yoruba woman may fail to grasp the cultural peculiarities that were metaphorised by the wrapper as a Yoruba cultural index. Being well-versed in the African cultural traditions of the Yoruba identity, it is undebatable that an African woman alludes to situations and experiences using the cultural framework for the designation of their locally developed ideas and philosophies. African women who have refused the label of Western feminism, on account of its radical posture, have allowed their knowledge about the pre-colonial African society to determine their position. They accept the fact that the colonial imperialists trigger the recalibration of African society. The deficit of the latter intellectual interpretations of many of these African cultures misled them to misunderstand and then wrongly misjudge the epistemic logicality in the structuration of these societies. For clarification, a wrapper is a traditional African clothing used to cover womens nudity and announce their beautiful outlook. While the first attributed character of the wrapper serves different cultural purposes, the latter fulfils an aesthetic essence. Therefore, to throw a wrapper around a woman by another woman is suggestive of solidarity, affection, and sisterhood. The Yoruba believe that a woman who does this has demonstrated her capacity to identify with her counterparts existential challenges and shown that her development, freedom, respect, and social strength can only be achieved when others are not threatened. In essence, the ultimate signal of oneness and solidarity is to showcase that the welfare of each woman remains a collective assignment of the woman folk, so that they would jointly enjoy a collective treatment of respect, equity, and justice within the socio-economic terrain of their culture. Such a situation implies that the society would not be built in a culturally lopsided manner, where the interest of one gender would be sacrificed for the ego of the other. For Adeleye-Fayemi, feminism has become a necessary tactic of engagement to enhance a balanced society where values and virtues are deployed for making political statements that are not necessarily demonstrated through verbal means. She accepts that attaining the political and economic relevance that feminist activists want begins with their exhibition of a receptive and warm relationship with other women, irrespective of their economic conditions. Women must identify with other womens struggles to send a strong and honest message to society that they cannot be individually molested, because activities of disrespect and dishonour bring shame to the female folk. When such is condoned, the possibility of seeking cultural, economic, and political relevance or expansion by the women will be entirely difficult. Thus, to throw a wrapper around another woman is to clothe them in the garment of honour and respect. It signals the unalloyed support they could get from their counterparts in the course of their general emancipation. All these demonstrate the power women have as an identity and a social group with a difference. The message is unambiguously clear that if women could support one another in matters where they experience disrespect, society would be forced to modify the system that oppresses and suppresses them. But then, the pursuance of a liberatory mission comes with a level of responsibility that sometimes could impede the dispirited movements members. This is usually because the energy to pursue an interest is usually more intensive than the one required to verbally air them, explaining why some ideas and motivations are dead on arrival. Individuals who believe they are workable and achievable do not necessarily make themselves available to offer the energy needed to crystallise their agenda into workable philosophy and measurable results. However, you would notice the inextinguishable flame of the Ekiti First Lady when you see how determined she is, not only to promote feminist aspirations and dreams through renditions alone but also in following her words with corresponding actions that would help to transform the system and bring observable results to the people. This would thus shatter the age-long myth in political and cultural circles that the womenfolk are inherently weak and incapable of contributing to the advancement of collaborative development. Showing the battle-ready mindset gives a great impression about their conviction around the sustenance of a culture that factors women into its development trajectory. Different and ideally diverse engagements of the concept have been thrown to this iron lady, but she took them in her stride, despite their aggressive nature. Part of the responsibilities surrounding the advocacy for such rapid reorientation of the people about the need for a gender-balanced system is in accepting extraneous duties for necessary actions to be taken. Feminist activists who continuously dodge responsibility would have no measure of respect in themselves and would lose the potential respect that the community of observers could give them. However, the sterner stuff with which the First Lady is made comes to bear when she was asked about the possibility of offering her intellectual services for the crystallisation of the feminist agenda into the academic sphere, where students would be provided with intellectual materials she has authored, that would equip them with the appropriate skillset with which they can tactically and methodically approach female emancipation issues. Adeleye-Fayemi agreed to undertake the responsibility for different reasons. The people at the forefront of a movement need to give beyond words and make themselves available when issues that concern their freedom arise. Until one gets to know how busy and influential the people in her political circle could be, it may not be easy to understand the difference that her participation in such a community development project would make. Being the wife of the governor of a state in Nigeria automatically exposes her to a backlog of responsibilities, especially with relation to the affairs of women within the political terrain of the State. Accepting the offer to render intellectual services to enhance a gender-balanced society means additional responsibility, and this is a telltale sign of the First Ladys firm commitment. all these social attitudes to women have been so ingrained in the system that many women have now accepted them as natural. It is argued in private domains that some women have been so accustomed to abuse and disrespect that they view fair treatment with suspicion. It is expressed that the women, who are the victims of a patriarchal structure usually think that an act of generosity towards them is aimed at an end. Anyone familiar with the trend of feminist activists in the African media space and the Nigerian media network particularly, could not but notice yet the emergence of another generation of feminists among the millennials in Nigerian space. Still clearly undefined in public conversation, millennial feminists are presented as ideologically different from their immediate past generations on the grounds of greater radicalism. Time changes: the radical of today may be described tomorrow as a conservative! Perhaps, this was what Bamidele Ademola-Olateju noted that informed her question about a correlation between the millennial feminists and the older generations, especially with their mandate of emancipation for the women folks. Responding to this, Adeleye-Fayemi carefully and analytically educated the audience, especially on the reason for the preference of a radical approach against the gentle one used by the previous generations. And this is where we get more of her intelligence and sagacity. One of the most common reasons why contemporary Nigerian women took to the use of the radical approach is the symbolic silence of the beneficiaries of patriarchy, which, in one way or the other, encourages the unscrupulous males in the society to usually violate the fundamental rights of the female folks under the impression that it would die and pass. There are two critical issues here to note. First is the collaboration of the institutions of patriarchy, which helps in the enabling of the gender-based violence and hostilities that compound the woes of women. The second is the implied message that females get when the necessary platforms and institutions that should have stood up for their rights are criminally silent, passing across the message that it is the mens world. The woman is raped, but rather than prosecute the rapist, society builds a narrative to blame the victim for indecent dressing. Another woman is violently attacked by her husband, suffering domestic abuse. Instead of social institutions to confront the abuser and inflict maximum punitive measures on him, they create an impression that the woman must have enraged the uncultured man. An innocent girl is denied the opportunity to receive education by her parents and even the system because they believe that females education has minimal positive effects on the family or society. The list goes on. Meanwhile, all these social attitudes to women have been so ingrained in the system that many women have now accepted them as natural. It is argued in private domains that some women have been so accustomed to abuse and disrespect that they view fair treatment with suspicion. It is expressed that the women, who are the victims of a patriarchal structure usually think that an act of generosity towards them is aimed at an end. That is to say that when they get proper treatment from their male counterparts, they immediately assume that it is done for some ulterior reasons. Erelu Adeleye-Fayemi stresses that the reaction responds to the age-long imbalance and unfairness of the system against the women. Not being used to the proper treatment mentally disorients them and reflects their day-to-day relationships with both the male and female gender. When you see a woman defending domestic abuse perpetrated by a man against another woman, for example, it is because she has been convinced that they are subordinate to the male folks and have to accept whatever treatment they get from them. Whereas this remains the common experience among the past generations of feminists, millennial feminists appear to be tired of that method. They are determined to get radical, and if need be, rascal, so that they would draw the necessary attention and make the appropriate marks. ADVERTISEMENT In the words of Adeleye-Fayemi, we get to understand that there is a world of difference between a feminist and a misandrist. The two are not comparable and identical precisely because they have different focuses. Within the mandate of a feminist, patriarchal institutions are destroyed or transformed into something beneficial that will recognise the equal rights of men and women and would not be silent about the importance of women. This means that the feminist is out for a complete social and political redefinition. The people would have access to equal opportunities that would be useful in changing their personal life for societal good. If the male is made to realise that the female is not just complementary but a complete human in her own right and not a subordinate figure whom he must muscle down, such will configure him to put up friendly attitudes and behaviour towards the female in such a way that their social and economic relationship would yield positive outcomes for the people and then the society. Feminists therefore are willing to work with friendly male allies to achieve their objectives. But a misandrist, from its basic dictionary meaning, means a man-hater. Here, we see the personal urge to concentrate ones annoyance or anger on the males, perhaps because of the personal experiences that the females have had or purely from a hateful mindset. This does not make a feminist a misandrist. Changing the topic of conversation, Adeleye-Fayemi was asked about what she means by being comfortable with grey areas, as in one of her essays, especially in relation to Nigerian politics. This question was given to consolidating the argument that emphasises the possibility of harnessing the political spectrum to power the agitations of women, knowing that women constitute a significant fraction of political membership in Nigeria. Responding to this, the First Lady reiterated that logical mathematical calculations are one of the most unproductive methods of getting solutions in the political system. This is mainly because, in politics, you deal with humans, whereas in mathematics, you deal with figures. Knowing that man is complex by nature, even otherwise assured responses from political animals can change at the most sensitive hour. All these make it challenging to have a straightforward deal in the political domain. Irrespective of this condition, however, women in Nigerian politics can always influence the system to promote their feminist agenda. They can wield the necessary power and use it to their advantage. After all, there are results of womens extraordinary performance during their management of political offices all across the world. This means that the African woman will not be different when tested. Therefore, the women can get themselves in the process and find a way to use their power to transform the country socioculturally and socioeconomically. Finally, the fact that African women are awake to the understanding that they wield significant power in shaping and making society, and they use it accordingly, points to the understanding that they have arrived at a renaissance of intellectual and pragmatic brilliance. They have realised, among other things, that unless they rise to the challenges of marginalisation, there will continue to be challenges of unimaginable proportion confronting them. They have come a very long way, maturing and evolving into something greater, regardless of the challenges they have faced collectively. They have representation in different departments and political levels, where they continue to push for better treatment for themselves and society. Bearing in mind that they have these opportunities better than they have ever recorded, especially from the beginning of colonial history to its aftermath, has inspired them to use their voices and positions to promote their collective goals and aspirations. The culture continues with brilliant minds like Dr. Adeleye-Fayemi. She has continued to showcase the collective interest of women at that forum and to change the narratives as to how women can be useful in the formulation of a great society. Toyin Falola, a professor of History and University Distinguished Teaching Professor, is Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities at The University of Texas at Austin. This is the first of three reports on the interview conducted with Dr. Adeleye-Fayemi on June 27. The entire recording is here. ADVERTISEMENT Ethnic champions have been a thing in Nigeria even during the Abacha days, but under Buhari, things have gone up a whole new gear, and the rearrest of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra is another episode in the unravelling of a shared national identity. Only time will continue to tell Buharis uneven manner is a sensible way to approach things. On Thursday, July 4, 1984, at the cargo terminal of Stansted Airport, 40 miles (64 kilometres) north of London, a young British Customs officer, Charles David Morrow, was on duty and his suspicion of the situation around a particular crate was triggered even further by an All Ports Bulletin from Scotland Yard, which said a Nigerian had been kidnapped and would possibly be facing being smuggled out of the United Kingdom. Procedural failings on the part of the Nigerian diplomat present created room for the cover of diplomatic immunity to be temporarily suspended, so the crates could be opened and checked. The crates were found to contain the missing Nigerian, who was a fugitive from the Nigerian military government headed by the duo of Generals Idiagbon and Buhari, and while the diplomat at the scene panicked and ran off, the accomplices to the kidnap were caught. The Nigerian fugitive involved was the infamous Umaru Dikko and a surprising detail was that some of the accomplices were a former Mossad member and other Israeli mercenaries for hire to the Muslim dictators of Nigeria. The kidnap team was made up of former Mossad agent, Alexander Barak, who led fellow Israelis, Felix Abitol and Dr Lev-Arie Shapiro, in a team that included a Nigerian intelligence officer. Muhammadu Buhari had engaged in illegal cross-border military action that far back. Now fast forward to 37 years later and its July 1, and the Nigerian government inexplicably, under the same Muhammadu Buhari who has somehow been reborn as a civilian president, has announced the capture of another fugitive, Nnamdi Kanu, who is the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Unconfirmed reports say that Nnamdi Kanu was intercepted in Addis Ababa, where he was arrested by Interpol and then extradited to Abuja on the last Sunday of June. He is being held responsible for stirring violence in South-Eastern Nigeria, which has led to the loss of lives and property. News reports have emerged in which we have people blaming certain parties in the Niger Delta for being involved in the buildup to Kanus seizure. It is unclear why the leaders of Fulani terrorist groups linked to Boko Haram and ISWAP are not being sought after as keenly as Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB have been chased. The truth is that Buhari has been dabbling in these situations for almost 40 years and he wouldnt need the help of the likes of Asari Dokubo for this. In 37 years, the world has faced enough armed conflicts to have gotten a significantly improved supply of mercenaries and all sorts of intelligence required for cross-border military actions, and in situations where the target is in countries that can be persuaded to seize and hand over a target, there isnt even any need for the use of mercenaries. This is what should be considered by the people speculating on the role that might have been played by Asari Dokubo in the capture of Nnamdi Kanu by the Federal Government. An SBM Intelligence report back in March had given details on the possible breakaway of an IPOB faction headed by Nnamdi Kanus ex-deputy, Uche Mefor, and his likely merger with certain Niger-Delta groups. Nnamdi Kanu was said to have abolished Mefors position of Deputy and later on announced the dissolution of the U.K. chapter of IPOB in a radio broadcast, after Mefor had demanded that Kanu give an account of the funds in his care. According to SBM, Mefor is far more competent than Nnamdi Kanu and was more inclined to pursue a partnership with Niger Delta groups, which is crucial for any pro-Biafra movement to succeed. His interaction with Asari Dokubo is likely to be the basis of the reported boasts by Asari Dokubo, who is given to exaggeration and spectacle. As such, it is useful to keep a pinch of salt close by when Dokubo is talking. Northern Nigeria has terrorists who negotiate with governors and the likes of Sheikh Gumi after killing thousands of people, and who go ahead to kidnap schoolchildren in their hundreds, yet there is never any publicised capture of key elements. It is unclear why the leaders of Fulani terrorist groups linked to Boko Haram and ISWAP are not being sought after as keenly as Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB have been chased. Northern Nigeria has terrorists who negotiate with governors and the likes of Sheikh Gumi after killing thousands of people, and who go ahead to kidnap schoolchildren in their hundreds, yet there is never any publicised capture of key elements. Some captured terrorist combatants even get released and communities are being told to accept them. For some reason, this is responded to in a much milder manner that suggests that the ethnicity of the offender is a much weightier factor than the offence actually committed. As different regions in Nigeria keep looking for a semblance of order, leadership, and security in response to the chaos and despair occasioned by the atrocity that passes for central federal governance under President Muhammadu Buhari, ethnic demagogues have become a more widely considered offer. Ethnic champions have been a thing in Nigeria even during the Abacha days, but under Buhari, things have gone up a whole new gear, and the rearrest of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra is another episode in the unravelling of a shared national identity. Only time will continue to tell Buharis uneven manner is a sensible way to approach things. Eugene Uzor works as an analyst at QCA and is also a social commentator whose work is mainly found on Twitter @EuginhoCortez and @774ngr. I have just finished reading a book What Britain Did To Nigeria by Max Siollun, who is an authority on issues that affects Nigeria. Mr Siollun has written several books on the country, including Soldiers of Fortune: Nigeria Politics from Buhari to Babangida and Nigerias Soldiers of Fortune: The Abacha and Obasanjo Years. Expectedly his latest book, What Britain Did To Nigeria is very educative and informative. The 390-page book is published by C. Hurst & Co.(Publishers) Ltd. One of the articles in the book, which caught my serious attention is, The mistake of 1914. This article summarises what one should know about Nigeria on the amalgamation that took place in 1914. Mr Siollun declared that, Perhaps no question makes Nigerians disagree as much as why Britain created their country. Nigerians looking for deeper meaning for their countrys existence may be disappointed to find that there was none. Nigerias existence is little more than the outcome of balancing the colonial accounting books. In 1900 Britain created two countries with similar-sounding names. These were the protectorates of Northern Nigeria and Southern Nigeria. For 14 years these two countries were separately governed by different high commissioners. Lugard was Britains first high commissioner for Northern Nigeria and Sir Ralph Moor was his counterpart in Southern Nigeria. The two colonies had different colonial personnel, legal systems, land tenure laws, educational policies and systems of governance. Their eventual amalgamation on 1 January 1914 was not sudden. It was the culmination of a process that, as we have seen, began 16 years earlier with the recommendation of the Niger Committee. Although Lugard is credited as being the architect of Nigerias amalgamation, the process started long before he became Northern Nigerias high commissioner or the governor-general of the combined Nigeria in 1914. These jolly laughing trading black men Some British accounts of the differences between the people in the two Nigerians mentioned (with the usual poor anthropological insight of that era) that the inhabitants of Northern Nigeria are very different from the coast Negroes [Southern Nigeria] and flippantly described Northerners as black-faced Mohammedan Arabs with an admixture of negro strain and Southerners as these jolly laughing trading black men. Although this is a very simplistic summary, others offered a more realistic assessment. Sir George Goldie, who advocated the amalgamation of Southern Nigeria and Northern Nigeria, admitted that the two countries were as widely separated government, customs, and general ideas about life, both world and the next, as England is from China. Since Britain was aware of the sharp differences between the two Nigerias, why it decide to amalgamate them anyway? Just as British entry into Nigeria was motivated by economic reasons, so was its amalgamation into one country. The duplication of finances and personnel in running two separate colonies in the same area was an impediment to administrative efficiency. The need for British colonies to be self-financing made amalgamation a priority. Since Northern Nigeria had no coastline and was landlocked, it did not receive customs duties, as Southern Nigeria did. This disadvantage was exacerbated because Northern Nigeria imported goods from Southern Nigeria, duty-free, and its costs for transporting its goods to Southern Nigeria for export were also high. Since Southern Nigeria received customs duties and Northern Nigeria did not, a small percentage of customs revenue from the former was sent to the latter. Yet this was not enough to offset Britains cost of administering Northern Nigeria. The area (Northern Nigeria) had been running on a budget deficit for ten years, during which time its revenue was not enough to meet even half its cost of administration. As a result, the British Treasury paid grants-in-aid to Northern Nigeria (totalling over 4 million) in the 14 years of its existence. These were non-refundable payments, rather than loans, and were in addition to the 865,000 that the Treasury paid to the Royal Niger Company as compensation for the revocation of its charter. Such dependency on the Treasury could not continue. Lugard tried to raise revenue by imposing taxation on Northern Nigeria but it was not enough. As early as 1904, he argued that: Northern Nigeria is as yet largely dependent on a grant in aid I feel myself that economy can only be effected by the realisation of Mr Chamberlains original scheme of amalgamating Northern and Southern Nigeria and Lagos into one single administration. It is only in this way that Northern Nigeria, which is the hinterland of the other two, can be properly developed, and economies introduced into the triple machinery which at present exists. The country, which is all one and indivisible, can thus be developed on identical lines, with a common trend of policy in all essential matters. The material prosperity had been extraordinary Lugards advocacy of amalgamation, ten years before it actually happened, was not surprising. As Northern Nigerias High Commissioner, he faced the problems of the colonys dependency on grants from the Treasury and the need to find alternative revenue sources. Amalgamating the two Nigerias into one country would not only solve these problems for him, but carried with it a potential promotion, in that he would become the governor of the newly amalgamated country. For Lugard, the solution to his problems lay in Southern Nigeria. He observed: Southern Nigeria, on the other hand, presented a picture which was in almost all points the exact converse of that in the north. Here the material prosperity had been extraordinary. The revenue had almost doubled itself in a period of five years. The surplus balance exceeded a million and a half. The trade of the interior had greatly developed by the construction of a splendid system of roads, and by the opening to navigation of waterways hitherto choked with vegetation And so while Northern Nigeria was devoting itself building up a system of Native Administration and laboriously raising a revenue by direct taxation, Southern Nigeria had found itself engrossed in material development. Before southern Nigerians pounce with glee (as they often do) about this evidence of northern economic dependency on the south, one must pause and reflect that amalgamation was a British decision, not a northern one. Northern Nigeria had no more say in amalgamation than Southern Nigeria did (and probably, if given a choice, would have objected to it). One of the norths leaders did, after all, later refer to amalgamation as the mistake of 1914. Effect an alliance with a Southern lady of means The economic disparity between the two Nigerias made their amalgamation inevitable. In a light-hearted after-dinner speech to the Colonial Service Club in 1913, the secretary of state for the colonies, Lord Lewis Harcourt, used a metaphor to describe the impending amalgamation: We have released Northern Nigeria from the leading strings (of the) (British) Treasury. The promising and well-conducted youth allowance on his own and is about to effect an alliance with a Southern lady of means. I have issued the special licence and Sir Frederick will perform the ceremony May the union be and the couple constant! An enthusiastic practicing paedophile In 1913, Lugard named the prominent south-eastern Nigeria city, Port Harcourt after Lord Harcourt. Details of a mans personal life should not ordinarily occupy much space in a history book about two nations. However, the continued prominence of Harcourts name in contemporary Nigeria justifies an exception. Harcourt ostensibly led an ordinary family life. His wife was the wealthy American heiress, Mary Burns, who was a member of the Morgan banking family dynasty and the niece of the banker John Pierpont Morgan (founder of JP Morgan Bank). However, Harcourt (or Loulou, as he was known) was an enthusiastic practising paedophile, who abused both young boys and girls. Owing to his status, Harcourts paedophilia was largely unknown to the public, and knowledge of it was restricted to the elite circles in which he moved. Harcourt abused the son and daughter of his friend Viscount Esher (Reginald Brett). Eshers teenage daughter, Dorothy, was so traumatised after Harcourt tried to sexually assault her that she avoided romantic relationships with men for most of her adult life. Harcourts predilection for preying on children was so well known that boys at Eton School (where he was a fellow) were warned not to be alone with him. Harcourt also tried to sexually assault a young boy named Edward James during a party at his country estate. The boy reported the assault to his mother, who mentioned it to others. Harcourt was found dead early the next year after taking an overdose of sedatives. The most extraordinary aspect of Nigerias amalgamation was how little thought the British colonial administrators gave to its long-term consequences. The architects of both the 1914 amalgamation and the Niger Committees report of 1898 had no guiding vision or objective. Not only did the colonial government fail to contemplate the north-south differences, but they paid little attention to how much British rule had amplified the pre-existing differences between the two regions. The introduction of Christian missionaries in the south had caused a revolutionary change to the regions religious life and created a Western-educated cadre that was anxious for independence, while the north had little interest in rushing into a union with a southern region that was so radically different in religious and social ethos. British rule had also changed the north by introducing a Christian convert population into the region on the outskirts of the Muslim emirates. The British did not consider stabilising the country by dividing it into territorial units consistent with ethno-linguistic zones. In 1898, the Niger Committee had recommended dividing Southern Nigeria into eastern and western regions. Yet, for unspecified reasons, it did recommend a similar subdivision of Northern Nigeria. The colonial government belatedly carried out the Niger Committees recommendation when it split Southern Nigeria into the Western and Eastern Regions in 1939, yet it left Northern Nigeria intact and undivided. As a result, Northern Nigeria ended up than twice as large as the two southern regions combined. Creating a country where one region was geographically larger, and had more people, than all the other region became a constant point of contention. The 1914 amalgamation and the fault lines between the north and south remain among the most contentious issues in modern Nigeria. More than 106 years after amalgamation, the wisdom of this step is still being debated in Nigeria, and the country continues to grapple with how to deal with the divisions between north and south and the mutual paranoia they often have about each other. The most spectacular eruptions of instability in Nigeria have emerged on a north-south basis: the military coups of 1966, the civil war of 1967-70, the annulment of the presidential election of June 12, 1993 and the ensuing political crisis it generated, and the crisis over Sharia law in the early 2000s. Each of these controversies has polarised the country along north-south lines. The civil war, which commenced after the south-east seceded, represented one of many attempts to repeal the 1914 amalgamation (the north also threatened secession in 1953 and 1966). It is perhaps unsurprising that conflict would arise in this manner. It was difficult to build patriotism and emotional loyalty to a country created by a foreign invader and inhabited by people whose prior loyalties had never extended beyond their family, village or kingdom. The lack of British foresight regarding the enormous upheaval that amalgamation would cause is astonishing. For over twenty- five years prior to the merger, British administrators had year after year mentioned the massive cultural, political and religious differences between the north and south. Yet they insisted on amalgamation simply to fix an accounting problem. Even if amalgamation was a necessity for colonial administrative convenience, one wonders why it was not reversed or reconfigured when it became apparent that the unified Nigeria would one day become an independent self-governing country. With no overriding ideological principle behind Nigerias creation, it has been left to Nigerias post-colonial governments to find ways to rationalise the 1914 amalgamation. Nigerias territorial evolution has followed two opposing trends during its colonial and post-colonial eras. The colonial era was characterised by territorial amalgamation, and followed by the countrys fragmentation into smaller and smaller territorial units during the post-colonial era. Starting from 1967, post-independence Nigerian governments started unravelling Britains territorial consolidation by fracturing both the north and south into smaller states, which are currently 36 in number. It is to Nigerias credit that it has developed its own home-grown innovations to reduce tension between the north and south, such as an affirmative action quota system and the alternation of the presidency between northern and southern holders. Perhaps it is pious to expect a colonial government to have contemplated the long-term consequences of its decisions on the people of the colony. As demonstrated again and again in prior chapters, the colonial governments priority was not to create a new nation with a common ethos. The priority of Colonial Office officials was to minimize the financial burden to the British taxpayer, reduce bureaucratic duplication and maximise revenue. In that regard it succeeded from British perspective. In that regard it succeeded from Britains perspective. Nigeria was just a page in a colonial accounting ledger. ADVERTISEMENT Eric Teniola, a former Director at the Presidency wrote from Lagos. ADVERTISEMENT Plateaus Governor, Simon Lalong, has directed security agencies to bring to book those behind isolated killings in Jos South and Riyom Local Government Areas of the state in June. This is contained in a statement issued on Saturday in Jos by the governors Director of Press and Public Affairs, Makut Macham. He also directed the security agencies to get to the root of the criminal activity, which was clearly targeted at resuscitating violence in the state and thwart the peace currently prevailing. The governor expressed outrage over the incidences recorded in Chol, Vwang District of Jos South and Tamborong, Ganawuri District in Riyom Local Government Areas, saying the recurring attacks were unacceptable and totally condemnable. He expressed sadness that the dastard acts were repeated partly because culprits were not brought to justice. Mr Lalong said there was no justification for the killings as no one had the right to take the law into his hands. Recently we acquired and launched 50 patrol vehicles and 200 motorcycles for use by our security agencies. Our expectation is that these attacks will not only be prevented, but wherever any is recorded, the perpetrators will be swiftly arrested and brought to justice. I expect to see a drastic change from now onwards on how we respond to these unfortunate acts. Our people deserve to live in peace and pursue their legitimate means of livelihood without fear of being attacked or killed, he said. The governor urged Plateau residents to assist security agencies and relevant government bodies with necessary intelligence reports to enable them to arrest culprits. He commended community leaders in the attacked areas for their efforts in calming the situation and supporting governments efforts to restore normalcy and build confidence. Mr Lalong directed the states Peace Building Agency and the Plateau Inter-Religious Council to intensify their mediation, especially in areas where there are disagreements that could lead to the breakdown in law and order. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has withdrawn his children from a public school in the state and given a reason for his action. The governor had enrolled his then six-year old son, Abubakar, at the Kaduna Capital School, a government-owned school, in September, 2019, claiming he took the step to promote confidence in public schools in the state. But on Friday, Daily Trust newspaper exclusively reported that Mr El-Rufai had secretly withdrawn the boy from the school, drawing angry comments from residents of the state. Reacting in an interview with BBC pidgin, published on Friday, the governor said he withdrew the child and his sister, Nesrin, whom he had later also enrolled in the school, over security concerns. He said the two did not return to the school since the COVID-19 enforced break and are currently homeschooling. My son and my daughter are registered in the school because his sister Nesrin became six and we had to register her, Mr El-Rufai said. But we have had to temporarily withdraw them for the security of the school because we got intercepts from at least two groups that are planning to attack the school to kidnap my son. I dont think they will succeed because there will be enough security there to prevent it but other children may be placed in danger. We have no idea what weapons they will come with. I have taken a stand against paying bandits and at least three groups of bandits have been intercepted planning to go to Kaduna Capital School and kidnap my son and see if they catch my son, I go say I no go pay ransom? However, Mr El-Rufai said his son will take his examinations at the school. He also said their withdrawal from the school is temporary, vowing to keep them in public school for as long as he remains governor. Kidnapping of school children for ransom is rampant in Northern Nigeria, including Kaduna State. Early this year, bandits attacked a private university, GreenField, and kidnapped several students. The bandits later killed some of the students and released the others 43 days later, following payment of ransoms by their parents. The governor has repeatedly said he will not pay ransom to bandits. ADVERTISEMENT The police in Delta State have arrested two suspects for alleged murder. The police spokesperson in the state, Edafe Bright, who disclosed this to reporters on Saturday in Warri, identified the murder victim as German Enameg. Mr Bright, a deputy superintendent of police, said the suspects were arrested from their hideout in Ughelli on July 2, by a combined team of police operatives and vigilante group. He said upon interrogation, one of the suspects confessed to be the leader of the Vikings Confraternity in Ughelli and had a leadership tussle with the late Mr Enameg. On July 2 at about 2:30 a.m. 6 a.m., the Area Commander in Ughelli detailed a combined team of police operatives and vigilante group to raid a suspected hideout of cultists. During the raid, Ononeme and Ogboso were arrested. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects are allegedly responsible for the killing of Enameg a.k.a Believe. Enameg was murdered in front of his wifes shop on June 25, at Iwhrepokpor Community, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta, Mr Bright said. The police spokesperson said investigation into the matter was ongoing. He said police in the state have also apprehended a suspected kidnapper in Warri South. The suspected kidnapper and his gang were trailed by police operatives to Cemetery Road, Warri on May 6, where they abandoned their victim, identified as Tayo Badamasi, and fled in their vehicle, he said. The DPO, Agbaro Division and A Division Warri in a combined effort, detailed patrol teams from their respective divisions who went after the kidnappers. The unrelenting effort of the patrol teams forced the kidnappers to abandon their victim and fled in their operational vehicle. However, on June 30, the effort of the police paid off when the A Division Warri Rapid Response Team trailed the kidnappers to a mechanic workshop where Omosomvofa who went to repair their operational vehicle was arrested and the Toyota Corolla car impounded, he said. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT The Lagos State Government says it would divert traffic flow at Brewery and Ijora Level Crossings for the construction of railway modernisation project from Sunday, July 4 to August 1. The Commissioner for Transportation, Frederic Oladeinde, made this known in a statement on Friday in Lagos. He said it was in line with the Nigerian railway modernisation project, Lagos-Ibadan section, with extension to Lagos Port at Apapa. Mr Oladeinde disclosed that the construction company, China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) Nigeria Ltd., would commence asphalt and drainage works on the first lane from July 4 to July 18 and would proceed to the second lane from July 1 to August 1. A counter flow will be created on the lane that is free when rehabilitation works is ongoing on the other to enable motorists ply the route and reach their various destinations without much difficulty. We urge road users to comply with the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) to minimise inconveniences that may be experienced while the construction lasts, Mr Oladeinde said. He said the Lagos government had appealed to residents especially motorists to cooperate fully with the interventions made available to ease traffic flow. Mr Oladeinde said the project was aimed at achieving a seamless Multi Modal Transport System that would provide viable options for movement and subsequently meet the transportation needs of a larger population. (NAN). ADVERTISEMENT Security operatives have dispersed the Yoruba nation agitators who had gathered at the Gani Fawehinmi Park in Ojota, Lagos. The agitators, numbering over 100, had stormed the Freedom Park waving Oduduwa nation flags and banners and clamouring for a sovereign state. The police fired guns and tear gas canisters into the air and used water cannons to spray water at the crowd in an attempt to disperse them. The police action came shortly after Commissioner of Police Hakeem Odumosu addressed journalists at the park saying the police were there to ensure there was no security breach in the state. We are not saying you should not protests, we want you to send a detailed letter to the police stating the number and identities of the protesters. Also, the location should be in the letter, he said. He said the Yoruba nation letter received by the command was open-ended. As of the time of filing this report, two of the agitators had been arrested along the Ketu exit point in Ojota. The two, a man and a woman, were arrested during a stop and search operation for purportedly decorating their blue Toyota Highlander vehicle with a Yoruba nation banner. They were taken away in a police vehicle. The police had earlier sealed off the park, before the 10 a.m. scheduled starting time for the rally. Despite a warning from the police in Lagos against the rally, the organisers had vowed to proceed with the event. Sunday Igboho, a pro-Yoruba self-determination campaigner and one of the organisers, also insisted the rally would go ahead despite the attack on his home by operatives of the State Security Service. ADVERTISEMENT The Oyo State Government has refuted media reports making the rounds that it was planning to ban the movement of trucks and heavy-duty vehicles during the daytime, in the state. Seyi Adeleye, Special Adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde on Infrastructure, said the government had not banned trucks and heavy-duty vehicles, stressing that the states transport policy was still being fine-tuned. Mr Adeleye in a statement in Ibadan on Friday said the policy was still in the works and that the media reports on the matter quoted him out of context. He added that the state government was yet to grant any approval for the restriction of heavy-duty and articulated vehicles. According to him, all relevant parties will be consulted to enable the development of a perfect workable plan. The special adviser explained that the only thing he told journalists was that the current administration would work out a plan that would be comfortable to road users. And at the same time capable of easing traffic congestion and minimising road accidents and fatalities. Contrary to the impression created by the news story, truck drivers and others have nothing to fear. We are only seeking the best avenue to ensure free-flowing traffic within the state. This is the start of a consultative process which will include all stakeholders, Mr Adeleye said. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT A stray bullet has hit a lady hawking soft drinks at the Yoruba nation rally in Lagos. The lady, identified simply as Jumoke, was hit in the back and her lifeless body taken away by the police. A witness said the lady and others were running when police started firing into the air. Witnesses believe the woman was hit by the police bullet as there was no other record of any other person or group firing shots at the scene. She was hit at the back and it (bullet) came out of her tummy, inside the compound. We brought her corpse out, the witness said. The ladys boss, who identified herself as Tosin Oyemade, said the hawker was 24 years old. Security operatives had earlier attempted to disperse the Yoruba nation agitators who had gathered at the Gani Fawehinmi Park in Ojota, Lagos. The agitators, numbering over 100, had stormed the Freedom Park waving Oduduwa nation flags and banners and clamouring for a sovereign state. The police fired guns and tear gas canisters into the air and used water cannons in an attempt to disperse the peaceful protesters. The police action came shortly after Commissioner of Police Hakeem Odumosu addressed journalists at the park saying the police were there to ensure there was no security breach in the state. We are not saying you should not protests, we want you to send a detailed letter to the police stating the number and identities of the protesters. Also, the location should be in the letter, he said. He said the Yoruba nation letter received by the command was open-ended. As of the time of filing this report, two of the agitators had been arrested along the Ketu exit point in Ojota. The two, a man and a woman, were arrested during a stop and search operation for purportedly decorating their blue Toyota Highlander vehicle with a Yoruba nation banner. They were taken away in a police vehicle. The police had earlier sealed off the park, before the 10 a.m. scheduled starting time for the rally. Despite a warning from the police in Lagos against the rally, the organisers had vowed to proceed with the event. Sunday Igboho, a pro-Yoruba self-determination campaigner and one of the organisers, also insisted the rally would go ahead despite the attack on his home by operatives of the State Security Service. The police in Lagos have denied responsibility in the death of a young woman during Saturdays Yoruba nation rally in Ojota, Lagos. The police spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement, described reports blaming the police for the death as an attempt to create confusion and fears in the minds of the people of Lagos State and the country at large. The Command did not fire a single live bullet at Ojota rally today, the statement said. The said corpse was found wrapped and abandoned at a distance, far from Ojota venue of the rally, behind MRS Filling Station, inward Maryland, on the other side of the venue, with dried blood stains suggesting that the corpse is not fresh. After a close look at the corpse, a wound suspectedly sustained from a sharp object was seen on it. The polices claims differ from eye witness accounts at the rally who maintained that the deceased was hit by a stray bullet, after police officers began firing into the air to disperse the crowd at the rally. She was hit at the back and it (bullet) came out of her tummy, inside the compound. We brought her corpse out, a witness had said. There was no record of any other person or groups, except the police, firing shots at the scene. But the police insisted that the reports linking its officers to the killing are false and mischievous. The Command therefore urges the general public to disregard the news and go about their lawful normal daily activities while investigation to unravel the incident will commence immediately. The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Hakeem Odumosu, therefore commiserates with the family of the found deceased and assures that thorough investigation will be carried out. Dispersing the crowd Security operatives had earlier attempted to disperse the Yoruba nation agitators who had gathered at the Gani Fawehinmi Park in Ojota, Lagos. The agitators, numbering over 100, had stormed the Freedom Park, waving Oduduwa nation flags and banners and clamouring for a sovereign state. The police fired guns and tear gas canisters into the air and used water cannons in an attempt to disperse the peaceful protesters. The police action came shortly after Commissioner of Police Hakeem Odumosu addressed journalists at the park, saying the police were there to ensure there was no security breach in the state. We are not saying you should not protest, we want you to send a detailed letter to the police stating the number and identities of the protesters. Also, the location should be in the letter, he said. He said the Yoruba nation letter received by the command was open-ended. As of the time of filing this report, two of the agitators had been arrested along the Ketu exit point in Ojota. The two, a man and a woman, were arrested during a stop and search operation for purportedly decorating their blue Toyota Highlander vehicle with a Yoruba nation banner. They were taken away in a police vehicle. ADVERTISEMENT The police had earlier sealed off the park, before the 10 a.m. scheduled starting time for the rally. Despite a warning from the police in Lagos against the rally, the organisers had vowed to proceed with the event. Sunday Igboho, a pro-Yoruba self-determination campaigner and one of the organisers, also insisted the rally would go ahead despite the attack on his home by operatives of the State Security Service. ADVERTISEMENT The acclaimed winner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election in Amuwo Odofin local government in Lagos State, Dipo Olorunrinu, has sued the party over alleged substitution of his name. Mr Olorunrinu, a former Lagos lawmaker, was pronounced the winner at the primaries held on May 29. In the suit he filed before a Lagos high court, Mr Olorunrinu claimed that APC members duly elected him to be the partys candidate in local government elections in Lagos State billed for July 24. The plaintiff alleged that he was substituted by the party with the incumbent Chairman of Amuwo Odofin council, Valentine Buraimoh, to enable him to serve a second term. The plaintiff alleged that the substitution came after his name was published in some national newspapers by the state chapter of APC as the winner. He also claimed that the substitution came after the party handed over to him a form from the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), to fill. Defendants in the suit include Mr Buraimoh, LASIEC, APC national body, and APC Caretaker Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee. The others are APC Lagos State Caretaker Committee and Tunde Balogun, Chairman, Lagos State APC Caretaker Committee. The court processes were pasted on Plot 3553B, Bola Lateef Crescent, Amuwo-Odofin, the residence of Mr Buraimoh as well as at the Apapa residence of Mr Balogun. Hearing in the case has been scheduled for July 7. NAN reports that APC had on June 4 unveiled the list of its chairmanship and vice-chairmanship candidates for the council elections. The list was signed by the partys Caretaker Committee Chairman, Mr Balogun, and the Secretary, Lanre Ogunyemi. The party unveiled Mr Olorunrinu and Maureen Ashara as the Chairmanship and Vice-Chairmanship candidates, respectively, for Amuwo-Odofin council. (NAN) Plattsburgh, NY (12901) Today Partly to mostly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms developing overnight. Low 67F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms developing overnight. Low 67F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. "We have realized the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects," General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping said at the grand gathering. Loud cheers from the crowd in the Tian'anmen Square encapsulated the pride and exhilaration of the entire Chinese nation in reaching the hard-fought achievement. What does a 'Xiaokang society' mean in a country of 1.4 billion people? Rooted in China's traditional culture, "Xiaokang" is used by the CPC to describe the development goals towards which the country has been striving. Its most widely used form "an all-around Xiaokang society" captures the broader goals of modernization and elimination of poverty. The concept features an "income-doubling plan," aimed at doubling the GDP and per capita income of both urban and rural residents by 2020 in comparison with 2010 levels. China, a relatively poor country just decades ago, has become the world's second largest economy with a gross domestic product (GDP) exceeding 100 trillion yuan (about $15 trillion). Its per capita GDP has reached over $10,000, 10 times higher than in 2000 making China one of the top middle-income countries. The country declared victory in eradicating absolute poverty nationwide at the end of 2020, and both urban and rural residents have seen their incomes grow rapidly. In 2020, the per capita disposable income reached 32,189 yuan ($4,665). The Engel coefficient dropped to 30.2 percent in 2020, from 60 percent a few decades earlier, indicating the country's rising standards of living. By the end of 2020, 1.36 billion people 95 percent of the population had basic medical insurance. Meanwhile, 999 million people over 90 percent of the population were covered by the pension system. And the "moderately prosperous" ambition has gone further than meeting people's basic needs. As Xi put it on Thursday, "since the very day of its founding, the Party has made seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation its aspiration and mission." China's seventh national census in 2020 showed that people's level of education had steadily increased, while China's cultural industry has seen rapid growth. In 2019, it accounted for 4.5 percent of GDP, up nearly 1.7 percentage points from 2010. In terms of resources and the environment, the proportion of clean energy has increased rapidly. In 2020, clean energy accounted for 24.3 percent of China's total energy consumption. As China embarks on a new journey toward socialist modernization, Xi vowed that the CPC will continue to practice a people-centered philosophy of development, address the people's concerns and promote common prosperity for all. "On the journey ahead, we must rely closely on the people to create history," he said on Thursday. https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-07-02/China-officially-in-a-Xiaokang-society-as-CPC-celebrates-centenary--11zKFonw3mM/index.html Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViJ8Ba1uhoA Related Links www.cgtn.com SOURCE CGTN Read the 120-page report with TOC on "Automatic Generation Control Market Analysis Report by Application (Non-renewable energy power plants and Renewable energy power plants), Geography (North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and MEA), and the Segment Forecasts, 2021-2025". The market is driven by the increasing number of residential and commercial building projects. In addition, the increasing renewable power generation is anticipated to boost the growth of the automatic generation control market. Factors such as population expansion and regulatory support from governments have increased the number of commercial and residential buildings across the world. This is evident in developing countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, and China. The growth in the number of residential and commercial establishments is subsequently increasing the electricity demand. Automatic generation control is extensively used in power plants to regulate power generation. Thus, with the increasing residential and commercial building projects, the demand for automatic generation control will increase during the forecast period. Buy 1 Technavio report and get the second for 50% off. Buy 2 Technavio reports and get the third for free. View market snapshot before purchasing Major Five Automatic Generation Control Companies: ABB Ltd. The company offers a comprehensive range of automation applications including automatic generation control. Andritz AG The company offers automation services from starting with quotation engineering, project management, hardware and software engineering, to erection work, start-up and operator training, and continuing with maintenance and engineering work for expansions and improvements. DEIF AS The company offers ALC, which is an integrated part of DEIF power management systems. ENERCON GmbH The company offers Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system which comprises all components for data acquisition, remote monitoring, and control of a wind farm. General Electric Co. The company offers Advanced Energy Management System. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Automatic Generation Control Market Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2020-2025) Non-renewable energy power plants - size and forecast 2020-2025 Renewable energy power plants - size and forecast 2020-2025 Automatic Generation Control Market Geography Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2020-2025) North America - size and forecast 2020-2025 - size and forecast 2020-2025 APAC - size and forecast 2020-2025 Europe - size and forecast 2020-2025 - size and forecast 2020-2025 South America - size and forecast 2020-2025 - size and forecast 2020-2025 MEA - size and forecast 2020-2025 Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report Related Reports on Industrials Include: Global Automatic Power Factor Controller Market Global automatic power factor controller market is segmented by product (active power factor controller and passive power factor controller), end-user (process industries and discrete industries), and geography (APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and MEA). Download Exclusive Free Sample Report Global Industrial Emission Control Systems Market Global industrial emission control systems market is segmented by end-user (oil and gas, power generation, iron and steel, cement, and others) and geography (APAC, North America, Europe, MEA, and South America). Download Exclusive Free Sample Report About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contacts Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ Report: www.technavio.com/report/automatic-generation-control-market-industry-analysis Newsroom: newsroom.technavio.com/news/automatic-generation-controlmarket SOURCE Technavio Related Links http://www.technavio.com MIAMI, July 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As experts warn against another active 2021 hurricane season, roofing material shortages are already causing significant delays for roof replacements. WrapRoof is urging property owners and contractors to plan ahead with its market-leading temporary roofing solution that is quick to install, safe, and reliable. WrapRoof, was awarded over 40 United States Patent Claims for its innovative solution for protecting damaged roofs without adding additional damage or sandbags. WrapRoof is installed with their proprietary membrane and offers nationwide installations with a one-year warranty against leaks. Blue Tarps are no longer your only option. WrapRoof is installed with a 1 year leak-free warranty. Insurance companies require homeowners to protect their homes from further damage until a permanent solution is found. As mentioned on FEMA's website, Operation Blue Roof is intended to last 30 days. Many roofing materials are currently 6 months out. WrapRoof provides the solution that property owners need. The WrapRoof system: Is available for all roof types Is the most effective and safer way to protect roofs damaged by hurricanes The material is installed without sandbags and without adding any holes into the roof system Easy to remove Easy to inspect Recyclable Slip resistant Does not add any further damage to the existing roof system Waterproof Has an 18 month UV additive Prevents mold growth Offers a smooth and sleek aesthetic while leaving the roof fully functional and leak free "Time is of the essence when a homeowner has experienced roof damage, so our nationwide team is ready to assist property owners as quickly as possible once damage has occurred," says Larry Bond, WrapRoof co-owner. "The product is often available within just 48 hours of the initial call and usually installed within a matter of hours. WrapRoof has installed more than 1,000 units across the United States and has secured over 40 U.S. patent claims. The service and product offered are first of its kind. Its staff and licensed partners are fully trained, provide our top-quality products and ensure exceptional service. Property owners or Licensed Contractors who are interested in installing this market-leading temporary roofing solution, should contact Marcelo Romero at 1.855.668.2777 or through email at [email protected] Once contacted, a WrapRoof property inspector will visit and provide an estimate for the property owner to obtain approval from its insurance company or adjuster. As soon as it's approved, WrapRoof will install the warrantied product. About WrapRoof WrapRoof is the inventor of the most effective temporary roofing solution available. Its state-of-the art product and service is available nationwide, for both residential and commercial properties. We provide our clients the highest quality of product and exceptional service that is available for all types of roofs. Larry Bond 1.855.668.2777 [email protected] SOURCE WrapRoof NEW ORLEANS, July 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE: DDD). On March 1, 2021, the Company disclosed that the filing of its 10K annual report would be delayed, due primarily to "the presentation of cash flows associated with the divestiture process for its Cimatron and GibbsCam software businesses." Thereafter, the Company and certain of its executives were sued in a securities class action lawsuit for failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws, which remains ongoing. KSF's investigation is focusing on whether 3D's officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to 3D's shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws. If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of 3D shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-ddd/ to learn more. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors in seeking to recover investment losses due to corporate fraud and malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California and Louisiana. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. Contact: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner [email protected] 1-877-515-1850 1100 Poydras St., Suite 3200 New Orleans, LA 70163 SOURCE Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Related Links http://www.ksfcounsel.com MIAMI, July 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- It's official, Royal Caribbean International is back in the U.S. and delivering the long overdue cruise vacations that families and travelers of all ages have missed. A nearly 16-month journey led up to the moment yesterday when Freedom of the Seas became the first Royal Caribbean ship in the U.S. to welcome guests and the first cruise ship to do so from PortMiami, the cruise capital of the world. Sailing with 93% of the onboard community fully vaccinated and just in time for Fourth of July weekend, Freedom set off on the first cruise of a summer-long series of 3-night weekend and 4-night weekday getaways to Perfect Day at CocoCay the cruise line's top-rated private island destination and Nassau, The Bahamas. B-roll footage of Royal Caribbean International Brand Freedom of the Seas set sail from its new home of Miami on July 2 as Royal Caribbean Internationals first ship to cruise from the U.S. in nearly 16 months. The ship begins a summer series of short 3-night weekend and 4-night weekday cruises to top-rated private island destination Perfect Day at CocoCay and Nassau, The Bahamas. Freedom of the Seas set sail from its new home of Miami on July 2 as Royal Caribbean Internationals first ship to cruise from the U.S. in nearly 16 months. The ship begins a summer series of short 3-night weekend and 4-night weekday cruises to top-rated private island destination Perfect Day at CocoCay and Nassau, The Bahamas. Returning to the U.S. and Europe 2021 "We have a lot to celebrate. Families and loved ones can finally come together after more than a year apart, and we're now welcoming them back on board to make up for that lost time," said Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. "For a moment as meaningful as Fourth of July weekend, it couldn't be more appropriate that Freedom of the Seas be the first ship to ring in our return to cruising in the U.S. and delivering the memorable and safe vacations Royal Caribbean is known for. Summer family vacations are back, and we are just getting started." Marking the most celebratory Fourth of July weekend yet, the eagerly awaited comeback of the world's largest cruise line has only just begun. Royal Caribbean is planning for nine more award-winning ships to return through August, including Anthem of the Seas in the U.K., Serenade and Ovation of the Seas in Alaska, and the brand-new Odyssey of the Seas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In the coming weeks, the cruise line will announce plans to reintroduce its full fleet around the globe by year's end. The complete 2021 lineup to date is available here. Showcasing its $116 million transformation from March 2020, Freedom has a lineup of new features and amenities in store for guests of all ages, including The Perfect Storm duo of high-speed waterslides, a vibrant, resort-style Caribbean poolscape; the cruise line's first Giovanni's Italian Kitchen and new, dedicated spaces for kids and teens. The amplified ship offers an all-around tropical escape from ship to shore, sailing to Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay, The Bahamas. At Royal Caribbean's game-changing private island destination, there are next-level thrills and ways to chill, from the tallest waterslide in North America to the largest freshwater pool in the Caribbean, Oasis Lagoon; to the first floating cabanas in The Bahamas at Coco Beach Club. Between the decked-out experience on board and island hopping from one tropical destination to the next, Freedom's 3-night weekend and 4-night weekday summer cruises from Miami are the perfect short getaways for families to maximize every moment of their precious vacation time. Health and Safety Measures for Freedom of the Seas Vacationers sailing on Freedom can cruise with peace of mind, knowing Royal Caribbean has ensured that all crew members on board are fully vaccinated and additional layers of health and safety measures are in place for their well-being. A full list of protocols for Freedom's July cruises are available here, which includes the cruise line's vaccination policies. Specific to Royal Caribbean cruises departing from Florida, it is strongly recommended that guests 16 years of age and older (age 12 and older for sailings departing on or after Aug. 1) be fully vaccinated. Vacationers eligible but unvaccinated or unable to show proof of vaccination are required to undergo testing, follow additional health protocols and obtain travel insurance that covers medical and other costs related to COVID-19 at their own expense. Children ineligible for vaccines will be subject to complimentary testing and other protocols. The vaccine policy is one of the multiple measures, including the robust onboard ventilation system and enhanced cleaning and sanitization, that safeguard the health and safety of all guests, crew members and the communities at each port of call. Made possible in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as state and local authorities, Freedom is the cruise industry's first ship to have successfully completed a simulated sailing and receive a Conditional Sailing Certificate from the CDC. The certificate confirms the health and safety measures that Royal Caribbean has in place fulfill the CDC's guidance and requirements. About Royal Caribbean International Royal Caribbean International has been delivering innovation at sea for more than 50 years. Each successive class of ships is an architectural marvel featuring the latest technology and guest experiences for today's adventurous traveler. The cruise line continues to revolutionize vacations with itineraries to more than 270 destinations in 72 countries on six continents, including Royal Caribbean's private island destination in The Bahamas, Perfect Day at CocoCay, the first in the Perfect Day Island Collection. Royal Caribbean has also been voted "Best Cruise Line Overall" for 18 consecutive years in the Travel Weekly Readers' Choice Awards. Media can stay up to date by following @RoyalCaribPR on Twitter and visiting RoyalCaribbeanPressCenter.com. For additional information or to make reservations, vacationers can call their travel advisor; visit RoyalCaribbean.com; or call (800) ROYAL-CARIBBEAN. Royal Caribbean International is applying the recommendations of its Healthy Sail Panel of public health and scientific experts to provide a safer and healthier cruise vacation on all of its sailings. Health and safety protocols, regional travel restrictions and clearance to visit ports of call, are subject to change based on ongoing evaluation, public health standards, and government requirements. U.S. cruises and guests: For more information on the latest health and travel alerts, U.S. government travel advisories, please visit www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/itinerary-updates or consult travel advisories, warnings or recommendations relating to cruise travel on applicable government websites. SOURCE Royal Caribbean International Related Links http://www.rclcorporate.com NEW YORK, July 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Juan Monteverde, founder and managing partner at Monteverde & Associates PC, a national securities firm rated Top 50 in the 2018-2020 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report and headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City, is investigating Lydall, Inc. ("LDL" or the "Company") (LDL) relating to its proposed acquisition by Unifrax. LDL shareholders will receive $62.10 in cash per share they own. The investigation focuses on whether Lydall, Inc. and its Board of Directors violated securities laws and/or breached their fiduciary duties to the Company by 1) failing to conduct a fair process, and 2) whether the transaction is properly valued. Click here for more information: http://monteverdelaw.com/case/lydall-inc. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you. About Monteverde & Associates PC We are a national class action securities litigation law firm that has recovered millions of dollars and is committed to protecting shareholders from corporate wrongdoing. We were listed in the Top 50 in the 2018-2020 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report. Our lawyers have significant experience litigating Mergers & Acquisitions and Securities Class Actions. Mr. Monteverde is recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in Securities Litigation in 2013, 2017-2019, an award given to less than 2.5% of attorneys in a particular field. He has also been selected by Martindale-Hubbell as a 2017-2020 Top Rated Lawyer. Our firm's recent successes include changing the law in a significant victory that lowered the standard of liability under Section 14(e) of the Exchange Act in the Ninth Circuit. Thereafter, our firm successfully preserved this victory by obtaining dismissal of a writ of certiorari as improvidently granted at the United States Supreme Court. Emulex Corp. v. Varjabedian, 139 S. Ct. 1407 (2019). Also, over the years the firm has recovered or secured over a dozen cash common funds for shareholders in mergers & acquisitions class action cases. If you owned common stock in the Company and wish to obtain additional information and protect your investments free of charge, please visit our website or contact Juan E. Monteverde, Esq. either via e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone at (212) 971-1341. Contact: Juan E. Monteverde, Esq. MONTEVERDE & ASSOCIATES PC The Empire State Building 350 Fifth Ave. Suite 4405 New York, NY 10118 United States of America [email protected] Tel: (212) 971-1341 Attorney Advertising. (C) 2021 Monteverde & Associates PC. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Monteverde & Associates PC (www.monteverdelaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. SOURCE Monteverde & Associates PC Related Links http://www.monteverdelaw.com NEW YORK, July 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Juan Monteverde, founder and managing partner at Monteverde & Associates PC, a national securities firm rated Top 50 in the 2018-2020 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report and headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City, is investigating Northern Genesis Acquisition Corp. II ("NGAB" or the "Company") (NGAB) relating to its proposed merger with Embark Trucks. NGAB acquire Embark through a reverse merger, with Embark emerging as a publicly traded company. The investigation focuses on whether Northern Genesis Acquisition Corp. II and its Board of Directors violated securities laws and/or breached their fiduciary duties to the Company by 1) failing to conduct a fair process, and 2) whether the transaction is properly valued. Click here for more information: http://monteverdelaw.com/case/northern-genesis-acquisition-corp-ii. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you. About Monteverde & Associates PC We are a national class action securities litigation law firm that has recovered millions of dollars and is committed to protecting shareholders from corporate wrongdoing. We were listed in the Top 50 in the 2018-2020 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report. Our lawyers have significant experience litigating Mergers & Acquisitions and Securities Class Actions. Mr. Monteverde is recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in Securities Litigation in 2013, 2017-2019, an award given to less than 2.5% of attorneys in a particular field. He has also been selected by Martindale-Hubbell as a 2017-2020 Top Rated Lawyer. Our firm's recent successes include changing the law in a significant victory that lowered the standard of liability under Section 14(e) of the Exchange Act in the Ninth Circuit. Thereafter, our firm successfully preserved this victory by obtaining dismissal of a writ of certiorari as improvidently granted at the United States Supreme Court. Emulex Corp. v. Varjabedian, 139 S. Ct. 1407 (2019). Also, over the years the firm has recovered or secured over a dozen cash common funds for shareholders in mergers & acquisitions class action cases. If you owned common stock in the Company and wish to obtain additional information and protect your investments free of charge, please visit our website or contact Juan E. Monteverde, Esq. either via e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone at (212) 971-1341. Contact: Juan E. Monteverde, Esq. MONTEVERDE & ASSOCIATES PC The Empire State Building 350 Fifth Ave. Suite 4405 New York, NY 10118 United States of America [email protected] Tel: (212) 971-1341 Attorney Advertising. (C) 2021 Monteverde & Associates PC. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Monteverde & Associates PC (www.monteverdelaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. SOURCE Monteverde & Associates PC Related Links http://www.monteverdelaw.com Marketing authorisation represents 'a major milestone for the company' ( ) said it had received marketing authorisation from the Norwegian Medicines Agency (NoMA) for EctosanVet (BMK08), its pioneering treatment for sea lice in salmon. Sea lice are one of the biggest biological challenges in salmon farming, said Benchmark, and estimated to cost producers more than US$1bn annually, and US$600mln in Norway alone. Ectosan Vet will be the first sea lice veterinary medicinal treatment to be introduced to the Norwegian salmon market in over a decade, it added. The final steps for commercialisation are the ratification of the MRL (Maximum Residue Limit) into Norwegian regulation and the approval of product labels by the NoMA. Benchmark added that the MRL ratification is a procedural step following EU legislation and is anticipated to complete in the next few weeks. While the authorisation does not fully include all anticipated label claims on usage, Benchmark said it will work closely with its customers on how to use it most effectively and also with NoMA through field trials and variations. Benchmark expects Ectosan Vet and CleanTreat, a water purification treatment, to be profitable from the outset, with expectations for the group's performance in 2021 and potential market for the new sea lice solution unchanged, but with a slower ramp-up. CleanTreats first customer was signed up in March. As previously communicated the initial launch will be with two vessels. Based on the current label claims, we expect to achieve an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 25%-30% (excluding IFRS 16) for Ectosan Vet and CleanTreat which we anticipate will increase as new claims are granted, said the statement. Trond Williksen, Benchmarks chief executive, added: "We are pleased to have received Marketing Authorisation from the Norwegian Medicines Agency, which represents a major milestone for the company. "We are excited to bring this much-needed solution to the salmon industry, driving sustainability through improved animal welfare and yield while protecting the environment. "We look forward to working with our customers as we roll out Ectosan Vet and CleanTreat in the market." Benckmark noted that the European Parliament has objected to the adoption of the Resolution (B9-0313/2021) relating to the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) for imidacloprid (BMK08) on finfish. The MRL was ratified as European law through a European Commission Implementing Regulation on 15th April 2021. Islamabad, July 3 : Religious leaders who hold a major sway in Pakistan society and have often been found to paralyse the country demanding public hanging or punishment for culprits who insult Islam, have this time around found themselves in a sticky situation as a child sex abuse incident inside a madarsa rocks the nation. Sabir Shah, a student at a Lahore religious school stated that he was sexually abused by Mufti Aziz ur Rehman for over an year. Shortly after that, a video surfaced and went viral on the Internet, in which another child complained of sexual abuse involving a Shiite cleric. Religious uproar on issues relating to blasphemy or any action that would be considered as a deliberate attempt to ridicule the Islam, has more often than not paralyzed Pakistan with violent protests by hundreds of thousands of followers of religious leaders issuing clear and open threats to the government to meet their demands of capital punishment for such transgressors. The recent statement by Prime Minister Imran Khan regarding less clothes on women would have a "sexual desirous impact on the men", was seconded by many religious leaders and scholars, who said that Pakistani society is based on Islamic values, which do not allow women to wear less clothes in public. While religious schools and their leaderships have shown their clear public strength on such issues; the recent case of sexual abuse of the young boy from a religious school saw fingers pointing towards the situation in the religious schools and religious leaders in the country. The recent incidents cannot be considered as isolated events as in 2017, a nine-year old boy was raped by a cleric in Pakistan's Punjab province. In 2018, another cleric was arrested and charged for raping a minor. In 2019, a 13-year-old disabled girl was sexually assaulted by a cleric in Multan city of the Punjab province. The list of such cases goes on and has kept increasing with every passing year, prompting for calls and demands of accountability. People are blaming religious seminaries and the clerics for using the religious institutions for their vicious sexual desires, a claim that is vehemently rejected by the clerics, who refuse to concede that their educational institutions or clerics are at fault. As per estimates, over 2.2 million children were enrolled in over 36,000 madarsas in Pakistan, majority of which belong to poor areas. Experts say that many cases of child abuse by clerics in madarsas happen because the clerics know that the child's claim was less likely to be believed. "Some clerics target vulnerable children because they know that children's claims of sexual abuse are much less likely to be believed. This prompts the children to not report such cases of sexual assaults," said Dr. Naila Aziz, a clinical psychologist. "This prompts and encourages clerics to go on doing what they do with impunity," she added. It is also a harsh fact that when it comes to accountability, the powerful political position of religious organizations and their clerics, saves them from being put through the accountability process as per the law of the land. "They (religious clerics) teach the syllabus of their choice, collect funds and use them in their own ways. Whenever there is a case registered and a process of accountability is initiated against these clerics, they use their power and intimidation to stop it," said Nasreen Jalil, former chairperson of the Senate Committee on human rights. "This lack of accountability has encouraged them to commit crimes against children as well," she added. The other power tool that these clerics have is accusation of blasphemy against the person, who would try to probe deeper into such claims of sexual abuse. "If any group tries to probe the matter, the clerics could use their powerful position to accuse them of blasphemy or of being a foreign agent," said Mumtaz Gohar, national coordinator of Child Right's Movement in Pakistan. On the other hand, religious parties, clerics and their institutions blame that such claims of sexual abuse of children is targeted at defaming the religious practices at large by secular organizations. "Religious madarsas have their own system of accountability, which does not tolerate such crimes. All clerics and religious parties have condemned such acts and demanded that those responsible should be brought to justice. "Despite all that, some elements continue to tarnish the image of seminaries," said Mohammad Nazir Farooqui from Maroof ul Quran madarsa in Islamabad. The matter continues to be a seriously sensitive issue to debate in Pakistan as the power of these religious seminaries on the streets, the massive following of the senior clerics, political strength these clerics carry, which makes them desirable to every political party who wishes to come in power, is massive. Any claim against a cleric is considered as an attack on the religion, and keeps accountability and probe into child abuse claims on very weak grounds. Kampala, July 3 : Ugandan authorities said that if they could immunise more than 21 million people, or nearly half the population, Covid-19 would be put at bay. But procuring vaccines remains uncertain as one of the main manufacturers India is battling the raging virus at home and prioritizing domestic use, the Xinhua news agency reported. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has previously said that although the country has received doses of the Covid-19 vaccines through donations, it is now considering purchasing the vaccines or even producing them locally if it could secure the necessary raw materials. In a televised update about the pandemic on Friday, Minister of Health Ruth Aceng said that the government would procure an additional 11 million doses, among which 9 million are AstraZeneca and 2 million Johnson and Johnson. "The ministry of health has concluded the initial legal requirements to procure 2 million of Johnson and Johnson vaccine through Africa Export-Import Bank and the African Union. The process is ongoing," said Aceng. "Legal requirements to procure 9 million doses of vaccines through the COVAX facility under the cost sharing framework have been concluded and funds have been remitted for this. So we wait for feedback on when we can receive the doses from the COVAX facility," she said. COVAX is a global initiative to boost the equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines. She said there are ongoing talks to acquire vaccines from Cuba, Russia, China and the UK in addition to COVAX. The Ministry of Health recently announced that this month it will receive over 882,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine through COVAX. At least 300,000 doses of China's Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine are also expected to arrive this month. The country last month received 175,200 AstraZeneca doses with support from the United Nations Children's Fund and the French Embassy under COVAX. The country in March this year received 864,000 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine via COVAX and 100,000 doses from the Indian government. As of Friday, a total of 861,645 people had received the first jab of AstraZeneca vaccine and 129,259 had gotten their second jabs, according to the ministry of health. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Colombo, July 3 : The Sri Lankan government received a new batch of the Sinopharm vaccine from China, while the Pfizer vaccine would arrive next week as a mass vaccination program was ongoing in the country. The consignment was arrived on Friday. State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Channa Jayasumana said that the Sinopharm vaccine arrived in Sri Lanka early Friday and were handed to the Health Ministry before it was transported by refrigerated trucks to the Central Vaccine Storage in Colombo. In total, nearly 2.5 million people in Sri Lanka have received their first doses of vaccines of Sinopharm, AstraZeneca and Sputnik V, the Xinhua news agency reported. Jayasumana said that Sri Lanka will for the first time receive a batch of Pfizer vaccines which will arrive on Monday. According to health officials, these doses may be administered as the second dose for those who received the AstraZeneca as the first jabs. Over 150,000 Sri Lankans have tested positive for the virus since April, while the country's overall patient count reached 257,225 on Wednesday. San Francisco, July 3 : In a surprise development, IBM has announced that Jim Whitehurst has decided to step down as President of the company just 14 months after joining in that role. Whitehurst has played a pivotal role in the $34 billion IBM and Red Hat integration announced in 2018. He will continue to work as senior advisor to Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO, IBM. "In the almost three years since the acquisition was announced, Jim has been instrumental in articulating IBM's strategy, but also, in ensuring that IBM and Red Hat work well together and that our technology platforms and innovations provide more value to our clients," Krishna said in a statement late on Friday. After IBM bought Red Hat in 2018 for $34 billion, Ginni Rometty stepped down as CEO and Krishna took over. Whitehurst, who had been Red Hat CEO, moved to IBM as president. Krishna announced that when he became CEO, Bridget van Kralingen agreed to stay to help ensure his transition went well. "She has now decided to step down from her current role as Senior Vice President, Global Markets," he added. IBM also announced other transitions and changes in senior management. Rob Thomas will become Senior Vice President, Global Markets. Tom Rosamilia will become Senior Vice President, Cloud and Cognitive Software and Ric Lewis will become Senior Vice President of Systems. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Customs deport foreign spiders sent by post from Poland. Image Source: IANS News Customs deport foreign spiders sent by post from Poland. Image Source: IANS News Customs deport foreign spiders sent by post from Poland. Image Source: IANS News Customs deport foreign spiders sent by post from Poland. Image Source: IANS News Customs deport foreign spiders sent by post from Poland. Image Source: IANS News Customs deport foreign spiders sent by post from Poland. Image Source: IANS News Customs deport foreign spiders sent by post from Poland. Image Source: IANS News Customs deport foreign spiders sent by post from Poland. Image Source: IANS News Customs deport foreign spiders sent by post from Poland. Image Source: IANS News Customs deport foreign spiders sent by post from Poland. Image Source: IANS News Chennai, July 3 : Seizing a parcel containing 107 plastic vials containing foreign spiders, Chennai Air Customs have asked the postal authorities to deport them back to Poland. According to the Commissioner of Customs, Chennai International Airport, officials intercepted a postal parcel that arrived from Poland at the Foreign Post Office here. The parcel was addressed to a Arupukotai (Tamil Nadu) based person. On opening the parcel, a thermocol box was found in which 107 small plastic vials wrapped in silver foil and cotton were found. On examination live spiders were found inside each vial. WildLife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) officials and scientists of the Zoological Survey of India were called to identify the species. Based on morphological examination they suspected the spiders to be of a genus Phonopelma and Brachypelma which are CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) listed Tarantulas, native of South, Central America and Mexico. The Animal Quarantine Officials recommended deporting the spiders in the parcel to the country of origin as the said import is illegal as there were no proper documents. The spiders were seized and parcel containing the spiders were handed over to postal authorities to deport to Poland the country of origin. Further investigations are under progress. Thiruvananthapuram, July 3 : Legendary filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan on Saturday turned 80. He lives in the state capital city in his tastefully decorated house designed by late Lawrie Baker and he is alone as his wife passed away a few years back, while his only daughter is an IPS officer in Maharashtra. Though he has directed just a dozen feature films starting with 'Swayamwaram' in 1972, in his glittering career he has won the national film awards 16 times, 17 Kerala State awards besides numerous international awards and also the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2004. The country has decorated him with a Padma Shri in 1984 and followed it up with the Padma Vibhushan in 2006. His last feature film was "Pinneyum" in 2016 and it featured the then popular Mollywood pair of Dileep and Kavya Madhavan. His career began in 1965 with a 20 minute short fiction film titled "A Great Day" and since then besides directing 12 feature films, he has also done close to 40 short films and documentaries. Adoor did his graduation from the Gandhigram Rural University in 1960 and left a government job of a statistical investigator to study cinema at the Film Institute of India, Pune in 1962. After graduating from Pune in 1965, Adoor never had to look back. On Saturday, he received a string of visitors at his home here, including top politicians and a bishop who came to wish him on his birthday. With Covid pandemic continuing, it remains to be seen what his next venture will be. A tough nut to crack, Adoor doesn't reveal what his plans are, even though for a while there has been speculations that he might cast superstar Mohanlal, which has never happened before, although he has worked with superstar Mammootty a few times. Among the international recognition that has come his way include -- Legion of Honour - French order, the highest decoration in France in 1984; Lifetime achievement award at Cairo International Film Festival; the London Film Festival, and the British Film Institute awards to mention a few. While all his films have won rave reviews, some of the most acclaimed films include 'Elipathayam', 'Mukamukam', 'Anantharam', 'Nizhalkuthu', and 'Swayamwaram'. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text July 03 : The BFFs Ananya Panday, Shanaya Kapoor and Navya Naveli Nanda were on a blast as they enjoyed a girls night on Friday at Shanayas home, taking away her father, Sanjay Kapoors sleep. Shanaya took to her Instagram handle and shared a series of pictures from the girls night as the close friends get crazy and goofy. Shanaya, who is about to debut in Bollywood, shared pictures of the crazy things the three of them did at her home on Friday night, leading her father, Sanjay Kapoor, to jokingly complain that the girls will definitely not let him sleep the whole night. Sharing the pictures, Shanaya captioned it as, my kinda crazy. Taking to the comments section, Sanjay Kapoor wrote, There goes my sleep tonight, while the moms, Bhavana Pandey and Maheep Kapoor, showered love on them by dropping red heart emojis. For the girls night, the friends were dressed in colour-coordinated outfits. Ananya wore a black lace-up crop top with frayed jeans, while Shanaya wore a black sleeveless mock neck crop top with distressed jeans. Navya was dressed in a black sleeveless top and matching flared pants. Shanaya will soon start shooting for the Dharma Productions film. Last year, she had announced that she had signed with Karan Johars talent management company Dharma Cornerstone Agency. While details of the film have not been disclosed, the film is slated to go on floors this month. Earlier, Shanaya has worked as an assistant director to Sharan Sharma at the set of Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, starring her cousin Janhvi Kapoor. On the other hand, Ananya will soon start shooting for Puri Jagannadhs Liger and will share screen space with Vijay Deverakonda. The film will mark her pan-India debut. The film will release in five languages--Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. Ananya will also be seen in Shakun Batras next, alongside Deepika Padukone and Siddhant Chaturvedi. Amitabh Bachchans granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda has said earlier that she will join her father in his business. She is also the co-founder of an online healthcare platform for women and has also founded a non-profit organisation to support gender equality in India. Ottawa, July 3 : Seven people from two families were killed in an early-morning fire in Chestermere, Alberta on Friday. Five others - an adult and four children - managed to escape. The fire broke out at about 2:30 a.m. in the city about 16 kilometres east of Calgary, the CTV reported. Among the dead are a 38-year-old man, a 38-year-old woman, a 35-year-old male, a 12-year-old boy, a 12-year old girl, an eight-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy. Calgary Imam Syed Soharwardy with the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada said two families, who were both Muslim, were living in the home. One family had been in Calgary for what he described as "a long time" and the other had recently moved to Alberta from Ontario. Friends of the family say they've spoken with the homeowner, who managed to help his two children and two of his brother's children out of the burning home. "We have no words how much sadness we are feeling right now and how devastated we all are," said Khaleel Bhatti, a family friend. Nareem Essa, a neighbour, says it is a "very sad incident" for everyone in the town. "It's very shocking news. Chestermere is a small community and a very caring community." Chestermere Mayor Marshall Chalmers says the entire community is reeling from the news of the fatal fire and will join together to help the affected family grieve. "Words cannot effectively express the devastation on our community. Our minds cannot fully comprehend the overwhelming loss," he said in a statement Friday afternoon. "Our hearts ache for this family, this neighbourhood, and the community at large. While many will feel helpless in the face of such heartbreak, all we can do is to join together to grieve, to listen, and to support those impacted." Chalmers also thanked the efforts of first responders as well as the many people across the province for their thoughts and prayers. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. July 03 : Arjun Kapoor had celebrated his 36th birthday on June 26. The actor had hosted a lavish birthday bash at Mumbais Taj Mahal Palace hotel, which was attended by Bollywoods A-listers including Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, along with Arjuns sisters Janhvi Kapoor, Anshula Kapoor, and Khushi Kapoor. Arjuns girlfriend Malaika Arora was also present at the bash, but no picture of the diva was revealed. Today, the official social media account of Taj Mahal Mumbai shared a romantic click of the couple on its official Instagram page. The unseen picture was unveiled with the caption mentioning that the couple celebrated a special day together. In the picture, Malaika and Arjun looked stunning as they struck a pose together. Sharing the picture on the official Instagram page of the five-star hotel, the hotel captioned it as, Corridors that tell a story! An absolute pleasure to have had @malaikaaroraofficial and @arjunkapoor stay with us to celebrate a special day! #TajMahalPalace #PalaceTales, the caption read. Like many others, Malaika had also shared a love-filled post for the birthday boy on her Instagram page. Malaika and Arjun have been dating for quite some time now. On the occasion of his birthday, Malaika had shared a romantic picture with Arjun and wrote, Happy Birthday, my sunshine," alongside a series of red hearts. Earlier, Arjun shared a picture from his birthday lunch, which was taken by Malaika and credited her for making him look good. Was caught lost in thought at the birthday lunch What a difference a year makes A year ago I was deflated, tired & confused, today I sit ready with new energy, vigour & determination to face any curveball life throws my way... I just want to acknowledge all those close to me who have believed in me, supported me & cared for me. My work mates, fans, friends, family & my baby thank u for standing by my side. Photo credit - @malaikaaroraofficial (she makes me look good), he wrote on his Instagram page. Arjun was recently seen in Sardar Ka Grandson, co-starring Neena Gupta and Rakul Preet Singh. His performance in the recently released film Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar was praised by critics. Arjun also has Bhoot Police and Ex Villian in the pipeline. New Delhi, July 3 : Uttarakhand will get its third chief minister in four months on Saturday evening after Tirath Singh Rawat resigned from the post on Friday night. To elect the new chief minister of Uttarakhand, the BJP legislature party meeting is scheduled at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the party office in Dehradun. There is strong buzz in the party that this time chief minister will be most likely to be elected from MLAs only as the state assembly election is due in next eight months. "No one knows who will be elected the new chief minister of Uttarakhand, but to avoid any constitutional crisis, the leadership might allow an MLA for the post," a Uttarakhand BJP leader said. Rawat on Friday late evening submitted his resignation to Governor Baby Rani Maurya. Rawat, a Lok Sabha member from Garhwal, and as per the rules, needs to be sworn in as an elected MLA within six months of taking over as the chief minister. Rawat was supposed to get himself elected to the state Assembly before September 10 to remain in office, which could not happen due to provision of Representation of the People Act, 1951. Uttarakhand BJP chief Madan Kaushik said, "BJP legislature party meet will be held at party headquarters in state capital at 3 p.m. today and central observer Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, state unit in-charge and national general secretary, Dushyant Gautam Kaushik will be present in the meeting." It is learnt that after the BJP legislature party meeting, the new chief minister will meet the governor and will stake claim to form a new government in the state. "Timing of swearing in will be scheduled at the earliest after staking claim to form the government," a party insider said. Tirath Singh Rawat was sworn in as Uttarakhand's CM on March 10 replacing Trivendra Singh Rawat. Sources said that Tirath Singh Rawat, who was in Delhi till Friday evening, where he had met BJP chief J.P. Nadda twice in three days, was asked by the party leadership to resign to avoid a constitutional crisis. Sources said that on Wednesday night at a meeting at Union Home Minister Amit Shah's residence, Nadda had explained to Rawat about exception provided under Section 151 of Act for not holding by-elections -- if the remainder of the term in relation to the vacancy is less than a year or if the Election Commission, in consultation with the Centre, certifies that it is difficult to hold the by-election within the said period. On Friday afternoon, Rawat once again met Nadda and left for Denhradun to submit his resignation to the governor. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Tirupati, July 3 : The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), custodian of the globally renowned Lord Venkateswara temple, on Saturday condemned a section of media houses for publishing fake news of the temple body and creating confusion among devotees. "A section of media tried to create confusion among devotees," said a TTD official and termed those media reports as void of facts. He clarified and asserted that TTD did not cease any free services in Tirumala and brought more details. According to the temple body, there were 176 counters in Tirumala prior to March 2020, issuing laddus (consecrated sweet), darshan (visit) tokens, SSD counters, SED counters and Alipiri toll gate counter. "Out of which 86 were operated by Trilok, 40 by various banks, 18 laddu sevaks, and 29 by FM agencies. While Trilok withdrew its services even before March 2020, other banks also gave up as it involved cash transactions. Similar was the case with laddu sevaks," said the official. However, currently, only two banks are running 16 counters, which are also putting pressure on TTD that they will withdraw. "At this juncture, to give more transparent services to devotees, TTD has called for tenders which took place in a transparent manner," he noted. He said KVM Info from Bengaluru quoted the lowest bid at Rs 11,402 per shift per counter against the previous value of Rs 12,345, excluding GST in both cases. Further, TTD has reduced the number of counters from 176 to 164 as per requirement and even introduced deploying personnel on rotation basis by alternating staff once every two months, aimed at avoiding scope for misappropriation. "When TTD is taking decisions and implementing them for the good of pilgrims, it is sad that a section of media is trying to malign the image of TTD among the devotees with their negative reports," he highlighted. Similarly, he alleged that some people with ulterior motives are attempting to play games with the sentiments of devotees and called it unethical. On Friday, former chief minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo Nara Chandrababu Naidu shared a Telugu daily's report and alleged that the sacredness of TTD is being compromised by handing over charge of various works to private firms, sidelining those who used to offer free services earlier. New Delhi, July 3 : Efficacy analysis demonstrates Covaxin to be 77.8 per cent effective against symptomatic COVID-19, through evaluation of 130 confirmed cases, with 24 observed in the vaccine group versus 106 in the placebo group. Bharat Biotech has concluded final analysis for Covaxin efficacy from Phase 3 clinical trials. Efficacy analysis demonstrates Covaxin to be 93.4 per cent effective against severe symptomatic COVID-19. Safety analysis demonstrates adverse events reported were similar to placebo, with 12 per cent of subjects experiencing commonly known side effects and less than 0.5 per cent of subjects feeling serious adverse events. The data demonstrates 63.6 per cent protection against asymptomatic COVID-19 and efficacy data demonstrates 65.2 per cent protection against the SARS-CoV-2, B.1.617.2 Delta variant. Bharat Biotech on Saturday announced safety and efficacy analysis data from Phase III clinical trials of Covaxin, a whole virion inactivated vaccine against SARS-CoV2, was developed in partnership with ICMR and NIV Pune. Phase 3 clinical trials of COVAXIN was an event driven analysis of 130 symptomatic COVID-19 cases, reported at least two weeks after the 2nd dose, conducted at 25 sites across India. Covaxin is formulated with a novel Algel+IMDG adjuvant. IMDG is a TLR7/8 agonist known to induce memory T cell responses along with strong neutralizing antibodies. The activation of cell mediated immune responses is especially valuable in a multi epitope vaccine such as Covaxin where immune protection can be achieved from S, RBD and N proteins alike. IMDG was developed under partnership between Virovax and NIAID, National Institutes of Health, USA. Covaxin was well tolerated and the Data Safety Monitoring Board has not reported any safety concerns related to the vaccine. The overall rate of adverse events observed in COVAXINA was lower than that seen in other Covid-19 vaccines. The safety profile of Covaxin is now well established based on inactivated vaccines technology, and in large part due to the extensive 20-year safety track record of Bharat Biotech's vero cell manufacturing platform. Furthermore, Bharat Biotech has so far not sought indemnity for Covaxin from the Governments. No licensed SARS-CoV-2 vaccine has reported efficacy against asymptomatic infection in a randomised controlled trial, based on qPCR testing. Covaxin is the first to report promising efficacy against asymptomatic infections based on qPCR testing that will help in reducing disease transmission. Krishna Ella, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Biotech, said, "The successful safety and efficacy readouts of Covaxin as a result of conducting the largest ever COVID Vaccines trials in India establishes the ability of India and developing world countries to focus towards innovation and novel product development. We are proud to state that Innovation from India will now be available to protect global populations." Covaxin has been specifically designed to meet the needs of global distribution chains, the requirements for which are more critical in low- and middle-income countries. It has been formulated to enable shipping and long-term storage at 2-8AC. It is also formulated to adhere to a multi-dose vial policy, thereby reducing open vial wastage, saving money to procurement agencies and governments alike. Balram Bhargava, Secretary Department of Health Research & Director General Indian Council of Medical Research, said, "I am delighted to note that Covaxin, developed by ICMR and BBIL under an effective public private partnership, has demonstrated an overall efficacy of 77.8 per cent in India's largest COVID phase 3 clinical trial thus far. Our scientists at ICMR and BBIL have worked tirelessly to deliver a truly effective vaccine of highest international standards. Covaxin will not only benefit the Indian citizens but would also immensely contribute to protect the global community against the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus. I am also pleased to see that Covaxin works well against all variant strains of SARS-CoV-2. The successful development of Covaxin has consolidated the position of Indian academia and Industry in the global arena." Bharat Biotech is a company driven by science and validated by empirical evidence. Its commitment to data transparency has been proven again with 10 publications on COVAXINA, covering all aspects of product development, all within 12 months. Bharat Biotech's commitment to continued improvement of COVAXINA is well under way with additional clinical trials to establish safety and efficacy in children between 2-18 years of age. A clinical trial to determine the safety and immunogenicity of a booster dose is also in process. Several research activities are being carried out to study variants of concern and to assess their suitability for follow up booster doses. Suchitra Ella, Joint Managing Director, Bharat Biotech, said, "It is a momentous day for everyone, at Bharat Biotech, as we announce the Final Phase-3 Results of COVAXINA and its efficacy of 77.8 per cent. We sincerely thank all our employees for enduring work pressures through the pandemic & lockdowns, with 24x7 commitment amidst unprecedented number of physical challenges, stress and continuous operations. We specially thank our medical affairs team for leading the project, the technical and marketing teams who have relentlessly worked to complete the clinical trials and coordination of 25 sites across the country since May 2020." Covaxin has been evaluated through neutralizing antibody responses against several variants of concern, namely B.1.617.2 (Delta), B.1.617.1 (Kappa), B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P2- B.1.1.28 (Gamma). The data from these studies have been extensively published in peer reviewed journals and available for review in the public domain. Priya Abraham, Director National Institute of Virology ICMR said, "The overall efficacy of 77.8 per cent following the phase III clinical trial of Covaxin is wonderful news. ICMR-NIV and BBIL have had very fruitful interactions during this exhilarating journey. Sera from Covaxin recipients have also been evaluated against viral variants detected in India i.e., the Alpha, Beta, Zeta, Kappa and Delta. The making of this vaccine entirely on Indian soil is a matter of great pride to every Indian." Covaxin has now received emergency use authorizations in 16 countries including, Brazil, India, Philippines, Iran, Mexico, etc with EUA's in process in 50 countries worldwide. The company is in discussions with WHO to obtain emergency Use Listing for Covaxin. The product has been exported to several countries with additional requests for supplies being received. Bharat Biotech has established COVAXINA manufacturing at 4 facilities within India, further expansions are in process to reach an annualized capacity of 1 billion doses by the end of 2021. Technology transfer activities are in progress to companies in United States, and other countries. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text New Delhi, July 3 : The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan reached a significant milestone on Friday, with officials confirming that all American forces had left the sprawling Bagram Air Base, CBS News reported. For almost 20 years, Bagram has been the primary military base used by the US to wage its war in Afghanistan, the report said. The American forces' unceremonious departure from Bagram is the most significant evidence yet that America's longest war has finally come to an end. The base was in the hands of Afghan security forces as of Friday -- way ahead of the deadline President Joe Biden set to have all US forces out by September 11. However, it doesn't mean the withdrawal of America troops is complete, and officials stressed that the top US commander in Afghanistan, Army General Scott Miller, "still retains all the capabilities and authorities to protect the forces" still in the country. The US military hasn't said when the last American soldiers are due to pack up and head home from Afghanistan, but there's a lot of unfinished business, the report said. The Taliban welcomed the news of the Bagram handover, spokesman Suhail Shaheen told CBS News on Friday, adding: "We hope there are no more foreign soldiers on our land." Daily Mail reported for close to 20 years, Bagram Airfield was the heart of American military power in Afghanistan, a sprawling mini-city behind fences and blast walls just an hour's drive north of Kabul. It was initially a symbol of the US drive to avenge the 9/11 attacks and then of its struggle for a way through the ensuing war with the Taliban. Now, in just a matter of days, the last US soldiers will have departed Bagram. They are leaving what probably everyone connected to the base -- whether American or Afghan -- considers a strained legacy, the report said. US Central Command said last week it is well past 50 per cent packing up Bagram and the rest is going fast. American officials have said the entire pullout of US troops will most likely be completely finished by July 4. The Afghan military will then take over Bagram as part of its continuing fight against the Taliban --- and against what many in the country fear will be a new eruption of chaos. As the withdrawal date for the US troops approaches, thousands of Afghan translators now face being left stranded because they haven't yet been accepted for a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) into America, the report added. Up to 18,000 translators and interpreters are under constant fear of deadly attacks from the Taliban and have been run out of their homes because of their support for the American government over the last 20 years. It has cost the US military 2,312 lives and $816 billion, according to the Department of Defence. Mumbai, July 3 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has once again summoned former Maharashtra Hone Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Anil Deshmukh for questioning on July 5 in connection with the alleged bribery charges. This is the third summon to Deshmukh in a week. An ED source related to probe said that the financial probe agency has summoned Deshmukh to record his statement on July 5. Deshmukh had earlier skipped two summons of the ED in the case. On June 29, Deshmukh skipped the second summon citing Covid pandemic and said that he was ready to join the probe through any "video or audio" medium. Deshmukh had skipped the ED's first summons last week also following searches at his residence in Nagpur. He had sought more time to appear before the financial probe agency. The NCP leader also said that he would furnish all information and documents sought by the ED after the agency provided him a copy of the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) filed by it in the case. He further mentioned that the ED summons "do not clarify" the purpose of his personal appearance before it. On June 26, the ED arrested Deshmukh's personal secretary Sanjeev Palande and personal assistant Kundan Shinde in connection with an alleged 'hafta' case. In its remand copy of the two officials of Deshmukh, the ED said that over Rs 4 crore collected from bar owners between December 2020 and February 2021 was routed to Deshmukh's charitable trust in Nagpur, through four shell companies in Delhi. Deshmukh (72), is facing an ED investigation on the basis of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case as the fallout of the allegations made in a letter penned by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, who is now the Commandant-General of Home Guards. Singh had alleged in his letter to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray in March that Deshmukh had fixed a collection target of Rs 100 crore per month for sacked assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze, who was the then head of the Crime Intelligence Unit of the elite Crime Branch-CID of the Mumbai Police. Thereafter, Singh had approached the Supreme Court which directed him to go to Bombay High Court where the CBI was asked to conduct a preliminary enquiry. Meanwhile, Vaze was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for the twin cases of planting of an SUV Scorpio with 20 gelatin sticks and a threat note near Antilia, the home of Reliance Industries Ltd Chairman Mukesh Ambani, followed by the murder of Thane-based owner of the SUV, Mansukh Hiran. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text San Francisco, July 3 : Google has made significant gains in hiring employees of colours, saying that it is excited to build on the goals such as increasing representation of underrepresented groups by 30 per cent by 2025 and expanding hiring in cities. In the US, Google doubled the number of Black employees in its leadership team to 7.1 per cent from 3.6 per cent the year prior. The number of women in Google leadership globally rose from 26.7 per cent to 28.1 per cent. Still, Google's US workforce is 68 per cent male and 32 per cent female. "We will continue to build with and for underrepresented groups where structural and systemic barriers to belonging are the highest, as well as co-create solutions to address racial equity, gender equity, and accessibility with experts and leaders around the world," the report said. "2020 has left us more committed than ever to creating a workplace and world where we all feel a sense of belonging," the company said. Google said that it is holding itself accountable for anti-racism at every level of the company, from leadership to all Googlers. "We have incorporated diversity, equity, and inclusion evaluation considerations in all performance reviews at the VP level and above to drive leadership accountability," the report mentioned. Google said it has made concrete, global commitments to racial equity company-wide, from hiring criteria to leadership accountability, community investments, and new product creation. "We have created racial equity commitments and an Equity Program Management Office with input from members of our Black Leadership Advisory Group and Black Googlers Network employee resource group," it noted. New Delhi, July 3: Food security may be becoming another big challenge for China amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, which has impacted food production the world over. Beijing's imports of food grains and other items have been steadily rising in the last few years. According to data portal Statista, China's rice import bill in April this year stood at $218.4 million. In the corresponding month in 2020, it was $100.97 million. Since December, imports of the grain have been rising. Not just rice. China's imports of corn, wheat, meats, and soyabeans have also shot up. Panic and confusion hit the people of China last year when President Xi Jinping launched the 'Clean Plate' campaign to reduce wastage of food. The initiative though was aimed at reducing food wastage by people, it lacked clarity. Following the announcement, many restaurants in the country had reduced the food portions. "People were panic stricken with the initiative. Though the Chinese authorities said that the move was aimed at reducing wastage of food, which is huge in China, it created an environment of uncertainty and fear among the Chinese," an analyst told India Narrative. In November, last year, South China Morning Post in a report said that "long-term factors affecting China's food security include a shrinking rural labour force, the reduction of available farmland by urban development as well as a farmland management system that is an obstacle to modern farming and large-scale cultivation." In another report published recently, SCMP said that a debate is simmering in China about whether the nation is facing a food crisis. "Stoked by President Xi Jinping's war on food waste, food export restrictions from some Southeast Asian nations amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and the inclusion of food security in the government's 2021 work report - feeding the nation's 1.4 billion people is back in the public eye," the report said. Xi has underlined the need ensure that the country, which has 1.4 billion people, is self-sufficient in rice production. "Last year, China had been hit by severe floods, which damaged crops leading to reduction in food production. That is one area, which Beijing is now carefully looking at," BR Deepak, expert on China and a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University said. "The rise in imports of the food items is also due to the change in eating patterns in China," another analyst told India Narrative. A recent World Bank report in a recent report noted that an increasing number of countries are facing growing levels of acute food insecurity, reversing years of development gains. "Covid-19 impacts have led to severe and widespread increases in global food insecurity, affecting vulnerable households in almost every country, with impacts expected to continue through 2021 and into 2022," the report said. (This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) -- Syndicated from IANS New Delhi, July 3 : The Sindh High Court (SHC) in Pakistan on Friday issued notices to the Sindh police chief, Sindh Rangers director-general, the provincial government and the Federation of Pakistan on a petition seeking the recovery of a missing Awami Workers Party (AWP) activist, dawn has reported. Seengar Noonari was allegedly taken away from his home in Naseerabad in Sindh last week, following which his wife filed a petition in the SHC to seek his production. Fozia Seengar claimed in the petition that they were asleep in their house on the night between June 25 and 26 when, at around 3 a.m., about 15-20 people, including some wearing security personnel uniforms, forcibly entered into the house by breaking open the main door with weapons and also fired shots "to spread terror", the report said. According to the petition, the individuals wearing uniforms blindfolded the AWP worker and took him away along with books and other material, while his brother was left at home. The petitioner's lawyer informed the court that she had submitted an application regarding Seengar's alleged abduction in the Naseerabad police station. The plea requested the court to order the respondents and officials working under them to produce the activist before the court and order his immediate release. Taking up the petition, the SHC ordered the issuance of notices to the respondents, including the Sindh police and Rangers chiefs and the station house officer of the Naseerabad Police Station, as well as the deputy attorney general and additional attorney general, seeking their response to the application by July 13. The petitioner's counsel was also directed to file a copy of the CNIC or other official identification documents of the "missing person". Seengar is the labour secretary in the national committee of AWP, while Fozia is the finance secretary of the party's women's wing, the Women Democratic Front. Fozia said her husband had also remained the chairman of the 'Shehri Ittehad' in Naseerabad highlighting civic issues and was elected as a councillor as well. He had also contested on a seat for the provincial assembly from Naseerabad, the report said. Riyadh, July 3 : Saudi Arabia has banned the travel of citizens to UAE, Ethiopia and Vietnam without prior permission, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Saturday, citing an official source at the Ministry of Interior. Flights to and from these countries as well as Afghanistan will be suspended on Sunday, July 4, at 11 p.m, the Saudi Gazette reported. The source indicated there will be institutional quarantine for all passengers, whether citizens or foreigners, coming from these countries, after this date. Citizens who intend to return before that date will be spared institutional quarantine. Mumbai, July 3 : Actor and host Vighnesh Pandey, who is currently seen hosting the show "The Happy Hour", has also made a mark as a ventriloquist. He says ventriloquism wasn't his first career choice. Vighnesh, whose female puppet Anna is quite popular, reveals that his journey started as a substitute ventriloquist for his father. "I decided to take up ventriloquism only as a hobby in my first year of college and back then I wasn't much of a fan of show business. My father and my brother are ventriloquists and we had been through a lot of ups and downs in life, I always wanted to make a stable career. Despite this, I decided to give ventriloquism a shot. My first paid show was a flop show, I went as my father's substitute and came back disappointed. I thought the profession wasn't for me," Vighnesh tells IANS. The actor adds: "I had nearly decided to stop pursuing this art until my father got a call from the same event planner whose show had flopped, asking if I was available for another show. He said the show was a hit and the audience loved watching me! That's how my journey of ventriloquism began." Vighnesh reveals that the idea of Anna as his puppet came into being because he wanted a female character who could talk on issues in a lighthearted way. "When a lot of women-related issues were given light, that's when Anna, the female character, was born. Initially, my organisers or clients hinted to not put her on stage but I was keen on having a female character who would speak about relevant issues and not shy away from them. I made videos with her online and before I knew she was famous. Ever since, the journey hasn't been harsh. People love Anna and Vighnesh's arguments and I owe a lot to her. Like they say, behind every successful man, there is a woman!" he sums up on a witty note. His show "The Happy Hour" airs on Zee TV. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Faizabad : July 3 (IANS) A heavy fighting between government forces and Taliban rebels broke out in Afghanistan's northern Badakhshan province, killing 20 Taliban militants and three soldiers, an army officer in the province Captain Abdul Razaq said on Saturday. "A total of 20 Taliban rebels and three soldiers have been killed in Badakhshan over the past 24 hours," Razaq confirmed to local media. Ten more insurgents and five security personnel had been injured, the officer added. In the meantime, some locals on the condition of anonymity said that the Taliban fighters had captured the headquarters of Tagab, Kishim, Tashkan and Shahr-e-Buzarg districts of Badakhshan over the past 24 hours, the Xinhua news agency reported. However, Badakhshan's provincial government spokesman Nik Mohammad Nazari in talks with Xinhua has denied the fall of the districts to the Taliban militants, saying that the fighting has been continuing. Taliban militants have intensified activities since the start of the pullout of US-led forces from Afghanistan on May 1. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text New Delhi, July 3 : Days after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered a case of money laundering in connection with alleged religious conversion case, the financial probe agency is carrying out searches at six locations in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. According to ED sources, the agency sleuths are carrying out searches at the premises of Mohammad Umar Gautam, arrested in connection with the case in Delhi. The source said that the agency is also carrying out searches at Gautam's residential and office premises in South Delhi's Jamia area and several locations in Uttar Pradesh. The ED has registered a case of money laundering on the basis of the FIR registered by the ATS into the alleged conversion racket with its links from foreign countries. According to ED officials, the agency has also named Delhi residents -- Mufti Qazi Jahangir Qasmi and Gautam -- as accused in the case, who were arrested by the ATS. The ED is looking into foreign funding and money laundering angles in this case. Following the arrest of the two Delhi men, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered action under the Gangster Act and National Security Act (NSA) against those involved in the conversion of the physically challenged children and youth. The two men in Delhi's Jamia Nagar were allegedly running an outfit involved in converting physically impaired students and other poor people to Islam in Uttar Pradesh with funding from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The arrests were made following the registration of an FIR in the case at Lucknow's ATS police station. On last Monday, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar told reporters that Gautam, who himself converted to Islam from Hinduism, boasted to the police of having converted at least 1,000 people to Islam, luring them with marriage, money and jobs. "I converted at least 1,000 non-Muslims to Islam, marrying them all to Muslims," Kumar quoted Gautam as saying. The outfit that they ran is 'Islamic Dawah Center', having access to funds from Pakistan's ISI and other foreign agencies, said the ADG. He further said that the ATS had been working on the intelligence inputs that some people were getting funds from the ISI and other foreign agencies for converting poor people to Islam and spreading communal enmity in the society. The ATS probe has resulted in the duo's arrest and they have been booked on various charges, including those under the Indian Penal Code and Uttar Pradesh's stringent anti-conversion law. The ADG said the arrested accused would be produced before the court and the police would seek their custody for further probe into the case. The UP ATS has made several more arrests in the case. Patna, July 3 : In Bihar, hit hard by the second wave of Covid-19 that has claimed more than 9,500 lives so far, a group of 74 volunteers of the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, including doctors, have pitched in to bring medical help for those infected and in critical stages. The NVS alumni have come together to help those who cannot either find or afford proper medical help. When hospital beds were scarce, the doctors in the group provided consultations over the phone. For example, a man in Darbhanga district who contracted Covid-19 chose to self-medicate to treat the infection. After around 10 days, when his condition became critical, his panick-stricken wife, who was in the ninth month of pregnancy, sought the help of Lakhisarai's Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Amritesh Kumar, who happens to be a member of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Covid Helpline (JNVCH). He arranged an oxygen cylinder with the help of the volunteers but in just four hours, the cylinder was empty and he needed a refill. Meanwhile, the patient's health continued to deteriorate. The volunteers then helped hospitalise the man. As his health was sinking, he was put on a ventilator and needed Remdesivir injections and blood plasma. The JNVCH team made tremendous effort and arranged all required medicines and plasma donors for the man, saving his life. Later, when the couple shared with the JNVCH volunteers a photograph of their newborn girl, Kumar said, "I felt as if she was my own daughter, and I thanked God for being able to help save her father's life." Another beneficiary of the JNVCH's services is an 84-old-year man in the Begusarai district, whose condition became critical after he contracted the virus. With only a 35 per cent heart function, the volunteers took him to several hospitals, but he was continually denied admission. The volunteers later managed to stabilise his condition through home isolation and teleconsultation with Dr Sumit Verma, a JNVCH volunteer who is serving at a hospital in Jaipur. Band of saviours The JNVCH is a 74-member group of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya alumni founded on April 19, 2021, by Ranjan Jha after his colleague Muchkund Kumar Monu died of COVID-19 infection. The group has members from various walks of life -- 40 of them are doctors and others include government officials, journalists and social workers. The team, which has sworn to do everything possible to prevent COVID-19 deaths for want of medical help, has so far saved more than 1,000 lives. A majority of these doctors serve in the COVID-19 wards of hospitals within and outside Bihar. They contribute to the group's efforts by way of providing remote consultation - analysing blood oxygen levels and severity of symptoms and advising the course of treatment. The volunteers help the patients by arranging oxygen cylinders, medicines and food. The group makes all this possible through the team's Facebook page and WhatsApp group. Jha said the group has so far helped more than 5000 COVID-19-infected persons. According to him, more than 2000 of these people were in critical condition and were provided round-the-clock medical help and tele-counselling by the group's doctors. Santosh Kumar Pandey, a JNVCH volunteer at Bihiya in Bhojpur district, told 101Reporters that he has so far distributed more than 2,000 kits containing medicines that were collected from various sources. "Several members of our team, including the doctors, have been working without sleep since the second wave started in Bihar. We are sourcing oxygen cylinders, distributing medicines and food packets for the affected people," he said. Often many of these were in shortage but it helped that the volunteers had a number of doctors and government officials among them. Dr Harimohan Singh, another volunteer and a medical officer in the COVID-19 ward at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), said, "I lost my grandmother for want of proper medical assistance. My aunt was also in a critical condition but survived. Since then, I have decided to do everything I can to help people who approach me. I receive 100 to 150 calls in a day-many of them seeking help in critical stages. I have helped about 85 per cent of these patients recover in their homes." Senior Resident Medical Officer Dr Rajeev Kumar of Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, said, "I sometimes receive calls as early as 4 am. Most of these people are so panicked that I have to calm them down before giving medical advice." The questions are usually the same - about managing cold, cough, fever, oxygen saturation, etc. The first thing the doctors do is check the level of infection, oxygen levels, etc and then they check their medication and prescribe new ones, if needed. "I follow up the cases by constantly monitoring the patients' condition through WhatsApp even when I am on duty. Whenever I become free, I call each of them," said Dr Abhijeet of Nalanda Medical College and Hospital, Patna. How they work Members of the JNVCH said they spread the word about their services through word of mouth as well as their Facebook page and WhatsApp group. When a person contacts the group for help, the details are shared on the WhatsApp group of the volunteering doctors and one of them would take up the case and follow it up for a minimum of 15 days. Since the establishment of JNVCH, each doctor has helped at least 100 COVID-19-infected persons. According to data shared by the group, out of the 5,000 plus calls the volunteers have so far received, 40 per cent were seeking help for people in critical stages. Whereas 75 per cent of these calls came from cities, only the rest 25 per cent were from people living in rural areas. Of the total cases, 99 per cent were treated under home isolation. The JNVCH is now preparing for a third possible wave of infections with more focus on rural areas that lack medical facilities. It has already started training 20 to 30 volunteers at district as well as block levels in Begusarai. Jha said JNV alumni, Dr Amit Priyadarshini from AIIMS Delhi, Dr Pragati Sharma from Kolkata and Dr Harimohan Singh from PMCH are imparting the training. "We are organising webinars to train volunteers on essential treatment methods such as checking blood oxygen levels, installing and replacing oxygen cylinders, breathing exercises for patients and administration of medicines," he told 101Reporters, adding that the group's members are also in contact with local authorities to ensure enough supply of oxygen cylinders. (The author is a Patna-based freelance journalist and a member of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.) Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) New Delhi, July 3 : A day after France ordered a judicial probe into the allegations of graft in 36 Rafale fighter jets deal with India, the Congress on Saturday upped its ante against the Narendra Modi government and demanded Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe. Addressing a press conference virtually, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, "The scandalous expose of Rafale scam involving corruption, treason, loss to public exchequer has finally been uncovered." He said that Congress and former party chief Rahul Gandhi stand vindicated today. "The French have ordered an investigation into the Rafale scam. On June 14, 2021 French Public Prosecution Services has ordered an investigation for corruption, influence peddling, money laundering, favouritism on the complaint of an NGO," he said. He said that if the role of former French President Francois Hollande and current President Emmanuel Macron is being investigated, then why not Indian former Defence Minister and an Indian company can also be investigated. He said that the media outlet in France has revealed the deal between Dassault and an Indian company which constituted a joint venture. He said, "This substantiates the statement made by then President Francois Hollande, who said that the decision to appoint an Indian company as Dassault's industrial partner was of the Indian government, meaning the Modi government. And the French had no choice into the matter." He also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed a deal worth 7.8 billion euro to buy 36 Rafale jets in place of 126 fighter jets. Surjewala pointed out that the French government deleted the anti-corruption clause. "The defects now clearly call for a JPC probe," Surjewala added. The Congress leader's demand came a day after Mediapart.fr, a media outlet in European country said that a French judge has been appointed to lead a judicial investigation into alleged corruption and favouritism in the 7.8 billion euro sale to India of 36 fighter aircrafts. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text New Delhi, July 3 : Rise in the use of electric vehicles will result in increasing imports to India from Germany, said a Grant Thornton Bharat-FICCI report. At present, India and Germany aim to partner by leveraging advantages on each side and intensify cooperation on next-generation technologies, including Internet of Things (IoT). The report cited that total import to India from Germany has increased by 3.56 per cent for the period April 2020-January 2021. "Germany delivers a $11,420 (9,480 euros) subsidy for EVs, with $4,192 (3,480 euros) of that chipped in by OEMs. The economic and trade relations between the countries are strong, with Germany being India's largest trading partner in Europe." "India and Germany aim to partner by leveraging advantages on each side and intensify cooperation on next-generation technologies, including 'Internet of Things' (IoT)." According to the report, the country has the potential to expand its share in global auto components trade to 4-5 per cent by 2026, riding on the exports growth and import substitution initiatives being taken by the industry as part of the 'Aatmanirbhar' initiative. In 2018, the Indian automobile market pipped Germany to become the fourth-largest in the world and established stronger trade with India. Germany is strongly advancing towards electrification, but Indian EV industry is a growing industry and the move to e-mobility is a priority for the Government of India (GOI). "India could benefit from a targeted export expansion and imports substitution programme for trade expansion. There is a surge in German original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) entering the Indian electric vehicle market." "For the integration of EV manufacturing, supply chain and infrastructure amongst India and Germany, uncertainty is an overarching theme considering the nascent state of e-mobility uptake in India where the disruptive transitions in Germany and overall, at a global level may credibly support towards continued development of India's e-mobility solutions." -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Chennai, July 3 : Tamil Nadu's Minister for Water Resources Duraimurugan on Saturday said the government will continue to urge the central government to constitute a tribunal to resolve the issue of Karnataka's new dam across Markandeya river. In a statement issued here, Duraimurugan said the state government will take necessary action to protect the interests of farmers and other people who are dependent on the Markandeya river. Duraimurugan said even on June 29, 2021 the state government had written to the Centre to constitute the river water tribunal as per the orders of the Supreme Court issued on November 14, 2019. Reacting to the news reports about Karnataka building a 0.5 tmc capacity dam across the river, Duraimurugan said farming in about 870 hectares will be affected in Krishnagiri district because of the dam. He said Markandeya river is a tributary of the Pennaiyaru river. In 2019, the Supreme Court dismissed Tamil Nadu's petition to stay the construction of dam across Markandeya river by Karnataka. The apex court had said Tamil Nadu could request the central government to set up an inter-state river water dispute tribunal. Tamil Nadu had argued that it is not legal to build a dam across a river without the permission of the lower riparian state. On its part, Karnataka had said it is building a dam to take care of the drinking water needs and it does not require permission from other states. Mumbai, July 3 : A biography of Saroj Khan was been announced on Saturday, which marks the first death anniversary of the late choreographer. The film will bring to life the story of the struggle and success of Khan, widely acknowledged as India's first female choreographer. Details about the film are yet to be officially announced. "My mother was loved and respected by the entire industry but we have closely seen her struggle and fight to become who she was. We hope with this biopic, will be able to tell her story, her love for us, her passion for dancing, and her fondness for her actors and respect to the profession with this biopic," said Sukaina Khan, daughter of the late choreographer. Added her son Raju Khan, who is also a Bollywood choreographer: "My mother loved dancing and we all saw how she dedicated her life towards that. I am glad I followed in her footsteps. My mother was loved and respected by the industry and it is an honour for us, her family, that the world can see her story." Saroj Khan passed away on July 3 last year at the age of 71 due to cardiac arrest. Born Nirmala Kishanchand Sadhu Singh Nagpal, her father advised her to change her name to Saroj Khan so that her orthodox family wouldn't get to know that their daughter was working in films. She started her career as a child artiste at the age of three with the film "Nazarana" as baby Shyama. She became a dancer at the age of 10 and an assistant choreographer at 12. Khan started out choreographing with the 1974 film, "Geeta Mera Naam ". She directed songs for the Tamil film "Thai Veedu" in 1983, and also worked in Subhash Ghai's superhit "Hero" the same year. She became a household name in the mid to late eighties, directing memorable dances for Sridevi and then Madhuri Dixit, the reigning superstars of the era. It was the 1986 film, "Nagina" made her a household name. Sridevi's iconic dance "Main naagin tu sapera" in that film continues to be a popular today. Her choreography for Sridevi the next year in "Mr India", particularly the song "Hawaa hawaai" became equally popular. Khan had also directed some of Madhuri Dixit's most iconic dance hits including "Ek do teen" ("Tezaab"), "Choli ke peechhey" ("Khalnayak"), "Dhak dhak" ("Beta") and "Maar daala" ("Devdas"). Among her major assignments is choreographing for Aishwarya Rai in "Taal" (1999) and "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" (1999). Her last assignments include choreographing Kangana Ranaut in "Manikarnika" (2019) and "Tanu Weds Manu Returns" in 2015. Her last major work was directing Madhuri's moves in the 2019 release "Kalank". In recent years, Khan became a popular face on television as a judge on dance shows such as "Naach Baliye" and "Jhalak Dikhla Ja". In 2012, Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT) had produced a documentary film on Saroj Khan's life directed by Nidhi Tuli. Khan choreographed around 3500 songs in her career span and is a three-time National Award winner. Rights to produce the biopic have been acquired by Bhushan Kumar's T-Series. "Saroj ji's journey that started as early as a three-year-old was met with a lot of ups and downs. The success and respect she gained from the industry has to be brought to life. I remember visiting film sets with my father and seeing her bring life to songs with her choreography. Her dedication towards the art was commendable. I am glad Sukaina and Raju agreed to let us make this biopic of her mother," said Kumar. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text New Delhi, July 3 : Days after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered a case of money laundering in connection with alleged religious conversion case, the financial probe agency is carrying out searches at six locations in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. According to ED sources, the agency sleuths are carrying out searches at the premises of Mohammad Umar Gautam, arrested in connection with the case in Delhi. The source said that the agency is also carrying out searches at Gautam's residential and office premises in South Delhi's Jamia area and several locations in Uttar Pradesh. The source said that searches are on at the office of Islamic Dawah Centre (IDC), premises of Gautam's associate Mufti Qazi Jahangir Qasmi, all located at Jamia Nagar in Delhi. In Uttar Pradesh, the ED has conducted searches at offices of Al Hassan Education and Welfare Foundation and Guidance Education and Welfare Society located in Lucknow. The source said that these organisations are run by Gautam and have been instrumental in carrying out illegal conversions. Several incriminating documents have been seized during searches which reveal the large-scale conversion racket run by accused Gautam and his organisations all over India. The documents also reveal several crores of rupees of foreign funding received by the accused organisations for the purpose of illegal conversions, the source added. The ED has registered a case of money laundering on the basis of the FIR registered by the ATS into the alleged conversion racket with its links from foreign countries. According to ED officials, the agency has also named Delhi residents -- Qasmi and Gautam -- as accused in the case, who were arrested by the ATS. The ED is looking into foreign funding and money laundering angles in this case. Following the arrest of the two Delhi men, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered action under the Gangster Act and National Security Act (NSA) against those involved in the conversion of the physically challenged children and youth. The two men in Delhi's Jamia Nagar were allegedly running an outfit involved in converting physically impaired students and other poor people to Islam in Uttar Pradesh with funding from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The arrests were made following the registration of an FIR in the case at Lucknow's ATS police station. On last Monday, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar told reporters that Gautam, who himself converted to Islam from Hinduism, boasted to the police of having converted at least 1,000 people to Islam, luring them with marriage, money and jobs. "I converted at least 1,000 non-Muslims to Islam, marrying them all to Muslims," Kumar quoted Gautam as saying. The outfit that they ran is 'Islamic Dawah Center', having access to funds from Pakistan's ISI and other foreign agencies, said the ADG. He further said that the ATS had been working on the intelligence inputs that some people were getting funds from the ISI and other foreign agencies for converting poor people to Islam and spreading communal enmity in the society. The ATS probe has resulted in the duo's arrest and they have been booked on various charges, including those under the Indian Penal Code and Uttar Pradesh's stringent anti-conversion law. The ADG said the arrested accused would be produced before the court and the police would seek their custody for further probe into the case. The UP ATS has made several more arrests in the case. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Kiev, July 3 : Ukraine's Ministry of Finance confirmed that Ukraine has received a $350-million loan from the World Bank, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported on Friday. In late June, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that the government had signed an agreement on the loan with the World Bank, the Xinhua news agency reported. The funds will be used to boost Ukraine's economic recovery from the Covid-19 impact, provide social assistance for the vulnerable groups and promote reforms of certain sectors such as the land market, according to Shmyhal. Due to the pandemic, the Ukrainian economy contracted by 4.4 per cent in 2020, according to the national bank. New Delhi, July 3 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday said that it has arrested freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma in connection with money laundering case. He was produced before a Delhi court, which sent him to seven days ED custody. An ED official said that Sharma was arrested on July 1. The ED case of money laundering is based on the FIR and charge sheet filed by Delhi Police against Sharma under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, and the Official Secrets Act. The official said that during probe it was revealed that Sharma had supplied "confidential and sensitive" information to Chinese Intelligence officers, in exchange for remuneration thereby compromising the security and national interests of India. The official said that probe further revealed that cash for remuneration of Sharma and other unknown persons was being generated through hawala means by Mahipalpur based shell companies that were run by Chinese nationals namely Zhang Cheng a.k.a. Suraj, Zhang Lixia a.k.a. Usha and Quing Shi along with a Nepali national Sher Singh a.k.a. Raj Bohara. He said that apart from cash, huge transactions were made with various Chinese companies and some other trading companies in India which are being examined. "These Chinese companies were acting as a conduit for the Chinese Intelligence agencies to provide remuneration for persons like Sharma who indulged in criminal activities. Sharma also received money through benami bank accounts in order to conceal his involvement in criminal activities," he added. Chandigarh, July 3 : The police on Saturday used water cannons to disperse the workers of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) who were protesting near Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's farmhouse near here against the statewide power outages. Led by Punjab AAP chief Bhagwant Mann, thousands of party workers gathered and started marching towards the farmhouse in Siswan, raising slogans. Facing severe electricity crisis, the Punjab government curtailed timings of government offices from Friday, besides cutting down on power supply to high energy consuming industries with immediate effect to save crops and ease the domestic power situation. AAP MLA and Youth Wing state president Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said the main cause for the high cost and shortage of power is the wrong power purchase agreements reached by the previous (Parkash Singh) Badal government with the private thermal plants, which were not cancelled by the present Congress government. "Just like the Badals, the Amarinder Singh government is also taking bribes from the power companies," he alleged. The protest came days after AAP's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal promised free electricity up to 300 units and round-the-clock power supply in Punjab if the party wins the Assembly elections slated early next year. A day earlier, the Shiromani Akali Dal had held statewide protests before the offices of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to highlight the plight of the farmers, domestic consumers and industrialists, claiming that they are suffering because the Congress government has "deliberately" withheld the eight-hour free power supply to the farmers, besides imposing unscheduled power cuts in the urban areas. Mocking his own government in the state over the power outages, Congress leader and former Cabinet minister Navjot Sidhu had said on Friday, "There is no need for power cuts in Punjab or for the Chief Minister to regulate office timings or AC use of the common people... If we act in the right direction." Sidhu, in a series of back-to-back tweets, said, "Punjab already gives Rs 9,000 crore power subsidy but Delhi gives only Rs 1,699 crore as power subsidy. "If Punjab copies the Delhi model, we will get merely Rs 1,600-2,000 crore as subsidy. To better serve the people of Punjab -- Punjab needs an original Punjab model, not a copied Model!!" -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text San Francisco, July 3 : Elon Musk has confirmed that the Tesla Cybertruck will be equipped with a 4-wheel directional steering, resulting in a feature similar to the Hummer EV's 'Crab mode'. Over the last year, Musk has been talking about Tesla unveiling an updated version of the Cybertruck ahead of the start of production, which is still officially planned for later this year. Now, the CEO has confirmed that the Tesla Cybertruck is going to have 4-wheel steering, Electrek reported. "We are adding rear-wheel steering, so it can do tight turns and maneuver with high agility," Musk said. The CEO has been talking about Tesla updating the Cybertruck's adaptive air suspension. He had also talked about making the truck smaller. But Musk has scrapped that plan after a design review back in May 2020. The company this week announced that it has produced and delivered over 200,000 vehicles in Q2 2021. In the second quarter, the electric vehicle company produced 206,421 units and delivered 201,250 units. Musk had written to his employees last week that Tesla is "executing well", but they need to "go all out" at the end of the quarter. New Delhi, July 3 : Ahead of next year's assembly polls, the BJP tried to woo young voters and strengthen its base in Kumaon region by electing Pushkar Singh Dhami as new chief minister of Uttarakhand. It is learnt that Dhami is considered close to former chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari and union defence minister Rajnath Singh in national politics. A source in Uttarakhand BJP said that Dhami has close association with Koshiyari and served as officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the former chief minister. "He has a close relationship with the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also," he said. The 45-year-old is a two-time MLA from Khatima constituency. Saffron camp in Uttarakhand believes that the move will strengthen party in the Kumaon region and among youths. "Dhamiji represents both -- youth and the Kumaon region. Under him leadership vacuum from Kumaon region will be filled which will help the party expand its base in the region. Under Dhamiji's leadership, BJP will register historic victory in the state and especially in Kumaon region," Gaurav Pandey, in-charge of Uttarakhand BJP Youth Wing said. Another Uttarakhand BJP leader said that Dhami as chief minister also helped the saffron party counter former chief minister and Congress leader Harish Rawat's clout in the Kumaon region. "This is the first time the Kaumon region has been given proper importance by the party and it will help us in next year's assembly polls," he said. Dhami worked in different positions in the students wing of the RSS -- the ABVP, for almost a decade and was active in student politics in Lucknow. He also served as president of BJP youth wing in Uttarakhand for two terms. Dhami was elected as new chief minister of Uttarakhand in the meeting of the BJP's legislature party in Dehradun. Election of new chief minister was held in presence of central observers -- Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and party national general secretary D. Purandeswari. BJP in-charge for Uttarakhand Dushyant Gautam was also present in the meeting. Dhami replaced Tirath Singh Rawat, who on Friday late evening submitted his resignation to Governor Baby Rani Maurya. Rawat, a Lok Sabha member from Garhwal Lok Sabha seat, and as per the rules, needed to be sworn in as an elected MLA within six months of taking over as the chief minister, but that did not happen. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Srinagar, July 3 : The Indian Army on Saturday paid tributes to Havildar Kashiray Bammanalli, who made the supreme sacrifice on July 1 at Hanjan in south Kashmir's Pulwama district, at a solemn ceremony at the Badami Bagh Cantt in Srinagar. Lt Gen D.P. Pandey, Chinar Corps Commander and all ranks paid homage to the gallant soldier on behalf of the nation. Late Havildar Bammanalli was part of Operation Hanjan on July 1 2021. "At around 00:25 am, during cordon and search operation in the village, the terrorists fired indiscriminately on the search party," the Army said. "Late Havildar Kashiray Bammanalli showed highest level of courage and valour by returning effective fire, in which he sustained a gunshot wound in the chest and was grievously injured. His bleeding was controlled with combat first aid and he was immediately evacuated to 92 Base Hospital for treatment where he succumbed to his injuries on 1 July, 2021." The braveheart late Havildar Kashiray Bammanalli was 37 years old and had joined the Army in 2006. He belonged to Village Ukkal of B Bagewadi Tehsil, Vijayapura District in Karnataka and is survived by his wife, one daughter and one son. The mortal remains of Havildar Kashiray Bammanalli were taken for last rites to his native place, where he would be laid to rest with full military honours. "In this hour of grief, the Army stands in solidarity with the bereaved family and remains committed to their dignity and wellbeing," the Army said. New Delhi, July 3 : US microblogging and social networking service Twitter has informed the Delhi High Court that it is in the final stages of appointing a resident grievance officer in India. In a reply submitted to the Delhi High Court, Twitter said that even before steps were taken to formalise the appointment of a grievance officer in India, the interim grievance officer had withdrawn his candidature on June 21. "The answering respondent is in the final stages of appointing a replacement while in the meanwhile the grievances of the Indian users are being addressed by the grievance officer," the microblogging platform said in its reply. Appointing a resident grievance officer is one of several norms which Twitter and other social media platforms operating in India have to follow under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. Twitter's interim resident grievance officer, Dharmendra Chatur, had quit his post on June 21, follwong which Twitter had appointed California-based Jeremy Kessel as the new grievance officer for India. However, Kessel's appointment was not in line with the new IT rules, as these rules mandate that all nodal officials, including the grievance redressal officer, should be based in India. A complaint was filed against Twitter in the Delhi high court on May 28 by Amit Acharya, a practicing advocate at the high court and the Supreme Court. On May 31, a bench of Justice Rekha Palli had issued a notice to the microblogging platform, giving it three weeks' time to file its reply. The matter was posted for further hearing on July 6. The plea moved by Acharya through advocate Akash Vajpai urged the high court to issue directions to the Centre to pass the necessary instructions to Twitter India and Twitter Inc to appoint a resident grievance officer under Rule 4 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 without any delay. The plea contended that Twitter is a "Significant Social Media Intermediary" (SSMI) as laid down under the IT Rules, 2021 and therefore must ensure compliance with the statutory duties imposed upon it by the provisions of these rules. The plea contended that in a nutshell, every significant social media intermediary has the responsibility of appointing not only a resident grievance officer who will act as a single-point authority for receiving and disposing of complaints within a fixed time, but someone will also receive and acknowledge any order, notice and direction issued by the competent authorities. New Delhi, July 3: Fearing isolation from the democratic process ahead of the next Assembly elections, Kashmirs traditional rulers, Farooq Abdullahs National Conference (NC) as well as Mehbooba Muftis Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), will be for the first time meeting with the Delimitation Commission during its first visit to Jammu and Kashmir, beginning Tuesday, July 6. Both the mainstream political majors, as also other smaller constituents of the Farooq-led Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), have significantly compromised their obduracy and begun preparations for representations before Justice (retired) Ranjana Prakash Desai's panel, both in Kashmir and Jammu, next week. For months, the NC and the PDP had declined to associate with the Delimitation Commission until restoration of J&K's Statehood and the special Constitutional status withdrawn in August 2019. The PDP had maintained that having no representation in the Parliament, it had technically no locus standi in meeting with the Delimitation Commission. Constituted in March 2020, the Commission's life expired in March 2021. Thereupon, it got the extension of one year, till March 2022. On recommendation of the Lok Sabha Speaker, all five of the Union Territory's Lok Sabha members-BJP's Dr Jitendra Singh and Jugal Kishore and NC's Farooq Abdullah, Mohammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi-had been nominated as the Commission's associate members. J&K has no member in the Rajya Sabha. Even as the BJP's two MPs held some deliberations with the Commission, the NC stood away with the argument that this process was consequent upon the J&K Reorganisation Act of August 2019 which was "not acceptable" to the party and which it had challenged in the Supreme Court of India. Former Chief Minister and the NC's Vice President Omar Abdullah maintained until last week that holding the delimitation in only J&K and not in other States and UTs was 'wrong'. The Centre has repeatedly asserted that delimitation of the Assembly and the Parliamentary constituencies in J&K was a legal and constitutional obligation under the J&K Reorganisation Act in the Union Territory. The Act provides for addition of seven new Assembly segments to the Assembly of 83 members. While J&K has lost 4 Assembly segments to the UT of Ladakh, J&K Reorganisation Act has completely abolished the legislature's Upper House, known as the Legislative Council. In their first collective meeting of the last three years with the J&K politicians on 24 June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Home Minister Amit Shah impressed upon them to participate in the deliberations of the Delimitation Commission so as to ensure that there were no complaints of injustice from any quarter. They were assured that the next Assembly elections would be held immediately after the conclusion of the delimitation and the representative political government would be installed as early as possible. In a significant development subsequently, the Delimitation Commission decided to interact not only with the five MPs from J&K but also with all the political parties who had contested last year's District Development Council (DDC) elections and had "even a single member" in any DDC. This development has created a room for the PDP and other parties who were not expecting an invite from the Commission. However, two of the former Chief Ministers, namely Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, are still maintaining that they would not contest any elections as long as J&K existed as UT. They have left the issue of the restoration of Article 370 and 35-A, besides reunification of the UTs of J&K and Ladakh to the Supreme Court but both have been invariably demanding restoration of Statehood before the next Assembly elections. The Centre is known to have assured them that Statehood would be restored only after the Assembly elections and constitution of a political government in J&K. "Our priority is to strengthen grassroots democracy in JK. Delimitation has to happen at a quick pace so that polls can happen and JK gets an elected government that gives strength to JK"s development trajectory", Prime Minister had tweeted after his meeting with 14 leaders from J&K who included four former Chief Minister and four former Deputy Chief Ministers. While the Commission has issued invitation to almost all the mainstream political parties active in J&K, it is reportedly planning a series of meetings with the civil society, government officials and DDCs, BDCs and Urban Local Bodies in all the 20 districts next week. The Commission will be in Kashmir on 6 and 7 July and in Jammu on 8 and 9 July. It is scheduled to hold a preliminary meeting in Srinagar on 6 July and in Jammu on 8 July, from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm. At Pahalgam in Kashmir, the Commission would be meeting with the Deputy Commissioners of Anantnag, Kulgam, Pulwama and Shopian from 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm on 7 July and the DCs of Srinagar, Ganderbal, Budgam, Bandipora, Baramulla and Kupwara from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm. At Kishtwar in Jammu, the Commission would be meeting with the DCs of Kishtwar, Doda and Ramban on 8 July. On 9 July in Jammu, it has scheduled a meeting with the DCs of Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Udhampur, Reasi, Rajouri and Poonch from 9:30 am to 10:30 am. "In case any political party/group/organization desiring to meet the Delimitation Commission approaches the office of District Election Officers, their request shall be forwarded immediately to the two designated officers not later than 12 noon on July 4 so that time slot is allotted to them for the meeting", says the J&K Chief Electoral Officer's communication to the District Election Officers. Since its constitution on March 5, 2020, this will be the Commission's first visit to J&K, though it had interacted with the BJP's two associate members in February 2021 in New Delhi. An official of the Commission has lately collected data from all 20 DCs in a virtual meeting. Previously, the delimitation of the Assembly constituencies was held in 1994-95 during the President's Rule when seats of the erstwhile State Assembly were raised from 76 to 87. Kashmir valley's seats were increased from 42 to 46 and Jammu's from 32 to 37. However, during Farooq Abdullah's NC government in 2002, delimitation in J&K was frozen till the year 2026 in tune with a decision of the Vajpayee government at the Centre for the whole country. After bifurcation of the erstwhile State into the two separate UTs and abolition of the Legislative Council, the House would be treated as a new Assembly with reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). In the previous Assembly, there was no reservation for STs. However, seven seats of Chhamb, Domana, RS Pura, Samba, Hiranagar, Chenani and Ramban-all in Jammu-were reserved for the SCs. Now the STs would be for the first time getting some seats reserved in the current delimitation process. As per the previous arrangement, the seats reserved for the SCs had to be rotated after every two terms. However, four elections were held back-to-back without any rotation. Now the new Delimitation Commission is likely to relocate the SC's reservation to different SC-dominated segments, all in Jammu division. (This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative/ New Delhi, July 3: Amid a flurry of activity on the foreign policy front between India and Maldives, the former president of the archipelago, Mohamed Nasheed, has requested Maldivian opposition parties to stop spreading "hatred" and "hostility" towards India. Nasheed became the Maldives' first president to be elected democratically. He is also known internationally for his liberal and secular views. Nasheed had turned the global spotlight on the climate change threat faced by small island nations by organising the world's first cabinet meeting under the sea, also bringing attention to the country's pristine beaches. The South Asia Monitor says: "Taking to Twitter on Friday, he (Nasheed) noted that there was hostile and disrespectful rhetoric being spread in the Maldives. He also advised opposition parties not to spread hatred against India". Fuelled by some of the opposition parties, anti-Indian sentiment has been growing in the Maldives -- as witnessed in the local media and also the social media. The opposition parties have been mounting an "India Out" campaign in the nation, making the Indian diplomatic community feel unsafe. The Indian High Commission even wrote a letter to the Maldivian Foreign Ministry highlighting personal attacks on Indian envoys in the local media. The current Maldivian government, led by President Ibrahim Solih, is close to the Indian dispensation led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Even as India under its 'Neighbourhood First' policy is strengthening developmental and financial ties with Maldives, the archipelagic nation under Solih has restored the traditional "India First" policy after coming to power in 2018. Solih and Nasheed have to face fire from orthodox elements in the opposition for distancing from China and restoring relations with India. Growing Islamic radicalisation in the nation has not helped the cause for India. On May 6, Nasheed faced a targeted assassination attempt when an improvised explosive device (IED) placed on a bike exploded near his car. The IED was packed with ball bearings to cause maximum damage. After emergency care in Maldives, a critical Nasheed was rushed to Germany for treatment. Maldives arrested a number of suspects for the blast and Australian agencies joined in for investigations. Even as the investigations are on, the assassination attempt is suspected to be the handiwork of the opposition or the radical elements. Dr Adil Rasheed, Research Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi, and a well-known counter-terrorism expert says: "It would be more alarming if the people involved in the attempt on Nasheed's life are found to be regular homegrown radicals and not the non-State jihadist affiliates, lurking on the fringes of Maldivian society. The problem of violent extremism would then appear to be more serious and widespread". (This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative/ Mumbai, July 3 : Actress Shilpa Shetty is excited about the upcoming release of the recreated version of her nineties superhit song "Chura ke dil mera", for her new film "Hungama 2". The teaser of the song releases on July 5 and the music video is likely to release a day later. "'Chura ke dil mera' has been a milestone in my career. This song has always been special. Now CKDM 2.0 is finally coming out as part of this epic franchise comedy, and I am nothing but thrilled. It was fun and a challenge recreating it after 25 years since the benchmark is so high. Hope the audience loves it as much as I did dancing to the new version," said Shilpa. "It is one of those nineties iconic songs that still strikes a chord with everyone. I hope this reprise version of the song in our film will also resonate the same way with the audience across the nation," said the film's producer Ratan Jain. Directed by Priyadarshan, the film is a follow-up of the 2003 comedy hit "Hungama". It brings back Paresh Rawal in his pivotal role, and also stars Shilpa Shetty, Meezaan Jaffrey and Pranitha Subhash. The film also features Ashutosh Rana, Manoj Joshi, Rajpal Yadav, Johnny Lever and Tiku Talsania. "Hungama 2" will premiere on Disney+ Hotstar on July 23. New Delhi, July 3 : The tussle in the Punjab Congress is far from over with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu still at loggerheads and the latter is not leaving any stone unturned to target the Chief Minister, though interventions from the Gandhis have been futile and both sides are flexing their muscles. The latest has been the issue of electricity in which Sidhu targeted the Chief Minister and with counter offensive after the allegation that Sidhu himself has been a defaulter and has not paid his bills. Sidhu mocked his own government in Punjab over power outages and asked the government to follow the AAP's Delhi model of extending subsidies to generation companies. "There is no need for power cuts in Punjab or for the Chief Minister to regulate office timings or AC use of the common people...If we act in the right direction," said a sulking Sidhu, who met Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi separately in New Delhi on June 30 and apprised them of the political situation in Punjab that will go to the polls early next year. The disgruntled Punjab Congress leader met Priyanka and Rahul separately on Wednesday, and there is a speculation that Priyanka Gandhi has suggested that Sidhu be made Punjab Congress chief, but Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and some of the other factions in the party are not accepting this formula. The formula apparently suggested by Priyanka Gandhi to position Sidhu at the helm in the organisation has not been endorsed by Rahul Gandhi and the former Congress chief is upset with Sidhu for targeting the Chief Minister publicly. Sources said that Punjab Congress leaders may accept Sidhu as the working president, but not as a full-fledged state unit chief as the Chief Minister is keen on having a non-Sikh face as the state Congress president. Though Punjab in-charge for Congress, Harish Rawat, hoped that the issue is likely to be resolved around next week. But Amarinder Singh is not going to give up as he called the MLAs supporting him for lunch in Chandigarh on Thursday and is rallying support for him and has been trying to scuttle every move of Sidhu. The move has reportedly upset the party high command, which sees it as a show of strength, especially when the panel formed by the Congress to look into the Punjab issue has said that there is no question of removing the Chief Minister. Sidhu is silent about what transpired during his meetings with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi on Wednesday, neither did the Congress make any official statement to placate both parties. The Congress had constituted a committee under Mallikarjun Kharge which has submitted its report to Sonia Gandhi and even the Chief Minister came to Delhi twice to meet them but Sidhu when called by the committee did not meet them and also did not reply to calls, sources said. The committee in its report has suggested that Sidhu be given an important role ahead of the polls but the Chief Minister is not willing to accommodate Sidhu except as a minister which is not acceptable to Sidhu who wants a larger role ahead of the election. New Delhi, July 3 : No matter the political party in power, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) seldom shies away from the news. Though for the past few years, projected as a space where the Left clashes with the Right, it is in fact an institution that has been instrumental in imparting cutting-edge education to students. Something that author Jey Sushil's book 'JNU Anant JNU Katha Ananta' highlights. Kalinga Literary Festival recently organised 'Bhav Samvad' between the author and former JNU student and Professor Vibhavari. During the conversation, Sushil stressed that while Left parties have played a major role in shaping the university, it should also own up the responsibilities of the shortcomings there. Available as a e-book, Sushil's work is a memoir of 20 years. The author, who completed his MA and Phil from JNU started writing this after the 2016 arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar when social media was abuzz with things against the institution. Sushil concluded the interaction saying JNU was not a battlefield of Left and Right-wing ideologies but in fact a place that had given some of the finest teachers to universities around the world. Thiruvananthapuram, July 3 : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has finally decided to intervene after one of Kerala's biggest industrial groups, Kitex, which had announced the cancellation of its Rs 3,500 crore investment in the state, received a red carpet welcome from the Tamil Nadu government. Kerala BJP President K. Surendran is the latest to join the issue, saying that all talks of Kerala being the most favourable destination are nothing but hypocrisy, as the biggest opposition to the smooth growth of industries is the CPI-M, and the talks of the Vijayan government giving a red carpet welcome to business investment are only on paper. The pressure on the state government has been mounting from various quarters, including millionaire businessman and owner of Lulu supermarket chain, M.K. Yusuf Ali, who on Saturday asked the Vijayan government to initiate a discussion to see that under no circumstances Kitex is allowed to drop its Kerala expansion plan and move out to some other state. State Industries Minister P. Rajiv, who hails from Ernakulam, the business headquarters of the Kitex group, said on Saturday that things are moving forward and the Chief Minister has called a high-level meeting of top bureaucrats to discuss the issue, which will take place on Monday. Kitex Chairman Sabu Jacob reacted by saying that he is willing to go to any extent to resolve the issue, but before that strong action should be taken against the state government officials who have been haunting them for a while now. "Seventy-six cases have been registered against us by the labour department and I can prove that not a single case can be charged against me. I have done no wrong and I am willing to come to take part in a discussion, but before that tough action should be taken against the erring government officials, who have been haunting our establishments," Jacob said. Kitex Garments, the second-largest children's apparel manufacturer in the world, has announced the scrapping of the Rs 3,500 crore project for which it had signed a memorandum with the Kerala government at the 'Ascend Global Investors Meet' in Kochi in January 2020. As part of the project, an apparel park was to be opened in Kochi, besides the establishment of industrial parks in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Palakkad. Kitex fell on the wrong side of the political establishment in Kerala after Jacob floated a political outfit named 'Twenty 20' -- which was earlier registered as a non-profit organization -- and wrested power in the Kizhakkambalam panchayat in Ernakulam district. In the recent Assembly elections, Twenty 20 contested six seats but could not win any. Jacob has gone on record to state that the Kerala government is not providing any subsidy, including for power, noting that it is all profit for the state government and there is no professional interest being envisaged by it. He had also said that things are at the mercy of the local level leaders here, and even an upper division clerk in the state can scuttle the prospects of an industrialist. Kerala is lagging behind in industrial growth and the attitude of the rulers and the bureaucracy is the reason behind this, he had said. Jacob and his establishment saw 11 teams of officers from various departments raiding the company in the past one month. The company employees were also grilled for hours. It was then that Jacob had announced that he will move out of the state, following which came the offer from the Tamil Nadu government, along with five other states of the country. Now all eyes are on Monday's meeting called by Vijayan. Bengaluru, July 3 : Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission-2 (KARC-2), headed by former Chief Secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar on Saturday recommended that Atal Jana Snehi Kendras (AJSKs) should be converted into a single-window agency to offer 800 citizen-centric services under a single roof. Besides this, the KARC-2 has suggested that free home delivery of rations could be launched for those ration card holders who are willing to pay extra fees mutually agreed by Fair Price Shop owners and ration card holders. Bhaskar formally submitted the preliminary round of recommendations to Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa here. He said that the commission's main focus was on improving ease of living for citizens, by examining citizen-centric services in the state. "In our pilot study we chose three departments - Revenue, Food, civil supplies and consumer affairs and Transport which account for nearly 80 per cent of all citizen-centric services," he explained. According to these recommendations, the state government should also take steps to offer these 800 services through the Seva Sindhu platform, Bengaluru One, Karnataka One and Gram Panchayat Bapuji Seva Kendras too. He also added that the state government must take steps to redevelop the existing Karnataka Mobile One App too in order to offer these services. The KARC-2 has also recommended that Tatkal provision should also be incorporated in order to help citizens and this service can be offered by charging extra fees. The commission has also suggested that there are about 15 popular certificates that can be auto generated at AJSKs and sent to the Digilocker of the concerned applicant. Bhaskar added that issuing encumbrance certificates must be simplified and made available fully online with no need for third parties to come to Sub registrar offices as this would help lakhs of farmers and property owners in the state. He said that citizens should be given an option of going to any RTO office in Bengaluru to avail any service as presently it is implemented with sub-registrar offices in Bengaluru. The former chief secretary felt that all four regional commissioner offices could be abolished and instead a revenue commissionerate could be established at the state level. New Delhi, July 3: Indias demonstration of its intent to build "carrier killer" missiles by test firing the Agni P on Monday is part of New Delhis energetic effort to prepare for an assertive role in the Indo-Pacific where China is flaunting its military muscle. Potentially, the missile would be able to target Chinese aircraft carriers, and blunt their cutting edge in the future. From and Indian perspective this is all the more necessary as Chinese state-run media in the past has argued that Beijing must have six aircraft carriers by 2035. China's state-run motormouth tabloid, The Global Times had earlier quoted Yin Zhuo, a senior researcher at the People's Liberation Army- Navy (PLAN) Equipment Research Centre as saying that "China needs two carrier strike groups in the West Pacific and two in the Indian Ocean. So, we need at least five to six aircraft carriers," to protect the country's maritime interests. The daily also paraphrased Xu Guangyu, a senior adviser to the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, who said that "future" aircraft carrier groups would require access to overseas logistical bases in countries such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Analysts see the Agni-P as an equaliser to the China's DF-21D missiles customised to attack aircraft carriers, up to an 1800 kilometres distance with conventional warheads. China has developed this weapon to undermine the US navy's capacity to dominate the Indo-Pacific on account of its much larger fleet of aircraft carriers-floating airfields which can exercise "sea control". The Chinese have also inducted the sister DF-26B missile in its arsenal. Netizens also call this Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) "Guam express" or "Guam killer" because it can, with its 5000-kilometre range, target the giant US military base of Guam in the Pacific with nuclear warheads. The Agni P is part of a much larger arsenal that India wants to deploy in the Indo-Pacific region to effectively deter China in the maritime domain. At the heart of India's new Indo-Pacific defence posture is its submarine fleet, which is being rapidly revamped. The key to refurbished deterrence are the changes to the 30-year submarine plan which was approved in July 1999 under the leadership of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The original plan had envisaged induction of 24 diesel attack submarines, the Hindustan Times reported. But in view of China's military rise and aggressive posturing, the navy, instead, now wants to induct 18 conventional diesel attack submarines including those with air independent propulsion-a technology that makes conventional submarines hard- to- detect because they can stay underwater for much longer periods. Besides, it also wants to have six nuclear attack submarines or SSNs, which are powered by nuclear engines, but do not deploy atomic weapons. This is a China-centric change in view of Beijing's rapidly expanding nuclear submarine force, which includes Jin class nuclear submarines, deploying Jl-12 Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs), which have a range of 7,400 km. Currently, India has leased one Akula class nuclear submarine from Russia, called INS Chakra. It has also inducted INS Arighat, which can fire ballistic missiles. India's Strategic Forces Command (SFC) exercises command and control over these underwater platforms. In fact, it is the SFC that exercises operational control over all ballistic missile firing submarines, also called SSBNs. In tune with beefing up its submarine arsenal Indi has tested K4 SLBM. The 3,500-km range K4 missile, which can be launched from Arihant class nuclear submarines of which INS Arighat is a part, adds a new dimension to India's second-strike capability-the ability to carry out a retaliatory nuclear attack after absorbing an initial attack by an atomic weapon. The newly acquired heft to carry out a crushing nuclear counterattack with an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM), from a concealed underwater platform, steels India's nuclear deterrent. The K4's 3,500 km reach, which can cover the entire Pakistan and the industrial heartland of China, helps in providing assured deterrence in the region, which includes the 10-nation Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other territories in the West Pacific. With an eye on China's forays in the Indo-pacific, India also deploys Su-30 multi-role fighter jets at the Thanjavur airbase in Tamil Nadu. Analysts say that with mid-air refuelling, the Sukhoi would bring the Malacca straits, the strategic link between the Indian and the Pacific Ocean within its strike range. Besides, the Su-30 fighters will deploy the deadly BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles-a highly potent joint venture enterprise of India and Russia. (This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative/ New Delhi, July 3 : The government is expected to release a new cybersecurity strategy this year, Lt Gen Rajesh Pant, the National Cybersecurity Coordinator at the Prime Minister's Office said at an event. The coordinator, at an event organised by the Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI), added that the strategy would holistically cover the entire ecosystem of cyberspace in India. "The vision of this strategy is to ensure safe, secure, resilient, vibrant, and trusted cyberspace," he said. The new strategy would serve as a guideline to tackle every aspect, whether it is governance or data as a national resource, or building indigenous capabilities or cyber audit, to name a few. There are about 80-odd deliverables coming out of this new strategy, he added. The theme of the PAFI Dialogue was 'Cyber Security in the New Normal.' "Pandemic has shot up the cyber-crimes in India by 500 per cent and India is one of the top 3 attacked countries in the world as far as cyber-attacks are concerned," Pant said. There are emerging threats from the proliferation of new technologies like drones and IoT devices. To ensure a safe, secure and trusted cyberspace, the government has taken a series of initiatives. "Cybercrimes are increasing. Attribution is the difficult part and now (cybercriminals) have started taking advantage of the dark web. Pandemic gave the perfect storm to the cybercriminals," he added. Guwahati/Agartala, July 3 : A day after the Centre deputed multi-disciplinary teams to three northeastern states -- Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Manipur -- in view of the rising cases of Covid-19, the Union DoNER Minister, after reviewing the pandemic situation, said on Saturday that there is progressive decline in Covid cases in all the eight northeastern states, except Meghalaya. The Union Minister of State for the Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Jitendra Singh, expressed satisfaction that all the northeastern states are catching up with the national average in terms of decline in the positivity rate. "Meghalaya is the only exception which witnessed a surge due to the Covid outbreak at a jail in the Ri-bhoi district," Singh said after the virtual meeting with the health secretaries and senior officials of all the eight northeastern states, along with the senior officials of various ministries and NITI Aayog. An official statement said that the Union minister was informed that in the northeastern region, the positivity rate, which was 3.96 per cent on June 30, had gone down to 2.94 per cent on Friday, compatible with the national average declining from 2.34 per cent on June 30 to 2.09 per cent on Friday. The officials informed the minister that regular measures are being taken to defeat the second wave of the pandemic and health infrastructure is being augmented with the support of the Central government. "What is worrisome is that in the last wave of the pandemic, the northeast region had remained relatively unaffected as compared to many other states. Few states like Sikkim did not have a single positive case throughout the lockdown period last year," Singh said. "But in contrast this year, the northeastern states have also witnessed significant rise in corona positive cases," the minister added. He said the DoNER Ministry and the North Eastern Council are taking proactive steps in supplementing and augmenting the Covid related infrastructure in the region. He also referred to the support given by Japan and UNDP for the installation of oxygen plants in each of the eight northeastern states. Tripura Covid-19 Surveillance Officer Dip Debbarma said that a two-member central team led by R.N. Sinha, Director, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, would arrive in the state on Monday. The Centre had on Friday deputed multi-disciplinary teams to Kerala, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and three northeastern states -- Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, and Manipur -- in view of the increased number of Covid-19 cases being reported from these states. The central teams consisting of a clinician and a public health expert would visit the states and monitor the overall implementation of Covid management measures, including testing, surveillance and containment operations, Covid appropriate behaviours and their enforcement, availability of hospital beds, sufficient logistics, vaccination etc. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Mumbai, July 3 : The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee on Saturday appealed to the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra to ensure that the three central farm laws are fully repealed and not accepted with any modifications. AIKSCC President Ashok Dhawale and other AIKSCC leaders said in a joint statement that the Maharashtra government is trying to bring the new farm laws in the state by making certain changes to the three controversial laws enacted by the Centre last year. "However, making amendments to the draft of the central laws will not change the purpose behind them nor the 'anti-farmer' and corporate character of these laws," said Dhawale. Keeping in mind the sentiments and expectations of the farmers' groups across India, the state government should not rush to enact these laws on the lines of the Centre since the farmers have demanded a complete repeal of the laws. In the joint statement, Dhawale, ex-MP Raju Shetti, Medha Patkar, Pratibha Shinde, Namdev Gawde, S.V. Jadhav, Ajit Navale, Kishore Dhamale, Subhash Kakuste, Subhash Lomte, Seema Kulkarni, Raju Desale, and others pointed out that the Supreme Court has already stayed the implementation of the contentious farm laws. Accordingly, there was no need for the state government to move hurriedly in the matter especially since the seven-month-long farmers' agitation is still underway and the laws Maharashtra plans to bring have not been adequately discussed in the public domain, they pointed out. "In the interest of Maharashtra farmers, we demand that the state government take an unequivocal stand on the issue by passing a resolution in the Legislature asking the Centre to revoke the three disputed farm laws, and enact a central law that gives a fair guarantee to agriculture produce," the signatories said. The AIKSCC and Samyukta Kisan Morcha comprising scores of farmers' organisations have already taken a firm stand that they will only settle for a complete repeal of the three controversial central laws rather than merely making minor changes in the provisions, said Dhawale. Bhubaneswar, July 3 : The Vigilance Directorate (VD) of Odisha on Saturday arrested a public prosecutor attached to a vigilance court for taking bribe from a police officer to settle a vigilance case registered against the latter. The arrested person gas been identified as special public prosecutor Ashutosh Mishra, who was attached to the vigilance court of a special judge at Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district, the VD said in a statement. Mishra was caught red-handed by a vigilance sleuth of Cuttack division while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from ASI Malay Kumar Rana, who is now under suspension. The advocate had demanded the bribe to help Rana in a vigilance case against him, which is pending in the vigilance court in Bhawanipatna. The vigilance officials seized the bribe money from the accused Mishra. Searches are being carried out at his house in Radhakrishna Nagar in Bhawanipatna. A case has been registered and further inquiry is on, vigilance officials said. New Delhi, July 3 : The Delhi Medical Association (DMA) has moved the Supreme Court against yoga guru Ramdevs plea seeking a stay on the proceedings against him in connection with the multiple FIRs lodged over his alleged remarks against the use of allopathic medicines during the Covid-19 pandemic. DMA has called Ramdev a "businessman clad as a 'yog guru'" and claimed that he does not have any degree or licence to practice Ayurveda and prescribe medicines. The medical body contended that Ramdev has insulted allopathy and "instigated" people to disregard Covid vaccines and treatment protocols. On June 30, a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana had asked Ramdev to bring on record original version of his statement allegedly made against the use of allopathic medicine for treating Covid patients. The DMA claimed that Patanjali has earned over Rs 1,000 crore by selling Coronil kits, which were not approved by the medical bodies. "While the entire medical fraternity of the country was fighting the deadly pandemic in unity and were trying to educate the public about the Covid vaccines and correct course of treatment, Ramdev, shockingly, started a false propaganda against Covid vaccines and the treatment protocol for coronavirus with the mala fide intent to promote the sale of products, namely the Coronil kit," said the plea seeking to intervene as a party, which was filed through lawyer Ashish Kothari. The plea contended that Ramdev referred the modern medical system i.e. allopathic science as "Tamasha" and "Stupid Science". The plea added that Ramdev made comments that the doctors who are treating Covid patients don't know anything and claimed that even without a degree, he is a better doctor than the qualified doctors. "By insulting allopathy and allopathic doctors, Ramdev attempted to create a false narrative that ayurveda is a better science than allopathic science and instigated people to disregard 'allopathic' vaccines and Covid treatment protocols issued by the Central government," the plea added. The plea contended that Ramdev's intent was to create artificial rivalry between allopathy and ayurveda, and he wanted to cast a doubt in the minds of the people against the effectiveness of Covid vaccines and treatment protocols. The doctors' body alleged that it was a methodology to encourage people to buy Coronil Kit, which he (Ramdev) falsely propagated as 'Ayurvedic preparations'. The Patna and Raipur chapters of the Indian Medical Association have lodged complaints against Ramdev, alleging that his remarks are likely to cause prejudice to the Covid control mechanism. Ramdev, in his plea, has sought the clubbing of the FIRs in Patna and Raipur and urged the top court that a single FIR should be there in Delhi. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Mumbai, July 3 : For the second time in one week, Maharashtra broke its own national record in daily Covid vaccinations by notching 796,738 jabs, a top official said here on Saturday. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Health Minister Rajesh Tope lauded the health department and medical teams across the state for their dedication which resulted in the record-breaking vaccination figures on Saturday. Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Pradeep Vyas said that by 8 pm on Saturday, the state had administered 796,738 Covid doses for the day. The inoculation drive was still in progress at many centres and the state could cross the 8 lakh-mark later tonight, he said. This is the highest since the last record of 738,704 vaccination doses registered last Saturday (June 26), Vyas said. By Saturday evening, the state maintained the top position on the Covid vaccination dashboard, clocking 3,38,57,372 jabs till date, comprising both first and second doses, to the state's eligible adult population and other categories as per the Centre's norms. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Amaravati, July 3 : Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Nara Chandrababu Naidu and several other eminent people applauded Sirisha Bandla on Saturday for emerging as the first woman with Telugu roots who will be space-bound soon. "Indian-origin women continue to break the proverbial glass ceiling and prove their mettle. On July 11, Sirisha Bandla with Telugu roots is set to fly to space aboard VSS Unity with Richard Branson and the team marking the dawn of the new space age, making all Indians proud!" said Naidu. From an unverified twitter account, Bandla on Friday said that she is honoured to be a part of a company whose mission is to make space available to all. Bandla is originally from Guntur but emigrated to the US during her childhood and went on to study aeronautical engineering, business and is now an astronaut. While Sirisha Bandla is vice president of government affairs at Virgin Galactic, her role in the flight is as 'Researcher Experience'. Telugu cinema legend Chiranjeevi noted that Bandla is literally the first Telugu girl to reach for the stars. "Proud moments for the parents, Telugus and all Indians! Congratulations and wishing your mission a great success," said Chiranjeevi. Likewise, ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) leader Devineni Avinash reiterated that Bandla will be the first Telugu woman travelling into space. "Richard Branson announcing Virgin Galactic flight on 11th July with six astronauts, including Sirisha Bandla. Hearty congratulations to Bandla from Guntur who is going to fly into space on July 11," added Avinash. New Delhi, July 3 : BJPs thumping victory in the Zila Panchayat polls in Uttar Pradesh is the blessing of 'Janta Janardhan for development, public service and rule of law, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday. In a tweet, the Prime Minister said, "BJP's glorious victory in the Uttar Pradesh Zila Panchayat polls is the blessings of 'Janta Janardan' for development, public service and rule of law. The credit for this goes to the policies of Chief Minister Yogi ji and the tireless hard work of the party workers. Hearty congratulations to the UP government and the BJP organisation for this." The BJP on Saturday registered a stunning victory by winning 65 out of the 75 seats in the Uttar Pradesh Zila Panchayat polls. BJP chief J.P. Nadda congratulated Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, UP state unit chief Swatantra Dev Singh and the party workers for the resounding victory. "The state government is continuously working for the development of all under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This victory is a symbol of people's faith in BJP's policies," Nadda tweeted. In another tweet, Nadda said, "Message is clear from Zila Panchayat polls that people of Uttar Pradesh are with the BJP's agenda of development and good governance. I salute the people for their faith and affection towards BJP. I once again congratulate the Uttar Pradesh BJP leadership and the workers." Union Home Minister Amit Shah also congratulated Adityanath, Swatantra Dev Singh and the party workers, and said, "Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the BJP government will continue to set new standards of progress by fulfilling the aspirations of the farmers, poor and deprived sections of the state." Congratulating the UP CM and the party cadre, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, "This victory is the result of Yogiji's leadership, good governance of the state government and the efforts and dedication of the workers." New Delhi, July 3 : With the national capital witnessing peak power demand due to scorching summer heat, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal reviewed the situation with officials on Saturday. As per the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), Kejriwal discussed in detail the current status of the power supply in Delhi and has directed the officials to identify areas in need of transformers for improved power supply and insulate or make high-tension wires underground for the safety of the people. Deliberating on the current power situation in Delhi, Kejriwal said, "Every year, Delhi goes through an average 4-5 per cent increased demand for power due to increase in consumption because of new customers and increased prosperity every year. We have successfully been able to meet the growing demand until now and are supplying 24x7 power to all the residents of Delhi." He said, in the next year, the Delhi government is preparing to meet over 8,500 MW as the peak demand for electricity. The peak demand for electricity until now is 7,323 MW. "Had a review meeting with the officials of the electricity department and power distribution companies. Discussed in detail the current status of power supply in Delhi amidst the peak demand for electricity in the capital," Kejriwal tweeted after the meeting. On Friday, Delhi had recorded a peak power demand of 7,323 mega watts (MW), the highest since 2019. However, the officials in the power department of Delhi government claimed increased power supply could be managed without any power cuts. According to officials, Delhi's highest peak power demand was recorded at 7,409 MW on July 2, 2019. As the summer continued to its peak, Delhi recorded peak power demand of 6,921 MW on Wednesday and 7,026 MW on Thursday. Friday was also the second time in two years that peak power demand in Delhi crossed the 7,000-mark. On June 29 last year, Delhi's peak power demand was recorded at 6,314 MW. In 2018, the peak demand was 7,016 MW, which was recorded on July 10 as per government records. Patna, July 3 : A day after allegations of land grab were levelled against her brother Ravi Prasad alias Pinnu , the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Renu Devi, said on Saturday that she doesnt have any relation with her brother for the last five years. Ravi Prasad has been accused of grabbing a land worth Rs 6 crore in the Patel Nagar area of Patna, belonging to two persons named Brahmanand Singh and Sharawan Kumar. "Ravi Prasad alias Pinnu along with his associates grabbed my plot in Patel Nagar on June 21. They have even started the construction of a wall on the plot. When we objected to their forcible act, Prasad threatened me with dire consequences and asked his associates to take me and Sharawan to Deputy CM Renu Devi's official residence in Patna," Brahmanand Singh had said on Friday. He also shared the CCTV footage of the incident. "I have no relation with my brother for the last five years. I don't know why people are dragging my name into this. I will take legal action against the person named Brahmanand for dragging my name into this controversy and giving a statement before the media," Renu Devi said. "I have been a public representative for the past 42 years and I have never courted any controversy," she added. "The plot owner Brahmanand came to my residence on Friday. As I was not present there, I did not meet him. Still I have asked the concerned officials to investigate the matter and take appropriate action," Renu Devi said. She also denied the land grab allegation levelled against her brother, saying that that it is a matter of land dispute, and not land grab. Vijaypura : , July 3 (IANS) A snapped parachute belonging to ISRO's National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) in Hyderabad was recovered from an open field in Basavana Bagewadi in Vijaypura district of Karnataka, the police said on Saturday. "We found the snapped parachute and some equipment in an open field belonging to Eeranna Kambar, a resident of Kannal village in Basavana Bagewadi, on Thursday morning," an officer told IANS. Kannal is a small hamlet in Vijaypura district located 505 km from Bengaluru, and 380 km from Hyderabad. The police said they had established contact with the phone numbers printed on the equipment and the people concerned had asked the police to forward everything recovered from the field to NRSC with adequate precautions. "The equipment had ISRO's Hyderabad address. The package has been couriered," the police said. The police also said that their prima facie, the equipment appear to be belonging to some weather monitoring system or part of some experiment by the ISRO. Amaravati, July 3 : Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and former minister Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy on Saturday alleged that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and MP V. Vijayasai Reddy have set their sights on grabbing the land of Ramanaidu Studio located on Visakhapatnam's Beach Road. "Regrettable and objectionable on the part of the CM and his henchmen to stoop to the level of threatening even a prestigious film industry family like that of late Ramanaidu," he claimed. He alleged that Vijayasai Reddy is acting like a shameless broker in this murky issue with an aim to grab 34.4 acres of land. Murthy demanded the CM explain why the government led by him is "destroying" the chances of growth in the steel city. The TDP leader highlighted that a lot of artists and workers find job opportunities in the cinema industry and reminded that erstwhile Nara Chandrababu Naidu government had allotted that land to the studio in 2002 to usher in development in Vizag. "Subsequent YSR Government had also extended its support for the Ramanaidu family who eventually completed their studio in 2008. Many artists were able to find work because of this in Vizag. However, the Jagan Reddy regime had different plans," he claimed. The opposition leader continued his slew of allegations, claiming that the ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) leaders have grabbed Karthikavanam lands, handed over Baypark to Vijayasai Reddy's son-in-law and threatened Daspalla owners. "They had set their sights on the Waltair Club lands as well. The government lands in Vizag were being mortgaged. The Lulu Group was sent back and the lands allotted for it were being sold," he alleged. Bengaluru, July 3 : In a setback for Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, the Special Court for People's Representative here on Saturday not only dismissed the 'B-Report' submitted by the Lokayukta police seeking closure of investigation against him, but also directed the Lokayukta police to probe the matter as per the directions of the high court. The court further directed the Lokayukta police to file a report by August 21. The case pertains to the denotification of a prime land in Bengaluru, which was related to the Varthur-Whitefield IT Corridor. The land was acquired in 2000-2001 for an IT park. Vasudeva Reddy had filed a case against Yediyurappa before the Lokayukta, seeking prosecution of the Chief Minister. Special court Judge Sridhar Gopalakrishna Bhat said in his order, "The 'B Report' submitted by the investigation officer under is hereby rejected. Consequently, acting under Section 156(3) of CrPC, the Deputy Superintendent of Police of Lokayuktha is hereby directed to investigate the matter further in the light of the observation made in this order and file a final report/additional final report expeditiously as per the law." Bhat added in his order that the office is hereby directed to send the copy of this order to the ADGP, Lokayuktha, Bengaluru, for further necessary action. In 2006-07, as the Deputy Chief Minister in the JD(S)-BJP coalition government headed by H.D. Kumaraswamy, Yediyurappa had denotified the land, according to the complaint lodged by Vasudeva Reddy with the Lokayukta court, alleging irregularities in the denotification process. The court had directed the Lokayukta police to register a case, which was registered on February 21, 2015 under the Prevention of Corruption Act. In December 2020, Yediyurappa had filed a petition in the high court seeking quashing of the case. Yediyurappa had contended that the high court had quashed a similar FIR against the then Industries Minister and Congress leader R. V. Deshpande on October 9, 2015, claiming that hence the investigation against him based on the same FIR was illegal, but the court had rejected his argument. On January 6, 2021, the Karnataka High Court had dismissed the petition of Yediyurappa seeking quashing of an FIR filed by the Lokayukta police in this case. Dismissing the petition, Justice John Michael Cunha had directed the police to expedite the investigation. But the Lokayukta police then filed a 'B Report' seeking closure of the investigation, which Reddy had challenged in the special court. Patna, July 3 : Bihar minister Madan Sahani who had offered to resign as social welfare minister, has slammed fellow Cabinet minister Jibesh Kumar for the latter's statement on "no officialdom" in his ministry. Jibesh Kumar on Saturday said that there is no officialdom in his two ministries. Kumar who became a minister in Nitish Kumar government on BJP quota, is representing Jale constituency in Darbhanga district. Kumar was asked to react to Sahani's allegation that departments of Bihar government are run by officials and there is no respect for public representatives including MLAs, MLCs and Cabinet ministers in Nitish Kumar government. "I don't know what is going in the department held by Madan Sahani but I am fully confident that there is no officialdom in my two ministries," Kumar said. "If anything happened in his department, it is a matter of our family and it will be sorted out," Kumar said. After the statement, Sahani asked Kumar to "stay within the limits". "I am a political person and not a tout who adjusts with bureaucrats. Jibesh Kumar should keep such a level to himself. I know him. He belongs to my native district. I know much better than him about this line," Sahani said. "Kumar is holding two ministry portfolios and hence he is happy. He should stay within his own limits. Who is he to give certificates to others?" Sahani said. Sahani however did not disclose when he would resign from his post. Mangaluru, July 3 : In a shocking incident, a miscreant reportedly opened fire on a stray dog with his air gun, killing the animal instantly, animal rights activists said here on Saturday. The trustee of Shaktinagar Animal Care Trust in Mangaluru, Suma, told reporters that the miscreant is a local resident who is on the run at present. "We have collected some evidence but it's still not very clear. Therefore, we have decided not to disclose his identity yet. The stray received a bullet on its back. During the post-mortem, the pallet was recovered," she told reporters. She also appealed to the local residents to share CCTV footages if they come across any suspicious activity around the time when the incident took place. Suma further said that it was not a violent but a docile stray dog, which did not create any trouble in the locality. A police complaint has been filed in this regard, she said. Market Domination LLC will dramatically increase our awareness and help us build customer loyalty and retention. Career and College Counselors announced today that it has entered into a Marketing Services Agreement with Market Domination LLC to launch a podcast show called College Financial Aid and Career Navigation. This will be a layer of the marketing platform they hired Market Domination LLC in the spring for the companys growth strategy of its national campaign. 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He has shared the stage at marketing conferences with Steve Forbes, John Mackey of Whole Foods, Dan Kennedy, Dave Dee, and many other visionaries. This agreement with Market Domination LLC gives us a distinct advantage over our competitors, said Tom Geffers of College and Career Counselors. Market Domination LLC will dramatically increase our awareness and help us build customer loyalty and retention. I couldnt be more excited to work with Career and College Counselors, said Seth Greene. They provide direction and can help save lots of money. About Market Domination LLC: Market Domination LLC, located in Williamsville, NY, has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing direct response market firms in the U.S. For more information, please visit marketdominationllc.com Career and College Counselors, located in East Stroudsburg, PA, are one of the most highly sought out admissions and placement groups in the United States. 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With its formidable authoring tool expertise and decades of experience in corporate training and instructional design, CommLab India offers rapid eLearning solutions for speed, scale, and value with any authoring tool for: Drinkmate today announced that they have been selected as the preferred carbonation system for the Johnnie Walker Challenge in the 2021 World Class Global Bartender Finals which will be held July 4-8, 2021. The competition will be live from 50 countries in the first ever fully virtual World Class Global Finals for a unique, global celebration of bartending talent. The World Class Bartender of the Year Competition is the worlds biggest and most respected bartending competition, celebrating the skills and craftsmanship of bartenders worldwide. It is an annual competition entered by thousands of bartenders across the globe, culminating in a Global Final event and experience. The World Class Competition is not only where the best bartender in the world is crowned, but also where the latest trends are showcased by industry leaders, where the trades biggest issues are unpacked by those actively championing them, and where first-hand brand and partner innovations are showcased that will shape and define future drinks experiences. Drinkmates Countertop carbonation system will be used in the Johnnie Walker Challenge by participating bartenders under the theme of 'Hidden City Highballs.' The 2021 Johnnie Walker challenge is a significant step forward in introducing Drinkmate to the bartending community and we are pleased to be Johnnie Walkers carbonator of choice, said Douglas Wang, Chief Executive Officer of Drinkmate. One of our top goals is to provide consumers both at home and in restaurant/bar settings the inspiration and ability to create innovative carbonated beverages that are an exciting alternative to pre-made, store bought options. We look forward to the 2021 Johnnie Walker Challenge and are excited to see what the bartenders create using Drinkmate. About Drinkmate Drinkmates mission is to allow consumers to get creative in discovering new beverages, drink healthier and have fun, while reducing plastic bottle waste. Its proprietary technology allows the consumer to carbonate any kind of beverage safely and quickly. Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the company serves as the global headquarters for the Drinkmate brand with operations in Asia, Europe and the Americas. For more information, please visit https://idrinkproducts.com/. If this tolerance seems strict, theres a reason for it: It is strict! Thats because the purpose of meeting or exceeding tolerance levels is to ensure that every single manufactured, tooled, or cast part will properly and securely fit together when assembled. When youre a global manufacturer of lifts and platforms that transport people, safety isnt just important, its imperative. It means putting product design, quality, and engineering excellence at the forefront of everything you do. Japanese and European companies have taken a leadership position in develop elevators for commercial and residential applications. There are new technologies being added to the elevators to make customers experience pleasant while continuing to make the equipment safer. MES and its European subsidiary, Euro Metrics, were approached by a leading German elevator company to develop two different stainless steel castings and one precision aluminum die casting. Applications include bearing blocks which are placed at several places along the elevator profile for holding critical bearings and shafts. Being so meticulous about each component can make it a challenge to find someone that can tool the parts while also meet extremely tight tolerances. Fortunately, MES was able to use its sourcing database and shortlist few suppliers within 2-3 weeks of initial inquiry. After careful vetting, negotiations and quality technical reviews, MES picked supplier in India and China for different technologies. Components are going to be assembled in customers plants in Germany and Poland. Tight Tolerances Based on our customers request and direction, parts had to be cast to be within the H7 International Standards Organization (ISO) guidelines, meeting specific plus (+) and minus (-) levels. According to the standard, in order to meet the H7 tolerance, this particular 5mm hole must be within +0.12 / 0 allowed. If this tolerance seems strict, theres a reason for it: It is strict! Thats because the purpose of meeting or exceeding tolerance levels is to ensure that every single manufactured, tooled, or cast part will properly and securely fit together when assembled. Casting Methods ISO has an entire system of tolerance and machining grades for various metals and alloys. And, according to ISO, the tolerance for a specified casting is determined by the casting method. Because our customer needed two different parts for two different products, we chose the following casting methods, which then informed the tolerance levels: For Stainless steel parts, we used the investment casting process, sometimes called lost wax casting. This precision process is typically used when casting smaller parts and is capable of achieving dimensional tolerances as small as 0.003 in./in. For part aluminum parts, we utilized the die cast process. This fast-production process lets us produce thousands of identical castings within specified tolerances. One of the many benefits of die casting is that we can produce aluminum and other metal parts with complex shapes -- and do so with closer tolerances than many other mass production processes. Our Rigorous Quality Process Casting high-quality stainless steel and aluminum parts within specified tolerances is no easy task. It requires a thorough understanding of potential failure points that are common to the process, not to mention experience in knowing how to prevent or overcome such problems as Defects Drops Leaks Porosity Run Outs Shrinkage Swells To ensure that our customer received the best casting possible, we leveraged both the know-how of our outstanding team of quality engineers and our rigorous quality management process; a process that combines project management tools with APQP (Advanced Product Quality Planning). With this as our foundation and tight tolerances as our marching orders, the MES team spent no small amount of time finishing both aluminum and stainless steel casting parts. We continuously checked tolerance levels and monitored product quality. The result was that we were easily able to meet our customers H7 tolerance requirements. In addition to our team, we credit our outstanding quality check procedure, which includes having our operators follow a very specific and proprietary MES quality checklist. Not only does this ensure that each and every manufacturer part is up to par with our expectations, but its also within our customers specifications and satisfaction. Maximum Confidence To keep with our customers commitment to provide a trusted product to their clients, we initially focused on the asked-for tolerance factor. Of course, we couldnt stop there. So, we took it further, employing two different casting methods and applying our exacting quality standards. The result was one happy customer and two finely cast and quality-controlled stainless steel and aluminum products. The Huntington Plastic Surgery Institute is based in Pasadena, in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley area of Southern California. Every individual should have the right to express themselves, and those who choose to have plastic surgery should not feel ashamed of their decision. A June 7 article on E! Online reports on reality star Khloe Kardashians response to negative comments on social media regarding her looks. After a comment criticized her for appearing to have had so much plastic surgery, the star tweeted that everyone was entitled to their own opinion. When a fan asked how she deals with negativity, Kardashian advised muting or blocking naysayers, and even taking a break from social media for the sake of ones mental health. Southern California medical center Huntington Plastic Surgery Institute says every individual should have the right to express themselves, and those who choose to have plastic surgery should not feel ashamed of their decision. Huntington Plastic Surgery Institute says that while it is unfortunate that some people feel permitted to rudely comment on the appearances of others, the only one who should be making decisions about their body should be the individual themself. The clinic says that everyone wants to put their best self forward; the only difference is how each person goes about it. For some individuals, they might achieve this through tanning, tattoos, or makeup, while others might prefer cosmetic procedures ranging from facelifts to mommy makeovers and more, the institute notes. However, the Southern California medical center says its important for plastic surgery candidates to maintain realistic expectations about what enhancements can achieve, as results often vary from person to person. Huntington Plastic Surgery Institute says that every individuals procedure is customized to fit their needs and flatter their appearance, so what a rhinoplasty looks like on one individual may look slightly different on another. The group adds that a good plastic surgeon will discuss a patients desired goals, working together with the patient to plan the best course of action. Huntington Plastic Surgery Institute says that individuals interested in receiving plastic surgery should be sure to perform thorough research on plastic surgeon candidates. In a beauty-centric region like Southern California, theres no shortage of offerings when it comes to cosmetic procedures and enhancements. The clinic says that to receive the best care and results possible, candidates should ensure that they go to a reputable, board-certified plastic surgeon as well as review patient testimonials and before and after photos. Readers interested in learning more about Southern California medical center (626) 792-4385 and its services can call (626) 792-4385 or visit its website at https://huntingtonplasticsurgeryinstitute.com/. McGregors harrowing Lean Fall Stand (Catapult, Sept.) tells a story of survival and recovery in which research technician Robert Wright suffers a stroke in Antarctica and loses his ability to speak. How did you approach writing about Antarctica? I felt obliged to write this book after receiving a residency there in 2004. The original plan was to go on a ship to a station, but the ship couldnt make it because of the ice and had to return to the Falklands. But I definitely had a sense of the landscape and the immensity of it, and became aware of how difficult it is to communicate in that environment. In a way, thats what pushed me into exploring the inadequacy of language. You ended up with a man-against-nature survival narrative in which Roberts recovery from trauma is more challenging than his survival of the event itself. For a long time this was going to be an action-oriented tale of survival in the Antarctic, but I kept struggling with the language. The closest I could come to articulating a sense of that landscape was to think in terms of silence, in terms of space, in terms of human senses being overwhelmed. I found myself exploring aphasia [the loss of ability to understand or express speech] as a consequence of Roberts stroke. It made sense to take the character into this whole other dangerous situation. Once I decided I was going to write about the aftermath of his stroke, it made sense to turn the entire adventure story on its head. Roberts wife becomes the protagonist, dealing with her husbands injury. What sort of research did you do on language therapy for the book? I spoke to several speech therapists. I read accounts of people living with aphasia, just to get a sense of the range of that experience. I spent some time with a self-help group of people with aphasia, went to the group about once a month for a year. That was very helpful, seeing how language difficulties manifest. What strikes you about the threat of losing language and becoming a stranger to it? The more research I did, the more frightened I became. When you read about people with aphasia, you sometimes come across these moments of accidental poetry. I had to try and make sure I didnt fall into the trap of romanticizing it because these moments of accidental poetry were just that: accidental. One of the most moving moments in a group therapy session I attended was to hear the members talking about books; they were all holding up copies of books theyd enjoyed, but could no longer read. And they were all so supportive of my being there and learning all I could, and yet, I know, none of them are going to be able to read the book that Ive written. DEAL OF THE WEEK Khanna Makes Tech Work for S&S Ro Khanna, a congressman whose district includes Silicon Valley, sold Dignity in a Digital Age to Simon & Schuster. The book, subtitled Making Tech Work for All of Us, was acquired by executive editor Stephanie Frerich in a world rights agreement from Jim Levine at the Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency. S&S said Khanna tackles equal access to technology, one of the pressing issues of our day, and makes the case for democratizing digital innovation in order to build economically vibrant and inclusive communities. Before being elected to Congress, Khanna served as deputy assistant secretary of commerce in the Obama administration. FROM THE U.S. Orbit Sprinkles Abdullahs Stardust After an auction, Orbits Brit Hvide won world English rights, for six figures, to a debut epic fantasy trilogy by Chelsea Abdullah, which the author described as Arab inspired. She was represented by Jennifer Azantian of Azantian Literary Agency. The first novel, The Stardust Thief, slated for May 2022, is influenced by One Thousand and One Nights and, Azantian explained, is set in a world with dangerous jinn, magical artifacts, shifting dunes, a legendary smuggler, and a cowardly prince. It follows the smuggler and the prince as they set off on a quest through the desert to retrieve a lamp that could revive a barren land. Calandrelli Gets Curious for Prism Cara Bedrick at Chronicle Prism bought Emily Calandrellis Stay Curious and Keep Exploring from Jennifer Keene and Kyell Thomas at Octagon in a world rights agreement. The publisher said the science guide for families features 50 experiments that use easy-to-find items, apply STEM research to real life, and spark curiosity and critical thinking. Calandrelli is an MIT-educated engineer who hosts (and coexecutive produces) the Netflix show Emilys Wonder Lab. Ballantine Heals with Bradford Psychologist Joy Harden Bradford sold Sisterhood Heals to Chelcee Johns at Ballantine Books. Johns preempted North American rights from Rebecca Gradinger at Fletcher & Company. Bradford hosts the podcast Therapy for Black Girls, and her book, according to Ballantine, is a celebration and guide to the transformative nature of Black womens relationships with one another. It addresses such topics as the evolution of sisterhood and the process of finding your people. Sisterhood Heals is set for summer 2023. Avery Buys Barrats Book on Suicide Averys Caroline Sutton bought North American rights to James Barrats Solving Suicide from William Clark at William Clark Associates. Barrat is a documentary filmmaker, and the book is a companion to a September 2022slated PBS special on the topic that he directed. Clark said Solving Suicide melds personal stories with optimistic findings and actionable advice about suicide from scientists, policymakers, psychiatrists, and others. Algonquin Eats Nguyens Dust World rights to Dust Child by Nguyen Phan Que Mai were acquired by Algonquins Betsy Gleick from Julie Stevenson at Massie & McQuilkin. Nguyen is the author of the lauded 2020 bestseller The Mountains Sing (also published by Algonquin), and her sophomore novel follows three American and Vietnamese families from the 1960s to the present as they grapple with trauma, according to the publisher. Dust Child focuses, Algonquin added, on the ostracizing of abandoned Amerasian people in Vietnam. Rapp News and Foothills Forum are continuously covering the impact of COVID-19 on our community. Sign up to have the C-19 Daily Update delivered to your inbox every morning. Click here to sign up... French Creek State Park Talking about the birds and the bees Close encounters with bright-colored birds and wiggly honeybees enthrall French Creek Park visitors Congressional leaders and a media advocacy organization are urging the Federal Communications Commission to investigate how policy decisions have disparately harmed Black Americans and other communities of color, according to a letter sent Tuesday to the acting FCC chair FILE - This Feb 23, 2019, file photo shows the inside of a computer in Jersey City, N.J. A ransomware attack paralyzed the networks of at least 200 U.S. companies on Friday, July 2, 2021, according to a cybersecurity researcher whose company was responding to the incident. Sierra Clarks reporting is made made possible by a partnership between the Traverse City Record-Eagle and Report for America. Go to www.record-eagle.com/RFA to support this and other articles by RFA reporters in the Record-Eagle newsroom. Lovinas Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife, and mother of eight. Her newest cookbook, Amish Family Recipes, is available wherever books are sold.Readers can write to Eicher at PO Box 1689, South Holland, IL 60473 (please include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply); or email LovinasAmishKitchen@MennoMedia.org and your message will be passed on to her to read. She does not personally respond to emails. Nancy Krcek Allen has been a chef-educator for more than 25 years and has taught professional and recreational classes in California, New York City and Michigan. Her culinary textbook is called Discovering Global Cuisines. Athens, GA (30605) Today Mostly clear this evening then becoming mostly cloudy after midnight. Low 68F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Mostly clear this evening then becoming mostly cloudy after midnight. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. Donna Davis works for Pitt County government, supporting technology. She has called eastern North Carolina home nearly all her life. She enjoys jamming with local musicians, running and writing. Contact her at donnadavisdavis@gmail.com. Support local journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Contribute Greenville, NC (27833) Today Mostly clear. Low 68F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mostly clear. Low 68F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Snow Hill, NC (28580) Today Mainly clear skies. Low 67F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear skies. Low 67F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. (Joseph C. Garza/Tribune Star) Curtis Lyle, deputy coroner with the Vigo County Coroner's Office, places the remains of Jo Ann Fox into the back of a van for transport after the exhumation of her body on Wednesday morning in Highland Lawn Cemetery. Details remain under wraps about whether teachers from one Connecticut school district were initially passed over for COVID-19 vaccines earlier this year. However, the Region 14 Board of Education has rescinded a future contract for embattled Superintendent Joseph Olzacki and are considering terminating his employment. Olzacki was placed on paid administrative leave in February amid the boards investigation into teachers accusations that administrators, central office staff, and school board members and their spouses were prioritized over other educators for the COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic in Southbury in January. This was before most people were eligible for the vaccine. That investigation has been completed, but the board is mum on the findings. The districts COVID-19 officer was fired. Its sensitive in that there is personnel involved, said George Bauer, chairman of the school board for the district that covers Bethlehem and Woodbury. Right now, its still protected by attorney-client privilege. A law firm investigated the accusations from the teachers union and gave the findings to the boards attorney, who then presented it to the board during executive session. Bauer said hes not sure when the results will be made public. It depends on the next steps taken in the process of working with the superintendent termination proceedings, he said. Olzacki directed questions to his attorney, who could not be reached for comment Thursday. Firing process The board voted unanimously last week to void Olzackis contract that would have taken effect Thursday and run through June 30, 2024. However, a contract in effect from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2022 remains in effect. The board agreed to consider terminating Olzackis employment under a process laid out in the existing contract. The first step is to provide the superintendent with written notice that the board wants to terminate him and why. Bauer said hes still working on that letter. Within 15 days of receiving the letter, the superintendent may file a written request for a hearing with the board in the next 30 days, according to the contract. The board must decide whether to fire him within 15 days of the hearing. The superintendent is permitted legal counsel at his own expense. Both parties may agree to waive these timelines. If the process continues beyond the current contracts expiration on June 30, 2022, Olzacki would effectively be out of the job. If there is not another contract in place, then hes no longer employed with the district, Bauer said. Under Olzackis contract, the board may terminate him for (1) inefficiency, incompetence, or ineffectiveness; (2) insubordination against reasonable rules of the board; (3) moral misconduct; (4) disability as shown by competent medical advice; (5) other due and sufficient cause. Vaccine rollout In January, educators were not yet eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine when the Pomperaug Health Department held its clinic at Pomperaug High School in Southbury. But the clinic had been organized before Connecticut officials clarified that educators were not eligible, so the state allowed it to continue. Other clinics for the educators were canceled, so not all teachers from Region 14, Region 15 and Oxford school districts received vaccines. This frustrated Region 14 teachers, who said the process was unfair and claimed administrators, central office staff, and school board members and their spouses received doses ahead of them. Those who got vaccinated were the lucky ones to schedule appointments on the first day of what was meant to be multiple clinics, Olzacki told Hearst Connecticut Media in February. Board members who signed up for the vaccine registered in the same way as educators and had been told they would not be taking doses from others in Region 14, Bauer said at the time. Chris York, president of the Nonnewaug Teachers Association, could not be reached for comment Thursday. Wayne McAllister, who was the districts finance director for several years, remains as interim superintendent. Bauer said McAllister has done a fantastic job since taking over for Olzacki in February. Hes staying on until things get resolved, Bauer said. Were happy he can help out. HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) The state's ban on single-use plastic bags in Connecticut has finally arrived, but grocery store representatives say it hasn't been a big event considering many customers are already accustomed to bringing their own bags to the supermarket. Connecticut Food Association President Wayne Pesce told The Day of New London the elimination of the state's 10-cent tax on single-use plastic bags on July 1 has been a non-event" and there hasn't been as much pushback as first predicted. WINCHESTER More than 60 ECAD supporters who attended the Team Training Graduation Ceremony on June 16 to celebrate the four teams of client and service dogs receiving their certification diplomas. The event, held at ECADs Training and Wellness Center in Winsted, was the first in-person graduation since the pandemic. It is so nice to see your faces again, said Dale Picard, ECADs co-founder and executive director, Picard went on to tell the attendees that even thought the pandemic had presented numerous obstacles to the organization, the training and placement of service dogs had continued on schedule. He thanked the supporters who had stepped up financially and the volunteers, many of them Home Handlers, who had taken puppies and Service Dogs home for extended periods. Picard congratulated his wife and ECAD co-founder, Lu Picard, for work she and her instructors had done in getting the dogs ready for placement despite the trying times. The graduating teams are: Julia Munro and Service Dog Collins, Watertown, MA; Olivia Gilbert and Service Dog Otis, Wethersfield, CT; Kevin McGovern and Service Dog Kincaide, Kittery, ME; and Stephanie Pokras and Service Dog Maizie, Potomac, MD. Also graduating were facility dog Sophia who is working with three handlers at RVNAhealth in New Milford, and facility dog Scrunchie who has joined the staff of Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke, FL. Local Democrats seeking candidates Democrats in the Northwest Corner have recently formed a search committee to seek out and interview candidates for the 2022 30th District State Senate race as well as the Litchfield Hills Probate District 2022 race. Patricia Oris, who serves as the Kent Democratic Town Committee Chairperson, is chairperson of this committee and attorney William Riiska of Salisbury is vice chairperson. New Milford Democratic Town Committee Chairperson Mary Jane Lundgren will serve as the secretary. Other committee members include Brookfield Democratic Town Committee chairperson Laura Orban, Cornwall Democratic Town Committee chairperson Richard Wolkowitz, Winsted Democratic Town Committee Vice Chairperson Nick Teeling, Litchfield Democratic Town Committee vice chairperson Joe Manes and Torrington Democratic Town Committee member Travis Tanuis. The committee will meet periodically between now and the nominating conventions next May. Anyone interested in running for either of these offices is asked to contact Patricia Oris at patricia@bragaoris.com NCCC offers Taxation for Small Business Seminar WINSTED - Northwestern Connecticut Community College will offer Taxation for Small Business through an online seminar, 7 to 8:30 p.m. July 20. The program will be led by Dr. Kris Roberts, Managing Partner of the Roberts Tax Group in Torrington, CT. The seminar is free but registration is required. Starting a small business may start with a great idea, but great ideas can be quickly go awry if business owners are unprepared for the various taxes associated with managing their businesses. Taxation for Small Business invites current business owners, and those considering starting a business, to learn about the various taxes associated with small businesses. The 90-minute session will include discussion of income, self-employment, property, and pass-thru entity taxes, as well as the various types of organizational structures such as C-corporations, S-corporations, partnerships, LLCs, and DBAs, and how these different legal structures can influence a businesss taxes. Register at www.eventbrite.com/e/taxation-for-small-business-tickets-160853861229. For more information, contact Laura McCarthy at lmccarthy@nwcc.edu. Torrington pastor accepts donation for church TORRINGTON Pastor Immanuel Ihemedu of Saint John Paul The Great Parish Torrington accepted a $1,000. donation from Saint John Paul The Great Holy Name Society President Michael Yuchunas. The Society is a branch of a worldwide Confraternity of the Catholic Church that venerates the holy name of Jesus Christ. In addition to regular religious practice, the Society supports numerous community and Church causes through financial and volunteer action. Businesses around the world rushed Saturday to contain a ransomware attack that has paralyzed their computer networks, a situation complicated in the U.S. by offices lightly staffed at the start of the Fourth of July holiday weekend. It's not yet known how many organizations have been hit by demands that they pay a ransom in order to get their systems working again. But some cybersecurity researchers predict the attack targeting customers of software supplier Kaseya could be one of the broadest ransomware attacks on record. It follows a scourge of headline-grabbing attacks over recent months that have been a source of diplomatic tension between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin over whether Russia has become a safe haven for cybercriminal gangs. Biden said Saturday he didn't yet know for certain who was responsible but suggested that the U.S. would respond if Russia was found to have anything to do with it. If it is either with the knowledge of and or a consequence of Russia then I told Putin we will respond, Biden said. "Were not certain. The initial thinking was it was not the Russian government. Cybersecurity experts say the REvil gang, a major Russian-speaking ransomware syndicate, appears to be behind the attack that targeted the software company Kaseya, using its network-management package as a conduit to spread the ransomware through cloud-service providers. The number of victims here is already over a thousand and will likely reach into the tens of thousands, said cybersecurity expert Dmitri Alperovitch of the Silverado Policy Accelerator think tank. No other ransomware campaign comes even close in terms of impact. The cybersecurity firm ESET says there are victims in least 17 countries, including the United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada, Argentina, Mexico, Kenya and Germany. In Sweden, most of the grocery chain Coop's 800 stores were unable to open because their cash registers weren't working, according to SVT, the country's public broadcaster. The Swedish State Railways and a major local pharmacy chain were also affected. Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola said in a statement that the company believes it has identified the source of the vulnerability and will release that patch as quickly as possible to get our customers back up and running. Voccola said fewer than 40 of Kaseyas customers were known to be affected, but experts said the ransomware could still be affecting hundreds more companies that rely on Kaseyas clients that provide broader IT services. John Hammond of the security firm Huntress Labs said he was aware of a number of managed-services providers companies that host IT infrastructure for multiple customers being hit by the ransomware, which encrypts networks until the victims pay off attackers. Its reasonable to think this could potentially be impacting thousands of small businesses, said Hammond, basing his estimate on the service providers reaching out to his company for assistance and comments on Reddit showing how others are responding. At least some victims appeared to be getting ransoms set at $45,000, considered a small demand but one that could quickly add up when sought from thousands of victims, said Brett Callow, a ransomware expert at the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft. Callow said it's not uncommon for sophisticated ransomware gangs to perform an audit after stealing a victim's financial records to see what they can really pay, but that won't be possible when there are so many victims to negotiate with. They just pitched the demand amount at a level most companies will be willing to pay, he said. Voccola said the problem is only affecting its on-premise customers, which means organizations running their own data centers. It's not affecting its cloud-based services running software for customers, though Kaseya also shut down those servers as a precaution, he said. The company added in a statement Saturday that customers who experienced ransomware and receive a communication from the attackers should not click on any links -- they may be weaponized. Gartner analyst Katell Thielemann said it's clear that Kaseya quickly sprang to action, but it's less clear whether their affected clients had the same level of preparedness. They reacted with an abundance of caution," she said. "But the reality of this event is it was architected for maximum impact, combining a supply chain attack with a ransomware attack. Supply chain attacks are those that typically infiltrate widely used software and spread malware as it updates automatically. Complicating the response is that it happened at the start of a major holiday weekend in the U.S., when most corporate IT teams aren't fully staffed. That could also leave those organizations unable to address other security vulnerabilities, such a dangerous Microsoft bug affecting software for print jobs, said James Shank, of threat intelligence firm Team Cymru. Customers of Kaseya are in the worst possible situation, he said. Theyre racing against time to get the updates out on other critical bugs. Shank said its reasonable to think that the timing was planned by hackers for the holiday. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said it was affecting hundreds of businesses and was another reminder that the U.S. government must take the fight to these foreign cybercriminal syndicates by investigating, disrupting and prosecuting them. The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a statement that it is closely monitoring the situation and working with the FBI to collect more information about its impact. CISA urged anyone who might be affected to follow Kaseyas guidance to shut down VSA servers immediately. Kaseya runs whats called a virtual system administrator, or VSA, thats used to remotely manage and monitor a customers network. The privately held Kaseya is based in Dublin, Ireland, with a U.S. headquarters in Miami. REvil, the group most experts have tied to the attack, was the same ransomware provider that the FBI linked to an attack on JBS SA, a major global meat processor forced to pay a $11 million ransom, amid the Memorial Day holiday weekend in May. Active since April 2019, the group provides ransomware-as-a-service, meaning it develops the network-paralyzing software and leases it to so-called affiliates who infect targets and earn the lions share of ransoms. U.S. officials have said the most potent ransomware gangs are based in Russia and allied states and operate with Kremlin tolerance and sometimes collude with Russian security services. Alperovitch said he believes the latest attack is financially motivated and not Kremlin-directed. However, he said it shows that Putin has not yet moved" on shutting down cybercriminals within Russia after Biden pressed him to do so at their June summit in Switzerland. Asked about the attack during a trip to Michigan on Saturday, Biden said he had asked the intelligence community for a deep dive on what happened. He said he expected to know more by Sunday. ___ AP reporters Frank Bajak in Boston, Eric Tucker in Washington and Josh Boak in Central Lake, Michigan contributed to this report. NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) Two adults are facing multiple criminal charges after New Haven Police said a 2-year-old pointed a semi-automatic handgun with a red laser attachment at police detectives during a recent, early morning investigation. The weapon had been left unattended on a bed, police said Friday. 100 years ago 1921 A certain mule, with residence at Saint Clair, is giving the track force of the Pennsylvania Railroad the hee haw today, as a result of an argument that the mule and the train had near the Saint Clair tunnel. The mule was on the track and with the characteristic contrariness that is familiar to all who have had the animals for pets, the mule refused to leave the rails. The engine also refused to leave the track and the mule was more or less lifted bodily and laid down complacently alongside the roadbed. 75 years ago 1946 A meeting of the educational association formed of citizens of Pottsville and surrounding communities to promote education in general and specifically the interests of the State College Center was held at the Necho Allen to discuss a problem that is of vital importance to Pottsville and Schuylkill County. It is the purpose to find accommodations for 500 students for the local college this fall if it can be done. 50 years ago 1971 Greenwood Hill firehouse and a downtown store were burglarized during the night, Pottsville police reported this morning. 25 years ago 1996 Schuylkill Countys pioneering paramedic unit may turn over its duties to Pottsville Area Emergency Medical Service (EMS) in an agreement that may be announced by the end of this week. That would end a period of uncertainty that could have left parts of the county without advanced life support service if Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center had been allowed to discontinue its program Sunday as planned, according to the countys 911 director. However, the situation was averted Friday when the state Department of Health advised Good Samaritan it needs to submit a plan outlining how its customers would be covered before shutting down its Advanced Life Support System (ALSS) unit. POTTSVILLE The Mahantongo Street parking garage is finally officially open. City officials were joined by business leaders, county and state officials and D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc. President Richard L. Dick Yuengling Jr. at a formal dedication ceremony of the new garage at Mahantongo and South Second streets Friday afternoon. Parking Authority Executive Director Ian Lipton welcomed the crowd gathered on the garages lower deck and provided a history of the site, which was owned by businessman Walter Scott Sheafer and was later the site of Warne Hospital before its merger in 1964 with Pottsville Hospital to become Pottsville Hospital and Warne Clinic. The ceremony program included historic photographs of the garage site and the original parking garage that was dedicated in 1969 and torn down in 2018. Lipton also noted the $5 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and $2.8 million from Yuengling, thanking Tonya St. Clair, a USDA loan specialist, as well as Yuengling and city officials. Lipton highlighted some of the new four-level parking garages features, which includes 222 parking spaces and four electric vehicle charging stations. It also has four handicap and three van accessible parking spots. Hourly and monthly parking will be available and the ParkMobile app can be used to pay. A stair and elevator tower is located at Mahantongo and South Second streets. In an invocation, the Rev. Phillip Rodgers, pastor of nearby St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church, said the new garage was a sign of hope and welcome to all those who come to the city. Officials who offered remarks at the ceremony talked about how the garage would attract businesses to downtown Pottsville. State Sen. David G. Argall, R-29, Rush Township, said the new garage is a beautiful facility, while Mayor James T. Muldowney said watching the garage being built was quite impressive, adding the tearing down of the old structure and the coronavirus pandemic didnt deter the citys revitalization efforts. It doesnt get any better than this, Muldowney said of the new parking garage. Yuengling said after the ceremony that he hopes it is a stepping stone in revitalizing downtown Pottsville. There are opportunities for businesses to be in downtown Pottsville now that there is parking for them, he added. Also present were the garages engineer, John Levkulic, state Rep. Tim Twardzik, R-123, Butler Township, former Mayor John D.W. Reiley, former state Rep. Mike Tobash and the owners of two neighboring businesses, Bobby and Abby Weaver, co-owners of Pressed Coffee & Books, and Allen Reinert, owner of Pottsville Cyclery. The old garage was shut down by city officials in 2016 over deteriorating structural reinforcing and torn down in 2018. Lipton said the new garage being open was a happy ending for the city. The ceremony concluded with Muldowney, Yuengling and Lipton joining parking authority board members in cutting a ribbon in front of the side of the garage facing South Second Street. The parking garage opened for vehicles last month. Outrage greeted disgraced comedian Bill Cosbys departure from state prison Thursday after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his sexual assault conviction. But the anger justified in terms of Cosbys conduct should not obscure that the court upheld an important constitutional protection and that it did not exonerate him for his conduct. A Montgomery County jury convicted Cosby in 2018 for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home in 2004. Cosbys own deposed testimony in a civil suit that Constand brought against him in 2005 proved to be crucial evidence in his criminal conviction 13 years later. Cosby paid Constand $3.38 million to settle the suit. In 2005, Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor said that he would not charge Cosby. Castor later confirmed Cosbys claim that he had granted the star immunity from prosecution. Castors successor, Kevin Steele, disputed the immunity claim, charged Cosby and used the deposition testimony to help convict him. The Fifth Amendment grants all Americans the right not to be forced to incriminate themselves: No person ... shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself. ... The court found that by reversing the grant of immunity, prosecutors had denied Cosby his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, in that his civil case deposition testimony made him a witness against himself in the criminal case. Some critics contend that the immunity grant was not legally executed. But, in any case, Cosby clearly had good reason to believe that he had been granted immunity. Now, advocates worry that the dismissal will deter other sexual assault victims from pursuing justice. But this is a one-off case. Prosecutors errors in Cosbys case should not deter others from seeking justice. I see the cable company is charging us $6.17 more a month but on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, we didnt get channels. They were blocked out. I dont know why. We are already paying for them so why cant we have them? Shenandoah I called two contractors to come do some work at my house. They both said they were coming and neither one showed up. Ashland Hey, Pine Grove, you obviously dont know what fascism means. Trump is the poster boy for fascism. All you need to do is watch Jan. 6 to prove that. And Frackville, talk about blocking things? Fox so-called News refused to air a short interview from the experiences of the Capitol Police on Jan. 6 because they went against Trump, just like they block anything else that goes against King Trump and other Republicans. Klingerstown I respect the decision by the Supreme Court about Brandi Levy from Mahanoy City but my hat goes off to Clarence Thomas. He is the only one that voted she should be suspended. My hats off to Clarence Thomas. Pottsville I would just like to say thank you to the greedy, greedy politicians. Shooting six deer in one season. There wont be nothing left. These deer are getting pushed out of the mountains, into the boroughs, into the towns and getting hit by cars. The insurance money tried to pay for them and it didnt work. Now we got the greedy politicians trying to kill off all our poor deer. Dont buy a hunting license this year, guys. Mahanoy City Hey, Frackville, yeah this is Operation Warp Speed all right. We got Joe Biden into office in warp speed. Congratulations, you managed, by supporting Donald Trump, to make Joe Biden, a career politician, electable. Thats what you did by supporting Donald Trump. Way to go. Cant wait until 2024 to do it again. Pottsville I am calling about the Supreme Court ruling saying that girl from Mahanoy City had the right to do what she did. No, that is not right. That is going to open a can of worms for every other kid around to say they are not happy or didnt make a team or something, they could do that. And her on TV saying all kids talk like that. No, not all kids talk like that. Those who talk like that are idiots or not brought up right or dont care about anybodys feelings. I hope she wises up. Schuylkill Haven A thought from American novelist Mary Catherwood that Meuser, Knowles and especially Argall, should ponder: Next to the slanderer, we detest the bearer of the slander to our ears. West Penn Township Doesnt the Supreme Court have better things to do then worry about some spoiled girl from Mahanoy City who was being really vulgar on her cellphone? Lets worry about the illegal immigration that is destroying the country. What kind of parents let their kids do this? Frackville The person from Klingerstown who said Trump is a criminal, he should take a look at the Biden family. Hunter Biden has lied on a federal application to buy guns. They have pictures of him with prostitutes. He admits he does drugs. He was kicked out of the military for doing drugs. Pine Grove Where do the powers that be, from the president on down, think taking guns away from people, penalizing gun stores that sell the guns is going to stop the violence in this country? It is not going to help. If they want to get a gun, they are going to get one, no matter how they do it. They dont have to buy it. They can find it anyway but no, the powers that be have all the answers like usual. Tamaqua Seeing that Mahanoy City father, whose daughter used such vulgar language directly at school officials, now he is claiming a victory for kids. It is a disgrace. Pottsville What a disparity on the front page. Left side of the page the Supreme Court rules in favor of free speech. On the right side, county commissioners throw out of their meeting an ex-mayor for speaking freely. Pottsville Thank you to those speaking in support of womens rights recently in downtown Pottsville. Your statements were accurate, articulate, sensible and meaningful. Bless you for your strength and courage. Pottsville This morning I thought I was living on a farm. I woke up and heard roosters crowing. I think people are raising chickens in their houses. Mahanoy City I see Harris is going to the border. I hope she takes Sleepy Joe with her. After all, he is the cause of the problem. He invited them all in. New Philadelphia I hope the Levys are proud of themselves. They celebrate their Supreme Court victory and tell us all kids talk like this. Well, my kids do not. If what she said was so mainstream, why dont the newspapers and TV reporters use the exact language she used? Well, free speech is protected as American standards and cultures slowly go down the drain. Girardville Hey there, father and daughter from Mahanoy Area, congratulations. Take a bow. You have just helped make our country more coarse, less civilized. And while we are at, good job, Supreme Court. Shenandoah The Brandi Levy case proves that you get rewarded for bad behavior. What a horrible role model for young teenagers. She said all kids curse and rant. I beg to differ. She is an embarrassment to her former school, her town and state. Shenandoah Dave Argall should keep in mind the legacy of Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani was a respectable attorney before he got involved with Donald Trump. Now, Giuliani has been disbarred. What a legacy. Very sad. Pottsville As a part of military diplomacy, the Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane will be embarking upon an official visit to the United Kingdom (UK) and Italy between July 5 and July 8 during which he will inaugurate an Indian Army Memorial in the famous town of Cassino, Italy. The official visit schedule also includes meeting with Army counterparts and the senior military leadership of these countries. The inaugural of the Indian Army Memorial is a tribute to more than 5,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives in the Battle of Monte Cassino during World War II. Italys liberation between September 1943 and April 1945 resulted in the death of over 5000 Indian soldiers. The officials added that both the UK and Italy are important partners for India in the fields of defence, healthcare, aerospace, education, clean technology, renewable energy and information and communication technology among others. Indian Army Chief General's visit to the UK MM Naravane will be in the United Kingdom for two days on July 5 and 6, during which the chief will interact with the British Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of General Staff, the Minister of State for Defence, and other dignitaries. Both the countries are maintaining a strategic partnership since 2004 and share a multi-faceted relationship spanning across trade and economy, health, science & technology, defence & security, people-to-people relations, climate change and close cooperation on multilateral issues. Indian Army Chief General's visit to Italy In Italy, the Indian Army Chief will participate in important discussions with the Chief of Defence Staff and Chief of Staff of the Italian Army on July 7 and 8. The inauguration ceremony of the memorial will additionally witness the COAS who will be briefed at the Italian Armys Counter IED Centre of Excellence at Cecchingola, Rome, informed officials. Like the UK, India shares a strong bilateral relationship with Italy as well. While maintaining a strong bond based on mutual respect for democracy, human rights and sovereignty with India. Italian defence firms have expressed keen interest in taking a proactive part in the Make in India initiative of the Indian government. Italy has also pushed for a central role for India in the European Unions Indo-Pacific Initiative. Ranchi, July 2 (PTI) The Jharkhand government has helped migrant workers get payment of dues of about Rs 38 lakh from their contractors or factory owners at a time when the labourers were facing hardships, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a statement said on Friday. As many as eight lakh calls had been received by the state authorities from such workers who were in distress during the pandemic and the state government also ensured the return of 1,176 migrant workers from abroad, it said. "Hundreds of returnee migrants complained about non- payment of dues by their contractors or factory owners. The chief minister took this issue seriously and the government intervened in this matter. "In 2019-20 more than Rs 26,15,285 of payment were done to the returnee migrants against their unpaid dues. In 2021, more than Rs 11, 77, 086 have been paid back to returnee migrants after government intervention," a statement from the state government said on Friday. The spread of the novel coronavirus created among other things labour crisis and the workers were stuck across different parts of the country with no one around whom they could look up to, for any kind of help. "At this time of crisis, Chief Minister Mr Hemant Soren extended a hand of support for all the migrant labourers of Jharkhand. Strict directions were given to the officials to ensure help for every stranded migrant labourer. And, since then lakhs of labourers have been assisted through Migrant helpline and State Migration Control room," the statement said. According to the data provided by the State Migration Control room, they have received more than 8.22 lakh calls till now. Out of these calls, 5.09 lakh calls were received between March 27, 2020, and December 31, 2020, whereas, 3.12 lakh calls were received between January 1, 2021, and June 25, 2021. According to records, hundreds of international migrants reached out to the state migration control room and 1,176 such migrants from Nepal, the Middle East, Bhutan, Myanmar, Behrin, Sweden, Nigeria, South Africa, Dubai, were extended help for returning home. The statement said counselling of returnee migrants was done at the behest of the chief minister. " To date, more than 4,73,257 migrant labourers have been counselled through the state control room. This initiative helped our labourers heave a sigh of relief," it said. Soren said "To help our migrant labourers during the spread of COVID-19 and the nationwide lockdown, we had started a state migration control room. But, now this initiative has turned into a mission and the government aspires to transform and upgrade the working condition of our labour force while ensuring that no one ever gets the courage to violate the rights of our labour force." The control room is functional with multiple helpline numbers and the state government will never let the guards down when it comes to helping the poor and labour force, the chief minister said. PTI NAM MM MM (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) V Muraleedharan, the Minister of State (MoS), Ministry of External Affairs, is set to pay a visit to Guatemala, Jamaica and The Bahamas from July 5-10, the External Affairs Ministry (EAM) informed on July 3. Marking his first visit to these countries while holding the office. During the visit, he will call on the top leadership and meet with the Foreign Ministers of respective countries. An EAM release stated that MoS Muraleedharan's visit to Guatemala (July 5-6) is a follow-up on Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu's visit in May 2018. He will also meet Minister of Finance in Guatemala Juan Alberto Fuentes and interact with the Indian as well as business communities including members and Head of Chambers of Commerce & Industry. The meeting is intended to boost investments in a bid to enhance bilateral trade (currently US$ 309.86 million). Notably, Guatemala is the Pro-tempore President of Central American Integration System (SICA) with which India has established engagement and mechanisms. The Central America Integration System has been the economic and political organisation of Central American states since 1993. MoS V Muraleedharan's visit to Jamaica & The Bahamas MoS is visiting Jamaica from July 7-8, marking a visit by an Indian Minister to Jamaica in four years. Interestingly, he will also inaugurate the bust of Mahatama Gandhi at May Pen city and visit the old Harbour Bay where first Indians landed 175 years ago. While doing so, he will meet with a wide "cross-section of the Jamaican society comprising business leaders and Indian community members", the press release informed. His visit to The Bahamas is scheduled for July 9-10, where he will hold official meetings with the Bahamian society comprising of business leaders and interact with Indian community too. "The visit of MoS will provide an opportunity for reviewing the progress in our bilateral ties and further strengthening of our multifaceted relationship with all the three countries, including in SICA and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)," the EAM stated. India's relations with Jamaica and The Bahamas have been cordial and based on democracy where they support each other's candidatures too. (With ANI inputs) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday conducted raids in at least 6 places in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in connection with the recent allegation regarding deaf students and poor people being forcibly converted into Islam with funds from abroad. Sources have informed Republic Media Network that the ED officials conducted raids at various locations in the National Capital and the adjoining state. Forced Conversion Racket: ED Conducts raid at 6 locations Sources have further informed that certain documents have always been recovered by the ED, which reveal that the large-scale religious conversion carried out by the chief accused, Mohamad Umar Gautam, and his organisations all across the country. The documents also reveal several crores of foreign funding received by the accused organisations for the purpose of these illegal conversions. Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police's Anti Terror Squad (ATS) had arrested Umar Gautam, who was allegedly running the Islamic Dawah Centre (IDC) outfit, and his associate, Mufti Qazi Jahangir Alam Qasmi-both residents of Jamia Nagar of Delhi. The Uttar Pradesh Police has claimed that this outfit had received funds from Pakistan's inter-services intelligence (ISI) and other foreign agencies to carry out forced conversion racket. The locations in Delhi, searched by ED officials on Saturday, include the office of the IDC, and as well as the residences of Mohammad Umar Gautam and Mufti Qazi Jahangir Qasmi. All of these places are located at Jamia Nagar in the city. Meanwhile, in Uttar Pradesh, the ED raided the offices of the Al Hassan Education and Welfare Foundation and the Guidance Education and Welfare Society, both located at Lucknow. These organisations are run by Umar Gautam and have been playing an instrumental role in carrying out these alleged illegal conversions, officials said. The case was unearthed by the Uttar Pradesh's Police's ATS last month, following which the ED lodged a criminal case under the provisions of the stringent Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), before launching its own probe in the matter. (Image: Republicworld.com, PTI) New Delhi, Jul 3 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday conducted searches at various locations in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in a recent case of alleged conversion of some deaf students and poor people to Islam in UP with purported funding from abroad, official sources said. The raids are being conducted at six places in Delhi and UP, they said. The central probe agency had late last month filed a criminal case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to probe this case unearthed by the Uttar Pradesh Police Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS). The ATS arrested two men, residents of Jamia Nagar in Delhi, and claimed that they ran an outfit named Islamic Dawah Center, that purportedly had access to funds from Pakistan's inter-services intelligence (ISI) and other foreign agencies to carry out their alleged illegal activities. The police had identified the arrested accused as Mufti Qazi Jahangir Alam Qasmi and Mohammad Umar Gautam. PTI NES KJ (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that the world is witnessing a very "dangerous period" of the COVID pandemic. Speaking in a press briefing on Friday, July 2, the WHO chief said that the Delta variant of the virus is continuing to evolve. Dr Tedros in the briefing revealed that hospitals overflowing with patients are becoming normal in countries with low vaccination coverage. WHO warns about the Delta variant mutation WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was addressing a media briefing when he revealed the dangerous nature of the Delta variant. First identified in India, the new variant has been detected in at least 98 countries and is spreading faster than its past variants to become the more dominant strain. The WHO chief also said that no country is out of the woods yet. Speaking about the new variant, the WHO chief said, "The Delta variant is dangerous and is continuing to evolve and mutate, which requires constant evaluation and careful adjustment of the public health response. Compounded by more transmissible variants, like Delta, which is quickly becoming the dominant strain in many countries, we are in a very dangerous period of this pandemic. Dr Tedros went on to reveal that there remained two essential ways for countries to push back against new COVID surges. "Public health and social measures like strong surveillance, strategic testing, early case detection, isolation & clinical care remain critical. As well as masking, physical distance, avoiding crowded places & keeping indoor areas well ventilated. And second, the world must equitably share protective gear, oxygen, tests, treatments and vaccines," he added. WHO recommends COVID tests in schools The organisation also recommended that COVID-19 tests be conducted in schools in order to avoid closures and remote learning. The WHO Regional Director Dr Hans Kluge in his statement said that the governments must take action to use the summer breaks to implement new measures to curb the spreading of the virus. In his statement, Dr Hans revealed that the organisation aims to avoid the "harmful" effects of closing down schools by all means. According to the updated guidelines on schooling, students will need to undergo polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or rapid antigen tests at regular intervals. IMAGE: PIXABAY/PTI Saudi Arabia has suspended the entry of citizens of the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Vietnam over the spread of COVID-19 contagion. The country has suspended flights to four countries, United Arab Emirates, to protect against a coronavirus variant, reported SPA News Agency. The suspension of flights will take effect from 11 pm on July 4. Saudi Arabia bans citizens from three countries Saudi citizens are allowed to visit these countries only after taking permission from Kingdom's authorities. Flights to and from the three countries will be suspended on July 4 at 11 pm. Anyone who arrives in the Kingdom after this date will be required to undergo institutional quarantine. As per the report, the government has announced the decision due to the outbreak of COVID-19 cases and the spread of a new mutated variant of the virus. According to the Saudi Arabia Health ministry(MOH), the total number of COVID-19 cases are 4.91.612. Presently, the active coronavirus infections are 12,199. The total number of doses administered in the country are 18,261,211. The number of people who have received the first dose stands at 16,561,885 while the number of people who have taken both doses are 1,699,326. Saudi Arabias Ministry of Health on June 28 announced that the kingdom will start inoculating young people aged 12 to 18 against COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. According to Arab News, the Saudi MoH said that the step comes as a continuation of its efforts to expand the inoculation process. The kingdom also informed that currently 70 per cent of the adult population has been vaccinated against the virus, according to progress in community coverage, priority categories and availability of vaccine supplies. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia had decided to restrict the annual Haj pilgrimage to its own citizens and residents for the second year running in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. IMAGE: AP/SocialMedia Iran on Saturday denied US accusations that it had supported attacks on American forces in Syria and Iraq while also condemning US airstrikes on Tehran backed militants there. On Tuesday, Washington informed United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that it had carried out aerial attacks targeting Iran back militants in both countries to deter them from further attacking and ambushing American soldiers and facilities. Soon afterwards, Iranian Envoy lambasted Washington dubbing the bombardments as a flagrant violation of international law. Under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, the 15-member Security Council must immediately be informed of any action that states take in self-defence against armed attack. Following the protocol, the Biden Administration told the global body that it had conducted air raids on weapons storage facilities in Iraq and Syria. It added that the attacks were to curb an increase in the violence-drone and rocket attacks- by the militias Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, both Shia militant groups backed by the Iranian Republic. Unreliable claims However, Irans envoy to the UN, Majid Takht Ravanchi dismissed the claims saying that it was factually wrong and unreliable. Furthermore, he blamed America for fabricating that Iran backed militants had carried out attacks on US personnel. Any claim to attribute to Iran... any attack carried out against American personnel or facilities in Iraq is factually wrong and void of the minimum requirements of authenticity and reliability," Ravanchi was quoted as saying by official news agency IRNA. The US argument that such attacks were conducted to deter ...Iran and the so-called Iran-backed militia groups from conducting or supporting further attacks..., has no factual or legal ground, as it is founded on mere fabrication as well as arbitrary interpretation of Article 51," he added. Speaking at the Council meeting, Ravanchi also advocated the immediate revival of The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). "While Irans nuclear steps are reversible, the sufferings of our people are not. Iran has paid a heavy price to preserve this agreement. Now US & E3 need to make difficult decisions to fully return to JCPOA," he said. Earlier this month, the US agreed to repeal nearly 1,040 Trump era sanctions imposed on Iran as its effort to revive the controversial pact. My remarks at the UNSC meeting on res. 2231: JCPOA must be implemented. While Irans nuclear steps are reversible, the sufferings of our people are not. Iran has paid a heavy price to preserve this agreement. Now US & E3 need to make difficult decisions to fully return to JCPOA. pic.twitter.com/a1UDhqmMND Majid Takht Ravanchi (@TakhtRavanchi) June 30, 2021 Image: AP/PTI (With Agency Inputs) After the United States added Pakistan in the list of Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA), the latter fumed over the action and stated it is "a factual error and lack of understanding". Pakistan has rejected its inclusion in the list and has requested the US to review the "baseless assertions". According to the United States, Pakistan has been added to the list of countries that have recruited or used child soldiers in 2020. The addition of Pakistan to the list could lead to sanctions on military assistance to the country. In a statement, Pakistan's Foreign Office expressed infuriation and added that the US did not consider consulting any state institution before publishing the list. Refuting the blame, officials from the country added, "Pakistan's efforts in fighting non-state armed groups including terrorist entities are well-recognised." Pakistan's Foreign Office also added that the US did not provide any details on which this conclusion was reached. The reply from Pakistan emphasised upon country's commitment to fighting "this scourge -- both at the national and international levels". The CSPA list Started in 2010, the CSPA list made by the US is to expose foreign governments that have recruited or used child soldiers. The entities reviewed for this designation include armed forces, police, other security forces and government-supported armed groups. In 2010, there were six Governments that were added to the list however this year the figure climbed to 15. Apart from Pakistan, Turkey is also added to the new list. Addition in CSPA leads to a prohibition of following US programmes: International Military Education and Training, Foreign Military Financing, Excess Defence Articles, and Peacekeeping Operations. Some programmes undertaken pursuant to the Peacekeeping Operations authority, are excluded. Moreover, the issuance of licenses for direct commercial sales of military equipment to such governments can also be banned through CSPA. Pakistan PM Imran Khan rules out rethink on China ties amid US 'pressure' The fresh dispute between US-Pakistan came barely few days after Pakistan PM Imran Khan claimed to have resisted pressure from the US and other Western nations to downgrade ties with its "all-weather friend" China. Speaking exclusively to China's English-language state broadcaster China Global Television Network (CGTN), he admitted that Pakistan was rattled by the growing clout of the Quad. India, Australia, the US and Japan have formed the 'Quad'. Despite the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 2015, thousands in Pakistan were trapped in the under bonded labour system revealed research carried out by Hari Welfare Association (HWA). As per one of the researchers, Khaskheli, the Pakistani Government has failed to implement the Act releasing individuals and families trapped in bonded labour by influential landlords. Under the bonded labour system labourers are completely or partially forced to work without pay to pay off their debts. As per the HWA research, most of the cases were witnessed in 2020. "More than 3,000 cases have been reported in 2020 alone as compared to 1,700 cases in 2019," said Khaskheli, quoting the findings of the research," quoted Khaskheli, from the findings of research. Moreover, explaining the seriousness of the situation, Shujahuddin Qureshi who is a peasants rights activist and works with the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) revealed that not a single case of bonded labour was registered nor was any landlord involved in this practice arrested. Steps taken to abolish bonded labour Its been five years since the Sindh Assembly passed the Bonded labour abolition Act, but it is still not implemented everywhere. As per the abolish act, 2016, the provincial government was supposed to form 'vigilance committees' in all districts to ensure their freedom, reported The Express Tribune however it is still not constituted. These committees were supposed to take responsibility and comprise elected representatives of the area, representatives of the district administration and representatives of bar associations, the media, recognised social service bodies and the Sindh labour department. Through the above-planned steps, the implementation of the 2016 law and help rehabilitate freed labourers were to be ensured, reported The Express Tribune. "On the commencement of this law, the bonded labour system shall stand abolished and every bonded labourer shall stand freed and discharged from any obligation to render his services forcibly. No person shall make any advance under, or in pursuance of, the bonded labour system or compel any person to render any bonded labour or other form of forced labour," reads one of the clauses of the law. A penalty was also announced for any violation however peasants still fall prey to such agreements due to rich creditors. (Inputs from ANI) The former Soviet Union marched into Afghanistan on Christmas Eve, 1979, claiming it was invited by the new Afghan communist leader, Babrak Karmal, and setting the country on a path of 40 years of seemingly endless wars and conflict. After the Soviets left in humiliation, America was the next great power to wade in. Following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the U.S. invaded to oust the Taliban regime, which had harbored al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. After nearly 20 years, the U.S. is ending its war in Afghanistan, withdrawing the last American troops. Left behind is the U.S.-allied government, riven by corruption and divisions, which must fend off advancing Taliban insurgents amid stalled peace talks. Many Afghans fear the next chapter will see their country plunge into chaos and inter-factional fighting among warlords. Here is a timeline of some key dates in Afghanistans 40 years of wars: Dec. 25, 1979 Soviet Red Army crosses the Oxus River into Afghanistan. In neighboring Pakistan, Afghan mujahedeen, or Islamic holy warriors, are assembling, armed and financed by the U.S. for an anti-communist war. More than 8 million Afghans flee to Pakistan and Iran, the first of multiple waves of refugees over the decades. 1980s CIAs covert Operation Cyclone funnels weapons and money for the war through Pakistani dictator Mohammed Zia-ul Haq, who calls on Muslim countries to send volunteers to fight in Afghanistan. Bin Laden is among the thousands to volunteer. 1983 President Ronald Reagan meets with mujahedeen leaders, calling them freedom fighters, at the White House. September 1986 The U.S. provides the mujahedeen with shoulder-held anti-aircraft Stinger missiles, which turns the course of the war. Soviets begin negotiating withdrawal. Feb. 15, 1989 The last Soviet soldier leaves Afghanistan, ending 10 years of occupation April 1992 Mujahedeen groups enter Kabul. The fleeing Najibullah is stopped at the airport and put under house arrest at a U.N. compound. 1992-1996 Power-sharing among the mujahedeen leaders falls apart and they spend four years fighting one another; much of Kabul is destroyed and nearly 50,000 people are killed. 1994 The Taliban emerge in southern Kandahar, take over the province and set up a rule adhering to a strict interpretation of Islam. Sept. 26, 1996 The Taliban capture Kabul after sweeping across the country with hardly a fight; Northern Alliance forces retreat north toward the Panjshir Valley. The Taliban hang Najibullah and his brother. 1996-2001 Though initially welcomed for ending the fighting, the Taliban rule with a heavy hand under Mullah Mohammed Omar, imposing strict Islamic edicts, denying women the right to work and girls the right to go to school. Punishments and executions are carried out in public. March 2001 The Taliban dynamite the worlds largest standing Buddha statues in Bamyan province, to global shock. September 2001 After 9/11 attacks, Washington gives Mullah Omar an ultimatum: hand over bin Laden and dismantle militant training camps or prepare to be attacked. The Taliban leader refuses. Oct. 7, 2001 A U.S.-led coalition launches an invasion of Afghanistan. Nov. 13, 2001 The Taliban flee Kabul for Kandahar as the U.S.-led coalition marches into the Afghan capital with the Northern Alliance. Dec. 5, 2001 The Bonn Agreement is signed in Germany, giving the majority of power to the Northern Alliances key players and strengthening the warlords who had ruled between 1992 and 1996. Hamid Karzai, an ethnic Pashtun like most Taliban, is named Afghanistan's president. Dec. 7, 2001 Mullah Omar leaves Kandahar and the Taliban regime officially collapses. May 1, 2003 President George W. Bush declares mission accomplished as the Pentagon says major combat is over in Afghanistan. 2004 and 2009 In two general elections, Karzai is elected president for two consecutive terms. Summer 2006: With the U.S. mired in Iraq, the Taliban resurgence gains momentum with escalating attacks. Soon they begin retaking territory in rural areas of the south. April 5, 2014 The election for Karzais successor is deeply flawed and both front-runners, Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, claim victory. The U.S. brokers a deal under which Ghani serves as president and Abdullah as chief executive, starting an era of divided government. Dec. 8, 2014 American and NATO troops formally end their combat mission, transitioning to a support and training role. President Barack Obama authorizes U.S. forces to carry out operations against Taliban and al-Qaida targets. 2015-2018 The Taliban surge further, staging near-daily attacks targeting Afghan and U.S. forces and seizing nearly half the country. An Islamic State group affiliate emerges in the east. September 2018 After his election promises to bring U.S. troops home, President Donald Trump appoints veteran Afghan-American diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad as negotiator with the Taliban. Talks go through 2019, though the Taliban refuse to negotiate with the Kabul government and escalate attacks. Sept. 28, 2019 Another sharply divided presidential election is held. It is not until February 2020 that Ghani is declared the winner. Abdullah rejects the results and holds his own inauguration. After months, a deal is reached establishing Ghani as president and Abdullah as head of the peace negotiating committee. August 18, 2019 The Islamic State group carries out a suicide bombing at wedding in a mainly Hazara neighborhood of Kabul, killing more than 60 people. Feb. 29, 2020 The U.S. and the Taliban sign a deal in Doha, Qatar, setting a timetable for the withdrawal of the around 13,000 U.S. troops still in Afghanistan and committing the insurgents to halt attacks on Americans. Sept. 12, 2020-February 2021 After months of delay, Taliban-Afghan government negotiations open in Qatar, sputter for several sessions and finally stall with no progress. Ghani refuses proposals for a unity government, while the Taliban balk at a cease-fire with the government. March 18, 2021 After the U.S. proposes a draft peace plan, Moscow hosts a one-day peace conference between the rival Afghan sides. Attempts at a resumption of talks fail. Taliban and government negotiators have not sat at the table since. April 14, 2021 President Joe Biden says the remaining 2,500-3,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan will be withdrawn by Sept. 11 to end Americas forever war. 2019-Present Violence grows in Kabul. IS carries out brutal attacks, including on a maternity hospital and a school, killing newborns, mothers and schoolgirls. Also growing is a wave of random attacks, unclaimed and mysterious, with shootings, assassinations and sticky bombs planted on cars, spreading fear among Afghans. May 2021-Present Taliban gains on the ground accelerate. Multiple districts in the north, outside the Taliban heartland, fall to the insurgents, sometimes with hardly a fight. Ghani calls a public mobilization, arming local volunteers, a step that risks compounding the many factions. July 2, 2021 The United States hands over Bagram Airfield to Afghan military control after the last troops in the base leave. The transfer of Bagram, the heart of the U.S. military's presence in Afghanistan throughout the war, signals that the complete pullout of American troops is imminent, expected within days, far ahead of Biden's Sept. 11 timetable. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Canada is easing travel restrictions on the country's own citizens who travel abroad and return to the country by dropping a 14-day quartantine for those who have been fully vaccinated. However, the government is taking a "wait and see" approach for non-essential travel by Americans who want to enter Canada, looking at what the data shows for these first steps before deciding on what's next. "I know people are impatient to suddenly get back to normal, but we're not there yet," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa Friday. The travel restrictions prohibiting non-essential travel between Canada and the United States that have been in place since early 2020, are due to expire on July 21. "We will continue to put first and foremost the safety and security of Canadians at the top of everything we do because that's what Canadians expect." Trudeau said Canada will have more than 68 million doses of vaccine by the end of July, enough to vaccinate all Canadians by the end of the summer. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) After nearly 20 years, the U.S. military left Bagram Airfield, the epicenter of its war to oust the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaida perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, two U.S. officials say. The airfield was handed over to the Afghan National Security and Defense Force in its entirety. The withdrawal is the clearest indication that the last of the 2,500-3,500 U.S. troops have left Afghanistan or are nearing a departure - months ahead of Biden's promise that they would be gone by Sept. 11. Afghans, however, say international forces are leaving a country deeply impoverished, on the brink of another civil war and with worsening lawlessness that terrifies some more than the advancing Taliban. The warlords with whom the U.S.-led coalition partnered to oust the Taliban are resurrecting militias with a history of devastating violence to fight the insurgents, who have made gains even in the warlords northern strongholds. Afghanistan looks significantly different than in 2001. There is internet, most people have mobile phones, women are in the workforce and schools for boys and girls are open, though most Afghans, who can afford only public schools, complain of the lack of qualified teachers, supplies and even buildings. Even the Taliban have sought to encourage Afghans to stay in the country, promising they have nothing to fear from them. But concerns remain over how women and girls will be treated once the US withdraws. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) The Foreign Ministry of Bangladesh has informed on Saturday that Bangladesh has received its first assignment of Moderna vaccines from the United States. The consignment has been received through the COVAX initiative. This initiative taken by the US government has been first delivered to Bangladesh as a gift. Concerning the same matter, the US Ambassador to Bangladesh has confirmed the news in a tweet. JUST ARRIVED: The U.S. gifted 2.5 million doses of the @moderna_tx #COVID19 vaccine to Bangladesh through #COVAX. The United States and the American people are proud to support the vaccine alliance for a safer & more secure world. #InThisTogether pic.twitter.com/NE6XXeaUui Earl R. Miller (@USAmbBangladesh) July 2, 2021 All about Moderna vaccine US-based biotechnology major, Moderna has gained authorisation for initiating its vaccines based on mRNA technology. It has been authorised for use under an emergency use authorisation (EUA) for the prevention of coronavirus (COVID-19). The Moderna vaccine is the fourth one to receive an authorisation after Covishield, Covaxin, and Sputnik. US import of Moderna vaccine jabs Earlier, the Joe Bided-led US government has promised to donate Moderna jabs through the COVAX scheme to developing countries which includes India as well. The country has already planned the distribution of vaccines to different countries which include doses of Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson. In the wake of the donation, Bangladesh has become the first country to receive the consignment of 2.5 million doses of Moderna covid-19 vaccines. They are yet to receive the second consignment of 1.3 million doses of Moderna vaccines which are expected to arrive on Saturday morning. Bangladesh received its first COVID-19 vaccine consignment on January 21 from India which included 20 million vaccine doses and has so far received 12 million vaccines from the Serum Institute of India. The United States is helping lead the global fight against COVID-19. Today in partnership with COVAX, we are sharing 2.5 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine with Bangladesh. Together we will build a world that is safer and more secure against this and future pandemics. pic.twitter.com/PVx6mojwOr Department of State (@StateDept) July 3, 2021 COVID-19 situation in Bangladesh Bangladesh with low vaccination rates has recently seen a surge in coronavirus cases. The country is currently facing the third wave of COVID-19. In such a situation, only less than 3% of people are vaccinated in the country. The government has recently confirmed new cases of coronavirus infections which have increased since June 1. Also, the government has reported an increase in death rates in the country. In such a situation, the country awaits more deliveries of vaccines which would accelerate the vaccination drive. Seeing a surge in the cases, the Bangladesh government has recently announced a countrywide lockdown until further notice. The government has also announced new measures, particularly in the border areas. (Source: ANI) The Maldives said on Friday, July 2, that false claims levelled against the Indian mission and its personnel in the local media might harm the two countries' long-standing friendly ties, and that it is responsible for providing security to all foreign diplomats. The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) voiced significant worry about recent publications, on an online news site, that it termed as 'disparaging and ill-founded remarks about Indian diplomats.' India-Maldives ties The ruling party and the foreign ministry reacted after the Indian high commission appealed to the Maldivian foreign ministry about malicious local media reports targeting the mission and its people last Thursday. The Indian side requested a probe into the media reports, as well as increased security for diplomats and the high commission. External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said both the Maldivian foreign ministry and the ruling party had issued remarks on the issue when asked about it at a routine news briefing. The Maldivian foreign ministry said in a statement that it had taken note of pieces published frequently on local media, levelling false charges against foreign ambassadors, missions, and diplomats in the Maldives, without mentioning India. These activities harm the Maldives' decades-long good relations with friendly nations, instilling hostility in the local public toward these friendly nations. This endangers the diplomats' lives and obstructs their diplomatic duties, according to the statement. Diplomats are granted immunities and privileges under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and the Maldives government is responsible for providing protection to diplomats, their houses, and missions. The foreign ministry urged local media to adhere to international standards and to report in a manner that does not jeopardize Maldives-other-country ties. False news reports could affect ties with India: Maldives The Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) was more forthright in its criticism of recent media revelations, urging the website and its co-founder to refrain from dragging the Maldives' diplomatic partners and allies into their own political petty vendettas. MDP said in a statement that the website's constant bombardment of anti-India vitriol appears to be a well-funded, well-orchestrated, and calculated political campaign with the explicit objective of whipping up hatred against the Maldives' closest partner, India. Such anti-Semitic campaigns raise legitimate security concerns for diplomats in our country, MDP warned. Speaker Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives called on individuals hostile to the government and the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to stop fostering anti-India sentiment. In the Maldives, he wrote, "hostile" and "disrespectful" discourse was being disseminated against India. In recent days, news channels such as The Maldives Journal have published articles making unfounded charges against Indian diplomats. Since the two sides signed an agreement in February to develop, support, and maintain the Coast Guard harbour in Uthuru Thila Falhu. The Maldives do not have a navy, hence the Coast Guard serves as the Maldives National Defence Force's armed maritime component (MNDF). The two countries have a close maritime relationship, and New Delhi has already given patrol vessels and surveillance aircraft to the MNDF. At Uthuru Thila Falhu, India will help construct the harbour, dockyard, other facilities, communications resources, and radar services, as well as train Maldivian employees. Officials with the MNDF have stated that no foreign military troops will be stationed at the site. (with inputs from PTI) Picture Credit: PTI/Twitter@Abdulla_Shahid After a slow vaccination rollout, Indonesia is now racing to inoculate as many people as possible as it battles an explosion of cases that has overburdened its health care system. Fueled by travel during the Eid holiday in May, and the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus first found in India, the most recent spike has pushed hospitals to the limit, with some turning away patients and others demanding they bring their own oxygen. The impact is clear across Java, Indonesia's most populated island. In mid-June, hospitals began to erect plastic tents as makeshift intensive care units, and patients waited for days before being admitted. Away from the hospitals, new land continues to be cleared for the dead. Families wait their turn to bury their loved ones as gravediggers work longer shifts. Last year, Indonesia's highest Islamic clerical body issued a decree that mass graves - which are normally forbidden in Islam - would be permitted during the crisis. While the surge has largely been concentrated on Java, it's a matter of time before it hits other parts of the archipelago. This week Indonesia announced its strictest restrictions this year starting Saturday, including working from home, closing places of worship and shopping malls, and restricting restaurants to takeaway service. President Joko Widodo has set a goal of vaccinating one million people a day, turning stadiums, community centers, police stations and neighborhood clinics into mass vaccination sites. The government aims to double the daily rate starting in August. So far, only about 5% of the population have been vaccinated. Geography poses massive challenges in a country with thousands of islands scattered across an area about as wide as the continental United States, and with limited transportation and infrastructure in many places. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Despite Pakistan claiming on various world platforms that it wants the welfare and the well-being of the people of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the recent drone attack on a defence installation in Jammu, whose roots are traced to Pakistan and its terrorist proxies, proves just the opposite of its claims, said the European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS). "It was the first-ever drone strike by terrorists directed against an Indian military target on June 27 and the attack does not portend well for the prospects of long-term peace and stability in J-K, reported the European Foundation for South Asian Studies. In fact, it reiterated the view put forth in several EFSAS publications that Pakistan's real interests in J&K are far removed from the welfare and the well-being of the people of J&K," the EFSAS stated. It added, "Moreover, this lack of empathy of Pakistan for the people of J-K came further to the fore when the Prime Minister of Pakistan-occupied J-K, Raja Farooq Haider Khan recently had very strong words to say about Pakistan's virtual colonisation of the part of J-K that it forcibly holds." Jammu Air Force station blasts On June 27, two blasts occurred in the premises of the technical area of the Jammu airbase, which were later confirmed to be drone attacks. The blasts were heard within a gap of 5 minutes, the first blast sound is captured in the CCTV at 1.37 am while the second at 1.43 AM. NIA reported that the IED-fitted drone came from across the International border. Two Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel have suffered minor injuries in the drone explosions. IAF stations in Pathankot, Punjab, and Awantipur, Srinagar have been put on high alert as sources state that the possible target of the drones was the aircraft parked in the dispersal area, ten meters away. The attack came almost immediately after the successful ice-breaking meeting that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on June 24. (With ANI Inputs) Pro-democracy protesters in Myanmar on July 3 marked the birthday of junta leader Min Aung Hlaing by burning his portrait and staging fake funerals. Since the February 1 coup, the Southeast Asian nation has experienced mass demonstrations and brutal military response. According to the rights group AAPP, nearly 888 people have been killed, 6472 total arrested, 5173 currently detained or sentenced while 1964 people are evading an arrest warrant as of July 2. On Saturday, the anti-coup protesters posted pictures on social media of a traditional noodle soup dish called Mohinga, which is often served at funerals in Myanmar. In Mandalay, which is the country's second-largest city, some activists burnt pictures of the junta leader and set fire to fake coffins at mock funerals. In the caption, the protestors wrote that they want Min Aung Hlaing dead. One internet user even said that the junta leaders death would make the whole country happy. On birthday of Murderer Min Aung Hlaing, citizens of Myanmar demonstrated military regime by making funeral wreaths n holding pre-cremation funeral for him as ppl wish him to die as soon as possible.#July3RevileStrike#MurdererMinAungHlaing#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/UxTepV8i9R Casey (@urmulanishere) July 3, 2021 The funeral of Min Aung Hlaing, who should have been born dead was staged by the residents at a Village in ChaungOo Tsp. #MurdererMinAungHlaing#July3RevileStrike#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/8IAmcHxiIQ True Democracy For Myanmar (@Soeyunwe9) July 3, 2021 Residents of Myaing Township, Magwe Region drove their motorbikes in a procession as they organized a mock funeral for coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on his 65th birthday on Saturday. (Photo: CJ) #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/q44lWZypHr Democracy for Myanmar (@MMamolia) July 3, 2021 Anti-regime protesters in Mandalay held a mock funeral for coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on Saturday. #July3Coup#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/JIwRxMBnkB Democracy for Myanmar (@MMamolia) July 3, 2021 Min Aung Hlaing reaches retirement age Min Aung Hlaing turned 65 on Saturday - the age he would have been subject to mandatory retirement while he headed up the armed forces, as stipulated by the nations 2008 constitution. Several analysts believe that his age was one of the factors in his power-grab because he had not been able to see a path to a higher office with the help of the military-backed political party, which was routed in the election last year. A year-long state of emergency was declared after the military took the charge and seized control on February 1, following a general election led and won by Aung San Suu Kyi. It is worth mentioning that before the coup, Min Aung Hlaing has been condemned globally for presiding over the brutal 2017 crackdown on the countrys stateless Rohingya population. He has also been banned from Facebook for stoking hate speech against the persecuted minority. UN investigators have even reportedly called on him and other top army leaders to be prosecuted for genocide. However, the junta leader has repeatedly denied all allegations of human rights abuses and said that the military operations were justified to root out insurgents. In recent times, his regime has faced international condemnation and sanctions, with concerns over mounting violence, political prisoners, internet shutdowns and a clawing back of press freedom. In response to Myanmar's military coup violence that led to havoc in Burma, new US sanctions were also imposed on 22 individuals closely related to the military regime on Friday. (Image: Twitter/AP) New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern on Friday triggered laughter as she suggested that opposition leader Judith Collins was a Karen. Her remarks came amidst a heated parliamentary debate on the countrys hate speech laws where Arderns proposal for harsher punishments was slammed by Collins-led opposition. The 121 member Kiwi Parliament has been debating over the countrys hate speech laws. While Arderns Labour Party has proposed harsher penalties for inciting discrimination and violence, the opposition has sharply criticized the demand asserting that it would infringe upon freedom of speech. It is imperative to note that the amendment in existing laws was proposed in response to the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks, in the aftermath of which the Royal Commission concluded that stronger measures were recommended to tackle hate speech and crime. The Karen incident Earlier Tuesday Collins took to Twitter to question "Will calling a middle-aged white woman a 'Karen' now be a crime under Jacinda Ardern's law?", slamming the proposition for stronger hate speech laws. Reiterating her stance again on Wednesday, the leader of the centre-right National Party told Parliament the law would just "shut down debate on hate speech." However, replying to Collins, Ardern joked that the new laws would not protect members of the 'Karen' community. "I disagree with that statement," Ardern said. "I also, as it happens, disagree with (Collins') statement on Twitter, that somehow it will become illegal to call someone a 'Karen.' That is absolutely incorrect, and I apologize, that means these laws will not protect that member from such a claim." Will calling a middle-aged white woman a Karen now be a crime under Jacinda Arderns law? https://t.co/nDiMOU7NLB Judith Collins (@JudithCollinsMP) June 29, 2021 The Prime Minister's witty reply triggered a round of laughter in the legislative body. According to a report published by CNN, even Collins had a tight-lipped smile. Later, Collins tweeted again on the issue, saying, "Apparently insulting women for either being named Karen and/or for being middle-aged white women is fine, under Jacinda Ardern's new law." The term Karen became popular in 2020 after several memes featuring the name hit the internet. According to CNN, the insult broadly refers to an entitled White woman who is unafraid to use her privilege to make unreasonable demands. Image: Jacinda Ardern/Judith Collins/ Instagram Turkeys foreign minister on July 2 slammed a US report on human trafficking that accused Ankara of proving operational equipment and financial support to an armed militia in Syria that recruits child soldiers. According to Associated Press, the Turkish foreign ministry said that it completely rejects the claim and its record is clean. It also went on to accuse the United States of double standards and hypocrisy pointing to American support for Syrian Kurdish militants. The Turkish ministry cited a UN report that documented recruitment and exploitation under the umbrella of the Syrian Democratic Forces. Turkey said that the Syrian Kurdish militants that provided the backbone of the SDF fighting the Islamic State group were linked to Kurdish fighters who have been waging an insurgency against Ankara for more than three decades. It also added that the Kurdish militant group is designated as terrorists. It is worth mentioning that American support for the Kurdish militants has been a major irritant in the US-Turkey relations. Ankaras recent statement comes after the US State Department highlighted Turkey and 14 other countries for the use of child soldiers. It was the first time that a NATO ally was placed on such a list, a designation that could lead to sanctions on military assistance on the listed countries. Pak rejects baseless CSPA list The US also added Pakistan to the list of Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA). Islamabad categorically rejected the US decision and termed it unsubstantiated and baseless. Pakistans foreign office reportedly said that the country does not support any non-state armed group, not any entity recruiting or using child soldiers. The inclusion of Pakistan in the CSPA List depicts a factual error and lack of understanding, Pakistan said. US CSPA list The countries which have been added to the annual TIP list of the US State Department are Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. The governments identified on the list are subject to restrictions, in the following fiscal year, on certain security assistance and commercial licensing of military equipment. Now, beginning of October 2021, and effective throughout the fiscal year 2022, restrictions will apply to the listed countries, absent presidential waiver, applicable exception, or reinstatement of assistance pursuant to the terms of the CSPA. It is worth noting that three countries - Congo, Somalia and Yemen - have appeared on the CSPA list since 2010 when the designation started. Nine others - Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Burma, Nigeria, South Sudan and Syria - have appeared more than once over the last 10 years. Pakistan and Turkey are a new addition to the list. (Image: AP) Ukrainian defence officials have been accused of making a "mockery" of women after official pictures showed female soldiers rehearsing for a military parade while wearing heels. According to BBC, Ukraines defence ministry is preparing to stage a military parade on August 24 to mark 30 years of independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The officials have plans to have female soldiers march in high heels instead of army boots, which has sparked angry reactions. While the defence ministry has reportedly said that the shoes are part of a regulation-dress uniform, Irina Gerashchenko, an opposition member of parliament, said it was sexism, not equality. Several other Ukrainian ministers also expressed shock at the plan. A group of lawmakers have even called on Defence Minister Andriy Taran to offer an apology. 'Medieval' mindset As per reports, Gerashchenko said that she initially thought the pictures of women soldiers rehearsing in combat trousers and black pumps with block heels was a hoax. She added it was sexism, not equality, and wondered why the ministry thought heels were more important than designing body armour tailored to women. An army veteran, Maria Berlinskaya, also said that a parade should demonstrate miliary prowess, but this one was to titillate senior officials in the grandstands. Olena Kondratyuk, who is the deputy parliamentary speaker, pointed out that more than 13,500 women had fought in the current conflict pitting Ukraine against Russian-backed separatists in the east. Kondratyuk called for an investigation into the picture and called them humiliating for women. Other critics accused the defence ministry of "sexism and misogyny" and said that high heels are a mockery of women imposed by the beauty industry". Moreover, some Ukrainian lawmakers even reportedly took pairs of shoes into parliament as part of their protests and renewed their calls for the defence minister to wear heels to next month's parade. The choice of footwear even sparked a torrent of criticism on social media and in parliament and led to accusations that women soldiers had been sexualised. While taking to Facebook, commentator Vitaly Portnikov called it a real disgrace and added that some Ukrainian officials had a medieval mindset. "A parade in heels" Female troops are being made to parade in heels, which is nothing more than sexism and misogyny. Unsurprisingly, the Ukraine Minister of Defence is a man. I'd like to see him parading about in heels, he wouldn't last 30 seconds! pic.twitter.com/KB0ONEI44Z KittieLou (@SkiptomyLoulou) July 3, 2021 Ukraine women when you get in charge it is only fair to add tights to the men's uniform and make them parade in them. It won't make up for anything but it'll be karma BH Apollo the Cat owner (@GreenBagOG) July 3, 2021 (Image: Twitter) The record-breaking heatwave in the US northwest and Canada is reported to have caused the biggest glacier melt in Washington state in a century. As per the reports by Komo News, Milky, sandy water has been running into Puget Sound, which is an inlet of the Pacific Ocean. Scientists have said that the rocks and minerals could be from melting glaciers. Heatwave leads to melting of glaciers Hundreds of deaths in Canada, Oregon and Washington linked to the heatwave, that has shattered all-time temperature records, have been reported. The extreme heatwave in the US Northwest region and Canada is caused by a "heat dome". The high temperature in the region has reportedly led to the melting of snow and ice on Washingtons iconic Mount Rainier. University of Washington assistant research professor of glaciers and climate TJ Fudge told Komo News that this was the biggest glacier melt in the state in about 100 years. Scott Pattee, of the Washington Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting, told Komo News that the melting of glaciers has caused the milky waters down below. Pattee revealed that 35 inches of snow have melted in Paradise, west of Mount Rainier in just five days. Scott Pattee told Kiro 7 News that before the heatwave, there were 53 inches of snow on the ground. He revealed that as of today, there are 18 inches of snow left. National Weather Service Warning Coordination Meteorologist Reid Wolcott told Komo News that melting of snow leads to vegetation at the surface that raises the risk of fires. Wolcott stressed that snow and glacier melting causes the rivers to rise. Hundreds of deaths in Canada, Oregon and Washington linked to the heatwave, that broke all-time temperature records, have been reported. The scorching weather has been caused by a "heat dome" parked over the Pacific Northwest. The heatwave has led to an "unprecedent" number of people to hospitals, AP reported citing a doctor who oversees Seattle's busiest emergency room. IMAGE: AP Inputs from AP A 19-year-old Yemeni model is being treated in hospital after she tried to kill herself in Sanaa jail run by Houthi rebels, Arab News reported. Entesar Al-Hammadi, who was arrested back in February at a Sanaa checkpoint, had attempted suicide earlier this week inside a Houthi-controlled jail. Her lawyer, Khaled Mohammed Al-Kamal, told the media outlet that she had tried to hang herself shortly after the Houthis moved her into a wing for prostitutes. Hammadi was reportedly saved when a child accompanying his imprisoned mother cried out after seeing her hanging. Al-Kamal said that the 19-year-old felt humiliated by the Houthis shaming her. The lawyer added that Hammadis mental and physical condition is very, very difficult. Born to a Yemeni father and an Ethiopian mother, Hammadi was abducted from a street in Sanaa with two friends. She was put on trial on charges of prostitution, drug dealing and breaching Islamic norms. According to Amnesty International, the model's trial which opened on June 6 had been tainted by "irregularities and abuse". As per reports, the Houthis have refused to release her despite intense local and international pressure. After placing her in solitary confinement, the group even banned media coverage of the case and replaced a prosecutor who had ordered her release. Hammadi, on the other hand, denied the accusations and threatened a hunger strike if the Houthis refused to free her. Hammadi facing unfair trial Michael Page, deputy Middle East director of Human Rights Watch, reportedly said that Hammadi was facing an unfair trial and the Houthis had prevented her lawyer from seeing case documents. Page said that the Houthi authorities should ensure her rights to due process, including access to her charges and evidence against her so she can challenge it. He even added that the group should immediately drop charges that are so broad and vague that they are arbitrary. Ahmed Arman, Yemens minister of legal affairs and human rights, told Arab News that the Houthi handling of the case was typical of their mistreatment of prisoners. It is worth mentioning that according to several international media reports, violence against women, especially in Houthi-controlled areas, has been on the increase since Yemen plunged into a civil war in 2014 that the UN says has created the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. (Image: Twitter) A woman in Chile who lost both eyes after she was hit by a tear gas canister staged a protest Friday outside police headquarters in the capital Santiago. Fabiola Campillai, now 36, was left completely blind when the canister struck her on the forehead in November 2019. She also suffered a brain injury and fractures to her face. The incident happened as she was on her way to work. Earlier, police had clashed with demonstrators in her neighbourhood. Speaking during Friday's protest outside police headquarters, Campillai said she had had a meeting with the director of national police about the case, but hadn't received a satisfactory response. She said the police officer who fired the canister was under house arrest on full pay. Chile experienced months of unrest in 2019 and hundreds of people were injured during clashes with police. Many suffered permanent eye damage. Police faced widespread accusations of brutality in their treatment of the demonstrators. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed Friday that his government has thwarted a series of purported Western-backed plots, and ordered the border with Ukraine fully closed over alleged weapons smuggling. Lukashenko claimed that Western-backed saboteurs had allegedly plotted to blow up a Russian military communications facility in Vileyka, 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of the Belarusian capital of Minsk, but their plans were derailed by the Belarusian authorities. He said that he discussed the purported plot with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Lukashenko, who has faced months of domestic protests against his rule, also claimed that his foes were allegedly planning to commit acts of arson and purportedly to mutilate or kill a pro-government TV journalist. He claimed that weapons and other materials for the alleged acts of sabotage were smuggled in from Ukraine. Lukashenko, 66, charged that Germany, the United States, Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania were involved in the plot. He didnt provide any substantiation for that claim, but said he'd give details later. Belarus has been shaken by protests fueled by Lukashenkos reelection to a sixth term in an August 2020 election that was widely seen as rigged. Authorities responded to the demonstrations with a massive crackdown that saw more than 35,000 people arrested and thousands beaten by police. Lukashenko, who has ruled the ex-Soviet nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for 27 years, has repeatedly accused the West of fomenting the protests and harboring plots to oust him. Lukashenkos statement followed a set of new bruising sanctions the EU slapped on Belarus over last months diversion of a passenger jet to arrest a dissident journalist. The sanctions announced last week target the countrys top export items, including potash a common fertilizer ingredient, petroleum products and tobacco industry exports. Ukraine has joined the West in strongly criticizing Belarusian authorities over the May 23 incident when they diverted a Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania and ordered it to land in Minsk where journalist Raman Pratasevich and his Russian girlfriend were arrested. Ukrainian authorities have also joined some of the EU sanctions, cutting air links with Belarus after the flights diversion. Lukashenko on Friday charged that the border with Ukraine has become a conduit for weapons being smuggled into Belarus for use in the alleged sabotage plots. An enormous amount of weapons flows to Belarus from Ukraine, he said in a speech televised live. That is why I have ordered the border guards to fully close the border with Ukraine. Lukashenko charged that another alleged plot envisaged setting forestry equipment on fire in a show of strength. The goal was to set fire to a column of lumber vehicles at night and post images on the Web to show: We are alive and fighting to oust that regime, Lukashenko said, adding that a woman accused of involvement in the plot was arrested on June 8. Yet another alleged plot was to kidnap a pro-government TV journalist, Grigory Azarenok, drive him to a forest and cut his tongue with scissors, Lukashenko claimed. He said a suspect who allegedly tried to abduct the journalist was arrested Thursday. IMAGE: AP (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Conditions are worsening for more than 2,000 migrants living inside a makeshift migrant camp on Mexico's border with the United States. The camp at Tijuana houses migrants waiting for a chance to present their asylum claims. It was established after the Biden administration announced on Feb. 12 that asylum-seekers waiting in Mexico for court dates could be released in the United States while their cases wind their way through the legal system. Almost everyone at the Tijuana camp has been in Mexico for months or even years. They include Haitians who began arriving at the border in 2016 as well as Mexican and Central American families fleeing violence, poverty and natural disasters. Karitina Hernandez, who lost a son to violence in the Mexican town of Iguala, fled with her family to Tijuana. She said children are getting sick because of increasingly poor hygiene inside the camp. Like most migrants at the camp, she fears moving into a shelter because they heard rumours that families get separated. She and her family will get their chance to present their case on Sunday. Armando Hernandez, who fled violence in the Mexican state of Michoacan, fears that US authorities won't see their case as a priority. "What proof do they want?" asked Hernandez of the asylum judges. "They don't need for me to come with my guts hanging out. I'm here to prevent that from happening to me." Don Louis Hermann, from Port au Prince, Haiti has been in Tijuana for over a year, six months in this camp. He made his way from Chile with his wife and son, traversing through nine countries to reach the US border. Hermann says Haitians are discriminated against in the camp and are all afraid to be there. "People are all trapped here," said Nicole Ramos an immigration lawyer who works with the migrants. Migrants are easy prey for organized criminal groups. "There are a lot of families that are paying extortion to organized crime here on the border," Ramos said. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) The United States recently added Pakistan along with 14 other countries in a list of Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA), which is a designation that could lead to sanctions on military assistance on the listed countries. According to PTI, the designation is included in US State Departments annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report. The report ranks countries in various tiers in accordance with their efforts to eliminating trafficking. The US defines the term "child soldier" as any person under 18 years of age who takes a direct part in hostilities or who has been compulsorily recruited into governmental armed forces, police, or other security forces. The term also means any person under 15 years of age who has been voluntarily recruited into governmental armed forces, police, or other security forces or any person under 18 years of age who has been recruited or used in hostilities by armed forces distinct from the armed forces of a state. This includes any such person who is serving in any capacity, including in a support role, such as a cook, porter, messenger, medic, guard or sex slave. Pakistan, Turkey new addition to CSPA As per reports, the countries which have been added to the annual TIP list of the US State Department are Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. The government identified on the list are subject to restrictions, in the following fiscal year, on certain security assistance and commercial licensing of military equipment. It is worth noting that three countries - Congo, Somalia and Yemen - have appeared on the CSPA list since 2010 when the designation started. Nine others - Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Burma, Nigeria, South Sudan and Syria - have appeared more than once over the last 10 years. Pakistan and Turkey are a new addition to the list. The CSPA prohibits assistance to governments that are identified in the list under the following authorities: International Military Education and Training, Foreign Military Financing, Excess Defence Articles, and Peacekeeping Operations, with exceptions for some programmes undertaken pursuant to the Peacekeeping Operations authority. Additionally, it also prohibits the issuance of licenses for direct commercial sales of military equipment to such governments. Now, beginning of October 2021, and effective throughout the fiscal year 2022, these restrictions will apply to the listed countries, absent presidential waiver, applicable exception, or reinstatement of assistance pursuant to the terms of the CSPA. (With inputs from PTI) Washington/Islamabad, Jul 2 (PTI) The US has added Pakistan along with 14 other countries in a list of Child Soldiers Prevention Act which identifies foreign governments having government-supported armed groups that recruit or use child soldiers, a designation that could result in restrictions on certain security assistance and commercial licensing of military equipment. The US Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA) requires publication in the annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report a list of foreign governments that have recruited or used child soldiers during the previous year (April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021). The countries which have been added to the annual TIP list of the US State Department are Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. According to the State Department, the governments identified on the list are subject to restrictions, in the following fiscal year, on certain security assistance and commercial licensing of military equipment. The term child soldier means any person under 18 years of age who takes a direct part in hostilities or who has been compulsorily recruited into governmental armed forces, police, or other security forces. It also means any person under 15 years of age who has been voluntarily recruited into governmental armed forces, police, or other security forces or any person under 18 years of age who has been recruited or used in hostilities by armed forces distinct from the armed forces of a state. It also includes any such person who is serving in any capacity, including in a support role, such as a cook, porter, messenger, medic, guard or sex slave. The CSPA prohibits assistance to governments that are identified in the list under the following authorities: International Military Education and Training, Foreign Military Financing, Excess Defence Articles, and Peacekeeping Operations, with exceptions for some programmes undertaken pursuant to the Peacekeeping Operations authority. It also prohibits the issuance of licenses for direct commercial sales of military equipment to such governments. Beginning October 1, 2021, and effective throughout fiscal year 2022, these restrictions will apply to the listed countries, absent a presidential waiver, applicable exception, or reinstatement of assistance pursuant to the terms of the CSPA. The determination to include a government in the CSPA list is informed by a range of sources, including first-hand observation by the US government personnel and research and credible reporting from various UN entities, international organisations, local and international NGOs, and international and domestic media outlets. However, Pakistan on Friday categorically rejected its unsubstantiated and baseless inclusion in the CSPA list by the US. We categorically reject the unsubstantiated and baseless inclusion of Pakistan in the Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA) List, Foreign Office said. It said Pakistan does not support any non-state armed group, nor any entity recruiting or using child soldiers. Pakistans efforts in fighting non-state armed groups including terrorist entities are well recognised. The inclusion of Pakistan in the CSPA List depicts a factual error and lack of understanding because no State institution was consulted by the US prior to the publication of the report, it said. Nor were any details provided of the basis on which the conclusion was reached, according to FO. Pakistan has been voluntarily submitting information for the TIP Report to the US Government since 2007 and has actively worked on implementing the practicable recommendations of these reports, said FO. Pakistan called upon the authorities concerned in the US to review the baseless assertions made in the TIP Report, especially with regard to the unwarranted inclusion of Pakistan in the CSPA List. It asked the US to share credible information on cases involving Trafficking in Persons as well as on allegations pertaining to support to armed groups using child soldiers. FO said Pakistans views and perspective on the subject have been conveyed to the US side. PTI CPS/SH AKJ AMS (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) In response to Myanmar's military coup violence that led to havoc in Burma, New sanctions were imposed on 22 individuals closely related to the military regime, July 3rd, Friday. These sanctions were levied following the brutal campaign of violence that provoked not only adults but children too and continued imposing costs in connection with the military regime. State department spokesperson Ned Price reported further measures were taken against the Burmese military regime and its leaders for their constant downfall to reverse the course and advance a path for democracy. Pursuant to Executive order 14014, 22 individuals related to the military regime were prohibited from the property with respect to the situation in Burma said the US Department of Treasury's Office of Assets Control. What paved a path for the brutality A year-long state of emergency was declared after the military took the charge and seized control on February 1, following a general election led and won by Aung San Suu Kyi. She was among the world's famous women for campaigning to restore democracy in the 1990s and spent 15 years in detention after organising several rallies and free elections. The armed forces led by Military commander-in-chief Aung Hlaing backed the opposition and claimed the widespread as a fraud. The coup took place as the new session of the parliament was set to open. Aung Suu was held at an unknown location and was facing charges. The other NLD MPs escaped the arrest and formed new groups in hiding. Protests over the coup formation have been the largest since the Saffron Revolution in 2007. Teachers, lawyers, students, government office workers, bank workers protested against the coup besides, the military imposed restrictions to curfews and gatherings. Litigation and scholium of Influential Countries Military forces have used water cannons, rubber bullets and live ammunition trying to cease the protest, which led to the killing of more than 888 people and around 5173 people were in detention. Various countries condemned the military takeover and the subsequent crackdown. ''Burma was under the reign of terror'', accused the US secretary of the State Antony Blinken. Andrea Gacki, director of the treasury's office said, " will continue to impose an increasing cost on Burma's military and promote accountability for those responsible for the violence. US commerce department slapped sanctions on four business entities that were responsible to provide revenue and other financial support to the military. The Burmese military, SAC, and others who supported the coup violence were under sanction. US urges the military to cooperate with the implementation of the ASEAN Five Point Consensus and restore democracy in Burma. Meanwhile, South Asian countries have been pursuing diplomatic efforts to cease the crisis. Note: We've recently updated our online systems. If you can't login please try resetting your password. You must login with an email address. If you don't have an email associated with your account email please call (208) 542-6777 for help. We get it. You don't want to see the ads. We'd just ask you to understand that those ads help us pay the bills and our reporters. Please, consider white-listing the Standard Journal in your ad-blocker or, even better, purchase a subscription so that you can help support quality local journalism. The sentencing comes amid a general crackdown by the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen on political opposition and land-rights activism. Hundreds of Cambodian villagers dispossessed by land grabs protest outside the Land Ministry in Phnom Penh, Sept. 21, 2020. A court in Cambodias Tbong Khmum province on Friday sentenced 14 political opposition figures and land-rights activists charged with conspiracy and incitement to one-year prison terms amid a continuing nationwide crackdown by authorities on political dissent in the Southeast Asian country. Eight of those convicted are now being held in the Tbong Khmum provincial prison and include six members of the banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), while another six defendants were convicted in absentia after having fled the country to avoid arrest, sources say. Speaking to RFA after the sentencing, Sam Sokung, a defense lawyer for the convicted CNRP members, slammed the courts decision as unfair and said he would appeal Fridays verdict after conferring with his clients. Our defense team believes that the sentence of a years imprisonment and fine of from 2 million [U.S. $492] to 4 million riels is unacceptable, because our clients didnt do anything wrong, Sam Sokung said, adding, No evidence was presented in court to support the charges of incitement against them. The six CNRP activists sentenced on July 2including Su Yean, Mak Sam An, and Khon Tonwere arrested between November and December last year ahead of the planned return, later canceled, of senior CNRP official Mu Sochua and other party members to Cambodia from exile. The two others sentenced July 2 were land-rights activists Phon Sophal and Sem Chamnan. A key source of social tension in Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries is the widespread practice of land grabs in which authorities seize land from people for development projects or foreign invested enterprises without paying them fair compensation for lost crops, property, and livelihoods. Srey Seath, the wife of jailed CNRP member Su Yan, called on the court following the sentencing to drop all charges against her husband and release him, saying that he suffers from a chronic illness in prison and needs medical attention and family support. I would like to ask the international community and international organizations to help my husband, who has committed no crime, Srey Seath said. It is unjust of the court to sentence my husband to a year in prison and to fine him 4 million riels, she added. Politically motivated arrests Soeung Senkaruna, spokesperson for the Cambodian rights group ADHOC, expressed his regret that the Tbong Khum court had sent the eight dissidents and activists to prison for simply exercising their right to freedom of expression as citizens of a democratic country protected by law. These arrests by authorities of political activists, social activists, and environmental activists are not cases of law enforcement, but are politically motivated, Soeung Senkaruna said, adding, [Cambodias] constitution gives citizens the right to engage in political activity and social activism. From the beginning of 2020 to June 2021, authorities of Prime Minister Hun Sens ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) have arrested around 80 political activists, environmental activists, monks, social activists, and members of youth groups, charging them with conspiracy, incitement, and insulting the authorities. Court officials and other authorities say they make the arrests in accordance with the law, But international human rights organizations, the United Nations, and UN special rapporteurs believe the arrests are being made in violation of the fundamental rights of our citizens, Soeung Senkaruna said. Cambodias Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP in November 2017 and barred its members from taking part in political activities, two months after party leader Kem Sokhas arrest for his role in an alleged plot to topple Hun Sens government. The ban, along with a wider crackdown on NGOs and the independent media, paved the way for the ruling CPP to win all 125 parliamentary seats in the countrys 2018 general election. Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Zakaria Tin. Written in English by Richard Finney. The need for good jobs lures young Lao women and girls into trafficking schemes despite government campaigns aimed at ending the trade. A sign in Laos warning young women and girls to 'Think carefully' and not fall victim to human trafficking is shown in a 2020 photo. Economic hardship in Lao villages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is driving a new surge in the trafficking to China of Lao women and girls desperate to find jobs, police and other sources in the Southeast Asian country say. Right now, our police department is working on more than 20 cases of underage Lao girls who were trafficked to China late last year or early this year, a police officer in the Lao capital Vientiane told RFAs Lao Service on July 2. They are being married to Chinese men, and are forced to sell sex and work hard. Were trying to bring them back home to Laos, the officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity. In addition, last month we were able to stop three under-18-year-old girls at the Laos-China Boten border check point from being trafficked into China, the officer said. These girls are too young. Theyre from poor families and are uneducated, and then theyre deceived and are lured into the sex trade and false marriages," he said. A police officer in Bokeo province bordering China confirmed the new increase in the exploitation of young women and girls, saying, Two months ago, we rescued a Lao girl who was trafficked to the [Chinese-owned] Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone here in Laos. Men and women working for buyers in the trade are now traveling across northern provinces in Laos in spite of restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of the disease, said a member of the Bokeo Womens Union, also speaking to RFA. They are offering up to 40 million kip [U.S. $4,000] dowry to girls or women in poor families in rural areas, saying all they have to do is go to China and marry Chinese men," she said. "But after they arrive in China, they are locked up in their new homes. They are not allowed to go out or contact their parents, and their passports are taken away from them." Rescued and returned A 25-year-old woman living in the capital Vientiane was trafficked to China last year, and was later rescued by Chinese police and sent back home. Speaking to RFA two months ago in an exclusive interview, the young woman said she had been told by a neighbor that she could find good work in China. A woman in my village told me that she was married to a Chinese man, and she convinced me to go to China to get a good job, the young woman said. I decided to follow her advice, but in China I was sold to a Chinese man instead of getting the job, and I was detained in the mans house for four months. Later, I escaped to the Chinese police, she said. At least 3,000 Lao women and girls were tricked into moving to China between 2008 and 2018 in spite of government education efforts aimed at stopping the trade, according to a Lao official who spoke at an anti-human trafficking conference in October 2018 in Vientiane. Of that number, only 600 women were finally able to return to Laos. Reported by RFAs Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Richard Finney. A Uyghur college instructor charged in 2018 with four different crimes amid a crackdown by authorities on Uyghur educators and intellectuals is serving a 25-year sentence in Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), sources in the region said. The detention of Shawkat Abdulla first came to light two years ago when his younger brother, Parhat Abdulla, who lives in Norway, reported Shawkats sentencing to the Uyghur Transitional Justice Database a Norway-based project that records disappeared and extrajudicially detained Uyghurs in the XUAR. Few other details about his case were available, however. RFAs Uyghur Service, which has been investigating the case over the past two years, recently learned further details about Shawkats arrest and sentencing through sources in the XUAR. According to the Uyghur Transitional Justice Database, Shawkat graduated with a degree in biology from Xinjiang Normal University in 1993, after which he began working as an instructor at Ili Normal College, a teachers college in Ghulja city (in Chinese, Yining) in the Ili Kazakh (Yili Hasake) Autonomous Prefecture. During the course of his 25-year career, he served in both academic and administrative capacities. But authorities deemed Shawkat, who had received praise from the colleges leaders in the past, a suspect in the summer of 2018 as they rounded up Uyghur educators and other intellectuals and took him away to study a euphemism for detention in a re-education camp. Authorities apprehended Shawkat in the middle of the night, placing a black hood over his head as they led him away. Shawkats family members did not know where he was being held and were unable to obtain information about him from relevant authorities in the prefecture. They went to the XUARs capital Urumqi (Wulumuqi, in Chinese) to try to get information about his whereabouts, but did not find out anything. Parhat Abdulla said he eventually learned from friends and acquaintances in Chinese provinces outside the XUAR that authorities had accused his brother of a series of crimes and sentenced him to prison. Shawkat was widely known for his social activity and role as an organizer as well as for his accomplishments in the field of education, said a source familiar with the situation in Ghulja and the fate of Uyghur detainees there. Government authorities also recognized these qualities in Shawkat, and for a time employed him as an administrative officer in the municipal branch of the Bureau of Education, said the source, who declined to be named. But Shawkats concern about ethnic issues concerning the Uyghurs while on the job displeased his Han Chinese superiors and colleagues at the bureau, and he was sent back to his former teaching position, the source said. A sensitive case Authorities detained Shawkat during the early days of the mass internment campaign because he had expressed critical opinions and advocated for the protection of Uyghur schools when it came to the allocation of finances and facilities, this person said. The re-education camps that China set up beginning in 2017 are believed to have housed 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Muslims, according to sources from the region. China says the camps are vocational training facilities set up to combat religious extremism and terrorism in the predominantly Muslim XUAR. Authorities also have targeted Uygur educators at schools and other educational institutions in the region in an effort to wipe out Uyghur language and culture. An Ili Normal College official refused to comment on Shawkats case on the grounds that it was sensitive, but he indirectly acknowledged that the instructor was being held in some form of state custody. We cant talk about this situation on the phone, he said. Its sensitive for us. Theres no way I can talk about it. An official at the Bureau of Education in Ili prefecture said he was unable to give RFA any details about Shawkat when a reporter called to verify the information. When RFA contacted the municipal branch of the education bureau in Ghulja for information about Shawkat, a female employee said her office was staffed entirely by ethnic Han Chinese. A male employee at the Ghulja branch of the education bureau said all the employees were newly recruited young people and that they had no knowledge of what older individuals like Shawkat had done on the job. The employee, who did not give his name, avoided answering questions when RFA pointed out that Shawkat was middle-aged and asked whether there was anyone by his name among former bureau workers who had been detained. Four alleged crimes After authorities apprehended Shawkat for his views on Uyghur educational policy and took him to a camp, they accused him of alleged crimes they said he had committed 20 years earlier, said the source who is familiar with the detainee situation in Ghulja. Authorities cited Shawkats participation in a meshrep a traditional male Uyghur gathering that typically includes poetry, music, dance, and conversation that was implicated in the 1997 Ghulja Massacre as evidence of the crime of ethnic separatism, the source said. Uyghur demonstrators in Ghulja participated in a nonviolent protest in early February 1997, calling for an end to religious repression and ethnic discrimination in the city. Chinese authorities violently suppressed the protest and detained and sentenced hundreds of Uyghurs to lengthy prison terms. Rights groups and Uyghur exile groups commonly refer to the event as the Ghulja Massacre, citing reports that some 200 Uyghurs were executed during a subsequent crackdown. During their interrogations of Shawkat, authorities tried to accuse him of as many mistakes as possible and of having committed as many crimes as possible as justification for meting out a lengthy prison sentence, said the source familiar with the situation in Ghulja. They also pointed to his phone conversations with his brother when they discussed books used as evidence of separatism against him, Parhat said. I always had him send me books good books that had been published by presses back in the homeland, he said. Authorities also cited Shawkats transfer of money to his brother in Norway for a house purchase as evidence of aiding terrorists, Parhat said. My brother put something like 50,000 yuan [U.S. $7,730] in my account, he said. It wasnt very much in Norwegian currency, he said. They [my parents] wouldnt have been able to go to the bank and transfer the money because theyre older, so of course my brother went and took care of it, and because of that, someone apparently said hed transferred money abroad. A police officer working in national security in Ghulja confirmed that this was the case, stating that Shawkat had had a problem that arose concerning the use of his phone. Authorities also accused Shawkat of a fourth crime of having violated official birth-control policy limiting to two the number of children that ethnic minority couples could have, though he already had paid a fine at the time of his third childs birth, according to the source familiar with the situation in Ghulja. Shawkat was sentenced to a total of 25 years in prison for all four offenses, according to another relevant official in Ghulja who confirmed that he was an employee of Ili Normal College. She responded with a correct when asked by RFA about the length of Shawkats prison term, confirming all the information recorded about his case in the Uyghur Transitional Justice Database. Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFAs Uyghur Service. Translated by the Uyghur Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Can Thi Theu has been placed in a cell on her own in the summer heat, raising concerns for her health. Vietnamese land-rights activist Can Thi Theu is being held in solitary confinement under harsh jail conditions following her sentencing to eight years in prison for criticizing the government over its handling of a deadly land-rights clash, her daughter said Friday. Trinh Thi Thao, Theus daughter, told RFAs Vietnamese Service that her mother is currently in a prison in the seat of northern Vietnams Hoa Binh province, where she has been placed in a cell on her own in the heat of the countrys tropical summer after being jailed for political reasons. I just got a message that my mother is in solitary confinement, meaning that she is alone in a cell, Thao said, adding that she had received the information about her mother from a source whose family member is in the same prison as Theu. It is very hot right now in the north, horribly hot. There were prisoners in the same prison who were sent to the hospital for heat stroke. Thao said she is worried about Theus health but hasnt been able to speak with her, and prison authorities have not allowed her to visit since her trial in early May. She said she has been given no explanation about why her mother was placed in solitary or why she cannot meet with her family members. My mom told her fellow inmates in other cells that if they hear her banging on the door, they should immediately yell for help so they could send her to the hospital, Thao said. I am worried for my moms health in this situation. Theu and her sons Trinh Ba Tu and Trinh Ba Phuong were arrested on June 24, 2020 on charges of propagandizing against the state for posting online articles and livestreaming videos critical of the governments response to a land dispute that turned violent last year. On Jan. 9, 2020, around 3,000 security officers conducted a raid on Dong Tam communes Hoanh hamlet to intervene in a long-running dispute over a military airport construction site about 25 miles south of Vietnams capital, Hanoi. Dong Tam village elder Le Dinh Kinh, 84, was shot and killed by police during the operation, and Kinhs sons Le Dinh Chuc and Le Dinh Cong were sentenced to death on Sept. 14, 2020 in connection with the deaths of three police officers who were also killed in the clash. Theu and Tu were sentenced to eight years in prison each by a court in Hoa Binh on May 5. Trinh Ba Phuong remains in pre-trial detention. Tu has also been refused visits with his family since his trial and authorities have yet to explain why. Harsh forms of persecution According to Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), state media in Vietnam is highly restricted, leaving bloggers and independent journalists as the only sources of independently reported information in the country, despite being subjected to ever-harsher forms of persecution. Measures taken against them now include assaults by plainclothes police, RSF said in its 2021 Press Freedoms Index, which placed Vietnam at 175 out of 180 countries surveyed worldwide, a ranking unchanged from last year. To justify jailing them, the Party resorts to the criminal codes, especially three articles under which activities aimed at overthrowing the government, anti-state propaganda and abusing the rights to freedom and democracy to threaten the interests of the state are punishable by long prison terms, the rights group said. Vietnams already low tolerance of dissent deteriorated sharply last year with a spate of arrests of independent journalists, publishers, and Facebook personalities as authorities continued to stifle critics in the run-up to the ruling Communist Party Congress in January. But arrests continue in 2021. Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Anna Vu. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. Azerbaijan handed over 15 captured Armenian soldiers in exchange for land mine maps, the two countries' foreign ministries said on July 3. Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces fought a six-week war that ended with a Moscow-brokered cease-fire in November which saw Baku regain control over parts of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven adjacent districts. In a statement, Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry said Russia mediated a deal for Armenia to provide maps detailing the location of around 92,000 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines in the recaptured Fizuli and Zangilan regions. "As a humane step, the Azerbaijani side has extradited to Armenia 15 people of Armenian origin," it said. Once the soldiers arrived home, Armenia provided their names and said they were all from the Shirak region in the northwest of the country. "As a goodwill gesture, the Armenian side provided Azerbaijan with maps of minefields in the Fizuli and Zangilan regions," the Armenian government said. Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts are among the most heavily mined areas of the former Soviet Union. Since the November cease-fire, seven Azerbaijani troops and 18 civilians have died and more than 100 have been wounded by land mines in the area. Azerbaijans government hopes obtaining mine maps will help save lives and accelerate construction so that people displaced from villages and towns during a bloody conflict in the early 1990s can return to their lands. In June, Azerbaijan and Armenian struck a similar deal that traded 15 prisoners for mine maps of the Agdam district. The number of Armenian prisoners of war and other detainees still in Azerbaijani custody is unclear. The cease-fire agreement provided for the exchange of prisoners of war and other detained people, leading to an exchange of 44 Armenian and 12 Azerbaijani prisoners in December. But since the cease-fire, Azerbaijan has captured as many as 60 Armenian servicemen amid lingering border disputes and mutual recriminations. Part of the difficulty in resolving the issue is that Azerbaijan doesn't consider all the detainees prisoners of war -- a distinction that would give them protections under the Geneva Conventions -- but merely captives because they were detained after the cease-fire. Businesses scrambled on July 3 to respond to a ransomware attack on an American IT provider that cybersecurity experts believe was carried out by Russian criminal hackers. Thousands of businesses around the world may be impacted by the cyberattack, according to a cybersecurity researcher whose company is responding to the incident. The cyberattack hijacked widely used technology management software from the U.S.-based company Kaseya on July 2. One of Sweden's biggest grocery chains, Coop, said its 800 stores were closed because a remote tool used for its cash registers was impacted, meaning payments can't be taken. Swedish State Railways and a major local pharmacy chain were also affected. The Swedish news agency TT said Kaseyas technology was used by Swedish company Visma Esscom, which manages servers and devices for a number of Swedish businesses. Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist told Swedish Television the attack showed how businesses and government need to boost preparedness. "In a different geopolitical situation, it may be government actors who attack us in this way in order to shut down society and create chaos," he said. Kaseya urged customers in a statement on July 2 to immediately shut down servers running the affected software and confirmed that it had shut down some of its servers. Kaseya said the attack was limited to a "small percentage" of its customers, estimated at 40 worldwide. It said it was working closely with a few security firms and U.S. government agencies. But the ransomware could still be affecting many more companies that rely on Kaseya's clients that provide broader IT services. A cybersecurity researcher with Huntress Labs security firm responding to the incident said it's reasonable to think this could potentially be impacting thousands of small businesses. John Hamman of Huntress said on Twitter that the criminals used Kaseyas network management package as a conduit to spread ransomware through cloud service providers. Hammond said that the REvil/Sodinikibi gang, a major Russian-speaking ransomware syndicate, appears to be behind the attack. "Based on everything we are seeing right now, we strongly believe this (is) REvil/Sodinikibi," Hammond said. The FBI linked REvil to a ransomware attack in May on JBS, a major global meat processer. Ransomware attacks render their victims' data unusable by encrypting it until the victims pay off attackers. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is closely monitoring this situation and is working with the FBI to gather information about the impact of the incident, the agency said in an e-mail to RFE/RL. "We encourage all who might be affected to employ the recommended mitigations and for users to follow Kaseya's guidance to shut down VSA servers immediately," said Eric Goldstein, executive assistant director for cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security. VSA is the company's flagship offering and is designed to let companies manage networks of computers and printers from a single point. The latest cyberattack comes as CISA and the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) posted an advisory on July 1, detailing how U.S. and British security agencies have exposed "brute force" methods they say have been used by Russia's GRU military-intelligence agency to conduct malicious cyberactivities against hundreds of government and private organizations. The advisory described cyberattacks carried out by operatives of the GRU, which has been accused of involvement in attempts to meddle in U.S. elections in 2016 and 2020, the hack in 2015 of the German Bundestag, attacks on Ukraine's power grid, and many others. U.S. President Joe Biden raised cybersecurity during his June summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said he told Putin that certain types of critical infrastructure should be off limits to cyberattacks. Biden said he and Putin agreed to further discussions on those types of attacks and on the pursuit of Russian-based criminals carrying out ransomware attacks. Prior to the ransomware attack on meatpacker JBS, a similar attack on Colonial Pipeline, one of the largest pipeline operators in the United States, forced the shutdown of fuel supplies to much of the East Coast for nearly a week. The U.S. Justice Department later said it had recovered most of the bitcoin ransom paid to the suspected Russian-based DarkSide cybercriminal group behind the attack on Colonial Pipeline. With reporting by AP, AFP, dpa, and Reuters The Syrian Kurdish administration has handed over another 20 children languishing in camps for the Islamic State group to a Russian delegation for repatriation. The children born to Russian parents linked to the extremist outfit were transferred to a Russian delegation on July 3, the de facto autonomous administration in northeast Syria said. The latest repatriations brings to 205 people sent home to Russia so far. We will try to return all the children," Larisa Nikolaevna, the deputy head of Russian state childrens rights commission, was quoted as saying by Kurdish media. Kurdish authorities hold some 10,000 suspected Islamic State fighters in prisons, after spearheading a U.S.-backed campaign against the Islamic State that ended with the extremist group losing most of its territory in 2019. Tens of thousands of foreign women and children with ties to the extremist group are held in separate camps in northeast Syria under dire conditions. Kurdish authorities and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have called on the 60 countries from which the Islamic State fighters and their relatives came to repatriate foreign nationals. Some countries such as Germany and the Netherlands have repatriated some citizens who fought with the jihadists. But many countries have brought home only the wives and children living in the camps due to security concerns about bringing home radicalized former fighters. Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised several Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and Balkan countries for repatriating some of their citizens. In many cases, children tied to foreign fighters and their wives are said to have been "born into the Caliphate," having never lived in their homeland and been subject to extremist indoctrination. Earlier this week, the ICRC said that, of the 60,000 people held at the sprawling Al Hol desert camp, 40,000 are children growing up squalid, unhealthy, and dangerous conditions. Many young boys have also been separated from their mothers during transfer or detention. The ICRC, which runs a field hospital and provides food and water at the Al Hol camp, sounded alarmed that the Kurdish authorities are holding "hundreds of children" in adult prisons with hardened jihadists. With reporting by AFP and ANHA Lithuanian authorities reported 116 more arrests of migrants crossing the border from Belarus, a surge in crossings that Lithuania says Minsk is purposely organizing in retaliation for European Union sanctions. The Lithuanian State Border Security Service said on July 3 that border guards also fired tear gas and warning shots as one group of migrants were being detained. The latest figures bring the number of migrants detained over the past two days to 179, the service said; in all 938 people have been arrested crossing from Belarus this year, 12 times as many in all of last year. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said late on July 2 that the government had declared a state of emergency, and he accused Lukashenka seeking "to weaponize migration to weaken our resolve for sanctions." Vilnius contends that the migrants, most of whom are Iraqi, are moved to the border with Lithuania, where Belarusian border guards turn a blind eye as they cross into the European Union member state. Lithuania has been one of the loudest critics of Belarus's strongman leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka since last August's dispute presidential election. The 66-year-old Lukashenka claimed victory, setting off months of unprecedented protests. The opposition says that election was rigged, and the West has refused to recognize the results of the vote. The Baltic state has offered refuge to Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who supporters say was the real winner of the election. Vilnius has also become a center for Belarusians in exile, and the two countries have expelled a number of diplomats as ties have worsened in recent weeks. The EU's border guard service, Frontex, has sent teams to Lithuania to help deal with the influx of migrants. With reporting by AFP Russia reported a fifth straight day of record deaths from COVID-19, as authorities struggle to cope with a new wave of cases that's been exacerbated by low vaccination rates. On July 3, the national coronavirus task force reported 697 deaths over the past 24 hours, along with nearly 24,400 new infections. It's the fifth day in a row for record deaths, and the highest number of new infections since January, when the country was still grappling with a second wave. Like in other countries, Russia has blamed the surge on the Delta variant of COVID-19, which is much more infectious than other strains. Western health officials have said that major vaccines like Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson all provide protections against the Delta variant. Russian officials say the country's Sputnik V vaccine also provides protection, though it's unclear to what degree. Fueling Russia's newest wave of infections is the reluctance of many Russians to actually get vaccinated. Only around 15 percent of the population has gotten the vaccine, with many citing distrust of the science, and authorities more generally, as the reason. Some Russian regions, including Moscow, have begun reimposing restrictions on restaurants, bars, and other public venues. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced the beginning of a booster campaign, in an effort to stem the surge. Earlier this week, during his annual nationally televised call-in show, President Vladimir Putin urged people to get vaccinated. But many observers said he also undermined the message by declining to strongly support vaccine mandates for some Russians, by suggesting without evidence that Western-made vaccines are dangerous, and by underplaying the scale of the vaccination problem more broadly. Russia was the first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine in a controversial decision made in advance of late-stage trials and announced by Putin himself in August. But problems with distribution and doubts about the shot, which has been recognized as safe and effective by the international scientific community, has hampered efforts at mass inoculation. With reporting by AFP Uzbekistans communications regulator has restricted access to several social media websites for violating personal data laws. O'zkomnazorat announced the restrictions on July 2 without mentioning which social media sites fall under the order. However, Internet users in Central Asias most populous country reported disruptions to Twitter, TikTok, VKontakte, and Skype. In particular, the restrictions reportedly involve throttling, or reduced speed when using the networks. O'zkomnazorat said social media websites had violated a new personal data law in effect since April which requires Internet companies to store the personal data of Uzbek users on servers in the country. Use of the social networks will be "limited in accordance with the established procedure until the identified deficiencies are eliminated," the regulator said. In recent weeks, O'zkomnazorat has issued warnings to Twitter, Russias VKontakte, Twitter, Tencents We Chat, TikTok owner ByteDance, and Microsofts Skype over violations of the personal data law. The latest restrictions on information in Uzbekistan come as the authoritarian state prepares for a presidential election in October, with President Shavkat Mirziyoev almost certain to win another term. Ahead of the election, authorities have tightened rules on the Internet and increased pressure on journalists and bloggers. In March, amendments to communications laws criminalized insulting or defaming the president online and making online calls for "mass disturbances." Mirziyoev has positioned himself as a reformer since taking office following the death of his authoritarian predecessor, Islam Karimov, in 2016, releasing political prisoners and opening his country to its neighbors and the outside world. Human rights groups say the reforms have not gone far enough. With reporting by RFE/RL's Russian and Uzbek services While living in Norway, South Kingstown native Dimitri Yogaratnam and his business partners created Oslo Brewing Co. Their ales can be found in a handful of other countries including Japan, where Yogaratnam posed for this photo, prior to the pandemic. This summer, Oslo Brewing Co. is making it debut in southern Rhode Island. BELLVILLE -- Dog owners will soon have a new place to take their furry friends for walks, runs and playtime in The Valley. The Bellville Dog Park - Finnigan's Run will be located just north of town, behind the B&O Bike Trail opposite the bike trail parking lot on State Route 97. The parking lot will be expanded to accommodate visitors as part of the park project. Im excited. There's a lot of energy behind it now," said Bellville Mayor Teri Brenkus. As always, its really everybody kicking in on a great project that will benefit our community. The park will be named in memory of the late Bellville resident Lyle Beveridge and his golden retriever Finnigan. The five-acre plot will be completely fenced in and be comprised of two sections -- a 3.5-acre section for big dogs and a 1.5-acre portion for small dogs. The land for the park was donated to the village by Jim Gorman, retired president and board member of Gorman-Rupp Pumps. "Our family has a long history in the Bellville corridor and donating the land for the proposed dog park is our way of supporting them," Gorman said. Brenkus began initial fundraising attempts in 2019 after seeing results from an old survey that suggested community interest in a dog park. After Beveridge passed away in August 2020, a group of his friends approached Brenkus about helping fundraise for the park and naming it in his honor. Beveridge was well-known in the local running community and a member of the fitness family at Dynamic Performance Fitness in Bellville. In addition to working out at the gym and on the trail, Beveridge loved to take Finnegan running in the woods. He was one of those guys that just put his arms around everybody and made everybody feel like they were the most important person in the world to him, said Jerry Simon, a friend of Beveridge and member of the dog park committee. Brenkus is also on the committee, along with Judy and MacKenzie Golden. We just wanted to do something nice for the community," Judy said. We are so grateful to Jim Gorman. Without his donation of the land, Im not sure our little village could have come up with the money to do it. The land is currently being used to grow soybeans, but it will soon be reseeded with grass. Terra Valley Excavating will be adding mounds, tunnels and other obstacles for the dogs. The park will also have benches, a picnic pavilion and hopefully a walking path. Were doing the best we can with the funds we get, Brenkus said. Wed like to add a really nice asphalt path winding through each side of the dog park. The Village of Bellville is supporting the project, but it will be funded by the community. A line item has been created in the village budget for donations. Brenkus said the village funding is limited, noting that Bellville does not have a parks levy. Residents can donate on Venmo by searching Bellville Dog Park in the business section (@dogpark). Checks can be mailed to the village office at 142 Park Place, Bellville, Ohio, 44813. Please write ATTN Dog Park on the envelope or Dog Park in the memo. The committee is still waiting on final estimates, but Simon said he expects the total project cost to be around $35,000. The park is slated to open next spring. All of our kids, when they visit they bring their dogs and they're excited to have a place to exercise them," Brenkus said. The committee will also be hosting a fundraiser at the American Legion Park this fall. The Pups in the Park 5K/Dog Walk is set for Sept. 11 at 8 a.m. Attendees will receive a t-shirt and doggie bandana with their $30 pre-registration. Starting July 15, most Ohio parents will begin to see $250 or $300 in their bank accounts, every month from now until the end of the year. Its part of the dramatic expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) we passed in the American Rescue Plan this spring. This was one of the biggest victories for working families in decades, and over the past week, Ive met with parents across Ohio to talk with them about the positive difference this is going to make in their lives. From childcare, to health insurance, to transportation let alone trying to put money away for college a hard days work doesnt begin to cover expenses for so many parents. These tax cuts finally recognize that caregiving is work its the work that makes all other work possible. And the credit will give families a little extra security every month, to keep up with all the costs of raising a family. If you filed your taxes this year, you dont need to do anything. Middle class and low-income parents should keep an eye on your bank account, and starting July 15th, you should see $250 deposited in your account for each child, and $300 for each child under age 6. If you didnt file taxes this year, you are still eligible to claim the CTC you earned. Go online to childtaxcredit.gov, to find more information about how you can claim your $250 or $300 or $500 or $600 a month, depending on how many children you have and how old they are. We also know parents expenses are not going away in a year. Thats why Im fighting to make these tax cuts for working families permanent, and to lift up the voices of Ohio parents. One mother talked about how this will allow her to afford to child care and go back to work full-time. Another works three jobs to make ends meet, and now shell be get by on two jobs instead of three, to spend more time with her kids. A mom in central Ohio talked about how this would give their family the extra cushion they need to save for her daughters future. Ive worked to expand these tax credits for years, because theyre one of the most effective tool we have to reward work and put money in Ohio families pockets and that money gets spent in local economies, not hoarded in overseas bank accounts. Americans have spent years watching politicians in Washington hand out tax cuts to corporations and the wealthiest tiny sliver of the country. The Child Tax Credit benefits the vast majority of Ohio families 92 percent of Ohio kids families are getting a tax credit. Ill continue working to make this expansion permanent, and to put our government back on the side of the people who make our country work. A Paris man, who died aboard the USS Oklahoma during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, has had his remains identified, and will be buried next month in his hometown. US Navy Electricians Mate 3rd Class Alphard S. Owsley, 23, was among 429 crewmen who died, many of whom were trapped inside. Roanoke Rapids, NC (27870) Today Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 66F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. State AP Scott vetoes rental housing and safety bill MONTPELIER Vermont Gov. Phil Scott on Friday vetoed a bill that aimed to improve rental housing and safety, saying it would reduce the number of housing options for people at a time when the state is grappling with a critical housing shortage. Scott, a Republican, wrote Friday that the solution is not more regulation, adding, we need to invest in new and rehabilitated housing in every corner of our state. We need to lower costs to make housing more affordable and we need to ease complicated and duplicative permitting requirements while we have the funding to grow and improve our housing stock, he added. He said the bill, which would have required owners of short-term rentals to register their properties with the state, adds restrictions and costs, and targets all rental units in all types of buildings with few exceptions. Scott added he believed the bill will discourage everyday Vermonters from offering their homes, rooms or summer cabins for rent as a way to supplement their income. Most agree we suffer from a critical housing shortage for middle income, low income and homeless Vermonters, but the solution is not more regulation. Instead, we need to invest in new and rehabilitated housing in every corner of our state. We need to lower costs to make housing more affordable and we need to ease complicated and duplicative permitting requirements while we have the funding to grow and improve our housing stock, he explained in his veto statement. S.79 targets all rental units in all types of buildings and dwellings with few exceptions. I believe this will discourage everyday Vermonters from offering their homes, rooms or summer cabins for rent, not as a primary business but as a means to supplement their income so they can pay their mortgage as well as their property taxes. Scott said he would support a rental housing registry for buildings that exceed two dwelling units available for rental for more than 120 days per year. With the nation focused on building health and safety, it was extremely disheartening and surprising to see S.79 vetoed, said Sen. Michael Sirotkin. As the lead sponsor and committee chair on this bill, I can attest that we took three years of testimony and evidence in refining this bill and had overwhelmingly broad support, including from landlords and tenants, the business community, and municipal governments. We did not hear from a single witness in opposition, including the Administration. With his veto message, the governor is establishing a false choice between affordability and health and safety. Vermont renters know we need to deliver on both, said Majority Leader Alison Clarkson. As even the governor recognizes, our inspection program for substandard housing is in need of modernization. The current system relying on part-time, undertrained, volunteer town health officers is inefficient and often ineffective. This is a huge missed opportunity and a real loss for the health and safety of our most vulnerable citizens. Its imperative that Vermonters who dont own their own homes are able to rent safe, clean apartments. Our constituents want and deserve decent homes for themselves and their families, said Pro Tem Becca Balint. Poor housing quality often leads to serious health problems, especially for children. This critical bill provided a long overdue complaint-driven system for protecting our constituents from substandard rental housing conditions. This alone was reason enough to support the bill. But it also included other important programs to address our statewide housing crisis, including the Vermont Rental Housing Investment Program, which would help renovate existing rental properties and the Homeownership Revolving Loan Fund, which would finally make homeownership a reality for many Vermonters. Im extremely disappointed with the governors actions today, at a time when we should be doing everything possible to guarantee access to decent housing for all Vermonters. The governors veto just doesnt make sense. Jill Krowinski, speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives, said in a statement that the bill was crafted to create equitable solutions to our housing crisis, in supporting both renters and landlords, and it passed with broad support from community and business organizations across Vermont. She added that we need to create a recovery plan that works for all Vermonters, and by vetoing this bill, the governor has taken away resources from our goal of recovery. Cindy Reid, chair of the steering committee of the Vermont Housing Coalition, released a statement, as well. At a time when the need for more housing is more critical than ever, S.79 would have resulted in more housing units going on line, helping to alleviate the housing shortage. It would have addressed safety of rental housing, providing a robust professional inspection program. It also would have provided a resource to address health and safety of substandard or vacant units, of which there are an estimated 11,000 statewide. This was a multi-pronged piece of legislation carefully developed to address safety code enforcement, create a registry to provide all rental property owners access to information and resources, and provide funding for housing rehabilitation for landlords and new homeowners. It goes on: The Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition, represents more than 90 organizations that create, manage, and promote affordable housing, and we strongly supported S.79, the statewide rental housing safety bill. While we are disappointed by the governors veto, we will continue to work to advance this legislation this is a setback not a defeat. The governor has been a huge supporter of housing efforts in Vermont we will work with him and his administration to find a way to advance this bill. North Conway - It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved Stacie L. Hampton, 45, of North Conway, N.H., on Thursday, July 1, 2021, in Albany, N.H., after an extended illness. Born in Newburyport, July 31, 1975, Stacie was the daughter of Paul F. Fougere and Michelle Scarsdale, NY (10583) Today Clear to partly cloudy. Low around 70F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. Low around 70F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. The former Soviet Union marched into Afghanistan on Christmas Eve, 1979, claiming it was invited by the new Afghan communist leader, Babrak Karmal, and setting the country on a path of 40 years of seemingly endless wars and conflict. After the Soviets left in humiliation, America was the next great power to wade in. Following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the U.S. invaded to oust the Taliban regime, which had harbored al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. After nearly 20 years, the U.S. is ending its war in Afghanistan, withdrawing the last American troops. Left behind is the U.S.-allied government, riven by corruption and divisions, which must fend off advancing Taliban insurgents amid stalled peace talks. Many Afghans fear the next chapter will see their country plunge into chaos and inter-factional fighting among warlords. Here is a timeline of some key dates in Afghanistans 40 years of wars: Dec. 25, 1979 Soviet Red Army crosses the Oxus River into Afghanistan. In neighboring Pakistan, Afghan mujahedeen, or Islamic holy warriors, are assembling, armed and financed by the U.S. for an anti-communist war. More than 8 million Afghans flee to Pakistan and Iran, the first of multiple waves of refugees over the decades. 1980s CIAs covert Operation Cyclone funnels weapons and money for the war through Pakistani dictator Mohammed Zia-ul Haq, who calls on Muslim countries to send volunteers to fight in Afghanistan. Bin Laden is among the thousands to volunteer. 1983 President Ronald Reagan meets with mujahedeen leaders, calling them freedom fighters, at the White House. September 1986 The U.S. provides the mujahedeen with shoulder-held anti-aircraft Stinger missiles, which turns the course of the war. Soviets begin negotiating withdrawal. Feb. 15, 1989 The last Soviet soldier leaves Afghanistan, ending 10 years of occupation April 1992 Mujahedeen groups enter Kabul. The fleeing Najibullah is stopped at the airport and put under house arrest at a U.N. compound. 1992-1996 Power-sharing among the mujahedeen leaders falls apart and they spend four years fighting one another; much of Kabul is destroyed and nearly 50,000 people are killed. 1994 The Taliban emerge in southern Kandahar, take over the province and set up a rule adhering to a strict interpretation of Islam. Sept. 26, 1996 The Taliban capture Kabul after sweeping across the country with hardly a fight; Northern Alliance forces retreat north toward the Panjshir Valley. The Taliban hang Najibullah and his brother. 1996-2001 Though initially welcomed for ending the fighting, the Taliban rule with a heavy hand under Mullah Mohammed Omar, imposing strict Islamic edicts, denying women the right to work and girls the right to go to school. Punishments and executions are carried out in public. March 2001 The Taliban dynamite the worlds largest standing Buddha statues in Bamyan province, to global shock. September 2001 After 9/11 attacks, Washington gives Mullah Omar an ultimatum: hand over bin Laden and dismantle militant training camps or prepare to be attacked. The Taliban leader refuses. Oct. 7, 2001 A U.S.-led coalition launches an invasion of Afghanistan. Nov. 13, 2001 The Taliban flee Kabul for Kandahar as the U.S.-led coalition marches into the Afghan capital with the Northern Alliance. Dec. 5, 2001 The Bonn Agreement is signed in Germany, giving the majority of power to the Northern Alliances key players and strengthening the warlords who had ruled between 1992 and 1996. Hamid Karzai, an ethnic Pashtun like most Taliban, is named Afghanistan's president. Dec. 7, 2001 Mullah Omar leaves Kandahar and the Taliban regime officially collapses. May 1, 2003 President George W. Bush declares mission accomplished as the Pentagon says major combat is over in Afghanistan. 2004 and 2009 In two general elections, Karzai is elected president for two consecutive terms. Summer 2006: With the U.S. mired in Iraq, the Taliban resurgence gains momentum with escalating attacks. Soon they begin retaking territory in rural areas of the south. April 5, 2014 The election for Karzais successor is deeply flawed and both front-runners, Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, claim victory. The U.S. brokers a deal under which Ghani serves as president and Abdullah as chief executive, starting an era of divided government. Dec. 8, 2014 American and NATO troops formally end their combat mission, transitioning to a support and training role. President Barack Obama authorizes U.S. forces to carry out operations against Taliban and al-Qaida targets. 2015-2018 The Taliban surge further, staging near-daily attacks targeting Afghan and U.S. forces and seizing nearly half the country. An Islamic State group affiliate emerges in the east. September 2018 After his election promises to bring U.S. troops home, President Donald Trump appoints veteran Afghan-American diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad as negotiator with the Taliban. Talks go through 2019, though the Taliban refuse to negotiate with the Kabul government and escalate attacks. Sept. 28, 2019 Another sharply divided presidential election is held. It is not until February 2020 that Ghani is declared the winner. Abdullah rejects the results and holds his own inauguration. After months, a deal is reached establishing Ghani as president and Abdullah as head of the peace negotiating committee. August 18, 2019 The Islamic State group carries out a suicide bombing at wedding in a mainly Hazara neighborhood of Kabul, killing more than 60 people. Feb. 29, 2020 The U.S. and the Taliban sign a deal in Doha, Qatar, setting a timetable for the withdrawal of the around 13,000 U.S. troops still in Afghanistan and committing the insurgents to halt attacks on Americans. Sept. 12, 2020-February 2021 After months of delay, Taliban-Afghan government negotiations open in Qatar, sputter for several sessions and finally stall with no progress. Ghani refuses proposals for a unity government, while the Taliban balk at a cease-fire with the government. March 18, 2021 After the U.S. proposes a draft peace plan, Moscow hosts a one-day peace conference between the rival Afghan sides. Attempts at a resumption of talks fail. Taliban and government negotiators have not sat at the table since. April 14, 2021 President Joe Biden says the remaining 2,500-3,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan will be withdrawn by Sept. 11 to end Americas forever war. 2019-Present Violence grows in Kabul. IS carries out brutal attacks, including on a maternity hospital and a school, killing newborns, mothers and schoolgirls. Also growing is a wave of random attacks, unclaimed and mysterious, with shootings, assassinations and sticky bombs planted on cars, spreading fear among Afghans. May 2021-Present Taliban gains on the ground accelerate. Multiple districts in the north, outside the Taliban heartland, fall to the insurgents, sometimes with hardly a fight. Ghani calls a public mobilization, arming local volunteers, a step that risks compounding the many factions. July 2, 2021 The United States hands over Bagram Airfield to Afghan military control after the last troops in the base leave. The transfer of Bagram, the heart of the U.S. military's presence in Afghanistan throughout the war, signals that the complete pullout of American troops is imminent, expected within days, far ahead of Biden's Sept. 11 timetable. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) Elsa strengthened into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season on Friday as it blew off roofs, snapped trees and destroyed crops in the eastern Caribbean, where officials closed schools, businesses and airports. It appeared headed eventually in the general direction of Florida. The Category 1 storm is the first hurricane to hit Barbados in more than 60 years, unleashing heavy rains and winds on the island and then on St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which are struggling to recover from recent massive volcanic eruptions. Elsa was centered about 395 miles (635 kilometers) east-southeast of Isla Beata in the Dominican Republic and was moving west-northwest at 29 mph (46 kph). It had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. That level of sustained wind can blow down a lot of buildings and cause a lot of damage, said St. Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. I am pleading with you. Let us not take this hurricane lightly. This is not the time to play the fool. The long-term forecast track showed it heading toward Florida as a tropical storm by Tuesday morning, but some models would carry it into the Gulf or up the Atlantic Coast. Authorities in Barbados said they received calls about families trapped in their homes, collapsed houses and power and water outages, but no reports of serious injuries or deaths. Wilfred Abrahams, minister of home affairs, information and public affairs, urged people to open their homes to those in need. We are getting a lot of reports of damage, he said. Meanwhile, officials in St. Lucia said that 90% of power customers were without electricity at the height of the storm. Landslides, flooding and damaged homes also were reported. A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica and from the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince to Punta Palenque in the Dominican Republic. A hurricane watch was issued for the Cuban provinces of Camaguey, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Las Tunas, and Santiago de Cuba. The forecast track showed the fast-moving storm rolling toward Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, as a hurricane before reaching Cuba and weakening back to tropical storm force. Authorities opened dozens of shelters in St. Vincent and urged people to evacuate if they lived near a valley, given the threat of flash flooding, mudslides and lahars, especially in the northern part of the island where La Soufriere volcano is located. Gonsalves said 94 shelters are open, a smaller number than in previous years because some 2,000 people remain in other shelters following massive volcanic eruptions that began in early April. Elsa is the earliest fifth-named storm on record, beating out last years Eduardo which formed on July 6, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. He also noted that it's the farthest east that a hurricane has formed this early in the tropical Atlantic since 1933. The 1991-2020 average date for the first Atlantic hurricane formation is mid-August. The storm was forecast to bring 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain with maximum totals of 15 inches (38 centimeters) inches on Friday across the Windward and southern Leeward Islands. The rain could unleash isolated flash flooding and mudslides. COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) A Charter Communications worker was killed in a South Carolina shooting and standoff that also wounded two public workers repairing a sewer main, a deputy and a woman inside the home where the shooter was barricaded, authorities said. The man who shot the workers fixing the sewer, 45-year-old Shannon Earl Smith, died from at least one gunshot wound at the hospital shortly after the standoff ended Thursday around 5 p.m., authorities said. The cable TV worker killed and the woman wounded were inside Smith's Spartanburg home during the standoff where officers also fired shots, said Greenville County Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Ryan Flood, whose agency was asked to investigate because it was not involved in the incident. The deputy was shot trying to get into the home after the workers were wounded, authorities said. The public workers, deputy and woman in the home are all expected to survive, investigators said. Police were first called around 3 p.m. Thursday when Smith walked up to nine workers outside his home near Cleveland Park, asked them what they were doing and then started shooting, Spartanburg Water spokeswoman Jennifer Candler said. It was just a regular project, Candler told Fox Carolina. There was no provocation. There was no warning. Spartanburg city officers and county deputies were fired on as they rushed to get into a home after the initial shooting because they feared someone might be hurt inside, Spartanburg police spokesperson Maj. Art Littlejohn said. A deputy was shot in the arm and at least two officers fired back, said Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright, who added that Littlejohn tore down a bannister to get the wounded officer help as soon as possible. City officers, county deputies and the State Law Enforcement Division were all then involved in a standoff with Smith that ended with him shot, the Charter Communications worker dead and the unidentified woman wounded, Flood said. Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger and Greenville County deputies are working to figure out who fired shots and who was hit by those bullets. The investigation was turned over the Greenville County investigators because it involved state agents as well as city and county officers. The cable TV worker killed was identified as Perry James McIntyre, 49, of Landrum, Clevenger said. McIntyre was a Spartanburg-based technician and worked for the company for nine years. He was an expert at his craft, Charter spokesperson Patti Braskie Michel said in a statement. Words cannot express our grief over the loss of our colleague, mentor and friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with Perrys family and loved ones, Michel said. ___ Follow Jeffrey Collins on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JSCollinsAP. ROME (AP) The Vatican has set a July 27 trial date for 10 people, including a once-powerful cardinal and papal contender, on charges related to the Holy Sees 350 million-euro investment in a luxury London real estate venture. The 487-page indictment request capped a two-year investigation that exposed how the Vatican had lost millions of euros much of it donations from the faithful in fees to brokers, bad investments and other questionable expenses. Beyond that, prosecutors allege a variety of charges against the defendants, including extortion, embezzlement, abuse of office and corruption. Here is breakdown of the case, the accusations and some of the key players. ___ WHATS THE DEAL ABOUT? The Vaticans Secretariat of State in 2013 decided to invest an initial 200 million euros in a fund operated by Italian businessman Raffaele Mincione, with half the money put into the London building, half in other investments. By 2018, Minciones fund, Athena Capital, had lost 18 million euros from the Vatican's original investment, prosecutors say, prompting the Vatican to seek an exit strategy while still retaining its stake in the building in Londons swank Chelsea neighborhood. Enter Gianluigi Torzi, another broker, who helped arrange a 40 million euro payout by the Vatican to Mincione for the shares in the building that the Holy See didnt already have. But prosecutors say Torzi then hoodwinked the Holy See: Rather than creating a company to manage the building that was controlled by the Vatican, Torzi inserted a clause into the contract giving him full voting rights in the deal, they allege. Prosecutors say Torzi then extorted the Vatican for 15 million euros to take control of the building. Torzi has said the charges are a misunderstanding. ___ WHO IN THE VATICAN KNEW? Prosecutors have acknowledged that Pope Francis was aware of the deal, and even attended a December 2018 meeting with Torzi. One witness has said Francis agreed to pay Torzi a just compensation to turn the building over. Other high-ranking officials, including the secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin and his deputy, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, were also aware and approved the deal with Torzi. Documents show Pena Parra had authorized one of his deputies to sign the contract with Torzi giving him full voting rights. None of them was indicted. Prosecutors say they didn't understand Torzi's contract change, were kept in the dark about Torzi and Minciones dealings, their previous business relationship, as well as alleged commissions others involved in the deal had been earning on the side. ___ WHO IS CARDINAL BECCIU AND HOW IS HE TIED TO THIS TRIAL? Cardinal Angelo Becciu is the lone cardinal indicted and will be the first cardinal prosecuted by the tribunal after Pope Francis changed Vatican law to allow laymen to judge cardinals. Becciu has denied any wrongdoing. Becciu was once one of the most powerful prelates in the Vatican and would have been a contender to be a future pope before Francis fired him last year from his job leading the Holy Sees saint-making office. Francis asked him to resign in September, and stripped him of his rights and privileges as a cardinal, citing a 100,000 euro donation that Becciu made using Vatican money to a diocesan charity run by his brother. At the time of the donation, Becciu was the No. 3 in the Secretariat of State and had decision-making authority over the offices vast asset portfolio. Becciu is tied to another defendant in the case, Cecilia Marogna. She is accused of allegedly embezzling Holy See funds that Becciu authorized for her intelligence work, purportedly to free Catholic priests and nuns held hostage in hostile parts of the world. Prosecutors say she spent the money on luxury goods instead. Marogna has denied wrongdoing and says she can give a full accounting of how the money was spent. ___ WHAT DOES A VATICAN CRIMINAL TRIAL LOOK LIKE? The criminal code of the Vatican City State is based on the 1889 Italian legal code as well as elements of the canon law of the universal Catholic Church. In recent years, the pope has updated the code with a host of financial crimes specifically to address the types of misconduct alleged in Saturdays indictment. The Vatican tribunal has been under pressure to prosecute financial crimes as part of the Holy Sees participation in the Council of Europes Moneyval process, which is aimed at helping countries fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The Vatican entered into the Moneyval evaluation program over a decade ago in a bid to shed its image as a shady, offshore tax haven. The Vatican has outfitted a new courtroom for the upcoming trial in part of the Vatican Museums, given its usual criminal tribunal will be too small for the defendants and their lawyers. If convicted, the defendants could face jail time, fines or both. SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) Federal relief funds will be used to offer back-to-work bonuses of up to $1,000 for New Mexico residents who find a job in the coming weeks and stop receiving unemployment insurance benefits, state labor officials announced Friday. The program from Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is aimed at encouraging a return to work before federal unemployment supplements expire in early September. The new support payments decline gradually from $1,000 to $400 by late July, providing a bigger payout the sooner a job is secured. The federal supplement provides an extra $300 a week on top of state unemployment benefits. If we can make it even just one degree easier for someone to get back to work, helping offset transition costs, then weve got to do that," the governor said in a news release. New Mexico isnt the only state that is dangling an incentive to lure the unemployed back to work. Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear last week announced a limited number of $1,500 bonuses to people who qualify and return to work by July 30, setting aside $22.5 million in federal relief funds. Some businesses have complained that expanded federal aid to the unemployed especially the $300-a-week supplemental benefit, intended to cushion the economic blow from the pandemic has discouraged people from looking for a job. But other factors also are believed to have contributed to the shortage of people seeking work again, from difficulty arranging or affording child care to lingering fears of COVID-19. Responding to the criticism about the duration of expanded jobless benefits, dozens of states began dropping the expanded federal aid in June. Most of those will also cut off unemployment assistance to the self-employed, gig workers and people who have been out of work for more than six months. More than 70,000 residents of New Mexico are receiving unemployment insurance. On Thursday, state health officials lifted the last restrictions on business occupancy and public gatherings throwing open the economy as vaccination rates surpass 62%. The Department of Workforce Solutions says it expects up to 15,000 people will take advantage of the back-to-work program at a total cost of up to $10.1 million. The program runs though Aug. 28, and people who claim the bonus must keep their new job at least that long. It's the latest expenditure from New Mexico's $1.7 billion share of federal relief money approved by President Joe Biden in March. About $600 million in federal relief will be dedicated to replenishing New Mexico's indebted unemployment insurance trust fund to stave off tax increase on businesses. Separately, New Mexico's judiciary on Friday announced a return in-person attendance at a broad array of court hearings and trails. Masks and health screening questions continue to be required to enter state courts, along with physical distancing requirements indoors. The state Supreme Court will begin holding oral arguments in person when all participants are vaccinated. Presiding judges can still make special arrangements to safeguard people who may be especially vulnerable to COVID-19. About 76% of judges and state court employees have been vaccinated as of the end of June, according to the Administrative Office of the Courts. RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) The Palestinian Health Ministry says Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man Saturday evening during clashes in the occupied West Bank. Also Saturday evening, Israeli aircraft struck several militant sites in the Gaza Strip in response to incendiary balloons Palestinians launched from the territory to Israeli farmland across the frontier, the military said. Local media reports said a Palestinian man was seriously wounded in the airstrikes. The ministry identified the slain man as Mohammad Fareed Hassan, 20, from Qusra village near Nablus city. The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported that Hassan was shot in the chest as residents confronted settlers who stormed the village from a nearby settlement. It said Israeli troops accompanied the settlers. Palestinians have been holding weekly protests against the expansion of Israeli settlements at several locations of the West Bank. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want it to form the main part of their future state. Nearly 500,000 Israelis live in more than 130 authorized settlements and dozens of outposts across the occupied West Bank. The Palestinians and much of the international community view all settlements as a violation of international law and an obstacle to peace. In Gaza, the Israeli military said the airstrikes targeted a weapons manufacturing site and a rocket launcher belonging to Hamas, the militant group ruling the Palestinian enclave. Hamas and Israel have fought four deadly wars since the Islamic militant group seized Gaza in 2007, the last of them for 11 days in May. Hamas-linked activists have been launching the incendiary balloons to pressure Israel into easing its blockade on the territory. Hamas says Israel has withdrawn from previous unofficial understandings to allow Qatari cash aid into impoverished Gaza and has reinstated restrictions at Gazas commercial crossings. Egyptian, Qatari and United Nations mediators have been working to shore up the fragile cease-fire. News for the Future We cannot think of a recent time during which staying informed is more crucial. Understanding national, state and, most importantly, local events and their impact on you, as a reader and citizen, is vital. Help us expand this coverage, provide you more trusted local news and broaden your understanding of local events and developments through your support of our News for the Future campaign. Learn more at either link below. Thank you for supporting The Keene Sentinel. Thank you for reading! You have reached your 30-day limit of free access to SentinelSource.com, The Keene Sentinels website. If you would like to read two more articles for free at this time, please register for an account by clicking the sign up button below. We hope you find The Sentinels coverage of the Monadnock Region valuable. We rely on our subscribers to bring you strong local journalism and hope you will consider supporting our work by taking advantage of this special subscription offer here. Keene, NH (03431) Today Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 64F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. An alarming rise in anti-Asian attacks in California may have obscured another bleak statistic for the state last year: hate crimes against Black people increased to their highest number in more than a decade. According to a report released last week by the California Department of Justice, 457 hate crimes with an anti-Black or anti-African American bias were reported to law enforcement in 2020. That represents a nearly 88% increase from 2019. While crimes with an anti-Asian bias experienced the largest year-to-year increase from 2019 to 2020 at 107%, the number of actual crimes was comparatively smaller, with 89 reported last year. In a news conference last week in Oaklands Chinatown, Attorney General Rob Bonta faulted the rhetoric of past leaders for inflaming animosity against people of Asian descent. Asked by The Chronicle on Thursday what could have driven last years crime surge targeting Black people, Bonta reiterated that message and referenced former President Donald Trump, who he said used the biggest bullhorn on the planet to sow division. I believe the language that some of our leaders used, including the former occupant of the White House, pushing out messages of hate and xenophobia and racism and discrimination, has fueled the rise in hate crimes, Bonta said. Its very clear that we are in the middle of a racial justice reckoning. Along with a global pandemic that disproportionately infected and destabilized people of color, America in 2020 also experienced once-in-a-generation civil unrest over police brutality and systemic racism. Race relations experts say the rise in hate crimes targeting Black Californians could represent a backlash to the calls for systemic justice after the murder of George Floyd. Can some of the violence against African Americans be a backlash against what people see as unsettling advocacy on behalf of, or for, African Americans? Yes, that seems pretty plausible, observed Ralph Richard Banks, a Stanford University law professor and director of the Stanford Center for Racial Justice. One theory to consider is that this is a backlash against the Black Lives Matter movement, added Jack Glaser, a professor at UC Berkeleys School of Public Policy who researches stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination. If one group starts to assert power through protests, that is going to be threatening to the hegemonic group, Glaser explained. The hegemonic group here are white Americans, he said. Its entirely reasonable to at least entertain the hypothesis that part of the uptick were seeing in hate crimes against Black people is a backlash. California defines a hate crime as a criminal act committed against a person or their property based on their real or perceived disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. The crimes themselves fall under a number of categories: concerning anti-Black hate crimes, 170 (37%) involved some form of physical assault, 162 (35%) were property crimes and 113 (25%) were acts of intimidation, a Justice Department breakdown shows. In the nine-county Bay Area, regional police agencies recorded 105 hate crimes against Black residents, 37 against Latino residents, 35 against Asian residents and 25 against white residents last year. Santa Clara County documented the most racially biased hate crimes, with 44 against Black people and 14 apiece against Latino and Asian people. Napa was the only Bay Area county to report zero hate crimes to the states Justice Department, while San Mateo was the only one to report more hate crimes against white people (4) than Black and Latino people (3 each). Obtaining accurate data on hate crimes is complicated by the distrust some minority and immigrant communities have toward law enforcement, both Banks and Glaser said. Even when people do report hate crimes, the criminal justice system rarely provides closure. Of the 1,330 hate crime events reported to police in California last year, only 430 (32.3%) were referred to local prosecutors, only 49 (3.7%) resulted in hate crime convictions while 46 (3.5%) resulted in other convictions. A Stanford Law School report released in June found that the current approaches to confronting hate crimes rely heavily on increased law enforcement and imprisonment and offered alternative suggestions, such as restorative justice, to mend harms caused by hate crimes. During his news conference, Bonta said its his duty as attorney general to protect people from the forces of hate, where individuals are being attacked because of who they are, where theyre from, how they worship or who they love. The Filipino American son of labor activists said its why his office launched a Racial Justice Bureau in May, to make hate crime reporting easier and investigations more regional. Its important now more than ever for our leaders in the community, in government, in law enforcement to protect our people, he said. As the peoples attorney, their fights will be my fights. While hate crimes based on racial bias increased across the board in California, hate crimes targeting religion and sexual orientation dropped. Hate crimes against transgender people, who reported 54 incidents last year, were up 86% from 29 in 2019. As to why more than half of the hate crimes reported to law enforcement last year were driven by an anti-Black bias when Black people make up only 6.5% of Californias population, Banks emphasized that there was no way of telling without more data. But the Stanford professor pointed out that deep-rooted racial divisions predate the countrys founding. Its a reality we have to face and grapple with, Banks told The Chronicle. That racial hostility has existed in this country for a long time, and it still persists today. Shwanika Narayan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: shwanika.narayan@sfchronicle.com Twitter/Instagram: @shwanika One hundred pounds of illegal fireworks wont be exploding in Oakland on the Fourth of July after police, following tips from community members, seized the pyrotechnics and $38,000 in cash. Police on Wednesday raided a residence on the 600 block of Douglas Avenue in East Oakland and turned over the contraband to the Fire Department for disposal. An arrested suspect was not identified. It was the latest in a series of announced busts as authorities publicize the dangers of shooting off fireworks during the drought and the longer, hotter wildfire season. Last week the San Mateo County Sheriffs Office seized 7 tons of illegal fireworks in Oakland and San Jose. Other recent seizures occurred in Contra Costa County, East Palo Alto and Menlo Park. Increasingly, fireworks are ignited not only on the Fourth of July but in the days before and after. Nightly explosions along with complaints to local police departments have become commonplace. Last year in San Francisco, complaints to police about fireworks nearly tripled. Complicating enforcement efforts, so-called safe-and-sane fireworks are often bought in communities where their use is allowed and taken to communities where it isnt. Meanwhile, fireworks that are illegal in California are purchased in more permissive states and brought over illicitly. On Thursday, Cal Fire announced it had seized 40 tons of fireworks along the California-Nevada border in 932 traffic stops conducted over the last two months. The illegal fireworks our peace officers have seized put a dent in the potential devastating injuries, fires and damage to property that these dangerous devices pose, state fire marshal Chief Mike Richwine said in a statement. The varying regulations mean that fireworks sold legally in one place can lead to a hefty fine in another. Lighting a sparkler legally purchased from a Boy Scouts booth in San Bruno can result in a $1,000 fine in San Francisco. Nearly all fireworks are manufactured in China. Prices at legal fireworks stands at the handful of Bay Area towns that allow their operation have skyrocketed like a skyrocket, with sparklers now selling for $15 per bundle and the popular 49er Assortment up from $49 to $80. Oakland residents can drop off their unused fireworks at one of six local Fire Department stations: 1603 Martin Luther King Jr. Way; 1445 14th St.; 1235 International Blvd.; 934 34th St.; 5008 Bancroft Ave.; or 1401 98th Ave. Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @SteveRubeSF More than 400,000 brand new boaters could be motoring and paddling onto U.S. waterways this Fourth of July weekend and each one should have life jackets, safety equipment and a sober captain on board, water safety experts say. After a year of COVID restrictions, boaters are out on the water in force, Jim Emmons, the executive director of the Water Sports Foundation, said in a statement. Its especially important to share safe boating strategies (on) the holiday weekend. Boaters should designate a sober skipper, the foundation said. Drunk captains are the primary cause of boating-related deaths in the U.S., according to statistics. In California, alcohol use caused nearly a quarter of the 39 boating-related deaths in 2020, which was the same number of fatalities that occurred in 2019. Twenty-five of the deaths were from drowning and another 12 due to trauma. Another 311 people were injured in boating-related accidents last year, according to U.S. Coast Guard statistics. The number of injuries represented the most in nine years. The 493 boating accidents that occurred last year was the most since 2008. The largest proportion of incidents occurred in the Pacific Ocean, but numerous accidents also happened in smaller bodies of water, including Mission Bay and San Francisco Bay. Inexperienced captains sailing at night to take in firework shows are another worry, the foundation said. It urged such boaters to allow extra time, to expect delays at busy marinas and to keep a safe distance from the fireworks barge. And captains of vessels 26-feet or less in size must comply with a new federal law requiring them to have an emergency cut-off switch to shut off the motor if the captain falls overboard. Kayakers and other paddlers and rowers need to be especially careful, the foundation said. Like it or not, youre the little guy, the foundation said in a statement. Wear bright clothing, keep a whistle in reach and wear a life jacket. Three quarters of people who died while paddling were not wearing a life jacket. New skippers should avoid crowded spots until they are more adept at navigating among other vessels. Operator inexperience or inattention was responsible for 126 accidents, 73 injuries and five deaths last year in California, U.S. Coast Guard data show. Emmons said an estimated 415,000 new boaters have registered vessels since last year and are now hitting the water for the first full season. Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @SteveRubeSF The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to hear an appeal by CVS of a ruling in a San Francisco case that allowed HIV/AIDS patients to sue for discrimination after a health plan affiliated with the giant pharmacy chain cut off their discounts if they picked up their prescriptions at other drugstores. The Bay Area case, to be heard in the term that starts in October, could set new limits on discrimination suits by disabled patients. CVS is challenging a ruling by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that said the federal health care law prohibits practices that have a disproportionately harmful effect on the disabled, even if there was no evidence of intentional discrimination. Four other federal appeals courts have considered the same issue, and three have reached the same conclusion as the Ninth Circuit. In a filing with the Supreme Court, lawyers for CVS said claims that a health care providers practices have a discriminatory impact thrust courts into a policy-making role that properly belongs to the political branches or private enterprise. If pharmacies and employers cannot use common cost-containment strategies, CVS said, then either the cost of the pharmacy plan will increase overall or benefits must be reduced for other patients with different medical needs. Lawyers for five patients who sued CVS replied that they were only seeking the same benefits available to nondisabled people, and that the pharmacys policy has put lives at risk. The suit, filed in a San Francisco federal court in 2018, challenged a new prescription-drug policy by the patients pharmacy benefits manager, CVS Caremark, and the patients employers. Previously, the patients could fill their prescriptions at any local drugstore and consult with the pharmacists, who had prepared the medications, about any potential side effects or interactions with other drugs they were taking. Under the new policy, they said, to keep discounts that could amount to thousands of dollars per month, they were required to receive all specialty drugs by mail or by pickup at a CVS pharmacy. Because the medicines are prepared elsewhere and sent to the patients home or to CVS, its pharmacists cannot legally discuss possible hazards, the lawsuit said. It said patients also risked losing their privacy when pharmacy staff shouted their names and medications in the presence of other customers. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen dismissed the case, saying AIDS patients were treated the same as other patients who needed specialized prescriptions. The Ninth Circuit reinstated the suit in December and said the patients could show discrimination if the new policy deprived them of vital medical assistance. The Supreme Court set that ruling aside Friday by granting review. In a filing supporting CVS, the Washington Legal Foundation and the Independent Womens Law Center, both pro-business groups, said a ruling allowing suits based on a policys unintended impact on the disabled would lead to increased costs for almost every American business that offers prescription-drug coverage for its employees. The patients lawyer, Jerry Flanagan of Consumer Watchdog, said Friday the issue the court must decide is whether people living with HIV can access their life-sustaining medications in a medically appropriate manner. The case is CVS Pharmacy vs. Doe, 20-1374. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko Every month, as Mohammed Nurus bribery case trudges through federal court, the former Public Works director collects $7,200, in part from San Francisco taxpayers. Tom Hui, the ex-Department of Building Inspection chief who resigned amid accusations of giving preferential treatment to a contractor in exchange for gifts, gets nearly $16,000. And Harlan Kelly, the former Public Utilities Commission head accused of trading insider information on city contracts for overseas trips and jewelry, rakes in about $21,000 a month. In all, the three men collect a combined $44,000 from the pension program for retired city employees, according to data from the San Francisco Employees Retirement System obtained by The Chronicle. Thats despite the fact that Nuru, Kelly and Hui all resigned in the wake of stunning corruption allegations. Nuru and Kelly both face federal charges for alleged wrongdoing, crimes to which theyve pleaded not guilty. Hui has not been charged with any crime and may be able to collect his pension indefinitely. For Nuru and Kelly, the fate of their pensions is tied to the outcome of their federal cases. With few exceptions, San Francisco city workers cannot lose their pensions unless theyre convicted of and sentenced for a crime of moral turpitude, according to city law. In recent decades, such instances have been extremely rare in San Francisco, and it could be years before Nuru and Kellys respective cases are adjudicated. Jay Huish, executive director of the San Francisco Employees Retirement System, said no more than 10 people have lost their funding during his 22 years of working for the $26 billion pension plan. Moral turpitude isnt clearly defined by law, so its up to the City Attorneys Office to advise whether an individuals crimes qualify, city officials said. After the determination has been made, city officials then notify the San Francisco retirement board to halt their pension payments. Huish said pensions are usually key concerns for city workers charged with crimes as they work out a plea agreement, and will work to cut a deal that doesnt involve a moral turpitude conviction. So its a long process, Huish said. It takes a long time to get a conviction and sometimes even longer to get a sentence, but thats the process. Nurus attorneys did not respond to requests for comment. Brian Getz, who represents Kelly, said his clients pension doesnt factor into his defense strategy, and that Kelly would have continued working, but for the federal bribery investigation and subsequent charges hes facing. There isnt anybody who could possibly function in any job with a case like this developing. It is an enormous distraction and a pressure that requires preparation, and a response which will present in court, Getz said. The last person to forfeit their pension in San Francisco was a former police officer who was involved in falsifying information in a case, Huish said. Before that, it was a case involving people stealing money they were supposed to be collecting from parking meters. San Francisco pensions are funded by in part by the employee and in part by the city, along with investment earnings. If the person loses their pension and has any of their own contributions remaining, that will be refunded with interest, Huish said. San Francisco city pensions are calculated with a formula that takes into account an employees age, the number of years they worked for the city, the date they were hired and their final salary. Nurus court proceedings have been pushed back multiple times in the year and a half since prosecutors announced his charges of fraud and lying to the FBI, with attorneys citing the pandemic and complexity of the case as reason for the delays. He is next due in court July 27. Court hearings against Kelly, whose charge of honest services wire fraud was announced in November, have also been delayed on numerous occasions. Kellys next court date is scheduled for July 21. Hui resigned last year after the results of an investigation by the City Attorneys Office alleged he provided intentional preferential treatment and access to Walter Wong, a permit expediter who regularly conducts business with the Department of Building Inspection, which Hui led. Neither Sandra Zuniga the former director of the citys Office of Neighborhood Services nor former City Administrator Naomi Kelly were currently receiving pension benefits, according to the retirement system. Zuniga, who was a romantic partner to Nuru, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to commit money laundering, and agreed to cooperate with federal officials in their ongoing probe. Naomi Kelly, wife of Harlan Kelly, has not been charged with a crime, but resigned late last year after her husband was charged. While prosecutors never implicated Naomi Kelly in a crime, the criminal complaint against her husband alleges she attended a 2016 family vacation that federal investigators believe was intended as a bribe for Harlan Kelly. Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy LAKEHEAD, Shasta County Darlene Sherrill knew something wasnt right when heavy smoke began to billow over the ridge from her cabin north of Shasta Lake. The unusual plume covered the sun and obscured the trees in a peculiar orange haze. Seeking a better view of what would soon be called the Salt Fire, the fiercest of three major fires burning in remote Northern California, she saw a fire truck driving up the winding road of her small, forested neighborhood Wednesday afternoon. She asked if she needed to evacuate. The answer was yes. Within hours, at least a dozen homes in the rural Gregory Creek Acres subdivision 25 miles north of Redding had burned to the ground, including Sherrills. She and her husband, who live in Danville, moved into the cabin in November. Theyd filled it with furniture he had built, making sure they could comfortably accommodate visits from their 19 kids, their spouses and grandkids. It feels very much like a violation to have a fire come to your home and destroy it, probably within minutes, Sherrill said by phone from a hotel in Redding on Friday. Officials with the U.S. Forest Service confirmed that several structures in and around the small community of Lakehead off Interstate 5 in Shasta County had been destroyed by the the 5,043-acre Salt Fire, but they had not determined the total number, nor the locations. Their focus remained on getting people to safety as the blaze continued to move through woodlands on the northwestern side of Shasta Lake. At one campground near the lake, campers had evacuated so suddenly that tables were still scattered with Uno cards, bottles of Jameson and cans of Coke. At one site, two tents were standing, while another had been reduced to melted blue shreds. Triple-digit heat and drought-dried hills hastened the spread of flames. Fire conditions, authorities said, mimicked those of late summer not early July dealing the thousands of rural residents, who were advised to leave, a rude and unexpectedly early start to the 2021 fire season. A vehicle traveling on I-5 about 30 miles north of Redding around 1 p.m. Wednesday is believed to have sparked the Salt Fire. Investigators with the Forest Service are trying to identify the car or truck that set off the blaze, hoping to prevent another ignition. On Friday afternoon, the fire was threatening residents living north of Lakehead. Fire officials said light winds and a slight dip in temperature were helping crews begin to battle back the blaze, but the tinder-dry hills continued to pose a challenge. The fire was reported to be just 5% contained. Even without significant wind activity, we really are in a situation where fires are going to spread faster, said Adrienne Freeman, public affairs officer for the Shasta Trinity National Forest, where much of the Salt Fire was moving. Were seeing fuel moisture and rates of spread that are more consistent with conditions in late August. Cassandra Odom was among those waiting to see if the fire would turn toward her home near Lakehead. On Wednesday night, after seeing the orange sky across the ridge, she had scrambled to load her car with nearly 40 cats and dogs, many old and injured, that she and her partner, Derek Lockhart, cared for as part of their nonprofit Noahs Ark Animal Haven and Rescue. As for her goats, sheep, llamas, 600-pound pigs and other animals, which wouldnt fit in her car, Odom would just open the gates and let them loose, should it come to that. I was scared, she said. Our main goal is to keep these animals safe. We made a promise to stay here until we couldnt say that any longer. By 3 a.m. the next day, Odom decided she could stay put for now and unpacked. She reached out for help on social media and received many responses from friends and neighbors offering to bring larger trailers to evacuate all the animals. She said shes slept only six hours over the past three days, taking turns with Lockhart keeping an eye on the fire. About 50 miles to the north, the Lava Fire near the community of Weed in neighboring Siskiyou County had grown to nearly 24,000 acres Friday. The fire, which was sparked June 25 by a lightning strike, marks Northern Californias biggest fire of the young fire season. A handful of structures in rural areas have burned, though officials have not provided details. The blaze continued to sweep through the Shasta Trinity National Forest and adjacent private lands near the foot of 14,163-foot Mount Shasta. Fire crews reported gains in slowing its spread, citing 27% containment on Friday afternoon. Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California While evacuation orders for the Lava Fire remained in effect for a handful of areas north of Weed along Highway 97, many of the thousands of people who had initially fled have been given the OK to return home. Highway 97 remained closed in the area. Travelers headed through the North State over the Fourth of July weekend have been warned of possible traffic delays because of the fire. While I-5 has reopened after being shut down for a few hours on Thursday, officials have said additional closures are possible. About 20 miles northeast of the Lava Fire, the 9,836-acre Tennant Fire also was burning forest and brushland along Highway 97. The burn started Monday in the Klamath National Forest, and fire crews have since succeeded in slowing its progress, reporting 17% containment on Friday. The small communities of Macdoel and Dorris near the Oregon border, however, were still considered to be at risk. Fire experts have warned of a potentially difficult fire season this year. Two extraordinarily dry years have left much of the West with extreme drought conditions and ripe for burning. A recent heat wave, which brought record-high temperatures to parts of inland California, has only heightened the threat. Sherrill, whose cabin burned in the Salt Fire, said she and her husband had considered fire danger when they bought the place last year. Neighbors had assured them they would probably be safe, with only one fire in 20 years forcing evacuations in the area and causing no damage. On Friday, the couple filed their insurance claim, with tentative plans to rebuild. On Friday afternoon, they were waiting for the evacuation to lift to return to their property. We kind of need the closure and to go through the rubble, she said. We need to see it with our own eyes before we can go back to the Bay Area. Mallory Moench and Kurtis Alexander are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com, kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mallorymoench, @kurtisalexander Courtesy: @Oaklandfirelive Oakland firefighters battled a spectacular predawn blaze that sent flames shooting high above a two-story home in the Allendale neighborhood two blocks from Interstate 580. The blaze at 3773 Angelo Ave. was well involved with an immediate structure threat, firefighters said on the department emergency radio, shortly after the blaze began around 2:40 a.m. SACRAMENTO After more than a decade of fruitless entreaties from public health advocates, Democratic lawmakers have secured a landmark agreement that promises $300 million a year in new state funding to fortify and reimagine Californias hollowed-out public health system, a complex network of services shouldered largely by the states 61 local health departments. The deal, outlined last week as the Democratic-controlled Legislature approved a record $262.6 billion state budget for fiscal year 2021-22, marked a dramatic reversal for Gov. Gavin Newsom, who had rebuffed requests the past three years to bolster annual spending on public health, arguing that federal funding would suffice. At Newsoms insistence, the infusion for public health wont kick in until July 2022. What persuaded Newsom to change course, according to people involved in the negotiations, was an unprecedented public health campaign buttressed by lobbyists and organized labor. The states largest public employee union, the Service Employees International Union, joined health care leaders in January to create a coalition called California Cant Wait, mounting a lobbying effort on behalf of public health, a core government function that for years has gone without a voice in Californias Capitol corridors. Their target was Newsom, and they pressed their case with his Cabinet officials, advisers and the public. We knew wed have to fight, said Tia Orr, the top lobbyist for SEIU in California, whose 750,000 members include health care workers, janitors, and city, county and state employees. I hate that it took a crisis, but COVID-19 allowed us to push back collectively, and we all realized that wed have to get louder than weve ever been on public health. From January to April, union leaders, public health advocates and the trade groups representing local health officials held more than 40 in-person and video meetings with state lawmakers to lay out how years of shrinking budgets had left them without the personnel, lab capacity and basic infrastructure needed to carry out public health functions. Disinvestment had left counties unprepared for the pandemic, they argued, and systems essential to tracking and controlling an array of infectious and chronic diseases had been decimated. In San Bernardino County, for instance, officials detailed the ground lost tackling problems like congenital syphilis and opioid misuse even before the COVID response sapped resources. Officials in Mono County explained they had no public health lab and just one communicable disease nurse to conduct contact tracing for a county of 14,000 people. Also critical to the effort: County health officials reached outside their inner circle, hiring veteran Sacramento public relations firm Paschal Roth Public Affairs, a power broker whose strategists represent multiple deep-pocketed interest groups, including SEIU. Look, we had the key ingredients for a winning campaign: a razor-sharp message, an incredible coalition and an undeniable sense of timing, said Mike Roth, who operates the firm with his partner, Nikki Paschal. After what we experienced last year with COVID, no one could argue that the stakes werent life or death. Public health officials knew they needed to approach this differently. Epidemiologists, public health nurses and other county workers who werent used to the spotlight became the face of the operation. As Newsom and lawmakers negotiated the budget, the campaign launched an aggressive Twitter campaign that accused Newsom of neglecting public health and extolled the two Democratic lawmakers who championed the budget request in the Capitol, state Sen. Richard Pan of Sacramento and Assembly Member Jim Wood of Healdsburg, who chair legislative health committees. I dont think a lot of people understood the devastation that was happening it really has been this quiet erosion of public health funding, said Michelle Gibbons, executive director of the County Health Executives Association of California. We had to get people to raise their hands and say, We care, and this campaign helped us use our voice and tell our story in a way that we havent done before. Bruce Pomer, a former lobbyist for the Health Officers Association of California who went on to lead the organization representing local health officers from 1993 to 2014, said savvy lobbying and a strong political coalition made the difference this year. Having SEIU as part of the coalition makes a big difference in terms of whether the Legislature is even going to pay attention to you, Pomer said. I mean, I didnt get invited to big, expensive fundraisers. I had to hang out by a door and wait until a late-night hearing was over in order to get a chance to talk to a legislator. The federal government finances most public health activities in California and significantly increased emergency funding during the pandemic. Temporary funding increases have buoyed the statewide public health budget to $4.7 billion so far this year, but health leaders say much of that money is restricted in use and the portion of funding that comes from state and local coffers has not kept pace with the cost of doing business. While details have not been released by the Newsom administration, Pan said the governor has committed to an additional annual investment of $300 million from the state general fund beginning next fiscal year. Public health officials and lobbyists involved in negotiations say the money will target infrastructure, like increasing capacity at public health laboratories California has lost 11 labs since 1999 and modernizing data systems strained by the pandemic. Counties say the money will also give them the opportunity to address public health threats associated with climate change, like wildfire; develop programs to tackle race-based health inequities; and build a workforce that can respond to infectious disease threats, as well as combat chronic diseases like diabetes. Our focus will be hiring disease investigators to build a robust communicable disease surveillance system, said Kim Saruwatari, Riverside Countys director of public health. It pains me to say this, but we have almost 13,000 chlamydia cases every year, and we can only investigate a small percentage of those, for pregnant women or high-risk individuals, because we just dont have the workforce. This story was produced by Kaiser Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation. UNITED NATIONS (AP) The United Nations said Friday that more than 400,000 people in Ethiopias crisis-wracked Tigray region are now facing the worst global famine in decades and 1.8 million are on the brink, and warned that despite the governments unilateral cease-fire there is serious potential for fighting in western Tigray. The dire U.N. reports to the first open meeting of the U.N. Security Council since the conflict in Tigray began last November and painted a devastating picture of a region where humanitarian access is extremely restricted, 5.2 million people need aid, and Tigray forces that returned to their capital Mekele after the governments June 28 cease-fire and exit from the region have not agreed to the halt to hostilities. U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo urged the Tigray Defense Force to endorse the cease-fire immediately and completely, stressing that the U.N.s immediate concern is to get desperately need aid to the region. Acting U.N. humanitarian chief Ramesh Rajasingham said the situation in Tigray has worsened dramatically in the last 2 weeks, citing an alarming rise in food insecurity and hunger due to conflict with the number of people crossing the threshold to famine increasing from 350,000 to 400,000. With 1.8 million a step away, he said, some suggest the numbers are even higher. The lives of many of these people depend on our ability to reach them with food, medicine, nutrition supplies and other humanitarian assistance, he said. And we need to reach them now. Not next week. Now. The largely agricultural Tigray region of about 6 million people already had a food security problem amid a locust outbreak when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Nov. 4 announced fighting between his forces and those of the defiant regional government. Tigray leaders dominated Ethiopia for almost three decades but were sidelined after Abiy introduced reforms that won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. No one knows how many thousands of civilians or combatants have been killed. DiCarlo said an estimated 1.7 million people have been displaced from their homes, and more than 60,000 have fled into neighboring Sudan. Though Abiy declared victory in late November, Ethiopias military kept up the offensive with allied fighters from neighboring Eritrea, a bitter enemy of the now-fugitive officials who once led Tigray, and from the Amhara region adjacent to Tigray. In a stunning turn earlier this week, Ethiopia declared a unilateral cease-fire on humanitarian grounds while retreating from advancing Tigray forces. But the government faces growing international pressure as it continues to cut off the region from the rest of the world. DiCarlo said reports indicate that leaders of Tigrays previous regional administration including its former president have returned to the regional capital Mekele, which has no electrical power or internet. Key infrastructure has been destroyed, and there are no flights entering or leaving the area, she said. Elsewhere in Tigray, DiCarlo said, Eritrean forces, who have been accused by witnesses of some of the worst atrocities in the war, have withdrawn to areas adjacent to the border with Eritrea. Amhara forces remain in western Tigray, and DiCarlo said the Amhara branch of the ruling Prosperity Party warned in a statement on June 29 that the regions forces will remain in territory it seized in the west during the conflict. In short, there is potential for more confrontations and a swift deterioration in the security situation, which is extremely concerning, she warned. Ethiopias U.N. Ambassador Taye Atske Selassie told reporters later when asked if Amhara forces would remain in western Tigray, that is a matter of fact. Selassie, who comes from that part of Ethiopia, said the western area was once part of Amhara but was forcibly incorporated into Tigray in 1990 without any due process. He said the dispute will now be submitted to a government border commission. On the humanitarian front, Rajasingham said over the past few days U.N. teams in Mekelle, Shire and Axum have been able to move out to other places which is positive. The U.N. now plans to send convoys to difficult-to-reach areas but the U.N. World Food Program only has enough food for one million people for one month in Mekelle, he said. This is a fraction of what we need for the 5.2 million people who need food aid, the acting aid chief said. However, we have almost run out of health, water, sanitation and other non-food item kits. Food alone does not avert a famine. Rajasingham urged all armed and security actors in Tigray to guarantee safe road access for humanitarian workers and supplies, using the fastest and most effective routes. He expressed alarm at Thursdays destruction of the Tekeze River bridge -- and the reported damage to two other bridges -- which cut a main supply route to bring in food and other life-saving supplies." Rajasingham called on the Ethiopian government to immediately repair these bridges and by doing so help prevent the spread of famine. What we are seeing in Tigray is a protection crisis, Rajasingham stressed, citing civilian killings during the conflict, and more than 1,200 cases of serious sexual and gender-based violence reported, with more continuing to emerge. Selassie, the Ethiopian ambassador, reiterated the governments call for a national dialogue and its commitment to ensure accountability for crimes and atrocities committed during the conflict -- moves welcomed by U.N. political chief DiCarlo. She urged the international community to encourage the government and Tigrayan forces to ensure there is no impunity for the crimes. The Security Council took no action and made no statement but U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said its first open meeting after six closed discussions was important to show the people of Tigray and the parties to the conflict that the U.N.s most powerful body is concerned about the issue and closely watching developments. And hopefully it will lead to further action by the council if the situation there does not improve, she said. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Air travel might be considered a total mess right now, but the rental car industry doesnt seem much better. For the busy July Fourth weekend ahead, interest in rental cars is up 73% when compared to 2019, according to Kayak, with prices skyrocketing as much as 300% or more in some U.S. cities. SEATTLE (AP) One person died and another was critically injured Friday evening after they became trapped underneath a Seattle light rail train Friday evening, the Seattle Fire Department said. At about 6:40 p.m. Friday, two people were being extricated from under the train near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Way South and South Alaska Street in the Columbia City neighborhood, fire officials said on Twitter. DOTHAN, Ala. (AP) A licensed minister, motivational speaker and civil and human rights activist has set his eye on the Alabama Governor's mansion. Christopher Countryman of Dothan announced he is running for the Democratic nomination for governor, al.com reported. Countryman will kick off his campaign with a statewide listening tour to hear concerns of voters, his campaign said in a press release. He also will talk with voters about his positions on renewable energy, infrastructure development, economic recovery, education and health care reform and other issues, the campaign said. It's not Countryman's first shot at the office. He ran for governor in 2018. Countryman and his husband, Bruce Countryman, founded Equality Wiregrass in 2015 while advocating for marriage equality in Alabama. He also founded The Rethink Alabama Movement, which works to educate voters on issues and to mobilize and train grassroots volunteers, according to his campaign. Countryman is the only announced Democrat in the race to replace Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, who is seeking a second full term. Dean Odle, a pastor from Opelika, and Stacy Lee George, a correctional officer and former county commissioner from Morgan County, are challenging Ivey for the Republican nomination. Chad Chig Martin of Enterprise is running as an independent. The primary is May 24, 2022. WASHINGTON (AP) The two-decade war in Afghanistan has given U.S. spies a perch for keeping tabs on terrorist groups that might once again use the beleaguered nation to plan attacks against the U.S. homeland. But that will end soon. The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan is leaving intelligence agencies scrambling for other ways to monitor and stop terrorists. Theyll have to depend more on technology and their allies in the Afghan government even as it faces an increasingly uncertain future once U.S. and NATO forces depart. You may not be blind, but youre going to be legally blind, said Rep. Mike Waltz, a Florida Republican and Green Beret who served in Afghanistan. Waltz said in an interview that while he believed American forces would still be able to detect threats, they would have to respond with lesser intelligence and more complex operations from bases outside the country. The Afghanistan withdrawal was ordered by President Joe Biden. He has said it's time to end America's longest war after two decades of a conflict that killed 2,200 U.S. troops and 38,000 Afghan civilians, with a cost as much as $1 trillion. But that withdrawal comes with many uncertainties as a resurgent Taliban captures ground and fears mount that the country could soon fall into civil war. The U.S. is still working on agreements to base counterterrorism forces in the region and evacuate thousands of interpreters and other Afghans who helped the American war effort. CIA Director William Burns testified in April that fighters from al-Qaida and the Islamic State group are still operating in Afghanistan and remain intent on recovering the ability to attack U.S. targets." When the time comes for the U.S. military to withdraw, the U.S. governments ability to collect and act on threats will diminish. Thats simply a fact, Burns said. He added that the CIA and other U.S. agencies retain a suite of capabilities to monitor and stop threats. Burns made a secret visit to Afghanistan in April and reassured Afghan officials that the U.S. would remain engaged in counterterrorism efforts, according to two officials familiar with the visit. The CIA and Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment for this story. The CIA has had a role in Afghanistan for more than 30 years, dating back to aiding rebels fighting the Soviet Union from 1979 to 1989. During the U.S. war, it is said to have carried out strikes against terror targets and trained Afghan fighters in groups known as Counter Terrorism Pursuit Teams. Those teams are feared by many Afghans and have been implicated in extrajudicial killings of civilians. The Associated Press reported in April that the CIA was preparing to turn over control of those teams in six provinces to the Afghan intelligence service, known as the National Directorate of Security. The closure of posts near Afghanistan's borders with Iran and Pakistan will make it harder to monitor hostile groups operating in those areas, and the withdrawal of Americans from Afghan agencies could worsen already troubling problems with corruption, experts said. Washington has long struggled to gather intelligence even from its allies in Afghanistan. In the early years of the conflict, the U.S. was drawn into rivalries that resulted in targets that were driven by score-settling among factions in the country. Retired Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, who led the Defense Intelligence Agency from 2017 to 2020, said U.S. authorities may be able to replace some of their lost footprint with intercepted communications as well as publicly available information posted online, particularly with the growth of cellphone networks compared with the 1990s. And while Afghan forces have faltered against the Taliban, they can also provide valuable information, Ashley said. We shouldnt discount their ability to understand their ground truth, said Ashley, now an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Its their nature, its their culture, its their language. Former intelligence officials and experts noted that the CIA and other agencies already have to work without a military presence in other countries where militant groups threaten Americans. Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat and former Army Ranger who served in Afghanistan, said human sources in Afghanistan were already limited and the U.S. has monitoring capabilities today that it didn't have two decades ago. It's still going to be very robust, Crow said. When you dont have boots on the ground, its certainly more challenging, but we have capabilities and things that allow us to meet that challenge. It just becomes a little more difficult. Crow and Waltz are among a bipartisan group of lawmakers who have pushed the White House to quickly process visas for thousands of interpreters and other Afghans who helped American forces. More than 18,000 applications are pending. Senior U.S. officials have said the administration plans to carry out an evacuation later this summer but has not settled on a country or countries for what would likely be a temporary relocation. Failing to protect Afghans waiting for visas could have a huge chilling effect on people working with us going forward, Waltz said. Analysts differ on what to expect from the Taliban if it were to consolidate control over the country. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence reported in May that the Taliban's desires for foreign aid and legitimacy might marginally moderate its conduct over time," driven in part by international attention and the proliferation of phones. But Colin Clarke, director of policy and research at the Soufan Group, said he expected the Taliban to continue harboring al-Qaida and worried of a possible insurgency that could embolden extremists and become a regional conflict similar to what happened in Iraq after the American withdrawal there. I want us to pull out of Afghanistan in theory and be safe," he said. "Thats just not from my analysis whats going to happen. ___ Associated Press writer Kathy Gannon in Kabul contributed to this report. PEA RIDGE, Ark. (AP) A police officer killed by a vehicle in a northwest Arkansas convenience store parking lot has been hailed as "an example in what he did." Pea Ridge police Officer Kevin Apple died on June 26 when he was struck and dragged about 150 feet by a vehicle matching the description of one sought by police. Gov. Asa Hutchinson was one of several dignitaries to speak at Apple's funeral on Friday. He said the occasion was not only a memorial to Apple but a tribute to the hundreds of law enforcement officers nearly filling a Pea Ridge auditorium. He did what he was trained to do. He did what he pledged to do, Hutchinson said. "And he confronted danger to protect others. His death tragically illustrates the danger our law enforcement officers face every day to keep us safe. Investigators say the suspect vehicle was parked at gas pumps about 155 miles (249 kilometers) northwest of Little Rock when Apple and another officer approached it to speak to the occupants. An altercation ensued, and the vehicle rammed a patrol car and left the scene, striking and dragging Apple about 150 yards. Police later found the vehicle in Bella Vista, about 9 miles (14 kilometers) west of Pea Ridge, and arrested Shawna Cash, 22, of Pine Bluff, the car driver, and Elijah Andazola, 18, of Bella Vista, her passenger. Both were being held without bond on allegations of capital murder and fleeing. Cash had been out of jail despite a history of low-level drug and theft cases. Both are jailed without bond, and jail records do not list attorneys who could speak on their behalf. MINOT, N.D. (AP) Austin Westmeyer and his younger sister, Samantha Westmeyer, have always been close but now they have an even tighter bond. On April 21, Samantha donated 69 percent of her liver to Austin, who has suffered with ulcerative colitis and primary sclerosing cholangitis since he was a freshman in college. Weve always been close, said Austin Westmeyer, a 2013 graduate of Minot High School who now lives in Minneapolis in a house he shares with his sister, who is a 2014 Minot High graduate. I feel like its kind of funny and should have been seen coming as soon as I got sick that Samantha would be the one who would some day have to give me part of her liver. I think thats very cool and just one more way that we were able to bond and be even closer because we now share a body part. Samantha Westmeyer was glad to be able to help her brother. It definitely felt good (to be able to help Austin), she said, though she said she was also a little scared to be having the major surgery. Samantha was also glad that she was the one who was able to donate part of her liver instead of other members of her family. She thinks it would have been harder to have to wait to see how her family members were doing during the hours of waiting for the transplant surgery to be completed, the Minot Daily News reported. Her parents, Trent and Randi Westmeyer of Minot, said the day of the transplant was one of the worst days of their lives because it was so very scary and stressful. Austin and Samantha are their only children. Austin had complications following the transplant and had to undergo multiple other surgeries in the hours and days afterwards. He spent nearly a month in the hospital afterward recovering. Austin and Samantha both asked constantly how the other was doing when they awoke following the surgery. They held hands when Samantha was finally able to visit her brother in his hospital room. Their mom was able to stay with Austin at the hospital following the surgery, while their dad was able to stay with Samantha in the hospital and during her recovery at home. Once Samantha was released from the hospital and her dad took her home, they were not able to visit the hospital again because of COVID-19 restrictions. Each patient is allowed one hospital guest. Austin Westmeyer said it might have been even worse had he had to have the surgery a year ago, when patients were not allowed any visitors. The medical costs for both Austin and Samantha were covered by Austins health insurance. The family is also aware that they are blessed to be able to have the time off to spend with each other during the recovery process. Not every family in those circumstances has as much family or financial support. They also have received a lot of support from people in Minot, some of whom raised money for the familys expenses via a Facebook fundraiser. Months down the road, things are starting to feel more normal. Samantha Westmeyer, who spent about a week in the hospital after the operation, said she still gets tired easily, as it takes a lot of energy to regrow a liver after a transplant. Her liver will soon be back to its normal size. Austin Westmeyer was sent home with 17 prescriptions and is returning to the clinic regularly for checkups and blood work. He will be on anti-rejection medicine for the rest of his life but eventually the number of medications will come down to a more manageable amount. Austin, who works in marketing and sales, was laid off amid the COVID-19 pandemic, had to delay his job search during his health battle but said he hopes to return to work this fall. Samantha Westmeyer is a banker with Associated Bank. They continue to live together in Minneapolis. Austin and Samantha also want to emphasize the need for organ donation. Living organ donations are more rare in the United States than in other countries. They said nowhere in North Dakota is able to do them. Austins transplant was the fourth performed this year at the University of Minnesota Medical Center -East Bank. Donations using livers from deceased donors are more common. Austin said one of his doctors in Minneapolis told him that two liver donations from deceased donors came from the Minot area recently. The autoimmune disease that Austin had causes a narrowing of the bile ducts and, eventually, would have caused his liver to fail when doctors were no longer able to treat the condition. Austin and his family had long known that a liver transplant might someday be necessary, but they had hoped it might not be until he was in his 30s or early 40s. The need became urgent when, in February, Austin spent 23 days in the hospital in two separate hospital stays. His doctors told him that it was time to consider a liver transplant. His condition was not yet serious enough to put him on a transplant list for a liver from a deceased donor, so a living donor was his best option. A healthy, living person who is a good match can donate a portion of the liver. The liver, a regenerative organ, can grow back to its original size within three months. Austins family were all tested but none except Samantha were a good match. It is hard to find a perfect organ donor match. Sibling have only a 25 percent chance of matching. Even if a person is a match, it wont be possible unless the donor is in excellent health and young enough. Fortunately, Samantha was healthy, young, and a good match for the brother she is so close to. The family also said organ donations from deceased donors in their 90s can save the life of a young person. All that is needed is for the liver to be healthy. WASHINGTON (AP) As it has been for nearly 16 months, longer than any time in the nations history, the U.S. Capitol is closed to most public visitors. The one-two punch of the coronavirus pandemic that shuttered the Capitols doors in the spring of 2020 and the deadly insurrection by then-President Donald Trump's supporters on Jan. 6 has left the icon of American democracy unopen to all but a select few. As the rest of the nation emerges this July Fourth holiday from the pandemic for cookouts and fireworks that President Joe Biden is encouraging from the White House, the peoples house faces new threats of violence, virus variants and a more difficult moment. What is heartbreaking about it is that the Capitol has been forever our symbol of democracy enduring through the Civil War, through world wars, through strife of all kinds," said Jane L. Campbell, president and CEO of the United States Capitol Historical Society. Congressional leaders are working intensely to try to resume public tours at the Capitol in some form, but any reopening probably will come with new protocols for health and safety for the millions of annual visitors, 535 lawmakers and thousands of staff and crew that work under the dome and its surrounding campus. In the House, lawmakers have been operating under a proxy voting system that has allowed them to avoid travel to Washington, though most now vote in person. The smaller Senate is mostly back to in-person business. Both chambers conduct some committee operations remotely. The security fencing surrounding the Capitol is about to come down, a gesture toward normalcy. A $1.9 billion emergency spending package to bolster security for the complex was approved by the House, but the Senate is objecting to the increased money. The conversations in public and private over how to safely reopen are shifting as dangerous coronavirus strains emerge and federal law enforcement officials issue new warnings about about the potential for violence from right-wing extremist groups and those who believe in conspiracies. White nationalists and other far-right groups loyal to Trump stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, and were among those trying to overturn Bidens victory. Authorities have been tracking chatter online about groups of people potentially returning to Washington as part of an unfounded and baseless conspiracy theory that Trump would be reinstated in August, according to two officials familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive law enforcement information. I want people to feel proud that they can come to the Capitol, and they can talk about its rich history, said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the Homeland Security Committee and now chairman of a new select panel that will investigate the riot. We shouldnt ever think about visiting the Capitol and wondering if its safe, he said. Lawmakers have struggled over the past year with their own mixed emotions over the shuttered doors, wary of returning to the Capitol when a segment of their colleagues, mainly Republicans, refuse to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. Two elected officials have died of COVID-19 complications. While many lawmakers say they are saddened by the black-metal security fencing, and all it represents, some also view it as a necessary deterrent after having fled to safety from the pro-Trump rioters. But the quieted hallways now create their own unease, representing all that is being lost. A lawmaker's children played in the empty Rotunda one recent evening, a reminder of the absence of school groups, tourists and other visitors who typically crowd the summer season to see democracy in action or petition their government. Congress provides the most direct link between Americans, and their federal government, the representative democracy the founders envisioned. Some 2.5 million people used to visit the Capitol each year and 12 million to the surrounding grounds, according to a House aide. Public tours of the White House tours also remain closed. I miss the visitors," said Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., who said she had escorted some people to the House gallery last week only to find that it closed to onlookers who used to be able to watch some of the days legislative session. I always find it inspiring that so many people want to come here," she said. The Capitol has endured crises before. The public galleries were shut down for about a month during the 1918 pandemic. The grounds were closed for a few months after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The public was also unable to visit in 1968 during unrest after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Security was reconsidered at different points, including after shootings on lawmakers and bombings at the building. But not since the end of the War of 1812, when the British invaded in 1814, has the seat of American democracy seen an attack like the one this year. Trumps supporters fought the police, broke through barricades and stormed the halls, threatening to harm former t hen-Vice President Mike Pence and other leaders and lawmakers as the mob tried to stop Congress from certifying the states election results for Biden. All told, five people died stemming from the events, including a Trump supporter shot by police, three people who suffered medical emergencies and a police officer who died later. Two police officers later took their own lives. Hundreds of people have been arrested. Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis, the top Republican on the House Administration Committee, sent House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., a letter signed by some 135 other Republican lawmakers calling for a plan to fully reopen. There is no reason for the Capitol to be closed, Davis said in an interview. He said those involved in the siege should be prosecuted, but its time for the House to end proxy voting and resume regular operations. "We've got to get back to doing what the people sent us here to do, he said. A senior Democratic aide, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said tours have not resumed for both pandemic and security reasons. The House and Senate Sergeants-at-Arms are continually reviewing the situation in consultation with Office of Attending Physician, the aide said. The Capitol complex is open to official business visitors with limits on the numbers allowed. Most are asked to sign in and provide background information. The Capitol has now being closed for the longest stretch in its 228 years history, said Campbell of the historical society. What I would say to all of us is that its important for Congress to come together around safety, she said. People ought to be able to work together around that. ___ Associated Press writer Michael Balsamo contributed to this report. HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Connecticut lawmakers are expected to return to the state Capitol in the coming weeks and decide whether to extend Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont's public health emergency and his executive authority once again as the state continues to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic. While the date has not yet been set, a spokesperson for the House Democrats said Saturday that lawmakers have been told to keep the week of July 12 open. The state Capitol complex will be open to the public for the first time since March of 2020. The General Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats, in May agreed to extend the governor's civil preparedness and public declarations until July 20 even though most of the state's remaining COVID-19 restrictions were lifted May 19. At the time, the legislative proponents said it was the prudent thing to do, noting how some federal COVID relief programs, including extra food benefits for struggling families, require that such emergency declarations remain in place. House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, told The Hartford Courant there are still several reasons for extending Lamont's executive authority, including federal funding requirements and the additional flexibility to manage COVID-19 testing and vaccinations. Democratic lawmakers have agreed with extending Lamonts executive authority several times, often to the dismay of Republicans who argue its time for the states legislative branch of government to retake its power. They continue to question the need to give Lamont the extraordinary power given the state's encouraging COVID-19 data. There have been 22.7 new cases per 100,000 people in Connecticut over the past two weeks, which ranks 40th in the country for new cases per capita, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins. On Friday, state data showed 89 new confirmed or probable cases but no new deaths since Thursday. To date, there have been 8,279 COVID-associated deaths in Connecticut. More than 2 million residents have been fully vaccinated in Connecticut so far. Im not sure why a governor would still need broad authority to modify our laws and make decisions, said Vincent Candelora, the Republican leader in the Connecticut House of Representatives told the Hartford Courant. We, like the rest of society, need to normalize our process and return back to our democracy. Ritter noted how the General Assembly has new oversight of Lamont's emergency orders under a new law. For example, one of his orders can be invalidated if a majority of legislative leaders object to it. The new statutory framework does give the legislature a greater say and a greater role in the process, Ritter said. It's unclear whether lawmakers might consider a blanket extension of Lamont's emergency authority or address his outstanding executive orders individually. Lawmakers are not expected to deal with Lamont's recent veto of a bill that limited when isolated confinement can be used in Connecticut's prisons. A veto session is expected to be held later in the month, but it remains unclear if there is enough support to override Lamont's veto. ___ Follow APs coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic. NEW ORLEANS (AP) A federal appeals court has refused to revive a lawsuit in the death of a man who shouted Kill me while endangering the life of a Louisiana sheriffs lieutenant in 2016. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday in a lawsuit filed by family members of Travis Stevenson. The opinion said East Baton Rouge Parish deputies had tried to deescalate the situation after answering a domestic violence call from Stevensons girlfriend. MANKATO, Minn. (AP) Growing up Duane Weaver thought he had two brothers. Now the Mankato man knows he actually has 11 siblings, thanks in part to online DNA databases. He has learned his mother had multiple children with men who were not the man who raised him. He has discovered that his biological father, whom he never knew, also had multiple children. Weaver says the realization hasnt changed the way he feels about the parents who raised him, other than he now wonders how much they agonized over their secrets. Meanwhile the discovery has sprouted new friendships with many of his new siblings and their family members, the Mankato Free Press reported. He had to make himself a chart to keep track of all of his new relations. His mother, father and biological father all had died before he made his discoveries. Duane Weaver grew up in Mankato as the son of Elaine Kunst Weaver and Frank Weaver. He had a younger brother who lived with them. An older half brother, whom Elaine had as a teenager, was raised by his grandparents. He vaguely recalls a cousin once claiming Frank wasnt his father. But he dismissed it as a teasing fabrication. Growing up I really didnt have a clue, he said. Around 15 years ago Weaver received a call from an adoption agency informing him of the possibility he might have a biological sibling who had been adopted and asking if hed like to have contact. Weaver said yes and got to know his first sister. His mother was a teenager when she had Sue Anderson and put her up for adoption. Anderson lives in northern Minnesota and they have met a few times over the years. His new sister said the adoption agency told her their mother had two other children who were adopted. For years Weaver didnt have any leads finding those siblings. Then last year a young woman from Arizona reached out. Genna Batycki had sent her DNA to the 23andMe genetic testing service and learned she and Weaver shared some relatives. Weaver sent in his own DNA and learned he and Batyckis father, Chuck Roseberry, were half brothers. Weaver and Roseberry found they had an instant connection. Were more alike than we are different, said Roseberry, who lives in Phoenix. For decades Roseberry knew only that he was born in Mankato before he was adopted. After his adoptive parents died he once tried to find the identity of his biological parents through state birth records. But the inquiry yielded no answers and Roseberry decided not to look any further. But his curiosity was renewed a few years ago with a trip back to Minnesota to see his birthplace and the town of Preston, where he spent his first few years before his family moved to Arizona. Roseberry had not thought about DNA testing until Batycki suggested it and offered to take the lead in searching for relatives. On 23andMe she found and reached some more distant relations who connected her with Weaver. The 23andMe site also revealed Weaver and Roseberry shared another half sibling, though they have not been able to get in contact with her and are not sure if she is still living. The new family members started to get to know each other remotely during the pandemic. They met for the first time in person in January. One of Weavers sons also happens to live in Phoenix. When Weaver went to help his son move to a new home, they took a break to go meet Roseberry and his family. Weaver said hes the most social one who always is up for meeting new people. Roseberry admitted he was a bit nervous. I really didnt know what to expect, he said. Now Roseberry is talking about coming back to Minnesota to visit Weaver, Anderson and other new-found family members. Im really enjoying getting to know these people, he said. Weaver also sent his DNA to the Ancestry database and it led him to other surprises. He learned Frank Weaver was not his biological father. My dad is still my dad. He raised me, Duane said he thought about Frank after that revelation. He then learned his biological father, Earl Kleist, of Arlington, had six other children. He so far has met or talked to two of those new siblings. The unearthing of new siblings has left him with many questions he wishes he could have asked when his parents were still living, including: Did his biological father know he was born? Did the man who raised him know about his mothers past? Mostly he wonders why his mother, who had been open and honest about so many other things, never told him. I wouldnt have thought any less of her. I wouldnt have loved her any less, he said. DNA matches with more distant relatives have allowed Roseberry to narrow down the search for his birth father to two brothers, who also were from the Mankato area but are no longer living. Hes been in touch with relatives of those brothers, who are now taking some time to decide if they want to participate in testing. Roseberry and Weaver both are cautious about not pressing too hard to get to know new relatives who might not be interested in welcoming them into their lives at this time. I understand if they want nothing to do with me, Weaver said. Weaver, who is recently retired from a painting company, said he is relishing researching his family tree and connecting with new relations. So far I havent found any serial killers, he joked. He suggests people participate in DNA testing only if they are mentally prepared for the potential it may reveal some surprises. For me its been interesting to know, he said. It doesnt change how I was raised or who raised me. But its sure been a fun journey. REDDING, Calif. (AP) Firefighters battled home-destroying wildfires Saturday in Northern California as officials throughout the drought-stricken state warned festive Fourth of July crowds against illegal fireworks and untended campfires that could lead to more damage. Fire officials said parched brush and timber made perfect fuel for the kinds of disasters that have destroyed thousands of square miles of land in recent years, mainly in rural and forest areas. Three large fires were burning near Mount Shasta, a towering volcano about an hour from the Oregon state line. The greatest threat came from the Salt Fire, which broke out Wednesday near a freeway and destroyed 41 buildings, including 27 homes, in a rural area north of Redding. As of Saturday morning, it had grown to nearly 12 square miles (30 square kilometers) and was only 5% contained. All lanes of Interstate 5 are open, but they remain under threat, Shasta-Trinity National Forest officials said in an email Saturday. Highs in the area this weekend were expected to hit the mid-to-upper 90s despite a slight chance of morning thunderstorms. Those storms could cause erratic winds that may complicate firefighting. National Weather Service forecasters also warned that some areas could see late afternoon gusts that could fan flames. Darlene Sherill's cabin went up in flames Wednesday afternoon. She and her husband, who live in Danville, moved in last November and had filled it with his home-built furniture. It feels very much like a violation to have a fire come to your home and destroy it, probably within minutes, Sherrill told the San Francisco Chronicle by phone from a Redding hotel on Friday. Authorities suspect that it started from a hot piece of metal that flew off a car or truck on Interstate 5. They haven't found the vehicle. The largest blaze, the Lava Fire burning partly on the flanks of Mount Shasta, was 36% contained after burning more than 38 square miles (100 square kilometers). The blaze, sparked by a lightning strike June 25, forced several thousand people from their homes, but most of them were allowed to return late Thursday. Still, officials at a community meeting Saturday acknowledged the frustration and asked for patience, saying they don't want to let people back in and have flames spread quickly. The concern is repopulating too soon and having this be aggressive, Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue said. To the northeast, the Tennant Fire in the Klamath National Forest had burned five buildings, including two homes, and threatened several hundred more. It grew slightly overnight to more than 15 square miles (40 square kilometers). But progress against the fire was also reported there and it was 17% surrounded. Mop-up began on the western flank while the east side remained active. Evacuation orders and warnings continued in nearby areas. The trio were the largest of more than a dozen wildfires that erupted this week in the midst of hot, dry conditions usually seen in August, fire officials said. National parks put out renewed calls for people to heed restrictions on campfires and other fire risks. Klamath National Forest, a huge, sprawling area not far from the Oregon state line, said below-average winter rainfall and recent record-high temperatures mean that one single spark can start a wildfire. Visitors were warned not to drive or park on dry grass or brush because hot exhaust pipes and mufflers could torch them. Dragging trailer chains, scraping brakes and low tires that allow the rims to hit the road also can throw off dangerous sparks, the park said. Last year, California wildfires scorched more than 6,562 square miles (17,000 square kilometers) of land, the most in its recorded history. And just three years ago, a fire in Butte County in Northern California killed 85 people and largely destroyed the town of Paradise. DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) Not so long ago, Elliot Rhoad would not have imagined that a ghost kitchen could find a home in a city such as Dubuque. I knew it was a concept in the restaurant world, but I equated it to big city markets like San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, he said. Now Rhoad, the general manager at the Holiday Inn in downtown Dubuque, 450 Main St., works closely with one of two thriving ghost kitchens that have recently opened in Dubuque. Bennigans On the Fly, an offshoot of Irish-themed restaurant chain Bennigans, set up shop in the Holiday Inn in February. MrBeast Burger, a restaurant concept popularized by YouTuber MrBeast, took up residence in Red Robin, 2775 Northwest Arterial, in May. In a ghost kitchen, employees from another restaurant prepare orders from the ghost kitchens menu. Orders are available for pickup or delivery through a third-party service such as GrubHub or DoorDash. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports that in recent years, many large restaurant chains have launched ghost kitchen brands. Chuck E. Cheese, for example, owns and operates the ghost kitchen Pasquallys Pizza & Wings. Outback Steakhouse launched Tender Shack, Chilis created Its Just Wings; and Dennys has two ghost kitchens: The Burger Den and The Melt Down. It makes sense because (host restaurants) already have kitchens, so the investment cost is very low, said Shawn Finn, senior vice president of operations for Legendary Restaurants, which owns Bennigans and Bennigans on the Fly. Youre basically just bringing in the menu items, setting up delivery (and) training the kitchen team. Kinseth Hospitality Companies, the management group for the Dubuque Holiday Inn, also manages several full-service Bennigans locations in Iowa. Finn said it was a natural extension of the companies partnership to introduce Bennigans in two Iowa hotels one in Dubuque and the other in Coralville through the use of ghost kitchens. Ghost kitchens are known by many other names virtual kitchens, cloud kitchens, delivery-only kitchens and not everyone defines each term the same way. Rhoad, for his part, differentiates between a ghost kitchen, where one business operates out of another dine-in restaurants kitchen, and a virtual kitchen, where one (or multiple) businesses cook in a kitchen with no dine-in presence. In such virtual kitchens, multiple chefs each might have their menu but work together out of the same kitchen to help cook each others food and save expenses. In some of these bigger markets, I know for example in San Francisco, where real estate is so terrible, theyll have 10 kitchens running out of the same physical kitchen, he said. Not only do they pool equipment, (but) they also pool labor. Rhoad said he would consider both Bennigans on the Fly and MrBeast Burger to be ghost kitchens since they operate out of another dine-in restaurants kitchen. Tabatha Schoenberger, Red Robin general manager, said she didnt know what to expect when she learned that MrBeast Burger would set up a ghost kitchen within their restaurant. The initial days had their ups and downs, she said, as the team balanced Red Robin and MrBeast Burger orders and navigated a completely different cooking process for the new menu items. It was something new for our kitchen, she said. Were used to cooking (burgers) on a grill, and these are flat-topped patties, almost like Freddys, just smashed. We had the equipment it was just getting used to using it in a different way. Red Robin employees learned the new cooking style via training videos through MrBeast Burger, just as Holiday Inn employees did several months earlier with Bennigans. Finn said the host restaurant pays a periodic royalty fee to the ghost kitchen for such training programs and the use of their menu items. The royalties are based on the sales of Bennigans items from each period. Profits from sales of ghost kitchen items go to the host restaurant, in this case, Holiday Inn. In addition to the royalty paid to the ghost kitchen, the host restaurant also negotiates a royalty with the third-party delivery services they use. Finn said the Bennigans corporate team does not get involved with that relationship. Bennigans on the Fly in Dubuque also pays an additional licensing fee to allow Holiday Inn to sell select Bennigans items for dine in within the hotels restaurant, which Rhoad said was motivated by customer demand. He said a ghost kitchen is ultimately profitable for the host restaurant thanks to economies of scale. I already have to have two cooks here a night, no matter how busy we are, Rhoad said. Im already paying the staff and I already have the equipment and the fry oil and the electricity and the lights on, so Im really just adding the extra food cost and the royalties. More than a month into the MrBeast Burger partnership, Red Robin has found its rhythm, and Schoenberger hopes the ghost kitchen may help them reach a new demographic. Red Robin is traditionally known as a family restaurant, while MrBeast Burger is more popular among 14- to 20-year-olds, she said. If we can execute (MrBeast Burger) well, then hopefully, they will want to come to Red Robin and try our food as well, Schoenberger said. Both Dubuque ghost kitchens have seen steady demand since they opened. Not only does the concept give customers access to new options in the local restaurant market, but Rhoad said the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for mobile dining was a catalyst for ghost kitchens nationwide. Its a demand that he doesnt think will disappear as the pandemic wanes. Now, people have seen the convenience of it, he said. Once youve decided that its just as easy to order your dinner through DoorDash than it is to go and get it yourself, then youre willing to keep doing that, whether its COVID or not. COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) South Carolina health officials are warning swimmers and boaters to watch out for algae blooms on the state's lakes and rivers. The blooms aren't unusual and many aren't directly harmful to humans or animals, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control said in a statement. TACOMA, Wash. (AP) A 72-foot-tall (22-meter-tall) totem pole erected more than a century ago as a tourist attraction in western Washington but that has no connection with local tribes will be removed. The News Tribune reports that the totem pole at Fireman's Park in Tacoma will be removed in about a month following a decision by the Tacoma City Council on Tuesday. The totem pole erected in 1903 by local businessmen was meant to compete for tourists with a totem pole in Seattle. Two anonymous artists carved the totem pole in Tacoma at a lumberyard on Vashon Island. The city's Arts Commission in March decided to remove the totem pole from Tacoma's municipal art collection. The city council on Tuesday then voted unanimously to take the totem pole off the city's historic register, where it had been listed since the 1970s. That cleared the way for its removal. The Puyallup Tribe had sought the removal of the totem pole. There has been a lot of trauma, and we have to tell the true story in order to be able to heal, said Puyallup Tribal Councilwoman Annette Bryan. Tacoma Arts Administrator Amy McBride said the totem pole will likely be cut into pieces, with a possibility a portion might go to the Tacoma Historical Society where a display would include its full history. McBride said they hope to commission a new piece of tribal artwork for the park. The city spent $58,000 in 2014 to brace the old totem pole against collapse. This is a great example of what happens when we dont do our homework, said Councilwoman Lillian Hunter. It comes back to haunt us. BALTIMORE (AP) Maryland must at least temporarily keep paying pandemic unemployment benefits to jobless residents, a judge ruled Saturday. Baltimore Circuit Judge Lawrence Fletcher-Hill issued a temporary restraining order requiring the state to continue administering the benefits, The Baltimore Sun reported. The programs, including supplemental $300 weekly payments, had been set to end at 11:59 p.m. Saturday. The decision came after the judge heard arguments Friday in two lawsuits over Gov. Larry Hogan's administration's plan to cut off the benefits ahead of their expiration in September. Other states with Republican governors have taken similar steps. Lawyers for the plaintiffs had argued that ending the benefits early would cut off a lifeline for struggling families. Hogan has said ending the benefits will help get people into jobs. The governors lawyers asked for a delay in implementing the restraining order, which the judge denied, according to the newspaper. The administration then filed an appeal to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, which was pending Saturday evening, a spokesman for Hogan told the Sun. Another hearing on the merits of the lawsuits was expected to be held soon, and the restraining order will expire in 10 days unless it's renewed or extended. GODDARD, Kan. (AP) Visitors to a splash park near Wichita may have been exposed to two additional bacterium, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment says. The department on Friday added coliform and E. coli to the list of bacterium possibly encountered by patrons of Tanganyika Wildlife Park's splash park, The Wichita Eagle reported. LAS VEGAS (AP) Fifteen months after the pandemic transformed Las Vegas from flamboyant spectacle to ghost town, Sin City is back. Tourists are streaming in again, gambling revenue has hit an all-time high, the Las Vegas Strip has its first new casino in a decade, and big concerts are starting at a gleaming new stadium. Plexiglass panels installed to separate gamblers at the poker and blackjack tables have largely been removed, the world-famous buffets are reopening, and nightclub dance floors are packed. Vice President Kamala Harris was set to visit Saturday for what the White House is calling the Americas Back Together tour celebrating progress against the virus. But that progress is threatened: Nevada this week saw the highest rate of new COVID-19 cases in the country, hospitalizations are on the rise again, and the highly contagious delta variant has become the most prevalent form of the virus in the state, adding urgency to the campaign to get more people vaccinated. Still, in a place where the economy runs on crowds and uninhibited behavior, a return to pandemic-related restrictions and mask requirements seems to be off the table. Inside the casinos, guests are not required to wear masks if they are fully vaccinated, but employees do not appear to be asking anyone for proof. It seems like everything is opening back up, getting back to normal, Teresa Lee, a 47-year-old tourist from Nashville, Tennessee, said Thursday as she stood on the Strip, looking out over the fountains in front of the Bellagio casino. Lee said she is vaccinated and felt safe in Las Vegas because she read about the casinos efforts to get their workers and their families vaccinated. Tyler Williams, a 22-year-old from Eugene, Oregon, said it didnt feel as if there was a pandemic anymore because people are everywhere. He said he had seen hardly anyone with a mask apart from a few foreign tourists and felt no need to wear one himself, because he is vaccinated. Las Vegas fully reopened and lifted restrictions on most businesses June 1, though many casino-resorts had already returned to 100% capacity before that with approval from state regulators. Visitor numbers, while not at their pre-pandemic highs, have grown by double digits four months in a row. Shows and fireworks are scheduled for the July 4 weekend, and the new 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium where the NFLs relocated Raiders will kick off their season this fall was set to host its first major concert Saturday, by electronic dance music star Illenium. It will be followed by a full-capacity show from Garth Brooks next weekend. Over the past two weeks, Nevada's diagnosis rate of 190 new cases per 100,000 people was higher than that of Missouri, Arkansas and Wyoming -- all states with lower vaccination levels and the state public health lab found the delta variant in almost half the COVID-19 cases it analyzed. Also, the number of patients hospitalized with the virus has grown 33% over the past week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though the levels are far below what they were in December, when hospitals were near capacity. State biostatistician Kyra Morgan said Friday that the spike in cases might be attributable to the full reopening of the state and city in June and that the return of crowds and big events on the Strip could cause the increase to continue. If we know anything about COVID, we know that when people are gathering in close proximity to one another in large volumes, that is the recipe for COVID transmission to increase," Morgan said. State and local officials said that almost all the new cases and hospitalizations involve unvaccinated people and that the best way to attack the problem is by getting more shots in arms. Nevada has fully vaccinated 45% of those 12 and older, well below the nationwide level of 55%, according to the CDC. We are a state of skeptics when it comes to vaccines, Morgan said. We have a lot of anti-vaxxers, frankly, in the state of Nevada. State and local officials, who in May went so far as to hold a vaccine clinic at a strip club, said they are trying to find more ways to persuade people, including the launch of a cash raffle. Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak, who took the unprecedented step of shuttering casinos for 11 weeks last year when the pandemic started, said Thursday he will ask for help from the COVID-19 response teams that the Biden administration is dispatching to boost testing and vaccinations in communities with outbreaks. Sisolaks office did not respond to questions about whether he is considering reimposing mask mandates or other restrictions, but Las Vegas-area officials say they are following the CDC's guidelines, which say it is safe for fully vaccinated people to go mask-free. At this this point, there is no discussion about increasing restrictions to the business and social life here in Clark County," said Dr. Fermin Leguen, chief health officer in the Las Vegas area. Getting better numbers in immunization is the solution for this problem at this point. MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) Legislative leaders are continuing to discuss prison construction and renovation alternatives, including if pandemic relief funds can be used to offset costs or renovating and building prisons. Key lawmakers say they expect to continue discussions this month in advance of a possible special session later in the year. I think the House and Senate are pretty close to an agreement," said Rep. Steve Clouse, who chairs the House General Fund budget committee. The vast majority of legislators want to move forward with a bond proposal and for us to own the prisons. Clouse and Sen. Greg Albritton, who is chairman of the Senate General Fund budget committee, said a topic under discussion is if the state can use federal funds from the American Rescue Plan to offset some of the costs or do renovations. States can use American Rescue Plan Act dollars for a wide range of uses to contend with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Albritton said the state is trying to get clarity on what can we do with the recovery money. How can we use those funds to attack those problems? Albritton said. Lawmakers are looking for more options after Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey's plan to rent prisons, which would be run by the state but built and owned by private companies, fell apart because of financing concerns. In February, Ivey agreed to lease two prisons from separate entities of CoreCivic, one of the nations largest private prison companies. However, the lease plan hit setbacks with the withdrawal of finance companies that faced pressure from activists to not be involved with private prison firms. The U.S. Department of Justice has sued Alabama over poor conditions, including excessive violence, in state prisons for men. In a recent filing, the Justice Department said Alabama prisons are no safer than they were in 2019 when federal officials first warned the state of unconstitutional conditions. However, federal officials have been clear that new facilities will not solve the state's prison woes. A spokeswoman for Ivey said the governor is continuing to have talks with lawmakers, "as they determine what the options are and what the best route would be. She remains firmly committed to solving this decades old problem and plans to see both infrastructure improvements and reforms to the justice system, Ivey spokeswoman Gina Maiola wrote in an email. LANSING, Mich. (AP) Michigans Republican Party and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's office have reached a deal calling for the party to pay $200,000 to resolve a campaign finance complaint. A conciliation agreement was signed last month and said the payment is not to be construed as an admission of liability. The agreement says $200,000 in undisclosed expenditures were made between August 2018 and February 2019 from a state Republican Party administrative account. In a Feb. 4, 2021 letter to the state Elections Bureau, outgoing party Chair Laura Cox on behalf of the state Republican Party self-reported a possible campaign violation. Cox said Ann Arbor businessman and University of Michigan regent Ron Weiser paid a Macomb County activist $200,000 to stay out of the secretary of state race in 2018 when Weiser last led the party. Weiser has said the money given to Stan Grot was for legitimate party work. Weiser defeated Cox this year for party chair. Weiser and the Michigan Republican Party said in a release Friday that the agreement with Benson's office affirmed no admission of wrong-doing on behalf of the party or any individual within the organization." Had we pursued defending ourselves in litigation, we are confident our arguments would have prevailed in court, Weiser said. In the end, the litigation costs to the party wouldve amounted to more than the payment demanded by the secretary of state." Weiser said he would personally contribute the $200,000 to the state Republican Party. Secretary of State spokeswoman Tracy Wimmer said that in conciliation agreements it is commonplace for the subject of the investigation to claim that there was no wrongdoing. EAGLE RIVER, Mich. (AP) An Upper Peninsula man is raising money to install markers that can help authorities reach stranded snowmobilers or others who use remote trails. Joe Schneller, an emergency medical technician, is leading the project in Houghton and Keweenaw counties to honor his late wife, Linda, who had cancer, The Daily Mining Gazette reported. ALEXANDRIA, La. (AP) Students looking to fly the friendly skies wont have to travel far with the addition of a new aviation program at LSU of Alexandria. The program will allow them to earn a degree and become professional pilots. Beginning immediately, students can enroll at LSU of Alexandria and take classes applicable to the program. The course, Introduction to Aerospace, will be offered in the fall. The program LSUA is offering leads to a bachelors degree, said Dr. Eamon Halpin, Associate Vice Chancellor and Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at LSUA. Its a bachelors of general studies with a concentration in professional aviation. To learn more about the program an aviation open house was held at Million Air on England Airpark for prospective students and parents. Another open house is set for August. From the attendance, its clear there is a tremendous amount of interest. Look whats happening here, said Halpin glancing around the room. We are happy to see so many students and parents out here inquiring about the program. I dont think we quite expected this number. Its incredible, said Michael Jacob Fisher, a Central Louisiana Technical Community College student. The only other university in the state that has an aviation program is Louisiana Tech in Ruston, said Fisher. So students interested in earning an aviation degree would have to go there. But not now. Its awesome having something down here local, he said. And be able to jump on this opportunity. I would expect it to be at a bigger four-year university. Its awesome seeing it. He said he would probably go into the field after graduation. For LSUA sophomore Frank Lemoine, having a program like this at LSUA makes it easier for him to stay home and close to family. The LSUA professional pilot program is part of a larger economic development initiative called ACE and it stands for Aviation Careers in Education, said Sandra McQuain, executive director of England Airpark. Its a partnership between England Airpark, LSU of Alexandria and the Central Louisiana Technical Community College. The objective of the initiative is to provide opportunities for prospective students to develop careers in aviation. Halpin said McQuain and others told him that there has been an acute shortage of pilots for several years and industry experts are predicting a need for 260,000 pilots over the next decade. McQuain met with LSUA Chancellor Paul Coreil, CLTCC chancellor Dr. Jimmy Sawtelle, and others to brainstorm how to get an aviation program off the ground. They urged us to consider developing a program, said Halpin. Weve done so. Theyve supported the efforts. Million Air, the service company that operates out here, has also been very supportive. And so we think its a very opportune time for young people to begin a career in aviation because of the projected demand for pilots. And due to that demand, he thinks student pilots will command higher salaries. Most of the pilots are Vietnam-era pilots who are retiring because they are at the mandatory retirement age of 65, said Raja Gharazeddine, owner and operator of Acadian Aviation of Lafayette. And the military is no longer training pilots so its up to the civilians to do it. That is contributing to what Gharazeddine says is a very serious shortage of pilots. Aviation students will take ground flight instructions at the LSUA campus on U.S. 71 but actual flight instructions will be at England Airpark with Gharazeddine. In 2008, Gharazeddine started Acadian Aviation in Abbeville and moved the flight school to Lafayette in 2015. Theyve been growing ever since and opportunity is what brought them to Alexandria. We moved a satellite operation to Alexandria initially to work with soldiers out of Fort Polk that were going through credentialed programs that the Army offered, he said. England Airpark then told him that LSUA was interested in starting an aviation program so he met with Halpin. For the last two years, theyve been working on a curriculum. Halpin said students who complete the program earn four core Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ratings and certifications. Theyll have a private pilots license. Theyll have an instrument pilot rating. A commercial pilots license and flight instructor certification, he said. In addition, there will three optional ratings: multi-engine pilot rating, multi-engine instrument and flight instructor instrument. So the students who complete this program will be prepared to pursue careers as multi-engine commercial pilots and flight instructors, he said. Air travel has also grown quite a bit from regional to national air carriers, said Gharazeddine. The interest is in professional pilot training and degree program, he said. Thats a requirement for the national airlines or what we call legacy airlines. Those pilots must hold at least a baccalaureate degree in addition to flight ratings and certificates. So far Louisiana Tech has been the only university in the state to offer an aviation degree until now. And Louisiana Tech is almost at capacity, said Gharazeddine. So were not really competing with them because there are enough students to go around, added Halprin. A lot of Louisiana students are leaving the state to earn their baccalaureate with a flight training certificate so this would be a good opportunity to keep them in the state, said Gharazeddine. McQuain said future plans for ACE include establishing the ACE Aviation Center which would be a training facility at the Airpark. Eventually, they would add an FAA A&P approved mechanic school and construction of a wide body hangar that will provide facilities for modern aviation services and businesses. A&P stands for airframe and power plant which are the external part of the aircraft and the engine. Our hope is by putting these graduates on the street whether theyre certified A&P mechanics down the road, pilots, aviation professionals that well be able to attract and grow an aviation economy here in Central Louisiana, said McQuain. Even before todays open house, Raja and I were both being contacted by prospective students and parents who were really interested in this program so we think the potential for growth is really there, said Halpin. CARSON NATIONAL FOREST, N.M. (AP) Across a mile-long stretch of forest in a remote part of northern New Mexico, the party is in full swing. Tents dotted mountain meadows flanked by dense stands of trees. Makeshift kitchens were erected to feed the hundreds of people gathering for what would be a weekend-long celebration attended by grandmothers, families with children and others in search of peace, camaraderie and perhaps to smoke a little weed. This is the Rainbow Family. The Carson National Forest, just beyond the tourist enclave of Taos, was chosen as the spot for this year's national gathering. But people also were congregating for the July 4 celebration in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. The so-called Rainbow Gathering which draws an array of characters who range from office workers looking to get away from the daily grind to nature lovers and those who have mastered van life was set to culminate Sunday in a silent hand-holding circle punctuated by a loud ohm. Normally, the gathering, which was first held in 1972 in Colorado, draws around 10,000 people to a single forest. This year, the participants are less numerous and heading to regional meet-ups because of COVID-19 concerns. Last July 4, regulars joined each other online to ohm from home. For Gina Mama G Prince, the gathering is about peace. For others, they are united by anti-authoritarianism rooted in the religious and congregational freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. With pandemic restrictions easing, Prince said she was happy to be at her first Rainbow Gathering since 2019, when the event was held in Wisconsin. Ive been counting the moments to come out here, said the 67-year-old Florida resident, who picked up a fellow Rainbow participant in Tennessee on the way. Wary of the virus and bogged down with underlying health concerns, her partner stayed in Florida. In one camp, cooks prepared sweet strawberry pastries and served them to whoever was around the campfire. Money is frowned upon at the gathering, and participants bring food donations to share. Volunteers run every aspect of the camp, from piping water out of streams to digging latrines, to cleaning up the camp and packing up trash. Drum circles are a nightly event. So are fireside discussions about everything from dinner plans to the nature of existence and metaphysics. The annual gatherings also draw close scrutiny from the U.S. Forest Service. Officials with the Carson National Forest held an online forum last month for residents to ask questions about enforcing drug laws, respecting sacred tribal lands in the forest, and the plan for taking out the trash. Forest Service officials say gatherings in recent years left surprisingly little impact on water, erosion and other areas of concern to forest officials. With a fraction of the normal participants this year, the concerns are even fewer. Still, rangers had seized an undisclosed number of guns and cited people for things as minor as a cracked windshield. Other charges involved marijuana and methamphetamine possession. For decades, the Rainbows have complained that law enforcement assigned to patrol them have used any excuse to pull them over and search them. Prince said she and another woman were searched on their way into the gathering, and her friend's marijuana stash was seized. New Mexico this week legalized the recreational use of marijuana, but it's still illegal on federal land. They pulled people over and took all their weed, Prince said. Pulled over a couple of grandmas. The gathering normally boasts a giant bakery, hauled up mountainsides by hand and constructed out of metal barrels. Volunteers crank out as many as 8,000 dinner rolls per night from their perch in the woods. It takes about 35 of us to make the magic happen, said long-time Rainbow member Darrell Schauermann of Taos. There are perils that can come with camping in a remote spot at high altitude. On Friday, an elderly man with cancer fell gravely ill. It took an SUV, a Forest Service pickup truck and an ambulance to get him to a spot miles down the mountain where he could be loaded into a helicopter and taken to a hospital. Along the way, he was tended to by John Hartberg, a 33-year-old physician from New Orleans who was attending the event. Shirtless and wearing a hat and a turquoise stethoscope, he declined to comment on the patient's condition, citing medical privacy rules. Usla Gregory, 45, of Taos said the patient was his best friend. We share the same astrological signs, he said, before breaking into tears. After the July 4th celebration, Rainbows who choose to participate in a selection committee will pick a spot for next years gathering. Insiders suggest that Colorado is the leading contender. ___ Cedar Attanasio is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) New York Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and some relatives received COVID-19 testing from the state at her private Long Island residence last summer after a member of the family tested positive, according to a court official. Reports of preferential testing for people connected to Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his administration when testing was scarce are part of an an ongoing impeachment investigation into the governor. A spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration confirmed that DiFiore and family members had been tested at her Southampton residence, the Times Union of Albany reported Friday. It was the one and only time, Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the Office of Court Administration, said. She contacted the (state Department of Health) to see what to do and these people showed up to do what they did. The states Public Officers Law prohibits state employees or officials from using their position to secure unwarranted privileges or exemptions for himself or herself or others. The impeachment investigations primary focus remains on allegations of sexual harassment against Cuomo, which he has denied, as well as reports that his administration intentionally underreported COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes. Assembly Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Lavine told The Associated Press in March that reports of preferential testing would be explored. Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi has said the administration was absolutely going above and beyond to get people testing in the early days of the pandemic. If an impeachment trial of Cuomo were to occur in the state Senate, DiFiore would sit as one of the jurors since she is the state's chief judge and head of the Court of Appeals, the Times Union reported. DiFiore was appointed to the court by Cuomo in 2015. ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) The trajectory of Steve Goffs career from homeless dishwasher to lauded executive chef is as unlikely as it is a great story. Once a train-hopping gutter punk, Goff stopped along the way in Asheville in 2003 to protest for gay rights. A conspicuous target with his pink, leopard spotted mohawk, Goff was apprehended at the protest and eventually pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. Though he kept trying to leave Asheville after that inauspicious start, he never could seem to escape. Meanwhile, he slept in the woods off Charlotte Street, across from a building that would eventually change his life. Three months later, Goff heard from a man on the street that Zambra was hiring a dishwasher. That man knew because he had stepped out for a smoke during a grueling shift and never returned. Goff, who had experience working in corporate restaurants, scoffed. I said, No dog, this isnt washing dishes at your house, and I came and applied. Zambras chef was reluctant at the time because Goffs experience was exclusively in corporate restaurants. Goff, who recently signed on as executive chef of Jargon in West Asheville, said his time in those systems-oriented spaces gave him the tools to succeed. I didnt have the creative art yet, but I enjoyed the drive, the fast-paceness you have to have, he said. Being a professional cook can seem a paradox to the uninitiated. It sometimes requires ditching creativity for urgency. First you have to know how to put it out, Goff said. If you cant cook a ton real fast, youre in trouble. At Zambra, Goff soon was doing the work of two dishwashers, and still had energy for more. He was promoted to prep cook and soon began running lunch service. After briefly moving to Durham, where he simultaneously worked at Fowlers Food Store, at a pizza joint staffed by punk rock servers and as a barista at a nearby coffee shop, Goff returned to Asheville to find his prospects had dried up, even at Zambra. Unable to find work in local restaurants, he went to Labor Ready, a now-closed temp service and source for cheap labor. There, he failed a personality test. I was dejected, he said. It was the ultimate put down. Even so, he doubled down on the idea of being a professional chef and enrolled in the culinary program at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College in 2006 while simultaneously working at Jack of the Wood and the Laughing Seed. I had realized I loved being in the kitchen all day every day, he said. It was punk rock its loud, everyones surly. From there, Goffs cooking took him through an internship at Gabrielles at the since-fire-ruined Richmond Hill Inn and back to Zambra, where he worked for five years. He also worked a stint at Bens Tune Up butchering meat and making pastries and pickles. By then, Goff was developing an identity, which chef John Fleer of Rhubarb pointed out while politely declining to hire him. He said, You already have your own thing, Goff recalled. Youre not moldable; you have a thing you already do. Fleer was right, and Goff was soon brought on as partner and executive chef of a new project called King James Public House, located across the street from the woods where Goff once slept on a dingy mattress. The restaurant opened in early 2014 under the ownership of Peter Slamp of Zambra and a group of investors. It was the perfect fit at first. THE RISE AND FALL OF KING JAMES It was at King James where Goff truly came into his own. It was a kitchen where Goff could indulge his love of British food and fascination with the sort of culinary history found in Escoffiers Le Guide Culinaire. He also came to terms with his new status as a southern chef and began delving deep into the history of the South, devouring work by Toni Tipton-Martin and Michael Twitty and perusing the Foxfire Series, a collection covering the heritage of Southern Appalachia. At Zambra, Goff said, nothing premade crossed the kitchens threshold no mayo, no sour cream, nothing. At King James, Goff tried to figure out how to take that a step further. I had a hunger to be the most local, and I also researched every menu in town to make sure we had stuff no one else had when we opened, he said. At King James, Goff created dishes like duck wings and fried chicken and crumpets. He fermented and pickled everything and wasted hardly anything, earning with some customers a reputation as a guy who made weird food out of parts and pieces others might toss out. But he also created a following, and customers got tattoos of the restaurants logo. Food & Wine magazine showed up. Goff turned into a harsh critic of himself, and a harsher critic in the kitchen too, he said. Meanwhile, the restaurants investors pushed for more of a steakhouse vibe. Goff pushed back. In the spring of 2015, Goff was dismissed in an ownership dispute that, as he told the Citizen Times then, carried the pain of one thousand girlfriends breaking up with you at once. Though he was offered $3,000 as a parting gesture, Goff declined. Pride just wouldnt let me take it, he said. Without Goff at the helm, King James Public House closed shortly thereafter. It just shattered me to lose that, he said. Goffs next two restaurant jobs head butcher at Standard Foods in Raleigh and partner and chef at Aux Bar in Asheville also crumbled. The first happened after Scott Crawford left Standard, the second after Aux Bar fell victim to the complications of operating in a pandemic. Brine Haus, a food truck Goff opened with wife Samantha Goff in Raleigh, was just not the right idea at the right time. We were cooking ramen broth in a metal bullet in a parking lot in Raleigh, Goff said. It was so hot and humid, we were taking turns getting off the truck not getting sick. It was really stupid. That truck is retired for now, Goff said. It was an uncannily bad streak for a talented chef who said he just keeps finding himself in the wrong place. If your business fails because you failed monetarily, its one thing, he said. Ive yet to do that, but I just keep getting myself in the dumbest positions ever. Goff said some may see a record of failed projects, but thats not his read. They gave me extremely valuable knowledge, knowledge that can only be earned through blood and sweat, he said. No amount of study could have given me the skill set needed to deal with all those obstacles. ONE MANS TRASH IS ANOTHERS TREASURE There are also experiences Goff wouldnt trade for anything like the Wooden Nickel program at Aux Bar, which he opened in 2018 with his wife and partners Mike and Darlene Moore. There, diners could pay $5 for wooden nickels to give to others in need of a meal. Anyone who came into the restaurant with a wooden nickel would get fed. And if you didnt have a wooden nickel, youd get fed anyway, Goff said. I will never forget the looks on the faces of the homeless people who knew my van and would cheer when I would go by. Goff said his familiarity with homelessness and hunger has informed his work as a chef as much as anything. We sit in these nice restaurants and cook and throw away food while people are starving, he said. Waste bothers me to no end, so I spend hours thinking about how to turn something into something else. At Jargon, hes working on creating as much of a no-waste kitchen as possible. That means drying the bloodlines of fish to make something similar to bottarga. He makes relishes and pickles from collard and chard stems. Thats so much texture and crunch youre just throwing in the trash, Goff said. He smokes trout bones and simmers them in the leftover whey from house-made ricotta to make a savory sauce. He caramelizes the whey for desserts and whey-ferments produce. Theres something you can do with everything, he said. That extends to parts like necks and livers and feet that are beginning to show up from time to time, mostly as specials, on Jargons menu. Hes heard one complaint from customers about weird food in the month since he assumed the new role. Even so, Goff said hes prepared the servers well with a look into his philosophy. I dont care if its a plant or animal, something gave its life for us to eat in this nice restaurant, he said. We owe it to that critter to use every bit and make it the best we can all the time. When we dont eat something, were disrespecting the animal and the farmer. Goff said food that others dismiss as weird or even high-brow often have their roots in traditional peasant dishes. At King James, some people would say Steve Goff just cooks weird (stuff), Goff said. But theres tons of great food out there if we would just not turn our noses up. Jargon is at 715 Haywood Road. More at 828-785-1761 or jargonrestaurant.com. KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) Theres a reason Veronica Pinons face looks familiar. Its because shes been around the Kearney area since 1993. These days, shes the smiling person behind the checkout counter at Kearneys newest ethnic food and variety store, Pinon Market at 527 E. 25th St. Thats part of the strip mall just east of the Kearney Post Office that once was home to Eileens Cookies and a Subway sandwich store. Pinon Market opened June 19, and still is in soft-opening mode, its owner said. There have been so many kind people in my life, and I have to pay it back, said Pinon as she described the emotional experience of becoming a business owner in her adopted home. Pinon Market is the American dream come true for its owner, whose poor family in San Luis de la Paz in south-central Mexico centered around her grandfathers store and the kitchen inside it that her grandmother operated. The couple sold food to shoppers arriving for the market on weekends, Pinon said, and her grandfather ventured into the countryside on weekdays to sell his wares. It was a hard life. How can you learn when you are hungry? Pinon told the Kearney Hub. She dreamed of attending college, but instead got her education in the school of hard knocks. She said working with her grandfather planted a seed and made her more outgoing, able to carry on a conversation with almost anyone. After she left rural Mexico for the United States, Pinon spent a few years in Texas before arriving in Kearney at age 23. One of the first things she did after rolling into Kearney was to find a place to wash clothing and bedding. The laundromat she found was in the strip mall next door to The Cellar Restaurant in north Kearney. I saw lots of people going inside, Pinon said, so she approached the door and asked to talk to the owner. She waited outside until Dick Poston emerged and told her he could meet with her the next day. It was the beginning of Pinons 16-year stint at The Cellar. Pinon has had a variety of jobs since, on assembly lines, in housekeeping and occasionally dipping her toe into retail. Now and then she organized craft fairs and cosmetic sales events, including in Shelton, where she raised her daughter, Nadia. Pinon said it was a thrill watching her daughter receive so many opportunities as she grew up. Nadia attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney and became a cheerleader, said her mom. I tell Nadia to be grateful for what you have because nothing comes easy, Pinon said. She began to think seriously about opening a business after meeting Sandra Barrera, a University of Nebraska Extension employee at Grand Island who helps immigrants launch businesses. Barrera introduced Pinon to the Rural Enterprise Assistance Programs small business loan specialist at the Center for Rural Affairs in Lyons, and she secured start-up financing. That was the easy part. The hard part was continuing her employment at the Parker Hannifin filter factory while also preparing the store space. Lots of cleaning was necessary, and Pinon had to strip carpet from the floor to pass the health inspection. Pinons hands are blistered, but the floor now has a handsome polished concrete look. Pinon Market stocks many of the fresh produce and products popular in Mexican cuisine. Theres also a section of salsa and sweets, tortillas, spicy nachos and other products that customers expect in a Mexican store: pinatas, chimineas, pottery and cookware. Business has been good, but I need to do more promotion and marketing, Pinon said. Stores like mine all sell the same thing, but how do you want to treat your customers? I want to be a puente, or bridge, and build relationships for life. PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Oregon on Friday reached the milestone of 70% of adults having received at least their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to officials from the state health authority. The 70% adult vaccination goal means we have a better chance to sustain a safe reopening, said Patrick Allen, the director of the Oregon Health Authority. But COVID-19 hasnt gone away. Its our goal to vaccinate eight in 10 people across Oregon, particularly adults in communities of color and other under-vaccinated groups. Health officials say the state reached the vaccination goal through the efforts of more than 660 vaccination sites, operated by health care providers, community based organizations, Tribal partners, health authorities, pharmacies, volunteers, the Oregon National Guard and retired healthcare workers. Earlier this week, after more than 15 months of restrictions, Oregon fully reopened lifting mask requirements, physical distancing and capacity limits. There are some exceptions, including federal rules; masks will still be required at airports, on public transportation and in healthcare settings. In addition, businesses can still require customers to wear masks or provide proof of vaccination to forgo wearing them. In May Gov. Kate Brown said statewide COVID-19 related restrictions would not be lifted until the state reach the vaccination target of 70% of Oregons adults receive the first COVID-19 vaccine dose with the goal of reopening by June 21. However, the goal turned into a slow crawl and last week Brown announced the state would open latest by June 30, even if the statewide target was not meant. In addition, on Wednesday in Washington state, restaurants, bars, gyms and stores were also allowed to resume full indoor capacity, up from the most recent limit of 50%, and physical distancing requirements were lifted. One restriction that remains in place is a 75% attendance cap on indoor events of more than 10,000 people, unless the event verifies all attendees are vaccinated. Those restrictions will be reevaluated July 31. MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) Officials are planning a celebration to mark the return of Amtrak passenger trains to Vermont later this month. The July 19 event at the Montpelier Amtrak station will also include officials from the town of Berlin and the Vermont Agency of Transportation. The party is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and last until the train departs the station, scheduled for 10:25. Amtrak service in Vermont ended when the pandemic hit in March 2020. Amtrak will be offering $1 fares at each Vermont station to include Brattleboro, Bellows Falls, Windsor, White River Junction, Randolph, Montpelier, Waterbury, Essex Junction and St. Albans. The agency of transportation will be offering return shuttles to get people back to their point of departure. People who would like to use the shuttle should register. ___ MAINE Large vaccination clinics are beginning to slow down and close in Maine, but businesses aim to incentivize more inoculations. Employers can legally dismiss an employee if they can prove that an unvaccinated staff member would be a significant threat to others, but most are simply encouraging employees to get vaccinated. And some are offering cash to employees to get vaccinated. In Portland, the owner of El Corazon is giving vaccinated employees four hours of extra pay, WGME-TV reported. Across town at Flatbread Company, theyre paying employees a $100 wellness bonus if they get vaccinated. And Bangor Savings Bank is giving $500 to fully vaccinated workers. The last thing we want is for another lockdown, El Corazon Restaurante Owner Joseph Urtuzuastegui said. ___ MASSACHUSETTS The city of Boston says its two outdoor pools are now open for the summer. The city announced Saturday that the Clougherty Pool in Charlestown and the Mirabella Pool in the North End are open. Several indoor pools operated by Boston Centers for Youth & Families are also open for residents looking to cool off. Locations and hours of operation can be found on the city's website. Its important that our residents can access cooling options in our neighborhoods throughout the summer, Boston Mayor Kim Janey in a statement. We are looking forward to welcoming more people back to our pools along with offering an expanded menu of summer programming and activities for young people at the community centers. People must register to use the pools and all will be asked COVID-19 screening questions. Coverings of the nose and mouth are recommended for people who are not vaccinated while outdoors. Everyone must wear face coverings while indoors and not in the water. Other rules in place due to the pandemic must also be followed. ___ NEW HAMPSHIRE A temporary change to boost New Hampshires health care workforce during the coronavirus pandemic has now been made permanent. Gov. Chris Sununu on Thursday signed a bill that allows certain military personnel, emergency medical technicians and paramedics to apply for licenses to become nursing assistants. He had issued an order allowing them to so in December, but it expired when the state of emergency was lifted last month. Those in the medical field stepped up throughout COVID-19, and this bill ensures we do the same for them by breaking down barriers and streamlining systems, Sununu said in a statement. TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) Pima County is phasing out mass vaccination sites as health officials increasingly focus on permanent health care facilities such as pharmacies, doctors' offices and clinics to vaccinate the remainder of the Tucson area's population. County officials said Friday that nearly 70% of residents 18 or older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and that vaccination rates among those 65 or older were at almost 93%. SALEM, Ore. (AP) A 22-year-old Salem man was shot by police after officers tried to make contact with him in connection with a shooting investigation, police said. Around 7:15 p.m. Thursday Salem officers investigating a shooting tried to stop a car they believed was involved. Oregon State Police said in a news release Friday. Police said the motorist fled and rammed a Salem patrol car. NEW YORK (AP) New York City Police announced Saturday that $54,000 worth of illegal fireworks have been seized in recent weeks, ahead of the Fourth of July holiday. The fireworks were collected in three NYPD Intelligence Bureau operations conducted in June and early July, involving multiple city offices and the NYC Fireworks Task Force, which includes the New York State Police, New Jersey State Police and the Port Authority Police. Investigators made 22 fireworks-related arrests and seized six illegal firearms. MEXICO CITY (AP) Press and human rights organizations on Friday criticized Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obradors weekly contest that roughly translates as Lie of the Week. Each week at his daily morning press conference, Lopez Obrador presents a few news articles he feels are unfair, an exercise he calls Whos Who in Lies. It mirrors other segments like Who's Who in the price of gasoline? which is meant to embarrass stations that charge high prices. The authors of the news articles and opinion columns are singled out for criticism by Lopez Obrador, who talks more to the press but is also more openly hostile to them than almost any of his predecessors. The president's supporters often launch social-media pile-ons against reporters he criticizes. The Inter American Press Association says the practice stigmatizes and intimidates journalists in a country that already has a high level of violence against reporters. The IAPA said in a statement that it calls for the immediate end to its aggression." Carlos Jornet, the IAPAs president on the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, wrote that in the case of Mexico, one of the countries where exercising journalism poses the highest risk, direct speech with insults against journalists and the media from the Presidency is doubly dangerous, a type of aggression that, as experience indicates, usually ends up in acts of violence. The InterAmerican Human Rights Commission has also expressed concerns about the segment. The president's spokesman, Jesus Ramirez, defended Lopez Obrador's program, writing that the Mexican government seeks to reduce the damage caused by disinformation and lies. It is not to discredit journalists or news outlets, it only stigmatizes lies. This allows the public to form their own opinion about national problems, and strengthens democracy, Ramirez wrote. Lopez Obrador said earlier this week he doesn't claim to be the owner of absolute truth, but he is notoriously resistant to criticism and refuses to acknowledge errors. The president claims he is the victim of a smear campaign by conservatives whose economic interests have been affected by his anti-corruption efforts. Lopez Obrador has often complained the "conservatives" pay reporters or news outlets to attack him. Press groups say nine journalists were killed in Mexico in 2020, the highest total of any country not at war. Two journalists have been killed in Mexico so far this year, and two other reporters have disappeared. GROTTOES, Va. (AP) A Virginia deputy who fatally shot a knife-wielding man after responding to a call about a break-in acted appropriately and will not face charges, a prosecutor said. Augusta County Commonwealths Attorney Tim Martin announced his decision in a news release after receiving a Virginia State Police investigative report about the May 14 shooting of Jeffrey J. Bruce, news outlets reported. The deputy's actions in this matter were entirely appropriate, wrote Martin, who provided a summary of the investigative findings. According to Martin, the first deputy to respond to the scene in Grottoes found a trailer belonging to one of Bruce's neighbors damaged from a burglary. The deputy spoke with the neighbor and Bruce's mother, who told him Bruce had knives and had been using methamphetamine. The deputy also spoke with Bruce's sister, who confirmed Bruce had broken into the home and said he had expressed a desire to die at the hands of a police officer, Martin wrote. Martin wrote that Bruce had previously spent 18 years incarcerated for the rape of a 5-year-old girl and a related charge and in the 24 hours preceding his death had been quite vocal about not wanting to return to jail. The deputy called for backup, then he and another officer encountered Bruce, who had been lying in tall grass, according to Martin. Bruce stood up and revealed a knife, which he held like an icepick over his head as he screamed and charged at the deputies, Martin wrote. The deputy who fired his gun four times, killing Bruce, wrote that he held Bruce's hand until rescue arrived and he passed away. MOSCOW (AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a revised version of Russias national security strategy that envisages symmetrical and asymmetrical measures in response to foreign states' unfriendly actions that threaten the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia. Putin signed a decree approving the strategy on Friday, according to the Kremlin website. The 44-page document was published Saturday on a government website and outlined Russia's national interests and priorities. It stated that actions of some countries are aimed at instigating disintegration processes in the Commonwealth of Independent States in order to destroy Russias ties with its traditional allies," and claimed that "a number of states call Russia a threat and even a military adversary. Russia remains committed to using political and diplomatic means to resolve international and national conflicts, the document read. At the same time, Moscow considers it legitimate to take symmetrical and asymmetric measures to thwart and prevent unfriendly actions" by foreign states that "threaten the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation. Russias relations with the U.S. and its allies have been at post-Cold War lows over Moscows 2014 annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula, accusations of Russian interference in U.S. elections, hacking attacks and other events. Earlier this week Putin described as a provocation a June 23 incident in the Black Sea in which Russia said one of its warships fired warning shots and a warplane dropped bombs in the path of Britains HMS Defender to force it from an area near Crimea that Moscow claims as its territorial waters. Britain, which like most other nations does not recognize Russias 2014 annexation of Crimea, insisted the Defender wasnt fired upon and said it was sailing in Ukrainian waters. It was clearly a provocation, a complex one involving not only the British but also the Americans, Putin said Wednesday during his annual televised call-in show, charging that a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft that took off from the Greek island of Crete was operating in concert with the British ship to monitor the Russian militarys response to the British destroyer. The Russian leader lamented that the incident closely followed his summit with U.S. President Joe Biden in Geneva. The world is undergoing a radical change, he said. Our U.S. partners realize that, and thats why the Geneva meeting took place. But on the other hand, they are trying to secure their monopolist stance, resulting in threats and destructive action such as drills, provocations and sanctions. PHOENIX (AP) Newly released records show the top Republicans in Arizona's largest county dodged calls from Donald Trump and his allies in the aftermath of the 2020 election, as the then-president sought to prevent the certification of Joe Biden's victory in key battleground states. The records including voicemails and text messages shed light on another state where Trump, his attorneys and others mounted a behind-the-scenes pressure campaign on Republican officials overseeing elections. Days before Congress certified Biden's win on Jan. 6, Trump pressed Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find enough votes to overturn Biden's win there. Trump tried to reach Clint Hickman, then the chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, on Jan. 3, shortly before midnight in Washington and hours after news broke of Trump's call with Raffensperger. Hello, sir. This is the White House operator I was calling to let you know that the presidents available to take your call if youre free, the White House operator said in a voicemail. If you could please give us a call back, sir, thatd be great. You have a good evening. Hickman told The Arizona Republic, which first received the records from Maricopa County, that he did not return the phone call. He said he presumed Trump would try to pressure him to change election results or discuss election conspiracies as he had done with Raffensperger. Im not going to tape a president, so Im not going to talk to a president. I didnt want to have a very rough call to my home on a Sunday night," Hickman told the Republic. Hickman and the rest of the Board of Supervisors, which is controlled 4-1 by Republicans, have aggressively defended the vote count in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix and 60% of Arizona's voters. They have maintained the outcome was not affected by fraud or irregularities. State Senate Republicans used their subpoena power to take control of all 2.1 million ballots and the machines that counted them. A firm led by a Trump supporter who has shared far-fetched conspiracy theories is overseeing an audit for the Senate GOP. The most aggressive pressure came from Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward, who tried to convince Republicans on the board to question the election results, even as the officials tried to instill confidence in the them. At one point, she texted Hickman, "We need you to stop the counting. She tried to convince Hickman and Supervisors Steve Chucri and Bill Gates to call Trump attorney Sidney Powell, who filed lawsuits around the country alleging the election conspiracies. The lawsuits were all thrown out. Early Nov. 20, when the board was scheduled to certify Maricopa County's election results, Ward texted Gates, Can we talk today now that the lawsuit is over? There are so many abnormalities that must be adjudicated. I know the Republican board doesnt want to be remembered as the entity who led the charge to certify a fraudulent election. After sending information alleging fraud and shortly before the board voted to accept the election results she texted him, Sounds like your fellow Repubs are throwing in the towel. Very sad. And unAmerican. She texted Chucri, "Seems youre playing for the wrong team and people will remember. WRONG team. The records also include voicemails from Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani trying to reach several of the GOP supervisors. Chucri met with Giuliani when he was in Phoenix to air Trump's baseless fraud theories. If you get a chance, would you please give me a call, Giuliani said in a message to Gates. I have a few things Id like to talk over with you. Maybe we can get this thing fixed up. You know, I really think its a shame that Republicans sort of are both in this kind of situation. And I think there may be a nice way to resolve this for everybody. SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) Al and Carol Levine are very ready to bid farewell to the summer heat in their non-air-conditioned dry cleaning shop in South Sioux City. After 70 years in business, Levine Cleaners is set to close July 30 -- if not before, said Carol Levine, 75. The couple would like to retreat to the air conditioning as soon as possible. The hotter it is, every day I have to get up -- I just want it to be over, she added. The shop at 2116 Dakota Ave. remains open now for only one reason: so that customers can pick up their dry cleaning and repaired clothing before the couple turns the keys over to the buildings new owner. They stopped accepting cleaning and repair jobs some time ago -- Al ran his last load of dry-cleaning on June 11 -- and they want all the pants and coats and gowns and shirts picked up as soon as possible. Theyve done their best to reach out to the people who need to pick up their cleaning. Its not exactly an easy process. (Sometimes) the phones disconnected, or I wrote the number wrong, or they told me the wrong number -- Ive found some on Facebook, Carol told the Sioux City Journal. Scores of garments remain hanging through the shop, and they dont expect all of them to be claimed and paid for before they close -- they once held onto a coat for seven years before the customer came back for it. This time around, theyre not going to wait seven years for the last of the garments to be picked up. Weve got stuff here, three years old, four years old, Al Levine, 76, said over the loud hum of a box fan on a recent Saturday morning. The couple have sold their building, which dates to 1930, to an unnamed buyer. What theyre going to do with it, I dont know, Al said. I wouldnt be surprised if they tear it down, Carol added. Besides waiting for everyone to come in to pay for and haul away their cleaning, Al has kept himself occupied finding a new home for his front-window cactuses -- one of them about the height of a grown man -- and some of the special other things they dont have room for at home, like his homemade wooden picture frames. Theres also a lot of garbage they have to part ways with, like boxes of denim scraps. Levine Cleaners has operated in the same brick building along Dakota Avenue since 1951, when Als parents, Edwin Ed Levine and his wife, Ada, set up shop there. Al was about 7 years old when the store opened. Ed Levine, a native of Missouri who moved to Sioux City in 1934 and then to South Sioux City in 1938, got his start in the dry cleaning business probably in the late 1930s or early 1940s, Al said. (He wasnt entirely sure of the date because he wasnt born yet.) As the story goes, Ed Levine marched into the Cusack-Baumann laundry and dry cleaning shop on Pearl Street sometime before the war and asked for a job. He was told that, without any experience, the shop had no use for him. And my dad started walking away, and he turns around and says, How in the hell do you get experience? Al Levine said. And the guy says, You want to work, dont you? So Ed Levine started working in Cusacks laundry. Sometime thereafter, he went to work for another dry cleaner in the area where West Seventh Street becomes Villa Avenue. Later Ed Levine bought equipment and opened his own shop in South Sioux City, which he operated until his death in 1968 at age 57. Ada died the following year at 59. Al, who grew up in the business, took over the shop after his parents were gone. Carol started working there in 1972, because, she said, they couldnt keep a counter person. As it would happen, Al and Carol taking over the shop coincided with the beginning of a decades-long slump in the dry-cleaning business. At one time, they said, there were 12 or 15 dry cleaners in metro Sioux City. After the Levines close, there will be no dry cleaners in South Sioux City and only two left in Sioux City -- the Davenport Cleaners on Pierce Street, and the Bush Cleaners on Morningside Avenue. Al pinpoints the beginning of the dry-cleaning decline to 1969. At that time, synthetic fabrics like polyester were beginning to replace traditional materials like wool, silk, linen and rayon, that had been the basis for mens suits and coats and womens dresses for centuries (excluding rayon, which wasnt widely used until the 1910s). These traditional fabrics, while they each have their own strengths, often fared poorly in the washing machine and were thus a significant part of the backbone of the dry-cleaning trade. There was less reason to take polyester or cotton to be dry cleaned, unless the garment was uncommonly expensive or special in some way. Its been kind of steady, downhill since, Al said. Many of their older customers who had known Ed Levine, and who were in the habit of having their clothes dry-cleaned, have died. The industrys decline was accelerated by the turn toward increasingly relaxed, informal clothing that can be readily laundered at home. Im not in the business of doing birthday suits, Al joked. The shop in modern times was sustained by, among other things, these expensive holey jeans that people buy coming in for a cleaning, Al said, and sundry other special items, like show-choir dresses. Als self-taught skill at patching and repairing garments also helped -- he wasnt above repairing the (unintended) holes and rips in an old, inexpensive, even slightly stained, pair of blue jeans. One revenue stream the Levines declined to take advantage of was the apartment space in the buildings upper floor. It had been rented out years ago, but Al decided he didnt like the landlord business, so it was closed and sealed off. The pandemic made the dry-cleaners lot even worse, because for months on end many people had no need to wear neckties, suits or other dress wear that required dry cleaning. They were working at home, so they were wearing shorts and T-shirts, Carol said. Still, the Levines were able to eke out a living from the store. Up until the end, Al was still using the very-old Huebsch and Sol-Vic machines, purchased by Ed Levine in about 1965. Al had his own special dry-cleaning technique (or perhaps, recipe) involving solvents, mineral products and carbon black -- the shop didnt use perchloroethylene, a dry-cleaning solvent commonly known as perc, that has been suspected of causing cancer in dry-cleaning workers exposed to it constantly. The teal-colored machines, though still functional, were falling into a state of disrepair, with only Al himself being familiar enough with them to keep them humming. Im the only one that can probably run it, because its old and some of the parts arent working, so I have to do it manually, he said. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) State troopers have investigated 30 incidents involving gunfire so far this year on interstates in the Indianapolis area. Most of the incidents involved road rage, said state police who are urging motorists to use patience and be courteous while traveling over the July 4 holiday weekend. YORKVILLE, Tenn. (AP) State and county officials, organizers and activists gathered last Friday afternoon at the Yorkville Cemetery to celebrate an unsung hero of the womens suffrage movement, Representative Banks Turner from Gibson County, and to dedicate a historical marker to him that organizers say was long overdue. Tucked into the backdrop of endless rolling fields and a vibrant blue sky, attendees listened as organizers Gwen McReynolds, Paula Casey and others recounted how Turner saved the womens suffrage movement in the final hour, and how the marker came to be. This is so overdue, Casey said, adorned in the colors of the suffragist movementwhite, yellow and purpleand brandishing a Votes for Women pin. Banks Turners vote against tabling the motion was a surprise. And thats why Banks Turner is so importanthe kept it alive in the House. In June 1919, the 19th Amendment, which would give women the right to vote, was proposed to Congress. The amendment could not become law until a minimum of 36 of the then-48 states ratified it, however, and by July of 1920, only 35 states ratified it, with an additional three refusing to call sessions to debate it. That was when Tennessee stepped up to the plate. A session was called in August 1920, and after heated debates, the vote was tied 48 to 48. Two pivotal votes broke that tie: that of Turner, and Harry Burn from McMinn County. Without Turner, who had originally been against ratification, the motion would have been tabled and the 19th Amendment would not have come to pass. All American women vote today thanks to Tennessee, but it was especially thanks to Banks Turner, Casey said. It is remarkable. in the Senate, they had already voted for it. But the House was hard fought, and it came down to the final vote. And there were those who wanted to table itBut thanks to Banks Turner, since he changed his vote, he kept it alive and on the floor of the House. Casey, who is also the co-founder of the Tennessee Womens Suffrage Heritage Trail, as well as the state coordinator for the National Votes for Women Trail, was adamant that Turners vote was the final push needed for the suffragists hard-won battle. He kept the 19th Amendment alive, she said. If he had not voted against tabling it, it would have died. And theres no telling when women would have won the right to vote. McReynolds described how the idea for the marker came to be after she started doing family history. I learned Turner was the one who brought the 19th Amendment out of committee, so that it could be voted on and ratified! she laughed. I said, Mama, why didnt you tell me this? McReynolds then went to many other Yorkville residentsand found that no one else knew either. Truly an unsung hero, she said. Shortly after, the work on getting Turner a historical marker began. John Williams, another organizer and the driving force behind the marker, according to Reynolds, spoke to the crowd. I think one of the things that really influenced Turner were the women in his life, Williams said, describing Turners very well-educated sisters. I think that had a tremendous impact on him. Williams also described how the vote for ratification was completely bipartisan and predominately supported by young legislatorsas supporters of ratification and those who opposed it came from both political parties, with the key votes being cast by representatives in the late-20sto early-30s age range. That shows the power of young people, he said. Meg Hardee, political reporter for AP and the great-great niece of Banks Turner, also attended the event. Dressed in suffragist white and clutching a yellow rose, Hardee expressed her gratitude to everyone attending. I want to thank all of yall for coming out here, Hardee said. This is history that is obviously crucialnot just to Tennessee, but also to our country, and something that up until relatively recently, not many people knew about. Whenever we think about womens suffrage, and the ratificationyes that was 100 years ago, but pieces of those people are still very much alive in the people (affected by it). Thats how history is always living. Following brief remarks from state and county officials, attendees laid yellow roses at Turners grave. Although Turner did not live to see his pivotal role recognized, he now lies peacefully beside the marker to his tremendous influence. This history must be preserved, Casey said in closing. This marker is 50 years overdue. Its too important for us to gloss over. This is what democracy is all about. Today we celebrate a great Tennessean and a great American. American women won the right to votenobody gave it to them. They werent given anything. They fought and they persevered for three generations to win the right to vote. It was the greatest non-violent revolution in the history of our country, and I am so thrilled to be here to celebrate it. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) A Tennessee teenager has been charged with endangering police officers after a firework was launched at a Nashville Police helicopter. A police detective saw a man look up at the helicopter, go to his car to get a mortar tube and then fire a firework at the craft, Nashville Police said. The helicopter, the Nashville department's Air One, was flying at about 500 feet Friday night while working a street racing initiative. LODI, Calif. (AP) A 15-year-old boy is dead after being shot in a parking lot, California police said Saturday. Lodi police said in a statement they were dispatched shortly after 8 p.m. Friday and found the teen with a gunshot wound to his upper body. He was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he died. Officers are canvassing the area for witnesses and video surveillance. No other information was available. Lodi is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Sacramento. MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) Former President Donald Trump is appearing in a radio ad for U.S. Rep Mo Brooks as he tries to sway the outcome of the state's Senate race. Brooks' campaign said the ad began airing Friday. Hi Alabama, this is your favorite president, Donald Trump. Few Republicans have as much courage and fight as Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks. A friend of mine, Trump says in the ad. Trump has endorsed Brooks in the GOP primary for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Richard Shelby. Brooks is in what is expected to be a hard-fought battle for the Republican nomination. He is facing Katie Britt, the former president of the Business Council of Alabama and Shelby's former chief of staff, and Lynda Blanchard, a businesswoman who was Trumps ambassador to Slovenia. Shelby, one of the Senates most senior members, announced earlier this year that he would not seek reelection in 2022, igniting what is expected to be a messy GOP primary for the rare open seat. Brooks was fiercely criticized for telling a rally preceding the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that it was time to start taking down names and kicking ass. Brooks said the phrase was intended to fire up the crowd for the next election cycle and is being misconstrued as advocating the violence that ensued. ISTANBUL (AP) Turkeys foreign ministry has slammed a U.S. report on human trafficking that criticized Ankara for providing operational, equipment, and financial support to an armed militia in Syria that recruits child soldiers. In a statement late Friday, the Turkish foreign ministry said it completely rejects the claim and its record is clean. JACKSON, MIss. (AP) A Native American tribal council member in Mississippi has pleaded guilty to wire fraud. Roderick Bell, 42, of Philadelphia, admitted submitting phony hotel bills and receipts to the Mississippi Band of Choctaw government as business travel expenses between April and October of 2017, a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office said. He pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Jackson, and is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 6 before Judge Carlton Reeves on the single charge. It carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A federal grand jury had indicted Bell in February 2019 on charges of theft and wire fraud. PHILADELPHIA (AP) On her fifth day of crying over the death of her friend to COVID-19 this year, Cheryl Edwards realized she was dealing with too much grief and sought counseling. She expected to talk about death. Instead, the therapist asked Edwards about the beginning of her own life. I didnt realize how damaged and hurt I was until I started talking about it, Edwards said. She forced me to dig deep within myself and I hated what I saw because I never dealt with it. The immense loss Edwards, 53, went through over the last year three of her friends died from the pandemic led her to confront the first loss in life she ever suffered, that of her parents who abandoned her at birth. Edwards isnt sure how she came into this world, or when or where, but on Aug. 14, 1967, she was discovered inside a pillowcase hidden under a dresser in a vacant apartment of an otherwise occupied West Philadelphia rowhouse. She was naked, weighed 5 pounds, 7 ounces, and the umbilical cord that once tied her to her mother was cut but still attached. The residents of the building who found Edwards mistook her for a chicken and threw her away in a trash bin behind the house that night. Her story might have ended there, if not for the actions of one observant neighborhood resident whose curiosity saved Edwards life. Until two years ago, when Edwards contacted The Inquirer to see if the paper had written an article about the day she was found, the details of her first hours on this earth were a mystery to her. Many still are. Theres no worse feeling in the world than not knowing who your biological parents are. Its such an empty, empty feeling, Edwards said. Some people dont know one parent, but to not to know who both of them are, its like I was dropped out of the sky. Nobody knows anything. But somebody knows something, she said. The site where Edwards was found is now a vacant lot. The word dreams is painted on the sidewalk in front of the Dupree Studios. Just a joy Edwards earliest memories begin around the age of 5, when she was a little girl growing up in Overbrook as the seventh child of the late Ernest Lee Sr. and Susan Edwards. I had the best childhood, she said. We always went on summer vacations and Christmases were phenomenal. On Christmas mornings, the Edwardses would assign each of their children a chair or a portion of the sofa where they would leave all of their gifts covered up with a sheet, to be unveiled in a glorious fury of holiday elation. Longtime foster parents, Susan Edwards was a homemaker who loved children and Ernest Lee Edwards Sr. was a landlord who also worked at a dry cleaners and delivered blood. The Edwardses had six biological children of their own before taking in Cheryl when she was 3 months old. She was the first of five nonbiological children the couple raised. Edwards sister Laurette McNear, 65, of West Philadelphia, the eldest of the Edwardses biological children, was 12 when her parents took Cheryl into their family. She recalls Cheryl being a very little but very happy baby. She was just a joy, McNear said. As she grew up she was just a fun person. She could laugh, oh my gosh could she giggle. We used to call her Shaky Shoulders because she would laugh and her shoulders would just be going up and down. Destroyed by her own story Edwards didnt discover her mom and dad werent her biological parents until she was 9, when they told her she was abandoned as a baby and they wanted to officially adopt her. I thought, OK, sure, as long as I dont have to go anywhere, Edwards said. I didnt want to leave them. The day her parents took her to a lawyers office to finalize the adoption paperwork was a school day and when Edwards returned to her fourth-grade class at Overbrook Elementary School that afternoon, her teacher who was aware of why she had been absent asked her to stand in front of her class and tell everyone what happened. I said, I was legally adopted today, and the whole class clapped, she recalled. Back then I felt special because it was different. Nobody else in my class had that experience, and I got to dress up that day and my mom did my hair. But two years later, someone turned Edwards own story against her, making her question, for the first time, what being adopted meant. In sixth grade one girl got mad at me for something and said, You old adopted thing, Edwards said. Im 53 years old and thats still with me. That one cruel comment hit Edwards like a stone thrown at a pane of glass, leaving behind fractures and questions that only grew over time. And last year, the glass finally shattered. A person close to Cheryl with intimate knowledge of her story used it against her in an argument by asking Do you even know who your parents are? That crushed my soul. I couldnt say a word. I couldnt speak, she said. It took me a long time to even tell him my story and I had no idea he would use it against me like that. Edwards decided at that moment she wanted to reclaim her story so it could never be weaponized against her again. I said this is the second person who destroyed me with this information, so Im going to spin and make it positive, she said. But I dont think I would have ever done it if I didnt go to counseling. Angelle Richardson, a family therapist and assistant professor of community and trauma counseling at Thomas Jefferson University who specializes in adoption and was adopted herself, said the ability to tell ones own story is so important and when thats taken away, it can be traumatizing. And trauma can affect someone throughout their life in ways they may not realize until they enter therapy, she said. To be able to sit with someone who is trained to walk beside you, to help you process, to be a mirror, and to be someone whos not going to judge you can be so empowering, Richardson said. It can be such a place of relief. Named by a nurse For decades, the only documentation Edwards had about her early life and adoption were letters from the lawyer her parents hired to help them through the process and a one-page document her mother gave her when she was 18 from a caseworker at Philadelphias Department of Public Welfare, the predecessor to the Department of Human Services. The three-paragraph memo that Ernest Lee Sr. and Susan Edwards received when they took Cheryl into their care states she was found by neighbors in a vacant second-floor room of a rowhouse, but it offers few details about her discovery beyond that. When she was brought to the hospital by police, doctors estimated she was between 12 and 24 hours old. She had an abrasion and bruises on her left arm and inflammation of her left eye. The nurse at the hospital took very good care of Cheryl, the unsigned document reads. It was one of the nurses who named her. Cheryl, which derives from French, means darling or beloved. Not having a name or any kind of connection to my birth parents still bothers me to this day. I dont even know my real birth date, Edwards said, quietly crying, when asked what it was like to learn a nurse named her. Who doesnt know when their real birthday is? Its just this big question mark. Still, to this day, its like Who am I? According to the memo, efforts made by police to locate Edwards birth parents were unsuccessful and there were no leads to their identity. Edwards parents never discouraged her from trying to find her birth parents, and at various points in her life, shes undertaken the task, only to reach one roadblock after another. I didnt have a name or anything to go on, so it was like going down a rabbit hole, she said. But she never let the unanswered questions from her past stop her from doing anything other than moving forward, she said. After graduating from Overbrook High School in 1985, Edwards received a bachelors degree in business administration from Gwynedd Mercy University and pursued a career as a secretary, working locally for companies like Dow Chemical and CompuCon. She married her now ex-husband in 1992 and two years later, she became a mother herself, giving birth to her only child, a son, who is now 26. I always wanted him to feel loved and wanted, said Edwards, who is close with her son. I think, subconsciously, I didnt want him to feel the hurt I felt. In 2017, Edwards relocated to College Park, Md., where she now works for a water-quality company arranging interviews and travel accommodations for prospective hires. It was through her jobs employee-assistance program that Edwards sought counseling this year and told her story to a stranger for the first time. Before that, Edwards often confided in her sister McNear, a social worker who counsels foster parents, about how difficult it was to walk down the street in Philadelphia and not know if the person she was passing by was her mother. I know how painful it is to carry that weight, McNear said. It was everyday knowledge that there was that part of her story missing. DNA dilemma Over the years, Edwards has often thought about doing an ancestry kit, like 23andMe or AncestryDNA, to learn about her heritage and see if she could be genetically linked with any living relatives. But she always gets nervous and backs off because shes not sure what the response will be if she discovers she has blood relatives. Im afraid of their reaction, not mine, she said. Will they be receptive? I dont want to be rejected again. Thats the underlying issue. Richardson, the therapist, said its a valid fear. If you think about it, she was, for lack of a better word, rejected from birth, and so her worldview is a worldview that encompasses rejection and abandonment, Richardson said. So why would I set myself up to be rejected again? Efforts to uncover information about Edwards birth parents and the first three months of her life either through the hospital in which she was taken, the Philadelphia City Archives, or any social service or foster care records proved futile. Afraid to look inside Edwards cant recall now what made her reach out to The Inquirer in 2019 to see if the paper had written an article about the day she was found. Every once in a while I get this overwhelming feeling where I have to find something and then I drop it, she said. According to the article, which appeared in the Aug. 15, 1967, Inquirer an edition that included stories about the ongoing Vietnam War and mayoral debates between incumbent James H.J. Tate and District Attorney Arlen Specter Edwards was discovered in a house in the Mantua section of West Philly. News reports from the time describe Mantua as a community of more than 20,000 people besieged by poverty, rats, and violence (a 1969 article in the Philadelphia Tribune said Mantua had the highest crime rate of any section of the city). But it was also during the 60s that Mantua became home to The Young Great Society, a grassroots nonprofit founded by Herman Wrice and Andrew Jenkins that created more than 60 occupational, educational, cultural, health, and other programs for youth and adults throughout the neighborhood, including a thrift shop, day care, and an orphanage. It was around 8 p.m. on Aug. 14, 1967, that a 15-year-old boy named James Drain who lived at 3616 Haverford Ave. went in to get his bicycle from a vacant second-floor room where he stored it in the building where he lived. When he opened the door, he heard a noise coming from inside. I heard something that sounded like a chicken, he told The Inquirer. I got scared and ran downstairs and called my mother. Identified in the article only as Mrs. Drain, 56, James Drains mother accompanied him to the room and discovered the pillowcase under the dresser. She too believed the noise coming from it sounded like the clucking of a chicken. Frightened, she called another resident of the building, George Ikard, 61. Ikard had heard noises coming from the room three days prior. But I never pay any attention, he said. I just want to listen to my ballgame. Once he finally did enter the room, at Mrs. Drains request, Ikard pulled the pillowcase and its kicking contents out from beneath the dresser and put it in the trash behind the building. He never looked inside. He was too afraid, he told a reporter. But one person was not. And that person saved Edwards life. Margaret Rogers, 50, another resident of the building, saw Ikard place the writhing pillowcase in the trash. Curious, Rogers went to the trash, pulled the pillowcase out, and discovered Edwards inside. Oh my God. Its a baby! she said. Rogers took Edwards into her home and heated up milk for her as Mrs. Drain called the police. Edwards was taken to Philadelphia General Hospital, while authorities searched for her birth parents. If you see the doctors at the hospital, tell them I want it, Rogers told The Inquirer reporter. To the best of Edwards knowledge, she never saw Rogers again. An urge to live As Edwards read the details of her own story for the first time, she was gutted. The thing that bothered me most was that I was thrown in the trash, she said. But Edwards also found people to admire in the story, like James Drain, the teen who went to get help instead of going about his business, and, of course, Margaret Rogers, who was the first person on this earth to care for her. I know shes probably long gone by now, but I owe her my life, Edwards said. When her thoughts turn to her birth parents, several scenarios come to Edwards mind. She wonders if her mother was young and terrified. She wonders if she was pregnant by a married man. She wonders if she was raped. She wonders about all of the possibilities, all of the time. As hurtful as this has been for me, over time Ive tried to put myself in her shoes. Its a womans choice to have a child. I wonder what her choices were, Edwards said. Did she just see no other way out, that this is all she could do? There had to be a reason, and its a reason Ill never know. An article from the Aug. 19, 1967, edition of the Philadelphia Tribune offered additional details about Edwards discovery. In that piece, Rogers name is listed as Margaret Rogers Booker and shes identified as a nurse who lived nearby on the 3600 block of Brandywine Street. O my God I just love the baby; she had an urge to live, she told a Tribune reporter. The quote hit hard for Edwards, who sees herself as a survivor and a fighter, but what hit her even harder was the last, unattributed line of the Tribune story. Doctors at PGH said the girl weighed 5 pounds. It is being detained there while police attempt to locate the childs mother, who is believed to be only 15 years old. When Edwards heard that detail for the first time recently, she openly wept for minutes on end. She was young, Edwards said, through her tears. Stigma for mothers Lori Bruce, a policy analyst and ethicist who serves as associate director of Yale Universitys Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, has studied infant abandonment and said that in all likelihood, Edwards birth mother felt as if she had no option. Many of these women feel that they do not have any sort of choice, she said. We see it happening across socioeconomic classes and across cultures, women can face intolerable social or economic consequences from being pregnant. Traditionally, theres this great stigma mothers are supposed to give everything to their children, but sometimes they dont have any more to give. From 2016 to 2020, 18 infants under 28 days old were abandoned in Philadelphia, according to the Philadelphia Department of Human Services. Its unclear if any of those cases involved a child being turned over through the states Safe Haven Law, a DHS spokesperson said, because the department does not have a separate data code for Safe Haven cases. Safe Haven Laws which, by 2008, had been passed in every state allow someone to relinquish an infant at a designated place like a hospital or police station without facing prosecution. But the laws vary widely from state to state when it comes to how old the infant can be, who can drop the baby off, and where the drop-offs may occur. In Pennsylvania, parents can relinquish infants up to 28 days old at hospitals, police stations, and EMS stations without facing prosecution, so long as the infant is not injured. While the city does not track Safe Haven cases, the state Department of Human Services 2019 Child Abuse Report said that between 2002, when the law was enacted, and 2019, 46 infants were relinquished statewide. Only five of those cases occurred in Southeast Pennsylvania. Bruce said the issue with Safe Haven Laws is they protect the infant, but not the mother. As legislatures created these laws, they often sought insight from existing power structures, like law enforcement and hospital administration officials, but rarely from the people who may be most affected by the laws at-risk women. As opposed to thinking about how can we help these women find a way to be stable enough that they wouldnt ever have to consider this horrific position, instead it was Lets fix this by helping those babies get into safe homes of people who have demonstrated economic and social security, Bruce said. The problem is that if women dont follow the letter of the law perfectly, they can be prosecuted, and sometimes they are. Connection found The Mantua house where Edwards was discovered in 1967 was demolished sometime between the fall of 2018 and the summer of 2019. The now-vacant lot is across the street from artist James Duprees vibrantly painted Dupree Studios. Today, many of the residents of this changing neighborhood, including students from nearby universities, werent even born in 1967. But every Philly neighborhood has at least one local armchair historian, someone whos stayed on the block, even as the neighborhood around them changed. A man in his 60s out walking his Yorkie recently knew just such a resident, who lives around the corner and a block from where Edwards was found. This is the guy, he said. If anybody knows anything, itll be him. From the start, Edwards knew it was unlikely any of the adults mentioned in news reports about her discovery would be alive today. The man who placed her in the trash, George Ikard, would be 115; the woman who pulled her from it, Margaret Rogers Booker, would be 104, and Mrs. Drain, who called the police, would be 110. But Edwards hoped James Drain, the boy who first heard her cry, might still be around. Hed be 69 today. The longtime resident came to the door and listened to a reporter share Edwards story. When he heard James Drains name he stopped cold. My name is Drain, he said. Lionel Drain. James, he said, was his cousin, and he died more than a decade ago. But up until his death, James Drain lived in that house on Haverford Avenue where he found Edwards all those years ago, Lionel Drain said. He vaguely remembered his cousin finding a newborn baby, and thinks he may have even received some kind of award for it. He said James Drain went on to have a daughter of his own, but he couldnt recall her name. Oh, theres one more thing, he said. James was adopted. Efforts to locate other relatives of Drain, or any relatives for George Ikard and Margaret Rogers Booker were unsuccessful. While Edwards was disheartened to learn shed never have a chance to meet the first person who found her, she was struck that she shared something so personal in common with him. Wow, thats really something, she said. James was adopted, too. Still seeking Until today, Edwards has shared her story with only a handful of people. She reached back out to The Inquirer this year to reclaim her story, to seek closure, and to tell others who have been abandoned at birth that they are not alone. I am a firm believer you go through things in your life for a reason, and you might go through things to help somebody else get through it, she said. I want people to know that even if you had a messed-up start, you dont have to end up that way. Edwards said she hopes her story reaches a young woman who may be pregnant and scared and not know what to do. This story is not just about me, its also about a mother who made a decision, and there are plenty of mothers who are in that same boat who dont really know what to do, she said. If you do find yourself pregnant, its not the childs fault. Give them a fair chance. I can honestly say Im glad whoever my biological mother was, she gave me a chance, the chance to let somebody find me. If her biological mother is alive today and reads her story, Edwards wants her to know she doesnt hate her. She would like to meet her, and hear her story, too. Theres a part of me, as hurt as I am, that still has a feeling for her, she said, because I am a part of her. ___ Online: https://bit.ly/2SBceof Gearing up their fire prevention efforts ahead of the Fourth of July, fire and police officials are noting that all types of fireworks including those the state fire marshal has labeled "safe," are banned in many places. Just three cities In Alameda County permit the use of any type of fireworks, compared with two in San Mateo, one in Santa Clara and none in many Bay Area counties, according to CalFire. "Fireworks are illegal in the City of Hayward and the Fairview Fire Protection District," that city said in a statement Saturday. "Seriously. No fireworks. Zip. Zero." Brentwood police and East Contra Costa Fire Protection District noted in a video that even sparklers can cause fires and injure people using them. In Oakland, the police department said, anyone found in possession of fireworks, including those labeled "safe and sane" under state guidelines, faces a $1,000 fine. Larger quantities of fireworks (and larger fireworks) draw larger penalties. Police said that, upon investigating a tip Wednesday that someone was selling fireworks in East Oakland, they arrested "an individual" with 100 pounds of fireworks and $38,000 in cash. Anyone who sees someone using or in possession of fireworks can call the Oakland Police Department Fireworks Tip Line at (510) 777-8814, and Oakland residents can surrender fireworks for disposal at six fire stations across the city. Residents of Santa Clara who know of a specific place that fireworks are being used is urged to call police there at (408) 615-5580. And Los Padres National Forest, scene of last month's Willow Fire, noted that campfires are prohibited outside of developed campgrounds and said anyone who causes a wildfire may be liable for the cost of fighting it. The forest service noted an "alarming rise" in illegal campfires across California's national forests. A list of all 297 cities statewide where "safe and sane" fireworks are permitted can be found at http://www.ca-fireworks.presskit247.com/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=508. Additional information on fireworks regulation is available at https://www.readyforwildfire.org/more/fireworks-safety/ Copyright 2021 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. Copyright 2021 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. With Hawaii tourism fully roused from its pandemic slumber, many with ties to the industry are hoping visitors will open their eyes and ears to the importance of preserving tradition. Our culture and the land are one and the same. Without the land, there is no culture, explains Kainoa Daines, director of culture and product development at the Hawaii Convention & Visitors Bureau. Daines recently helped develop the agencys Malama Hawaii (Care for Hawaii) program, which encourages visitors to participate in a variety of cultural and environmental activities and, in some cases, receive hotel discounts in return. A lot of people feel, I saved for my whole life to come on this trip to Hawaii, and I can understand they feel entitled, says Daines. But they need to come with an open heart. Come here and be part of the community. More: Boeing 737 cargo plane goes down in water off Oahu. Two pilots were onboard. Read more. Reserve a $75 cabin in Hawaii's beloved Haleakala National Park on Maui. The wilderness cabins are set within one of the most dramatic settings imaginable: inside the crater of a 10,000-foot volcano. Read more. The famed Coco Palms Resort set to be demolished. Both Miss Sadie Thompson, starring Rita Hayworth, and Blue Hawaii,'' starring Elvis Presley, were filmed there. Read more. Hawaiian Air has plan to send sun-seekers to another archipelago. Hawaiian Airlines said it will resume service between Honolulu and Papeete, Tahiti. Read more. Last week's top story: I went to Aulani, Disney's luxury Hawaii resort, in the pandemic. Here's what it was like. Read more. On Hawaii is curated by Jasmine Garnett and Fiona Lee. Email Garnett at Jasmine.Garnett@sfgate.com and Lee at Fiona.Lee@sfgate.com. You are now listening to the sounds of the New Generation. A podcast created for those who desire a new way of gaining information rather than reading a traditional newspaper. In our show we will discuss everything from sports, pop culture, politics, and local news. To stay up to date on our latest episodes every week be sure to follow us on your favorite podcast service. And dont worry, we keep it short. June 18 was a magical evening for many area daughters as they put on their prettiest dresses and costume jewelry, and accompanied their father Unlimited website access 24/7 Unlimited e-Edition access 24/7 The best local, regional and national news in sports, politics, business and more! With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. Ludington, MI (49431) Today Mostly cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. To prevent the spread of disease, such as salmonella, bird enthusiasts should consider eithe New Delhi: Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL), the mining firm under the Ministry of Mines has declared its annual results for FY 2020-21. The company reported a total income Rs 1,821.61 crores for the fiscal as against Rs 888.81 crore in the previous fiscal. Net profit zoomed to Rs 109.98 crore for the reported fiscal as against a loss of Rs 569.21 crores for FY 19-20. Nasheed became the Maldives' first president to be elected democratically. He is also known internationally for his liberal and secular views. Nasheed had turned the global spotlight on the climate change threat faced by small island nations by organising the world's first cabinet meeting under the sea, also bringing attention to the country's pristine beaches. The South Asia Monitor says: "Taking to Twitter on Friday, he (Nasheed) noted that there was hostile and disrespectful rhetoric being spread in the Maldives. He also advised opposition parties not to spread hatred against India". Fuelled by some of the opposition parties, anti-Indian sentiment has been growing in the Maldives -- as witnessed in the local media and also the social media. The opposition parties have been mounting an "India Out" campaign in the nation, making the Indian diplomatic community feel unsafe. The Indian High Commission even wrote a letter to the Maldivian Foreign Ministry highlighting personal attacks on Indian envoys in the local media. The current Maldivian government, led by President Ibrahim Solih, is close to the Indian dispensation led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Even as India under its 'Neighbourhood First' policy is strengthening developmental and financial ties with Maldives, the archipelagic nation under Solih has restored the traditional "India First" policy after coming to power in 2018. Solih and Nasheed have to face fire from orthodox elements in the opposition for distancing from China and restoring relations with India. Growing Islamic radicalisation in the nation has not helped the cause for India. On May 6, Nasheed faced a targeted assassination attempt when an improvised explosive device (IED) placed on a bike exploded near his car. The IED was packed with ball bearings to cause maximum damage. After emergency care in Maldives, a critical Nasheed was rushed to Germany for treatment. Maldives arrested a number of suspects for the blast and Australian agencies joined in for investigations. Even as the investigations are on, the assassination attempt is suspected to be the handiwork of the opposition or the radical elements. Dr Adil Rasheed, Research Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi, and a well-known counter-terrorism expert says: "It would be more alarming if the people involved in the attempt on Nasheed's life are found to be regular homegrown radicals and not the non-State jihadist affiliates, lurking on the fringes of Maldivian society. The problem of violent extremism would then appear to be more serious and widespread". (This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative/ "A total of 20 Taliban rebels and three soldiers have been killed in Badakhshan over the past 24 hours," Razaq confirmed to local media. Faizabad (Afghanistan) July 3 (IANS) A heavy fighting between government forces and Taliban rebels broke out in Afghanistan's northern Badakhshan province, killing 20 Taliban militants and three soldiers, an army officer in the province Captain Abdul Razaq said on Saturday. Ten more insurgents and five security personnel had been injured, the officer added. In the meantime, some locals on the condition of anonymity said that the Taliban fighters had captured the headquarters of Tagab, Kishim, Tashkan and Shahr-e-Buzarg districts of Badakhshan over the past 24 hours, the Xinhua news agency reported. However, Badakhshan's provincial government spokesman Nik Mohammad Nazari in talks with Xinhua has denied the fall of the districts to the Taliban militants, saying that the fighting has been continuing. Taliban militants have intensified activities since the start of the pullout of US-led forces from Afghanistan on May 1. --IANS int/rs By Marina LAPENKOVA MOSCOW (AFP) -- Six decades after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth, earning Moscow a key win in the Cold War, Russia is again in a space race with Washington. This time though the stakes are somewhat glitzier. On October 5, one of Russia's most celebrated actresses, 36-year-old Yulia Peresild is blasting off to the International Space Station (ISS) with film director Klim Shipenko, 38. Their mission? Shoot the first film in orbit before the Americans do. If their plan falls into place, the Russians are expected to beat Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise and Hollywood director Doug Liman, who were first to announce their project together with NASA and Space X, the company of billionaire Elon Musk. "I really want us to be not only the first but also the best," Peresild told AFP, with the clock ticking down to the planned October 5 blast-off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Call -- the Russian project's working title -- was announced in September last year, four months after the Hollywood project. But apart from its grand ambitions, little is known about the film. Doctor who? Its plot, which has been kept under wraps by the crew and Russia's space agency, has been revealed by Russian media outlets to feature a doctor dispatched urgently to the ISS to save a cosmonaut. Nor has The Call's budget been disclosed. But it's no secret that travel to space is a costly business: one seat on a Soyuz rocket to the ISS usually costs NASA tens of millions of dollars. Hinting at the film's aesthetic direction, one big name on the credit list is Konstantin Ernst, the 60-year-old head of the overtly Kremlin-friendly Channel One television network. Ernst has stage-managed some of the most important moments in Russia's recent political history and of President Vladimir Putin's career: military parades, inaugurations, the opening ceremony of the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi. Dmitry Rogozin, the outspoken head of Russia's Roscosmos space agency, will also feature when the credits role in theatres throughout the country. He is not known for prominence in the film industry, but rather for presiding over an agency plagued by stagnation and corruption -- and for publicly sparring with Musk on Twitter. 'Propaganda tool' For Rogozin, 57, the film is a way to project stature as Roscosmos loses ground in technological advancement to US rivals. But it is also part of a geopolitical battle his country is engaged in with Washington, according to a recent interview he gave to a Moscow tabloid. "Cinema was long ago turned into a powerful propaganda tool," he told popular daily Komsomolskaya Pravda in June. His assessment of the role of film comes at a time when the relationship between Moscow and Washington has frayed to the point of resembling the standoff of the Cold War. Rogozin said in the interview that Cruise and Liman had initially approached Roscosmos in early 2020 to collaborate on the film. But, he said, unnamed "political forces" pressured them to give up on the idea of working with the Russians. "I understood after this that space is big politics," he told the paper. "It was then that an idea appeared to make the film". Representatives of Cruise did not respond to AFP requests for comment. 'Not a superhero' In preparation for this 21st-century space race, Peresild has since late May been undergoing intensive training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City outside Moscow. When she spoke to AFP, she had already managed the centrifuge and would be getting trained in how to survive in hostile environments for when she plummets back to Earth in a Soyuz capsule on October 17. Still, she is focused on the task at hand. The tiny film set of the ISS will be a challenging space in which to work, particularly for the director, who will also handle the cameras, lighting, sound and make-up. "We will have to film in space what it is not possible to shoot on Earth," she says. Peresild said that unlike many other Soviet children who grew up with Gagarin's feats looming large, she never dreamed of going to space. She admits to feeling "afraid" when she was selected for the job from a pool of 3,000 candidates. "I am not a superhero," she told AFP. She said she had drawn inspiration from children involved in her Galchonok foundation that supports young people with disabilities. "For them, picking up a spoon is like going to space for me." They "must believe in the impossible". Thinking of what to do after graduation? Looking to seamlessly transition from a medical student into a full-fledged junior doctor? The 7th Malaysian Medical Summit (MMS) 2021 will be held virtually from July 17 to 18, from 9am to 5pm via Zoom with the theme "Medicine: Bridging with Multiverse". Set up in 2013 as a non-profit association by medical undergraduates, Malaysian Medics International (MMI) is organizing a two-day virtual conference that features keynote addresses by a distinguished panel of medical experts and leading figures from the countrys healthcare and medical education institutions. The summit will feature prominent healthcare professionals including Dr Vijay Ganasan (chairman of MMA SCHOMOS), Dr Kelvin Yii (MP Bandar Kuching) and Nisha Ayub (award-winning transgender activist and co-founder of SEED Malaysia). On the other hand, the virtual pre-summit workshop to call for resolution on issues faced by housemen in Malaysia will take place earlier on July 10, and will feature esteemed guest speakers including Dr Azrul Mohd Khalib (head and founder of Galen Centre, Health and Social Policy), Mas Mahathir (managing director of Mahathir Academy of Public Speaking), Dr Mohd Arham bin Mohd Noor (principal assistant director at Medical Development Division, MOH), Dr Kevin Ng Wei Shan (deputy secretary, Malaysian Medical Association MMA), Dr Arulalan Tan Sri Kumaran (director of Policy and International Relations Division of Malaysian Medical Council MMC) and many more. Malaysian Medical Summit (MMS) aims to create a platform for key policy makers from the Health Ministry to engage medical students on the latest issues and challenges faced by industry professionals. The annual flagship event offers plenary lectures, panel discussions and workshops that challenge delegates, ranging from the future of telemedicine and artificial intelligence, healthcare for the LGBTQ+ community, contract doctor system, housemanship and alternative career pathways. There will also be an exclusive two-hour session MMS General Assembly (GA) on July 18 aimed at producing and presenting a memorandum to bring change to our healthcare system through the collective voice of medical students and doctors from all over Malaysia. The delegates will dissect, discuss and debate on the various issues affecting the housemanship training system in Malaysia today, in which the resolution achieved at the conclusion of the event will be submitted to representative from the Ministry of Health Dr Shahrum bt Ismail (deputy director, Medical Development Division). Other events include an interactive medical quiz which will be held on the second day to encourage inter-varsity involvement. The participation fee for the two-day summit is RM40. Visit the MMS 2021 website or Malaysian Medical Summit (MMS) 2021 on Facebook, or e-mail [email protected] for more information. KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 (Sin Chew Daily) -- Umno ministers met with the party's MPs Friday and managed to secure the agreement of 35 MPs to uphold the resolution passed in Umno general assembly to support the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government until parliament is dissolved. Sin Chew Daily learned that Umno vice president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri, who is also Defence Minister, met up with Umno MPs who are ministers and deputy ministers, while Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein met up with Umno MPs without ministerial posts, to discuss about upholding resolution passed in the Umno general assembly to support Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin until the parliament is dissolved. Umno currently has 38 parliamentary seats. The three MPs who did not show up were former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Umno advisor Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. Quoting sources, Astro Awani reported that 35 Umno MPs were in a meeting last night and agreed to uphold the resolution passed in the Umno general assembly held in March to support the PN government. Earlier, Utusan Malaysia also quoted reliable sources from Umno that the party's central leadership met with its MPs in stages to request them to sign a declaration to withdraw from the PN government before 1 August. During the Umno general assembly held in March, the delegates passed the resolution for Umno and Barisan Nasional MPs to continue supporting PN government until parliament is dissolved. The resolution also requested the government to call for election after the Emergency is over. Two MPs, Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub (Machang) and Datuk Seri Nazri Abd Aziz (Padang Renggas) had openly retracted their support for the PN government led by Muhyiddin. However, Nazri changed his stand on June 24, claiming that he was misled by Ahmad Zahid. He said he would abide by the resolution passed in the party's general assembly. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says there are green shoots in the pattern of COVID-19 cases in NSW that give her greater confidence Sydneys lockdown can end later this week as planned, despite the 35 new cases announced on Saturday. Of those, only nine were moving about the community for their entire infectious period, compared with 12 of the 31 cases announced on Friday. NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant and several health experts said reducing that figure was key to exiting the lockdown. Revellers at Bondi Beach on Saturday, as Sydney recorded 35 new local cases. Credit:Brook Mitchell The Sun-Herald understands the number of new cases recorded in the 24 hours to 8pm on Saturday to be confirmed on Sunday decreased significantly with very few mystery cases, suggesting the Greater Sydney lockdown was working. We have seen the tide turn. We have seen those green shoots, Ms Berejiklian said on Saturday. While, as predicted, the number of cases is going up, we are seeing a greater proportion of those cases in isolation, which is exactly what we want to see. A man has been charged with 16 child abuse-related offences following an investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl in Sydneys south-west. Detectives from the State Crime Commands Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad established Strike Force Mannow to investigate reports a teenage girl had been sexually assaulted in the Bankstown area in May last year. Liverpool police station. Credit:Simon Bennett Following extensive inquiries, a 30-year-old man was arrested by detectives at Liverpool Police Station on Friday. Police will allege in court the man sexually assaulted the teenage girl, then aged 13, on multiple occasions between April 2020 and May 2020. Leaks in Sydneys hotel quarantine system have not coincided with higher numbers of positive COVID-19 cases in those hotels, a Sun-Herald analysis has shown, as NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian criticised national cabinets decision to cut Australias intake of international arrivals in half. The decision came as the number of overseas acquired cases in NSW reached their lowest levels in recent months, even though the state processes 3000 people through its quarantine system each week. Instances of the Delta variant in returned travellers have also declined. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she was disappointed national cabinet decided to halve Australias international arrivals. Credit:Brook Mitchell From July 14, Sydney will take only 1505 returning travellers into its hotel quarantine system each week. An additional arrivals 500 will come through Melbourne, 500 through Brisbane, 265 through Perth and 265 through Adelaide. Since the end of November, NSW has detected as many as 61 cases (in the week ending May 1) and as few as 12 (most recently in the week ending June 5) within its weekly allocation of 3000 arrivals. Young Sydney teachers have sought out AstraZeneca shots after Prime Minister Scott Morrison said anyone under the age of 40 could talk to their GP about receiving the vaccine, as their union and the states education minister continue to ask why they were not prioritised in the national rollout. The rush to get vaccinated comes amid concern about the transmissibility of the Delta variant of COVID-19 among children. Year 4 teacher Julia Ralton booked in an AstraZeneca vaccine at her local GP on Monday night after Mr Morrisons remarks. The 26-year-old from Ryde received her first dose the next day. Year 4 teacher Julia Ralton had her first shot of AstraZeneca on Tuesday. Credit:Rhett Wyman As teachers, we are exposed to so many people and I didnt want to have to wait until the end of the year to get the vaccine given this Delta variant, she said. We are in school holidays and it doesnt seem like we arent returning to school next week. Queensland has been spared any further lockdowns for now, with measures easing from 6pm on Saturday, despite a handful of new cases being recorded, as contact tracers become confident they are getting ahead of the latest outbreaks. The state recorded eight new cases on Saturday, five of those in the community, however Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said authorities were now in a position to lift the remaining lockdowns for Brisbane, Moreton Bay and Townsville local government areas, which were extended for 24 hours on Friday. Weve had the last four days to really get hold of people and work it through, she said. And because I think Queenslanders know what to do they have been doing this now for 18 months, and weve got more things at our disposal. So, Im comfortable that if people wear their masks, if they maintain their social distancing were going back to where we were after we had done all those lockdowns earlier in the pandemic. So, its really about people being sensible, which I know people are. Queensland has avoided any further extension to the snap lockdown of parts of the state, despite a handful of new cases on Saturday, with contact tracers urgently working to find the final links that will tie all the cases together. Eight new cases were announced on Saturday, five of them from community transmission. Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young says whether this lockdown is Queenslands last depends on the vaccination rate. Credit:Getty One was a Sunshine Coast University worker who had already been reported on Friday night, while another was a man from Brisbane who had travelled to Eumundi on the Sunshine Coast on June 27 and visited a number of locations. There was also a known contact of the Portuguese restaurant cluster, a woman in her 50s who works at the Prince Charles Hospital, and a man who works at Brisbane Airport as a baggage handler. I had lunch with friends at a Melbourne restaurant this week. Something that once seemed normal and now feels like a rare privilege. And then, faster than one could say pass the breadbasket our conversation turned to the federal governments bungled vaccine rollout. On Monday, the Prime Minister encouraged Australians under the age of 60 to have a conversation with their GPs about having the AstraZeneca vaccine. The very next day, the Australian Medical Association responded saying that it did not endorse the Prime Ministers view. The AMA President, Dr Omar Khorshid, added that it had taken the organisation by surprise. Information about vaccination has never been so plentiful and so confusing. Credit:Nick Moir Theyre not the only ones. For many of the lunch guests it felt like whiplash. The table of 30-somethings was united in confusion but we also had wildly varying responses in terms of what we might do. One friend told me she still wasnt sure if she was eligible for a vaccine, and if so which one, but shed definitely consider AstraZeneca. Another wasnt at all confident and refused to get anything but Pfizer. A few days later, one of our party posted a just had my jab selfie on Instagram, with a not-very-funny joke about blood clotting. But while I shared that hope in the moment, my optimism was shattered only hours later when I read the comments made by the Prime Minister, who had crudely boasted: It is good and right, Mr Speaker, that so many are able to gather here in this way, whether in our capital or elsewhere, and to do so peacefully to express their concerns and their very genuine and real frustrations Not far from here, such marches, even now, are being met with bullets, but not here in this country. This is a triumph of democracy when we see these things take place. Was this really what our Prime Minister had to say in response to this historic call from his constituents? Leadership matters, and a lack of meaningful and effective leadership at the highest level of government on violence against women is the biggest barrier to achieving genuine reform. The Prime Ministers reaction, which is the type of dismissive reaction that has been offered by many in positions of power and influence, to allegations of violence against women in every corner of the country, from Parliament House to Australian households, tells me that this is both a crisis and a source of national shame. We are in a stalemate in which the prevalence of rates of violence against women are stubbornly persistent. While we have had moments of widespread despair, collective calls to action, and some sustained periods of media attention on the issue, our national response quite simply has not been good enough. Domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen It is not good enough, for instance, that it has now been seven years since eleven-year-old Luke Batty was killed by his father, Greg Anderson, and we are yet to see any meaningful institutional, structural and attitudinal change at the national level, something that Lukes mother, 2015 Australian of the Year Rosie Batty, has campaigned so hard for. While Rosie Batty paved a significant path forward, there has nonetheless been both a lack of progress and the continuity of mens violence in Australia. Indeed, women and children continue to be killed at the same rate as in 2014 and these cases are just the tip of the iceberg, a devastating level of destruction in the lives of women and children experiencing domestic and family violence. Violence against women is an issue that often seems to be as invisible as it is pernicious. One thing that is abundantly clear to me is that sustained national leadership on violence against women is needed to point (and fund) the way forward, but at present we have a leadership vacuum. The responses of the federal leaders who spoke in the wake of recent allegations of sexual violence in Parliament House were found wanting. As for those federal leaders who remained silent, and there are notable ones in the political ranks, their lack of courage and conviction on this issue also has been noted. I can only hope that 2021 is the catalyst year for the transformative change we so desperately need to address violence against women in Australia. On average, at least one woman is killed by male violence each week in Australia. According to Counting Dead Women, a brilliant volunteer community group that maintains a public register of women killed by mens violence in Australia, 55 women died in 2020 alone. At this years March 4 Justice in Melbourne, a scroll of 868 names was unrolled in front of the stage, each name representing a woman killed by mens violence in Australia during the last 10 years. There were names on the list that I knew well, from cases that I had researched in the field and from coverage in the media. But those I recognised were eclipsed by the ones I didnt know. Relatively few domestic homicides command national attention in this country. The harsh reality is that deaths like these are usually too commonplace to be considered newsworthy. I appreciate the impracticality of the media covering every case of intimate partner homicide. And in some cases, keeping a crime out of the public spotlight may even be the wish of the victims family and friends. But the silence surrounding some womens deaths when compared with the exposure received by others sits uncomfortably with me. Every womans life matters. In addition, when we focus only on deaths, we do not capture the full extent of the problems that lurk beneath. The prevalence of domestic, family and sexual violence is difficult to quantify given that acts of violence against women so often go unreported to the police. This applies to almost nine in ten incidents of sexual assault, according to a recent national survey. When asked why they did not report such abuse, just over a third of the women respondents said they believed they could deal with the incident themselves, while another third said they did not regard the incident as a serious offence. Even more concerning, a quarter of the women cited feelings of shame or embarrassment as factors contributing to their unwillingness to go to the police. It is a dire reflection of contemporary community attitudes that the majority of women still carry the burden of shame for the sexually violent actions of men. These statistics are even more alarming when you consider that, Australia-wide, police respond to a family or domestic violence incident every two minutes. Despite these high numbers, in too many instances that call is never made. Keeping those caveats around under-reporting in mind, consider what is known about the frequency of different forms of violence against women. One of the more reliable prevalence estimates we have is the Australian Bureau of Statistics Personal Safety Survey, which provides a national overview of the violence experienced by Australians aged 15 years and older, specifically in the 12 months immediately prior to the survey. According to the latest findings: One in six women has experienced physical or sexual violence by a current or previous partner since the age of 15, which is equal to 1.6 million Australian women. One in four women has experienced emotional abuse by a current or previous partner since the age of 15, which is equal to 2.2 million Australian women. One in six women was physically or sexually abused before they were 15 years old, which is equal to 1.5 million Australian women. We must be prepared to confront the fact that the attitudes that underpin misogynistic actions also underpin the very worst violence that men perpetrate against women. For a long time, women have understood this correlation, and while it is a far more complex and long-term problem to address than many realise, women and men must commit to doing so. Our efforts must be concentrated on dealing with attitudinal misogyny and widespread gender inequalities as the drivers of violence against women in Australia. Leading academics have referred to a continuum of violence. While mens violence against women can take many different forms, be it physical, coercive and controlling, sexualised, intimidatory, or focused on property or pets, for example, all of these are underpinned and linked by the male desire for power and control over women. To understand the root causes of mens violence against women is to begin to identify a pathway towards prevention and ultimately elimination. We cannot focus our attention on the quick wins that criminal justice reform provides. While there is a role for agencies such as the police, courts and corrections, it must be viewed as a contained and inherently limited one. The criminal justice system is a blunt tool, and by nature it is reactive, not preventative. Loading If we wait until women call the police or police intervention is required, then we are quite simply accepting that women will experience intimate partner violence. We are resigning ourselves to always becoming involved after the fact. What I am calling for here is a commitment to prevention and to the elimination of violence against women. There will always be a need for an effective and well-funded response system, but we must ensure it does not come at the cost of investing in prevention. We must learn from the last decade, but at the same time demand more for the next one. There have undoubtedly been achievements, and family violence is certainly now part of the national conversation. But the change we ultimately need, a deep-seated change in community attitudes and gender inequality, is proving stubbornly slow to materialise. Transformative leadership requires the creation of genuine partnerships with the community, experts in the field, and importantly, victim-survivors. The engagement must lead to meaningful ways of bringing diverse views to the table and privileging them in decision-making. It is time to be bold. Too many Australians have come to accept violence against women in a multitude of settings as part and parcel of everyday life, and this absolutely needs to change. The elimination of all forms of violence against women must be the end goal. In 2015, when the Victorian Government announced it was directing $36 million towards the establishment of the first Royal Commission into Family Violence, it began to address known failings in the statewide family violence system, failings that contributed to the killings of Luke Batty, Kelly Thompson and many others. In the years since the royal commission reported its findings, the Victorian government has committed itself to implementing all 227 recommendations, and it has dedicated substantive funding to accomplish this. Approximately $4 billion in funding was committed to delivering the royal commissions road map for reform in the first five years. That $4 billion is more than the total funding committed to family violence across all other Australian states and territories and federally. Frighteningly, the Victorian services responding to family violence victim-survivors and people who use violence still turn women away because they do not have the resources to support them. At the same time, mens behaviour-change programs report long waiting lists and unanswered calls due to the underfunding of the services needed to hold perpetrators to account and to keep them in view. Federal and state Liberal MPs say they have not witnessed the culture of sexism and misogyny within the party portrayed by former federal MP Julia Banks in her new book, in which she alleged she was inappropriately touched by a male Coalition minister. Victorian federal MP Katie Allen, who is in her first term, said she felt very supported by her federal Liberal colleagues, but more support was needed for politicians and their staff to deal with the high-stakes environment of Parliament. Former Liberal turned-independent MP Julia Banks has written a book detailing her distressing time in federal politics. Credit:Simon Schluter Certainly my experience has been very different from Julias but thats not to say it didnt happen, Dr Allen said. But there is no doubt politics is contested and the outcomes can be brutal. Health Minister Greg Hunt, who has served in federal Parliament for two decades, had not read Ms Banks account when asked about her allegations on Saturday, but said he hadnt seen a culture of sexism within the government. NT Country Liberal Senator Sam McMahon will push for a conscience vote in the Coalition party room in her bid to overturn a 24-year ban on the territorys ability to pass voluntary euthanasia laws, but has left the ACT out of her plans. The outgoing senator, who will vacate her seat next July after losing a preselection battle, said she planned to introduce a private members bill to reinstate the Northern Territorys power to legislate on the issue when Parliament returns in August. NT Coalition Senator Sam McMahon says she will introduce a bill this year to overturn a ban on the NT legalising euthanasia. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The bills prospects of success may be hampered by her decision to carve out the ACT, which is subject to the same Commonwealth-imposed block, and a lack of appetite among some of her conservative Coalition colleagues for a contentious debate on euthanasia leading into an election. Senator McMahon said she decided it would be rude to include the ACT in her bill after speaking with Minister Zed Seselja, an ACT Senator and staunch opponent of euthanasia. Imagine having to get married just to be able to travel to your own wedding. Thats the bizarre situation Alicia Tucker and Simon van Oordt have found themselves in, after the government refused eight times to grant Mr van Oordt a travel exemption to enter Australia. Sydney woman Alicia Tucker, 22, and her Dutch fiance Simon Van Oordt, 25, have been unable to get a travel exemption for Simon to come to Australia so they can get married. Their problem? While the Australian Border Force hasnt provided reasons for the refusals, they believe its because they cant adequately prove they are a couple as their Christian beliefs mean they wont move out of home together before marrying. Its nearly like our relationship doesnt exist, because we cant prove that we live completely together and that we share bills together, that sort of thing, which is quite hard, Ms Tucker said. When the fire alarm went off at a hotel in central Taiwan on Wednesday evening, Chen Chien-kuang, 59, a missionary, immediately thought of escaping. But he was one of 29 people in coronavirus quarantine inside the hotel and worried about breaking the rules, which required those in quarantine to stay inside their rooms. I dont know whether I can go out or not. Im afraid that we will be fined if we go out, Chen said in a video he took and sent to his son, which was released by the local news media and confirmed by his wifes brother, Chen Yi-sa. But if we dont go, will we die in the fire. Chen was among four people who died three guests in quarantine and one firefighter in the blaze, which has renewed concerns over the safety of Taiwans quarantine facilities and the wisdom of using hotels for the purpose. More than 20 people were injured. The owner and manager of the Passion Fruit Hotel, which occupied three floors of a 15-story building in the central city of Changhua, told people to remain inside their rooms when the alarm sounded. At first he said that it was a false alarm, according to the video sent by Chen. Lisbon: Portugal said on Saturday it hoped to vaccinate a further 1.7 million people against COVID-19 over the next two weeks as authorities scramble to contain a surge in infections caused by the more contagious Delta variant. Cases in Portugal, a nation of just over 10 million, jumped by 2,605 on Saturday, the biggest increase since February 13., taking the total cases since the pandemic began to 887,047. New cases are being reported mostly among unvaccinated younger people so daily coronavirus deaths, currently in single digits, remain well below levels in February, when the country was still under lockdown after Januarys second wave. Portugal has fully vaccinated around 35% of its population, and those aged 18 to 29 can start booking vaccination appointments on Sunday. In a statement, the vaccination taskforce said it would use all installed capacity to vaccinate 850,000 people a week over the next 14 days to protect the population as fast as possible due to the rapid spread of the Delta variant. PHILIPSBURG:--- As of June 28, 2021, the number of reported active cases dropped to less than 50. The intended goal was to achieve the 85% vaccination rate on Dutch Sint Maarten. However, the number of vaccinated adults within the Sint Maarten population has increased sufficiently. In this regard, the Minister has deemed these figures to be a reasonable majority and considers it desirable to extend the closing times of publicly accessible locations to 2:00 am as of July 3rd, 2021, in the interest of business activity and the economy of Sint Maarten. It is prohibited to have premises open to the public between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., which includes the following: bars, nightclubs, discotheques, restaurants, and bars, spaces that are rented out for meetings, events, or parties. The prohibition does not apply to hotels or lodgings, as far as their own guests and staff are concerned, as well as the airport, seaport grounds, and buildings. The Minister is strongly advising all persons to continue adhering to the COVID-19 preventative measures, as these measures have contributed to the decline in active cases, thus allowing the nightlife curfew to be re-extended to 2 am. Depending on the COVID-19 developments, the Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor / Substitute Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic, and Telecommunications will continue to monitor the situation and can deviate from the above closing time if we begin experiencing a resurgence of cases. Lastly, Minister Ottley would like to encourage persons to do their research and consider receiving the vaccination, as we continue striving to achieve herd immunity against COVID-19. Norman Walls, 62, of Eubank, passed away Monday, July 5, 2021 at Ephraim McDowell Hospital. Arrangements are pending and will be announced later by Morris & Hislope Funeral Home. Condolences may be expressed to the family at: www.morrisandhislope.com. STAMFORD Should the city make it illegal to leave a dog tied up outdoors without someone also outside with the animal? Thats what the Board of Representatives will soon have to consider. According to the proposed change to the citys ordinances, the person, however, would be able to step inside and let the dog out of their sight in order to deal with a temporary task. The proposal, which passed unanimously after discussion by the Legislative and Rules Committee, is expected to be heard by the full board Tuesday. If the board adopts final language, it will go to Mayor David Martin for his signature. The proposal comes from Rep. Jonathan Jacobson, D-12, a member of the boards Legislative and Rules Committee. Jacobson said he believes that adding the new language to the citys Code of Ordinances would make Stamford the first municipality in the state of Connecticut, if not New England, to prohibit unattended tethering of our dogs. Right now, Stamfords code prohibits anyone from tethering a dog for an unreasonable amount of time and refers to a part of state law that uses similar language. But the law doesnt define what an unreasonable amount of time is, which makes enforcement difficult, said Officer Tilford Cobb, the manager of Stamford Animal Control. Under Jacobsons proposal, the city would prohibit the tethering of a dog unless the owner or keeper is outside with the dog and the dog is in the owners or keepers view. The new language would make things a lot clearer, Cobb told the Committee during a meeting last week. Dogs that spend long amounts of time tethered outside often dont get the socialization they need and become anxious, Cobb said. Its common to see them pacing, he said, or digging holes because theyre bored. Its sad. These dogs become stressed and they become aggressive and often become protective of the property, Cobb said. A dog's instinct is to fight or to run. If you take away the ability to run, that dog learns to fight whether it's a coyote entering your yard or a child. The proposed change has the backing of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which wrote a letter in support. Hundreds of jurisdictions across the country recognize the dangerous consequences of chaining dogs and have put commonsense laws in place to mitigate these risks, wrote Daphna Nachminovitch, the senior vice president of PETAs cruelty investigations department. Many of those areas have found that the simplest, most enforceable ordinance is a ban on unattended tethering. The American Kennel Club also weighed in on the proposal. Stacey Ober, a legislative analyst for the organization, said at the meeting that tethering is sometimes used as a method of confining dogs in those conditions which may otherwise endanger them or permit them to stray. Turning to the language under consideration, Ober said it may not be necessary or practical for an owner to be outside and have the dog in view at all times. Board members voiced concern that the language lacked an exception for quick tasks. We cannot penalize dog owners who are responsible, good people because they went inside to get a glass of water while they were cutting the grass or trimming the hedges or whatever it is, said Rep. Gary Palomba, R-16. Jacobson proposed creating an exception to allow someone to complete a temporary task that requires the dog to be restrained for a reasonable period of time, saying he took the language from San Joses code. The committee approved Jacobsons amendment. But Rep. J. R. McMullen, R-18, questioned how the language would make enforcement easier. A temporary task I might do is go to Costco and get my tires rotated. That'll take two hours. Is that a reasonable amount of time? McMullen said. I guess that a lot of the people here would think not, but it's not defined. It's no more better defined than the unreasonable amount of time for tethering. So I don't see how this fixes anything. McMullen also said that the new requirement would hurt those who cant afford to install an invisible or physical fence in their yard. The effort to change the citys tethering ordinances began late last year after Jacobson read an article about a Virginia law that generally bars tethering a dog outdoors when temperatures are 85 degrees or hotter, or 32 degrees or colder. Jacobson said the article prompted him to take a look at what Connecticut law and Stamfords ordinances said about tethering. The citys ordinances prohibit people from tethering dogs for more than 15 minutes when a weather advisory and warning has been issued or extreme conditions will pose a risk to such dog. State law includes a similar provision. Jacobson said that, in his view, the current laws are woefully inadequate. Initially, he proposed adding language to the citys ordinances that was nearly identical to Virginias laws and based on temperature. But the AKC pushed back. Ober wrote to the Legislative and Rules Committee saying that factors like breed, age and health affect a dogs ability to handle weather. What is ideal for a Chihuahua is very different than the needs and tolerances of a Saint Bernard, she wrote. And while language referring to specific temperatures may be easy to enforce, she wrote, such guidelines inadvertently put some dogs at risk. It could legalize temperatures that a dog may not be able to tolerate even for a short period of time, yet an owner could believe it is safe since the law would allow it, Ober wrote. Eventually, Jacobsons proposal focused on an owner being outside and the dog being in view with the language based on the code of Norfolk, Va. It's not to ban the practice altogether, at least not yet, but it's to say that if you're going to tether your dog outside, you should be out there with the dog, Jacobson said. And going back to my original proposal with the weather, he added, I think it's safe to say that if you're going to be outside in the freezing temperature or the sweltering heat with the dog, you don't need those minimum requirements because it's going to be entrusted to the owner that if it's good enough for the owner or the keeper, it's good enough for the dog. The Rev. Walter Williams has been serving the Lord since he graduated from seminary in 1966. He currently resides in McAlisterville. To comment on his column, send a letter to Standard Journal, 21 N. Arch St., Milton, Pa. 17847 or e-mail newsroom@standard-journal.com. Ogden jazz icon Joe McQueen may be gone, but his memory and legacy live on. One physical reminder of his life, McQueen's lifelong home at 3158 Grant Ave., has now become available for sale. The house received extensive remodeling, but as investor Richard Casperson has said, "Joe's energy is The local unemployment rate dropped nine-tenths of a percentage point in May to 7.4%, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. The rate for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton Metropolitan Statistical Area, consisting of Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wyoming counties, is down 8.5 percentage points from May 2020. The state rate has declined by 6.6 percentage points and the national rate has dropped 7.5 percentage points over the past year. The statewide unemployment rate dipped two-tenths of a percentage point to 6.9% in May and the national rate dropped three-tenths of a percentage point to 5.8%. While the number of employed individuals remained virtually unchanged for the metro area in May, the labor force dropped by 2,800. Satyajit Ghosh, Ph.D., a University of Scranton economist, said although a nearly full percentage point decrease in unemployment rate is always great, it could be a bit misleading in terms of the overall job picture. Its not due to a favorable change in employment numbers, its simply that people are not in the labor force, Ghosh said. The last two to three months weve been watching the labor force reduction. Ghosh believes an ongoing fear of the virus, including the different variants, may be a cause for the drop in labor force. He added some women may also be hesitant to look for jobs because of uncertainty regarding child care. The number of unemployed individuals was down 2,700 in the metro area in May. Thats a significant change and a big part of the almost full percentage point change, said Steven Zellers, a state industry and business analyst. Zellers believes the large drop in the labor force could be due to circumstances surrounding the pandemic. In normal times, it would be a little disconcerting but were getting a lot of variability as everything reopens up and readjusts, Zellers said. A lot of the restrictions were still in place during May, so were still seeing a little bit of variability in the labor force and hiring. Its going to take a little bit for everything to get on a even keel. Even though the labor force went down, the number of employed individuals is up 14,200 over the past year. Other than the labor force going down, there really isnt a negative number in this months report, Zellers said. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription, or activate your access, to continue reading. McDonald County sits at the southwestern corner of Missouri, with Arkansas to its south and Oklahoma to its west. The county depends on tourists drawn to its Ozarks setting. But 50 summers ago, in 1961, McDonald County suddenly had problems in drawing those tourists. The reason: The state-issued Family Vacation Land edition of Missouris official highway map jumbled highway numbers and omitted the town of Noel. McDonald County reacted by deciding to secede from Missouri. Indeed some in the county wanted to join with Benton County, Arkansas, and Delaware County, Oklahoma, to form a 51st state. Author Dwight W. Pogue was a boy at the time, growing up in Noel, where his father ran the weekly McDonald County Press. In large part, his 1961 Ozark Breakaway consists of reproduced newspaper articles from papers ranging from his fathers to the New York Times to the Joplin News Herald. Among the many articles are some describing a mock battle between McDonald County loyalists and invaders from the neighboring region. Although most officials scoffed at the notion of secession, a high school senior who invited first lady Jackie Kennedy to her graduation got a reply addressed to McDonald Territory, Noel, Mo. Some health officials worried in the days leading up to the Fourth of July weekend about mixing vaccinated and unvaccinated people while the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus spreads across the country. But President Joe Biden and others have welcomed the holiday as a key moment in the nation's recovery and a needed celebration after a year of difficulty. In Webster Groves, there were few signs of the lingering COVID-19 pandemic except for a group of parade walkers holding signs encouraging the crowd to "Expose COVID Fraud," decrying Dr. Anthony Fauci and encouraging people to prevent "medical tyranny." A handful of onlookers wore masks, but many were celebrating their freedom from restrictions. Kids gripped plastic bags as they waited for candy to be tossed their way, and parents and grandparents clapped and waved at passing classic cars, military vehicles and marching bands. Political groups touting anti-abortion stances, "churches for justice" and the area Democratic Party marched between kids banging bucket drums and dancers waving pom-poms. For all their faults (particularly on matters of race), Americas founders were able to look past the authoritarian systems of monarchy and empire in their time, and envision a form of government in which the people ruled themselves, via their elected representatives. Inherent in that radical idea was the expectation that citizens whose preferred candidates failed to win elections would accept the judgment of the constitutional process. Democracy may well be, as Winston Churchill put it, the worst form of government except for all the others, but it is the only legitimate form of government, warts and all. The warts of Americas particular form of democracy were evident when the last two Republican presidents (George W. Bush and Donald Trump) each initially won the office despite having received fewer votes nationally than his opponent. Democrats were especially frustrated that Trump won while losing by almost 3 million ballots in 2016. It has spurred appropriate discussion about reforming the Electoral College, within the processes laid out in the Constitution, to better reflect the will of the people. But no serious American of any party argued that Trump wasnt the legitimate president as chosen by the system currently in place. That restraining respect for the constitutional process could stand as another definition of patriotism. The more I ponder this question why? the larger it grows. Whatever justice is, I believe it begins here. In essence, Terrence Floyds question digs to the heart of this unaddressed American and global wound. Something is wrong. Something is broken. An officer of the law, who has sworn to serve and protect us, felt no obligation whatsoever to let a man breathe, to let a man live. This mans life didnt matter. Why? We may think we know the answer, or at least a simplistic version of it, but we still need to hear Chauvins words. We owe more than that to George Floyd. These words are one of the Twelve Teachings of the Sacred Tree, which are part of one of my favorite books, Returning to the Teachings, by Rupert Ross: All things are interrelated. Everything in the universe is part of a single whole. Everything is connected in some way to everything else. It is therefore possible to understand something only if we can understand how it is connected to everything else. On April 13th in northern Iraq an Iranian armed (with explosives) UAV crashed in the airport outside Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region. The UAV hit a hangar in the portion of the airport reserved for U.S. military use. The target of the attack was apparently American military aircraft. At first it was reported that there were explosions but that there was no damage at the airport. This was described as another attack using an Iranian UAV provided to Iran-backed Iraqi militia as well as Shia rebels in Yemen and Iranian forces in Syria. These UAVs have been used for deniable Iranian attacks against their enemies. This does not always work out as planned. For example, in late 2019 a mass UAV attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities launched from Iran was initially attributed, by Iran, as coming from Iran-backed Shia rebels in northern Yemen. Once the UAV models were identified, by examining debris at the attack site, it was clear that the attack came from Iran. After that embarrassing revelation, backed by UN experts, Iran became more cautious. No more attacks from Iran but more UAVs exported to proxy groups that attack targets selected by Iran. In Iraq a May 2021 attack on the al Assad military air base used unguided rockets and at least one of these explosive-carrying UAVs. The target was the portion for the base used to house American troops and none of the attacks hit the housing area. The Erbil attack was the first-time pro-Iran Iraqi militias have used Iranian UAVs for this kind of attack. Iranian media claimed the Erbil attacks were directed at a suspected Israeli Mossad base near Erbil. No such base exists although Israel and the Kurds have quietly cooperated to deal with common threats, like Islamic terrorists and Iran. Most Iraqis knew of this cooperation and kept quiet because such covert Israeli assistance was seen as beneficial and something Iran was very angry about. It was later revealed that hangar hit was used by the CIA for twin-engine turboprop aircraft carrying cameras and electronic surveillance equipment. These aircraft are a common sight in the Middle East and Africa and are usually flown by civilian contractors. The existence of such aircraft was no secret so Iran could have provided their operatives in Iraq with photos of them and bribed airport employees working close enough to the military section of the airport to identify which hangar this type of aircraft was stored in. With that information the Iranians could deduce the GPS coordinates of the CIA hangar and program their UAV with that information, as well as a flight path that would follow that used by commercial aircraft approaching the airport. The UAV did follow the flight path while still 16 kilometers from the airport. This maneuver limits the use of low-altitude anti-aircraft weapons because the shells might hit civilian aircraft. The only one with an air-defense system for dealing with this kind of attack is Israel, which destroyed a similar Iranian UAV that entered Israel from Syria a month after the Erbil attack. This was the first combat use of Iron Domes newly installed (via software changes) anti-UAV capability. The U.S. recently bought two Iron Dome batteries for use in defending American bases in the Middle East but none of these batteries have been sent to Iraq yet. The two air bases used by American forces in Iraq are at Erbil and in the Al Asad base in southwest Iraq. Western nations, including Israel, have spent a lot of money on developing and producing AUD (Anti UAV Defense) systems. Most Western nations are concentrating on AUDs to deal with commercial UAVs operating near airports and flight paths of commercial aircraft. The United States and Israel have concentrated on AUDs to deal with commercial UAVs used as weapons in combat zones. Israel is the only nation to have developed systems that can deal with the type of militarized UAVs Iran has developed and provides to rebels and Islamic terrorist groups it supports, including Hamas in Gaza. ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) and other Islamic terrorist groups have been using commercial quadcopters and fixed-wing UAVs, often equipped with explosives for one-way missions, for years. Iran pioneered the use of larger UAVs as cruise missiles. For example, the Iranian Ababil has been around for over two decades. Development of Ababil began in the late 1980s but it wasnt until a decade later that it was ready for regular use. Since then, Ababil has undergone several upgrades and is a favorite for deniable attacks. Ababil is an 83 kg (183 pound) UAV with a 3.2-meter (ten foot) wing span, a payload of about 40 kg (88 pounds), a cruising speed of 290 kilometers an hour and an endurance of 90 minutes. The Ababil is known to operate as far as 150 kilometers from its ground controller. Ababil also has a GPS guidance system that allows it to fly a pre-programmed route and then return to the control by its ground-based operator, for a landing, via a parachute. Used as a cruise missile, Ababil has a one-way range of about 400 kilometers. Using GPS guidance, it could deliver about 27 kg (60 pounds) of explosives to a prominent Israeli government building in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. Such attacks may have been attempted but all attempts were detected coming across the Lebanese border and shot down. The Ababil normally carries a variety of day and night still and video cameras. Currently a lot of Ababils are broken down and smuggled into Yemen and perhaps Gaza as well. Iranian advisors supervise assembly and operation. Although many Ababils now use components that have no Iranian identifying marks, UN inspectors have found some identical components used in other Iranian products that are not weapons. Iran saves money by using these unmarked components of a unique design in all sorts of products. Iran denies these accusations, often blaming it on the Israelis. Streaming Platforms Currently Deployed in Higher Ed See more videos like this on StreamingMedia.com. Learn more about streaming in higher ed at Streaming Media West 2021. Read the complete transcript of this clip: Liam Moran: What kind of streaming media platforms are schools and campuses relying on? Chris, you want to start with that one? Christopher Martin: We use Canvas as our LMS, and we have integrated into that a cloud media service called Panopto. That's for uploading video, and you can do live video through it as well, but it's nice because it provides automatic transcriptions. Also, it will convert your video file into a podcast, audio-only format. So if you just want to listen to the audio of it, that's provided. But the real win is that it integrates very nicely into Canvas. And anything you do in Panopto is very easy to port between them. Liam Moran: Is that for live streaming events, too? Christopher Martin: You can use that for live. Out of the Writers' House, where we're doing more public-facing events, we're typically streaming to YouTube Live. Liam Moran: Okay. And Justin at Ohio State? Justin Troyer: We're using Canvas as our LMS front end as well. For the bulk of the content videos for the courses, we're using a locally hosted instance of MediaSite, which is very similar to Panopto. And then we're using a mix of YouTube and Vimeo for everything else. And we're seeing a little bit of a split where a lot of the courses that comprise the online programs are being hosted on YouTube, whereas MediaSite is getting a lot of the videos for every other course. I do expect that to shift eventually because Ohio State is doing a big initiative to move all of their general education classes online as well. So that's going to have hundreds of courses coming online, and moving into one of those two or three platforms. The big difference that we've seen between YouTube and Vimeo is YouTube is designed more as a social and content discovery platform. If you have to make some sort of rudimentary change or correction to your video, you have to generate a brand new URL for it. Whereas with Vimeo, you can actually just replace the file and the URL doesn't break. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Related Articles Lt. Col. Matthew T. Ritchie decorates Petty Officer 2nd Class Joseph Hardebeck with the Purple Heart Medal at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., July 1, 2021. Hardebeck was awarded the Purple Heart for injuries sustained in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. (Connor Hancock/U.S. Marines) A Navy corpsman injured during a firefight in Afghanistans Helmand province in 2010 downplayed his wounds to stay with his unit in the 1st Battalion, 6th Marines. For years, Petty Officer 2nd Class Joseph Hardebeck didnt believe his injuries merited a Purple Heart. But on Thursday, 11 years after the fact, the medal was pinned on his chest at a ceremony at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Hardebeck was advancing on Marjah in February 2010 when he was wounded, the 1st Marine Division said in a statement on Facebook. Launched on Feb. 13 of that year, the battle of Marjah was a major offensive to retake the last Taliban stronghold in Helmand province. Hardebeck was wounded on the eighth day of the campaign, according to a brief video of Thursdays ceremony. The video also shows Lt. Col. Matthew T. Ritchie, the commanding officer of 1st Battalion, 11th Marines, calling Hardebecks actions about as selfless an act as anybody can give. The video only contains snippets of remarks Hardebeck and Ritchie made. Hardebeck credits the support of his fellow Marines and sailors from Operation Enduring Freedom with changing his thinking about his injuries and encouraging him to submit for the award retroactively, the 1st Marine Divisions Facebook post said. He received the medal as the U.S. was withdrawing the last of its forces and equipment from Bagram Airfield, signaling the final stages of the two-decade war in Afghanistan, which transitioned from Operation Enduring Freedom to Operation Freedoms Sentinel some 6 years ago. As the presence in Afghanistan comes to a close, we are reminded of the sacrifice and commitment to duty our OEF veterans demonstrated, the division said on Facebook. These veterans remain in our communities and continue to impact our Corps. World War II Navy veterans Floyd Helton, left, and Stanley Owsley. () (Tribune News Service) Floyd Helton was looking to learn a trade when he decided to join the U.S. Navy in late 1940, but he needed a parents permission because he was only 17. He asked his mother, but she said no. So he turned to his father, Herbert Helton, of Pulaski County, who was divorced from his mother. His father signed the application, and Helton formally enlisted in June 1941. Six months later, he was killed aboard the USS Oklahoma when Japanese warplanes hit the battleship with multiple torpedoes during the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. His father, who died in 1996, carried some guilt the rest of his life. He kind of held himself responsible, said Vicki Easley, whose mother is Floyd Heltons half-sister. It brought sadness and that stayed with him. Now, 80 years after they gave their lives for their country, Helton and another sailor from Kentucky killed aboard the Oklahoma, Stanley Owsley, are coming home. Helton, who grew up in Somerset, and Owsley, of Paris, were among 429 USS Oklahoma sailors killed at Pearl Harbor. They werent recovered until 1944 when workers finally righted the ship, according to information from the Navy. Only 35 of the men could be identified at first. Helton, 18 when he died, and Owsley were not among them, and were buried with the other unknowns in Hawaii. The military exhumed the bodies in 1947 in an unsuccessful effort to identify them, reburied the remains in 1950 in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, and then disinterred them again in 2015 in a new push to identify the sailors. With advances in DNA technology, the effort was much more successful. By January 2021, 300 had been identified, according to the Navy. Owsley and Helton were identified last year, but the Navy only recently announced the findings publicly. Owsleys sister, Mary Ida Owsley Linville, missed him terribly, said Betty Short, one of Linvilles granddaughters. Linville was only two years older than her brother and they were close. She donated a DNA sample to use in the identification process, but died in May 2020 at age 104 without knowing the effort had been successful. The Navy notified Owsleys family of the identification last fall. Its kind of bittersweet that she didnt live long enough to know theyd found him, Short, who lives near Richmond, said of her grandmother. Owsley wanted to make a career for himself after growing up poor on a farm in Bourbon County, Short said. He enlisted in the Navy in May 1938 and had been promoted several times by the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, when he was an electricians mate 3rd class, according to information supplied by the Navy. His sister, Linville, heard news on the radio that the Oklahoma was one of the ships hit at Pearl Harbor, knew Owsley was assigned to the ship, Short said. His family received a telegram a few days later saying he was missing, and before the month was out received another telegram saying he was considered dead. He was 23. My great-grandmother said her heart would never be full again, Short said. Short said her grandmother always wondered whether her brothers body had been lost in the ocean or was among the unknown sailors buried in Hawaii. Knowing hed been identified and being able to bring him home would have meant the world to her, Short said. Owsleys remains will be cremated and interred next to his sister on Aug. 5. My grandmother would have wanted this, Short said. Were blessed that he was found. Were proud that he served his country. Easley said her mother, Louise Helton Valentour, who was 10 when her brother died and is now 91, was thrilled that Helton had been identified. Heltons father had asked his surviving children to do whatever they could to bring him home if it ever became possible. Floyd Heltons half-brother, Carroll Helton first took up the responsibility. He kept paperwork about Helton and he and his son submitted DNA samples to help in the identification process. Carroll Helton gave the paperwork he had to Easleys mother before he died. She assumed responsibility for being the contact point with the Navy, and has been involved in the arrangements for his funeral. This is something she promised her daddy, Easley said of bringing Floyd Heltons body home. Shes glad this is happening and that she can see this through. Helton will be buried July 31 next to his father at a cemetery at Sloans Valley, in southern Pulaski County. Gov. Andy Beshear said he will order flags to be lowered to half-staff on the days of the funerals for Helton and Owsley. For almost 80 years, families of the sailors who died on the Oklahoma could mourn their sons and fathers, brothers and husbands only at a distance, Beshear said in a statement. But thanks to the persistence of the military in identifying them, Beshear said, Kentucky sailors are finally coming home. ___ (c)2021 the Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, Ky.) Visit the Lexington Herald-Leader at www.kentucky.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A video screen grab shows fire boats working to put out a fire that raged on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico on Friday, July 2, 2021. (YouTube) A massive fire that broke out on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico on Friday has been extinguished, but the incident is raising questions about the risks of undersea pipelines. Videos of a swirling, orange mass of flames surrounded by ocean waves went viral after a gas leak was reported near a platform used for offshore drilling by Pemex, Mexico's state-owned oil company. The scene was made even more surreal by the presence of fire boats that were dwarfed by the inferno, but eventually succeeded at putting it out after about five hours. Angel Carrizales, who heads the Mexican agency charged with regulating pipeline safety, said on Twitter that the incident "did not generate any spill." That claim drew some skepticism, given that something other than water had to be present on the ocean's surface in order for it to ignite. Pemex said Friday that the company would "carry out a root cause analysis of this incident" and that no one had been injured. The company provided few other details about the leak. On social media, many argued that the eerie and alarming scene of a burning ocean clearly demonstrated the inherent problems of allowing oil companies to tap into fossil fuel reserves from the ocean floor. "Shocking new example of how dirty and dangerous offshore drilling is," the Center for Biological Diversity wrote on Twitter, calling for a moratorium on new oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico. The fire took place in an area known as Ku Maloob Zaap, which is home to Pemex's most productive oil fields. According to Reuters, an internal incident report stated that an electric storm and heavy rains had damaged key machinery before the early-morning leak. Workers used nitrogen to put out the flames, according to the report. Although Ku Maloob Zaap produces more than 700,000 barrels of oil a day on average, Pemex has been seeing its overall output fall is roughly $114 billion in debt, according to Bloomberg News. As a result, the company has not been able to invest in new extraction technologies. Buy Photo People wear coronavirus masks last month while visiting the Hasedera Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Japan. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes) CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa Coronavirus infections remained high in the Japanese capital on Friday as U.S. military bases across the country announced seven new patients. Tokyo reported another 660 cases and two deaths on Friday, according to public broadcaster NHK, which cited metropolitan government data. Thats 13 less than the day before but 98 more than the same day last week. Osaka prefecture, the nations second-largest metro area, reported 123 new infections and three deaths, NHK said. Okinawa prefecture, home to most U.S. troops in Japan, had another 61 new infections on Friday, 21 less than a week ago, according to NHK. There were four deaths. Japan reported 1,763 new cases as of 6:30 p.m., 121 more than the same day last week, according to NHK and the World Health Organization. There were 22 deaths nationwide. The government has counted approximately 800,000 COVID-19 cases during the pandemic and 14,500 deaths, the WHO said. Kadena Air Base on Okinawa has reported four infections since case numbers were last announced on Wednesday. One of the new patients self-isolated after developing COVID-19 symptoms, according to a base Facebook post from Thursday evening. The others are a recent arrival to Japan who tested positive before leaving quarantine; a person who had close contact with an infected individual; and someone whose infection was discovered at an off-base clinic. Yokosuka Naval Base, 35 miles south of central Tokyo, has had one base employee test positive sometime since Tuesday, according to a Navy news release Friday. The unimmunized worker was tested after developing COVID-19 symptoms. At Yokota Air Base, home of U.S. Forces Japan in western Tokyo, has had one person test positive sometime since June 25, the 374th Airlift Wing announced Friday afternoon. The patient, a recent arrival to Japan, came up positive while in quarantine. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in western Japan announced its first COVID-19 infection since June 14 in a Facebook post on Friday morning. The patient tested positive within the last 24 hours and was immediately placed in quarantine, the post said. There were no coronavirus infections reported by commands on the Korean peninsula on Friday. South Korea added 826 new cases at midnight Thursday and three deaths, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agencys Central Disease Control Headquarters. The government has counted over 155,000 COVID-19 cases during the pandemic and 2,000 deaths, the WHO said. Houses are damaged by mudslide following heavy rain at Izusan district in Atami, west of Tokyo, Saturday, July 3, 2021. (Naoya Osato, Kyodo News/AP) TOKYO A gush of mud that swept away homes and cars in a resort town southwest of Tokyo left at least two people dead and about 20 missing, officials said Sunday. Ten people were rescued and as many as 80 homes buried in Atami, where hundreds of firefighters, military troops and three coast guard ships worked from daybreak Saturday to try to reach those believed to be trapped or carried away by the mudslide. The deluge crashed down a mountainside into rows of houses following heavy rains that began several days ago. Bystanders, their gasps of horror audible, caught the scene on cell phone video. Witnesses said they heard a giant roar and then watched helplessly as homes got gobbled up by the muddy waves. Houses are damaged by mudslide following heavy rain at Izusan district in Atami, west of Tokyo, Saturday, July 3, 2021. (Naoya Osato, Kyodo News/AP) The two people confirmed dead, both women, had been swept to the sea and were found by the coast guard, said Tatsushi Ueda, a Shizuoka prefecture official in charge of disaster prevention. Of the 10 who were rescued, one suffered minor injuries. In Atami, 121 people had been evacuated, said Ueda. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has set up a task force for the rescue effort. Atami is a quaint seaside resort area in Shizuoka prefecture, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Tokyo. The area that was hit by the mudslide, Izusan, includes hot springs, residential areas, shopping streets and a famous shrine. Sailors assigned to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine JS Soryu (SS-501) moor port-side along the U.S. Navy submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40) on June 10, 2018, in Polaris Point, Guam. (Alana La/U.S. Navy) TOKYO The Defense Ministry is considering equipping the Maritime Self-Defense Force's submarines with active sonar that sends out sound waves to detect the location of other vessels, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. MSDF submarines have so far avoided using active sonar because it risks revealing their location to an enemy. Following an incident in February in which the MSDF submarine Soryu collided with a cargo ship off Kochi Prefecture, however, the ministry decided that active sonar was necessary to prevent a recurrence. Operating under the sea, submarine crews are limited in what they can see. Submarines therefore search for obstacles and enemy vessels by using sonar to analyze sound waves under the sea. Sonar is roughly divided into active and passive. Active sonar puts out sound waves and analyzes the waves that bounce back from targets, while passive sonar picks up sound waves that are generated by targets. Submarines must maintain stealth, therefore they keep to a minimum equipment and devices that produce sounds. All active-duty submarines of the MSDF are equipped with passive sonar. There are drawbacks, however. Submarines use sonar to confirm the safety of their surroundings when surfacing, but passive sonar sometimes fails to detect risks, depending on sea currents and the submarine's position in relation to other vessels. The accident involving the Soryu occurred just before it surfaced. Experts have said the submarine may have been unable to sufficiently confirm safety via passive sonar alone. Active sonar can measure the distances to an object more accurately, based on how long it takes sound waves to bounce back. A senior MSDF official said, "If priority is placed on safety, submarines should be able to use not only passive sonar but also active. When they surface in territorial waters and other sea areas, the possibility of being attacked is low even if they discharge sound waves." MSDF submarines will likely not limit their use of active sonar to sea areas near MSDF bases, but use it in other necessary situations as well. Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division provide security in Afghanistan in 2018. (Christopher Bouchard/U.S. Army) WASHINGTON As the last U.S. combat troops prepare to leave Afghanistan, the question arises: When is the war really over? For Afghans the answer is clear but grim: no time soon. An emboldened Taliban insurgency is making battlefield gains, and prospective peace talks are stalled. Some fear that once foreign forces are gone, Afghanistan will dive deeper into civil war. Though degraded, an Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State extremist network also lurks. For the United States and its coalition partners, the endgame is murky. Although all combat troops and 20 years of accumulated war materiel will soon be gone, the head of U.S Central Command, Gen. Frank McKenzie, will have authority until at least September to defend Afghan forces against the Taliban. He can do so by ordering strikes with U.S. warplanes based outside of Afghanistan, according to defense officials who discussed details of military planning on condition of anonymity. The Pentagon said Friday that the U.S. military has left Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years. The facility was the epicenter of the war, but its transfer to the Afghan government did not mark the U.S. militarys final withdrawal from the country. A look at the end of the war: WHATS LEFT OF THE COMBAT MISSION? Technically, U.S. forces havent been engaged in ground combat in Afghanistan since 2014. But counterterrorism troops have been pursuing and hitting extremists since then, including with Afghanistan-based aircraft. Those strike aircraft are now gone and those strikes, along with any logistical support for Afghan forces, will be done from outside the country. Inside Afghanistan, U.S. troops will no longer be there to train or advise Afghan forces. An unusually large U.S. security contingent of 650 troops, based at the U.S. Embassy compound, will protect American diplomats and potentially help secure the Kabul international airport. Turkey is expected to continue its current mission of providing airport security, but McKenzie will have authority to keep as many as 300 more troops to assist that mission until September. Its also possible that the U.S. military may be asked to assist any large-scale evacuation of Afghans seeking Special Immigrant Visas, although the State Department-led effort envisions using commercially chartered aircraft and may not require a military airlift. The White House is concerned that Afghans who helped the U.S. war effort, and are thereby vulnerable to Taliban retribution, not be left behind. When he decided in April to bring the U.S. war to a close, President Joe Biden gave the Pentagon until Sept. 11 to complete the withdrawal. On Friday, the Pentagon said it now plans to complete the pullout by the end of August. The Army general in charge in Kabul, Scott Miller, has essentially finished it already, with nearly all military equipment gone and few troops left. The Pentagon said Miller is expected to remain in command for a couple more weeks. But will his departure this month constitute the end of the U.S. war? With as many as 950 U.S. troops in the country until September and the potential for continued airstrikes, the answer is probably not. HOW WARS END Unlike Afghanistan, some wars end with a flourish. World War I was over with the armistice signed with Germany on Nov. 11, 1918 a day now celebrated as a federal holiday in the U.S. and the later signing of the Treaty of Versailles. World War II saw dual celebrations in 1945 with Germanys surrender marking Victory in Europe (V-E Day) and Japans surrender a few months later as Victory Over Japan (V-J Day) following the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In Korea, an armistice signed in July 1953 ended the fighting, although technically the war was only suspended because no peace treaty was ever signed. Other endings have been less clear-cut. The U.S. pulled troops out of Vietnam in 1973, in what many consider a failed war that ended with the fall of Saigon two years later. And when convoys of U.S. troops drove out of Iraq in 2011, a ceremony marked their final departure. But just three years later, American troops were back to rebuild Iraqi forces that collapsed under attacks by Islamic State militants. VICTORY OR DEFEAT? As Americas war in Afghanistan draws to a close, there will be no surrender and no peace treaty, no final victory and no decisive defeat. Biden says it was enough that U.S. forces dismantled al-Qaida and killed Osama bin Laden, the groups leader considered the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Lately, violence in Afghanistan has escalated. Taliban attacks on Afghan forces and civilians have intensified and the group has taken control of more than 100 district centers. Pentagon leaders have said there is medium risk that the Afghan government and its security forces collapse within the next two years, if not sooner. U.S. leaders insist the only path to peace in Afghanistan is through a negotiated settlement. The Trump administration signed a deal with the Taliban in February 2020 that said the U.S. would withdraw its troops by May 2021 in exchange for Taliban promises, including that it keep Afghanistan from again being a staging arena for attacks on America. U.S. officials say the Taliban are not fully adhering to their part of the bargain, even as the U.S. continues its withdrawal. NATO MISSION The NATO Resolute Support mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan security forces began in 2015, when the U.S.-led combat mission was declared over. At that point the Afghans assumed full responsibility for their security, yet they remained dependent on billions of dollars a year in U.S. aid. At the peak of the war, there were more than 130,000 troops in Afghanistan from 50 NATO nations and partner countries. That dwindled to about 10,000 troops from 36 nations for the Resolute Support mission, and as of this week most had withdrawn their troops. Some may see the war ending when NATOs mission is declared over. But that may not happen for months. According to officials, Turkey is negotiating a new bilateral agreement with Afghan leaders in order to remain at the airport to provide security. Until that agreement is completed, the legal authorities for Turkish troops staying in Afghanistan are under the auspices of the Resolute Support mission. COUNTERTERROR MISSION The U.S. troop withdrawal doesnt mean the end of the war on terrorism. The U.S. has made it clear that it retains the authority to conduct strikes against al-Qaida or other terrorist groups in Afghanistan if they threaten the U.S. homeland. Because the U.S. has pulled its fighter and surveillance aircraft out of the country, it must now rely on manned and unmanned flights from ships at sea and air bases in the Gulf region, such as al-Dhafra air base in the United Arab Emirates. The Pentagon is looking for basing alternatives for surveillance aircraft and other assets in countries closer to Afghanistan. As yet, no agreements have been reached. ___ Associated Press writer Kathy Gannon contributed to this report. An employee scans the eyes of a woman for biometric data needed to apply for a passport, at the passport office in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 30, 2021. Afghans are lining up by the thousands at the Afghan Passport office to get new passports. (Rahmat Gul/AP) KABUL, Afghanistan Imtiaz Mohmand, just 19, makes a living selling melons out of a crate perched on his three-wheel motorcycle in the Afghan capital's Kart-e-Now neighborhood. He only managed to finish grade 7 before being sent to work to help support a family of 13. He has been robbed twice. Both times, his mobile phone was taken, along with his meager earnings of the day. In four days, he and four friends will leave Afghanistan. They have paid a smuggler to sneak them across the border to Iran and into Turkey. "There's no job, no security here. There are thieves everywhere. I tried to make a living but I can't," said Mohmand, who has seven friends already on their way to Turkey. Mohmand's frustration and anxieties run like a theme through most conversations in today's Afghanistan as Afghans witness the final withdrawal of the U.S. military and its NATO allies. President Joe Biden has said that America did what it came to Afghanistan to do hunt down and punish the al-Qaida terrorist network that carried out the 9/11 attacks. After nearly 20 years, Biden said it was time to end America's "forever war." Afghans, however, say international forces are leaving a country deeply impoverished, on the brink of another civil war and with worsening lawlessness that terrifies some more than the advancing Taliban. The warlords with whom the U.S.-led coalition partnered to oust the Taliban are resurrecting militias with a history of devastating violence to fight the insurgents, who have made gains even in the warlords' northern strongholds. So significant is the danger that Washington's top general in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S. Miller, warned this week in Kabul at what had all the hallmarks of a farewell press briefing that escalating violence risked a civil war "that should be a concern to the world." Outside the Turkish Visa Center in Kabul's city center, the road is crowded with four-wheel drive vehicles and new Toyota Corollas belonging to the wealthier who are looking for visas to leave. Since the announcement of the final withdrawal, thousands of visa applications have inundated the Turkish Embassy in Kabul. Other embassies have also reported a dramatic increase. "Our people are thinking maybe a civil war will start and that is the main problem why people want to go abroad," said Abdullah Saeed, a lecturer at Kabul's Polytechnic University. He was applying for a visa to attend a conference. "Our political parties are all getting weapons. Everyone has weapons here, so that is why people are frightened." The closure of some Western embassies and warnings by others for their citizens to leave only deepen the sense of dread. While some Afghans choose to leave, legally or illegally, others settle their families abroad then continue to work in Afghanistan. Afghans are lining up by the thousands at the Afghan Passport Office to get new passports, possibly to leave, uncertain what tomorrow will bring. Salia Siddiqi sat under a tree with three of her seven children, one of thousands of people at the passport office. She was waiting to submit her papers for her family's passports, though she wasn't sure whether she'd be able to travel or how even to afford it. "There is no security anywhere. You can't travel to the provinces," she said. "It's not about me but what about my children? I don't know if they will have a future here. We think there will be violence, it will be a dark time." "Our biggest enemy is uncertainty," said Tamim Asey, founder and executive chairman of the Kabul-based Institute of War and Peace Studies. "It is not that we don't have hope ... It's not that we don't have the capability to formulate or create a vision for the country in the absence of the international community. It's that dark cloud of uncertainty looming." Afghanistan looks significantly different than in 2001. There is internet, most people have mobile phones, women are in the workforce and schools for boys and girls are open, though most Afghans, who can afford only public schools, complain of the lack of qualified teachers, supplies and even buildings. Even the Taliban have sought to encourage Afghans to stay in the country, promising they have nothing to fear from them. The Taliban have sent some of their senior council members from their political headquarters in the Middle Eastern state of Qatar to assure minority ethnic groups that they can live safely under the Pashtun-dominated movement. Still, many Afghans say after 20 years and billions of dollars their future seems bleak. Afghanistan is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, according to Transparency International. Its political leadership is deeply divided, squabbling over almost everything, even the presidency. Last year, there were briefly two presidents. Many of Afghanistan's elite and political leadership have a passport other than Afghan, and often their families live abroad. "They are dual citizens. They do their business here, whether it's in government, outside of the government," said Asey. "They are not invested in blood and treasure in this country." The jobless rate is officially at 35%, though likely higher. Asey says barely 13% of the hundreds of thousands of new university graduates every year find jobs. According to the World Bank, 54% of the population is below the poverty line, making less than $1.90 a day. The melon seller Imtiaz Mohmand earns roughly 300 Afghanis a day, around $3, but there's days he doesn't make a sale, like Thursday, when he had to pay 400 Afghanis out of pocket to his supplier. Nearby, Azizullah Rahman makes 200 Afghanis ($2.50) a day selling car-cleaning cloths. He's single but back home in Logar province, and he has more than a dozen people relying on his income. Across from the grand Eid Gah Mosque, Dost Mohammad, who drives a communal taxi on the route to the eastern city to Jalalabad, hasn't had a fare in two days. Yet since 2002, the United States has spent more than $144 billion on reconstruction and development -- more than $17 billion just to assist Afghan government ministries, according to Washington's own watchdog monitoring U.S. tax dollar spending on Afghan reconstruction. Billions more have been spent on security. Gen. Dawlat Waziri, a former Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman, complained that the international community didn't create lasting jobs or hand off skills and industries to Afghans to become self-sufficient. "For example, every bullet had to come from America," he said. "Why weren't we making them here?" But most Afghans blame corrupt politicians and officials, many of whom live in Kabul's luxurious Shairpur neighborhood. There, five- and six-story marble mansions jostle for space, many protected by barricade and heavily armed guards. For decades, the district was home to some of the city's poorest, living in homes of sun-baked mud or rough-hewn bricks, until they were pushed out by the rich. At his small family woodworking shop, Ghulam Farooq complained that all the foreign cash ended up going to warlords. "For every regime we had hope and every regime disappointed us, even the foreigners," he said. "Now people are escaping through every border ... Only those who have no money and no means will stay here as they always have. And they will suffer." Abdul Rashid Shirzad with his family in Kabul, Afghanistan, on July 1, 2021. (Paula Bronstein for The Washington Post) KABUL, Afghanistan - The letters from his American military superiors glowed with superlatives. Abdul Rashid Shirzad, they wrote, was a "true hero" and a man of "great character and integrity" who had acted courageously under fire to save American lives during more than two years as a battlefield interpreter. In short, the formal commendations from three Navy SEAL commanders said, Shirzad was an exemplary model of how such interpreters - hired to help U.S. forces understand Afghan society and communicate in dangerous conditions with Afghan officials, villagers and prisoners - should perform their job. But in 2016, three years after his stint with U.S. Special Operations forces ended, Shirzad's application for a Special Immigrant Visa to the United States was denied. The terse letter from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul said that he had failed to provide "faithful and valuable service" and that his case "lacked sufficient documentation." No explanation was provided. Stunned, he said he appealed but never heard back. Today, Shirzad, 35, is one of thousands of former Afghan interpreters for U.S. military and civilian agencies whose visa cases have been languishing in bureaucratic limbo. Now with U.S. forces leaving the country, their hopes have suddenly been raised by a promised mass evacuation plan, still in the initial stages, that could send them to third countries to complete the process - though with no guarantee of approval. In interviews, a half-dozen former interpreters with pending cases, including Shirzad, said they had not been notified about the evacuation plan. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul said it could not discuss individual cases. "I gave everything I had to the Americans, but once they are gone, I will be killed," Shirzad said. He said Taliban extremists have hunted down and killed some former interpreters and sent threats to many others, including him. "They keep track of us, and they don't shoot us like they do Afghan soldiers. If they catch me, they will behead me." In recent weeks, several NATO allies who fought alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan, including Germany, France and Australia, have evacuated hundreds of Afghan interpreters as their own forces have withdrawn. Britain announced a new policy in April that would make it easier for interpreters to apply for asylum. The Biden administration, under pressure from Congress and other critics, announced it would create its own evacuation plan, potentially affecting thousands of special visa applicants. Last week, Biden said that "Afghans who helped us are not going to be left behind." But the plan has not been finalized, and in-person interviews have been halted at the U.S. Embassy because of a recent coronavirus outbreak that left one staff dead and sickened more than 100 others. Photos and letters from the military collected by Abdul Rashid Shirzad. (Paula Bronstein for The Washington Post ) An embassy spokesperson, Hilary Fuller Renner, said it had received no specific information about how the evacuation plan would work or when it would begin. State Department officials have said in-person visa interviews will resume as soon as it is safe, while other reviews will continue in Washington. Statistics released by the State Department show that of more than 26,000 special visa slots, including several thousand that were added after 2014, 15,500 visas were issued by the end of 2020 and another 11,000 remain available. Officials said approximately 18,000 former interpreters and other Afghans are at some stage of the application process, and roughly half would probably be found eligible. The cap on visas does not include family members. Several former interpreters expressed concern that if they were sent to another country for processing but were denied, they could be sent home to an uncertain fate. One applicant, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of being targeted by the Taliban, said that if he were offered the chance to leave but not guaranteed a visa, it would be a difficult choice. U.S. officials were initially said to be considering the island of Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific, for offshore visa processing. "Immigrating to another country is a big decision, for my family as well as myself," the applicant said. "Even waiting uncertainly for six months in a foreign country is hard. My life has been up in the air for years already. Should I disrupt everything when I don't know what the result will be?" But Shirzad, one of a group of interpreters who held a protest in Kabul last month demanding faster U.S. action on their visas, said news of the evacuation plan had revived his long-abandoned hopes for reaching a safe haven. "I don't care where they send me. I just want to be safe with my family," the father of three young boys said this week in an interview at his home. Even eight years after he left U.S. service, he said he remains fearful. Since May, Taliban forces have captured scores of districts across Afghanistan in an aggressive offensive. Afghan forces have pushed them back in some areas, with help from local volunteer fighters, but recently the extremists have surrounded several provincial capitals and seized districts in four areas close to the Afghan capital, according to Afghan officials and media reports. Peace talks between Taliban and Afghan leaders have made no progress since September, while the extremist group claims it has defeated U.S. forces and expects to lead a pure Islamic State. Its leaders have said they will treat Afghan civilians mercifully but punish those who have worked for the Afghan or U.S. governments. In recent interviews, several former interpreters expressed frustration with what they described as an arbitrary, confusing and opaque visa application system. Some said they were rejected and appealed but received no response. Others said the process took so long that supporting material for their cases, including costly medical tests and affidavits from long-ago supervisors, had to be resubmitted. In the meantime, most of those interviewed said they had been unable to return to their home villages or areas, because their ties to U.S. forces are widely known. Instead, they are living in cities, often jobless or underemployed. Shirzad, who speaks fluent English, now runs a local shop and says he gets little chance to use his language skills. Abdul Rashid Shirzad poses at his home in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Paula Bronstein for The Washington Post) "The Taliban have taken control of my village. I can't dare to go home to our farm. I can't even go on a picnic. I have become a prisoner of my house," said Omid Mahmoodi, 31, who worked with U.S. forces for three years in Kabul. He said one of his former fellow interpreters, who worked for French forces, had been "tracked down and killed by the Taliban." Mahmoodi said he applied for a special U.S. visa last year, after passing regular background checks during his years with the U.S. military, but was rejected on the grounds that he had failed a polygraph test. He said others had been rejected because they had not quite completed the two-year minimum U.S. employment to qualify for the visa, or had their work contracts unexpectedly "terminated." "Many have been terminated for no given reason," Mahmoodi said. "For the Taliban, it doesn't matter if an interpreter has worked for one day or one year, or if he has been blacklisted or terminated. In their eyes, he has been marked as an infidel supporter and ally of the invaders." Individual complaints of unfair visa denials are difficult to verify, but U.S. officials have said that in many cases, applicants are rejected due to suspicion or evidence of fraud, such as submitting fake identity documents or falsifying work histories. Many Afghans who apply for special visas may qualify on some grounds but not others. Some, such as drivers for civilian aid projects, can prove where they worked and submit bona fide letters from their American superiors but cannot prove they were exposed to danger - except in vague terms that would apply to large numbers of other Afghans. Military interpreters usually have much stronger cases and higher acceptance rates. But sometimes, other factors may carry more weight than harrowing descriptions of battlefield conditions. U.S. officials have said even interpreters with strong recommendations from their military superiors may commit offenses such as theft or assault that get them fired. Abdul Zubair Ebrahemi, 30, worked for the U.S. Army for three years and spent another three waiting for his visa, which was denied. As a combat translator, he said, "I was always on patrols. I served in the most dangerous southern provinces. I have medals and commendation letters. I was serving my country by helping America. I expected the U.S. government to support me." Instead, Ebrahimi said, his visa was denied because he had been "terminated" by the U.S. contracting firm that hired him. When he asked why, he was told the company was "not authorized to share the details." When he heard about the planned U.S. evacuation plan, he said, "it gave me a huge hope, but because of this termination on my record, I am worried that I might be left behind." For Shirzad, the startling disconnect between the strong endorsements he received from his Navy SEAL superiors and the denial of his visa for "failure to provide faithful and valuable service" is both mystifying and maddening. This week, poring through photos of himself with American buddies in the field and letters from commanders citing his service "above and beyond the call of duty," he sighed and shook his head. "What more could I have given? Why was I punished?" he asked. "I may never know the answer." Miami Beach resident Tracey Lynne visits a makeshift memorial near the site of the collapsed Champlain Towers South Condo in Surfside, Fla., on Saturday, July 3, 2021. (Matias J. Ocner, Miami Herald/AP) SURFSIDE, Fla. Rescuers suspended their search for the living and the dead in the rubble of a collapsed South Florida condo building Saturday to allow crews to start preparing the unstable remainder of the structure for demolition ahead of a tropical storm. The search and rescue mission was halted in the afternoon as workers began the precarious business of boring holes to hold explosives in the concrete of the still-standing portion of the Champlain Towers South tower in Surfside, Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah told relatives awaiting word on missing loved ones. In the closed-door briefing, Jadallah said the suspension was a necessary safety measure because the drilling could cause the structure to fail. If that were to happen, he said, "It's just going to collapse without warning." But in video that one of the relatives livestreamed on social media, one of them was heard calling it "devastating" that the search was on pause. She asked whether rescuers could at least work the perimeter of the site so as not "to stop the operation for so many painful hours." Also Saturday, the confirmed death toll from the partial collapse of the 12-story building rose to 24 with the discovery of two more bodies. There were 121 people still unaccounted for. Concerns had been mounting over the past week that the damaged structure was at risk of failure, endangering the crews below. The search in adjacent areas of the collapse site was curtailed, and shifts detected by monitors early Thursday prompted a 15-hour suspension of the entire effort until engineers determined it was safe to resume. The building won't come down until Monday at the earliest, according to Jadallah. That estimate was based on how many holes the demolition team needs to drill, he said, adding that the process has to move slowly to prevent a premature collapse. With Tropical Storm Elsa looming in the Caribbean and forecast to move toward the state in the coming days, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said demolishing the "tottering" and "structurally unsound" structure is the prudent thing to do. "If the building is taken down, this will protect our search and rescue teams, because we don't know when it could fall over," DeSantis said at a news conference earlier in the day. "And, of course, with these gusts, potentially that would create a really severe hazard." "The fear was that (Elsa) may take the building down for us and take it down in the wrong direction," Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said. Elsa was downgraded Saturday from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph) as it brushed past the island of Hispaniola, home to the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Search and rescue personnel work atop the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condo building, where scores of victims remain missing more than a week after it partially collapsed, Friday, July 2, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. (Mark Humphrey/AP) The long-term forecast track showed it heading toward Florida as a tropical storm by Tuesday morning, though some models would carry it into the Gulf or up the Atlantic Coast. Meteorologists warned that it could bring heavy rain and gusty winds to the Miami area. "So we can't let our guard down," said Robert Molleda of the National Weather Service. "You still need to be watching this very closely." Once the structure is demolished, the remnants will be removed immediately with the intent of giving rescuers access for the first time to parts of the garage area that are a focus of interest, Jadallah said. That could give a clearer picture of voids that may exist in the rubble and could possibly harbor survivors. No one has been rescued alive since the first hours after the June 24 collapse. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said officials would resume the search and rescue on any sections of the pile that are "safe to access as soon as we are cleared." Some families had asked to be able to return to the building to retrieve personal belongings, but they will not be allowed to do so. "At the end of the day, that building is too unsafe to let people go back in," DeSantis said. "I know there's a lot of people who were able to get out, fortunately, who have things there. We're very sensitive to that, but I don't think there's any way you can let somebody go up in that building given the shape that it's in now.'' ___ Calvan reported from Tallahassee, Florida. Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this report. The Lava Fire, near Mount Shasta and Lake Shastina in Siskiyou County, California, on June 27, 2021. (Paul Kuroda/Zuma Press/TNS) (Tribune News Service) Its now the biggest and fiercest wildfire to scorch California yet this season, but for a brief moment last week, fire crews thought they had the Lava fire beat. They couldnt have been more wrong. Nearly a week before the fire had gotten so large that it spawned an ominous smoke cloud taller than Mt. Shasta, triggered widespread evacuations and led to a fatal shooting, fire crews left the Shasta-Trinity National Forest believing they had fully contained the blaze at just a quarter-acre in size. The incident remains under investigation, but initial assessments suggest it is just the latest example of how drought and record heat are conspiring to heighten the danger, severity and unpredictability of this fire season. In this case, the battle was further complicated by craggy volcanic formations and conflict with nearby marijuana growing operations. This fire stayed very small until it didnt, said Adrienne Freeman, spokeswoman for the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in Northern California. The fire was sparked amid a rash of 83 lightning strikes on the evening of June 24 in weather conditions that were similar to those that triggered last years devastating lightning siege. The strikes ignited at least four fires, all of which were held to a tenth of an acre or less except one. The Lava fire was detected around 8:35 p.m., when emergency responders received a report of smoke in a remote area of ancient lava flows about 3.5 miles northeast of Weed. Authorities werent quite sure whose direct protection area the fire fell into, so battalions from the U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection both showed up, Freeman said. By the time crews were able to get access to the fire and start their work, it was around midnight. They eventually determined the area was under federal jurisdiction and the Cal Fire battalion left, Freeman said. Firefighters worked through the early-morning hours and all day June 25, putting a containment line around the blaze, she said. Flames that take root in old lava flows are notoriously difficult to extinguish, however. Essentially its layer upon layer of broken rock, with stands of trees and grass and shrubs worked into it, Freeman said. Helicopters that Friday dropped 7,920 gallons of water on the blaze in an attempt to saturate the nooks and crannies of the porous volcanic rock and penetrate the lava tubes that form networks of underground caves, which can harbor heat and flames, she said. By about 4 p.m. June 25, fire officials believed the fire was extinguished, Freeman said. They take off their gloves and use their hands to try to detect heat, she said. And then they also look for visible smoke. The crews waited to see if anything popped up, then left around 6:30 p.m., she said. About an hour later, authorities received a report of a glow in the vicinity, she said. They initially thought it was a new fire so sure were they that the previous one had been extinguished. But Forest Service crews discovered the fire had held over, and set about working on it all night, Freeman said. Things grew more dire however, when winds began to pick up. Thats just something about Mt. Shasta, its very unpredictable, Freeman said. The winds are very erratic. The mountain actually makes its own weather. By the next morning, June 26, the fire had spread to about two acres and was 50% contained. Firefighters from multiple agencies poured in. The California Air National Guard and Nevada Air National Guard sent C-130 air tankers, marking the first June activation of military firefighting aircraft since 2012. Despite their best efforts, the fire grew exponentially throughout the day as the wind pushed it uphill and temperatures rose. Nearby Mt. Shasta City broke daily records Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, with Sundays high of 103 degrees the hottest temperature recorded during June in the citys history, according to the National Weather Service. Residents watched in horror as the blaze swelled to 10 acres, then 80, then 220. Containment dropped to 25%. Evacuation warnings were issued for some areas. By Monday evening, they became evacuation orders. The fire jumped Highway 97. Tensions boiled over into violence as law enforcement officers were helping to evacuate the Mt. Shasta Vista subdivision, which is home to a large complex of cannabis farms run primarily by Hmong families. Some have been battling Siskiyou County over water restrictions. Around 8:30 p.m., a man allegedly tried to drive around a roadblock and pointed a handgun at officers, according to the Siskiyou County Sheriffs Office. Sheriffs deputies, as well as officers with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Etna Police Department, shot and killed him, authorities said. The Hmong man died in front of his wife and three children, according to a statement from Eric Alan Berg, an attorney who has represented some of the subdivisions residents in legal matters. In a bid to curtail illegal grows, the county in May passed an ordinance banning trucks carrying more than 100 gallons of water from traveling on certain roads. Some of the residents have decried the ordinance as racist because the roads are in primarily Hmong areas. Even when the fire neared the subdivision, water trucks were still being blocked from entering, Berg said, and an investigator with his law firm witnessed residents trying to fight the fire with dirt, using shovels and even their bare hands. Firefighters were refraining from actively fighting the fire there as of Tuesday afternoon, Berg said, referring to the incident as a humanitarian crisis. A spokeswoman for the incident management team handling the fire refuted that. Crews had to vacate the area during the time of the officer-involved shooting, for safety reasons, but as soon as the area was deemed safe again they were back in the area, engaged in fighting fire, said Michelle Carbonaro, public information officer with California Incident Management Team 14. It was a very short period of time. By Tuesday morning, the fire covered 13,330 acres and was 19% contained, sending up a huge column of smoke as it chewed through dry brush. When a plume-dominated fire gets wind on it, thats when you get that really significant fire spread, Freeman said. Intense fires can heat up the atmosphere so much that the smoke plume rises and creates a pyrocumulus cloud, said Brian Nieuwenhuis, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Medford, Ore. If you can get the right atmospheric conditions at the same time, it basically creates its own sort of circulation, he said. Ive heard people refer to it as a large heat pump before because its taking all the heat and shooting it up into the atmosphere. At one point Tuesday, the pyrocumulus cloud generated by the Lava fire grew to 38,000 feet more than twice as tall as Mt. Shasta itself, according to the weather service. Such clouds can result in a self-reinforcing feedback, in which the fires size and intensity create a weather system that makes the fire grow even larger and more intense, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA. Those are the conditions under which the fires can become somewhat self-sustaining, he said. They generate stronger winds near themselves. Predictable conditions are key to guiding firefighters decision-making. They know that in a typical river drainage, winds will blow upslope when temperatures warm in the afternoon and downslope when things cool off, Freeman said. By contrast, she said, there is no predictability on Mt. Shasta. By Friday, the fire was 23,849 acres and 27% contained, as crews were assisted by calmer winds and cooler temperatures, Carbonaro said. Evacuation orders had been downgraded to warnings. No fire-related deaths had been reported. A county-led team was working to conduct an official assessment of structure damage. The area where the fire started has a history of fairly frequent blazes, but firefighters have generally been able to keep them quite small, Freeman said. Once theyre no longer so busy fighting fires, authorities will go back and try to determine why this time was different. One possibility, Freeman said, was that the fire was carried through the root systems of the plants that grow in the lava rock. The root systems are atypically dry it is unusual for us to see fuel conditions like this at this time of year, she said. If they are dry enough they will carry fire or heat that is undetectable from the surface. That could mean the response would have been sufficient to contain the fire in most years but simply couldnt hold up to this seasons extreme conditions. UCLAs Swain calls this mismatch between time-honed expectations and conditions that are increasingly producing fire behavior no one thought to be likely shifting baseline syndrome. There are a variety of reasons for it, he said, but chief among them is the fact that climate change has driven more intense fires that become larger more quickly than they used to. We are seeing June fires behave like August and September fires, Swain said. And were seeing August and September fires behave in ways we didnt really see at all historically, except under the most dire conditions. Protesters clash with police outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for The Washington Post ) WASHINGTON - Nearly six months after the U.S. Capitol riot, the Justice Department has begun arresting a new category of alleged criminals - those who attacked reporters or damaged their equipment as journalists documented the violence perpetrated by supporters of President Donald Trump. The first such charge came last week, when 43-year-old Shane Jason Woods of Illinois was charged with engaging in violence on the Capitol grounds Jan. 6, as well as assaulting a law enforcement officer. Authorities say Woods was caught on video knocking down a cameraman. The arrests come at a contentious moment for the Justice Department and First Amendment advocates, who have sharply criticized federal law enforcement for secretly issuing subpoenas of reporters' phone records during the Trump administration. The new attorney general, Merrick Garland, has ordered the drafting of new rules for prosecutors when trying to identify who may have leaked classified information, but critics of the long-standing Justice Department policy say it should not have taken another set of controversial subpoenas for law enforcement officials to stop using such secretive measures to hunt for reporters' sources. Amid that ongoing tension, the Justice Department has begun arresting some of those who allegedly surrounded a group of reporters outside the Capitol, ran them off and then set out to destroy tens of thousands of dollars worth of their gear. On Thursday, FBI agents arrested a Covington, Va., man for allegedly destroying journalists' equipment. Joshua Dillon Haynes was charged with smashing their gear outside the Capitol and bragging about it in a text to a friend. Haynes was the fifth person arrested in connection with attacks on the media in a little more than a week. "We attacked the CNN reporters and the fake news and destroyed tens of thousands of dollars of their video and television equipment here's a picture behind me of the pile we made out of it," he allegedly messaged the person, according to court papers. Court papers filed in the "attacks on media" cases suggest that charging someone with assaulting a journalist or vandalizing their equipment is a bit more complex than other rioting charges. There is no federal law specifically against attacking a journalist, so the Justice Department has charged those who went after reporters or their gear on Jan. 6 with committing violence in the restricted grounds of the Capitol, or destroying property on the Capitol grounds. More such arrests are expected, according to officials. "We welcome the Justice Department's steps to hold people accountable for assaulting journalists and damaging their equipment as they documented one of the worst attacks on our democracy in recent times. These charges send a very clear message that the Justice Department will protect journalists who are doing their jobs to keep us informed," said Bruce Brown, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Other advocates said the issue of journalist safety is bigger than Trump, the 2020 election and American politics. "It's heartening that the Justice Department is taking attacks against reporters seriously," said Katherine Jacobsen, a researcher at the Committee to Protect Journalists, which had called for investigations of Jan. 6 attacks on the press. Bringing such cases, she said, "sends a signal that journalists do play an essential role in our democracy." While Congress was the central focus of the rioters' anger that day, many in the mob expressed disgust for journalists, with one person scrawling "murder the media" on a congressional door. "The vilification of the media that we saw from the previous administration was incredibly concerning, and that played into a longer arc of rising anti-press sentiment across the country," she said. "Jan. 6 showed that what the administration says about the media does matter, words do matter, and can have very negative, very real impact on reporters and their ability to do their jobs safely." Chase Kevin Allen, a 25-year-old man from Seekonk, Mass., was arrested this week on charges of engaging in violence and destroying property on the grounds of the Capitol. According to FBI papers filed in court against Allen, he was seen on video stomping on reporting equipment as a large group of individuals swarmed several reporters and drove them away. In one video, a person who appears to be Allen is seen cursing and yelling for the journalists to leave the area. After his arrest, Allen spoke to reporters outside his home, saying he was a documentarian who went to the Capitol on Jan. 6 to observe and record what happened, and compared himself to a reporter. Speaking without a shirt, revealing a chest tattoo that said, "Vanilla," Allen declined to comment about the specific allegations against him. "I'm working everything out with the courts and whatnot," he said. Earlier in the week, the Justice Department charged a woman with disorderly conduct and trespassing after videos showed her egging on an attack on a New York Times photographer inside the Capitol during the rioting. Investigators say that in one of the videos, Sandra Pomeroy Weyer of Mechanicsburg, Pa., can be heard calling the photographer a traitor and urging others to "get her out" and "mace her." Separately, two men from Long Island were charged with destroying media equipment. According to court papers, much of the key evidence against Gabriel Brown and Zvonimir Jurlina was contained in videos they took of themselves that day. The FBI affidavit filed against Brown describes video of him denouncing the media as he and a group of others surround journalists' television equipment and try to damage it. "Smash that [expletive]," Brown said in one video, according to the court papers. "You know what, the media did not want to do its job so now they [expletive] can't." After he was taken into custody Monday in Texas, Jurlina posted a video online in which he called himself a "political prisoner." On the video, which has since been taken down, Jurlina said: "Donald Trump, please pay for my legal fees because this all happened because of you . . . and I did nothing wrong." Jack Downing in 1999. (Courtesy of the CIA) Jack Downing, a renowned spymaster who became the only CIA officer to run and recruit agents in both Beijing and Moscow during the Cold War, then came out of retirement in 1997 to reinvigorate the agencys demoralized clandestine branch, died June 27 at his home in Portland, Ore. He was 80. The cause was colon cancer, said his daughter, Wendy. Downing was the consummate field agent, colleagues said, a Harvard graduate and Marine Corps veteran who served two tours in Vietnam, spoke fluent Chinese and Russian, and delighted in reciting Chinese poetry as well as developing new ways to evade the KGB. He was everybodys idealized version of what a spy would be like, said Jonna Mendez, a former chief of disguise at the CIA. At age 56, Downing was coaxed out of retirement to serve as deputy director for operations, charged with overseeing espionage operations around the world. George Tenet, who had just been appointed the nations fourth director of intelligence in five years, later recalled that the agencys expertise was ebbing, with the clandestine service in disarray. Morale had been shaken by sexual discrimination lawsuits and a host of spy scandals, most notably the revelation that Aldrich Ames, a 31-year CIA veteran, was a double agent who had been spying for the Russians for nearly a decade. He was arrested by the FBI in 1994 and later sentenced to life in prison, after providing the Soviets with a list of agents who were working for Western intelligence agencies. Two years into retirement, Downing had grave doubts about coming back, he later told the New York Times. But he had a profound attachment to spycraft and to the company where he had spent nearly three decades working undercover, including tours as station chief in the Communist capitals of Moscow and Beijing. When he finally agreed to lead the Directorate of Operations, or DO, as the CIAs clandestine division is known, his appointment was celebrated by veterans at Langley headquarters. Reporters likened him to George Smiley, the reserved protagonist of John le Carre spy novels, who is plucked out of retirement to help British intelligence. I got a superstar, Tenet declared. Downing championed a back-to-basics approach to spycraft while trying to harness new technologies to improve intelligence collection. Officers who had resigned in the previous two years were interviewed to find out why, and resignations dropped by at least 50 percent during his tenure. Crucially, Downing developed a close relationship with Rep. Porter Goss, R-Fla., a former CIA officer who chaired the House Intelligence Committee and was later appointed CIA director by President George W. Bush. Goss backed major budget increases, enabling the agency to hire a wave of new officers and expand its global footprint, and saluted the spy chief from the floor of the House shortly before Downing retired in July 1999. Under Jack, he said, DO officers have found ways to penetrate terrorist cells, to get inside the cabinet rooms of rogue states, and to detect and disrupt the movement of narcotics. . . . Where there used to be malaise is now a sense of mission. Where there used to be risk aversion is now a feeling of confidence. Downing was not without his critics, including those who said that he was ill-equipped to address the threat of terrorism. He later said that he had recognized the need for better intelligence in Iraq and kept pounding away on the issue, according to journalist James Risens CIA history State of War (2006), but was never able to find reliable sources in the country. Still, he said he was proud to have brought a new energy to the clandestine ranks, in part through revamped training programs. Downing reinstituted a parachute requirement, intended in part to boost confidence and camaraderie, in which all operations officers were required to bail out of an airplane at 1,200 feet. Ordinary people are not inclined to jump out of an airplane, he told The Washington Post in a 1999 interview, and we are not looking for ordinary people. The younger of two children, Jack Gregory Downing was born in Honolulu on Oct. 21, 1940. His father, a naval officer, survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor but was killed in action at the Battle of Guadalcanal. Downing grew up at his grandparents home in Dallas, where his mother became the couture buyer at Neiman-Marcus, jetting to Europe to meet with designers such as Karl Lagerfeld and Rosita Missoni. After graduating from the Hill School, a boarding school in Pottstown, Pa., Downing studied Chinese language and history at Harvard. He received bachelors and masters degrees and was recruited by the CIA, only to fail the physical because he was sick, according to his daughter. He joined the Marine Corps, rose to the rank of captain and was discharged on a Friday in 1967. The following Monday, he joined the CIA. Downing served as special assistant to retired Navy Adm. Stansfield Turner, the CIA director under President Jimmy Carter, and was head of the East Asia division in between postings. In the early 1980s he also partnered with Tony Mendez, the CIA chief of disguise who became known for smuggling six American hostages out of Iran, to develop the equivalent of a graduate course in spycraft. They came up with some new deceptions and illusions, said Jonna Mendez, Tonys widow and sometime collaborator. (He died in 2019.) At the end of the day we were working with the magic community out in Hollywood. If you can disappear an elephant on a stage, maybe you can disappear a CIA officer in Moscow on the street. And they ended up doing it over and over, often using a technique known as identity transfer, in which an agent or officer was made to look like someone else. Downing and Mendez taught officers how to evade detection in cities like Havana and Beijing, but were forced to develop new methods after one of the courses graduates, Edward Lee Howard, fled to Moscow in 1985. The next year, Downing was posted to the city as station chief, during a treacherous period in which Ames was passing intelligence to the Russians but had not yet been caught. In between his stints at the CIA, Downing worked as a vice president at a consulting firm. He later partnered with former CIA director Richard Helms to launch the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation, which supports the children and spouses of officers who have died in the line of duty. Survivors include his wife of 59 years, the former Suzanne Leisenring of Portland; two children, Wendy Downing of Portland and John G. Downing of Truckee, Calif.; a sister; and four grandchildren. Downing received the CIAs Distinguished Intelligence Medal and Trailblazer award. In 1995, after he retired for the first time, he was presented another honor of sorts, according to Tony and Jonna Mendezs nonfiction book The Moscow Rules. In an apparent tip of the hat to a worthy adversary, he received a coffee-table book printed by the Russians, consisting entirely of surveillance photos that showed him driving or walking down the streets of Moscow. A room at the Deported Veterans Support House in Tijuana. (Jane Hahn/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON The Biden administration unveiled plans Friday to bring hundreds, possibly thousands, of deported veterans and their immediate family members back to the United States, saying their removal failed to live up to our highest values. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas ordered his departments immigration agencies to immediately take steps to ensure that military families may return to the United States. He said the department would also halt pending deportation proceedings against veterans or their immediate relatives who are in the United States, and clear the way for those who are eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship. The Department of Homeland Security recognizes the profound commitment and sacrifice that service members and their families have made to the United States of America, Mayorkas said in a statement Friday. We are committed to bringing back military service members, veterans, and their immediate family members who were unjustly removed and ensuring they receive the benefits to which they may be entitled. President Joe Biden had promised on the campaign trail to direct DHS during his first 100 days in office to stop targeting veterans and their families for deportation and to create a process for veterans deported by the Trump administration to return to the United States. Veterans advocates have expressed concern in recent weeks that few veterans or their relatives have returned, while others remained in deportation proceedings. Many deported veterans also say they have been unable to access benefits such as health care from overseas. In a memo Friday, the heads of DHSs immigration agencies said they will review policies to ensure that military veterans and their relatives are welcome to remain in or return to the United States. Officials said they would also work with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Defense Department to ensure that veterans can access their health benefits, including coronavirus vaccinations, and that recruits can take the oath of citizenship, including while at basic training. DHS will establish a Military Resource Center online with a toll-free number and email address to help families with their immigration applications. Its our responsibility to serve all veterans as well as they have served us - no matter who they are, where they are from, or the status of their citizenship, VA Secretary Denis McDonough said in a statement. Keeping that promise means ensuring that noncitizen service members, veterans, and their families are guaranteed a place in the country they swore an oath and in many cases fought to defend. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deported veterans for decades, including when Biden was vice president. The precise number of deportees is unclear because the government failed to screen veterans before deporting them, a 2019 Government Accountability Office report found. Advocacy organizations estimate the government deported hundreds of veterans and thousands of their relatives. Typically veterans were deported because they were convicted of crimes. Veterans advocates have said that many fell into trouble because of post-traumatic stress disorder related to their military service. But many of their relatives had no criminal records, such as the mother of an Air Force staff sergeant who returned last month. Buy Photo Medal of Honor recipient Michael Fitzmaurice attends a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, Va., on March 23, 2018. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes) (Tribune News Service) By all accounts, Michael Fitzmaurice is a military hero, but he doesnt think so. I was just lucky and did my job, Fitzmaurice told the Journal on Tuesday. That response is a humbling characteristic of South Dakotas lone surviving Congressional Medal of Honor winner and the person whose name graces the Michael J. Fitzmaurice State Veterans Home in Hot Springs. Fitzmaurice was born March 9, 1950 in Jamestown, North Dakota. His arrival was an unexpected surprise for his parents. I was a preemie. My parents were just passing through and there I was, Fitzmaurice said. They left me up there and came back home [to South Dakota] for a month and then came back and retrieved me. Fitzmaurice grew up in the small East River town of Cavour and graduated in 1969 from Iroquois High School, near the border of Beadle and Kingsbury counties. His family had served in the military, so the decision to continue that tradition of service to country was an easy one to make. Me and three buddies came down to Sioux Falls and we all signed up. I went to the Army and there were two Marines and one Navy. So, we all went different, but the important thing, I guess, is that we chose to do it, Fitzmaurice said. Fitzmaurice enlisted with the U.S. Army and went to Basic Training at Fort Lewis, Washington on October 31, 1969 and went to Advanced Individual Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, specializing in armored reconnaissance. By March 1970, Fitzmaurice was in the war zone. He was the only one of his group of friends to go to Vietnam. Fitzmaurice was assigned to the Second Squadron, 17th Cavalry, 101st Airborne Division a helicopter-borne unit. They would be deployed to places where combat was already going on if another outfit needed help. After two months in Vietnam, Fitzmaurices unit was called into action to Khe Sanh, an active battle front that had seen numerous conflicts with the Viet Cong since early 1968. History shows that Khe Sanh was a hellish place after North Vietnamese troops attacked and surrounded the U.S. base there, bringing on a 77-day siege. Back in 1968, the U.S. Marines stationed there barely survived and America abandoned the base. However, a decision to go into Laos was made three years later, meaning that its long-abandoned airstrip was again needed for raids against the Ho Chi Minh trail. Fitzmaurices unit was assigned to guard the airstrip. On March 23, 1971, all hell broke loose again. We were attacked. They came and blew us up, Fitzmaurice bluntly said. As he recalls, the battle with the North Vietnamese began two or three days earlier with rocket and mortar attacks. On the evening of March 23, Fitzmaurice was on guard duty. I went out on the line and when it was over, I was going to go back to bed. Well, we no more got into our bunker than they started putting in the rockets and stuff again, he said. I had two really good buddies, Phil and Bill, so, Phil and I went out to get into the fighting position and there was one of our guys who had been all blown to crap laying there on the ground. Phil and I got into our hole. From there, they just started hammering us. Phil and Fitzmaurice had to move to another bunker, and Fitzmaurice credits Phil for saving his life. I wouldnt even be here if Phil hadnt shot a bunch as we came out, he said. We come running and they blew the main bunker. The other guys got buried, but Phil and I got into the fighting position and headed to another bunker. While at the new bunker, he and Phil joined at least one other soldier as the firefight against the Viet Cong continued to escalate. The enemy troops launched three hand grenades towards the Americans. Fitzmaurice able to throw two of the grenades back, but one remained. It was a literal ticking time bomb. Fitzmaurice quickly covered the grenade with his flack jacket to protect his friends from the imminent blast. There was no place to go, so it was just lucky, he said. Fitzmaurice said he was banged up pretty good when the grenade exploded. Thats certainly an understatement. He was seriously wounded and partially blinded by the blast. But he continued to fight, refusing medical treatment. He wanted to continue the fight. In fact, when his rifle was damaged, he grabbed another rifle from an enemy soldier. When the fighting finally subsided at daybreak, Fitzmaurice finally consented to medical treatment. Because of the severity of his injuries, he received as much treatment as possible in the fields of Vietnam before coming back to the United States. After 13 months of surgeries and hospitalization at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado, Fitzmaurice was honorably discharged in April 1972. He decided to come home to South Dakota, where he got a job cutting pigs at a processing plant near Huron. By that time, he had married his wife, Patty, on March 7, 1973 and the couple began raising a family, when he received a surprise phone call. Im out there sawing a pig and I get a call and they said it was The White House, Fitzmaurice said. They told me I was going to be receiving the Medal of Honor. I didnt even know I was put in for that. I couldnt tell anyone until they put out a press release. It had to come out in the newspaper before I could even say anything about it. Fitzmaurice said the announcement took him by surprise, but he would be on his way with his family to Washington, D.C. to be honored by President Richard Nixon in October 1973. He said his family was treated like movie stars, with a huge hotel suite, fine dining and even a few beverages for his brother. It was magical and fun, I have to say, but at the same time, I didnt understand what was so special about what had happened in Vietnam, Fitzmaurice said. I was just doing what I was trained to do, and I was just lucky. Nixon presented the Medal of Honor to Fitzmaurice at a White House ceremony on October 15, 1973. But that moment of stardom didnt impact the person that Fitzmaurice is. He came home to South Dakota and went back to work processing pigs. Fitzmaurice said he got a job with the Veterans Administration in Reno, Nevada as a benefits counselor. But I hated it, Fitzmaurice said bluntly. Once again, Fitzmaurice came back home to South Dakota to processing pigs. Even though he hated the VA job in Nevada, he made a good contact. Fitzmaurice said one of the big head honchos from Nevada came to Sioux Falls and he wanted to know if Fitzmaurice wanted to get back into the VA. He said yes. Fitzmaurice worked for the maintenance department at the VA facility in Sioux Falls for the next 23 years, while still serving with the South Dakota Army National Guard and Air National Guard. In 1998, Gov. Bill Janklow named the South Dakota State Veterans Home in Hot Springs after Fitzmaurice in appreciation for his service. A true hero, indeed. ___ (c)2021 Rapid City Journal, S.D. Visit Rapid City Journal, S.D. at http://www.rapidcityjournal.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Melissa Lindhorst, 45, passed away June 26, 2021. A "Come and Go" reception will be from 4-6:00pm Saturday, July 10, 2021 at the Strode Funeral Home Chapel. Interment will be at Fairlawn Cemetery at a later date. Changes to the SunCommercial's back end processing means the e-edition is getting a facelift. The biggest change is the e-edition, by default, is now presented in Text view. Do you already have a paid subscription to any of the SWNewsMedia newspapers? If so, you can Activate your Premium online account by clicking here. Activation will allow you to view unlimited online articles each month. To activate your Premium online account, the email address and phone number provided with your paid newspaper subscription needs to match the information you use in setting up your online user account. If you are having trouble or want to confirm what email address and phone number is listed on your subscription account, please call 952-345-6682 or email circulation@swpub.com and we'll be happy to assist. Alexander City, AL (35010) Today Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 69F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. The Taos News delivered to your Taos County address every week for a full year! We offer our lowest mail rates to zip codes in the county. Click Here to See if you Qualify. Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. You may cancel at anytime. Thank you for Reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and Purchase a Subscription to continue reading. RahulNagaraj BHPian Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Bangalore Posts: 225 Thanked: 2,444 Times You can buy an almost-new Mercedes W124 for $60,000 As per the German dealer, the almost-new W124 is said to have been a showcase vehicle at a local dealership back in 1987. A year after being in the showroom, the car was sent into storage, having remained there for nearly 33 years now. The W124 is said to be in pristine condition and unused, hence being sold as a 'new' car. The 1987 Mercedes-Benz W124 230E comes finished in '735 Astralsilber' paintwork. Inside, the seats are finished in grey fabric upholstery, while the centre console features wood inlays. The W124 is also said to come with features such as a sunroof, anti-lock braking system (ABS), automatic locking differential and a basic radio & audio system; among others. The Mercedes-Benz W124 230E comes powered by a 2.3-litre in-line 4-cylinder petrol engine. It is said to produce 132 BHP and is mated to a manual transmission unit. Source: Link to Team-BHP news Mechatronik - a German car dealer specialising in classic Mercedes-Benz models, has listed an almost-new W124 230E sedan for sale. The 'new' 1987 Mercedes-Benz W124 230E is said to have only 995 km on the odometer and has been priced at around $60,000.As per the German dealer, the almost-new W124 is said to have been a showcase vehicle at a local dealership back in 1987. A year after being in the showroom, the car was sent into storage, having remained there for nearly 33 years now. The W124 is said to be in pristine condition and unused, hence being sold as a 'new' car.The 1987 Mercedes-Benz W124 230E comes finished in '735 Astralsilber' paintwork. Inside, the seats are finished in grey fabric upholstery, while the centre console features wood inlays. The W124 is also said to come with features such as a sunroof, anti-lock braking system (ABS), automatic locking differential and a basic radio & audio system; among others.The Mercedes-Benz W124 230E comes powered by a 2.3-litre in-line 4-cylinder petrol engine. It is said to produce 132 BHP and is mated to a manual transmission unit.Source: Mechatronik Last edited by RahulNagaraj : 1st July 2021 at 10:30 . (Photo : GettlyImages/ SOPA Images ) Amazon and Apple antitrust Apple and Amazon are currently being investigated in Spain. The two companies are accused of preventing any third-party sellers from selling iPads, iPhones, and Macs in the country. Apple and Amazon Under Investigation Spain's Comision Nacional De Los Mercados Y La Competencia or CNMC announced on July 2 that it was investigating if Apple and Amazon have unfairly colluded to reduce Apple's competition in the e-commerce site for electronic products. The group is looking for proof of any deals that Apple and Amazon have made to limit the sale of Apple products on Amazon's site, according to 9to5 Mac. Also Read: Apple AirTags vs. Tile: Cupertino's Antitrust, Monopolistic Copy from Bluetooth Startup? Spain's CNMC is not just looking into the sales of Apple products, it is also investigating if the effort is strengthening Amazon's position in marketing services to third-party resellers. If found guilty, there won't be a fast resolution, just like the other antitrust investigations. The CNMC has given itself a maximum of 18 months to examine the issue and determine a final resolution fully. Appeals could extend this timeline further, according to Reuters. Apple is selling its products directly on Amazon in Spain, and after a few months, it did the same worldwide. The deal also applies to the United States, France, United Kingdom, India, Germany, Italy, and Japan, and they began in 2018. Before Apple struck a deal with Amazon, the products were either unavailable or only sold through the third-party marketplace. This process is led to Apple products being offered to Amazon customers at different price points, and some products were not in perfect condition. In the United States, the terms of the Apple and Amazon agreement mean that Apple must authorize resellers to distribute its products, or they should purchase at least $2.5 million in refurbished inventory every 90 days. The refurbished inventory must come directly from Apple or through a third party with more than $5 billion in annual sales, usually meaning carriers and national retailers, according to MacRumors. Third-party vendors not meeting those required purchase thresholds are prevented from selling Apple products on the Amazon store, and this rule began in 2019. Apple and Amazon's Other Antitrust Investigations In April, Apple was accused by the European Union or EU of breaking its competition rules after Spotify complained that Apple wants a dominant position in the music streaming industry. The EU investigation is still ongoing, but if Apple is found guilty of breaking EU rules, the company will face a fine of up to 10% of its annual revenue, which could be as high as $27 billion based on Apple's annual revenue of $274.5 billion in 2020. Apple would also have to change its business model completely. As for Amazon, the e-commerce giant is currently facing an antitrust investigation as the Federal Trade Commission or FTC in the United States due to its questionable business behavior. The FTC often looks at whether prices go up or down for consumers as the committee believes it is necessary to understand why a high-growing platform might engage in predatory pricing. Amazon was also accused of pressuring its suppliers of selling at least 30% of their company to the e-commerce giant as part of their deal. Related Article: Apple and Google Hit With Another Antitrust Case and this Time in Japan This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Sophie Webster 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. (Photo : Screenshot From Samsung Official Website) Samsung Exynos 1200 S5E8825 Could be the Company's New Powerful Midrange Chip | Find Out More Samsung Exynos 1200 S5E8825 could be the company's brand new powerful midrange chip! The company now looks like it is testing the midrange Exynos chip. Samsung Exynos Chips A Dutch website Galaxy Club has just reported the existence of a brand new chip with the model number S5E8825. The previous Exynos 2100 that is known to fuel the Samsung Galaxy S21 is known by its official model number S5E9840 and even its successor, the more colloquially referred to as the Samsung Exynos 2200, goes by the model number S5E9925. Previously, a leaker called Ice Universe noted that Samsung is going to release three different chips this year. The chips expected to be released were the flagship Exynos 22xx SoC, a new Samsung mid-tier 12xx processor, and even another entry-level 8xx silicone. S5E8825 Judging by the chip's model name, it currently seems like the newly discovered S5E8825 is considered some sort of midrange chip that Samsung might call the Exynos 1200. It also currently looks like it will slot somewhere below the Exynos 2100. During the past, it was still quite relatively easy to differentiate between both the mid-range chips and the premium chips. The previous Exynos 990, which is known to power the Samsung Galaxy S20 series, also comes with a model number S5E9830. Samsung Mongoose Cores The Exynos 9820 that is known to underpin the Samsung Galaxy S10 series also uses the model number S5E9820. Another mid-tier phone, the Samsung Galaxy A50 Exynos 9610 is running with its model number, the S5E9610. According to PhoneArena, starting last year, Samsung actually stopped using its very own proprietary Mongoose cores and decided to adopt ARM's design instead. This could actually be why it has quite a slightly changed the model name nomenclature too and the model now seems more aligned. Read Also: Samsung's Sam 3D Virtual Assistant is Now Taking Over the Internet, Will She Replace Bixby? Will Samsung be Using the Exynos 1200? The Samsung Exynos 1200 is expected to presumably succeed the previous Exynos 1080 which is a 5nm mid-tier chip that was previously announced some time late last year. It also seems to be in the advanced stages of development as it is still allegedly undergoing more extensive testing. The chip also has its very own built-in 5G modem and according to yet another report, it could actually come out with an AMD GPU! If a more recent report still does not come from a more reliable source to go by, the brand new processor could be using ARM's Cortex 11 as the device's main core. As good as the chip does actually sound, Samsung might not even use the Exynos 1200 for the company's phones and might even sell it to some other Chinese smartphone makers like what happened to the previous Exynos 1080. Of course, this is still unknown and fans will have to wait until the official announcement to know where the Exynos 1200 will really end up in. Related Article: Samsung 870 Evo SSD Vs 860 SSD: Price and Speed Comparison This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Urian B. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. (Photo : Photo by Lev Fedoseyev\TASS via Getty Images) MURMANSK REGION, RUSSIA - JANUARY 12, 2021: The Northern Lights. A probe shot amazing photos of Mars' nightside aurora as it studied the Martian atmosphere. Nightside Aurora Spotted According to a report by Futurism, the probe was sent by the United Arab Emirates in hopes of studying the Martian landscape. Everything was going as planned, until the unexpected phenomenon shocked the researchers and immediately took still photos to immortalize the event. The nightside aurora is said to be notoriously hard to detect and let alone take pictures of. However, as luck would have it, instruments of the scientific vessel were able to catch a glimmer of the aurora that was otherwise proven very difficult to study. The images were released on Wednesday, June 30, that showed the auroras looking like a shape of bright dots pitted against Mars' dark sky. The discovery only happened by coincidence and was not even part of the science vessel's observation mission. This discovery sets up the Emirates Mars Mission to possibly encounter more discoveries later this year. Justin Deighan, a planetary scientist at the University of Colorado as well as the deputy science lead of the mission spoke to Space.com saying, "They're not easy to catch, and so that's why seeing them basically right away with [Emirates Mars Mission] was kind of exciting and unexpected." He went on and said that the discovery was on their radar but actually being able to witness it for the first time was "a lot of fun." Read More: NASA Mars Curiosity Rover Detects 'Small Amount of Methane' on the Red Planet--But ESA's Trace Gas Spacecraft Could Not Find It Auroras on Earth and Mars Auroras are the creation of the planet's magnetic field as charged particles get sent out into the atmosphere. They alter their own trajectories sporadically, causing the particles to then ionize and create light that we see in a myriad of colors as they mingle with each other. The auroras on Mars, however, are different to Earth as it doesn't happen in just the north and south poles but appears on every part of the planet. This happens as the magnetically charged atmosphere of the Red Planet isn't the same as the one located on Earth. These three images of atomic oxygen emission at a wavelength of 103.4 nm from the planet Mars were obtained by the Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer instrument on 22 April, 23 April, and 06 May 2021 respectively. pic.twitter.com/YDFOAOm4et Hope Mars Mission (@HopeMarsMission) June 30, 2021 Deighan came to explain it as if taking a bag full of magnets and sprinkling them over the planet, and all of the magnets are pointing in different directions with varying strengths. The scattered magnetic fields then cause the solar wind particles to blast off in different areas that interact with molecules and atoms in the upper atmosphere. Emirates Mars Mission The probe used its Ultraviolet Spectrometer to capture the reclusive phenomenon that was originally meant to study the gigantic halo of hydrogen and oxygen surrounding Mars. The mixture of the two then dissipates towards the outer atmosphere. Hessa Al Matroushi, the mission's leading figure, said that they didn't anticipate that the instrument could capture such a feat and went on saying that it wasn't designed for it. However, the accidental mistake is an exciting one for the team as their mission was to capture different sides of the atmosphere of Mars. The team is excited and hoping for new discoveries that could create newer doors for which they could study in terms of the Martian planet and how solar activity interacts with it regularly. Read More: Mars Exploration Update: Chinese Rover Zhurong Sends Back First Audio and Video Clips This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Alec G. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. (Photo : GettlyImages/ Pool ) The Boring Company tunnel Elon Musk's The Boring Company is looking into building an underground transit system to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Boring Company is Musk's tunneling venture, even calling the concept 'Tesla in a tunnel.' Elon Musk's Tunneling Company Pitches Project Mayor Dean J. Trantalis of Fort Lauderdale wrote on his Twitter that they'd received a proposal from The Boring Company to build an underground transit loop between the downtown area and the beach. Mayor Trantalis added that the project is called The Las Olas Loop and that it represents an innovative and unprecedented approach to addressing the town's traffic congestion and transit needs. Despite publicly announcing the pitch, Mayor Trantalis said it is not a done deal yet, according to The Verge. Also Read: Elon Musk Eyes 'Boring Company' To Reduce Traffic Via Underground Tunnels The Boring Company does not have much experience yet. Founded in 2016, the company has only dug three tunnels. The first was a test tunnel in Los Angeles, California, and the other two were 0.8-mile tunnels underneath the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nevada. The three tunnels have yet to be proven out as a functional transit system. Musk's original idea for The Boring Company was to create an underground transit system for high-frequency autonomous electric sleds capable of carrying dozens of people. But that idea was dismissed in favor of a system that can only accommodate individual sleds that can carry a couple of people at a time. Nonetheless, Musk was able to successfully impress numerous city officials with his concept of Teslas ferrying passengers through its neon-lit tunnels. Aside from its pitch to Fort Lauderdale, The Boring Company has also proposed an underground transit in Miami, Florida, with a $30 million loop system budget. The company's previous project, such as the 35-mile tunnel from Washington, D.C to Baltimore, and a loop system in Chicago, Illinois, has been canceled. According to the officials in Fort Lauderdale, The Boring Company reached out to them earlier this year to talk about underground alternatives to the construction of a high-rise commuter rail bridge over the New River. The town said in a statement that the underground transit loop would provide faster and more efficient access between the downtown area and the beach and solve the ever-growing traffic problem in the streets. Other details regarding the Fort Lauderdale pitch, such as the length of the tunnel and the total cost, have not been revealed. The town says that state law prohibits the release of the plan's specifics until the competitive process is concluded. The City Commission of Florida is scheduled to vote on whether to accept the proposal. If the proposal is not accepted, other firms can come forward and pitch their ideas. Pushing for Wider Tunnels According to Bloomberg, The Boring Company wants to create tunnels that are 21 feet in diameter, almost twice the size of the 12-foot tunnels the company has built so far. The latest size pitch could accommodate at least two shipping containers side by side. The Boring Company claimed that the new system could transport 50,000 passengers per hour as Musk wants to solve "soul-destroying traffic" in cities. Related Article: Elon Musk Hints Boring Company will Build Loops in Austin, Texas as Las Vegas Tunnel is Almost Done This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Sophie Webster 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule is going to offer one heck of a ride for its crew once the call of nature comes. SlashGear reports that a few details about how the crew will live aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule have surfaced, including how the astronauts are going to "do their business." According to reports, the crew will have what is perhaps the best view ever from the bathroom, and it's not even close. For any astronauts who use the bathroom, they will have a perfect, 360-degree view of the Earth and the deep, dark void of space. That's because instead of having a docking connector at the nose of the capsule, SpaceX installed a glass cupola. That's where the bathroom is. While there's not much privacy (only a single curtain shields a person from everybody else), the spectacular view offers more than enough consolation, it seems. The information comes from mission commander Jared Isaacman, whose words were published in an article by Business Insider. He will help the mission called Inspiration4, whose main goal is to fly above the height of the International Space Station and conduct scientific experiments up there for three days. It's also worth noting that the SpaceX mission is going to feature all relatively ordinary people. The mission will be the first in history to have no professional astronaut on board, which is already amazing in itself. Read also: Elon Musk, Tory Bruno Argues on Twitter About ULA and SpaceX, But Which is Better Than the Other? SpaceX Going Full Speed Ahead with Crewed Missions The Inspiration4 mission seems like any other crewed space flight, right? Since most people only hear about it right now, it's safe to assume that it will take quite a while before it takes off, right? Not really. In fact, the mission is scheduled to leave Earth as early as Sept. 15 if various reports are to be believed. That's a little over two months from the time of this writing, which is a very short period. But that's actually not the first crewed SpaceX mission to launch in such a short time frame. According to SpaceX founder Elon Musk himself, his company plans to bring a crewed mission to Mars by mid-July, judging by this tweet: Two weeks Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 2, 2021 But is this real, though? For now, there's only speculation. Musk tends to tweet about things and plans that sound a little too outlandish, even for a billionaire who can basically do anything. His tweets are so powerful, in fact, that they can influence something as big as the cryptocurrency market and send crypto values skyrocketing. Just consider how a single tweet from him increased Dogecoin values by as much as 98%. What's Next? For now, Inspiration4 and its crew are set to do something that hasn't been done before. If the mission is successful, it could prove that you technically don't need to be a professional astronaut to go to space. You have to be really good at your chosen field. Related: SpaceX Super Heavy Rocket Adds Tower, Moves Location-Is This In Preparation for Full Stack Flight? This article is owned by Tech Times Written by RJ Pierce 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. (Photo : Pixabay/madartzgraphics) US businesses ransomware attacks The biggest ransomware attack to date has hit U.S. businesses. According to a cyber-security firm, around 200 businesses in the United States are affected. U.S. Businesses Affected by Colossal Ransomware Attack Huntress Labs said that the cyber-security firm said that the hack targeted a Florida-based IT company Kaseya before it slowly branched out to the corporate networks that use its software. Kaseya released a statement following the cyber-attack and said that it is currently investigating the problem. Huntress Labs believes that the Russia-linked REvil ransomware group, targeting U.S. businesses for months, was responsible. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency said that it is now taking the appropriate action to address the attack. Also Read: Cybersecurity: REvil Ransomware Gang Strikes Again, Attacks FCUK Fashion Label The ransomware attack happened on July 2 as companies across the United States were clocking off for the long weekend as the country prepares to celebrate its Independence Day on July 4. According to The Washington Post, cyber-security professionals are now bracing for the impact of the ransomware attack as it will most likely ruin the holiday weekend for hundreds of I.T. teams in the U.S. Ransomware is known as the scourge of the internet. Multiple organized criminal groups are constantly attempting to get access to the computer networks of corporations to hold them hostage. Hijacking a victim's computer system takes a lot of time and effort, so now the criminals are looking for faster and more effective ways to execute their plan. In this latest ransomware attack, the hackers showed that by going after the main software supplier of multiple corporations, they could hijack hundreds of victims in one go. This is called a supply chain attack, and it is now recorded as one of the biggest incidents involving ransomware so far. The incident also shows that ransomware groups are looking for new and creative ways to impact and command the biggest ransom possible. Kaseya said that one of its applications that runs the corporate serves, network devices, and desktop computers had been compromised in the attack. The company is now urging its customers to use its VSA tool to shut down their servers as a preventive measure. Kaseya also stated that a small number of companies had been affected, but Huntress Labs said that the number of companies hit by the attack was more than 200. In an email sent to Reuters, Huntress Labs' senior security researcher John Hammond said that this devastating supply chain attack could take months before it gets resolved. Warning to Russia At a summit in Geneva, Switzerland, last month, U.S. President Joe Biden gave President Putin a list of 16 critical infrastructure sectors that should not be subject to hacking, including energy and water. REvil, also known as Sodinokibi, is one of the most notorious cyber-criminal groups in the world. The FBI blamed the group for the JBS hack back in May. The operations at JBS, the world's largest meat supplier, were paralyzed due to the incident. In June, REvil hacked Sol Oriens, the U.S. nuclear weapons contractor. This resulted in the selling of the company's employee data online. If the victims don't comply with its demands, the group will threaten to post the stolen documents on its website, the Happy Blog. Related Article: DarkRadiation Ransomware: Linux, Docker Cloud Containers Are At Risk of Being Infected--What Exactly Happens in Your System? This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Sophie Webster 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A passing storm cell Friday night dropped an estimated 7 inches of rain in two to three hours, causing street and house flooding in northeastern Ascension Parish, federal weather forecasters and local officials said. On Saturday, social media posts showed flooded streets and yards in the growing section of Prairieville and Galvez. Ascension Parish President Clint Cointment said he and some council members and officials were driving in the eastern Prairieville and Galvez areas on Friday and Saturday assessing damage from the intense rain. Several older neighborhoods, such as Rhonda Place, Old Hickory and Chateau Galvez, were affected, he said. +6 Federal rainfall estimates might go up. Here's how that could affect flood insurance, construction Louisiana will soon begin updating official rainfall probability estimates that influence standards for everything from new bridge and canal c "It was shocking, and it came down in such an intensity that it just overwhelmed the drainage system completely," he said. "It's just not built for that." Cointment said parish officials were trying to get an accurate count of how many homes flooded, but, with the July 4 break, he expected that gathering that information wouldn't begin in full force until Tuesday. Still, he said the damage information will be critical to assessing what happened and why and urged residents to report in any damage. Much of the water had already dissipated by mid-day Saturday, though more rain was expected. In statement later on Saturday, parish officials urged residents to report their damage at http://www.damage.la.gov. The website through the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness asks questions about location and extent to damage and will accept photographs, parish officials said. Because the rains in Ascension were not a named storm, the website will default to "other" when "Ascension Parish" is entered, officials added. +2 Ascension Parish Council votes to strip parish president of power over drainage, anti-flooding work Members of the Ascension Parish Council voted during a tense meeting Monday night to remove Parish President Clint Cointment as administrator Friday night's rain is the second time in less than two months that relatively short, but intense rains have sparked unexpected street and house flooding in Ascension Parish. Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up In mid-May, sharp rains dropped nearly 14 inches in six to eight hours in the Bluff Swamp area of northwestern Ascension and southern parts of East Baton Rouge Parish, flooding an estimated 160 homes in Ascension and more than 1,200 homes and businesses in East Baton Rouge. Brigette Lim, National Weather Service meteorologist in Slidell, said radar estimates show 7 inches fell in eastern Prairieville over a two- to three-hour period starting around 7 p.m. Friday. Gauge data is limited in parts of the most affected area but a gauge at Muddy Creek in Prairieville hit 5.3 inches over the 24-hour period ended 7 a.m. Saturday, Lim said. A gauge at Henderson Bayou, which is the Galvez/Lake area, had 3.52 inches, while Welsh Gully, which is in a more central northwestern part of Prairieville, had 2.88 inches, according to data from Lim. Lim said the rain fell during a pattern of thunderstorms that had the potential for high rainfall rates. Cointment said a series of recent flash flooding events over the past year or so highlight the need for a change in drainage and development standards because the more potent storms appear to becoming the new normal. "That's what we've got to start preparing for. We can't say, 'The system can't handle it,' and just walk away. No, you've got to adapt your system to the new normal," he said. Even without the adjustment to apparently changing weather patterns, Cointment asserted the parish is decades behind on its drainage infrastructure anyway and needs to catch up. The Parish Council has adopted a nine-month moratorium on new development to make many of those changes. Though the East Ascension drainage district board narrowly voted Monday to remove Cointment as director of drainage, he remains in charge for 60 days after the vote under the terms of the now terminated agreement between parish government and the district, a parish attorney said. The district board has appointed former drainage director and public work official Bill Roux as the interim director. Slowly and relentlessly it drags you along so that you can feel just how high a bar beyond reasonable doubt can be and so you share in the jubilation of a diver surfacing with a crucial find from the ocean floor. Like the police, you will likely conclude the accused man is guilty of having invited this woman to sea purely to enact a sick fantasy of rape, murder and decapitation long before it can be proven. This six-part dramatisation of the police work that finally led to the conviction of Walls killer in 2018 is a meticulous step-by-step procedural that would put the likes of CSI and Law & Order to shame with its slow accumulation of detail, its eschewal of lucky breaks, its focus on dogged repetition as the backbone of police work. Theres plenty of information online about the man who killed Danish journalist Kim Wall aboard his home-made submarine in August 2017. But you wont find much of it in The Investigation . The central player though is not the killer, it is Jens Moller (Soren Malling), Copenhagens (now-retired) head of homicide. He is an inscrutable figure, giving almost nothing of himself away. The job is his life, the task of bringing closure to Kims parents, Ingrid (Pernilla August) and Joachim (Rolf Lassgard), is his mission. Pointedly, The Investigation never mentions the killer by name. It does not show him, give a lot of biographical detail, or even offer much from his testimony perhaps because it is not worth much. He gave three wildly conflicting versions of his story, changing it each time the investigators turned up new evidence, starting with Kims torso and ending, months later, with the rest of her dismembered body. He is, as far as the show is concerned and in line with a push from victims rights groups around the world, not worth dignifying with a name. All we need to know about him is what he did, and that he was narcissistic enough to imagine he would get away with it. Rolf Lassgard and Pernilla August play the parents of murdered journalist Kim Wall (inset) in The Investigation. He is treated here as being beneath contempt, and that makes The Investigation a case study in how filmmakers might deal with traumatic tales of real-life crimes without giving the perpetrators the fame they so desperately crave. Some, such as young couple Dylan and Emilio Polanco, could be left homeless and jobless if they lose their ticket. Ms Polanco is 17 weeks pregnant and was due to fly home to Australia with her husband in early August by which time she will be 22 weeks pregnant. Australian citizens Emilio (left) and Dylan Polanco fear being stranded without insurance or jobs with a new baby if they lose their flight home. The couple moved to the US six years ago to work but had always planned to return to Melbourne, where their immediate families live, when they had children. The couple had started planning their shift back in early 2020 but the pandemic waylaid their plans. They waited until this year when prices had dropped and they were both vaccinated to finally come home, putting in their notice with work and organising an end to the lease on their apartment both timed with their scheduled flight in August. Ms Polanco said Fridays announcement was devastating, and the couple were waiting to hear from United Airlines on whether they could still get home before the 28th week of her pregnancy when it will no longer be safe for her to fly. Because were on such a time limit and were more than likely going to get cancelled ... I might have to have the baby here, she said. Well be unemployed and without [health] insurance, because weve timed everything to finish up our life here. The couple has registered with DFAT and plan to pack their house up in the coming days and live out of a suitcase in the event a spot on a repatriation flight comes up at short notice. The Board of Airline Representatives of Australia, which represents 33 major international carriers, said it was hypocritical of the government to suggest airlines may be taking advantage of customers when it was still charging a fixed air navigation fee of about $7000 a flight into the country no matter how few passengers were on board. The board has approached the government to waive these fees but was dismissed. Ultimately most airlines are actually bleeding cashflow losses this is not about trying to make a profit, its just about recovering your direct operating costs of running the services, said the boards executive director Barry Abrams. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Airlines were waiting for the Department of Infrastructure to allocate the new flight quotas early next week before they could tell passengers if their tickets were still valid, Mr Abrams said. He said it may not be as simple as halving the passenger number for each flight after July 14. A few people may be bumped off some flights, while other flights wont go ahead at all. If youre doing a flight every day, you might be allocated 25 passengers for five of those flights and then you might get allocated zero passengers for two flights, said Mr Abrams said. He said each airline had a different method of deciding who gets to keep their ticket; some will go with those who booked first, others will choose the passenger who paid the highest fares and some will prioritise frequent flyers or hardship circumstances. A group of about 30 airlines only operate one or two flights into Australia every week, and Mr Abrams said many of these less common airlines would be weighing up whether it was financially feasible to keep operating passenger flights at all under the new rules. Do they default to just operating freight flights? Because its very difficult to justify the costs of crew and catering and everything else that comes with 25 passengers coming in on an aircraft designed for up to 350. Loading Were clearly going to be reducing the connectivity available for people to get back to Australia. Flights booked up until July 14 will go ahead as scheduled and flights that are part of the trans-Tasman bubble will not be included in the new cap rules, according to Mr Abrams. Mr Hunt said an increase in government-facilitated repatriation flights could help fill the gap left by the decrease in commercial flight arrivals in the coming months. We know that some of those flights have in fact been under-subscribed in recent weeks so there is that capacity to bring additional Australians home via Howard Springs, he said. For the second day in a row, NSW has recorded its highest number of local COVID-19 cases over the past year, as government and health authorities express optimism that Sydneys lockdown may still be lifted at the end of Friday, July 9. NSW recorded 35 locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm on Friday. There were 56,331 tests processed in the reporting period. Twenty-nine of the new infections were linked to previously confirmed cases and six remain under investigation. We have seen those testing numbers stay at very high levels consistently during the lockdown, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said, noting the green shoots of what the lockdown was meant to achieve had begun to emerge but it was too early to say when her government and its health experts would be able to make the call on whether the lockdown is extended beyond Friday. In the US, Greg Creed watched as his adopted country drowned in the COVID-19 pandemic in a fashion that left the world reeling. But it was his home country of Australia that soon caught his attention over the months ahead, as the nation somehow outran Americas horrible response to the virus. Former Brisbane boy Greg Creed went on to head global food giant Yum! Brands, the parent company of some of the worlds largest restaurant chains, including KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. Having formerly led $50 billion global business Yum! Brands the parent company of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut Creed saw businesses across the globe crumble. In the US particularly, the pandemics domino effect hit businesses and industries hard, with Creed saying it was handled poorly in the beginning. Prime Minister Scott Morrison attempted to rewrite the increasingly negative narrative developing around the federal governments COVID-19 response last week by announcing a four-phase plan to manage the virus. This phased pathway, the PM assures us, sets out the nations escape route back to normalcy, although it must be noted national cabinet has only agreed to it in principle and currently it is a plan without a timetable. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the cut to the caps following a national cabinet meeting on Friday. Credit:Alex Elllinghausen No dates have been set for the various phases because, as the Prime Minister explained, they are dependent upon vaccination targets that are yet to be determined by his scientific advisers. Given the state of the vaccine rollout, it is unlikely that the first threshold when enough of us are vaccinated to reach herd immunity will occur any time before early 2022. From his Florida prison cell, Russell Thomas Moore longed for a life on the Murray River. Moore, who died last month in the Apalachee Correctional Institution after spending more than 30 years behind bars, was farewelled at Swan Hill on Saturday in a homecoming those who loved him say hed longed for his entire life. The funeral service for Russell Thomas Moore in Swan Hill. Credit:Erin Jonasson He was taken from his Aboriginal mother as a baby and adopted by missionaries who raised him in the US as James Hudson Savage. In November 1988, in the Florida city of Melbourne, south-east of Orlando, Moore was on a crack-fuelled binge when he killed 57-year-old socialite Barbara Barber outside her decorating shop. Convicted of murder, robbery and sexual assault, he was jailed for life without parole on appeal in 1991. About Jeep Jeep is an automobile marque (and registered trademark) of Chrysler. It is the oldest off-road vehicle (also sport utility vehicle - SUV) brand, with Land Rover coming in a close second. The original vehicle which first appeared as the prototype Bantam BRC became the primary light 4 wheel drive car of the US Army and allies during the World War II and postwar period. Many vehicles serving similar military and civilian roles have since been created by many nations. The first jeep prototype (the Bantam BRC) was built for the Department of the Army by American Bantam in Butler, Pennsylvania, followed by two other competing prototypes produced by Ford and Willys-Overland. The American Bantam Car Company actually built and designed the vehicle that first met the Army's criteria, but its engine did not meet the Army's torque requirements. Plus, the Army felt that the company was too small to supply the number needed and it allowed Willys and Ford to make second attempts on their designs after seeing Bantam's vehicle in action. Some people believe that Ford and Willys also had access to Bantam's technical paperwork. Quantities (1,500) of each of the three models were then extensively field tested. During the bidding process for 16,000 "jeeps", Willys-Overland offered the lowest bid and won the initial contract. Willys thus designed what would become the standardized jeep, designating it a model MB military vehicle and building it at their plant in Toledo, Ohio. Like American Bantam, Willys-Overland was a small company and, likewise, the military was concerned about their ability to produce large quantities of jeeps. The military was also concerned that Willys-Overland had only one manufacturing facility: something that would make the supply of jeeps more susceptible to sabotage or production stoppages. Based on these two concerns, the U.S. government required that jeeps also be built by the Ford Motor Company, who designated the vehicle as model GPW (G = governmental vehicle, P showed the wheelbase, and W = the Willys design). Willys and Ford, under the direction of Charles E. Sorensen (Vice-President of Ford during World War II), produced more than 600,000 jeeps containing their cost slightly above 300 dollars per unit, due to its mass-production system economy. Besides just being a "truck" the jeep was used for many other purposes. The jeep was widely copied around the world, including in France by Hotchkiss et Cie (after 1954, Hotchkiss manufactured Jeeps under license from Willys), and in Japan by Mitsubishi Motors. There were several versions created, including a railway jeep and an amphibious jeep. As part of the war effort, Jeeps were also supplied to the Soviet Red Army during World War II.During the jeep's service in Korea the name was referred to as "Just Enough Essential Parts" by the troops due to the very basic design. Jeep Brand Is Recognized as America's 2021 "Most Patriotic Brand" AUBURN HILLS, Mich., July 2, 2021 -- The Jeep brand retains No. 1 spot for 19th consecutive year as America's "Most Patriotic Brand" in annual Brand Keys survey Leading into the Fourth of July holiday, the Jeep brand has been recognized for the 19th consecutive year as America's "Most Patriotic Brand" in the annual Brand Keys 50 Most Patriotic Brands survey, in which nearly 6,000 Americans participated. "The Jeep community is like no other," said Olivier Francois, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Stellantis. "With the Jeep brand's recognition as America's 'Most Patriotic Brand,' we see that there is no other automotive brand that is so instantly recognizable and none whose freedom proposition is cemented into the history of its home nation like the Jeep brand, and protected with such passion by its owners and enthusiasts not only in America but around the world." "Independence Day is an appropriate time to acknowledge the history and value of patriotism," said Robert Passikoff, President of Brand Keys. "And those who have contributed to it. 'Patriotism' is one of the most powerful values a brand can own, and the Jeep brand has led the brand patriotism-parade since the Most Patriotic Brand in America survey was created. A brand like Jeep that can literally own a value as strong as patriotism is able to emotionally differentiate themselves from the competition and engage customers. The Jeep brand track record proves that, and we are proud to congratulate them again this year for their extraordinary accomplishment." "It was 80 years ago this year that the Jeep brand first forged its reputation of American might during World War II," said Jim Morrison, Vice President, Jeep Brand North America. "The brand's recognition as 'America's Most Patriotic Brand' for the 19th consecutive year is both a testament to the Jeep community and to the people who since 1941 have dedicated themselves to building iconic SUVs known around the world for outdoor adventure, freedom and off-road capability." As a tribute to U.S. military members, the Jeep brand offers special-edition Freedom models across the entire lineup for the 2021 model year. These Jeep brand Freedom models feature military-themed exterior and interior design cues, such as the large "Oscar Mike" military star decal on the hood, matte black/Satin Carbon wheels and accents and an American flag decal along the side of each vehicle. For Wrangler and Gladiator, this also includes an "Oscar Mike" decal on the rear tailgate. As part of its long-standing relationship with the United Service Organizations, the Jeep brand will make a $250 donation to the USO with every 2021 Freedom edition sold. All active and recently retired service members also qualify for $500 Military Bonus Cash across the Jeep 4x4 lineup. Additionally, as the Jeep brand prepares for the arrival of the all-new 2021 Grand Cherokee L and the all-new 2022 Grand Wagoneer, both of which include the American flag on their flanks, the brand will show off the 2022 Grand Wagoneer on the exterior of the company's tower at the Auburn Hills, Michigan, complex. View this post on Instagram. Fans can visit the Jeep Store by Amazon for patriotic merchandise celebrating the upcoming holiday. Brand Keys Survey A national sample of 5,804 consumers, 16 to 65 years of age, balanced for gender and political affiliation, were drawn from the nine U.S. Census Regions. Consumers assessed 1,172 brands in 131 B2C and B2B categories as to their resonance for the single value "patriotism." Brand Keys assessments have been independently validated to correlate with positive consumer behavior in the marketplace at levels of 0.80+ making them some of the most accurate brand measures possible. Jeep Brand Built on 80 years of legendary heritage, Jeep is the authentic SUV with capability, craftsmanship and versatility for people who seek extraordinary journeys. The Jeep brand delivers an open invitation to live life to the fullest by offering a full line of vehicles that continue to provide owners with a sense of security to handle any journey with confidence. Jeep Wave, a premium owner loyalty and customer care program that is available to the entire Jeep lineup, is filled with benefits and exclusive perks to deliver Jeep owners the utmost care and dedicated 24/7 support. The Jeep vehicle lineup consists of the Cherokee, Compass, Gladiator, Grand Cherokee, Renegade and Wrangler. To meet consumer demand around the world, all Jeep models sold outside North America are available in both left- and right-hand drive configurations and with gasoline and diesel powertrain options. Jeep is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis , please visit www.stellantis.com. Follow Jeep and company news and video on: Company blog: http://blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com Media website: http://media.stellantisnorthamerica.com Jeep brand: www.jeep.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/jeep Instagram: www.instagram.com/jeep Twitter: www.twitter.com/jeep YouTube: www.youtube.com/thejeepchannel or https://www.youtube.com/StellantisNA Up for debate: Live legislation tracker Check out the latest developments on bills pending before state lawmakers in four key topics. Cowboy Skill Games of Wyoming, a top-level sponsor of Cheyenne Frontier Days, and Black Dog Animal Rescue (BDAR) on Friday announced the winners of the Garth Brooks ticket raffle. Michelle Nielsen and Sarita Tucker each received two tickets to the sold-out Garth Brooks performance at Cheyenne Frontier Days on Friday, July 23rd. Last month, Cowboy Skill donated the four tickets to BDAR in order to raise money for the non-profit animal rescue organization. Because of the tickets Cowboy Skill Games donated, we raised over $6,000 for the unwanted pets that come through our doors, said Kaitlin Whitman, Development Manager at Black Dog Animal Rescue. We are humbled for the generosity of this donation and we look forward to using their gift to save more lives. Jimmy Orr, representing Cowboy Skill Games, said for all that Black Dog Animal Rescue does for the community and the state, the Wyoming-based company wanted to find a way to draw attention to BDAR while helping to raise some money. This was a unique way to blend our top-level sponsorship of Cheyenne Frontier Days with helping Wyomings largest animal rescue organization in the state, he said. Two organizations that make Wyoming great. Black Dog Animal Rescue works to ensure that every unwanted or homeless pet has a safe place to go for shelter and care. Cowboy Skill Games is made up of Wyoming-owned amusement and vending companies which distribute Pace-O-Matic skill games to bars, restaurants, and fraternal organizations. Garth Brooks will open the 125th anniversary of Cheyenne Frontier Days on Friday, July 23rd at 8pm. Towanda, PA (18848) Today Widely scattered showers or a thunderstorm this evening. Then partly cloudy. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Widely scattered showers or a thunderstorm this evening. Then partly cloudy. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%. ONEONTA - Military honors will be accorded to Gary R. Swift at 1 p.m., Saturday, July 10, at the Sixth Ward Athletic Club in Oneonta, followed by a celebration of his life until 4 p.m. Donations may be sent to the Sixth Ward Athletic Club, 22 W. Broadway, Oneonta, NY 13820 or Susquehanna SPC Terry Kovel and Kim Kovel answer readers questions sent to the column. Send a letter with one question describing the size, material (glass, pottery) and what you know about the item. Include only two pictures, the object and a closeup of any marks or damage. Be sure your name and return address are included. By sending a question, you give full permission for use in any Kovel product. Names, addresses or email addresses will not be published. We do not guarantee the return of photographs, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. Questions that are answered will appear in Kovels Publications. Write to Kovels, The Daily Times, King Features Syndicate, 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803 or email us at collectorsgallery@kov els.com. Click the image to the left and log in to get your exclusive reader perks. 10-Year-Old Boy Spots Woman Drowning in Florida Hotel Swimming Pool, Leaps to Her Rescue A 10-year-old boy visiting south Florida has been hailed for his heroic action after saving a woman drowning in a hotel swimming pool. Waiden Guerrier, 10, from New York was on vacation and enjoying the pool at the Royal Beach Palace Hotel in Fort Lauderdale when he noticed a family friend struggling in the water. Waiden realized the 38-year-old woman was in distress and immediately leapt into the water in a bid to save her life. (Illustration Hober Gutierrez/Shutterstock) I saw her splashing, and I was coming to bring her up, and she was like keeping dragging me down, so I knew that she was drowning, said Waiden, 7 News reported. Then she got to the deep end, and then she started to sink underwater and then she passed out. She had a medical condition which caused her to lose consciousness, the boys family said. I just saw her stop moving, and I started to freak out, he said. I took her to the 3-feet area in the pool, and then I called for people to come and help. Then a passerby helped pull her out of the water. Soon, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue arrived; but by then, the woman had already regained consciousness, though she didnt remember the incident that nearly claimed her life. Proud of her son, Waidens mom, Carine Guerrier, said that it was his swimming classes that enabled him to save the woman. I couldnt do that, so I am very proud. He did a good thing, she said. Officials at Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue recognized the young man for his brave actions. I did nominate him for basically a field safe from a near drowning which is rare in itself, but also more rare because it was a child that did it, said FLFR captain Seamus Murphy. Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Epoch Inspired Newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter A road is covered by mud and debris following heavy rain in Atami city, Shizuoka prefecture, on July 3, 2021. (Satoru Watanabe via AP) 2 Dead, 20 Missing in Japan After Heavy Rain Triggers Landslide Near Tokyo Two people have died and 20 still missing on Sunday after torrential rains triggered a powerful landslide in Atami, a Japanese seaside resort town in Shizuoka Prefecture, south-west of Tokyo, according to local reports. Japans military has dispatched emergency personnel to the city in search and rescue efforts, joining local firefighters and police. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has called together an emergency task force for the disaster. The landslide, which reportedly struck around 10:30 a.m., appeared to have done so multiple times, about as fast as a car. Footage from public broadcaster NHK showed a powerful, black mudslide slide down a mountainside, knocking down and crushing houses and sweeping away cars in its way. It also showed a part of a bridge had collapsed. The area that was hit by the landslide, Izusan, includes hot springs, residential areas, shopping streets and a famous shrine. Shizuoka prefecture spokesman Takamichi Sugiyama said that dozens of homes may have been buried. Social media images showed partially submerged cars and rescue workers wading through waist-high water with a small life raft. Evacuation warnings were issued for a widespread area surrounding the incident. The rainfall in the 48-hour period prior to the disaster was 315 mm, which far exceeds the average monthly rainfall for July in Shizuoka (242.5 mm), noted The Asahi Shimbun, citing data from the Japan Meteorological Agency. The agency warned residents in surrounding areas to stay vigilant amid heavy rain and flooding, and potentially more landslides. At least 30 locations in five prefectures, including Tokyo, have set new records in rainfall for a 48-hour period in July, noted The Japan Times. Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report. From The Epoch Times The Supreme Court is seen in Washington on June 30, 2021. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo) Bidens Supreme Court Commission Debates Over Justice Term Limits President Joe Bidens Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court held its second meeting Wednesday, with some scholars pushing for term limits for justices, limiting the high courts power, or adding more seats to the court. The whole day meeting was held online, with experts divided into four panels to discuss a broad range of reform proposals. I strongly urge this commission to consider a reform proposal that many of us have discussed and written about, which are term limits for the Supreme Court Justices, said Maya Sen, a public policy professor at Harvard Universitys John F. Kennedy School of Government. Sen pointed out that the court is fundamentally a political institution, and the appointments process is increasingly being exploited for partisan gain. Sen argued that term limits could eliminate many political incentives and address the fundamentally undemocratic nature of lifetime tenure. Ilan Wurman, an associate professor at Arizona State University, said, the proposal for eighteen-year, staggered term limits, fixing the Court at nine Justices, strikes me as the most plausible of all available reforms even he thinks term limits are unnecessary. Staggered term limits with nine Justices mean there will be a vacancy every two years. So each President will get two appointees per term. The experts spent limited time on the idea of increasing Justices to the high court, known as court-packing, but debated over ideas for limiting the courts power of judicial reviewsuch as stripping its jurisdiction to strike down particular laws. Nikolas Bowie, an assistant professor of law at Harvard Law School, claimed in the meeting that the Supreme Court is an anti-democratic institution. The main problem is judicial review or the power of the court to decline to enforce a federal law, when a majority of the justices disagree with a majority of Congress about the laws constitutionality, Bowie said, citing the courts invalidation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in a 54 decision in 2013. Democratizing the Supreme Court will be hard, but we must do it, Bowie concluded. But some experts disagree. Noah Feldman, a Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, said substantial reforms could be disastrous. The question is whether under our current circumstances, weakening the court through substantial reformand I have in mind court-packing, and most forms of jurisdiction strippingwould enhance or undermine the institutional legitimacy of the court, which legitimacy enables it to fulfill these functions, Feldman said. In my view, those sorts of firms would be disastrous for the capacity of the Supreme Court to engage in these roles that it currently engages in. Biden created the presidential commission through an executive order in April, materializing his proposal floated last October in response to some Democratic lawmakers request to expand the court. Republicans criticized his move as an assault on our nations independent judiciary. Twenty Republican governors on Tuesday sent a letter to Biden, urging him to oppose any expansion of the court. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) at a Senate hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on March 23, 2021. (Greg Nash/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) sent a letter to the commission in May, reminding them that according to the Constitution, Congress retains exclusive authority to amend or preserve the Supreme Court. In the letter, they also pointed out that their resolutionS.J. Res. 9 and H.J.Rs. 11which proposed an amendment to the Constitution to require the high court be composed of nine justices, had gained growing support in the Congress, with 18 Senators and 173 Representatives signed on as cosponsors. A woman shops for produce at a grocery store in Toronto on Nov. 30, 2018. (The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette) Biofuels Expansion Will Drive Up Food Costs, Says Environmental Economist In the push to achieve net-zero emissions, Canadas rapid expansion of the biofuels sector could have negative consequences, as studies show that biofuels production leads directly to food price increases, an environmental economist says. Theres been a long-standing theme in the economics literature around ethanol and biofuels policy that theres competition with the food supply, said Ross McKitrick, an economics professor at the University of Guelph, in testimony before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources on June 21. The run-up in corn prices in the later part of the last decade was attributed to an expansion, especially in the United States, of the ethanol mandate, and we would expect to see the same kind of effect here in Canada. Biofuels, typically produced from agricultural crops, are essentially of two main types: ethanol and biodiesel. Ethanol is usually derived from corn and sugar cane, while biodiesel is made from the fruit of palm trees, soybeans, and canola. If youre going to get more feedstock, you have to take it out of the food supply or somehow find a way of expanding the production of the feedstock, said McKitrick, who has conducted research on the costs and benefits of Canadas biofuels policy. Its those second-order costs that really add up and that affect people. Especially if youre raising both the price of energy and the price of food, those costs disproportionately fall on low-income households. In his written submission to the committee on June 21, McKitrick, also a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute, said not every environmental goal is sufficiently valuable to be worth the cost of achieving it. On the same day, at the World Hydrogen Technologies Convention in Montreal, Natural Resources Minister Seamus ORegan announced a $1.5 billion investment into a clean fuels fund, issuing a call for proposals for projects that would help scale up Canadas capacity to produce cleaner fuels. Clean fuels lower emissions, create jobs, increase our competitiveness, and help us reach our climate goals, ORegan said in a press release. Natural Resources Minister Seamus O Regan responds to a question in the House of Commons in Ottawa on Feb. 17, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld) The fund aims to build new facilities or expand existing ones to produce clean fuel, including hydrogen, renewable diesel, synthetic fuels, renewable natural gas, and sustainable aviation fuel. It also aims to set up biomass supply chains and develop codes and standards that would offer farmers, grain handlers, forest harvest operators, sawmills, and municipal waste services new revenue streams for feedstock products such as canola. McKitrick cautioned against jumping on board ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets, however, noting that even climate policy has opportunity costs. As a general rule, if a sector only exists because of government support, it is a net drain on a nations wealth, he said in his submission. McKitrick said his research in 2014 with Douglas Auld, adjunct professor of economics and finance at the University of Guelph, showed that between 2008 and 2012, Canadians paid about $3 in costs for every $1 in environmental benefits attained through biofuels. In arriving at this conclusion, we made assumptions as favourable as possible to the biofuels case, he said, adding that studies have shown switching to corn ethanol does not necessarily lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to using gasoline. In contrast, Malcolm West, CFO of Greenfield Global, an ethanol producer in Canada, told the committee that ethanol can even become a net-zero fuel with existing technologies. A commuter gases up at a gas station in Toronto on June 15, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Tijana Martin) West said that ethanol costs less than gasoline and that since 2001, cars have already been using ethanol blends of at least 15 percent ethanol. As for flex fuel vehicles, they can use levels in the 25 percent to 85 percent range. Citing his recent research, McKitrick said it showed that the costs of blending ethanol goes up as the carbon intensity target gets lower. I estimate that a 5 percent cut in carbon intensity below the current baseline will increase the price of gasoline by about 17 percent, while a 10 percent cut will increase it by 48 percent, and a 20 percent cut will increase it by 156 percent, he said. Because ethanol has less energy per litre than gasoline, consumers have to fill up the tank more often to go the same distance. In addition, McKitricks study on the Clean Fuel Standard (CFS), part of the federal governments climate plan to reduce emissions, showed that it could cost the Canadian economy $6 for every $1 in environmental benefits, with net costs averaging $440 per employed person per year. McKitrick said that although the CFS has been revised since his research was published last September, his findings still serve as an estimate of the cost of pursuing a policy that requires fossil fuel suppliers to make the fuels they supply cleaner and less polluting overall. We also estimated it would cause a permanent loss of 30,000 jobs nationally (even after taking account of expanded employment in the biofuels sector) and would put $22 billion in capital at risk of exiting the domestic economy, he said. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk looks on at a press conference at Parliament house in Brisbane, Australia on April 1, 2021.(Jono Searle/Getty Images) Brisbane Lockdown Ends at 6PM but Not out of the Woods Yet The Brisbane and Moreton Bay lockdown measures will end at 6 p.m. on Saturday, with restrictions remaining in place in certain local government areas until July 16. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Saturday morning thanked residents for their co-operation in locking down for an extra day, but she stressed we are not out of the woods yet. While restrictions remain in place for certain local government areas the premier urged businesses not to allow people into their premises unless they have checked in with a phone app as part of the states CCP virus restrictions. Im asking businesses: Please do not allow people into your businesses unless they have checked in, Palaszcuk told reporters on Saturday morning. If it means putting a staff member in to make sure people have checked in; this is vital for our contact tracers. Queensland has mandated since May that businesses in the state must use the governments Check-in QLD app for this purpose, however, it was not mandatory for customers to use the app. A mask mandate is part of the remaining restrictions which were put in place following a moderate cluster of both the Alpha and Delta strains of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, in Queenslands southeast region and in Townsville in the states north. Queensland CCP Virus Case Update Queensland on Saturday reported five new locally acquired COVID-19 cases in the state, bringing the states total active case number to 47. Health authorities are most concerned about three out of the five new locally acquired infections. One of the cases was a woman in her 50s from Everton Park who works at Prince Charles Hospital and had received her first dose of vaccinations against the CCP virus. She had worked one shift at the hospital while infectious. She does not work in the COVID ward but we of course are confirming whether she had a reason to go into that ward for any reason, Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said. She has received the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and was due in the next few weeks to get the second dose. The second new case was a man in his 50s who works at Brisbanes domestic airport as a baggage handler and is linked to the Portuguese restaurant cluster. The man lives in Carindale but is not a known contact to other cases of transmission that occurred in that suburb. His case was detected during routine testing of 700 airport staff, Young said, with genome sequencing underway to uncover where the man acquired the virus. Palaszczuk said health authorities were very closely monitoring these new cases. Noosa Warning Palaszczuk also urged people in Noosa to be on alert after a 29-year-old Brisbane man who tested positive for the CCP virus travelled to Eumundi, Sunshine Beach, Kennilworth, and Doonan on the Sunshine Coast. The man is related to a previous case that was linked to the Carindale Greek community centre. He and his partner also visited a restaurant at Sunshine Beach, but the premier had no further details at that time. We have some slight concerns there about those areas but I know that people around that area will be thinking very carefully about, whether they live in those areas or work in those areas, and if you have any symptoms whatsoever, please come forward and get tested, Palaszcuk said. Chinese Nationals Exploit Loopholes in Marijuana Legalization The legalization of marijuana in various states has given rise to a chain of industries, including illegal cultivation, interstate trafficking, distribution, and money laundering; and the scale of the business is getting larger and larger. Some Chinese nationals are exploiting loopholes in the law to exploit the marijuana industry. On Nov. 28, 2017, 54 Chinese nationals were arrested after Washington State Police raided a residence suspected of illegally growing marijuana. Approximately 35,000 marijuana plants estimated to be worth $80 million were seized. Investigators believe the illegally grown marijuana was primarily destined for U.S. East Coast markets, particularly New York. In June, 21 people were accused of illegally growing and distributing marijuana in Colorado. The investigation found that Chinese social media apps played an active role in the drug proceeds being laundered back to the United States. To obtain more money, they must take advantage of the loopholes in the law, said Ling Fei, a computer store owner in Brooklyn, New York, who told The Epoch Times Chinese-language edition that he is against legalizing marijuana as once the door opens a little, theyll enter a gray area. Even in states that have legalized the cultivation of marijuana, operators have to apply for a license. The state government is trying to set up a traceability system to track every legal marijuana plant from seed to sale. Each seedling must get a coded certificate issued by the state, and the entire growth information and even location must be recorded. The number of grams harvested at maturity will also need to be reported to the government. According to Ling, many operators are not honestly following the law, for example, the operator gets 100 identifiers for 100 plants, but he probably plants 1,000 plants, 10,000 plants. He would operate illegal transactions under the legal cover, mixing the legal and illegal. Some of Lings clients are in the marijuana business. Those who have a lot of experience growing marijuana sometimes explain to Ling how it works. To prevent marijuana thieves and reduce the risk of being discovered by the government (which patrols fields with helicopters for outdoor cultivation), many operators have turned to renting homes or buying rooms to grow marijuana indoors using artificial light. The use of light bulbs and fans to control the ambient temperature is very costly and easy to detect, so some operators destroy or modify the electric meter, or connect directly to the grid without going through the meter, stealing public electricity. Thus, the power company can only detect the huge consumption of electricity, but it is hard to find the source. Gradually, as the scale of indoor marijuana cultivation enlarges, the black market of the marijuana industry becomes so active that the existing enforcement personnel are unable to keep up with a huge supply and demand market. You cant catch so many people, said Ling. Interstate Operations See Higher Profits on the Black Market Although some states have legalized the cultivation of marijuana, harvested marijuana still cannot be transported outside state borders, and interstate transportation and sale of the drug is a federal felony more serious than illegal possession and use of the drug. The risk of transporting marijuana across states and exporting it from legal states to states where it is still illegal earns more money on the black market. In a 2017 paper (pdf) on the economic impact of marijuana legalization, researchers at the University of Californias Center for Agricultural Issues estimated that 80 percent of the marijuana grown in California is sold on the black market to out-of-state locations where the price is higher, and where it is never taxed or regulated. On Oct. 13, 2020, Kim Chong Woo, Peng Cuodengzhu, and Zhogha Luoda were arrested and charged with interstate marijuana trafficking. Agents of the Department of Homeland Security Confiscated 1,200 pounds of marijuana, $490,000 in cash, and tools used to package the marijuana, according to the indictment of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Ling mentioned that there are many underground money exchangers in the Chinese community, and its easy to circulate money. They will find all means to get around those regulations (American law), thinking that the chances of getting caught are slim. Americans think that a tough law will deter people from committing crimes. But the first generation of Chinese from China thinks differently. They calculate the opportunity cost and think how can foreigners have such a stupid system? and think of ways to exploit the loopholes. If he is caught, he would react like buying a losing lottery ticket Oops, what rotten luck! Described Ling. According to Ling, those Chinese nationals who grow marijuana mostly dont smoke it themselves and warn their children not to, but think its ok for other people, and that its just other peoples business. They do it for the simple purpose of making money, and they dont think about how the marijuana will get other kids addicted, or how it will harm America. Many Chinese people, due to the lack of moral education under the communist political environment, are accustomed to the CCPs way of thinking, Ling said. Changing that kind of thinking is not easy and takes a long time, but the first things they need to do are to restore their values, build true faith, and have a good social environment, Ling said. Chinese should pay more attention to public interests and welfare, concluded Ling. A passenger arrives at terminal D of Miami International Airport after heavy rains, as Hurricane Elsa moves towards south Florida, in Miami, U.S. July 2, 2021. (Carlos Barria/Reuters) Dominican Republic Evacuates Residents as Storm Elsa Takes Aim SANTO DOMINGOElsas winds weakened slightly on Saturday as the Caribbean storm churned toward Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where residents threatened by severe floods were being evacuated. The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said an aircraft measured maximum sustained winds at 70 miles per hour (110 kph). This downgraded Elsa to a tropical storm from a hurricane, which is defined as having winds of at least 75 mph (121 kph). Elsa was about 40 miles (70 km) south of the Dominican island of Isla Beata at 11 a.m. EST, according to the NHC. In the Dominican Republic, officials evacuated people living near rivers and creeks in coastal Barahona province as severe flooding was forecast. The capital Santo Domingo was under an extreme flooding alert too. Emergency groups said they had 2,500 centers ready for evacuated people. Haiti, which saw 31 deaths in Hurricane Laura in August, had not ordered evacuations. At a collapsed condominium building in Surfside, Florida, emergency officials said the remainder of the unstable structure could be demolished Sunday ahead of Elsas possible arrival as early as Monday. The southern coast of the island of Hispaniola, which is home to the Dominican Republic and Haiti, remained under a hurricane warning, the NHC said. A hurricane watch covered Cubas eastern provinces. Jamaica was under a tropical storm warning. Conditions were likely to deteriorate in the coming hours, the NHC said. Elsas forward speed was expected to decrease later on Saturday while maximum wind speeds would stay about the same until Sunday or Monday, when Elsa was expected to be near or over Cuba. Millions of Cubans tried to prepare for heavy rainfall and flooding amid a surge in coronavirus infections, with cases reaching a record 3,500 on Friday. Imagine, our lives have been in danger for more than a year and a half because of the coronavirus and now the hurricanes are coming, Esther Garcia, a homemaker in eastern Santiago de Cuba, said by phone. Ranchers moved livestock to higher ground, farmers harvested what crops they could, city dwellers searched for food, and residents downstream from reservoirs and rivers prepared to evacuate, according to local media reports. The storm on Friday blew roofs off homes, toppled trees, and sparked flooding in Barbados. It then pounded St. Vincent with heavy rain and winds of 85 mph (140 kph), which battered banana and plaintain crops. Elsas storm surge was expected to raise water levels by as much as 2 to 5 feet (61 to 152 cm) above normal in some areas. Puerto Rico could receive up to 5 inches (13 cm) of rain, the NHC said. By Ezequiel Abiu Lopez, Kate Chappell, and Nelson Acosta California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference in San Jose, Calif., on May 26, 2021. (Amy Osborne/AFP via Getty Images) Dozens of Californians Vie to Replace Governor Newsom More than 70 Californians have announced their run for governor as the states gubernatorial election approaches, with more anticipated to file for candidacy before the July 16 deadline. Californias recall election date has been officially set for Sept. 14 and candidates from a variety of backgrounds are joining the race. Its very simple to get on the ballot, former senator John Moorlach told The Epoch Times. Californias Secretary of State Office outlines that in order to run as a replacement candidate in a recall election, an individual must be a U.S. citizen, a California registered voter, and never have been convicted of a felony. If a resident meets the requirements, theyre eligible to file with their county election officials and declare candidacy once receiving 65 to 100 nomination signatures and paying a filing fee of $4,194.94. As of July 2, more than 70 candidates successfully filed to have their names on the ballot, including former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, and former gubernatorial candidate John Cox. The last time a governor was recalled in California was in 2003 with Gray Davis. In the 2003 recall election, 9.4 million voters showed up to the polls which was an 11 percent increase in comparison to the 2002 governor election. Residents voted yes on recalling Davis by 55.4 percent and choose one of 135 candidates on the ballot to replace him. Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger won the election by receiving 48.58 percent of the vote with Cruz Bustamante following behind at 31.47 percent. Dr. Bret Weinstein: Perverse Incentives in the Vaccine Rollout and the Censorship of Science We are exposing a huge fraction of the population to what is in effect a scientific experiment, except that it isnt a scientific experiment because we are deliberately avoiding collecting data that would allow us to evaluate the impact, says Dr. Bret Weinstein, an evolutionary biologist and co-host of the DarkHorse podcast. In this deep-dive with Dr. Weinstein, we discuss COVID-19 vaccine safety, the efficacy of repurposed drugs, the Wuhan lab leak theory, and this new age of censorship. What scientific data and information is currently being denied to the public? Jan Jekielek: Bret Weinstein, such a pleasure to have you on American Thought Leaders. Dr. Bret Weinstein: Thanks for having me. Mr. Jekielek: Bret, what we have to talk about today is censorshipactually, a myriad of forms and some things which seem like censorship. Im not even sure if thats the right thing to call them, but its certainly heading in that direction. Youve been demonetized on YouTube recently. Your DarkHorse channel is in jeopardy, from what I understand. One of your recent guests, Dr. Robert Malone, seems to have been kicked off LinkedIn. I think hes appealing and might come back. We dont know. As were filming here, thats the state of affairs. Hopefully they will change. Whats going on? Dr. Weinstein: Whats going on is something is attempting to retain control of the narrative. I think in some sense, it has been stung by being forced to backtrack on the lab-leak hypothesis, and it is attempting to keep discussion within certain bounds on other topics. Mr. Jekielek: What is it? Dr. Weinstein: We dont know. We can infer certain things from the pattern. We know that it is very interested in policing the discussion of evidence surrounding repurposed drugs and possible harms of the COVID-19 vaccines, but its hard to say how it works and what its objective is. We can only tell that there are boundary lines, and if one crosses them, one puts their livelihoodin my caseand their ability to speak to an audience in jeopardy. Mr. Jekielek: Lets kind of dig into it, okay? You mentioned two areas. One is repurposed drugs, therapeutics for COVID. Another one is, of course, vaccine safety. What are you seeing? Well, lets pick one. Lets go into the vaccine safety first. Dr. Weinstein: Im not sure that there is even a way to do one without the other. The two appear to be the same story viewed from two different sides. I think what people need to track is the fact that in order for the vaccines to be administered, they had to get an Emergency Use Authorization. One of the requirements for the Emergency Use Authorization is that thered be no safe and effective treatments available. So if the repurposed drugs are as good as some people believe they are, then the vaccines would not be available at all. They would still be in testing. Add to that the fact that the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture these vaccines have been granted immunity from liability, and these two things in combination, I believe, have created a headlong rush to administering the vaccines to everyone irrespective of medical or epidemiological need. Mr. Jekielek: Thats, of course, very interesting. Where does the censorship happen? How does the censorship play out? Dr. Weinstein: Ive seen a piece of the censorship on YouTube. YouTube has, in their community guidelines, a provision that actually forbids the discussion of ivermectin if the discussion involves the claim that it works. And the problem is that there is substantial evidence that it works. And works doesnt mean one thingit actually means two distinct things. There is strong evidence that ivermectin works for the treatment of COVID, especially if it is given early in the course of disease. It is also apparently highly effective as a prophylactic. These things are clearly visible in the recent meta-analyses that have been released that show a clear pattern. Somehow on YouTube, the discussion of evidence that has been peer reviewed and delivered within the scientific literature is forbidden because it contradicts the CDCs view, which is that ivermectin does not work or that there is no evidence that it works. Narration: Our team reached out to YouTube, but we did not immediately receive a response. Mr. Jekielek: Thats one drug in particular, but I want to think about this from a little bit of a different angle just for a second. The process of scientific discoverythere needs to be conflicting, dissenting views, hypotheses that are tested rigorously. You need to have that discussion. You dont want to just pick one view and say, This is the be-all and end-all, especially when theres a situation where I guess theres just a lot of chaos happening. Dr. Weinstein: There are two kinds of scientific consensus. I think we are seeing a kind of shell game that pretends that we are looking at one type when in fact, we are looking at the other. A scientific consensus can emerge when something becomes clear over time. For example, plate tectonics was deeply controversial when it was first suggested. The idea that the continents might actually float around and move was considered very unlikely by most people. It is now well-accepted and there is a consensus surrounding it, but it is a consensus that took time to emerge. In the case of COVID-19, what we are looking at are consensuses that emerge suddenly and are impervious to new evidence. That is a very unnatural and very unscientific process. Consensus in a chaotic complex system like this is unlikely because frankly, the noise that arises out of so many different inputs to the system inherently makes for a confusing dataset. Mr. Jekielek: Something that you mentioned in one of your podcasts that I was watchingactually, youve mentioned this a few timesthere are certain types of data that seem to be very important, in your view and for some experts, that just simply isnt being gathered. I found that really fascinating. Can you elaborate on this a little bit? Dr. Weinstein: Yes. I learned this from Robert Malone, who is the inventor of mRNA vaccine technology, and he is also somebody who has been involved in a professional capacity inside the regulatory apparatus.What he said is that at the point that the Emergency Use Authorizations for the vaccines were granted, there was the opportunity to require extra data to be collected to find out what the impact of these vaccines was on the people who received them. A choice was made not to collect the data, which I find quite alarming in light of the fact that the process of establishing the safety of these vaccines was necessarily truncated in order to bring them to the public so quickly. Mr. Jekielek: What are the ramifications of that? Dr. Weinstein: Well, the ramifications of it are that we are exposing a huge fraction of the population to what is in effect, a scientific experiment, except that it isnt a scientific experiment because we are deliberately avoiding collecting data that would allow us to evaluate the impact. I find that shocking. It is one thing to argue that we have no choice, that COVID-19 is an emergency and we have to make shortcuts that we would not ordinarily consider. I accept that argument. I also accept that these vaccines appear to work at least in the short term. But the right thing to do in order to make proper medically justified decisions and epidemiologically justified decisions is to collect the data on what happens after administration. These are brand new technologies. They have many different ways in which they could fail, and it is our obligation, especially to the people who receive these vaccines, that we collect the data on what happened. And to not do so means that we are very likely to put people in danger in the future with no justification for it. Mr. Jekielek: Do you think of this as a kind of censorship? This is one of those things that feels to me like a kind of censorship because we just cant access a certain type of information which might prove to be quite valuable. Dr. Weinstein: I dont think of it as censorship exactly, but it functions in the same direction. There are many different ways that one can adjust a scientific conclusion in favor of something that is not actually manifest in the phenomena in question or the data. Arranging not to collect certain data is one way to avoid certain conclusions. Especially in the context of a liability waiver, one can imagine that the pharmaceutical industry might not be interested in having that data collected because if there is a signal of adverse events, then it could result in the vaccines no longer being administered. Although the vaccines are free to Americans, they are being paid for, and so theres profit to be made. Mr. Jekielek: For example, there are some adverse effects from these vaccines. This amazing mRNA new technology being deployed has never been seen before, right? And we know that the CDC has said: theres some cases, for example, of heart inflammation among young people. What strikes me is in these types of situations where there are these kinds of effects, people are told, Nothings happening. Thats perfectly safe. It creates a situation where you actually end up getting a whole bunch of conspiracy theories being created around whats really happening, because people can sense theres something thats not quite right, but they dont know what. What are your thoughts here? Dr. Weinstein: Well, the first thing is I think it is necessary to say Im enthusiastic about vaccines generally, and I am actually enthusiastic about these new vaccine platforms in principle. Im alarmed at what I am seeing in the case of these vaccines that are being administered currently, and it has something to do with an avoidance of the patterns that seem to be emerging. Now, I dont know that we can say that these vaccines are having these effects. What we have are alarming signals of adverse events in the various data. We have good reason to think that the various data is a significant under-report of those adverse events. What we have to wonder is: if the adverse events are showing up in close proximity to these vaccinations, is there another explanation? I have not heard one advanced. In the absence of an alternative hypothesis, we would have to say it appears that something is going on. Myocarditis and pericarditis are obvious examples of things that have shown up conspicuously, but at the very least, we need to look at that data carefully and do a proper analysis. The instinct seems to be the opposite. Mr. Jekielek: Why? Why do you think thats the case? Dr. Weinstein: Well again, I think the only way to evaluate these things properly is using scientific tools. That is my home turf as it were. I would say we have to think in terms of hypothesis. The problem for me is that the only hypothesis, that I have heard of or thought of, that explains our seeming biases is that what is driving [us] is a desire to vaccinate as many people as possible. The only reason to vaccinate as many people as possible seems to be that there is profit in it. Mr. Jekielek: Thats a huge assertion, because ostensibly, this is being done for the good of society. Dr. Weinstein: Well, it isnt a huge assertion. If one is to say, Yes, this is what is taking place, then that is beyond the evidence. But to say that no other hypothesis accounts for our biases, I think is just simply a fact now. Anybody who believes they have a different hypothesis is welcome to advance it, but lets take the most obvious example. We are currently vaccinating people who have already had COVID-19. There is no medical justification for doing that. If you look at the CDC website, they say that the reason to do it is that we do not know how long the immunity from the disease will last. If the vaccines appeared to be harmless, then that justification would still not fly because we dont know anything about the long-term effects, but it could at least be understandable. But in the context of a significant adverse events signal, it makes no sense. We could take the large fraction of the population that has COVID and not expose them to the risks of the vaccines, and if it became apparent that the vaccines were providing immunity as the immunity from the disease itself failed, we could administer them then. That would be a medically reasonable approach. But thats not what were doing. Were vaccinating people who do not appear to get a benefit who seem to have an excess risk of adverse events cropping up in the aftermath, and they are not getting something special. The fact is what they effectively got from their encounter with COVID-19 is a broader immunity than they will get from the very narrowly focused vaccines that they are now being given. So it is not as if the vaccines contain some novel information that will give them some new kind of immunity to variants or something like that. It could be that down the road, the vaccines would be altered to provide immunity to variants, but at the moment, they are effectively redundant with the natural immunity that comes from the disease. Mr. Jekielek: I have to say, Ive been wondering about that policy. Basically youre saying that there is no medical justification that youve come across. I know youve been searching. Dr. Weinstein: I have looked. I will also say that because the chain seems to be from the CDC to the social media platforms which then deploy the CDCs wisdom as their justification for their censorship policy, I dont think we have to look farther than what the CDC itself says and what the CDC itself says does not add up. Theres no reason to vaccinate people whove already had COVID-19 until we know that the immunity that comes from COVID-19 is failing. And there are reasons not to do it that begin with the adverse event signal in the various data. Mr. Jekielek: Heres another hypothesis Ive heard, right? As you mentioned, theres kind of a nuance here. Its maybe complicated to figure out who has what? When did they get the disease? I dont know, right? So lets make a very, very simple policy. Everyone gets vaccinated, and that will create the best social good. I have no idea if this is what people are thinking, but this is one thing thats been forwarded to me as an idea. Its just too complicated to try to go into all the different nuance here. Dr. Weinstein: I must say Ive heard that as well, but I find it shocking, because the conditions that we are seeing show up in the various data are very serious and the number of deaths is very substantial, well beyond what the stopping condition for a regular vaccine under normal conditions would be. Every time we vaccinate somebody who doesnt need it in order to simplify our policy and they die, they are leaving a family bereft. They may be leaving a family struggling to figure out how to get by in the world. The harm done by a single death is so substantial that we cannot justify exposing people to that risk to simplify a policy. Whats more, although there is ambiguity for many people on whether they have had COVID-19, part of that ambiguity is almost inexplicable. Weve done a very poor job of coming up with definitive tests that would give you a good sense. That said, there are many people who have an almost unambiguous case for having had COVID-19. People who tested positive and lost their taste and smell sense, those people had COVID-19. There is no reason at all to expose them to this extra danger, and it is not substantially more complicated to say so. Mr. Jekielek: Youve called the mass vaccination of COVID-19 the biggest gain-of-function experiment ever. What does that mean? Dr. Weinstein: Well, what we are doing is unusual. We are deploying a novel technology that contains the code for a very narrow antigen signal, and we are deploying it into an active pandemic. And because the vaccines are not perfectly effective at preventing breakthrough cases, they are effectively exerting a very strong kind of selection on the virus. And theres every reason to worry that this selection will drive the evolution of escape mutants. That is to say selection in favor of mutations that make the virus invisible to the aware immune system that has been alerted by the vaccines. And that could produce an ongoing pandemic, where we might end the pandemic if we were to approach it differently. Mr. Jekielek: So how is this different than in a typical situation where you would use traditional vaccines, for example? Dr. Weinstein: Well, a traditional vaccine, you would deploy where there was a very low chance of contact and a long-lasting immunity. And what that means is that the majority of people who would encounter the pathogen would be immune by the time they did encounter it because the vaccine would have had time to fully develop the immunity and there would be negligible selection in favor of escape mutants. In this case, what we have is two things. One, we have the incomplete effectiveness of the vaccines, which means that within people who have breakthrough cases, the immune system is exerting a selective pressure against variants that are easily seen and towards variants that Mr. Jekielek: Just to be clear, breakthrough cases are cases where someone is vaccinated and they still get the disease. Dr. Weinstein: Correct. Mr. Jekielek: Just for our viewers benefit. Dr. Weinstein: But the other thing that we have in addition to people within whom you would have the selection is we also have people who are in the process of developing immunity because theyve been vaccinated and theyre perhaps between the two vaccinations or the immune system is simply taking time to learn the lesson of the protein that is being used to train it. For those people, their incomplete immunity also constitutes an environment in which selection can cause the evolution of escape. Mr. Jekielek: Im going to go back to the censorship question that were facing. We have an example of something, a topic which was completely forbidden for a long time, which is the idea that the virus could have escaped from the Wuhan lab. For better part of a year to suggest it, even though there were some people out there, most were like, Its a nutcase thing to say that. Its a nutcase thing. How could you say that? Right? A lot of us were thinking that sort of stuff and writing about it. There was huge censorship and huge pressure to not talk about it, but thats somehow changed. Dr. Weinstein: It did, yes. Your question is why? Mr. Jekielek: Well, I guess it offers hope on one side that the scenario that youre describing could change. The other one is why? Dr. Weinstein: Well, lets start with the why question. I should say my channel was very early on this topic. Iit was quite clear to many of us starting with the tremendous coincidence of this virus having emerged first in Wuhan, where there is a biosafety level four lab studying these viruses and enhancing them. It was quite clear that there was at least a viable hypothesis that needed to be discussed. As you point out, those of us who did discuss it were stigmatized and demonized and portrayed as everything from racist to reactionary when in fact, all we were doing was following the evidence. The change in that story was, I have to say, completely mysterious. What we had was a moment in time in which an article written by Nicholas Wade emerged, and suddenly it became discussable. It was a very unnatural event because although the article was quite good and it did make a very strong case, it was not the first such article. It was as if on the basis of no new evidence whatsoever, suddenly the case had been solved. That, I must say, gave those of us who were paying attention to it whiplash. There was then a headlong rush by all of those who had gotten the story wrong to explain themselves, and their explanations made less than no sense. They seemed to center on the fact that because Donald Trump had been favorable to the idea that this might have emerged from a lab, that made it not true, which of course is such an illogical conclusion that its hard to imagine how anybody who considers themselves a journalist could for a moment have been misled. At worst, if you thought everything that Donald Trump said was a lie, at worst, you would have to take it as no evidence either way. But thats not how people treated it. They treated it almost as if the truth was always the opposite of what he said. In any case, when the story changed, I had the distinct sense that what had happened was those of us who had been dogged about revealing the evidence and discussing what it meant and pointing to the implications of itthe implications being that although there is no conclusive proof, there is good reason to think that this emerged from a lab, that is actually the most likely explanationEventually, I think we made it impossible to maintain the public lie that a laboratory origin was somehow obviously in conflict with the evidence. We now know from Dr. Faucis emails that behind the scenes, the top people didnt believe it either. They were just simply feeding the public a lie that they had their own reasons for wanting the public to believe. The answer to your question is simple. There comes a point at which youre caught lying and your best move is to revise the story. And thats what happened to them. Mr. Jekielek: Does this provide some hope in trying to elucidate? Basically, were talking about censorship here, but the censorship is around having a meaningful, educated discussion about whats happening, these profound things that are happening in society around our health and so forth, right? Is there some hope here in your mind? Dr. Weinstein: I do have hope, but it is contingent on the several different stories that surround COVID revealing to us just how corrupt our system has become. The lab leak behaved differently than a normal story. In general, there are people who see what is taking place and they try to call public attention to the evidence, whistleblowers of a kind. And in general, they are not successful. Sometimes we find out about them in retrospect when a story breaks, because some catastrophe has happened and suddenly we discover that somebody was warning that it would. In this case, the whistleblowers were largely a number of people who go by the acronym DRASTIC on Twitter. These are people with scientific skills and insight who did the analysis on public, unearthed evidence that was not known and put the story together. And that provides a template for how you can deal with such stories when the evidence is available. The problem is the other legs of the stool involved in the COVID story are of a different type. And the apparatus that wishes to maintain control and hold us to the official narrative has ratcheted up its censorship game. I was able to talk about the lab leak hypothesis, and I did run into trouble periodically, but my channel was not jeopardized on YouTube as far as I know. This time around, we are facing substantial pressure to stand down and not talk about the evidence of the repurposed drugs that appear to be effective at preventing and treating COVID-19 and to not talk about the adverse event signal in the various data regarding the vaccines. That is going to make it harder for this story to emerge. Im hopeful that it will. People have to understand this set of stories where there is a narrative supported by the evidence and then theres an official narrative that pretends to be supported by the evidence but has the weight of the tech sector and governmental officials, that is a symptom of a deeper problem. It is a symptom of something that goes by the name of capture. Unfortunately, capture is too closely associated with the idea of regulatory capture, which is where that term shows up. What we are facing is something that is much broader than that term usually connotes. Mr. Jekielek: Maybe just tell us what is regulatory capture? And then lets expand from that. Dr. Weinstein: Regulatory capture is when a company or an industry captures the apparatus that is supposed to regulate it in the publics interest and begins turning that agency or whatever its structure might be so that it actually does the bidding of the company or the industry. That is a fairly common phenomenon and people are aware of it. It does not usually involve things like the tech sector doing the bidding of the pharmaceutical industry. It is not clear why that connection exists, but we can see that that connection exists. Consider the question of what would be ideal from the point of view of the vaccine manufacturers. It would be ideal if it were recommended that all people get the vaccine irrespective of their age, irrespective of whether or not they were pregnant, irrespective of whether they had had COVID-19. Mr. Jekielek: Assuming ethics dont play into this at all. Thats what youre saying here. Right? Dr. Weinstein: Well, I guess what Im really saying is I dont know how ethics interface with something like the fiduciary responsibility inside these corporations, and Im not going to pretend to, but they do have a perverse incentive to deliver as many vaccine doses as possible. That perverse incentive lines up with a medical conclusion that everybody should be vaccinated, and that medical conclusion, now the CDC recommendation, mirrors exactly what would be in the interest of the pharmaceutical industry. And the tech sector, the social media platforms have now taken the CDC recommendations and encoded them as the basis for their censorship policy. That suggests capture has now worked its way down to the level of Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. The danger that that poses is that we cant have a conversation about the capture of the public health agencies, even when it is urgent that we do so. Mr. Jekielek: Because our platforms of conversation wont allow it essentially. Dr. Weinstein: Yes. If you do it as a hypothetical, imagine that you dont believe that capture has taken over the CDC, but that it could, in the case that we take CDC beliefs and recommendations and we encode them as the basis for a censorship policy. Then what we would see is the evidence does not match the recommendations of the CDC. We would have to have a conversation that says, Has the CDC been compromised? Is there evidence that its been compromised? Are there mechanisms we can see that would allow it to be compromised? We would have to have that discussion. But if that very discussion is shut down, because it is deemed to be medical misinformation, then theres effective silence. It appears to those who are only casually paying attention, that there isnt the suggestion that the CDC has been captured, because nobodys talking about it. Mr. Jekielek: In this situation, you also would have a whole lot of people who are rapidly losing faith in the system, if the system cant be somehow tested or held to account or even assessed. Dr. Weinstein: Unfortunately, what you get is the worst of both worlds. On the one hand, you dont get the necessary conversation about whether the apparatus thats supposed to keep us safe is still functioning in our interests. That leaves those who detect that something is wrong to fantasize about what may be going on. And so the understanding of how bad things are, what the nature of them is, runs wild, because the only conversations in which the fact of a discrepancy between the evidence and the policy can be discussed are also conversations in which people are undisciplined and are allowing their imaginations to get the better of them. Mr. Jekielek: I keep thinking about this, because were in this time periodI dont know how many years its nowwhere you have lawmakers, you have significant portions of society, advocating in general for censorship, for the good of society ostensibly. Ive certainly heard that cited a lot. Its not something that I necessarily was expecting, but thats where we are. This reality or ethos intersects with this whole phenomenon somehow. Thats what Im thinking, but I havent thought much further than that. Dr. Weinstein: I must say Im shocked by it, but I also know that Ive been warned again and again. Ive been warned about the burning of witches and the burning of books and big brother. And I know that history does not repeat itself, but that it rhymes, and this rhymes in a way that I think caught us off guard. Yes, we have people cheering for the very things that our forefathers understood were a threat to our ability to persevere in the world. Im not sure what our forefathers needed to say to us in order to alert us that this might happen, but the number of warnings is great. The degree to which we are now seeing [this is frightening]. People who until very recently were apparently on board with the idea that free expression was a good idea, we now see those very people cheering for the censors and aiding them. Its frightening. Mr. Jekielek: Heres the question. Theres some portion of the population that seems to believe this is a good idea, and its not a tiny portion. How does that intersect with this type of censorship that were seeing exactly? Dr. Weinstein: Well, I dont think it works that way exactly. In fact, I think that our founders understood something quite counterintuitive. Everybody can imagine that lots of speech has no value, and some speech is destructive. And so it is an obvious thought that maybe we could improve the world by just simply eliminating the speech that is obviously beyond the pale. The problem is that speech that is obviously beyond the pale is not an easy category to operationalize. What you often have are cranks and heterodoxy that travel together. The admixture is an unfortunate one. In general, there are 100 cranks for every really interesting heterodox idea, and they very often sound alike for reasons that probably arent worth going into. The point is it becomes a good bet for a lazy thinker to bet against all of the things on the fringe, because the things on the fringe so strongly tend to be wrong that if you bet against them, youll be right 99 times out of 100. But if you bet against the fringe and you stop thinking about the fact that hanging out on that fringe will be the heterodox ideas that are the root of the next rung of progress, then you will freeze progress and you wont know what happened. Our founders recognizing that there was no good way to surgically separate the bad ideas from the good ideas on the fringe said, Well, we have to accept the cost of the bad ideas being protected. That is the cost of having the good ideas that are in amongst them free to be voiced. Its hard to exceed their formulation. We still dont know how to separate heterodoxy from crank ideas. And we need the heterodoxy. The fact is every great idea starts with a minority of one. If youre not willing to surrender the advantage that comes from all of those next great ideas, then were stuck with having to deal with whats on the fringe. Its not that the cost of it is zero. Mr. Jekielek: Is this whole scenario that were discussing here today, with respect to health and expression, somehow above the fact that were heading into this stasis because of the way the collective thinking of society is changing or somehow being guided to change? Dr. Weinstein: I dont know why its happening, but I can say this is happening across every industry that Im aware of. Its happening across every institution that Im aware of. And frankly, its happening across every topic that is important for us to discuss. We are undoing all of the basic principles that allow us to think, that allow us to disagree with each other productively to discover what is true. The consequence for us is going to be catastrophic. I mean, really we are taking a system that, yes, is deeply flawed, but does improve over time. We are taking that most vibrant, productive, innovative system, and we are undoing it in pursuit of what appear to be utopian ideas that stand no chance of being true. Mr. Jekielek: This is actually quite interesting. Basically its like weve decided or some portion of the population, the elite class or something, has decided that the cost outweighs the benefit. Dr. Weinstein: Well, I dont think thats exactly how it works. I think everybody sees their little quadrant, and they have their interests. I can imagine that inside the pharmaceutical, for example, it would be very frustrating that there are repurpose drugs that have a promising signal of utility. There are people who are pursuing things that absolutely wont work. And that whole discussion of alternatives is counterproductive to the mission of somebody who is involved in a career selling vaccines. So they might target a small amount of speech, and they might see it as just a simply normal part of competition in the same way that the people who make Tide might seek to out-compete the people who make Cheer. The problem is that this isnt Tide versus Cheer, right? These are different medical technologies with different levels of unknown attached to their use, and the consequences are harm to human beings. Frankly, none of this is safe. The repurpose drugs are also not inherently safe to be used off label. But the question is where is the greater risk? We cant even have that conversation, because there are certain claims that are supported by substantial evidence, which were not even allowed to make publicly on these platforms. Mr. Jekielek: From your vantage point right now, where do you see this going? Dr. Weinstein: Well, I have a hope, and I have a fear. I hope that what is about to happen is that the clear evidence that we have a small cluster of repurposed off-patent drugs that appear to be effective, both as treatments for COVID-19 and in one case as a prophylactic to prevent COVID-19. The fact that there is an alarming signal in the various data with respect to adverse events, following the vaccines, I am hoping that enough of us have come forward to discuss these issues that we have done it in a way that is careful. And Im not saying we have not made errorsI have made errorsbut that we have dealt with them honorably. Im hoping that has become clear enough that there will be another pivot. Just as it was with the laboratory leak, whatever it is that decides what the official narrative is going to be is going to have to retreat. And when it does retreat, my hope is that people will put two and two together, and they will recognize that what has been revealed by the laboratory leak, by the suppression of information about repurposed drugs, and by the silencing of discussion of harms that appear to be arising from the vaccines, that the real implication is that something is deeply wrong with the systems that are supposed to be serving our interests, that there has been capture, that we need to find out how it works and we need to stop it, because we absolutely have to have our government. We have to have our universities. We have to have our journalists working on the publics behalf, because without them we are lost. Mr. Jekielek: So thats your hope. What about the fear? Dr. Weinstein: My fear is that each time we go through one of these, the antagonists to truth are learning. Theyre evolving. What happened with the lab leak has alerted them to the danger of allowing people to sort through evidence in public, and that their level of tolerance for that is going to be driven through the floor, that they effectively will be motivated to pay a higher price in terms of the ridicule that arises when people censor in order to make sure that the discussions dont happen. That is what I am feeling on my channel. And I fear that it could work, that those of us who face this, some of us will choose not to bend, and we will be purged from these platforms. Once we are purged from these platforms and other people have been induced to self-censor, the conversation simply wont be taking place. That means that the official narrative will function as received wisdom. Mr. Jekielek: I know you have obviously a lot of people communicating with you. What are people saying to you in response to hearing of this demonetization and some of these videos being removed, like the one that you did with Dr. Malone? Dr. Weinstein: Well, I get two kinds of responses in this case. One is, theres an overwhelming response where people are grateful to have somebody attempting to sort this out in a responsible way in public, and there is great enthusiasm and support and offers of help. Then theres another signal which I must say, I find troubling on so many different levels, where people effectively want to hold me and others involved in these discussions responsible for the possible harms that will arise if people are led to understand, for example, that there are adverse events that seem to be arising as a consequence of vaccination. Mr. Jekielek: I want to just jump back to this idea, again. Im spit balling here, but it seems people need a simple answer, right? The simple answer is vaccinate everyone, so that will be socially good. I dont know. This is troubling. Dr. Weinstein: There are several things going on at once. First of all, the discussion is happening in the context of a large fraction of the population having been vaccinated. I can certainly imagine that for any person who has been vaccinated, it would be just simply much easier to imagine that these things are so safe, that theres no reason to think more about it than you would any other vaccine. I also think people, because theyre not in a position to evaluate the biological realities here, are unaware that theres uncertainty across the board with respect to what were doing and that it is not obvious. Even though I freely admit it appears that these vaccines work in the short term, that does not mean that they are a net benefit in the longterm. There are ways that these vaccines could go wrong and indications that some of these things may be happening. There is the question of whether or not they will drive the evolution of escape mutants that will prolong the pandemic and kill more people. Ultimately, theres a question of the possibility of antibody dependent enhancement, which could result in people who have been vaccinated being more susceptible to a virus in the long-term. That has occurred with the attempts to produce previous mRNA vaccines. And theres the question about the long-term harms to people who have been vaccinated. What I and my wife, Heather Heying, have been saying on our podcast is that we actually have a series of complex systems. We have three levels. The immune system is a complex system embedded within a person, which is a complex system embedded within a society, which is a complex system. And all three of these are in play with respect to the harms. That does not mean that ultimately we will see all these things play out, but it means that anybody who is saying: These vaccines are simply good. They are the route out of the pandemic. And therefore we must get everybody to get vaccinated because it is obviously a good idea for us to do that. That is not clear. Those who proceed from the idea that it is clear seem to be motivated by a removal of the normal constraints that typically surround discussion. They are fighting as if theyre dealing with an evil foe, but they are not dealing with an evil foe. They are dealing with people who on the basis of the evidence, and on the basis of what we understand about this three layer complex system are alarmed at what we are doing. At the very least, even if we are wrong, it is vitally important that we pay attention to what might be wrong here, so that we will find out whether or not we are doing harm and among other things stop it if thats what were doing. Mr. Jekielek: Bret, any final thoughts before we finish up? Dr. Weinstein: To understand where we are, people need to recognize that the conversation exists at two different levels. There is disagreement amongst those who have looked at the evidence of the efficaciousness of repurposed drugs against COVID-19 and of the adverse event signal with respect to the vaccines. The fact that we dont all agree on what it means is actually a good thing. Its a sign of a healthy scientific discussion. This is complex phenomenon, and the data does not tell a single story. That story will emerge over time if we are allowed to have the discussion. But no matter where you stand with respect to the implication of the evidence, none of it accounts for the policy that we are seeing handed down. And that is alarming. It would be alarming under normal circumstances, but it is especially alarming in the context of immunity from liability and the Emergency Use Authorizations. In effect, we are seeing medical policy that for whatever reason, perfectly matches what would be in the interests of pharmaceutical manufacturers and does not appear to match the medical interests of the public. Now, I have the sense that five years ago, three years ago, if we had asked people whether or not they trust the pharmaceutical industry not to corrupt lawmakers and cause the production of policy that serves their interests and is not in the interest of the public, most people would have recognized that there was some danger from these corporations having undue influence over government. Somehow in the context of the pandemic, people have forgotten this, and they dont realize that even the normal protections have been removed by the way that these products were produced. The fact that the vaccines require that there are no safe and effective drugs in existence, and that there is now debate over drugs that do exist, which some of us, having looked at the evidence, believe are efficacious and others swear there is no evidence forthat is an interesting and conspicuous fact. People ought to look at it in the context of effectively the safety having been taken off the gun. Thats what happens when you immunize a corporation from liability. It becomes more gung-ho about its product because it doesnt fear ending up in court. Has that happened here? I think its likely, but at the very least, we certainly have to be able to have that conversation. Censorship is now on the table at the very same moment. And the topics on which we are being censored are central to that question of how safe we are being made by those charged with ensuring that we are served by the medical policy of the government. Thats certainly something that requires discussion. I hope that members of your audience will understand, no matter where they fall out on these questions, no matter what they think is going on, it is obvious that there is a danger that arises from immunizing corporations from liability. That danger puts an extra onus on us to discuss whether or not something has gone wrong. Mr. Jekielek: Well, Bret Weinstein, its such a pleasure to have you on. Dr. Weinstein: Thanks for having me on. It was a very interesting discussion. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. Subscribe to the American Thought Leaders newsletter so you never miss an episode. You can also follow American Thought Leaders on Parler, Facebook, or YouTube. If youd like to donate to support our work, you can do so here. Follow Epoch TV on Facebook and Twitter. Facts Matter (July 2): Supreme Court Rules That Arizonas Anti-Ballot Harvesting Bill Is Legal On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Arizonas ban on ballot harvesting is legal. We were able to get an exclusive interview with Arizonas attorney general in order to figure out what this means for the state. Facebook is trying to root out what they call extremism. They are sending messages to their users, informing them that their friends and family might have become extremistsas well as what they can do about it. American Hartford Gold (866-242-2352): https://ept.ms/3biH9MN Resources: Stay tuned for our newsletter so you wont miss out on our exclusive videos and private events. Facts Matter is an Epoch Times show available on YouTube. Follow Roman on Instagram: @epoch.times.roman Follow EpochTV on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EpochTVus Twitter: https://twitter.com/EpochTVus Then-Republican candidate Dave Yost gives his victory speech after winning the Ohio Attorney General race at the Ohio Republican Party's election night party at the Sheraton Capitol Square in Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. 6, 2018. (Justin Merriman/Getty Images) Federal Judge Strikes Down Ambiguous Tax Mandate Provision in Bidens $1.9 Trillion Relief Package A federal judge issued a permanent injunction on Thursday to block the ambiguous tax mandate in President Joe Bidens $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. U.S. District Judge Douglas R. Cole from the District Court for the Southern District of Ohio ruled that the tax mandate in the America Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)which seems to tie the relief fund to the states authority to reduce taxexceeds the Congresss authority under the Spending Clause due to its ambiguity. The Interim Final Rule (IFR) issued by the Treasury Department intended to clarify the tax mandate does not cure that constitutional violation, the judge stated. Accordingly, this Court GRANTS Ohios Motion for a Permanent Injunction (Doc. 38), and enjoins the [Treasury] Secretary from seeking to enforce the Tax Mandate, 42 U.S.C. 802(c)(2)(A), against Ohio, reads the ruling (pdf). The judge also expressed concerns that the tax mandate has breached the separation-of-powers principles laid down by the framers. The Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost applauded the ruling and criticized the Biden administration for overreaching. The Biden administration reached too far, seized too much, and got its hand slapped, Yost said. This is a monumental win for the preservation of the U.S. Constitutionthe separation of powers is real, and it exists for a reason. The Epoch Times reached out to the White House and the Treasury Department for comments. A stipulation in the $1.9 trillion sweeping relief package has caused considerable disputes between red states and the Biden administration. A State or territory shall not use the funds provided under this section to either directly or indirectly offset a reduction in the net tax revenue of such State or territory resulting from a change in law, regulation, or administrative interpretation during the covered period that reduces any tax (by providing for a reduction in a rate, a rebate, a deduction, a credit, or otherwise) or delays the imposition of any tax or tax increase, the bill reads. Several red states argued that this paragraph may deprive their authorities to reduce tax after receiving the relief. Ohio became the first state to sue Bidens administration over his pandemic rescue plan, arguing on March 17 that the provision holds a gun to the head of states by blocking them from cutting taxes, and exceeds the authority of Congress. Thirteen states followed Ohio and launched legal action against the tax mandate provision. The lawsuit (pdf) by the 13 states says the provision is one of the most egregious power grabs by the federal government in the nations history. It argues that the provision, by stipulating how states use federal funds with regard to tax cuts, is akin to forcing states to relinquish control of their taxing authority, which is not allowed under the Tenth Amendment. The lawsuit also accuses the federal government of violating the conditional spending doctrine and the anti-commandeering doctrine. The tax mandate disables States from decreasing taxes on their citizens for a period of over three years and in doing so, usurps the ability of the states to reduce their tax burdens, the states alleged in the lawsuit. Treasury Secretary Jenet Yellen asserted back in March that the American Rescue Plan Act doesnt prevent states from enacting a broad variety of tax cuts. That is, the Act does not deny States the ability to cut taxes in any manner whatsoever. It simply provides that funding received under the Act may not be used to offset a reduction in net tax revenue resulting from certain changes in state law, Yellen wrote in a letter responding to 21 attorneys general. If States lower certain taxes but do not use funds under the Act to offset those cutsfor example, by replacing the lost revenue through other meansthe limitation in the Act is not implicated. The Treasury Department issued an IFR (pdf) accordingly on May 7, 2021. Isabel Van Brugen and Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to the report. Officials and military personnel at the NATO headquarters, in Brussels, on May 25, 2017. (Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images) Form a NATO for Trade to Counter the Communist Chinese Regime: Report A democratic alliance organization could contain the economic coercion backed by communist Chinas state power, like a NATO for trade, says a think-tank report. The Chinese regime is pursuing global dominance, especially in advanced technologies and industries, but the system, ruled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is at fundamental odds with the principles of market-based trade, according to a report issued on June 28. The Communist party regularly weaponizes its vast array of policy tools to punish any nation that doesnt kowtow to Beijing, Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation wrote in the report. No nation wants to individually bear the brunt of the Chinese attack, so most usually quietly capitulate. Atkinson proposed to form a Democracies Alliance Treaty Organization (DATO) as a deterrent, which democratic alliances agree to give tit for tat together if a member is targeted by the communist regime, like the NATO for trade. It welcomed any democracy to join, but one would lose the membership once it failed to make the joint efforts. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a political and military alliance between European and North American countries. At the heart of the treaty, an attack on one member is considered as to all. Founded in 1949, it was a bulwark against the communist threat of the Soviet Union. Atkinson noted the hostages held by the CCP to intimidate the west range from Chinese students, tourists, export and import products, like key minerals, to foreign commercial firms embedded in the Chinese market. But the WTOs one-nation, one-vote system makes it hard to act as an arbiter of global trade, against a global players coercive practices. Australian beef is seen at a supermarket in Beijing on May 12, 2020. China suspended imports from four major Australian beef suppliers on May 12. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images) Beijing has imposed an embargo on trade with a dozen export products, including wine, beef, timber, lobster, and coal after Australia called for an independent investigation into the origin of COVID-19 and condemned human rights violations in the far-western province Xinjiang and Hong Kong. Taiwanese economist Wu Jialong said it was not enough that western countries, like Canberra, sought to use economic approaches encountering the coercion. It has to be viewed as a political action. And [democracies] have to respond accordingly, Wu said in the interview with The Epoch Times. Wu claimed that the economy and politics are interwound, but many countries failed to recognize this point. The economist stated that the Chinese regime aligned its economy with politics, and the economic behaviors are to deepen its influence in politics. He added that contrary to the capitalist system that private property is protected by state power, communism eliminates private ownership. Now, it seems that westerners have realized that using competition or negotiations to curb the CCPs rule-breaking actions was in vain, Wu said Wednesday. The alliance has to give tit for tat jointly. Otherwise, Beijing skews at those signed agreements, even democratic countries. The initiative is also praised by Hu Ping, a U.S.-based China expert and political commentator. He suggested that the regime adopted the tactic of divide and rule, luring each ally with economic benefits or investment to silence them one by one, if they could not stand together. The step is necessary, even just for solving the problems in trade, Hu said in the interview with The Epoch Times on June 30. The report, NATO for trade, is commissioned by The China Research Group, set up by UK conservative politicians, and a U.S. public policy think tank, Information Technology, and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). State capitalism The report claimed that free traders have to pay attention to the Chinese regimes state capitalism. Otherwise, their companies or even their long-standing norms would be affected. Atkinson said the communist regime uses protective policies to force foreign companies to transfer intellectual properties in exchange for Chinese market access. Meanwhile, Chinese companies empowered with massive state subsidies and foreign technologies enter foreign markets. The CCP manipulates global technology standard bodies to ensure the dominance of Chinese technical standards. The innovation mercantilist has been successfully applied in solar panels, Internet applications, and high-speed rail, according to the report. China is seeking not only self-sufficiency but global dominance in virtually all advanced industries and technologies. Their success would have disastrous consequences on allied military advantage, said Atkinson in the report. He said any hope that the communist regime might change to become a fair trader by itself, or through pressure, is fading as it announced the goal of being a world powerhouse of scientific and technological innovation by 2050. In the summit in June, NATO leaders warned of the military threat posed by the Chinese regime, calling Beijing a system challenge. But it also mentioned that it did not want a Cold War with China. Luo Ya contributed to this report. Doctors carry fresh organs for transplant at a hospital in Henan Province, China, on Aug. 16, 2012. (Screenshot via Sohu.com) Former Police Officer Recounts Witnessing Industrialized Organ Harvesting in China At the sound of gunshots, prisoners fell lifeless to the ground. Their bodies, still warm, were carried to a nearby white van where two white-clad doctors awaited. Behind closed doors, they were cut open, the organs carved out for sale on the transplant market. The grisly scene, which sounds more like the plot of a horror movie, took place in China more than 20 years ago at the direction of state authorities. It was witnessed by Bob (pseudonym), then a police officer who provided security at the execution sites where death-row prisoners were executed. The harvesting of death-row prisoners organs was an open secret, Bob, a former public security officer from central Chinas Zhengzhou City who is now based in the United States, told The Epoch Times in an interview. Bob described being an unwitting participant in an industrialized supply chain that converted living humans into products for sale in the organ trade. The players in this macabre industry include the judicial system, police, prisons, doctors, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials who issue the directive. The former officer used a pseudonym in sharing his experience to protect his safety. The Epoch Times has verified his police ID and other personal information. His account from the mid-1990s sheds light on one stage in the disturbing evolution of the CCPs long-running practice of harvesting organs from non-consenting donors. While Bob witnessed organ extraction from prisoners who were already dead, in the following years the regime would go on to implementand deploy on a mass scalea practice far more sinister: harvesting organs from live prisoners of conscience, particularly Falun Gong practitioners. The Execution Bob joined the police force in 1996 and worked as a civilian police officer. From time to time, he assisted in maintaining order at a court where executions are confirmed and various execution sites in the city. Later, in 1999, as a result of an online post critical of the authorities, Bob himself was put in detention for more than a year. Inside, he was able to observe the handling of death-row prisoners, and thus piece together the process from conviction to execution to organ harvesting. After being sentenced to death, an inmate would be slapped in hand and ankle cuffs, the latter weighing up to 33 pounds to prevent a possible escape. One or two other prisoners would keep them on watch at all times. A blood testa step to identify possible donorsand a check up on their mental and physical health would also run during this time at a dedicated medical room in the detention center. As far as I know, no one told the death-row prisoners their organs would be extracted, Bob said. Executions typically occurred ahead of major holidays, he said. Death-row prisoners would have to attend a public hearing at a higher court, where a judge would confirm or overturn the death sentence assigned by the original court. Those destined for executionranging from a handful to more than a dozen each timewere then marched out of the courthouse to a procession of 20 to 30 vehicles waiting outside, according to Bob. The convoy also transferred local officials assigned to witness the executions. They included the vice director from the local public security bureau, the judge, and other personnel who handled the cases. All the cars had red cloth or paper taped over the windows and carried a numerical marking. The prisoners determined to be suitable to have their organs extracted (as a result of the tests) would get injected with a drug said to relieve their pain. Its actual goal, though, was to prevent blood coagulating after brain death and damaging the organs, Bob said. Those slated for organ harvesting were typically young, healthy men, usually in their 20s and 30s without a history of major illness, according to Bob. At the execution site, prisoners were arranged in a line to be shot in the back of the head. The closest convict would stand roughly three to five meters (3.3 to 5.5 yards) away from Bob. Adherents of the spiritual practice Falun Gong act out a scene of stealing human organs to sell during a demonstration in Taipei on July 20, 2014, against Chinas persecution of the group. (Mandy Cheng/AFP via Getty Images) The White Van After the shootings, an on-site medical examiner would check the bodies to confirm death. After this, a black plastic bag would be used to cover the prisoners heads. The bodies slated for organ extraction were then rushed to a white van waiting nearby. The vans rear door was usually kept shut, and its window curtains were pulled down to keep out prying eyes. Bob once caught a glimpse inside when the rear door chanced to be open. He saw an operating bed and two doctors donning a white gown, masks, and gloves. Plastic wrapping covered the ground in case of blood spills. The doctors swiftly closed the doors after realizing someone was watching. No one but the doctors would know what happened afterward. When the bodies came out, they were in a black cadaver bag and sent directly for cremation. The dead convicts were lumped together and burned in one kiln. As a result, it was impossible to distinguish which ashes belonged to who, Bob said. They simply grabbed some from the heap, and gave it to each family. The families were none the wiser. The great majority of these death row prisoners families would have no idea their relatives organs were extracted when they collected the ashes, Bob said. With rare exceptions, those inmates had no chance to see or talk with their relatives during their last moments. Nor could the family see the bodies after their loved ones death. All the family got was a box of ashes. A woman adjusts banners in support of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, a group banned in mainland China, in Tung Chung, an area popular with tourists from the mainland, in Hong Kong on April 25, 2019. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images) A Well-Oiled Machine The process was quickbecause fresh organs must be promptly transported to the hospital for surgeryand meticulous planning was key for it to run smoothly, Bob said. To them, its plenty clear which organ of a certain prisoner [they were going to harvest], he said. It was very explicit which [prisoners body] would be placed on the van the people on the van knew exactly which organs to take because everything was arranged beforehand. From this, Bob surmised that these practices had been running for a long time before he started the job. The workflow, the adeptness they showed, and the closeness in their cooperation could not have happened in just one or two years, he said. Even the price of the harvested organs was known beforehand, Bob added. China performed its first human organ transplant in 1960. Since the country did not have an official organ donation system until 2015, most of the organs for transplant came from executed prisoners, the regime has claimed. But from the 2000s, the domestic transplant industry saw a sudden boom and the number of executed prisoners simply couldnt account for the number of transplants taking place. Chinese hospitals, seeking to entice organ transplant tourists from abroad, promised organ transplants in a matter of weeks or even daysunheard of in developed countries with established organ transplant systems where wait times could stretch on for years. The surge in transplants coincided with the onset of the CCPs persecution of Falun Gong, a meditation discipline whose 70 million to 100 million adherents have faced arrests, torture, and jail over the past two decades. Falun Gong practitioners hold a candlelight vigil in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles for those who have died due to the Chinese regimes persecution, on Oct. 15, 2015. (The Epoch Times) Over the years, evidence mounted pointing to a sprawling system of live organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience orchestrated by the CCP. In 2019, an independent peoples tribunal concluded that the regime, for years, was killing prisoners on a significant scale to supply its transplant market, and was continuing the practice. The main victims, the tribunal found, were imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners. The regime said it banned the use of executed prisoners organs in 2015, claiming it would exclusively source from organs from voluntary donors under the organ donation system set up the same year. But still, official organ donation figures cannot explain the high number of transplants conducted, the tribunal concluded. The Machine Keeps Running Bobs account aligns with those of multiple other eyewitnesses who took part in the opaque organ transplant business in China around the same period. George Zheng, a former Chinese medical intern, recalled assisting in an organ removal operation in the 1990s alongside two nurses and three military doctors, in a mountainous area near an army prison close to Dalian, a city in northeastern China. The patient, a young man, was unresponsive but his body was still warm. The doctors had removed two kidneys from the man and then instructed Zheng to extract his eyes. At that moment, his eyelids moved and he looked at me, he told The Epoch Times in 2015. There was sheer terror in his eyes My mind went blank and my whole body began to shake. The memories of those two eyes haunted Zheng for years. George Zheng, now living in Toronto, recounts how he witnessed live organ harvesting in Shenyang Province, China, in the 1990s. (Yi Ling/The Epoch Times) In 1995, ethnic Uyghur doctor Enver Tohti from the far west Xinjiang region similarly helped two chief surgeons to extract the liver and two kidneys from a live prisoner who had just been shot in the chest. There was bleeding. He was still alive. But I didnt feel guilty. In fact, I didnt feel anything but like a full-programmed robot doing its task, he told a July 2017 panel. I thought I was carrying out my duty to eliminate the enemy of the state. The surgeons later told him to remember that nothing happened. A seemingly on-demand organ transplant trade appears to be continuing in recent years in hospitals in Zhengzhou, where Bob once worked, based on investigations by the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG), a U.S.-based nonprofit. One nurse from the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University told the WOIPFG in 2019 that their hospital ranked among the countrys top five in terms of kidney transplantation and did around 400 surgeries the previous year. We havent stopped since the Chinese New Year and havent taken any days off, she told undercover WOIPFG investigators posing as prospective organ transplantees, adding that they had a kidney match that day. Another doctor from the hospital, during a phone call in 2017, told undercover investigators they did most of the liver transplant surgeries overnight as soon as they arrived. If you dont utilize these times and only do them during the daytime, how can you possibly do so many surgeries? How can you outcompete the other folks? he said. The organ transplant abuse Bob witnessed had sickened him and went against his values, which helped him make up his mind to quit less than three years into the job, he said. Despite having long left the police force, Bob saw no reason that the forced organ transplant industry would stop running. Driven by the huge profits, theres no place for the so-called human rights and humanitarian concerns, he said. Bobs hope is for the Chinese population to free themselves from the Chinese regimes authoritarian rule and find freedom in democratic countries. By a twist of fate, the city committee secretary who ordered his detention ended up in jail himself for taking bribes. He later died in prison serving a life sentence. No one is safe under the CCP rule, he said. What happens to someone else may very well happen to you tomorrow. Long Tengyun contributed to this report. William Sydney Porter, better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an famous for his heartfelt and humorous stories. (Astfreelancer / Shutterstock) Gifts From a Master: The Stories of William Sydney Porter One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until ones cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas. So begins O. Henrys The Gift of the Magi, one of the sweetest, most concise, and best-written short stories in the English language. Della wants to buy a watch chain for her 22-year-old husband, Jim Young, but has no money. What she does have is a cascade of hair that might have, as O. Henry tells us, depreciated the Queen of Shebas jewels and gifts. She sells her hair, buys Jim a beautiful chain for his watch, and presents him with her gift, once he recovers from the shock of her missing tresses. Della opens her present from Jim first, and finds the set of combs, side and back, that Della had worshipped for long in a Broadway window. She gives way to hysterical tears and wails, but then recovers and proudly presents Jim with his watch chain. Jim sits on the couch, hands behind his head, and smiles, saying: Della, lets put our Christmas presents away and keep em a while. Theyre too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now suppose you put the chops on. In the last paragraph of the story, O. Henry credits the magi with inventing the art of giving Christmas presents. But then he returns to Della and Jim, writing: In a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi. Today, O. Henry is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Asheville, North Carolina, where visitors to the gravesite often leave $1.87 in change on his tombstone. A Life in Brief During his short life, William Sydney Porter (18621910) composed more than 400 short stories, plus various journalistic commentaries and pieces. Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, he later became a pharmacist, a journalist, and a bank clerk. That last position landed him in a world of trouble. Accused of embezzlement, Porter fled to Honduras to escape prosecution. While there, he learned that his wife, 17 years old when they married, was dying of consumption, and he reentered the United States to face both prison and his wifes death. Convicted of the charges against him, Porter spent three years in prison, wrote stories while behind bars, and emerged to become one of Americas preeminent writers. He later married a fellow North Carolinian, produced his many stories while living in New York City, and eventually died at an early age from alcoholism. Despite the sniping and carping of various literary critics, Porter, better known by his pen name O. Henry, became wildly popular with the readers of his time. A few of O. Henrys stories were compiled in the 1952 movie O. Henrys Full House. Jeanne Crain and Farley Granger star in The Gift of the Magi, perhaps his best-known work. (CineMaterial) Henrys Trademark Like The Gift of the Magi, many of O. Henrys stories come with a surprise ending. After Twenty Years, for instance, features a policeman on his nighttime beat who encounters Bob, who is waiting to meet a friend, Jimmy Wells, an arrangement made 20 years earlier. After an amiable chat, the policeman moves on. Soon another man arrives, who at first claims to be Jimmy but turns out to be a plainclothes cop who places Bob under arrest. He hands him a note from the real Jimmy, the first policeman who, unlike Bob, recognizes his friend and connects him with a wanted poster in the station house. Regarding Bobs arrest, Jimmy writes: Somehow I couldnt do it myself, so I went around and got a plain clothes man to do the job. In The Cop and the Anthem, a tramp does his best to get arrested so that he might spend the winter in jail. Soapy tries such ploys as smashing a store window, refusing to pay a restaurant bill, badgering a woman, and stealing an umbrella, but he fails to draw the attention of the law and seems doomed to liberty. Finally, Soapy ends up standing outside a church and listening to an anthem hed known when his life contained such things as mothers and roses and ambitions and friends and immaculate thoughts and collars. Just as he resolves to change his ways and seek employment, to be somebody in this world, a policeman arrests him for loitering and vagrancy, and the next morning hes sentenced to three months in prison. These twists and unexpected turns in the stories even today make O. Henry unique among American writers. William Sydney Porter in his 30s. From Analyzing Character, 1922, by Katherine M.H. Blackford and Arthur Newcomb. (Public Domain) Regular People, Good Hearts Another hallmark of an O. Henry story are the characters: tramps like Soapy, thieves, cops, shop girls, bohemian artists, and others whom O. Henry saw daily in the hotel lobbies and streets of New York. Some contemporaries like Edith Wharton found their characters and situations in the citys drawing rooms, but O. Henry based his characters on ordinary citizens. And often he endowed these men and women with remarkable tenderness. Here is part of his description of Old Behrman, a painter in The Last Leaf, living in a building with younger artists, and who has long claimed he will one day paint a masterpiece: He drank gin to excess, and still talked of his coming masterpiece. For the rest he was a fierce little old man, who scoffed terribly at softness in any one, and who regarded himself as especial mastiff-in-waiting to protect the two young artists in the studio above. Yet it is the fierce, hard Behrman whose masterpiecethe painting of a leaf on a wallsaves the life of a young woman. Humor Some readers may object to The Ransom of Red Chief as inappropriate because of the storys subject matter. It features the kidnapping of a boy by two con men. But once we put aside that reservation, we find ourselves in the middle of a hilarious adventure. Bill and Sam kidnap the son of a prominent citizen in a small town in Alabama and take him to a nearby cave while they wait for his ransom. The boy then turns their lives into a sort of living hell. Calling himself Red Chief, he tries to scalp Bill, threatens to burn Sam at a stake at sunrise, rides Bill like a horse for hours at a time, knocks him out with a rock from his sling, and commits a variety of other minor atrocities. A copy of O. Henrys stories with an illustration of The Ransom of Red Chief on the cover. By the end of The Ransom of Red Chief, the kidnappers have returned the boy to his father, though not under the conditions they expected. If you havent read this classic and if youre looking for some laughter, give The Ransom of Red Chief a shot. Pleasures There are many excellent reasons for paying a visit to O. Henry, particularly after the hardships of the last tumultuous months. In his work, we find wise insights into human nature, a look at an earlier America, some wonderful writing, and stories filled with hope rather than despair. Best of all, we can enjoy some good old-fashioned fun. Jeff Minick has four children and a growing platoon of grandchildren. For 20 years, he taught history, literature, and Latin to seminars of homeschooling students in Asheville, N.C. He is the author of two novels, Amanda Bell and Dust On Their Wings, and two works of non-fiction, Learning As I Go and Movies Make The Man. Today, he lives and writes in Front Royal, Va. See JeffMinick.com to follow his blog. Scores of exiled Tibetans, Hong Kongers, Chinese dissidents, and others burn down the flags of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and present a black coffin for the CCP in protest of its brutal rule in China in front of China's consulate general in New York City, on July 1, 2021, its 100th anniversary. (Huang Xiaotang/The Epoch Times) Groups Outside Mainland China Decry CCP Tyranny on Its 100th Anniversary In multiple countries, groups launched protests in front of Chinas consulates and denounced the brutal rule of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in China on July 1, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CCP. The United States On July 1, scores of residents from the Greater New York region rallied in front of Chinas consulate general in New York City to protest the CCPs brutal rule in China. They burned down the red flags of the CCP that represent bloodiness and brutality. They also displayed a black coffin, which signifies a curse upon the organization, wishing for it to meet its end as soonest as possible. The whole days rallies were divided into morning and afternoon parts. Different groups took their turns to show up. In the morning, the Democracy Party of China (DPC), the Chinese Democracy & Human Rights Alliance (CDHRA), and the Shanghai National Party were present; while in the afternoon, Students for a Free Tibet, the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of NY & NJ, and Humanitarian China were there. In Seattle, about 25 demonstrators assembled at the Westlake Center and protested the CCPs atrocities, most of whom were non-Chinese Americans. Each participant was requested to deliver a three-minute speech. Wang Jing, a Seattle-based female asylum seeker and a volunteer for pro-democracy organization June 4 Tianwang, was a former survivor of the CCPs dictatorship before she successfully fled communist China to the United States. At the CDHRA-initiated rally, she referred to the CCP as the wickedest and bloodiest ruling party ever in human history. The unprecedented wartime-like preparedness for celebrating the event in Beijing, Wang asserted. The CCP is destined to end up in ultimate horror and frenzy. Lets burn down its bloodthirsty flags to wish an earlier doomsday for it! In Los Angeles, protesters launched a photo exhibition titled 100 YEARS OF CCP ATROCITIES to substantiate the CCPs abuses. Another board displayed specific funding that the CCP received from The Communist International (Comintern), to show undisclosed ties between the CCP and its counterpart in the former Soviet Union. Photo exhibition of the CCPs abuses in China, in front of Chinas consulate in Los Angeles, on July 1, 2021. (Xu Xiuhui/The Epoch Times) A row of portraits with black frames was also displayed to appear like a mourning hall, including images of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, and Hong Kongs acting chief executive and former head of Security Bureau John Lee. Rally participants included Fang Zheng, head of the Chinese Democracy Education Foundation (CDEF), and Cheng Kai, former editor-in-chief of Chinas state-run Hainan Daily. Both were the survivors of the CCPs persecution of the Tiananmen Square protests. Fang himself lost his two legs, which were run over by one of the CCPs tanks during the June 4 massacre in 1989. Canada In Toronto, more than 500 protesters gathered at Grange Park, located in downtown Toronto, to voice their anger at the CCPs evil doings on July 1. They came from about 20 groups, including the Federation for a Democratic China (FDC), the Formosan Association for Public Affairs Canada (FAPA Canada), the Canada-Hong Kong Link, RU Stand with Hong Kong, Viet Tan Toronto, and others. Around 20 groups stage protests against the CCPs abuses in Toronto, Canada, on July 1, 2021. (Yin Ling/The Epoch Times) A host of activists delivered speeches, railing against the CCPs suppression of pro-democracy movements. Sheng Xue, vice chairman of the FDC Global, stated that the world is no longer safe due to the presence of the CCP. For the past century, the CCP has committed crimes against the whole human race in history, Sheng said. Its a combination of three malignant tumors for mankindFascism, terrorism, and communism. As a terrorist regime, it has incurred more damage to this world than any other power, which has proved to be an iron-clad fact. Gloria Fung, president of the Canada-Hong Kong Link, noted that what lies behind Chinas economic growth and seemingly more advanced infrastructure is the iron boot on Tibetans, Uighurs, Mongolians, other minority groups, and dissidents. We, in a democratic society, are morally responsible for speaking up for those under authoritarian regimes, said Fung. Additionally, she accused the CCP of posing a huge threat to global democracy for its ubiquitous infiltration, manipulation, and hostage-diplomacy: Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have been placed under arbitrary detention for 30 months. Demonstrators walked four kilometers (2.5 miles) all the way down Spadina Avenue to the CCPs consulate in the city. Similar assemblies and protests broke out in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Hong Kong In Hong Kong, some citizens were seen wearing black to show their defiance to the CCPs erosion of the citys freedoms; and sporadic protests were organized by the League of Social Democrats, the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (the HKCTU), and other groups at Wan Chai and Mong Kok, even though rallies are under a harsh ban in the name of the local national security law, VOA reported. As of 9:00 p.m., at least 19 residents were arrested, including Alexandra Wong, a white-haired female activist. Hong Kong police arrests Alexandra Wong, a white-haired native activist, on July 1, 2021. (Song Bilong/The Epoch Times) Three members of Student Politicism were surrounded by scores of police officers and arrested as soon as they reached Mong Kok. Fortunately, they were released on bail around 10:30 p.m. Around 10:00 p.m., a male resident suddenly attacked a police officer with a knife in Causeway Bay. After injuring the policeman, the man stabbed his own chest to commit suicide. He was brought under control and sent to a hospital. Around 11:00 p.m., he died after treatment failed. Later, it was found the attacker was Leung Kin-Fai, director of the Hong Kong Purchase Department of Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd., according to Stand News. Further findings show Leung had no previous criminal record. He left a suicide note which read that he was dissatisfied with Hong Kong police who shelter criminals. Activist Alexandra Wong (C), also known as Grandma Wong, is taken away by police while protesting on the 24th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from Britain, in Hong Kong on July 1, 2021. (Song Bilong/The Epoch Times) Hong Kong Man Commits Suicide After Stabbing Policeman A 50-year-old Hong Kong man stabbed a policeman in the back and then killed himself on July 1, the 24th anniversary of the citys handover from Britain to the Chinese regime. The next day, a large number of Hong Kong people mourned the deceased as the regime designated him as a lone wolf and criticized his sympathizers. China affairs experts told The Epoch Times they dont agree with the mans extreme action, but sympathize with him. Many Hongkongers are extremely angry and desperate like the deceased attacker because their anti-extradition law protest was suppressed [in 2019]. Since then, they have lost more and more freedom. Recently, the [pro-democracy] Apply Daily was forced to close. Hongkongers anger and sorrow have hit the roof, said Prof. Feng Chongyi, a China expert at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia. The experts expressed their wishes that the international community can help Hongkongers by putting more pressure on the Chinese regime. The Stabbing Death On July 1, some Hongkongers protested against the Chinese Communist Partys rule in the streets as others celebrated the regime taking over the city 25 years ago. In the evening, the stabbing happened outside the Sogo department store in Causeway Bay. At about 10:05 p.m. local time, a middle-aged man dressed in a black T-shirt, black pants, black shoes, and carrying a black backpack, suddenly stabbed a policeman in his back. The man then pierced the knife into his chest. The policeman is a 28-year-old who suffered a 10-centimeter wound on the left side of his back and received surgery to repair a punctured lung at the hospital. The attacker was also sent to the hospital but died about one hour later at 11:20 p.m. A policeman is lying on the ground after being stabbed on his back in Hong Kong on July 1, 2021. (Provided to The Epoch Times by Bai Ying) The deceaseds employer, a Hong Kong beverage company named Vitasoy, stated in the night that the man was the companys Purchasing Director Leung Kin-Fai, and has a family in Hong Kong. On July 2, a large number of Hongkongers brought white flowers, joss sticks, and candles to mourn the attacker in Causeway Bay, but police didnt allow the get-together and ordered them to leave. Hong Kong Secretary for Security Chris Tang announced on Friday that the man was radicalised based on materials found on his computer, without providing further detail. Meanwhile, four Hong Kong police associations co-stated that there were netizens who glorified Leung and encouraged other people to follow in his action. A child is detained by police officers on the 24th anniversary of Hong Kongs handover from Britain in the Causeway Bay district in Hong Kong on July 1, 2021. (Anthony Kwan/Getty Images) Dilemma China affairs experts all expressed their concerns about Hongkongers dilemma. Hongkongers used to enjoy freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and rule of law. Now, they will be arrested and sentenced if they dont follow the Beijing regime. The death even on July 1 shows Hongkongers desperation. [Leung] must feel completely hopeless about Hong Kongs future, Li Hengqing, a scholar at the Washington Institute for Information and Strategy, told The Epoch Times. Freedom and the rule of law are removed entirely out of Hong Kong. The Hong Kong regime didnt approve any anti-communist rallies and parades on the past July 1, which was the first time in Hong Kongs history and contrary to two years ago. On June 16, 2019, nearly 2 million Hongkongersrepresenting almost 29 percent of the populationdressed in black flooded the citys streets, calling for the government to withdraw a controversial extradition bill. The Hong Kong authorities finally dropped the extradition bill in September 2019, but the Beijing regime launched the Hong Kong National Security Law on June 30, 2020. Since then, a large number of pro-democracy activists have been arrested in Hong Kong, and pro-democracy media have been facing their hardest times. Police officers use tape to cordon off areas on the 24th anniversary of Hong Kongs handover from Britain in the Causeway Bay district in Hong Kong on July 1, 2021. (Anthony Kwan/Getty Images) Facing hopelessness, some Hongkongers choose to leave. We know that over 100,000 Hongkongers left the city in the past two months, Li continued. The people who cant leave or who dont want to leave may behave extremely like Leung. Feng urged Hongkongers to calm down. You saw that the peaceful protests didnt have an effective impact, but the murders and suicides have no effect at all, Feng said. The solution [I suggest] is urging the international community to help. When more democratic countries and more people from the world recognize the evil of the Chinese Communist Party regime, they will stand up to stop the evil. In this screen grab obtained from a social media video, Jacob Blake lies on the street after he got shot by a police officer after resisting arrest in Kenosha, Wisc., on Aug. 23, 2020. (Incident Response/via Rreuters) Kenosha Authorities Unanimously Turn Down Jacob Blakes Damage Claims Jacob Blake Jr. has been denied damage claims by the Kenosha City Council in Wisconsin. Blake petitioned for lost wages, medical expenses, and pain and suffering and disfigurement after being paralyzed. State law capped the claim at $50,000, but his lawyers presented an itemization named special damages at a figure of almost $777,000 due to his injuries, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The request was rejected 17-0 with no deliberation, according to The Kenosha News. On Thursday, City Administrator John Morrissey said that the filing was a formality that allowed Blake to sue for injuries within the state laws limitations. The federal civil rights suit is being pursued, and the potential state claim, essentially the same cause of action with caps on damages, would be superfluous of it. We are considering options, said Blakes legal team, which filed an accusation of excessive force. The Shooting Blake was shot on Aug. 23, 2020, as three officers tried to arrest him on an outstanding warrant. Officers were responding to a 911 call from a woman who said her boyfriend was at her house but was not supposed to be there. In January, a prosecutor declined to file charges against Rusten Sheskey, the officer who shot Blake. Rusten Sheskey told investigators he fired his weapon at Blake, who possessed a knife, because he was trying to protect his life and prevent Blake from kidnapping the child, who was in the backseat of the SUV, according to his attorney. Sheskey also stated that he was concerned about his safety. A Kenosha city official said that the destruction to city-owned property caused by rioters following the shooting of Blake had caused nearly $2 million in damage. More than 250 people were arrested in the following week. Maoist activists from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization were linked to the riots. Zachary Stieber contributed to this report. Looking for a Business Idea? Start With Your Purpose Here's a completely different way of developing a business idea. Instead of focusing on a problem worth solving, focus on the purpose that drives you. Have you ever tried to come up with a new business idea? For some entrepreneurs, the idea comes naturallyperhaps it came from a familiar industry, or there was an unsolved problem that the founder experienced first-hand. But not every aspiring founder has a clear idea of exactly what that business should do. So, where to start? Many business schools will recommend a set formulation: First, start by identifying a problem in the world or in your life. Then develop a solution. There are other methods, of courselike assessing personal skills and abilities, using design thinking, undertaking market research, and so on. But one element often gets overlooked, or left as an afterthought. That element is a sense of purpose. It isnt just the driving force of a business; it can also be the seed of a business idea. Purpose Before Problem In this alternative formulation, a sense of purposeboth individual and corporatecomes first, and helps to guide the rest of the process. Forget quickly drawing up your corporate mission as a last-minute addition to your pitch deck. Instead, try asking yourself the following questions before you even begin: What is my personal purpose? What purpose would I like my business to work towards? Which ultimate goals drive my ambition? Once you have a few initial thoughts, see if you can go deeper still. You may have heard of the Five Whys method, originally used in a corporate context to get to the core of an issue. Here, you can also apply it to your own purpose-finding journey. Ask yourself, What is my personal purpose? Come up with an answer. Then challenge that answer by asking, Why? Repeat that five times (hence the Five Whys), as a way of getting closer to the core of what drives you. This is essentialnot just as a personal self-awareness initiative, but as a key aspect of your business plan. For example, lets say you start with the following answer: My purpose is to be successful in work. Why? Maybe its because youd be happy if things went well with your work. Why? It could be that you can see how your work impacts others, and this gives you a sense of pride. Why? Because you want to do work that matters. Why? Because you want to feel like your work contributes to the world, or gives back in some way. Why? Maybe you want to feel like you left the world a better place, and its important to you that your work reflects the values you believe in. Theres no right or wrong way to work through this method. Its just a tool to help you explore your intentions in more depth. You dont have to end up with an answer about changing the world, either. If its meaningful to you (for example, living with authenticity, taking care of your family, or connecting with your community), it should be included. Back to Business Lets say youve uncovered a foundational sense of purpose, or youve looked at your personal mission in a little more detail. What next? There are a couple of ways you can use a sense of purpose to guide a business plan. First, you can return to the traditional model of finding a problem in an existing market and then searching for a solutionbut this time, look at it through the lens of purpose. Taking a broad example, if your purpose was to create happiness for others (borrowing from The Disney Institute), you can look at your market problem through this lens. How could you find a solution to your problem that would not just serve a functional, profit-driven outcome, but also serve your purpose of maximising happiness? Applying the purpose lens might lead you to a different way of addressing the problem, or a different approach to the issue altogether. Second, you can use your sense of purpose to actually formulate the business idea itself, and locate your market, problem and solution. Take beauty disruptor Glossier as an example. Their corporate mission statement is to democratise beauty and to give voice through beauty. The result, for Glossier, is a consumer-focused company with an emphasis on inclusivity. But by starting with the mission statement alone, you could brainstorm hundreds of other ideas that work towards the same purpose. This is a process of creativity, andif youre thinking about generating business ideas for yourselfyou can use your personal sense of purpose as a starting point. Finally, you can realign an existing business idea to reflect your personal mission and purpose. Lets say youve already seen a market problem, found a solution, validated it with consumers and started to build. A sense of purpose is still an important part of your strategy, no matter what stage youre at. At this later stage, try to work out exactly what need youre meeting for your customers or users. This might go one level deeper than just a product or service. Think about values, experience and personal connection. From there, you can work backwards to see what kind of purpose your company serves. The Purpose of Purpose Whats the point of all of this purpose-finding work? When it comes to the entrepreneurial lifestylelong hours, perseverance, exhaustiondoes having a sense of purpose help? In fact, research indicates that it does. A recent study by Harvard Business Review suggests that entrepreneurs with a sense of harmonious passion (i.e., motivated by the job because it brings a sense of satisfaction and personal identification) were less likely to report experiences of burnout than entrepreneurs with a sense of obsessive passion (i.e., motivated by the job because of the status, money or other external rewards). From a practical perspective, building a strong corporate purpose into my own startup has given me clarity at every later stage of the processin pitching to prospective investors, in formulating business strategy, and in giving me a vision for the future. On a more personal level, having a sense of purpose can provide the energy and drive you need to continue working on your business, day after day, year after year. Once the initial excitement of a new project fades, and youre left with the difficult, consistent work of building your business, youll have a solid foundation of meaning, mission and purpose to support you. State Representative Ann Bollin was speaking at the Michigan House Elections and Ethics Committee Meeting on the new election bills - photo ID verifications on June 23, 2021. (Michigan House website) Michigan House Passes Bills to Ensure Citizens Have Access to a Free State ID The Michigan House of Representatives adopted bills that would improve photo ID verifications and provide more transparency to the elections process. All Michigan citizens would have access to free state photo IDs across the state. Every eligible voter would be able to vote with a photo ID regardless of their income. The Republican-controlled House passed the election reforms bills on Wednesday, June 23. An Epoch Times reporter interviewed state Rep. Ann Bollin, the Chair of the Michigan House Elections and Ethics Committee, about the difference between the current poll laws and the new bills. The new election reform bills require a voter who votes in person to present a photo ID. The signature on the ID would be matched with the signature in an electronic poll book, which is available at the precinct. You dont even have to show proof of income to obtain an ID. Before this, the poll laws said you can get a free ID, but youd have to prove that youre poor. This doesnt call for any proof of economic status, providing access to free IDs for all Michiganders. We will be able to ensure people across the state are not hindered from wasting their vote at the ballot box, Bollin said. If a voter does not have an ID with them for whatever reason, they can still vote with a provisional ballot under the new bills. It would be tabulated roughly 7 days after the election, upon which time that voter had 6 days to bring in the proper identification information to the local clerk. And once provided with that, then the provisional ballot is pre-certified, that their credentials are adequate, and the ballot is then tabulated in the form of a provisional ballot, Bollin explained. The current Michigan laws require no identification verification. According to the current Michigan poll laws, anyone without an ID can vote in a polling station by signing an affidavit to attest to their identity. That vote will be counted immediately once the ballot is tabulated. If a vote is an ineligible one, no one can recount the vote once it is in the machine, Bollin pointed out. There are no safeguards to ensure the voter without an ID is actually the registered voter in the system. Opponents of the new ID bills believe blacks, the elderly, minorities, and low-income people would be disproportionately affected by enhanced voter ID laws because they may have difficulty in obtaining state IDs. There will be funds allocated to distribute free state IDs to all Michigan citizens who need an ID. There would be an appropriation of $1 million to help the Secretary of State offer free IDs to Michigan citizens regardless of income, Bollin said of the new bills. The Secretary of State in the state of Michigan has already indicated that over 150,000 Michiganders do not have an ID. And she has suggested that she wants to take her mobile units to areas where people might not have IDs. This will allow her to mobilize all over the state to provide free IDs to people. The process of tabulating the provisional ballots would be conducted by people from both parties. Once a voter presents appropriate credentials to validate their provisional ballot, instead of the local clerk and one assistant counting that ballot, these ballots will go to a County Board of Canvassers, Bollin explained. The County Board of Canvassers is comprised, by law, of individuals from both major parties. In the past, provisional ballots were counted by the local clerks office in a closed process conducted by two people; the clerk and an assistant. Some clerks are appointed by a party, not elected, so the clerk could be of a particular party affiliation. Now, the Board of Canvassers will be responsible for tabulating the provisional ballots while maintaining the secrecy of the vote. The process will be conducted in a more transparent and open process by people of both parties, Bollin concluded. What is the next step? Now its in the Senates hands. So, the Senate can either concur and vote on it, and it goes to the governor, or they make more changes and return it to the House, Bollin said. As Chair of the House Elections Committee, we are working very diligently to strengthen our elections and add voter confidence to our elections process, Bollin continued. My goal is to put good policy on the governors desk. And I am 100% committed to making sure that every Michigan voter that is eligible can vote freely, equally, independently, and securely. The release noted that 115 members from the Ohio National Guards 1484th Transportation Company were previously deployed to support the Southwest Border mission, also at the request of the DHS and NGB, and they remain on active duty as of July 2. The Southwest Border mission, formerly referred to as Operation Faithful Patriot, began in October 2018 under the Trump administration and seeks to enhance security along the Mexican border of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. The ongoing mission is approved through Sept. 30the end of fiscal year 2021. Separately, Republican state governors of South Dakota, Iowa, Florida, Nebraska, and Idaho each recently announced they will deploy law enforcement officers from their respective states to the southern border in response to a call from a June 10 request from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey for more law enforcement manpower to address the ongoing migrant crisis. Abbott and Ducey, both Republicans, wrote in their letter, With your help, we can apprehend more of these perpetrators of state and federal crimes, before they can cause problems in your state. The letter asserted that under a mutual agreement between states, the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, any officers that states send to Texas or Arizona will be given the same power duties, rights, and privileges as are afforded forces of the state in which they are performing emergency services, which will include the power to arrest migrants who illegally cross the border into our territory. According to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, there were 180,034 apprehensions related to border crossings in Maythe largest number in two decades. Pardon for South Korean Ex-president Gains Support as Court Auctions Off Her Private Residence The private house of Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who is still serving her sentence, will be auctioned off in August of this year. The court confiscated her private home due to failure to pay fines. At the beginning of 2021, the court ruled that Park is eligible for a presidential pardon in its final verdict. However, the current President Moon Jae-in still has reservations about pardoning Park. The 69-year-old Park Geun-hye was the first female president of South Korea and the daughter of former President Park Chung-hee. Four years ago, she was impeached and arrested due to a political scandal involving trustees in politics. In the final verdict in early 2021, the court sentenced Park to 20 years in prison for political intervention and bribery, plus another two years for intervening in party referrals, totaling a 22-year sentence. At the same time, she received more than 20 billion won (about $17.7 million) in fines and recovery. Due to failure to pay fines within a specified date, Parks private house in Seoul was confiscated in March of this year and scheduled to be auctioned off in August. The current value of the private home is 3.16 billion won (about $2.8 million). Park Geun-Hye is the fourth former president of South Korea to be imprisoned; the three before her were Roh Tae-woo, Chun Doo-hwan, and Lee Myung-bak. Both Park Geun-Hye and Lee Myung-bak are still serving sentences. Two former presidents Roh Tae-woo and Quan Doo-hwan were pardoned by the then-president while serving their sentences, establishing a precedent. In South Korea, pardons are the unique power of the incumbent president. At the beginning of this year, Park Geun-Hye was given a final verdict and deemed eligible for pardon. According to a survey done by Realmeter, a polling agency in South Korea, 47.7 percent of respondents supported the pardon while 48 percent opposed it. Since then, there have been calls to Moon Jae-in for the pardoning of Park Geun-Hye to promote national unity. The South Korean public opinion continues to hear optimistic speculations and rumors of the possibility of the pardon. However, so far, the Moon Jae-in government continues to be reserved on the topic. Earlier this year, Moon suggests that it was too early to talk about pardons. Besides Park Geun-Hye, he also mentioned Lee Myung-baks pardon. Lee was sentenced to 17 years in prison in October of 2020 on charges of corruption. Their trial has just ended, Moon said, I dont think its the right time to talk about pardons. At the Blue House Luncheon in April, Moon stated that two factors must be considered when pardoning former presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-Hye. The first is the consensus among the people, the second is that it must be conducive to national unity. At a press conference in May, Moon admitted that many people wish for the pardons of former presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, but many oppose it. We must consider important factors such as judicial justice, fairness, and national consensus before making a decision, Moon added. In early June, the Presidential Palace stated that they have yet to discussed [the pardons]. On June 22, the newly-appointed South Korean Prime Minister Kim Fu-qian repeatedly emphasized that it is up to the peoples consent. It is difficult for a president to make a unilateral decision, he said while encouraging the people to wait and see. Jason Richey (2nd L) and his family. Richey, partner of Pittsburghs K&L Gates law firm, has entered the 2022 GOP Pennsylvania gubernatorial race. (Courtesy of Jason Richey) Pittsburgh Attorney Steps Into the Pennsylvania 2022 Governors Race Jason Richey, 49, a native of Aliquippa, Beaver County, and partner of Pittsburghs K&L Gates law firm, has entered the 2022 GOP Pennsylvania gubernatorial race to succeed the current Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, who is in his second and final term. Richey has never held public office before. He told The Epoch Times, We need to have a political outsider like myself, who has had 25 years of law experience. [I am known] as an expert in state law. Ive spent my time representing energy construction, in addition to doing state law issues in 40 different states and finding corruption. Ive represented the energy industry, construction industry, and manufacturing industry. Government Mismanagement During the COVID-19 Crisis When asked what prompted him to run for governor, he said, Well, I was initially very upset by our governments response to COVID. there were nursing home patients that were sent to the hospital, and they were COVID positive. And Governor Wolf ordered those patients back into the nursing homes, which was very dangerous for all of the elderly that were still in those nursing homes that didnt have COVID. He continued, Its one of the reasons Im running for governor because we have to have good people that care about the health and safety of everyone when you have that kind of power. We had a governor that was picking winners and losers, letting some businesses go forward his own cabinet company was allowed to proceed with the business, but his competitors were denied exemptions. And then he took over dictator powers, under the Emergency Powers Act, which is something that never should have happened. With the legal cover of [Attorney General] Josh Shapiro, the Wolf administrations arbitrary COVID-19 policies significantly damaged Pennsylvanias economy in the short term. Richeys 12-Point Plan: A Contract With Pennsylvanians The Keystone State is incredibly rich in natural resources, but according to Richey, the Commonwealth is growing slower than most other states, and economic productivity remains on a downward spiral, while taxes and government continue to grow. He said, Pennsylvanias lack of long-term economic and population growth has been caused by Harrisburgs failed leadership and its archaic laws. Richey said that if elected, he will initiate his Contract with Pennsylvanians, a 12-point plan for The Great Pennsylvania Comeback. The Contract with Pennsylvania is a contract with our citizens to renew their individual rights and make their government accountable to them. Its a contract to energize the growth and prosperity of the citizens of this great state, well into the future, he said. The points of the contract are: Ensure Liberty and Transparency; Increase Wealth & Create More Jobs; Responsibly Shrink Government, Spending & Property Taxes; Election Integrity; Fund the Police and Ensure Security; Support the Development of All Types of Energy & Manufacturing; Improve Education Choice and Competition; Reduce Health Care Cost and Protect Life; Improve a High-Speed Rail System and Infrastructure; Eliminate the Turnpike Commission; Eliminate the Liquor Control Board; and Improve the Election Process & the Judiciary. Abating the Uncontrolled Growth of Government and Taxes The need to trim the size and scope of government is very obvious to Richey. Pennsylvania has the most expensive and largest full-time legislature in the country, with 253 legislators. Conversely, the most populous state, California, only has 120 legislators. The state executive branch is also bloated with too many departments, he said. We have 2,563 municipalities, which is the third most in the country. And we have 500 school districts, which is the seventh most in the country. If municipalities and school districts were to be consolidated, Richey said that would result in lower local property taxes for Pennsylvanians. He also noted that excessive regulations plague businesses that try to operate in Pennsylvania. To make Pennsylvania competitive again, increasing wealth and creating more jobs, he stressed the need to eliminate both the state personal and business income taxes and establish a 0 percent income tax rate. The moment this change becomes effective, Pennsylvania will instantly be competitive again with other states. Such change will unleash the economic power Pennsylvania is capable of. He maintains that all Pennsylvania tax revenue could be effectively collected through sales taxes and consumption taxes imposed on people who do not live in the state. These fiscal changes would thus accelerate the states economic recovery from decades of decline and create tens of thousands of new jobs. He believes that with a laser focus, integrity and trust can be restored in our elections and government institutions. Richey and his wife Melissa are raising three teenage sons. In addition to Richey, four more Republicans have declared for the Republican primarys nomination: former congressman Lou Barletta, restaurant owner and former Corry Mayor Jason Monn, Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale, and cardiothoracic surgeon Nche Zama. To date, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro has been the only Democrat to express interest in running for the position. Lily Sun contributed to this report. Ransomware Attack on Florida IT Firm Hits 200 Companies A ransomware attack on a Florida-based software management firm impacted some 200 companies and is being investigated by federal authorities. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said on Twitter that it is taking action to understand and address the supply-chain ransomware attack against Kaseya, and several managed service providers that use the companys software. Kaseya alerted its customers at 2 p.m. EDT on Friday about a potential attack against its VSA software. We are experiencing a potential attack against the VSA that has been limited to a small number of on-premise customers, the brief alert said. We are in the process of investigating the root cause of the incident with an abundance of caution but we recommend that you IMMEDIATELY shut down your VSA server until you receive further notice from us, the notice continued. Its critical that you do this immediately because one of the first things the attacker does is shut off administrative access to the VSA. Security firm Huntress said on Reddit it has so far identified eight managed service providers affected by the hack. The firm said it was too early to say if Kaseya had been hacked. Our team has been in contact with the Kaseya security team for the past hour. They are actively taking response actions and feedback from our team as we both learn about the unfolding situation, the post by Huntress said. Huntress separately told Reuters that 200 companies are affected. This is a colossal and devastating supply chain attack, Huntress senior security researcher John Hammond said in an email to Reuters. Hammond added that because Kaseya is plugged in to everything from large enterprises to small companies it has the potential to spread to any size or scale business. Many managed service providers use VSA, although their customers may not realize it, experts said. Some employees at service providers said on discussion boards that their clients had been hit before they could get a warning to them. The Epoch Times reached out to Kaseya for comment. A private security executive working on the response effort said that ransom demands accompanying the encryption ranged from a few thousand dollars to $5 million or more. The corruption of an update process shows a marked escalation in sophistication from most ransomware attacks, which take advantage of security loopholes such as common passwords without two-factor authentication. Kaseya has 40,000 customers for its products, though not all use the affected tool. Reuters contributed to this report. A "For Sale" sign is seen in front of a home in Miami, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Report Shows South Becoming Increasingly Popular Among Asian Americans The Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA), a national nonprofit trade organization, released its 2021 State of Asia America Report on June 30, showing the south has become an increasingly attractive choice for homeownership among members of the Asian community. It has the highest Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) homeownership rate in the nation. The 38-page report, compiling data from over 14 sources, is a collaborative effort between AREAA, RE/MAX, and Freddie Mac. The report shows 50 percent of the AAPI community reside in the west, with approximately a third living in California. Of the 22 real estate markets studied nationally, AREAA found the AAPI community with a higher homeownership rate than the national average, in only 5 markets. The highest homeownership rate among AAPI is at 65.4 percent for those living in the southern states. In contrast, they have the lowest overall average income compared to AAPI in the western, midwestern, and northeastern states. Amy Kong, National President of AREAA, pointed out that the south is becoming increasingly popular among AAPI, enjoying the highest homeownership rate compared to those living in other regions of the United States. Realtor.com Senior Economist George Ratiu said, That, to me, is a sign of the times, in many respects. Ratiu explains, Its not just confined to the Asian American community, but indicative of broader population migration. The South and Southeast, by and large, have attracted a lot of residents over the last two decades. Domestic and international companies have chosen to relocate to these areas. Ratiu explains, Toyota North America, which was based in California, moved its headquarters to Texas. The implication is huge. It wasnt just the companys headquarters that moved. Hes implying employees and their families relocate as corporations migrate south and eastward. He says this is a trend resulting from the significant economic development and employment growth in the South and the Southeast, with many other corporations following suit. The South and southeast markets have traditionally been a lot more affordable for someone living in California, Ratiu said, a much lower price for a house, more spacious homes, and even the cost of living by and large tends to be cheaper. Business-friendly policies in the South have indeed benefitted many people who have moved to the region, according to Tim Hur, AREAA National Vice President. With year-over-year double-digit increases in residential real estate prices, spurred on by the strong surge in demand, new residents to the area are faced with the rising cost of living now affecting these sought-after areas. Renae Wang, an MFA graduate at Laguna College of Art and Design, said her paintings are based in non-places, or public and transient spaces and feature an underlying solitude, with characters in her paintings not interacting with each other. (Jack Bradley/The Epoch Times) Reviving a Lost Art: Gallery Displays Students Traditional Paintings Graduates of the Laguna College of Art and Design (LCAD) presented their final culminating artworks during a July 1 exhibition. LCAD is one of the few art schools in the country that transmits the type of classical painting that great artists of yesteryear knew: the fundamental skills of traditional realism art. Other art schools often heavily focus on contemporary and abstract art. A lot of places really discourage a time-honored, traditional approach its hard to get that kind of training and those sorts of skills, Peter Zokosky, chair of the master of fine arts (MFA) program drawing and painting, told The Epoch Times. The gallery features the work of 11 students graduating from the schools MFA program, after working for two years to develop their thesis and art. Zokosky said his students learned the essence of representation art, or art that represents something that exists in the real world. Representation has its origins in classical antiquity and was popularized during the Renaissance era. However, the art form lost popularity in the 1960s, as the mainstream art world was replaced with abstraction. During this period, classical painting techniques became dismissed and irrelevant in institutions, Zokosky said. Human history is filled with revivals, Zokosky said. Things get forgotten, and then they get unearthed and reexamined. You really could say the same thing is happening now with representational art. [The students] endured through a year and a half of the pandemic and the surprising thing is, no one dropped out from the MFA program. They all persevered. Renae Wang, an MFA graduate, said her paintings are based in non-places, or public and transient spaces and feature an underlying solitude, with characters in her paintings not interacting with each other. Wangs parents separated when she was four, and live on opposite ends of the world. Every other year, she would travel from her dads home in Beijing to spend the summer with her mom in Florida. Wangs mother isnt able to go back to China because she practices Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, a spiritual practice based on truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. The Chinese Communist Party initiated a persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, after the practice gained a following of over 100 million practitioners. She wasnt able to go back to China, otherwise, shed be arrested, Wang told The Epoch Times. The only way for me to see her was actually just going to the state by myself. Wangs childhood experiences traveling in the airports left a deep impression on her. I used to travel a lot by myself, so I used to spend a lot of time by myself in airports or a food court in the airport, so Im always really drawn to places like that, she said. Her paintings depict everyday moments that people can relate to, such as pulling into a gas station in the midnight hours, looking at a neon sign Christmas tree in front of a strip mall, or being on an airplane. I want my paintings to be universal and timeless, Wang said. Graduates of the Laguna College of Art and Design presented their final culminating artworks during a July 1 exhibition in Laguna Beach, Calif. (Courtesy of the Laguna Beach College of Art and Design) MFA graduate Jody Gerber based her oil paintings and thesis around the transitional period of childhood to adolescence, titled Age of Innocence. Her artworks highlight the gift of childrens innocence, and the quiet moments they experience in play. She also emphasizes the vulnerability of their innocence. With my paintings, I just want to show how precious that time of life is and bring people back to that time to reminisce about the nostalgia of childhood, and to also bring awareness to human trafficking, Gerber told The Epoch Times. After speaking with a survivor of human trafficking, she wept finding the impact it had on the survivors life. What gives me the drive is having children of my own and knowing their vulnerability, and just knowing several people that have suffered the consequences of abuse. Gerber uses nature as a background for her art, to give the children in her paintings a place to escape into solace. She also includes birds in her art, alluding to when a bird is locked in a cage. We hear them singing; we think theyre singing happy songs, but they may be crying out for help, she said. Graduate Jessica Chong said the pandemic was an opportunity to improve her artwork. The whole year was really a time of introspection, Chong told The Epoch Times. We were all alone for a good chunk of time Its different painting in an environment where no one else was around to like give me instant feedback I had to make all the decisions on my own, so its like trusting myself more. Chongs artwork features the transformational experiences we have in life. One of my biggest hopes is that other people will look at them and have some kind of introspection and be inspired to think differently by exploring their own life transformation, she said. The artwork will be available for viewing and purchase until July 25 at the LCAD Gallery. The 374 Ocean Ave., Laguna Beach, gallery is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Rescue personnel continue the search and rescue operation for survivors at the site of a partially collapsed residential building in Surfside, Fla., on July 2, 2021. (Marco Bello/Reuters) Second Florida Building Evacuated as Death Toll Rises to 22 in Condo Tower Collapse SURFSIDE, Fla.The death toll rose to 22 on Friday from the collapse of a Florida condominium tower after the remains of four more victims were found in the rubble, and local officials ordered a second residential complex evacuated after deeming it unsafe. All residents of the second building, Crestview Towers, were told to leave immediately after engineers found serious concrete and electrical problems, said Arthur Sorey, city manager for North Miami Beach. The move was considered urgent due to the approach of Hurricane Isla, which is forecast to hit Florida as early as Monday. The buildings owners had not yet begun a mandatory safety recertification process required 40 years after it was built, he said. Its definitely not an easy decision, Sorey said. Its just the right thing to do during these times. Its uncertain whats going to happen with the storm. A parked crane sits beside the still standing section of Champlain Towers South, which partially collapsed last Thursday, as rescue efforts on the rubble below were paused out of concern about the stability of the remaining structure in Surfside, Fla., on July 1, 2021. (Mark Humphrey/AP Photo) The latest remains recovered from the rubble left behind by the 12-story Champlain Towers South in nearby Surfside left 126 people listed as still missing and feared dead. No survivors have been pulled alive from the ruins since the first few hours after the tower partially caved in on itself early on June 24. The number of people on the missing list dropped by 17 from Thursday, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters, saying that the totals were fluid and sometimes revised through work by investigators. Levine Cava said she had signed a demolition order for a remaining section of the tower over worries that it was dangerously unstable halted search and rescue efforts at the scene for much of Thursday. Its important to note that were still evaluating all possible impacts and determining the best timeline to actually begin the demolition, she said. The operation was scaled back on Friday to three of the nine grids mapped out across the debris field. This aerial photo shows part of the 12-story oceanfront Champlain Towers South Condo that collapsed in Surfside, Fla., early on June 24, 2021. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP) Hurricane Isla Threatens Crews also sought to make progress before the expected arrival of Elsa, which strengthened into the first hurricane of the 2021 season on Friday as it churned in the Caribbean Sea. The storm could approach South Florida as early as Monday, National Weather Service meteorologist Robert Molleda told reporters, with tropical storm-force winds possible on Sunday. Elsas forecast path remains uncertain. Among the dead found in Surfside on Friday was the daughter of a firefighter, the third child fatality to be recovered so far. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez told the Miami Herald that the firefighter was at the recovery site at the time, though not digging through the rubble. The man and his brother, also a firefighter, have kept a vigil at the site since last week, the Herald said. About 200 officers saluted as her body was carried away, according to the paper. Every victim we remove is very difficult, said Miami-Dade County Fire Chief Alan Cominsky. Last night was even more, when we were removing a fellow firefighters daughter. As firefighters, we do what we doits kind of a calling. But it still takes a toll. Leo Soto kneels in front of a memorial that includes pictures of missing people in Surfside, Fla., on June 25, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wrote on Twitter that more than 400 members of the U.S. Army Reserve from Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio and Virginia had arrived in Surfside to assist in the effort. Investigators have not determined what caused the 40-year-old condo complex to crumble abruptly into a heap in what may ultimately be one of the deadliest building collapses in U.S. history. A 2018 engineering report prepared for the 40-year recertification process found structural deficiencies that are now the focus of inquiries that include a grand jury examination. USA Today, citing a 2020 document obtained from a victims family member, reported that the firm noted curious results after testing the depth of a concrete slab below the pool. The document did not elaborate, the newspaper said. As recently as April, a condo association president wrote to residents warning them that major concrete damage identified by the engineer around the base of the building had grown significantly worse. Several lawsuits have already been filed on behalf of survivors and victims against the associations board. In a statement on Friday, the boardsome of whose members remain missingsaid it would appoint an independent receiver to oversee the legal and claims process. By Katanga Johnson and Francisco Alvarado Hungary's PM Viktor Orban arrives on the second day of a European Union (EU) summit at The European Council Building in Brussels, Belgium, on Oct. 2, 2020. (Oliver Matthys/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) The EUs Self-Defeating Threats Against Hungary Commentary The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, recently made the explosive comment that Hungary had no business being in the European Union anymore. Ruttes comment followed the Hungarian Parliaments adoption of legislation that bans the depiction or promotion of homosexuality among children younger than 18 years of age. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban explained that the law, passed on June 15, does not target homosexuality, but instead protects the rights of children and their parents. The exchange highlights the ongoing schism within the European Union that has been brewing in recent years. Despite protests from Rutte and 16 other European leaders, Orbans position may in fact be supported by Article 34 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was ratified by Hungary in 1991. This Article imposes an obligation on nation states to protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse and to achieve this they should take all appropriate measures to prevent (c) The exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials. However, Orbans detractors claim that the legislation deprives vulnerable young people of needed support and is disrespectful of the LGBT community. From a legal point of view, Ruttes comment is noteworthy because it raises the question of how the European Union can expel one of its members. Yet, the European Union Treaty does not say anything about the expulsion of a Member State. Instead, it provides a procedure for suspending the rights of an existing Member. Article 7 (1) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) states that four-fifths of all Member States, after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament, may determine that there is a clear risk of serious breach by a Member State of the values referred to in Article 2, of the Treaty. The values listed in Article 2 underpin the Union, and usually need to be honoured by prospective countries wishing to join the bloc. It states that: The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. An obvious problem is the perceived or real vagueness of the language of Article 2. The concepts of human dignity, freedom, democracy, and equality are empty vessels, the meaning of which must be filled in by politicians and occasionally, by activist judges. They are words that notoriously mean what interpreters want them to mean. By virtue of Article 7 (2) of the TEU, the European Councilwhich is made up of the heads of state of each nationmay determine the existence of a serious and persistent breach of a Member State of the values. If a determination of a breach were made, the Union, in accordance with Article 7 (3) may decide to suspend certain rights deriving from the Treaties, which may include suspension of voting rights of the countrys representatives. There is, however, no mention in the Treaty of expulsion. Further, in this context, it is futile to argue that expulsion constitutes a permanent suspension, because the concept of suspension still sees the suspended Member State retain membership. At the end of the day, the European Council will simply be unable to reach the required unanimity under Article 7 (2) of the TEU to suspend Hungary, particularly with leaders such as Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, having no problems with the Hungarian LGBT law. Ruttes outburst is symptomatic of the frustration felt in the European Union about Hungarys legislative record. Indeed, during the last decade, the ruling Fidesz Party of Prime Minister Orban has repeatedly and consistently adopted legislation that most Member States of the Union have deemed controversial and criticised relentlessly. For example, Hungary adopted a banking law in 2021 that would have limited the independence of its central bank. It also adopted a law that accused the opposition Hungarian Socialist Party of crimes committed by the former ruling communist party. In 2018, the Hungarian government almost doubled the overtime employees can work to address labour shortages in the country. The law sparked claims that Hungary was adopting slave labour laws. This was despite employees having the freedom to refuse any extra hours being offered. In 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union declared Hungarian laws, that forced a George Soros-backed university to relocate from Budapest to Vienna, were incompatible with the Unions laws. The present controversy concerning the protection of children is momentous, not because it encourages legal scholars to ruminate about the power of the Union to expel a Member Statethere is no legal basis for it, in any casebut because it has opened up, or exacerbated, an existing divide between the eastern bloc Members of the Union and its dominant, and arguably wealthier Members in the West. It is essentially a battle about lifestyles, progressive policies, and traditional values. If these eastern countries, like Hungary and Poland, were to come within the sphere of influence of Russia, it could present the Union with an existential problem. Although this is not likely, it is not unthinkable, considering that Russia also has a so-called gay propaganda law that prohibits the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations among minors. The danger is that such a divide would shake the foundations and values upon which the European Union is based and place further doubt on its existence. Gabriel A. Moens is emeritus professor of law, The University of Queensland, and served as pro vice-chancellor and dean of law at Murdoch University. Moens has taught extensively across Europe, the United States, Asia, and Australia and is the co-author of Commercial Law of the European Union. He has published a novel about the origins of the COVID-19 disease, A Twisted Choice. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Too Much Advocacy for Violent Offenders: Chicagos Police Chief Shifts Blame for Crime Wave CHICAGOAs Chicago aldermen took turns questioning Police Superintendent David Brown about an alarming crime wave on Friday, Brown said police officers had done their utmost and that the blame should be directed at the court system which had sent too many violent offenders back on the street. About 20 aldermen requested the special city council meeting with Brown following two violent weekends that saw 24 people killed and 114 injured in Chicago. The day before the meeting, a 1-month-old baby and a 9-year-old girl were both shot in the head; another 8-year-old girl was shot in the arm. This is happening because there is too much advocacy for violent offenders and too little consequences for their behavior in the courts, Brown told the aldermen at the meeting. Brown highlighted the growing number of violent suspects sent back into the community before trials by Cook County judges on the electronic monitoring system, a GPS-style tracking device attached on suspects ankles for monitoring whereabouts. He cited a Chicago Tribune analysis which found over 90 suspects charged with murder were out on electronic monitoring by mid-May; whereas four years ago, that number was about 30. And about 570 suspects charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon were out on electronic monitoring by the same time; four years ago, that number was about 180. In total, violent suspects on electronic monitoring have bloomed from hundreds to thousands this year. According to Brown, some of these suspects soon committed violent crimes again, including murder. Last month, Dominique Johnson, while out on electronic monitoring, killed his girlfriend and then committed suicide on the South Side of Chicago. In March, Dakari Davis, while out on electronic monitoring, shot at a 45-year-old man twice in an attempted carjacking. Alderman Byron Lopez repudiated Browns reasoning, citing Loyola University research that suggests pretrial releases have not significantly increased crime following a 2017 Cook County felony bail reform. The research collects data up until late 2019 and does not account for the pandemic period when courts drastically increased jail releases. I would ask those researchers to move over to the South and West Side of Chicago and come back with their conclusions. Just one night, Brown said. South and West Side bear the brunt of shootings in the city. When you say a few people recommitted crimes [while out on electronic monitoring], to the victims, thats everything, Brown said. A few people are problematic in our neighborhood. A few people committed a murder-suicide this month. A few people stabbed someone to death this month. That few people, for the victims, is everything. The special council meeting took place right before the Fourth of July weekend, traditionally one of the most violent weekends for Chicago. Last year, 17 were killed and 63 others were injured over the weekend. Chicago Police Department (CPD) Chief of Patrol Brian McDermott also briefed aldermen on the deployment plans for the Fourth of July weekend and the rest of summer. He said the CPD will be laser-focused on the fifteen most violent neighborhoods on the South and West Side of Chicago. CPD will also work with other governmental agencies and community organizations to collectively combat the crime. As of July 2, 364 people were murdered and 1,654 injured this year in Chicago, largely due to gunshots. This years record almost matches that of 2020, the pandemic year that saw sharp increases in shootings in the city. Afghan soldiers stand guard at the gate of Bagram U.S. air base, on the day the last of American troops vacated it, in Parwan province, Afghanistan on July 2, 2021. (Mohammad Ismail/Reuters) US Vacates Key Afghan Base; Pullout Target Now Late August Nearly 20 years after invading Afghanistan to oust the Taliban and hunt down al-Qaida, the U.S. military has vacated its biggest airfield in the country, advancing a final withdrawal that the Pentagon on Friday said will be completed by the end of August. President Joe Biden had instructed the Pentagon to complete the military withdrawal by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States, but the Pentagon now says it can finish the drawdown a little earlier. In fact, the drawdown is already largely completed and officials had said it could be wrapped up this weekend. But a number of related issues need to be worked out in coming weeks, including a new U.S. military command structure in Kabul and talks with Turkey on an arrangement for maintaining security at the Kabul airport, and so an official end to the pullout will not be announced soon. A safe, orderly drawdown enables us to maintain an ongoing diplomatic presence, support the Afghan people and the government, and prevent Afghanistan from once again becoming a safe haven for terrorists that threatens our homeland, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said. The administration is meanwhile narrowing options for ensuring the safety of thousands of Afghans whose applications for special visas to come to the United States have yet to be approved. The administration has already said its willing to evacuate them to third countries pending their visa approvals but has yet to determine where. Officials said Friday that one possibility is to relocate them to neighboring countries in Central Asia where they could be protected from possible retaliation by the Taliban or other groups. The White House and State Department have declined to comment on the numbers to be relocated or where they might go, but the foreign ministers of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan were both in Washington this week and the subject of Afghan security was raised in meetings they held with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Kirby said that Austin on Friday approved a new command structure in Afghanistan to transition the U.S. military mission from warfighting to two new objectivesprotecting a continuing U.S. diplomatic presence in Kabul and maintaining liaison with the Afghan military. Austins plan calls for the top commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Scott Miller, to transfer his combat authorities to the Florida-based head of U.S. Central Command, Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, before relinquishing his command this month. Also, a two-star Navy admiral will head a U.S. Embassy-based military office, dubbed U.S. Forces Afghanistan-Forward, to oversee the new mission of providing security for the embassy and its diplomats. A satellite military office based in Qatar and headed by a U.S. one-star general will be established to administer U.S. financial support for the Afghan military and police, plus maintenance support provided for Afghan aircraft from outside Afghanistan. Kirby said Miller, who already is the longest-serving commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan in the 20 years of warfare, will remain in command for a couple of weeks longer but was not more specific. He said Miller will be preparing for and completing the turnover of his duties to McKenzie and also will be traveling inside and beyond Afghanistan. Miller met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday and, according to a Dari-language tweet by the presidential palace, the two discussed continued U.S. assistance and cooperation with Afghanistan, particularly in supporting the defense and security forces. Bagram Airfield has been the epicenter of the war to oust the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaida perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America. At its peak in and around 2012, Bagram Airfield saw more than 100,000 U.S. troops pass through the massive compound barely an hours drive north of Kabul. Meanwhile, Afghanistans district administrator for Bagram, Darwaish Raufi, said the American departure was done overnight without any coordination with local officials, and as a result early Friday, dozens of local looters stormed through the unprotected gates before Afghan forces regained control. They were stopped and some have been arrested and the rest have been cleared from the base, Raufi told The Associated Press, adding that the looters ransacked several buildings before being arrested and the Afghan forces took control. However, U.S. military spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett said the handover was an extensive process that spanned several weeks and began soon after Bidens mid-April announcement that America was withdrawing the last of its forces. All handovers of Resolute Support bases and facilities, to include Bagram Airfield, have been closely coordinated, both with senior leaders from the government and with our Afghan partners in the security forces, including leadership of the locally based units respective to each base, said Col. Leggett. The Taliban welcomed the American withdrawal from Bagram Airfield. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted that Fridays departure was a positive step, urging for the withdrawal of foreign forces from all parts of the country. As of this week, most other NATO soldiers have already quietly exited Afghanistan. Announcements from several countries analyzed by the AP show that a majority of European troops has left with little ceremonya stark contrast to the dramatic and public show of force and unity when NATO allies lined up to back the U.S. invasion in 2001. The United States has refused to say when the last American soldier would leave Afghanistan, citing security concerns, but also future security and protection for Kabul International Airport is still being negotiated. Turkish and U.S. soldiers are currently protecting the airport, still under Resolute Support Mission, which is the military mission being wound down. Until a new agreement for the airport is struck by Turkey and the Afghan government, and possibly the United States, it appears the Resolute Support mission would to have to continue to be in charge of the facility. By Robert Burns and Kathy Gannon Cardinal Angelo Becciu looks down as he meets the media during a press conference in Rome, on Sept. 25, 2020. (Gregorio Borgia /AP Photo) Vatican Indicts 10 People, Including a Cardinal, in UK Deal ROMEA Vatican judge on Saturday indicted 10 people, including a once-powerful cardinal, on charges including embezzlement, abuse of office, extortion, and fraud in connection with the Secretariat of States 350 million investment in a London real estate venture. The president of the Vaticans criminal tribunal, Giuseppe Pignatone, set July 27 as the trial date, but lawyers for the defendants immediately questioned how they could prepare for trial so soon given they hadnt yet formally received the indictment or any of the documentation in the case. The 487-page indictment was handed down following a sprawling, two-year investigation into how the Secretariat of State managed its vast asset portfolio, much of which is funded by the Peters Pence donations from the faithful. The scandal over multimillion-dollar losses has resulted in a sharp reduction in donations and prompted Pope Francis to strip the office of its ability to manage the money. Five former Vatican officials, including Cardinal Angelo Becciu and two officials from the Secretariat of State, were indicted, as well as the Italian businessmen who handled the London investment. Also indicted on alleged embezzlement charges was an Italian intelligence expert accused of buying luxury goods with Holy See money intended to help free Catholic priests and nuns held hostage by rebels in Africa. Vatican prosecutors accuse the main suspects of bilking millions of euros from the Holy See in fees and other losses related to financial investments that were funded in large part by donations to the pope for works of charity. The suspects have denied wrongdoing. One of the main suspects in the case, Italian broker Gianluigi Torzi, is accused of having extorted the Vatican out of 15 million to turn over ownership of the London building in late 2018. Torzi had been retained by the Vatican to help it acquire full ownership of the building from another indicted money manager who had handled the initial investment in 2013, but lost millions on what the Vatican said were speculative, imprudent deals. Vatican prosecutors allege Torzi inserted a last-minute clause into the contract giving him full voting rights in the deal. The Vatican hierarchy, however, signed off on the contract, with both the popes No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and his deputy approving it. Neither was indicted. In addition, Francis himself was aware of the deal and Torzis involvement in it. Vatican prosecutors say the Vatican hierarchs were hoodwinked by Torzi and aided in part by an Italian lawyerwho was also indicted Saturdayinto agreeing to the deal. The Secretariat of State intends to declare itself an injured party in the case. Torzi has denied the charges and said the accusations were the fruit of a misunderstanding. He is currently in London pending an extradition request by Italian authorities, who are seeking to prosecute him on other financial charges. His representatives said they had no immediate comment Saturday since they hadnt yet seen the indictment. Also indicted was a onetime papal contender and Holy See official, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who helped engineer the initial London investment when he was the chief of staff in the Secretariat of State. Francis fired him as the Vaticans saint-making chief last year, apparently in connection with a separate issue: his 100,000 donation of Holy See funds to a diocesan charity run by Beccius brother. Vatican News, the in-house media portal, said Becciu had originally not been part of the London investigation but was included after it appeared that he was behind the proposal to buy the building. Prosecutors also accuse him of interfering in the investigation. In a statement Saturday issued by his lawyers, Becciu insisted on the absolute falsity of the accusations against him and denounced what he said was unparalleled media pillory against him in the Italian press. I am the victim of a plot hatched against me and I have been waiting for a long time to know any accusations against me, to allow myself to promptly deny them and prove to the world my absolute innocence, he said. Becciu has denied wrongdoing in the London investment; he has admitted he made the donation but insisted the money was for the charity, not his brother. One of Beccius proteges, Cecilia Marogna, was indicted on embezzlement charges. Becciu had hired Marogna as an external consultant after she reached out to him in 2015 with concerns about security at Vatican embassies in global hotspots. Becciu authorized hundreds of thousands of euros of Holy See funds to her to free Catholic hostages, according to WhatsApp messages reprinted by Italian media. Her Slovenian-based holding company, which received the funds, was among the four companies also ordered to stand trial. Marogna has said the money was compensation for legitimate security and intelligence work and reimbursements for her expenses. Vatican News, citing the indictment, said she spent the money on purchases that were incompatible with the humanitarian scope of her company. In a statement Saturday, her legal team said Marogna had been prepared for months to provide a full accounting of her work and fears nothing about the accusations made against her. Also indicted were the former top two officials in the Vaticans financial watchdog agency, for alleged abuse of office. Prosecutors say that by failing to stop the Torzi deal, they performed a decisive function in letting it play out, Vatican News said. The lawyer for the former office director, Tommaso di Ruzza, said he had only seen the Vatican press statement about the allegations but insisted that his client has always acted in the most scrupulous respect of the law and his office duties, in the exclusive interest of the Holy See. The former head of the office, Rene Bruelhart, defended his work and said his indictment was a procedural blunder that will be immediately clarified by the organs of Vatican justice as soon as the defense will be able to exercise its rights. By Nicole Winfield Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan during a press release at the COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic in Claremont, Perth, Australia on May 3, 2021. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images) Western Australia Exits Lockdown Amid Warning Theyll Happen Again Until Vaccinations Increase Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan has warned that until more of his states residents are vaccinated against coronavirus, lockdowns will remain a necessary tool to curb outbreaks. His warning comes despite Prime Minister Scott Morrison saying on Friday that all state territory leaders had agreed to only use lockdowns as a last resort. More than two million people in Perth and the Peel region regained some freedom on Saturday after a four-day lockdown ended overnight. No new locally acquired cases were recorded for the state on Saturday. It still has four active cases in hotel quarantine. Interim restrictions will be enforced for the next three days including mandatory mask-wearing indoors and outdoors and capacity limits at hospitality venues. State and federal leaders have agreed lockdowns will only be used as a last resort under a four-phase reopening strategy linked to vaccination rates. But McGowan says until we have enough West Australians vaccinated, they would remain a necessary tool to curb outbreaks. He described the national agreement on Friday as highly subjective given the contrasting approaches to managing the pandemic taken by different states. NSWs version of last resort is get 80 cases and then you have community spread and a lockdown that might go for weeks and weeks, if not months, he said. Our view of last resort is that you listen to the medical advice, you see if theres any prospect of community spread and try and kill it quickly and efficiently right then rather than let it drag on and result in potentially catastrophic consequences. The decision to lift Perths third lockdown in five months came despite one new local case being recordedthat of a 21-year-old woman whose partner, an employee at the Indian Ocean Brewery, tested positive earlier in the week. He picked up the virus after having fleeting contact with a 51-year-old woman who had contracted the Delta variant while holidaying in NSW. The 21-year-old woman has been in quarantine since Sunday and authorities do not believe she has been in the community whilst infectious. Three other cases were detected this week in Perths northern suburbs. Of close contacts related to that cluster, 383 people out of 398, or 96 percent had tested negative, McGowan said on Saturday. I can also report dozens of these close contacts have also had their five-day test and returned negative results, he added. During the first phase of interim restrictions from Saturday to Tuesday, hospitality venues will be limited to 20 patrons and seated service only. Anyone who travels outside of Perth and Peel must wear masks and will not be permitted to dine at pubs, cafes and restaurants. A second phase of less onerous restrictions will be enforced from Tuesday until 12.01 a.m. on Monday July 12, when Perth and Peel are slated to return to pre-lockdown life. By Michael Ramsey. Epoch Times reporter Caden Pearson contributed to this report. Why The Epoch Times Is Defending America With a new initiative, Defending America, The Epoch Times seeks to remind Americans of the goodness of our country. Such a reminder should not be needed. From its beginnings, America has offered its citizens the most important freedom: freedom of belief. It has been a nation where the faithful can practice their religion without fear of persecution. By protecting fundamental rights, Americans have asserted the dignity of each individual, and have guaranteed the rights of speech, press, assembly and protest, and property, among others. And so have opened the door to individuals to seek to better themselves. With everyone free to pursue their dreams, we have been an inventive, prosperous, and generous people. From around the world, the best from other nations have been attracted to the United States: those who had the courage to risk everything to come breathe the air of freedom; those with talent who simply wanted the chance to prove themselves; those who wanted to give their families a secure and prosperous life. And so the United States has been a nation of immigrants. And it has been a nation of scientific and technological advancement, of excellence in education, and of the steady lifting of living standards. The United States has fought wars around the globe to defend freedom, and in times of peace has developed institutions to promote freedom and prosperity throughout the world. But the excellence of America is now in dispute, and we are in a time of crisis. Concerns about election integrity have cast doubt on our most recent presidential election. Demands for equity replacing equality are part of a general turn toward socialism. A cancel culture seeks to censor and silence those who do not toe the line of progressivism, and throughout our societyin schools, corporations, and governments at different levelsthere is a new taste for authoritarian ways. In recent memory the United States had unquestioned military dominance, but that has now disappeared. In particular, communist Chinas immediate and narrow goal is to push the United States out of the western Pacific. More generally, it seeks to displace the United States as the worlds superpower. Chinas campaign against the United States has been comprehensive. It uses cyber- and conventional spying to steal U.S. intellectual property and military secrets. It infiltrates and subverts American institutions, turning them to serve Chinas interests. It also seeks to change Americas political culture, promoting socialism behind the scenes. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) exercises an unprecedented level of control over its population. It requires through the social credit system that every detail of daily life follow the CCPs demands, uses cameras and visual recognition technology to monitor everyone, and censors email and social media so that people may only receive the CCPs approved narrative. It now seeks to export its system around the world. It seeks to defeat Americas promise of liberty with communism and social control. While the United States is in a moment of crisis, there is no need for panic. In order for Americans to defeat these threats from within and without, one thing is most needed: Americans need to remember why their nation is great. They need to understand and feel the basic goodness of the United States. The Epoch Times is well suited to this task. All too often, the negative trends in the United States have been pushed forward by favored narratives in the media and social media. Those narratives often construct an artificial reality through which our situation is viewed, and misunderstood. The Epoch Times motto is Truth and Tradition. It strives to provide news free of an agenda. Independent of corporate or partisan interests, The Epoch Times seeks to provide its readers with the facts. If Americans are given the facts about U.S. principles and history, they will understand how to evaluate our current situation. The Epoch Times also recognizes the wisdom and beauty in the traditions of the worlds great civilizations. Respecting tradition, The Epoch Times stands on firm ground when it criticizes and rejects the revolutionary doctrines of socialism and communism. If Americans seek, for instance, to understand the wisdom of our founders, they will find a profound alternative to the confusion of the moment. With Defending America, The Epoch Times will use events, special editions, documentaries, and puzzles and contests to engage and instruct. By reminding Americans of the promise of our nation, we will help give our fellow citizens the confidence they need to help put our country back on a sound course. We hope Americans will join in this effort by spreading the word about our programs and publications to their friends and family. To find out more about the events and activities relating to Defending America, please visit EpochTimesEvents.com AP LANSING, Mich. (AP) The former host of the To Catch a Predator TV series turned himself in Friday after a Michigan judge issued a warrant for his arrest for no-showing at a court hearing to explain why he had not given a defense lawyer more footage of a police sting operation. Chris Hansen, 61, checked in at the Shiawassee County jail in Corunna 65 miles (104.61 kilometers) northwest of Detroit was released and has 14 days to produce the full video, prosecutor Scott Koerner said. Hansen later posted a photo of the county courthouse on Instagram and said all matters had been resolved. NORWALK A long-closed KFC is on the verge of reopening. The newly remodeled restaurant at 75 Richards Ave. will begin serving customers again on Tuesday, according to a company spokesperson and signs posted at the popular fast-food chain. The drive-thru joint has been undergoing a renovation for several months in anticipation of the upcoming reopening. The location was abruptly closed nearly two years ago after the former franchise owner fell behind in rent. Clinton Lewis, the director of operations for the new franchise owner, said about 40 employees have been hired to work at the restaurant. Lewis said the employees have spent the past few months training at other KFC locations in the region. Were excited, the owner is excited and KFC corporate is excited, he said on Friday. The neighborhood is as well. Several people have stopped by to ask when we will be opening. Lewis said the fried chicken restaurant was recently repainted and new furniture was installed as part of the remodeling work done to the nearly 30-year-old building. The kitchen and other parts of the restaurant have also been upgraded. The location was unexpectedly shuttered in October 2019 after the owners of the property moved to evict the former franchise owners for failing to pay tens of thousands of dollars in rent. Gilbert and Ricardo Rozier, of Rozier Associates of Norwalk, owed the property owner $48,226 in back rent, according to a complaint filed in April 2019 in state Superior Court in Norwalk. In July of that year, the Roziers agreed to pay $5,000 each week until the debt was paid. But just weeks later, they failed to make the payment, according to court documents. In late August, an eviction notice was issued for the Roziers. About a month later on Oct. 8, Connecticut state marshals served the notice and placed signs on the building barring anyone from entering. richard.chumney@hearstmediact.com EDWARDSVILLE After a one-year absence due to the coronavirus, the Fourth of July fireworks celebration is back at Edwardsville American Legion Post 199. This years celebration will be held Saturday at the American Legion Post, located at 58 S. State Road 157, across Woodland Elementary School. The event starts at 2 p.m. with the Scott Air Force Base band, Starlifter, performing until 5 p.m. The Edwardsville Community Band will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. and play until approximately 9 p.m., when the fireworks start. Food, including pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs and chips, will be sold from 2 to 9 p.m., with refreshments also available. There will be frozen adult slushies and snow cones for kids. Shuttle busses will be running throughout the event from the Lincoln Middle School parking lot. At 5 p.m., the Edwardsville Police will partially block off State Road 157, and only pedestrian traffic and the shuttle busses will be allowed to go up the hill to the Legion. Pets and coolers are not allowed on the grounds. Last years celebration was moved to the Edwardsville High School campus, where people could socially distance themselves. NEW YORK (AP) On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress formally endorsed the Declaration of Independence. Celebrations began within days: parades and public readings, bonfires and candles and the firing of 13 musket rounds, one for each of the original states. Nearly a century passed before the country officially named its founding a holiday. With the recent passage of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, the country now has 12 federal holidays. Many are fixtures in the American calendar, but their presence isn't only a story of continuity. They reflect how the U.S. has evolved from an affiliation of states with a relatively small federal government to a more centralized nation. Statewide and local gatherings for Independence Day and other holidays are as old as the country itself. But the first round of federal holidays, identified as such because federal employees (initially only federal employees in Washington, D.C.) were given the day off, was only signed into law in 1870, by President Ulysses S. Grant, five years after the Civil War ended. The Civil War consolidated national power in all sorts of ways, and national holidays are an illustration of that, says the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Eric Foner. There were many, many firsts after the Civil War. Juneteenth and other federal holidays have passed with substantial majorities in Congress, suggesting broad, bipartisan consensus. The first holidays, notes Grant biographer Ron Chernow, were the safest ones at the time New Years Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and George Washington's birthday (enacted in 1879). They followed the Civil War, but, by no accident, they had nothing to do with the Civil War. The war wounds were still deep and irrevocable, and any commemoration of the war itself would have been seen as divisive," Chernow says. He notes that Memorial Day, the honoring of those who died in war, did not become a federal holiday until 1888. The first five federal holidays ... attempted to restore common ground between North and South, Chernow says. Both sides in the Civil War claimed to have fought in the spirit of the American Revolution. It was therefore easy for both sides to honor Washingtons birthday and Independence Day. Whether statements of patriotism or social justice, federal holidays mirror a part of the country's sense of itself and how it changes. Public support to make the Rev. Martin Luther King's birthday a holiday was so strong that it was signed into law in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan, who had opposed the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act in the 1960s and privately believed the late civil rights leaders standing was based on an image, not reality. Even then, Arizona, New Hampshire and South Carolina resisted making it a state holiday, with South Carolina waiting until 2000. Alabama and Mississippi still pair King's birthday with the birthday of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Columbus Day became a national holiday in 1968, endorsed by Congress and President Lyndon Johnson as a tribute to immigrants and as a declaration of willingness to face with confidence the imponderables of unknown tomorrows, according to a Senate report at the time. But over the past 40 years, as Columbus' image has shifted from the discoverer of America to that of a racist and imperialist, cities and states have either changed the holiday's name (Hawaii calls it Discovery Day) or used the day to honor others; since 1989, South Dakoka has called it Native American Day. You can think of federal holidays as being like monuments erected in parks, says Matthew Dennis, author of Red, White, and Blue Letter Days, a 2002 book on American holidays. With a monument, you try to set the meaning of the past in stone. But that can change, and people might say, Wait, who is this guy? Among national holidays, July 4 stands as the most complex and debated, a reflection of the questions and contradictions about the country's origins and about the Declaration of Independence itself. Independence Day has been caught up in the country's divisions almost from the start. In the 1780s and 1790s, supporters of a stronger central government (Federalists) and those who worried about a return to British-style monarchy (sometimes called Jeffersonian Republicans), argued over the authorship of the Declaration of Independence, with Republicans giving sole credit to their own Thomas Jefferson and Federalists countering (correctly) that many others had worked on it. In the decades before the Civil War, Black Americans were often excluded from official July 4 events and instead would celebrate on July 5, both acknowledging July 4 and their distance from it. Frederick Douglass delivered his famed 1852 speech, What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July, on July 5. The Civil War itself was a time for competing interpretations. Southerners embraced the Declaration of Independence's message of defiance against tyranny. The North looked to it as a blueprint. In a letter to Congress sent on July 4, 1861, just months after the Civil War began, President Abraham Lincoln spoke of Independence Day as inspiration for a new and more humane society. Our adversaries have adopted some declarations of independence in which, unlike the good old one penned by Jefferson, they omit the words `all men are created equal, Lincoln wrote, adding that the Union was upholding "government whose leading object is to elevate the condition of men; to lift artificial weights from all shoulders; to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all; to afford all an unfettered start and a fair chance in the race of life. The meaning of July 4 has continued to evolve, from president to president. Franklin D. Roosevelt and George W. Bush are among those who dedicated Independence Day speeches to the military, whether during World War II or in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. John F. Kennedy's 1962 address, in the midst of the Cold War, called independence the single issue that divides the world today and invoked the longing for independence behind the Iron Curtain. In 2014, President Barack Obama cited the promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as a reason immigrants from around the world dream of coming to our shores. For Independence Day in 2020, less than two months after the murder of George Floyd, President Donald Trump denounced Black Lives Matters protesters and what he called a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values and indoctrinate our children. His eventual successor, Joe Biden, issued a brief video saying the country had yet to live up to its promise of equality, noting that even Jefferson was a slaveholder. But once proposed, it (equality) was an idea that couldn't be constrained, he said. It survived the rages of the Civil War, the dogs of Bull Connor, the assassination of Martin Luther King and more 200 years of systematic racism. America is no fairy tale," Biden added. "It's been a constant push and pull between two parts of our character: the idea that all men and women all people are created equal and the racism that has torn us apart. ___ Hillel Italie, the books and publishing writer for The Associated Press, writes frequently about culture and history. After a last-minute plea deal and an emotionally turbulent morning in court, former Metro Nashville Police Officer Andrew Delke pleaded guilty Friday to voluntary manslaughter for the shooting of Daniel Hambrick in 2018. All first day Sandbox arrivals test COVID negative as rules change for land entry PHUKET: All arrivals that flew into Phuket on the first day of the Sandbox initiative last Thursday (July 1) tested negative for COVID-19, Governor Narong Woonciew has confirmed. CoronavirusCOVID-19healthVaccinetourism By The Phuket News Saturday 3 July 2021, 11:26AM Governor Narong Woonciew. Photo: PR Dept About 400 tourists arrived in Phuket on July 1, and all of them were tested for the first time at the airport, Governor Narong said today (July 3). The test results for all the arrivals last Thursday were negative, he added. Meanwhile, the 14-day quarantine option for all arrivals via land onto Phuket is no longer available, Governor Narong has confirmed. We have discovered recently that most of the new cases are people who have entered the island via land and are staying in designated local quarantine venues, he said. As a result, we have cancelled the option for people to serve the 14-day quarantine when entering by land. "From now on people wishing to enter by land must be able to show proof of vaccination or the results of a negative COVID test taken within 72 hours prior to arrival. If they cannot produce this they will not be permitted to enter via the check point. Additionally, all arrivals must install the tracing Mor Chana app. Anyone who does not follow this condition will not be allowed entry to the island, the Governor added. The announcement came as the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) confirmed seven new cases of infection in its daily report yesterday, bringing the total number of people infected in Phuket since April 3 to 746. The 746 cases do not include six people infected in other provinces and two people infected abroad. Of the cases recognised since Apr 3, 695 have been released from hospital care while 52 patients remain under medical care and supervision. The number of fatalities as a result of the infection remains at seven. The numbers of new cases has continued to go up and down which is not satisfactory because we are targeting zero cases, Governor Narong concluded. Angelina Jolie back in action Over recent years filmmaker Taylor Sheridan has had a huge impact on Hollywood. His screenplay for the hard-hitting Sicario heralded in a new age of dramatic intensity within a market that many said had gone soft. Then came his work on the under-rated Hell or High Water and the brilliant Wind River. Sheridan was no longer a lightweight, he had awards in his back pocket and actors like Jeremy Renner were lining up to work with him. To show that he was no flash in the pan then came one of the most eagerly-anticipated television shows of 2020, Yellowstone, of which Sheridan was the main creator. World-Entertainment By David Griffiths Saturday 3 July 2021, 11:00AM Angelina Jolie in Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021). Image: IMDB Now Sheridan teams up with one of Hollywoods biggest stars Angelina Jolie (Tomb Raider) in the edgy action thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead. Jolie plays damaged fire-jumper (fire-fighter) Hannah Faber who has been sent to an outpost fire tower to work as a spotter after she has become an emotional mess after being involved with a forest fire that claimed the lives of children and one of her colleagues. While believing that her new post will be much more peaceful Hannah soon comes across a young boy Connor Casserly (Finn Little Angel of Mine), who is being hunted down by ruthless assassins Jack (Aidan Gillen Game of Thrones) and Patrick Blackwell (Nicholas Hoult Mad Max: Fury Road). Despite her own demons, Hannah realises that only her and the boys uncle, local deputy sheriff Ethan Sawyer (Jon Bernthal The Walking Dead), can keep him alive. To add to the pressure they also find themselves trapped by a forest fire that was lit by the assassins as a distraction for local authorities. You soon realise when watching Those Who Wish Me Dead that it contains all the tropes that have made Sheridan one of Hollywoods most interesting filmmakers at the moment. The film is edgy it doesnt stick to the Hollywood rules of trying to keep the film to a low classification. Most of the characters are damaged and they talk and act like they are damaged they swear when under pressure and they certainly dont play nice. While over the years Hollywood has normally tried to shy away from violence towards the vulnerable as can be expected Sheridan puts the vulnerable at risk. It doesnt matter that the key target here is a child Jack and Patrick are blood-thirsty assassins who will not think twice about blowing young Connor away. The result is a realism that is normally never present in an action thriller like this plus a level of intensity and suspense that is normally only reserved for European or Scandinavian cinema. To add even further to that suspense is the forest fire storyline. There are times during this film when likable characters such as Sawyers pregnant partner, Allison (Medina Senghore Blindspot) find themselves trapped between the fire and the insatiable killers and that only raises the stakes even more. Sheridan plays on the human condition that we are all terrified by fire and its ferocious nature and he uses it to his advantage. It is a welcome relief to see Jolie back in an action flick as she has spent much of the last decade making family films and doing voice work. She seems to relish being in a role with edge and the scenes that she shares with young Finn Little are natural and memorable. Jon Bernthals performance in the film is also a stand-out and his fans will be happy to see that this time he has been given a chance to play a hero rather than a villain. To be honest, Those Who Wish Me Dead is probably closer to a blockbuster than the indie feeling films like Hell or High Water or Wind River that Taylor Sheridan has made in the past. But just like those films this one is full of memorable characters, a hard edge and suspense that will make you want to watch it time and time again. Those Who Wish Me Dead is currently screening in Phuket cinemas. 4/5 Stars David Griffiths has been working as a film and music reviewer for over 20 years. That time has seen him work in radio, television and in print. You can follow him at www.facebook.com/subcultureentertainmentaus Government defends Phuket beach, booze photos THAILAND: The government has clarified two controversial photos, including one featuring cabinet ministers relaxing on a Phuket beach without face masks following their arrival on the tourist island last Thursday (July 1) to mark the launch of the Phuket Sandbox tourism programme. CoronavirusCOVID-19healthSafety By Bangkok Post Saturday 3 July 2021, 02:50PM People should be careful about spreading fake news, commented Minister of Tourism and Sports Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn. Photo: PR Phuket Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the photo was taken during a 30-minute break at a national park before Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha left for the airport to welcome tourists. He insisted the prime minister and the others, who were fully vaccinated, spent only half an hour in an open-air area where they were served coffee and snacks. Several netizens slammed the officials for not wearing face masks and eating together, saying they did not follow social distancing measures that are recommended for those living in the same house. The other controversial photo featured Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, Minister of Tourism and Sports, delivering an opening address at a party in which alcoholic beverages were served. A stage sign read: Welcome Dinner Phuket Sandbox. Mr Phiphat said yesterday (July 2) the welcome party, hosted by the Board of Trade of Thailand, proceeded under COVID-19 control measures. He said Phuket is classified as a green zone province where activities with no more than 200 people are allowed. A total of 180 people, all fully vaccinated, attended the party which wrapped up before 11pm, Mr Phiphat said. He also warned people against spreading false news which could undermine public confidence. The party didnt violate the provinces orders and it was organised in line with COVID-19 measures. People should be careful about spreading fake news. We all want Phuket Sandbox to work out and restart the tourism industry, Mr Phiphat said. Government lambastes US for TIP downgrade THAILAND: The government has expressed disappointment and criticised the United States decision to downgrade Thailand in its annual worldwide human trafficking report. COVID-19crimemarine By Bangkok Post Saturday 3 July 2021, 04:00PM Workers unload the catch from a fishing trawler at a pier in Samut Sakhon. Forced labour in the fishing sector is a major concern in the US Trafficking in Persons Report. Photo: Bangkok Post file The Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report for 2021, issued last Thursday (July 1), demotes Thailand from Tier 2 to the Tier 2 Watchlist for the first time in four years. The report said less effort had been demonstrated in combatting the problem, with forced migrant labour among Washingtons main concerns. The government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period, even considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its anti-trafficking capacity, the report said. Smugglers, brokers, employers, and others exploit Thai and migrant workers in labour trafficking in commercial fishing and related industries, the poultry industry, manufacturing, agriculture, domestic work, and street begging, the report said. The downgrade came as a shock to the government, which last year started lobbying to be upgraded to Tier 1. The Foreign Ministry said it was disappointed, saying the report does not reflect fairly the significant efforts and concrete progress Thailand has made in combatting human trafficking. The TIP report, after all, unilaterally makes an evaluation from the USs very own view and by no means represents any international standard, it said in a statement. The Thai government attaches great importance to combatting human trafficking, the ministry said. All measures taken by Thailand are meant for the betterment of the Thai society, raising its standards in protecting and preventing Thai citizens and foreign nationals in Thailand, including migrant workers, from falling victims to human trafficking, it added. In 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Thailands achievements in key areas included an increase in prosecution efficacy, the ministry countered. More than 90% of submitted cases were brought to court within one year while more than 67% of offenders were handed harsh sentences that included jail terms of five years or more, the statement said. Complicit officials were also punished and online human trafficking, a rising form of trafficking during the pandemic, was cracked down upon, according to the Foreign Ministry. Outlining other efforts, the ministry said Thailand has focused on protection, adding that victim-centred and trauma-informed care approaches continue to be undertaken to protect victims of human trafficking in partnership with civil society organisations. Migrant workers from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar were granted an extended period of stay in Thailand until March 31, 2022 as a part of COVID-19 pandemic measures. Some 240,572 migrant workers received protection and welfare, thus minimising the risks of them falling prey to human traffickers, the ministry said. More than 6,000 tourists register under Phuket Sandbox PHUKET: Tanee Sangrat, Director-General of the Department of Information and Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokesperson, has revealed that 6,020 tourists have registered to enter Thailand under the Phuket Sandbox scheme. tourismCOVID-19economics By The Phuket News Saturday 3 July 2021, 09:00AM Tanee Sangrat, Director-General of the Department of Information and Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson. Photo: NNT Mr Tanee, who used to be a former Ambassador to Vietnam and Consul-General at Los Angeles, made the announcement through his Twitter account on Thursday (July 1), reported state news agency NNT yesterday (July 2). As of 8:10am on July 1, 6,020 people had registered for Phuket Sandbox, Mr Tanee said. Of those, 3,034 vaccination certificates had been approved and 1,379 Certificates of Entry (CoE) had been issued, but 379 applications for CoEs had been rejected because they did not meet the criteria, Mr Tanee explained. There were at the time 4,262 CoEs being processed, he added. For July 1-3, there had been 323, 481 and 279 CoEs issued, respectively, for people traveling to Phuket, Mr Tanee said. According to the report by NNT, Mr Tanee explained that the CCSA (Centre for COVID Situation Administration) had officially specified the requirements for the CoEs for foreign tourists to come to Phuket on June 29. Thai embassies and consulates had tried to issue the certificates for all tourists before their traveling date. However, some tourists did not file all required documents, so we could not issue the certificate for them, he said. Tired of being ignored, volunteers at Phuket Dog Shelter lodge complaint with Governor PHUKET: Volunteers at the Phuket Stray Dog Shelter have filed an official complain to Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew after claiming their requests for help from the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO) have been constantly ignored. animalsCOVID-19 By The Phuket News Saturday 3 July 2021, 01:49PM The formal complaint, received in person by Phuket Vice Governor Vikrom Jakthee yesterday (July 2), claimed that the PPLO had informed the volunteers that any requests or complaints were being handled by the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation (PPAO or OrBorJor). After hearing nothing from the PPAO for six months, the volunteers approached the organisation again for an update only to be told it was not their responsibility and it would be handled by the PPLO after all. The volunteers returned to the PPLO for clarification and answers only to be told nothing had been done due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. Having lodged an official complaint with the PPLO two months ago, the volunteers still have yet to hear back from them in reply. If they [PPLO] claim the lack of action is due to the pandemic then it is clear the dogs have been suffering for a long time, the formal complaint stated. The livestock officers must know full well that there are only six staff at the shelter who are responsible for taking care of almost 1,000 dogs and who operate on an insufficient budget, it added. You must know that the dogs in the shelter do not have freedom and have to fight for food in order to survive. We volunteers have helped by working in the shelter for the last five years when there were only originally around 300 dogs. Today there are around 1,000 dogs and urgent help is needed. We regularly clean all areas for the dogs, shower and clean them and separate any sick dogs from the others. We have also managed to successfully find people who are willing to adopt a dog. As the shelter did not have sufficient budget, we have found ways of generating some funds to help. We have never posted any images or information that may damage the image or reputation of the PPLO. We have always respected the organisation and they are fully aware of how much we care for the dogs. Ultimately, the PPLO has ignored our complaint. They may think that the dogs are not important. We really hope that the Phuket Governor will not ignore us like the other offices have done and instead do something to help the situation, the letter concluded. V/Gov Vikrom informed the volunteers who lodged the complaint that he will investigate the case further by questioning the relevant officers and will then will inform the group of the outcome in due course. Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. @rachelravina on Twitter Rachel Ravina is a journalist covering news and lifestyle features in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. She grew up in Blue Bell and graduated from Penn State. She's also a news enthusiast who is passionate about covering topics people want to read. "I wouldn't be able to hire an employee for $33,000 over four years to figure this out." Jamie Gwynn, New Hanover Township Manager Pull Quote The shady Fairfield street where I moved my family two decades ago is slowly disappearing. Since our arrival, I count five trees total gone from the 100-yard stretches to either side of my home. If I draw a circle with that radius, the number is 14. This past winter the town removed a mature maple from the nearby corner, its trunk three feet in diameter. Disease required a handful of these cut-downs, new construction demanded a few more. I believe climate change caused many of the others. The wind is stronger these days, its visits more frequent, its rain heavier. The strident beep of the National Weather Service was a rare interruption to television shows when I was young. I only recall three occasions when we lost power. Now, warnings of violent disturbances scroll across the TV with regularity. The lights go black once or twice a year. When they do, portable generators rattle to life throughout the neighborhood. Peoples preparedness testifies to the new normal. Recent studies support my sense of change. A 2014 study by Climate Central found that major outages (those affecting more than 50,000 customers) increased by a factor of 10 from the mid-80s to 2012. From 2003 to 2012 blackouts caused by weather doubled. A 2020 analysis showed a 67 percent increase in weather-related major outages since 2000. Regardless of whether this report convinces you that human behavior is generating more potent storms, the new attitude toward trees seems undeniable, at least for municipalities, and certainly for power companies. The oak and ash are now a threat. After hurricanes Irene and Sandy roared through our state, customers of United Illuminating and Connecticut Light & Power (today known as Eversource) endured lengthy losses of service. In response to the complaints provoked by those delays, the utilities began campaigns to eradicate any dead wood overhanging their lines. The maple we lost did show signs of disease in some limbs but the trunk was unblemished. Ive come to believe that the guiding principle is, When in doubt, chainsaw to the ground. In this same period, both providers cut their maintenance crews. A study by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, as reported in August 2020 by the Connecticut Post , found that in 2016, CL&P employed 21 percent fewer line and craft workers than in 2011. In 2017, UI employed 5 percent fewer. These are the workers who restore power after an outage. The same article states that after those reductions CL&Ps net annual income rose $111 million from 2015 to 2019. Avangrid did not post numbers for its subsidiary UI, but financial statements for the parent company show a $179 million increase in the same period. The corporate thinking seems clear: the best, i.e., most profitable, response to a more hostile environment is to remove as many leafy hazards as possible. Government entities face the same reality and appear to have reached the same conclusion. After the 2012 hurricane, the state Department of Transportation began a years long effort to clear 30-foot margins around the Merritt Parkway. When area residents and conservancy groups complained, the agency countered that they were taking up maintenance neglected for the past three decades. More importantly, they cited the higher rate of tree-related fatalities on Route 15 to comparable state roads. Drivers safety is of paramount concern when discussing highways, but I do mourn what we lost. Before, the Merritt felt like a natural cathedral, the miles traveled on it a retreat from my hectic day. Now the commute on 15 is the same as any other. Though on a lesser scale, a similar transformation is occurring in my town. Once shaded streets are now sun-drenched. The change is happening gradually. On a frequent route, I see a tree is gone. Weeks later, another on a different corner. Its always sad to lose a longtime pillar of the community even when necessary because of rot or damage. Only recently have I realized how these excisions are redrawing the face of my home. The agenda to keep us safe from our swaying neighbors appears ill conceived to me. They are effective allies against climate change. Trees Pay Us Back, a U.S. Forest Service brochure declares, stating that 100 trees remove 53 tons of carbon dioxide and 430 pounds of other air pollutants each year. They prevent 139,000 gallons of rainwater runoff along with the accompanying soil erosion. Properly placed shade saves up to 56 percent per season in air-conditioning costs, 3 percent from heating. This translates to less power plant emissions. Shoppers say that business districts with leafy cover entice them to visit more often, stay longer, and spend more. An analysis by the University of Adelaide in Australia found that in Los Angeles, the protection of a cypress lowers air temperature by 1 to 8 degrees Celsius. In Fahrenheit, that means up to 20 degrees cooler. The same green canopy can reduce wind speeds by 10 percent. These benefits surely occur here. In July and August, I would rather stand beneath our sycamore than in the grass beyond its reach. Weather patterns are evolving. We must all evaluate the safety of our own surroundings. Just miles from me, a 2019 storm killed a man when a branch crashed through his car in his driveway. The dangers are real. Nevertheless, I believe they have blinded us to the aid which these grand sentries deliver and the comfort they bring daily to our lives. I moved to a storybook New England town, its streets dappled with shadows from overarching limbs. Fairfield is still a wonderful place to live, but it is not the place that enchanted me back then. What has been lost needs decades to replace. You who have lived long in your own villages, when you think back, is the home of your memories the one you inhabit now? And if not, do you regret the change? This article originally appeared in Connecticut Magazine. You can subscribe here, or find the current issue on sale here. Sign up for the newsletter to get the latest and greatest content from Connecticut Magazine delivered right to your inbox. On Facebook and Instagram @connecticutmagazine and Twitter @connecticutmag. RIDGEFIELD The towns affordable housing committee is interested in establishing a trust fund for the development of affordable housing. Affordable housing trust funds are allowable under state law, letting towns create a trust fund that can be used to increase affordable housing in that community. Additional building fees, for example, can be tacked onto projects with money from those fees going toward the fund. Committee Chairman Dave Goldenberg shared the idea with the Board of Selectmen during a meeting last week. The committees next step is to develop a proposal for the Board of Selectmen and Planning and Zoning Department. Goldenberg anticipates theyre a couple of months away from having that plan drawn up. The committee must consider how it plans to raise money for the fund and how to eventually spend it. Some proposed ways of raising money for the fund include accepting donations, obtaining grants or potentially charging builders a fee for developing or permits. But perhaps the most interesting of mechanisms is via a fee in lieu. You could require a set-aside or a fee in lieu, which means the developer can make some units affordable or make a contribution for each unit theyre supposed to build, Goldenberg said. Similarly, money from the trust can be spent on more than just building new, affordable housing. For example, the money can be used to pay landowners a property fee for a deed restriction in return or to give out rehabilitation loans so individuals can renovate a unit to make it affordable. Karen McLean, chairwoman of the social work department at Western Connecticut State University, said a loan program can help prospective homeowners buy a blighted property to make it affordable. The rehab loan program, as McLean referred to it, can produce housing and improve local aesthetics, and spur a community effect too. When one house is rehabbed, others may take an interest and decide to do the same, she said. A lot of these programs provide opportunities for people with limited resources or incomes so they can have quality affordable housing, she said. It can provide a lot of resources so everyone gets to participate in different levels of the housing market, she added. McLeans concern however, is about whether the funding will be used to maintain existing public housing structures and if poorer individuals would be segregated. She said theres stigmatization that comes with affordable housing and communities need to be conscious of how the affordable units are built and the potential for those residents to be pigeonholed because they live in one of few affordably designated locations. Despite that concern, McLean thinks an affordable housing trust fund is something that should be done because it can provide housing and resources to those who need it while diversifying a municipalitys stock. Few towns in Connecticut have devised affordable housing trusts, but Ridgefield is hoping to become one. Goldenberg said the committee has been gauging input from other towns that have or are considering trusts. Greenwich, for example, is seeking to start a trust funded entirely by private donations and controlled by a resident board with town officials. Stamford approved a trust in 2020 that the city funds with fee-in-lieu payments and commercial linkage fees. While First Selectman Rudy Marconi concurred that its not a bad idea, he also said a trust fund is not the panacea it sounds like. You just need so much funding, I dont know if a housing trust fund is really going to generate. We dont have that much building going on in this town, he said. It would take years to build it up where it has any kind of an impact on affordability, but its still an idea and worth pursuing. Goldenberg said although the trust fund is a small part of making Ridgefield more affordable, it is an important component. Data he presented to the selectmen indicated that 42 percent of renters and 29 percent of homeowners in Ridgefield are cost-burdened. Of the 9,645 units in town, only about three percent are categorized as affordable housing. There really is an enormous need, he said. NEW YORK (AP) Alvin Bragg, a former top deputy to New Yorks attorney general, was poised to become Manhattans first Black district attorney and to take over the investigation of former President Donald Trump after his closest opponent conceded in the Democratic primary. The candidate trailing him by several thousand votes in the race, former federal prosecutor Tali Farhadian Weinstein, said in a statement Friday that after several days of absentee votes being counted, it is clear we cannot overcome the vote margin. New York City's Board of Election has not publicly released updates on the count of absentee ballots. As a result, The Associated Press has been unable to call a winner. This has been a long journey that started in Harlem, Bragg said in a statement, referring to the Manhattan neighborhood where he grew up. And today, that 15-year old boy who was stopped numerous times at gunpoint by the police is the Democratic nominee to be Manhattan District Attorney. Bragg led Farhadian Weinstein by about 3 percentage points when voting ended June 22. With a win, Bragg would be virtually guaranteed to succeed District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who has been leading an investigation of Trump and his company and is retiring at the end of the year. The Republican candidate in the general election will be Thomas Kenniff, a defense attorney, former prosecutor and Army Judge Advocate General. Democrats outnumber Republicans heavily in Manhattan. A former federal prosecutor who now teaches at New York Law School, Bragg worked as a civil rights lawyer before entering government service. He currently represents the mother of Eric Garner in a judicial inquiry into his 2014 death after being placed in a police chokehold. Bragg said he was drawn to a career in law after having a gun pointed at him six times as a youth three times by police. In one encounter, amid the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s, Bragg said an officer stuck a gun in his face and wrongly accused him of being a drug dealer as he walked to get groceries for his father. Bragg, 47, defeated a big field of candidates that also included three former assistants in the district attorneys office, Lucy Lang, Liz Crotty and Diana Florence, and three candidates who have never been prosecutors public defender Eliza Orlins, civil rights lawyer Tahanie Aboushi and state Assembly member Dan Quart. Farhadian Weinstein said that while she had disagreements with Bragg, she supported his commitment to justice." She also said she heard a demand for more women in political leadership while campaigning and hoped other would heed that call. Manhattan has never had a woman district attorney. The Manhattan district attorneys office has spent two years looking at Trumps business dealings. A special grand jury this week indicted the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg. They were charged with helping Weisselberg and other top executives evade taxes he should have paid on apartments, cars and tuition aid given him by the company. Trump himself was not charged in the case, but the investigation is not over. Vance, the Democrat who brought the charges, will lead the Trump probe until he leaves office. All of the Democrats running for the office had said they werent afraid of taking on Trump, but they were also cautious not to appear as if they were prejudging the case or making the matter a campaign issue. Bragg has investigated Trump before as the states chief deputy attorney general in 2018. He helped oversee a lawsuit that led to the closure of Trumps charitable foundation over allegations he used the nonprofit to further his political and business interests. Prior to that, Bragg led a unit of the state attorney generals office that investigates killings by police. Campaigning for district attorney, Bragg pledged a culture change in the district attorney's office, prioritizing public safety and police accountability while declining to pursue many low-level offenses and de-emphasizing conviction rates. Bragg said he'd use data to spot racial disparities in the criminal justice system. In deciding which cases to pursue, Bragg said he'd want prosecutors to ask: Does this case make us safer. Manhattan district attorney is one of the most high-profile prosecution jobs in the U.S., dramatized on TVs Law and Order and Blue Bloods. The office has a staff of 500 lawyers and a $125 million annual budget. A separate forfeiture fund bankrolled by Wall Street settlements and worth more than $800 million is used for grants to criminal justice and community organizations and big initiatives, such as testing backlogged rape kits. Vance will have been in office for 12 years when he steps side. His successor will be just the fourth elected district attorney in Manhattan in the last 80 years. Frank Hogan served for 31 years. Robert Morgenthau was in office for 34 years, until he was 90. HONOLULU (AP) Two pilots told air traffic controllers that their engine had cut out and they needed help moments before crashing their cargo plane into the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii on Friday. It doesnt look good out here, one of the pilots said before the Boeing 737 broke apart as it entered the water. Both pilots, the only people aboard, were seriously injured but survived the crash. An hour later, rescuers found the two clinging to packages and parts of the plane in about 150 feet (46 meters) of water several miles off Oahu, authorities said. One was on the tail and the other clinging to packages, Coast Guard Lt. Commander Karin Evelyn wrote in an email to The Associated Press. As an agency helicopter got close, the airplane began to sink putting the individual on the tail in the water. The crews hoisted them safely on the aircraft. The rescue swimmer then assisted the other individual. The pilots of Transair Flight 810 heading from Honolulu to Maui reported engine trouble and were trying to return to Honolulu, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. Weve lost No. 1 engine, and were coming straight to the airport," one of the pilots said in air traffic control communications. Were going to need the fire department. Theres a chance were going to lose the other engine, too, its running very hot. Were very low on speed. The pilot said they werent carrying hazardous materials and had two hours worth of fuel. They asked the tower to advise the Coast Guard, then asked if there was a closer airport than Honolulu. After a stretch of silence, the controller asks if the pilot is still there. There was no response. Looks like they went down in the water, the tower says. Later, a rescuer aboard a Coast Guard helicopter sent to search for the pilots tells air traffic control: We do have an aircraft in the water ... were currently overhead (the) debris field. Minutes later: We have zero, two souls in sight in the water. The tower responded, OK, so you have both guys, both souls in sight? Both souls in sight, yes, sir, the rescuers responded. The pilots, whose identities were not immediately released, were taken to a hospital. Officials at Queens Medical Center said a 58-year-old was in critical condition, Hawaii News Now reported. The other pilot, a 50-year-old, was in serious condition with a head injury and multiple lacerations, the TV station reported. The Coast Guard reported flying over the crash site off Oahu to evaluate for pollution after the sun came up in the morning. Debris and fuel remained in the water. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The NTSB said in a tweet that it will send a team of 10 investigators. The plane is a 46-year-old Boeing 737-200, a much earlier version of the 737 than the Max, and one that U.S. airlines no longer use for passenger flights. There are fewer than 60 737-200s still flying worldwide, according to aviation-data researcher Cirium. The Boeing 737 first flew in the late 1960s and is the most popular airline plane still in production. Boeing has delivered more than 10,500 of them and has unfilled orders for about 4,000 more, almost all of those for the latest version of the plane, the 737 Max. Over the years, about 200 737s have been destroyed in crashes and several hundred others have been involved in less serious accidents and incidents, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. For a jet that has been in production for so long and is being used so extensively, 203 hull-loss accidents can be considered a very good safety record, said Harro Ranter, who runs the database. He said the planes accident rate improved dramatically from the first models to more recent ones that preceded the Max. Boeing said in a statement: We are aware of the reports out of Honolulu, Hawaii and are closely monitoring the situation. We are in contact with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and are working to gather more information. There have been some water landings over the years in which people survived, the most famous being the 2009 crash of a US Airways flight in New York's Hudson River where all 155 people on board survived. All four people on board survived a cargo plane crash into water short of a runway in Gabon in 2011. In other cases, some passengers and crew survived but some died, including a hijacked Ethiopian Airlines plane that ran out of fuel and crashed into the Indian Ocean in 1996, a Tunisian airliner that went down off the coast of Sicily in 2005, and an Indonesian airliner that landed in a river during a thunderstorm in 2002. ___ Koenig reported from Dallas. Monroe reported from Phoenix. The delta variant appears to be gaining a foothold in the state, even as COVID infections and hospitalizations remain low overall, according to the latest data. Several nations around the world have tightened pandemic restrictions in response to the variant, which is thought to be more transmissible than the strain widely circulating in the U.S. The delta strain comprised 13.6 percent of samples from positive test kits researchers at The Yale School of Public Health and Jackson Laboratory surveyed in the past week, up more than 11 percent from the previous week. The overall number of cases detected in the state still remains small compared with other variants. As of Thursday, 48 cases of delta, a strain first detected in India, have been confirmed in Connecticut. In contrast, 3,302 cases of the alpha strain, first detected in the U.K., have been found in Connecticut. That alpha variant has remained the dominant strain in the U.S., and comprised half the cases tested by researchers in the past week through genomic sequencing. Nathan Grubaugh, who heads the sequencing efforts at the Yale School of Public Health, offered a caveat that the estimates are noisy because of the low sample of sequenced cases. Thats because the state has fewer infections overall for researchers to examine, which is a good problem to have, he wrote in a tweet Thursday. Infections overall remained low Friday, with 89 new cases reported statewide out of 15,013, a positivity rate of 0.59 percent. Hospitalizations rose by five, bringing the total to 42, while the death toll remained flat at 8,279. The delta strain has pushed officials in Israel, Australia and others across Europe to tighten travel restrictions. In Californias Los Angeles County, officials this week recommended everyone wear a mask at indoor public settings including those who are vaccinated. The announcement stopped short of a new mask mandate. Gov. Ned Lamonts office and the state Department of Public Health did not immediately respond when asked whether the state would consider issuing a similar recommendation in Connecticut. The state still has universal masking for vaccinated and un-vaccinated people in some settings, such as courthouses, taxis, public transit, hospitals, health care centers and congregate settings. People who are not yet fully vaccinated are still required to wear a mask indoors, though most businesses are using the honor system. Experts believe the vaccines provide good protection against the delta variant. Researchers in the U.K., where delta has become the dominant strain in new cases, found the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was still highly effective. U.K. researchers found the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has not been approved in the U.S., also provided good protection. This week, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson said their vaccines protected against the variant. Connecticut, and the rest of the northeast, is among the most heavily vaccinated areas in the nation, with more than 67 percent of residents having received at least one dose and nearly 61 percent fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions data tracker. But pockets of low vaccination rates still exist in Connecticut, despite wide availability of vaccine. Lower uptake of vaccines is still seen in the far eastern part of the state and some of Connecticuts largest cities, according to state data. Vaccine demand overall has dropped off, with the state administering a fraction of the doses it did in early April when vaccinations peaked. Thursdays report from Yale and Jackson Laboratory showed the iota strain comprised just over 18 percent of cases sequenced, with no change from the previous week. The strain, first detected in New York last fall, is considered a variant of interest, rather than a variant of concern like alpha and delta. PHOENIX (AP) They flaunted their participation in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol on social media and then, apparently realizing they were in legal trouble, rushed to delete evidence of it, authorities say. Now their attempts to cover up their role in the deadly siege are likely to come back to haunt them in court. An Associated Press review of court records has found that at least 49 defendants are accused of trying to erase incriminating photos, videos and texts from phones or social media accounts documenting their conduct as a pro-Donald Trump mob stormed Congress and briefly interrupted the certification of Democrat Joe Bidens election victory. Experts say the efforts to scrub the social media accounts reveal a desperate willingness to manipulate evidence once these people realized they were in hot water. And, they say, it can serve as powerful proof of peoples consciousness of guilt and can make it harder to negotiate plea deals and seek leniency at sentencing. It makes them look tricky, makes them look sneaky, said Gabriel J. Chin, who teaches criminal law at the University of California, Davis. One such defendant is James Breheny, a member of the Oath Keepers extremist group, who bragged in texts to others about being inside the Capitol during the insurrection, authorities say. An associate instructed Breheny, in an encrypted message two days after the riot, to delete all pictures, messages and get a new phone, according to court documents. That same day, the FBI said, Breheny shut down his Facebook account, where he had photos that he taken during the riot and complained the government had grown tyrannical. The Peoples Duty is to replace that Government with one they agree with, Breheny wrote on Facebook on Jan. 6 in an exchange about the riot. Im all ears. Whats our options??? Breheneys lawyer, Harley Breite, said his client never obstructed the riot investigation or destroyed evidence, and that Breheny didnt know when he shut down account that his content would be considered evidence. Breite rejected the notion that Breheny might have been able to recognize, in the days immediately after Jan. 6 when the riot dominated news coverage, that the attack was a serious situation that could put Breheny's liberty at risk. You cant delete evidence if you dont know you are being charged with anything, Breite said. Other defendants who have not been accused of destroying evidence still engaged in exchanges with others about deleting content, according to court documents. The FBI said one woman who posted video and comments showing she was inside the Capitol during the attack later decided not to restore her new phone with her iCloud content a move that authorities suspect was aimed at preventing them from uncovering the material. In another case, authorities say screenshots from a North Carolina mans deleted Facebook posts contradicted his claim during an interview with an FBI agent that he didnt intend on disrupting the Electoral College certification. Erasing digital content isnt as easy as deleting content from phones, removing social media posts or shutting down accounts. Investigators have been able to retrieve the digital content by requesting it from social media companies, even after accounts are shut down. Posts made on Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms are recoverable for a certain period of time, and authorities routinely ask those companies to preserve the records until they get court orders to view the posts, said Adam Scott Wandt, a public policy professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who trains law enforcement on cyber-based investigations. Authorities also have other avenues for investigating whether someone has tried to delete evidence. Even when a person removes content from an account, authorities may still get access to it if it had been backed up on a cloud server. People who arent involved in a crime yet were sent incriminating videos or photos may end up forwarding them to investigators. Also, metadata embedded in digital content can show whether it has been modified or deleted. You cant do it, said Joel Hirschhorn, a criminal defense lawyer in Miami who is not involved in Capitol riot cases. The metadata will do them in every time. Only a handful of the more than 500 people across the U.S. who have been arrested in the riot have actually been charged with tampering for deleting incriminating material from their phones or Facebook accounts. They include several defendants in the sweeping case against members and associates of the Oath Keepers extremist group, who are accused of conspiring to block the certification of the vote. In one instance, a defendant instructed another to make sure that all signal comms about the op has been deleted and burned, authorities say. But even if it does not result in more charges, deleting evidence will make it difficult for those defendants to get much benefit at sentencing for accepting responsibility for their actions, said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School. Some lawyers might argue their clients removed the content to lessen the social impact that the attack had on their families and show they do not support what had occurred during the riot. But she said that argument has limits. The words self-serving will come to mind, Levenson said. Thats what the prosecutors will argue you removed it because all of a sudden, you have to face the consequences of your actions. Matthew Mark Wood, who acknowledged deleting content from his phone and Facebook account that showed presence in the Capitol during the riot, told an FBI agent that he did not intend on disrupting the Electoral College certification. But investigators say screenshots of two of his deleted Facebook posts tell a different story. In the posts, Wood reveled in rioters sending those politicians running and declared that he had stood up against a tyrannical government in the face of a stolen election, the FBI said in court records. When diplomacy doesnt work and your message has gone undelivered, it shouldnt surprise you when we revolt, Wood wrote. His lawyer did not return a call seeking comment. Even though she is not accused of deleting content that showed she was inside the Capitol during the riot, one defendant told her father that she was not going to restore her new phone with her iCloud backup about three weeks after the riot, the FBI said. Stay off the clouds!" the father warned his daughter, according to authorities. "They are how they are screwing with us. Today Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 55F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Tonight Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 55F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Tomorrow Plentiful sunshine. High 91F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Montreal, CA (H4T1V6) Today Mostly cloudy skies this evening followed by thunderstorms late. Low 29C. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies this evening followed by thunderstorms late. Low 21C. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Mike Kirby: Attleborough went above and beyond for independence ALTON Planning to attend Saturday nights fireworks? Alton Police are offering tips for making this years Fireworks on the Mississippi a great memory. Police advise people arrive early to downtown Alton and the area around Liberty Bank Alton Amphitheatre. Its likely people will not be able to find a place to park after 9 p.m., they said. The Henry Street parking lot, south of Landmarks Boulevard, is the main parking area for the event. People are asked not to park illegally and to make sure their vehicles are locked when they leave them. Because East Broadway is closed between Fast Eddies Bon Air and Washington Avenue because of construction, police advise people to avoid the area. Doors open at Liberty Bank Alton Amphitheater at 5 p.m. July 3. The Air Force Band will play from 5:30 p.m. until the start of the fireworks at approximately 9:30 p.m. There will be free inflatables for kids, shaved ice, face painting, balloon artists, lawn games, food and drinks. Guests are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or blanket to watch the fireworks which will be launched from West Alton, Missouri. After the event, Alton Police are asking people to drive slow when leaving the area and to follow police instructions and traffic signs. They also advise patience. Vehicles on East Broadway can go north on U.S. 67 (Piasa Street), Alby Street and Central Avenue. Vehicles on Landmarks Boulevard should go west to U.S. 67 or east to Illinois 3 or Cpl. Chris Belchik Memorial Expressway. Cpl. Belchik will allow motorists to travel north on Washington Avenue or east on East Broadway. For more traffic info, check out www.cityofaltonil.com. Want to take your best photos ever of the fireworks? The Telegraph offers these tips for awesome fireworks photos. Cant join us on the riverfront in Alton tonight? Here are a few more options for where to watch the Riverbend light up the sky. July 3 Brighton: Brightons Independence Day at the Park is an all-day affair, from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., at Schneider Park. Edwardsville: Edwardsvilles Independence Day Celebration is planned 2-9 p.m. at American Legion Post 199 at 58 S. State Route 157. July 4 Godfrey: Although the village has canceled its Family Fun Fest, fireworks are planned for 9:15 p.m. at Robert E. Glazebrook Park, 1401 Stamper Lane. Vehicles can start parking at the viewing area at 6:30 p.m. Alton: Fireworks are planned following the Alton River Dragons game at Lloyd Hopkins Field. Highland: Fireworks are planned in Highland 8:30-9:30 p.m. at Glik Park, 12525 Sportsman Road. Jerseyville: Fireworks are planned 9:30-11 p.m at the Jersey County Fairgrounds, 300 Veterans Memorial Parkway. Alhambra: Fireworks, food and fun are planned 6-10 p.m. at Alhambra Park, hosted by the Jaycees. Fireworks will start at dusk. The event is free, but donations are appreciated Troy: Troy will have its Fourth of July Celebration 6-11 p.m. at Tri-Township Park, 410 Wickliffe St. Granite City: Fireworks start at 9:15 p.m. at Coolidge Middle School, 3231 Nameoki Road. July 10 Fieldon: This years the Fieldon fireworks, previously planned for June 26, has been rescheduled for dusk on July 10. July 15 Alton: Fireworks at the Alton Marina are planned July 15. There also will be music by the Owlz band 7-10 p.m. Thursday, July 15. July 16 Godfrey: Beverly Farm Foundation has rescheduled the fireworks rained out on June 27 for July 16 starting at 9:30 p.m. Guests can start arriving at 6301 Humbert Road, Godfrey, as early as 8:30 p.m. that day. July 17 Alton: Fireworks are planned following the Alton River Dragons game at Lloyd Hopkins Field. The World Health Organization wants everybody to wear masks, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says vaccinated people often dont need to wear them. So who do we listen to? Virus experts and epidemiologists also offer mixed advice, but largely agree on one point: Whether a fully vaccinated person needs to wear a mask really depends on the circumstances and whats happening in your community. At this point, thinking about wearing a mask is a little like dressing for the weather, said Linsey Marr, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech and one of the worlds leading experts on viral transmission. You need to consider the caseload and vaccination rates wherever youre going, what activity youll be doing, and your own health. But the new push to ask vaccinated people to mask up has sown confusion. Does the call for masking mean the vaccines dont offer enough protection? Why is everyone so concerned about the delta variant? And should vaccinated people be worried about breakthrough infections? Here are some answers. Why is the WHO telling vaccinated people to wear masks? Mask mandates are largely intended to protect the unvaccinated people who are vaccinated are already well protected by vaccines, and breakthrough infections are still very rare. But since you cant always tell who is vaccinated and who is not, telling everyone to wear a mask can help stop the spread of the virus by people who are infected but dont have any symptoms. And while cases and deaths are falling in the United States, large parts of the world are still grappling with the rapid spread of the virus and many people remain unvaccinated. In the United States, 66% of adults have received at least one dose of vaccine. In addition, vaccines given in other parts of the world, like the Sinovac vaccine, have not performed as well against the variants as the vaccines available in the United States. WHO is providing guidance for the whole world, and in areas where delta is dominant, cases are high, vaccination rates are low, and the vaccines that have been distributed are less effective against delta, it makes sense for vaccinated people to wear masks, said Marr. The CDC director, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, last week stood by advice that people fully vaccinated against the coronavirus do not need to wear masks in most situations, but added that there are instances where local authorities might impose more stringent measures to protect the unvaccinated. Marr said her advice to a fully vaccinated friend about mask wearing would be to follow local mask rules and to take extra precautions in certain situations. I would tell them that, in general, they do not need to wear a mask, said Marr. But they should continue to carry one with them for times when they are in a very crowded indoor setting for a long period of time, like air travel, where masks are required anyway, or a crowded movie theater, playhouse or concert venue, for example. If Im vaccinated, should I be worried about the delta variant? The delta variant, which was first identified in India, is worrisome because it is highly contagious and spreading rapidly around the globe. Unvaccinated people who are infected with delta are twice as likely to be hospitalized as those infected with Alpha, the dominant variant in the United States that was first detected in Britain. What has been surprising about the delta variant is how easily it seems to be transmitted. In Australia, security cameras documented a brief encounter of two people passing each other in a shopping mall; one of them was unknowingly infected. The shoppers were facing each other at one point and breathed each others air for only seconds, which led to the second person getting infected. (The transmission was confirmed through genetic sequencing.) While such a brief encounter typically wouldnt lead to transmission, the case signaled how important it is that people get vaccinated before the delta variant spreads further. The delta variant now accounts for about one in every four infections in the United States, according to new estimates last week from the CDC. But if you are among the vaccinated, most experts say you dont need to be fearful. Studies show that two doses of the Pfizer vaccine offer 88% protection against the delta variant, compared to 93% protection against Alpha. The Moderna vaccine has performed similarly to Pfizer in other studies, so its expected to give a similar level of protection against delta. Moderna has said test tube studies using blood samples from vaccinated people showed the vaccine is still highly effective against the delta variant, which caused only a modest reduction in virus-fighting antibodies in the samples. A recent Public Health England study found that people who are partially vaccinated are 75% less likely to be hospitalized than an infected person who isnt vaccinated. Those who are fully vaccinated are 94% less likely to be hospitalized. If youve had two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, like me, you should be protected against the delta variant, said Gregg Gonsalves, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health. I could go maskless and feel fine about it from that perspective. I think for the U.S. where we have states that have poor vaccination coverage and among populations who havent been vaccinated the delta variant is a problem. Gonsalves said that even though he is fully vaccinated, he will continue to mask up in the grocery store and other public spaces as we wait for more people to get vaccinated. Am I going to wear a mask among friends who are fully vaccinated? Probably not, he said. However, in public, I certainly will. This is about promoting a social norm: Right now there are enough people unvaccinated that we should be modeling good behavior, showing social solidarity. Does the J&J vaccine protect against the delta variant? Johnson & Johnson hasnt released data about how its vaccine performs against the delta variant, but studies are in progress. An earlier study found that J&Js vaccine was 66% effective in preventing moderate-to-severe COVID-19 when contagious variants already were circulating. The CDC and Johnson & Johnson havent offered any additional guidance for people who have received the single-dose vaccine, but scientists expect the vaccine to continue to protect against severe illness and death. Right now we have no information to suggest that you need a second shot after J&J, even with the delta variant, said the CDCs Walensky, in an interview with the Today show on Wednesday. Generally people are agreeing that they anticipate that J&J will perform well against the delta variant as it has so far against other variants circulating in the United States. A Public Health England study found that the Astra Zeneca vaccine, which has performed similarly to the J&J shot, provided 60% protection against delta, down from 66% against the Alpha variant. Whats my risk of getting COVID-19 after Im fully vaccinated? Although the COVID vaccines are highly effective, no vaccine offers 100% protection. While breakthrough infections happen, they are extremely rare, and in most cases, breakthrough infections cause only mild illness. The risk of being hospitalized or dying as a result of a breakthrough infection is minuscule (less than 0.003%), based on data collected from the CDC. As of June 21, more than 150 million people in the United States had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. As of that date, the CDC reported that 4,115 patients had COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough infections that resulted in hospitalization or death, including 3,907 who had been hospitalized and 750 who had died. But because the risk of getting COVID-19 after vaccination isnt zero, some health experts still advise that vaccinated people take reasonable precautions, like wearing a mask in crowded spaces. People who live in areas with low vaccination rates may also want to consider wearing masks in public, where they are more likely to encounter an unvaccinated person than someone living in a highly vaccinated region. In the United States, 63% of people 12 and older have received at least one dose and 54% are fully vaccinated. But in some cities like Seattle and San Francisco, more than 75% of those eligible are at least partially vaccinated. Many states in the Northeast, the West and Pacific Northwest have vaccinated more than 60% of the adult population. But the pace of vaccinations varies across the country. Several states in the South, including Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Arkansas, have vaccinated fewer than 45% of adults. Dr. Paul Offit, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the Food and Drug Administrations vaccine advisory panel, is fully vaccinated but still wears a mask when he rides the bus in Philadelphia, because the rules require it, as well as when hes in a crowded and enclosed space. He masks up when he shops at the grocery store, because he doesnt know the vaccination status of the other shoppers. But he also dines in restaurants, as long as the tables are spaced at least 4 feet apart and the servers are wearing masks. And even though the risk of breakthrough infections for fully vaccinated people is very low, Offit said the risk goes up when youre in a community where most people arent vaccinated, because it creates more opportunities for you to encounter the virus. He cites a study in the Netherlands of the measles vaccine, which like the COVID vaccine offers high levels of protection, that found an unvaccinated person was safer in a highly vaccinated community than a vaccinated person in an area with low vaccination rates. If youre in a highly vaccinated community you have sort of a moat around you, he said. Offit said the problem with the current guidance about mask wearing in the United States is that it requires trust. You have to trust that the other people youre coming into contact with are vaccinated if theyre not wearing a mask, said Offit. Thats a lot to trust. The same people who arent masked often arent vaccinated. Those two things usually go hand in hand. When you see people masked inside, theyre often the ones who are vaccinated. Marr added that everyone should be prepared for evolving guidance on masks, distancing and other precautions. We should be prepared for things to change as we learn more, Marr said. I know everyone wants this to be over or wants a one-size-fits-all rule, but we need to get used to things changing as the virus changes, vaccines roll out, public health responses in different countries shift, and scientists learn more. The 1918 flu pandemic lasted two years. WYOMING Hundreds of people turned up at the Wyoming Monument on Saturday to pay tribute to the more than 300 patriots massacred in the Battle of Wyoming exactly 243 years earlier. The July 3, 1778, battle, the most significant Revolutionary War engagement fought in Northeast Pennsylvania, was a rout for the outnumbered patriots at the hands of Loyalists and their Iroquois allies, but nevertheless was a pivotal moment for the colonials during the war for independence, said William Tharp, the keynote speaker. Tharp, a recent graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, completed his masters degree thesis on the public perception of the battle. Militarily and financially, the battle proved disastrous. Not only did many of Wyomings sons lay dead, but the British invaders crippled the regions economy and destroyed many farms across the valley, Tharp said. Yet even in defeat, the Battle of Wyoming ultimately provided the patriot cause with a powerful weapon that would contribute to the winning of American independence. And that was a sensational story. Patriots were able to use the defeat as part of a fierce propaganda and information battle to turn public opinion against the British, he said. In this revolutionary war of words, Wyoming played an imperative role, Tharp said. In addition to Tharps speech, the crowd heard patriotic marches courtesy of the Wyoming Valley Band and saw a musket volley by the 24th Connecticut Militia. Kingstons 1st Battalion, 109th Field Artillery Regiment provided the color guard. Among the attendees was Wilkes-Barre City Council Chairman Tony Brooks, a descendant of Battle of Wyoming veteran Isaac Bennett. Brooks presented a flower basket on behalf of Sons and Daughters of the Susquehanna Co., the Connecticut land company that settled the Wyoming Valley beginning in 1769. This is Americana as you can get, Brooks said. It looks like a Norman Rockwell painting come to life. I think its beautiful to honor our ancestors who fought for our freedoms. Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce said he was glad to see the event was well-attended and that people still took time to remember the sacrifices of the Revolutionary War soldiers. I want to specifically thank and appreciate both the Wyoming Monument Association and the Wyoming Commemorative Association for preserving the memory of the people who died here, and for keeping the monument and the grounds as hallowed as they deserve to be, Sanguedolce said. U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-8, Moosic, said he was overjoyed to be able to get back to a normal Fourth of July celebration after what he termed an ugly, 16-month-long pandemic. We can greet each other without masks and recognize each other and congratulate each other on being the freest, the greatest nation on Earth, all because of the patriots who did what they did in 1776 and on through 1783 people who laid down their lives for things that we take for granted every day, Cartwright said. How can you be anything but joyous on a day like today? Outrage greeted disgraced comedian Bill Cosbys departure from state prison Thursday after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his sexual assault conviction. But the anger justified in terms of Cosbys conduct should not obscure that the court upheld an important constitutional protection and that it did not exonerate him for his conduct. A Montgomery County jury convicted Cosby in 2018 for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home in 2004. Cosbys own deposed testimony in a civil suit that Constand brought against him in 2005 proved to be crucial evidence in his criminal conviction 13 years later. Cosby paid Constand $3.38 million to settle the suit. In 2005, Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor said that he would not charge Cosby. Castor later confirmed Cosbys claim that he had granted the star immunity from prosecution. Castors successor, Kevin Steele, disputed the immunity claim, charged Cosby and used the deposition testimony to help convict him. The Fifth Amendment grants all Americans the right not to be forced to incriminate themselves: No person ... shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself ... The court found that by reversing the grant of immunity, prosecutors had denied Cosby his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, in that his civil case deposition testimony made him a witness against himself in the criminal case. Some critics contend that the immunity grant was not legally executed. But, in any case, Cosby clearly had good reason to believe that he had been granted immunity. Now, advocates worry that the dismissal will deter other sexual assault victims from pursuing justice. But this is a one-off case. Prosecutors errors in Cosbys case should not deter others from seeking justice. For everyone who sees Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti just passing through on her way to higher office, the money says not so fast as in campaign money. So far, Cognetti is no Chris Doherty, let alone Ed Rendell, the unparalleled fundraiser who won two gubernatorial elections by raising tens of millions of dollars. Doherty raised more than $900,000 for his first mayoral re-election bid in 2005, still a record for a mayors race. After that, Doherty toyed with running for lieutenant governor in 2010 before settling the same year on a campaign for former state Senate Democratic Leader Bob Mellows seat. The lieutenant governor idea never really launched and Doherty finished the Senate campaign third, behind John Blake and Chuck Volpe. In other words, Doherty raised campaign cash better than anyone ever has locally, and hes no longer in politics. Now, Doherty didnt have to deal with a campaign finance contribution limit the way Cognetti does. A few years ago, the city limited contributions to $2,700 a year for individuals and $5,000 a year for political action committees. When Doherty ran, state law ruled and state law has no contribution limit to this day. Cognetti is quite content with the limit, she said. Still, in two elections, Cognetti raised $502,898, just a bit more than half what Doherty raised for that 2005 election alone. For her re-election, she raised $331,622 in 2020 and 2021 and spent $330,377. She has only $3,128 left. If you see that campaign account swell dramatically in the next couple of years way more than what shes raised for her mayoral campaigns maybe you can start believing shes thinking bigger. Until then, its clear only that Cognetti could have raised more if necessary, but not that shes ready for the prime time of a statewide campaign. Most of her campaign contributions were small, nowhere near the $2,700-a-year limit, and she had no PAC contributions greater than $2,500. She has lots of friends across the country and many more people know her as Scrantons mayor, but really shes out of the running for governor, lieutenant governor or U.S. Senate next year and 2024 seems unlikely, too. (A pending state constitutional amendment could result in gubernatorial candidates choosing their running mates, thus eliminating individual nomination races for lieutenant governor.) Presumably, U.S. Sen Bob Casey will seek a fourth term in 2024 as President Joe Biden seeks re-election. Because shes not a lawyer, Cognetti could run for treasurer or auditor general but not attorney general, but two candidates from Scranton in the same year might not work, especially because she will be in the middle of her first full term as mayor. She had better perform well as mayor, assuming that she beats Republican Darwin Lee Shaw II in November. Considering Scrantons financial troubles, a stellar record as mayor is no given. Potential stumbling blocks and pitfalls abound. So put aside what you think her ambitions are for the foreseeable future and pay more attention to the fact that she clobbered the old guards candidate when she walloped City Controller John Murray and has the helm to really change things. Just to recap, her second election win retired a few myths: Scrantonians wont vote for a nonnative for mayor. Yes, they will. The Oregon native won two elections easily. Scrantonians wont vote for a woman for mayor. Yes, they will. They not only voted for a woman for mayor twice, they voted for a new mom, who gave birth to a daughter a month after her first election. Scrantonians wont vote for a mayor who raises most of her money from outside Scranton. Cognetti raised only $150,129, or 45.3%, of her campaign cash from people with Northeast Pennsylvania ZIP codes and only $60,000, or 18.1%, from people with Scranton ZIP codes. Other geographic breakdowns: $19,500, or 5.9%, from people who live in New York state; $15,250, or 4.6%, from people who live in New York City; $203,814, or 61.5%, from Pennsylvanians; $32,435, or 9.8% from people who live in the metro Washington, D.C. region; $19,250, or 5.8%, from Californians; and $6,400, or 1.9%, from Oregonians and Washingtonians. City voters will elect another Scranton native someday but they definitely are looking for an outside perspective now. As for Murray, his post-primary campaign finance report says he still has $52,534 left in the bank after raising $75,410. Why wouldnt you spend it all if youre serious about running, right? Well, some bills arrived after the June 7 cutoff date for the financial report, Murray said. I have about $800 left, he said. Murray made his status as a lifelong Democrat and Scranton native and his belief that Cognetti just wants to move up hallmarks of his campaign. His finances show it. His money overwhelmingly came from Pennsylvania, $65,300, or 87.2%; Northeast Pennsylvania, $53,500, or 71.4%; and Scranton, $40,300, or 53.8%. Daniels, Trump meet Teddy Daniels, a Republican candidate for the 8th Congressional District seat, sent out an email Tuesday with a picture of him and former President Donald Trump together and signaling thumbs up. I just left a dinner with President Trump and (House) Freedom Caucus chairman Jody Hice. I had a great talk with President Trump. Also met his daughter, Ivanka. Here is the bottom line. I am running in the only congressional district that went to President Trump that is still held by a Democrat, Daniels says in the email. Then he appeals for money. (Hice represents Georgias 10th Congressional District, by the way.) The Democrat Daniels is referring to, of course, is U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-8, Moosic, the lone Democrat in Pennsylvania, not the country, to win a congressional district Trump won. Daniels did not say Trump endorsed him and he did not respond to emailed questions about the meeting. BORYS KRAWCZENIUK, The Times-Tribune politics reporter, writes Random Notes. The great landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who is best known for designing New York Citys Central Park but who also crafted the original design for the grounds of the Albright Memorial Library in Scranton, famously characterized urban parks as the lungs of the city and the heart of the community. That always has been true, but the COVID-19 crisis put an exclamation point on the concept as Americans escaped the tedium of pandemic-forced lockdowns by visiting local and state parks in record numbers. According to the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, state park visits increased by 26% in 2020 and the trend has continued into this year. Now Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti and many of her colleagues from cities across Pennsylvania, in conjunction with the Trust for Public Land, have called on Congress to pass the Parks, Jobs and Equity Act to help improve the quality, accessibility and sustainability of urban public parks. Scranton is blessed with an extraordinary public park, Nay Aug, as the center of its park system. But its clear that the park as it now exists only hints at what it could be. And the city never has been able to care adequately for other potentially great urban parks in the system, such as Weston Field, Weston Park, Connell Park and others. The federal bill would provide $500 million nationwide for improvements to more than 1,000 urban parks. Its a modest investment that would produce a great return. According to DCNR, for example, outdoor recreation in the state generates $29.1 billion a year in consumer spending, provides 251,000 jobs with $8.6 billion in payroll, and $1.9 billion in state and local tax revenue. Urban parks provide not only recreational opportunities but environmental value regarding air and water quality. Climate change, as evidence by record, deadly heat gripping the normally temperate Pacific Northwest, makes it all the more important to have viable urban oases in the form of public parks. Congress should make this modest investment in the quality of urban life and the environment. With its racially diverse cast and infectious soundtrack, Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Mirandas 2015 musical, upended conventional understanding of Broadway theater and shaped how Americans view the Revolution. Yet, it presents a fairly stodgy take on the Founders. It also overlooks African American experiences during the period. Hamilton is not even the edgiest musical about the Founders. That title belongs to Sherman Edwardss and Peter Stones Tony-award winning 1969 production, 1776. 1776 confronted uncomfortable aspects of Americas racist past as it attempted to address the politics of the day. It exposed contradictions in the nations founding as a society reliant on slavery and offered realistic portrayals of the Founders despite receiving blowback from conservatives, including President Nixon. Sherman Edwards, a high school teacher-turned-musician, composed 1776. Producer Stuart Ostrow saw potential and he hired Peter Stone, an award-winning screenwriter and librettist, to retool Edwardss script while leaving the music intact. Edwards sought to depict the men and events of the time with honesty and respect for reportage of the facts. Stone and Ostrow, on the other hand, believed that 1776 provided an opportunity to advocate liberal policies, including racial equality and ending the Vietnam War. When it opened in 1969, the story followed John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson as they labored to secure the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in a divided Second Continental Congress. The production pitted Adams patriots against conservatives who hoped to rekindle relations with the British and refused to declare independence without protections for slavery. One song, Molasses to Rum, unsettled many northerners with the revelation that their ancestors were just as complicit in slavery as any Virginia tobacco planter. Edward Rutledge, a South Carolina delegate, exposed the importance of slavery to the early American economy. In Molasses to Rum, he asks fellow delegates, Who sails the ships back to Boston, / Laden with gold see it gleam? / Whose fortunes are made / In the triangle trade? / Hail, Slavery, the New England / Dream! Another song, Momma Look Sharp, made the case against war at the height of the Vietnam War. Performed by a common soldier, this song exposes the cruelty and needless death of warfare and makes clear the inescapable fear felt by young American men during the Vietnam era. Ostrow took out a full-page ad in the New York Times in the shows name supporting Sens. George McGoverns, D-South Dakota, and Mark Hatfields, R-Oregon, amendment to end the Vietnam War in 1970. When. Nixon invited the cast to perform 1776 at the White House, his staff instructed them to cut Molasses to Rum and Momma Look Sharp along with Cool, Cool Considerate Men, which poked fun at conservatives. Ostrow and the cast demanded to perform the play in its entirety; the White House begrudgingly gave in. Nixon even asked Jack Warner, the staunchly Republican president of Warner Bros. Studios and producer of the 1972 movie version of 1776 to cut Cool, Cool Considerate Men. Warner not only made the cut but ordered his editor to shred the negatives. A copy of the footage was saved. Audiences didnt see the full version until the 2002 directors cut. Hamilton looks and sounds more like America than 1776. Based on Ron Chernows biography, Hamilton propagates Chernows pro-Federalist view of the Founding. It elides the role of the Founders in preserving slavery and constructing the institutional racial inequality that persists. Miranda self-admittedly had an allergy to and cynicism about politics, and it reflected in his starkly inaccurate image of a multicultural America. Historically accurate fiction can help Americans understand our past and present and improve our future. But that only works with honesty and respect for reportage of the facts, good and bad. Brenda Darlene (Burnett, Witt, Bollmer) Curtin, 52, of Cincinnati, Ohio passed away June 21, 2021. She was born November 13, 1968, in Cincinnati, Ohio to the late Gladys (Jones) Napier and the late Wilburn Burnett. Brenda was preceded in death by a daughter, Jennifer Witt and sisters Alta Ru Westerly, RI (02891) Today Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 66F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 66F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. For many of Britain's small and medium-sized businesses, Government-backed loans taken out during the pandemic have proved a financial lifeline. But like any loan, they now have to be paid back and some companies are having to make repayments even though lockdown restrictions have yet to be fully lifted and trading is not back to normal. Last week, The Mail on Sunday spoke to the owners of three small businesses who obtained loans to see them through the pandemic. As we report, some fared better than others. Mixed picture: Amber Leach's (right) photography firm is booming, while Loc Bui shut his restaurant and set up online cookery classes THE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER Amber Leach launched her wedding photography business, Liberty Pearl, in Plymouth eight years ago. Until the pandemic struck, things were going well annual turnover was running into six figures and she employed six photographers doing everything from taking pictures of the big day itself to honeymoons, elopements and even overseas weddings. But when Covid hit, Amber lost 80 per cent of her business overnight and had to refund 18,000 to would-be brides and grooms who had already booked with her. 'I was in a pickle,' she says, with some understatement. While she was able to get a one-off grant from her local council and keep some money coming in by running online business strategy courses, she had no choice but to take out a 10,000 Bounce Back Loan and then a further 7,000 advance. The terms of the loans meant she did not have to make any repayments for a year. 'The money they provided me with was there as a financial back-up as I didn't know how many other clients I'd have to refund,' says Amber. But now that most wedding restrictions have been lifted, her business is booming she's got 18 months' work to cram into the next four months. Thankfully, Amber is in a strong position to start repaying her loans. She says: 'I'm confident about paying the loans off, but who knows what's going to happen in the future?' THE SPECIALIST SHOE RETAILER Katie Owen launched her wide-shoe retailer Sargasso and Grey seven years ago while working fulltime in the wealth management industry. But in 2018, she decided to take the plunge and run her business full-time. 'I could never find stylish enough wide shoes for myself, so I thought I'd start designing and selling them myself,' she says. She focused on wide shoes for smart occasions such as weddings. It meant sales collapsed when weddings and other big events were cancelled in April 2020. Indeed, Katie ended up organising more returns than sales. Taking out a 25,000 Bounce Back Loan was 'brilliant, a real life-saver', she says, and was 'a way to get a cheap financial buffer as I just didn't know how long the dire situation was going to last for'. The extra cash was put to good use when Sargasso and Grey expanded its product line into wide-fitting trainers and flat shoes. As a silver lining, Katie, from Ealing, West London, is now seeing her customer base grow as people who wouldn't usually have bought online are now far more comfortable doing so. 'I've taken advantage of the loan repayment holiday as I wasn't sure how things were looking when I started receiving notices about repaying the loan,' she says. 'It was a scary time and I wondered if the business was going to survive, but I'm far more confident now. From adversity comes hope.' WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS IF YOU'RE STRUGGLING Launched in May last year, Government-backed Bounce Back Loans allowed businesses to borrow between 2,000 and 50,000 (up to 25 per cent of turnover). More than 1.5million loans were issued, worth 46.6billion. Repayments only start after 12 months, but under the Pay As You Grow scheme announced in September, businesses have various options: 1. Request a loan extension from six years to ten, at the same fixed rate of interest (2.5 per cent). 2. Reduce monthly repayments for six months by paying interest only, an option that can be taken three times. 3. Take a one-off repayment holiday for up to six months. Businesses should contact their lender to trigger any of these options. Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Schemes were launched in March last year and were 80 per cent guaranteed by the Government, which paid the interest for the first 12 months. Repayments start after 12 months and some lenders are allowing borrowers to extend the original six-year term to ten years. Both Bounce Back and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans have now closed to new applicants. THE RESTAURANT OWNER Paula Cooper and her partner Loc Bui had run their popular Vietnamese restaurant in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, for 16 years until Covid finally did for them. Paula says: 'We struggled throughout the lockdowns as we were having to close all the time. Even when we were able to open, we were only just breaking even. All the time we had our fixed costs to pay.' In spite of Government grants and a 50,000 Bounce Back Loan, the couple made the difficult decision to close for good in January this year. 'It was a really hard decision to make, but it was the right one,' says Paula. 'Businesses like ours took out loans thinking we would be able to start trading normally again soon, but it just wasn't possible for us.' Now, the couple have launched online cookery school Loc's Taste of Vietnam, which is already attracting favourable reviews from fans of Vietnamese cuisine. But they are still having to meet the 900 monthly repayments on their Bounce Back Loan as well as preparing to pay a 35,000 tax bill. 'I know we can delay repaying the loan,' says Paula, 'but we just want to clear it as soon as we can, move on and concentrate on making a success of our new business.' Tifton, GA (31794) Today Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds light and variable. Tifton, GA (31794) Today Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds light and variable. Ellen Arnone locates Petty Officer Victor Tambolleos name on the recently restored WWII memorial located beside Greenway Avenue Stadium. Beside her is Jim Combs, a veteran and We Are Fort Hill Committee member. Tambolleo, who died during the Pearl Harbor attack, was one of 38 Fort Hill students known to have given the ultimate sacrifice during World War II. HAGERSTOWN Lois E. Harpold, 75, of Hagerstown, died Thursday, June 24, 2021, at her daughter's house in Philadelphia. Lois was born Dec. 26, 1945, the youngest of eight children born to the Rev. William C. and Drewry E. Harpold. Besides her parents, Lois was preceded in death by sister, Fl remaining of SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Thomasville, GA (31792) Today Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds light and variable. FILE - In this July 1, 2021, file photo, people walk through Salt Lake City International Airport in Salt Lake City. Americans enjoying newfound liberty are expected to travel and gather for cookouts, fireworks and family reunions over the Fourth of July weekend in numbers not seen since pre-pandemic days. Donald Trumps company and his longtime finance chief have been indicted on charges stemming from a New York investigation into the former presidents business dealings, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The charges against the Trump Organization and the companys chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, remained sealed Wednesday night, but were expected to involve alleged tax violations related to benefits the company gave to top executives, possibly including use of apartments, cars and school tuition, people familiar with the case said. The people were not authorized to speak about an ongoing investigation and did so on condition of anonymity. The Wall Street Journal was first to report that charges were expected Thursday. The company and Weisselberg were expected to make their first court appearance Thursday. The charges against Weisselberg and the Trump Organization would be the first criminal cases to arise from the two-year probe led by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., a Democrat who leaves office at the end of the year. Prosecutors have been scrutinizing Trumps tax records, subpoenaing documents and interviewing witnesses, including Trump insiders and company executives. A grand jury was recently empaneled to weigh evidence and New York Attorney General Letitia James said she was assigning two of her lawyers to work with Vance on the criminal probe while she continues a civil investigation of Trump. Messages seeking comment were left with a spokesperson and lawyers for the Trump Organization. Weisselberg's lawyer, Mary Mulligan, declined to comment. The Manhattan district attorney's office declined to comment. Trumps spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Jason Miller, a longtime former senior adviser to the Republican, spun the looming charges as politically terrible for the Democrats. They told their crazies and their supplicants in the mainstream media this was about President Trump. Instead, their Witch Hunt is persecuting an innocent 80 year-old man for maybe taking free parking! Miller tweeted, apparently referring to Weisselberg, who is 73. Trump, whos been critical of President Joe Bidens immigration policies, was in Texas visiting the U.S.-Mexico border on Wednesday. He did not respond to shouted questions about the charges as he participated in a briefing with state officials. Trump had blasted the investigation in a statement Monday, deriding Vances office as rude, nasty, and totally biased in their treatment of Trump company lawyers, representatives, and long-term employees. Trump, in the statement, said the companys actions were things that are standard practice throughout the U.S. business community, and in no way a crime and that Vances probe was an investigation was in search of a crime. Trump Organization lawyers met virtually with Manhattan prosecutors last week in a last-ditch attempt to dissuade them from charging the company. Prosecutors gave the lawyers a Monday deadline to make the case that criminal charges shouldnt be filed. Ron Fischetti, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, told the AP this week that there was no indication Trump himself was included in the first batch of charges. There is no indictment coming down this week against the former president, Fischetti said. I cant say hes out of the woods yet completely. Weisselberg, a loyal lieutenant to Trump and his real estate-developer father, Fred, came under scrutiny, in part, because of questions about his sons use of a Trump apartment at little or no cost. Barry Weisselberg managed a Trump-operated ice rink in Central Park. Barrys ex-wife, Jen Weisselberg, has been cooperating with the investigation and turned over reams of tax records and other documents to investigators. We have been working with prosecutors for many months now as part of this tax and financial investigation and have provided a large volume of evidence that allowed them to bring these charges, Jen Weisselberg's lawyer, Duncan Levin, said Wednesday. We are gratified to hear that the DAs office is moving forward with a criminal case. Allen Weisselberg has worked for the Trump Organization since 1973. The case against him could give prosecutors the means to pressure the executive into cooperating and telling them what he knows about Trumps business dealings. Prosecutors subpoenaed another long-time Trump finance executive, senior vice president and controller Jeffrey McConney, to testify in front of the grand jury in the spring. Under New York law, grand jury witnesses are granted immunity and can not be charged for conduct they testify about. Prosecutors probing untaxed benefits to Trump executives have also been looking at Matthew Calamari, a former Trump bodyguard turned chief operating officer, and his son, the companys corporate director of security. However, a lawyer for the Calamaris said Wednesday that he didnt expect them to be charged. Although the DAs investigation obviously is ongoing, I do not expect charges to be filed against either of my clients at this time, said the lawyer, Nicholas Gravante. ___ Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in Weslaco, Texas, and Bernard Condon in New York contributed to this report. ___ On Twitter, follow Michael Sisak at twitter.com/mikesisak SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Pacific Gas & Electric asked regulators Wednesday to grant a $3.6 billion rate hike to help it pay for hardening its power systems to prevent deadly wildfires. The nation's largest electric utility requested the hike beginning in 2023, with half of the increase devoted to wildfire safety, spokeswoman Lynsey Paulo told the Sacramento Bee. The hike would increase the average residential bill by $36 a month for gas and electric service, although the state's Public Utilities Commission typically only grants a portion of any requested rate increase, the Bee said. PG&E, which has some 16 million customers in central and Northern California, sought the hike as the state prepares to enter the hot summer months amid warnings that the state is likely to face one of its earliest and most dangerous wildfire seasons yet. Much of the state already is in a drought and experts are predicting hotter, larger and fiercer blazes both in California and throughout the West. The Biden administration said Wednesday it is hiring more federal firefighters and immediately raising their pay as the summer looms. The truth is were playing catch-up on preparing for extreme heat and wildfires, Biden said, calling federal efforts under-resourced compared with the deadly threat posed by climate change and extreme drought. In Northern California, thousands of people were under evacuation orders because of a fire burning about 250 miles (402.34 kilometers) north of San Francisco. PG&E equipment has been blamed for sparking some of the state's deadliest wildfires in recent years, most notably in 2017 and 2018 when a series of wildfires burned down more than 28,000 buildings and killed more than 100 people. The devastation prompted PG&E to spend 17 months in bankruptcy court, where it negotiated a $13.5 billion settlement with some wildfire victims. It also resulted in the company pleading guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter in Butte County, where the town of Paradise was wiped out by the Camp Fire in 2018. State investigators also have linked PG&E equipment to a 2019 fire in Sonoma County that forced nearly 200,000 people from their homes and a Shasta County blaze last year that left four people dead. The utility has estimated those disasters could cost shareholders more than $600 million in damages. PG&E emerged from bankruptcy last summer but also has run into criticism for shutting off power to thousands in rotating blackouts during some dangerous fire conditions in an effort to prevent power lines from falling or being fouled by tree branches and sparking fires during high winds. PG&E said it has been spending money to better forecast the weather, quickly detect downed lines and install self-contained power systems to supply electricity when safety blackouts are called. However, the utility's rate hike request was angrily condemned by The Utility Reform Network, a San Francisco-based consumer group. This mind-boggling PG&E increase is a slap in the face to millions of California residents still hurting economically from the pandemic and struggling to get back on their feet, Mark Toney, the group's executive director, said in a statement. San Antonio-based USAA is facing calls to stop advertising on Fox News after Tucker Carlson called the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff a "pig" and "stupid," among other insults. In a June 25 segment discussing critical race theory, Carlson takes aim at Gen. Mark Milley, a Trump appointee, after the general appeared in front of Congress last week. "I do think it's important for those of us in uniform to be open minded and be widely read," Milley told members of the House Armed Services Committee. "I want to understand white rage and I'm white. I want to understand it. So what is it that caused thousands of people to assault this [U.S. Capitol] and try to overturn the U.S. Constitution." READ MORE: San Antonio-based USAA announces major expansion to North Carolina After airing that clip, Carlson, who has never served in the military, added: "Hard to believe that man wears a uniform. He's that unimpressive." During the 10-minute segment, Carlson also attacks Milley's bravery, intelligence, and respectability before adding: "[Milley's] not just a pig, he's stupid." Gen. Milley went to Princeton. Carlson went to Trinity College, a liberal arts college in Connecticut. In the aftermath of Carlson's attack, USAA has faced increasing pressure from some customers to remove advertising from Fox News. As the Express-News points out, USAA's more than 13 million members are exclusively military personnel, veterans, and their families, which puts the insurance provider in a particularly precarious situation. According to the Express-News, USAA was not immediately available to comment. ALBANY At a state ethics commission meeting last week, Commissioner Jim Yates made an extraordinary disclosure: In 2019, Yates had been a witness to an apparent crime involving information that was illegally leaked to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. On Jan. 29, 2019, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics had voted behind closed doors on whether to launch an investigation targeting Joseph Percoco, a former top aide to Cuomo. Last week, for the first time, Yates disclosed that within an hour of the 2019 vote, the governor somehow became aware of Yates's confidential vote and was not pleased. It came to my attention that the governor was complaining about my vote at that meeting, Yates said last Tuesday, during a regular public session of the ethics panel. Obviously, if the governor right after the meeting knew about the vote, that means that the vote and the executive session had somehow or other been leaked to the governor. It's a misdemeanor crime to leak information about JCOPE's confidential deliberations. Yates reported the leak to the state inspector generals office. But in the three-minute-long revelation, Yates omitted a key fact: The identity of the person whod informed Yates about Cuomos anger with the commissioners confidential vote. Following the JCOPE meeting last week, Yates refused to answer questions from the Times Union about the identity of that person. But a Times Union interview with a former JCOPE commissioner, and a subsequent statement provided by Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie on Friday evening, confirm that Heastie called Yates about Cuomo's complaints. The Times Union had previously reported that after the January 2019 meeting ended, Cuomo quickly confronted Heastie concerning the ethics commission. The newspaper also reported that Heastie called Yates that same day, but the speaker refused to say what they discussed. "Jim Yates is somebody that I speak to quite frequently," Heastie said in December 2019. "He is my former counsel, he is someone I consider a friend and a mentor whose judgment I trust immensely. I have never spoken to Jim Yates or any other appointee about any matter or matters before JCOPE. Jim and I talk all the time." In a recent statement to the Times Union, Heastie again said that Jim (Yates) and I have never talked about what happened in any JCOPE meeting. Heastie later provided a more detailed account, acknowledging that on Jan. 29, 2019, he had called Yates about a JCOPE-related scolding from the governor. "I have never been involved in any JCOPE matter with Jim Yates or any other commissioner," Heastie said in the statement. "I have no knowledge about any discussions between commissioners. As I said in the past, on that day in question I received a blistering call from the governor that was less than a minute in which he ranted to me about numerous things that he was upset about, including JCOPE. I then reached out to Jim, who was my former counsel and someone I trust, to share with him this difficult conversation. Both Jim and I agreed this concerned JCOPE and that we could not talk about it, and the call lasted less than a minute." Yates said last week that Cuomo complained specifically about Yates' confidential vote; Heastie declined to answer a question about whether that is what they discussed. Still, Heastie's statement, by far his most specific about the matter, raises new questions about the leak investigation that followed. Nine months after the apparent leak, the state inspector generals office issued a report to JCOPE concerning its inquiry into the allegations, an investigation that was secret until it was reported by the Times Union in late 2019. In its October 2019 letter to JCOPE, the inspector generals office contended that it could not confirm the allegation of an illegal leak, in part because the allegation was based on hearsay. The referral from JCOPE set forth general allegations with no supporting facts; no individual was able to provide firsthand knowledge of any leak or the potential perpetrator; and any information provided was admittedly based on supposition and speculation, wrote Spencer Freedman, the deputy inspector general who directed the probe. Yet the investigation did not include interviews with key individuals embroiled in the allegations, including Cuomo, Heastie and Howard Vargas, who is counsel to Heastie. It was Vargas' call to another commissioner, Julie Garcia, that set off the investigation. Garcia reported Vargas had told her the governor was not pleased with how Heastie's appointees to the commission had voted at the January 2019 meeting. The inspector general's report also failed to note that Yates had informed the investigators that Heastie had told Yates about his conversation with Cuomo. The alleged leak stems from a JCOPE meeting that month when the panel forced by a court order held a closed-door vote on whether to investigate complaints filed by Republicans that Percoco violated the law by using government resources while he was managing Cuomo's 2014 re-election campaign, and that Cuomo knew about it. Although the Heastie appointees cast votes that allegedly upset Cuomo, by all indications, the commission voted down initiating an investigation into the Percoco matter. Before Yates statement last Tuesday, only one JCOPE commissioner Garcia was publicly revealed to have reported the alleged leak to the inspector generals office. Garcia, a former district attorney, resigned from JCOPE after the inspector general's office said it could not substantiate the leak. After receiving the call from Vargas that day, she had immediately informed JCOPEs executive director of the apparent leak. She also called Yates and told him about Cuomos unhappiness with how theyd voted. In a recent interview with the Times Union, Garcia disclosed she also spoke to Yates again about a week after the troubling phone calls. During that second call, according to Garcia, Yates apologized for previously not being entirely forthright and informed her that the day the leak occurred, he had also spoken to Heastie. He added the speaker had said he was confronted by the governor concerning the votes of Heastie's appointees, Garcia said. I dont know why Jim (Yates) doesnt just confirm that, Garcia said last week. This constantly misleading and covering up for people needs to stop." In December 2019, when pressed about the specifics of his call with Yates, Heastie had quickly walked away from a Times Union reporter, and into an area of the Capitol restricted by security. On Friday, Heastie had provided more details to the Times Union only after being asked about Garcia's account. As Heastie has stayed relatively quiet about the 2019 incident and not been pressed on the matter by any of his Assembly colleagues the Assembly's Judiciary Committee is conducting an investigation into whether to impeach Cuomo over unrelated allegations. In those matters, some witnesses and Republicans believe the Assembly is intentionally dragging out the process to aid the governor. Yates, a former judge, was for a time one of the most powerful unelected officials at the state Capitol. He served for four years as counsel to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and, after Silver was forced to resign the position following his arrest on corruption charges, Yates briefly worked under Heastie before retiring in 2015. Garcia said she believes Yates is an honest person, and would have testified truthfully about his conversation with Heastie to the inspector general. In remarks at last Tuesdays JCOPE meeting, Yates stated that he told the inspector generals office how hed learned of Cuomo complaining of his vote. By his own admission, Yates made last week's public statement about being a witness to the leak two-and-a-half years after the alleged incident out of self-interest. As Yates made his remarks Tuesday, JCOPE commissioners were poised to vote on whether to seek a criminal investigation into the alleged leak and the subsequent inspector general's lackluster probe. In his remarks before the vote, Yates wanted to explain that, as a witness whod reported the incident to the inspector generals office, he needed to abstain from voting but that his abstention did not in any way indicate hed participated in the leak. (Because Yates and another Heastie commissioner abstained, the panel fell two votes short of making the criminal referral necessary for Attorney General Letitia James to investigate.) Republican JCOPE commissioners were seeking a criminal investigation from James' office because they believe that the inspector generals "sham" investigation effectively served to "cover up" the leak to Cuomo. State Inspector General Letizia Tagliafierro, a former Cuomo aide, was appointed to the position by Cuomo in 2019. Because Tagliafierro is also a former top staffer at JCOPE, however, she recused herself from the leak investigation. Instead, it was handled by Freedman, who also once worked under Cuomo. Freedmans phone records from 2019, obtained by the Times Union through a request under the Freedom of Information Law, show that on the afternoon of Jan. 31, 2019, Freedman made two phone calls to Yates. Presumably, the phone calls concerned the allegation that Yates confidential vote was leaked to Cuomo two days earlier. The next day, Feb. 1, 2019, the phone records show that Freedman placed a call to the office of Cuomos governmental counsel, who at the time was Cuomo confidant Alphonso David. Through a spokeswoman, Freedman declined to say whether his phone call to Cuomos counsel, a day after he made calls to Yates, concerned the leak allegations involving the governor. The only witnesses interviewed by the inspector general's office were Garcia, Yates and then-JCOPE Executive Director Seth Agata. In response to another Freedom of Information Law request, the inspector generals office provided the Times Union copies of notes taken from its witness interviews. Theyre so heavily redacted, however, its difficult to discern much about what Yates told the inspector general. During Cuomos decade-plus as governor, several people in positions to investigate the governor have later received high-level appointments from Cuomo, including several former leaders of JCOPE. For instance, JCOPEs former chair, Janet DiFiore, is now New Yorks chief judge. In March, Freedman left the inspector general's office and began working as a special counselor and senior advisor to State University of New York Chancellor Jim Malatras, another close Cuomo confidant. Last week, Freedman declined to answer questions about why he left the inspector generals office. Asked about the reasons for Freedmans hiring, a SUNY spokeswoman said that he had a long and distinguished career as a public servant for the state of New York. He is a special counselor and senior advisor to the chancellor and in this capacity he is critical to SUNYs work to ensure a full return of students to campus this fall, said the SUNY spokeswoman, Holly Liapis. In addition, Mr. Freedmans extensive background is the reason he leads SUNYs Climate Change policy work and co-leads SUNYs task force to develop its marijuana policy for students, and collaborates on any number of issues impacting our students and their ability to achieve a post-secondary education. The inspector general's office has asserted that it conducted a thorough inquiry of the alleged leak, including requiring JCOPE officials to sign sworn affirmations stating they did not leak confidential information. The office also subpoenaed phone and text message records. Cuomo's office has maintained that while Cuomo and Heastie "have talked about ethics over the years," they "have not had any conversations that were inappropriate." SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) Rescuers suspended their search for the living and the dead in the rubble of a collapsed South Florida condo building Saturday to allow crews to start preparing the unstable remainder of the structure for demolition ahead of a tropical storm. The search and rescue mission was halted in the afternoon as workers began the precarious business of boring holes to hold explosives in the concrete of the still-standing portion of the Champlain Towers South tower in Surfside, Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah told relatives awaiting word on missing loved ones. In the closed-door briefing, Jadallah said the suspension was a necessary safety measure because the drilling could cause the structure to fail. If that were to happen, he said, Its just going to collapse without warning. But in video that one of the relatives livestreamed on social media, one of them was heard calling it devastating that the search was on pause. She asked whether rescuers could at least work the perimeter of the site so as not to stop the operation for so many painful hours. Also Saturday, the confirmed death toll from the partial collapse of the 12-story building rose to 24 with the discovery of two more bodies. There were 121 people still unaccounted for. Concerns had been mounting over the past week that the damaged structure was at risk of failure, endangering the crews below. The search in adjacent areas of the collapse site was curtailed, and shifts detected by monitors early Thursday prompted a 15-hour suspension of the entire effort until engineers determined it was safe to resume. The building wont come down until Monday at the earliest, according to Jadallah. That estimate was based on how many holes the demolition team needs to drill, he said, adding that the process has to move slowly to prevent a premature collapse. With Tropical Storm Elsa looming in the Caribbean and forecast to move toward the state in the coming days, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said demolishing the tottering and structurally unsound" structure is the prudent thing to do. If the building is taken down, this will protect our search and rescue teams, because we dont know when it could fall over, DeSantis said at a news conference earlier in the day. And, of course, with these gusts, potentially that would create a really severe hazard. "The fear was that (Elsa) may take the building down for us and take it down in the wrong direction, Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said. Elsa was downgraded Saturday from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph) as it brushed past the island of Hispaniola, home to the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The long-term forecast track showed it heading toward Florida as a tropical storm by Tuesday morning, though some models would carry it into the Gulf or up the Atlantic Coast. Meteorologists warned that it could bring heavy rain and gusty winds to the Miami area. So we cant let our guard down, said Robert Molleda of the National Weather Service. "You still need to be watching this very closely. Once the structure is demolished, the remnants will be removed immediately with the intent of giving rescuers access for the first time to parts of the garage area that are a focus of interest, Jadallah said. That could give a clearer picture of voids that may exist in the rubble and could possibly harbor survivors. No one has been rescued alive since the first hours after the June 24 collapse. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said officials would resume the search and rescue on any sections of the pile that are "safe to access as soon as we are cleared. Some families had asked to be able to return to the building to retrieve personal belongings, but they will not be allowed to do so. At the end of the day, that building is too unsafe to let people go back in, DeSantis said. "I know theres a lot of people who were able to get out, fortunately, who have things there. Were very sensitive to that, but I dont think theres any way you can let somebody go up in that building given the shape that its in now. ___ Calvan reported from Tallahassee, Florida. Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this report. REDDING, Calif. (AP) Hundreds of firefighters worked Thursday in high heat to beat back three large wildfires in the forests of far Northern California, where the flames destroyed several homes and forced some communities to evacuate. Mount Shasta, the volcano that towers over the region, was shrouded in a haze from smoke plumes that could be seen in images from weather satellites in space. The scene was ominously reminiscent of last year's California wildfire season, which scorched more than 6,562 square miles (17,000 square kilometers) of land, the most in the state's recorded history. An extraordinary Pacific Northwest heat wave that extended into the upper reaches of California was slowly receding, but it was only expected to cool off slightly before temperatures trend back up heading into the Fourth of July weekend, forecasters said. It is very hot and dry, said Suzi Johnson, a Shasta-Trinity National Forest spokeswoman for the Salt Fire, which broke out Wednesday and grew to 7 square miles (18 square kilometers), shutting several lanes of Interstate 5 and prompting evacuation orders for some roads in Lakehead, an unincorporated community of around 700 people. A reporter for the Redding Record Searchlight saw at least a dozen buildings destroyed south of Lakehead, including homes, garages and outbuildings, the paper reported. Johnson told the paper that investigators were trying to locate a car that may have started the fire Wednesday afternoon near Interstate 5 when hot pieces or parts apparently flew off and ignited dry brush. About 300 firefighters battled the blaze but were hampered by hot weather and challenging terrain, officials said. The fire was a threat to homes around Shasta Lake north of the city of Redding, more than 200 miles (322 kilometers) north of San Francisco. The huge lake is popular with vacationers, but its water level is dramatically low because of the drought. No building damage was reported from two other northern fires, which erupted as California and the rest of the U.S. West was mired in a historic drought tied to climate change. To the north, the Lava Fire burning partly on the flanks of Mount Shasta grew to nearly 31 square miles (80 square kilometers) and was 25% contained. Evacuation orders for communities near the city of Weed were still in effect. The steep, rocky terrain challenged nearly 1,300 firefighters battling the blaze, which was ignited by lightning last week. To the northeast, the Tennant Fire that broke out Monday in the Klamath National Forest and forced evacuations grew to about 15 square miles (38 square kilometers). The fire was expected to advance north toward Oregon, and its cause was being investigated. Many of California's national parks have restrictions on campfires, cooking and smoking because of fire risks in the hot, dry summer. The parks are bracing for large crowds over the holiday weekend. Fire authorities throughout California also have stepped up campaigns urging people not to use fireworks to celebrate the Fourth of July, citing both the explosive dangers and the threat of wildfires in the withering conditions. The fuels are bone dry, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said at a news conference. We are extremely concerned about the use of fireworks of all kinds. ___ Antczak reported from Los Angeles. ALBANY Two months ago, a health director in upstate New York received a call from a hotel owner worried that nursing home staffers living at his hotel were spreading COVID-19. Brought in from other parts of the state or country, some employees of the Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing at Barnwell, a 235-bed nursing home in Valatie, were living at the Comfort Inn and Suites in Castleton while they worked at the facility. Some were sick, but they werent isolating, the hotel owner reported. Then, in May, an outbreak of COVID-19 cases which appears to have been among the largest nationwide in a nursing home that month swept through the facility often known locally as Barnwell. That month, 12 staff members and 20 residents tested positive for the virus, according a Barnwell spokesman, county health officials and data the facility reported to federal regulators. Two residents died in the nursing home and one died later at the hospital, officials said. What was going on up in Rensselaer County clearly wasnt acceptable in terms of the behavior of the staff, said Jack Mabb, the health director in Columbia County, where the facility is located. Im not even sure the Barnwell administration knew about that activity. Grand Healthcare System vice president Bruce Gendron said by phone Friday he didn't know what his staff did when they were not working and added, "there's been obviously a relaxation in visitation procedures and things like that," but his staff contained the outbreak "pretty quickly." "We're not out of the pandemic," Gendron said. "We never know exactly where an outbreak may come in." At nursing homes across the country, cases and deaths from COVID-19 are down dramatically from peak levels last year. Yet, the virus continues to lurk and, at times flares up locally, in these vulnerable facilities, according to a Times Union review of the Barnwell outbreak as well as data on thousands of other recent COVID-19 infections and hundreds of deaths among nursing home residents nationwide. More than a year into the pandemic, some facilities continue to struggle to follow basic best practices for preventing spread. Another concern: Vaccination rates among nursing home staff remain significantly lower than among both the residents they serve and the general population. And, the Times Union found, there are critical flaws in the data thats supposed to help health experts track the virus spread and prevent outbreaks, even more than a year after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services started collecting these numbers. Inaccuracies in data reported by nursing homes to federal authorities and sparse state information can obscure exactly where nursing home residents and staff are still getting sick and dying. While the Times Union confirmed the federal data about the Barnwell cases was correct, several other nursing homes around the country that, according to federal data, had the most cases among staff and residents in May, said the CDC/CMS data about infections and deaths at their facilities was wrong in some instances, very wrong, they said. For example, Four Seasons Living Center, a 239-bed nursing home in Sedalia, Mo., had the most COVID-19 cases among staff of any nursing home in the country in May with 75 cases, according to federal data. But Four Seasons administrator Kaylon Williams said the nursing home only had one case among staff and zero cases among residents in May. He had no explanation for why the data the nursing home reported to the federal government did not match his records. The Pearl Nursing Center of Rochester in Monroe County reported to federal authorities it had 19 infections among staff in May the most of any nursing home in New York and the fifth-most of any nursing home nationwide that month. But administrator John Gagnon said his facility received 19 false positive tests from Quest Diagnostics two months ago due to a lab error and his facility actually has had no cases among residents or staff since January. He said he thought local or county authorities would correct the data with the feds, while he focused on caring for his residents and staff, and he had "no clue" how to revise it on his own. Julie Philipp, chief community engagement officer with the Monroe County Department of Public Health, verified that the Pearl and two other Rochester nursing homes received false-positive tests in May. On Long Island, Luxor Nursing and Rehabilitation at Sayville, a 180-bed nursing home, had 10 residents die from COVID-19 in May, according to federal data, the most of any New York nursing home that month. Only six residents had died of COVID-19 at Luxor Sayville up until that point, the data indicated. Federal data also indicated Luxor Sayville accepted nine residents with COVID-19 at the start of May. Jeff Jacomowitz, director of corporate communications for Centers Health Care, which runs Luxor Sayville, said he could confirm only one death due to COVID-19 at that nursing home in May. He could not explain why their data did not match federal reporting. Data from the New York Department of Health on nursing home resident deaths at Luxor Sayville also did not match the federal information. Errors were found even among homes that CMS and the CDC said had passed its data quality assurance checks. Its a bit puzzling why the data are still being incorrectly reported a year after data collection started, and it should be within a facilitys control to get the data right, said R. Tamara Konetzka, a professor in the public health sciences and medicine departments at the University of Chicago. Maybe it hasnt been a priority. Experts said they believe that along with erroneously high numbers in the federal data, there are examples of underreporting. Charlene Harrington, professor emeritus in social and behavioral sciences at the University of California San Francisco, said she considers the nursing homes reports to CMS and the CDC to be totally undercounted and inaccurate because it is to their advantage in terms of marketing and PR to underreport COVID cases and deaths. Hari Sharma, assistant professor of health management and policy at the University of Iowa, said he has refrained from using the federal data because of the errors. When the federal data on COVID-19 cases and deaths in nursing homes was first released in June 2020, many reporters and health experts found inaccuracies in the data, especially when comparing it to state numbers. The inspector general that oversees CMS last year launched an audit of the federal nursing home COVID-19 data, which is due out later this year, said Katherine Harris, spokeswoman with the inspector generals office. CMS referred most questions on the data to the CDC, but pointed to its quality assurance checks as its primary way to avoid inaccuracies. The agency said it has overseen nursing homes during the pandemic by directing state agencies to increase inspections, increasing penalties for nursing home infection control violations and providing guidance. The CDC conducts weekly reviews of data submitted for potential errors that require review and possible revision, spokeswoman Jade Fulce said. Nursing homes are alerted to data flagged by their quality assurance checks. Nursing homes can correct their data at any time through the module used to report the data, Fulce said. "CDC has provided several resources to assist facilities in reporting accurate data," Fulce said. "Facilities have ownership of their data. Therefore, it is the responsibility of reporting facilities to correct data entry errors. CDC does not change or revise data entries." The federal data suggests the recent outbreak at Barnwell was among the worst in the nation at that time. Barnwell had the eighth-highest number of cases among residents in May and the 13th-most cases among staff. But because of the flaws in the federal data it remains unclear exactly how the Barnwell outbreak stacks up. The Times Union was able to verify other outbreaks spotted in the CMS data. For example, Baptist Health Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Scotia had 17 infections and three deaths among residents as well as 13 cases among staff in May, according to CMS data and the Schenectady County Department of Health. Baptist Health did not respond to a request for comment. Statewide, 811 New York nursing home staff had confirmed COVID-19 cases in May, according to federal data. That month, 431 residents tested positive for coronavirus. Eighty-three residents and three staff died from the virus. The state Department Health, through a spokesman, declined to verify any data regarding COVID-19 cases among New York nursing homes published by federal authorities. When asked to confirm specific case data, a spokesman pointed to publicly available nursing home data on the Health Department's website, which does not include detailed data on COVID-19 cases. The department, which regulates nursing homes in the state and is responsible for ensuring they follow COVID-19 protocols, publishes only cumulative data on nursing home resident deaths, not historical data showing when deaths occurred. The agency does not publish data on COVID-19 cases in nursing homes among residents or staff. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the state Health Department have come under intense scrutiny for their oversight of nursing homes during the pandemic, especially after a February report from state Attorney General Letitia James' office found the state underreported the deaths of nursing home residents during the pandemic by as much as 50 percent, including labeling some as hospital deaths based on where the person later died. The governor and agency also took heat for a directive early in the pandemic that caused some nursing homes to take COVID-19 positive patients from hospitals when they were ill-equipped to care for them. The way the Cuomo administration handled COVID-19 deaths of nursing home residents is a focus of a probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigations. In response to questions from the Times Union about recent outbreaks in New York nursing homes that are highlighted in the federal data, state Health Department officials pointed to evidence that COVID-19 cases in nursing homes have declined sharply in recent months. The department attributed continued COVID-19 cases in nursing homes to some facilities not following proper infection-control protocols and low vaccination rates among residents and staff. Nationwide, more staff tested positive for COVID-19 in April and May than residents, federal data shows, as staff vaccination rates against COVID-19 trail resident vaccination rates. In New York nursing homes, 86 percent of residents and 65 percent of staff had received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine as of Tuesday, the Health Department reported. In comparison, 72 percent of the New Yorkers 18 and older had at least one does of a vaccine, although most of the general public got access to the shot months after nursing home residents and staff. The department added that it has conducted thousands of on-site inspections, visiting every nursing home at least once, and has issued $1.5 million in fines for violations against more than 150 nursing homes during the pandemic. The department said it is seeking to levy fines against more facilities. The New York state Department of Health will continue to protect the health of the residents who call these facilities home, spokesman Jeffrey Hammond said. The department continues to make it clear to nursing homes that they have an obligation to vaccinate residents and staff going forward and offered to set aside specific allocations for them. At Barnwell, 85 percent of residents and 53 percent of staff were fully vaccinated as of Tuesday, according to state data. Harrington said a vaccination rate that low among staff is highly dangerous and puts all the residents at risk of getting sick. She said facilities with similar vaccination rates must continue to test staff frequently to catch cases before they spread. Gendron said the Grand encourages staff to get vaccinated, but whether they do or not is a "personal choice." Cheryl Ronsani, a county communicable disease nurse, said most residents involved in the May outbreak were asymptomatic for the virus. Two of the residents who died refused the COVID-19 vaccine, were very elderly and had other health conditions, Ronsani said. The third resident who died had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Gendron said his staff "quickly quelled" the outbreak when it occurred. "It's a pandemic. It spread throughout the world," Gendron said. "There's not the opportunity every time to prevent it from spreading." ALBANY On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, which famously pronounced the nascent country's ideals included the belief "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Speaking Saturday at the Stephen and Harriet Myers residence, which 80 years after the country's founding was part of the Underground Railroad movement to help the some 4 million Black people still enslaved in America find freedom, the Rev. Roxanne Booth said, "People of African descent were not included in the lofty words of the Declaration of Independence." Booth, co-pastor of Riverview Baptist Church in Coeymans and an Africana studies professor at the University at Albany, added, "Those words and ideals did not include my ancestors." Further, she said, they did not include the abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass, whose famed 1852 speech, "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?," has been the focal point of an annual Independence Day event at the Myers house on Livingston Avenue, headquarters of the 18-year-old Underground Railroad Education Center. Douglass' fiery speech, delivered on July 5, 1852, to the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society, was a scathing indictment of the continuing practice of slavery in the United States. Referring to the Declaration of Independence's assertion that "all men are created equal," Booth said, "The hypocrisy of that statement rang true for Douglass that day and rings true in the ears of so many today." Booth's remarks interwove reflections on the contemporary relevance of Douglass' words with ideas from "The Third Reconstruction," a 2016 book by William J. Barber II. A North Carolina minister and activist, Barber founded the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for a Moral Revival, a social movement named after the original 1968 campaign founded by Martin Luther King Jr. The first Reconstruction, in the final third of the 19th century, and the second, in the 1950s and 1960s, led to significant advances in civil rights for Black Americans, Booth told the audience on Saturday. The third began with the 2008 election of Barack Obama. But, she said, all three were met by significant political opposition and social backlash. "The fight for equality and justice continues today," Booth said. The Underground Railroad Education Center was founded in 2003, born from research into local efforts in the Underground Railroad by Paul and Mary Liz Stewart, who continue to run the center today. The center has led the ongoing restoration of the Myers residence, which it purchased in 2004. "This place ... really epitomizes what history should be bringing history into the community," said David Hochfelder, a history professor at UAlbany, director of the university's Public History Program and board member of the Underground Railroad Education Center. Mayor Kathy Sheehan, another speaker at Saturday's event, acknowledged that longstanding racial bias and discrimination played a large role in the state of the impoverished neighborhood around the Myers residence. Sheehan vowed to address some of the problems with money from the American Rescue Plan. The federal relief funding is giving $350 billion to state and local governments to0 cover the costs of fighting the pandemic and offset the drop in tax revenues it caused. Albany is due to receive $80 million. Although a city task force is still studying how to allocate the windfall, Sheehan said, "I am committed ... to investing in communities left behind and destroyed by practices of the past." AP LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) An 80-year-old Nebraska man has been charged with murder after telling police he shot his wife, who had Alzheimer's disease, because he was struggling to care for her. Prosecutors upgraded the charges against John Kotopka to first-degree murder on Wednesday a week after the death of Janet Kotopka, 78. He was originally charged with assault in the June 20 shooting at their home in Lincoln. ALBANY - Landmark Albany, a new apartment complex off Fuller Road next to SUNY Polytechnic Institute is now open. Construction is ongoing. The complex will ultimately be comprised of 252 apartments in seven, five-story buildings. For now, there are three completed buildings with 108 move-in ready apartments. Dawn Homes Management first proposed the project in 2016. Neighbors in both Albany and neighboring Guilderland were opposed to it over concerns about traffic, storm water management and neighborhood character. Thirteen vacant houses were leveled to make way for the development. The price tag for the project was $56 million. The city's Industrial Development Agency, granted Dawn Homes $22.9 million in tax breaks, split into four 20-year "payment in lieu of taxes" or PILOT agreements for each phase of construction. Rent starts at $1,670 for the one-bedroom, 902-square-foot "Nano," and tops out at $2,040 for the two-bedroom, two-bath, 1,362-square-foot "Empire." Wifi, Spectrum cable and Internet are included in the rent. The kitchens were furnished with stainless steel appliances and West Elm fixtures. The complex has indoor garages, electric car charging stations and it is pet friendly. Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, state Sen. Neil Breslin, D-Delmar, and Mary Eagan, CEO of the Capital Region Chamber, attended the ribbon cutting with Dawn Homes executives. Dawn Homes has its headquarters in Albany and owns and operates more than 40 apartment communities across the northeastern United States. The first stage of the Landmark Albany project is completed with dozens of residents already moved in and dozens more scheduled to move in over the coming months," Sheehan said. "This project has generated a substantial economic boost in the form of creating jobs, and this beautiful new apartment complex offers residents luxury, custom-design apartments with walkability to Stuyvesant Plaza. I want to thank Dawn Homes for investing over $56 million in this property and the Citys Industrial Development Agency for their collaboration on this project." And so it begins . . . WELCOME TO KANSAS CITY'S FAVORITE 4TH OF JULY GAME: WAS THAT GUNSHOTS FOR FIREWORKS?!?! It's a question that local middle-class women will be asking CONSTANTLY over the next few days. Sadly, they won't get an answer until sometime around August. Also, it's worth mentioning that pet owners and people who suffer from PTSD will also confront more serious challenges as well. Accordingly, here's more local fireworks news to help answer the question . . . Check-it . . . Police urge citizens to cease Independence Day "celebratory" gunfire On July 1, Mayor Quinton Lucas, State Rep. Mark Sharp (D-36) and Kansas Citian Shanahan DeMoss, and KCPD gathered on the steps of Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department Headquarters and addressed concerns related to "celebratory gunfire." Celebratory gunfire is when someone goes to shoot their gun in the air in the same fashion as a firework to celebrate any occasion. Are fireworks legal in my city? 2021 Fourth of July fireworks laws for Kanas City metro area We've made the list, now it's time for you to check it twice before heading to a fireworks tent near you. Are you allowed to shoot off fireworks in your area? Check out our list of updated fireworks rules and regulations for cities across the metro area.MISSOURIBELTON: Allowed June 28-July 3 from 10 a.m. Good Luck Finding Fireworks. Sales Are Booming But A Shortage Looms Updated June 27, 2021 at 7:41 AM ET Last Fourth of July some fireworks stores went dark because they ran out of product. The same thing may happen again this year. Kansas City area Fourth of July events, fireworks laws KANSAS CITY, Mo. - 41 Action News wants to help residents of the Kansas City area have a fun, safe Fourth of July weekend. Find the latest lists of fireworks events and laws for your area at the links below: EVENTS | A guide to Fourth of July events across the Kansas City area LAWS | Are fireworks legal in my Kansas City-area city? Is your fireworks display safe? Tips to avoid a trip to the ER KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Independence Day means fireworks. Fireworks mean fun explosions. However, explosions can also hurt. Although that seems straightforward enough, thousands of people each year still require medical care due to accidents, unsafe practices and illegal firecracker use. About 2,500 people were injured in 2019, according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission website . Developing . . . Here's the deal . . . TKC IS KANSAS CITY'S ONLY REAL ALTERNATIVE NEWS PUBLICATION!!! Everything else is just talking points, partisan garbage or bland content fodder to play in between commercials. Still, debating ideology with strangers isn't really our bag. So before we even get started with this controversial conversation . . . For now here's what might qualify as a mission statement that sounds a lot better than "a quest" to mix fair use cleavage pix with local content . . . TKC is a blog community news resource that shares the news we find interesting, offers our snark and then let the locals, regulars, motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, waistoids, dweebies, and dickheads have at it . . . More or less. And so these pix and a hot take offer a brief respite from all of today's not so scintillating local news promotional content . . . Check the word we might not agree with but seems like an interesting alternative perspective . . . Olathe Sounds Like Baghdad "Its a very special bank holiday honoring air pirate Donald ''Rummy'' Rumsfeld. "I believe there's a TKC link of arrests when the Cambodian Carpet Bomber came to Truman Library to pimp war?" I THINK that's anti-war criticism of today's air show noise from above . . . Also, readers of our blog often complain about old school houses shaken by the planes. And, of course, the majority of our blog readers enjoy the tribute and military flex in the sky. Seeing war planes above Downtown Kansas City has always been a treat for TKC for a lot of reasons that also include a desire to witness MILLIONS worth of tax dollars in action without the fear of imminent death that typically accompanies that kind of view. You decide . . . Tonight the return of a local tradition is earning mainstream accolades and local media demonstrates how quickly they forget tragedies reported in this town. Moreover . . . Amid fear of COVID, let's not forget that deadly gunfire also presents a clear and present danger to Kansas City crowds. And so we take a quick pause to remember Erin Langhofer who was killed during her Crossroads visit in 2019. Meanwhile, tonight local news is hyping food trucks and COVID party time for the plebs. Take a look . . . KC-area food truck operators hungry for return of First Fridays The Crossroads Arts District's First Friday will provide a new element to the experience this year. There will be a designated food truck plaza at 1907 Grand Boulevard. Many food truck operators are excited to bounce back after a year of dwindling opportunities. Local art galleries, artists eager to open doors again for First Friday First Fridays are officially back this weekend after shutting down for more than a year due to the pandemic. Like many other industries, artists and galleries had to close their doors and find creative ways to stay afloat. Many of them said showcasing art without spectators has not felt the same. You decide . . . It has been too long since we've had a good old-fashioned FACE-OFF here on TKC. And so, for your afternoon rage-pr0n displeasure we offer a peek at Kansas City dead-tree media "institutions" taking political pot shots at po-po. Mind you, none of this helps worsening demoralization and departures amongst the KCPD rank & file OR the escalating KCMO homicide count. Nevertheless . . . Here's the progressive talking point print media info from within and outside of paywalls . . . New study ranks Kansas City Police Department one of the worst in the country The Kansas City Police Department says the data that ranked it as one of the worst-performing in the nation is incomplete. But a study known as the Police Scorecard was based on publicly available information submitted by law enforcement agencies. And the results were telling. KCPD ranks 495 out of 500 police departments in national law enforcement accountability study A report that collects data based on police arrests, personnel, funding, incarceration rates, and homicide clearance rates from official federal and state databases-such as the FBI Uniform Crime Report, among others -released its findings concerning KCPD recently. The response so far . . . In Kansas City, a Black person was 4.3 times more likely than a white person to be killed by police in the years 2013-2020, the research showed. Gwendolyn Grant, president of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, said she was not surprised by the findings at all. She said her organization has tried to bring light to issues such as use of deadly force from the police and how it affects the Black community in Kansas City. The report further validates those concerns, she said. We have consistently brought forward clear evidence that KCPD overpolices in the Black community, that they continue to employ broken window theory of policing, which is ineffective, that they consistently violate the civil rights of Black Kansas Citians, that they operate without transparency, and accountability, that the Board of police Commissioners refuses to hold the chief and the police department accountable, Grant said. So the report just pretty much says it all. Dr. Vernon Howard, Jr., president at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City, said the data in the study was shocking and appalling . . . This information that you see from an external, outside, independent source is reflective of the pain and the suffering that our communities undergo every day with law enforcement in this city. Howard said. In fairness, check reaction from KCPD . . . Sgt. Jacob Becchina, a police spokesman, provided a written statement saying police officials reviewed the study and had concerns about its validity. A review of this data with our partners who professionally research and study the field of criminal justice leaves many questions about completeness, validity, and methods of information gathering, as well as comparison and analysis, Becchina wrote in an email to the local rag. Those questions are not clearly answered, nor explained, on the website. You decide . . . L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist. Find him on Twitter @LAParker6 or email him at LAParker@Trentonian.com. The Rev. Jack Rupert, executive director of New Day Inc., who is retiring after serving 40 years, poses with the New Day symbol on a quilt at the New Day office in Kernville on Wednesday, June 30, 2021. Stay up to date on COVID-19 Get Breaking News Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox. Sponsored By: Dorsett Automotive Instant unlimited access to all of our content on triplicate.com. The Triplicate's E-Edition Newsletter emailed to you each week, the night before the paper hits the street! This subscription is for NEW or RENEWING online subscribers. (The charge will appear as "Country Media Inc." on your credit card statement) FILE - In this June 7, 2017 file photo, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) headquarters is pictured in Paris, France. A broad swathe of the world's countries have agreed on a major overhaul of how to tax the world's biggest companies when they do business across borders. While the tax deal is complex in its details, the idea behind the minimum tax is simple: if a multinational company escapes taxation abroad, it would have to pay the minimum at home. A look at why it was proposed and how it would work. The government plans to eventually liberalise the cost of fuel at the pumps, which has been on the cards for some-time now. It has stated that a zero-tolerance approach to market monopolisation would be taken. Do you know the difference between energy conservation and efficiency? Well in tonight's Energy Matters we explore how both terms, though different, go hand in hand in the world of energy. Russia expanded the list of prohibited imports from Ukraine. The decision of the Government of the Russian Federation of June 28 was published on the official portal of legal information, Ukrinform reports with reference to Interfax. "June 28 amendments were made to the resolution of December 29, 2018," the statement reads. It is noted that the expanded list of prohibited imports covers ice cream and other types of edible ice, mineral water, as well as carbonated water with added sugar or other sweeteners or flavorings, ready-made soups, and broths and semis for their preparation. In addition, the import of barley, palm oil, and its fractions, finished or canned meat products, meat offal, prepared or canned crustaceans, defatted cocoa mass, pasta, popcorn, Musli type based on unroasted cereal flakes, as well as tomato ketchup and other tomato sauces, mayonnaise, products for making sauces is prohibited. The import of oil cake and products used for animal feed, certain types of timber and package is also banned. As reported, the resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2018, banned the imports of wheat, malt beer, sunflower oil, chocolate, fruit and vegetable juices, bread and flour confectionery, alcoholic beverages, certain machinery units, and equipment for agriculture and processing industry from Ukraine. In March 2021, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine expanded the list of prohibited imports from Russia. ol The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine does not confirm the information about the closure of the border with Belarus and rejects the accusation of Alexander Lukashenko about the alleged supply of weapons from Ukraine. "Ukraine categorically rejects Alexander Lukashenko's accusation of alleged arms supply from Ukraine. We have never interfered in the internal affairs of Belarus. We are not going to do that in the future. We expect the same position from Minsk so that the northern border remains a safe space," Oleg Nikolenko, the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, told Ukrinform. According to Nikolenko, Ukraines policy is aimed at supporting the legitimate interests of the Belarusian people who deserve a decent life in a democratic country where human rights are respected and the rule of law exists. "Instead, presenting Ukraine as an external threat fits with a policy of disinformation, repression, and intimidation of the Belarusian people. We are convinced that no absurd accusations and intimidation will be able to distract the Belarusian people from the friendly Ukrainian people and Ukraine as a state that respects and protects human rights," the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson added. He stressed that the Ukrainian side had not yet received official notifications about closure of the border by Belarus. "First of all, the Belarusian people would suffer from such a step," Nikolenko added. The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine also confirmed it had not received any official notifications from the Belarusian side regarding changes in border protection. At a solemn meeting on the occasion of Belarus Independence Day, Alexander Lukashenko stated that he had instructed the Belarusian border troops to completely close the border with Ukraine. Earlier, Lukashenko said that a large-scale "anti-terrorist operation" had been carried out in Belarus, as a result of which he would "lodge a complaint against the German leadership." After Lukashenko had been declared the winner of the August 9 presidential election, mass protests began in Minsk and across the country. They are severely suppressed. The legitimacy of the Lukashenko regime was not recognized by the EU, the United States, Ukraine, and most democracies around the world. ol Poland plans to deliver 1.2 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Ukraine in the third quarter of this year. Delays are caused by irregular deliveries of this vaccine to Poland. Poland has not refused to resell [vaccine to Ukraine], the agreement remains relevant. The reason for the postponed signing of the agreement is irregular deliveries of the vaccine to Poland. The signing of agreement and vaccine deliveries are scheduled for the third quarter of this year, the Ministry of Health of Poland informed in response to an information request from an Ukrinform correspondent. In April, the Ministry informed Ukrinform that the vaccine could be delivered from Poland to Ukraine in May-June. At the same time, the Ministry noted that the delivery time would depend on the dynamics of deliveries of AstraZeneca (as well as vaccines from other manufacturers) to Poland. As reported, since the beginning of the vaccination campaign, 2,038,239 people have been vaccinated. In particular, 1,038,237 people received one dose, 823,923 people were fully immunized and received two doses. ol Oregon, WI (53575) Today Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 72F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 72F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Register for a FREE account to keep reading! Register now for a FREE account to keep reading. No cost and no credit card required! Access up to 5 articles per month when you register, or get unlimited access to all of our content online starting at $1.99 now! Already registered? Click the log in link below Water safety is important for all ages, of course, but especially for toddlers. (Dreamstime/TNS) (@ChaudhryMAli88) Rome, July 3 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Jul, 2021 ) :Three hundred healthcare workers in Italy have lodged a legal challenge against the requirement that they get vaccinated against coronavirus, according to media reports Saturday. The case, brought by professionals throughout northern Italy, will be heard on July 14. "This isn't a battle by anti-vaxxers but a democratic battle," constitutional lawyer Daniele Granara, who helped build up the case, was cited as saying in the Giornale di Brescia newspaper. "We force people to take a risk under threat of no longer being allowed to exercise their profession," he added. Granara is also defending dozens of caregivers who have been suspended from work for refusing to be vaccinated. Italy passed a law in April obliging anyone working in public or private social health positions, including in pharmacies and doctors' offices, to get vaccinated against Covid-19 or be suspended without pay, unless their employer can reassign them to a less sensitive position. After the elderly and vulnerable, caregivers including teachers were the first to be vaccinated in Italy. A total of 52.7 million vaccine does have been administered throughout the country, and around 19.5 million Italians are now fully vaccinated, 36 percent of the population over 12 years of age. According to recent official figures, 45,750 of the 1.9 million salaried healthcare workers have not yet received a single vaccine dose. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Washington, July 2 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Jul, 2021 ) :The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan will be finalized by the end of next month, the White House said Friday. "We expect it to be completed by the end of August," press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. President Joe Biden had set a deadline of September 11 for the final pullout of the few remaining troops following 20 years of war, and a US defense official confirmed earlier Friday that all US troops had left Bagram Air Base, the biggest in Afghanistan. Caracas, July 3 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Jul, 2021 ) :Venezuelan rights group Fundaredes said Friday authorities had arrested its director and two other activists who have lifted the lid on fighting near the border with Colombia. Director Javier Tarazona and two others were taken by Venezuelan intelligence services, the NGO said on Twitter. A fourth activist was arrested but released eight hours later, the group said, adding that the other three were transferred to Caracas. Fundaredes had alerted to the presence of Colombian dissident guerrillas on Venezuelan territory and criticized the response of the government, which it accused of harboring the fighters. It reported on the fighting that broke out on March 21 before the government did. Clashes have since displaced thousands of civilians. Venezuela does not name the armed groups it blames for the unrest, apart from calling them "terrorists" or linking them to drug trafficking or to Colombian President Ivan Duque. However, security sources in Colombia say they are likely dissidents of the now-disbanded Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group, an analysis Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro has conceded was possible. Bogota has long accused Venezuela of shielding members of the FARC and armed rebel group ELN on its soil -- a charge Maduro denies. Some FARC fighters who refused to join Colombia's peace process have continued their struggle, while also mixing with and battling drug traffickers. Venezuela and Colombia, which share a 2,200-kilometer (1,370 miles) border, severed diplomatic ties in January 2019, after Bogota recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as the leader of Venezuela over Maduro following a disputed election. British High Commissioner Dr. Christian Turner Friday appreciated the efforts of Capital Development Authority (CDA) administration for uplifting green areas in Islamabad ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Jul, 2021 ) :British High Commissioner Dr. Christian Turner Friday appreciated the efforts of Capital Development Authority (CDA) administration for uplifting green areas in Islamabad. In a meeting with CDA chairman, Amer Ali Ahmed, he acknowledged the recent campaigns launched by the Federal apex agency to improve environment in the city. Matters of mutual interest were discussed during the meeting. It was resolved that the British High Commission and CDA would explore more avenues of cooperation. Chairman CDA thanked the High Commissioner for his support and appreciated his particular interest in preservation of environment. Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Nadeem Raza, who is on official visit to Nigeria, called on President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari and reiterated that Pakistan was keen to expand its existing bilateral military to military cooperation with Nigeria RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Jul, 2021 ) :Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Nadeem Raza, who is on official visit to Nigeria, called on President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari and reiterated that Pakistan was keen to expand its existing bilateral military to military cooperation with Nigeria. The Chairman JCSC also had separate meetings with Defence MinisterMajor General Bashir Salihi Magashi (R), Chief of Defence Staff General Leo Irabor, and Chiefs of the Tri-Services, said an ISPR news release here received. The Nigerian President conveyed his feelings of high esteem for Pakistan Armed Forces. He specially thanked Pakistan and its Armed Forces for their consistent support to Nigeria in its war against terrorism. Nigerian military and political leadership unanimously conveyed complete satisfaction on the performance of newly inducted JF-17 fighter aircraft from Pakistan. They also mentioned that the JF-17 aircraft, with its unique fighting capabilities, would prove to be a potent platform in addressing the security requirements of Nigeria. Matters of bilateral military cooperation including security, counter-terrorism and prevailing regional environment were discussed during the meetings. Earlier upon arrival Nigerian Defence Headquarters, Chairman JCSC was presented Guard of Honour by a smartly turned out contingent of Nigerian Armed Forces. Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain Saturday said that Pakistan international Airlines (PIA) has significantly increased the number of its international flights to repatriate the overseas Pakistani stuck abroad ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Jul, 2021 ) :Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain Saturday said that Pakistan international Airlines (PIA) has significantly increased the number of its international flights to repatriate the overseas Pakistani stuck abroad. In a tweet, he said the emigrant Pakistanis were enduring difficulties regarding the schedule of PIA flights to Pakistan for the past few days. The number of international flights has been increased by Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan on the instructions of Prime Minister Imran Khan, after holding detailed meetings with the relevant officials of PIA and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). A Boeing 737 cargo aircraft with two crew on board was forced to make an emergency landing on the water off Honolulu early Friday after the pilots reported engine trouble, the Federal Aviation Administration said New York, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Jul, 2021 ) :A Boeing 737 cargo aircraft with two crew on board was forced to make an emergency landing on the water off Honolulu early Friday after the pilots reported engine trouble, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Transair Flight 810 had been expected to go from Honolulu to Kahului, the main airport on Maui, according to aviation data from FlightAware. The plane was "attempting to return to Honolulu when they were forced to land the aircraft in the water" at about 1:30 am local time, an FAA spokeswoman said in a statement. "According to preliminary information, the US Coast Guard rescued both crew members. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate," the statement said. A spokesman for the Coast Guard, Petty Officer Third Class Matthew West, told CNN that a Coast Guard helicopter rescued one of the crew, while "a fire department helicopter rescued the other." A Coast Guard cutter was also dispatched to the scene. Both crew members were taken to a Honolulu hospital for treatment, West said, adding he did not have additional information about their condition. A source with knowledge of the incident told AFP that the plane appeared to be a 737 Classic that was likely at least 33 years old. A Boeing spokeswoman said the company was "aware of the reports out of Honolulu" and "closely monitoring the situation." The aviation giant said it was in contact with the NTSB, which investigates civil air accidents, and was "working to gather more information." Both the FAA and the NTSB will probe the incident. Landings on water are rare. In January 2009, an Airbus A320 passenger jet made an emergency landing on the Hudson River in New York shortly after takeoff, after flying into a flock of geese, severely damaging both engines. The pilot, Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, believed he could not make it back to LaGuardia Airport and landed the plane in the river, with 150 passengers and five crew on board. No one was killed in the incident. Boeing's safety record was called into question after the fatal crashes of two 737 MAX passenger planes in 2018 and 2019, leaving nearly 350 people dead. The plane was grounded for 20 months after the crashes. Investigators said a main cause of both crashes was a faulty flight handling system known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS. Boeing shares dipped slightly Friday after the announcement of the Hawaii incident. BUENOS AIRES (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd July, 2021) Ecuador expects the first batch of the Sputnik V vaccine to arrive from Russia in September, the foreign minister of the small Andean nation said Friday after talks with the top Russian diplomat. "We reviewed the issues related to bilateral ties and he [Sergey Lavrov] promised the first shipment of the Sputnik V, which will probably come in September," Mauricio Montalvo tweeted. Montalvo called the phone talks fruitful. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the conversation centered on the joint response to the COVID-19 outbreak as well as trade and cooperation on pharmaceutics and energy. Russia's sovereign wealth fund RDIF, which markets the vaccine abroad, announced in May that Ecuador granted Sputnik V its emergency use authorization. LONDON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd July, 2021) As Julian Assange is about to pass his fiftieth birthday in a British prison this Saturday, his main liaison during refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London and former Ecuadorian consul, Fidel Narvaez, told Sputnik that he was terrified that the WikiLeaks founder might never celebrate his birthday as a free man. This week supporters have been speaking out and organizing rallies in support of Assange, who faces up to 175 years in solitary confinement if extradited to the United States and convicted there. "Exactly 10 years ago I was at Julian Assange's 40th birthday... He has spent the next 10 birthdays locked up either in my embassy or now in a top security jail... The prospect that he will never be able to celebrate a birthday in freedom again if he is extradited is terrifying and is the worst way to celebrate his 50th birthday," Narvaez said. The former consul is sure that Assange, who has been held in a top security prison in Belmarsh since 2019, pending an appeal in an extradition case initiated by the United States, is in fact a political prisoner, and the only thing the government wants is to prolong his imprisonment. "The delay in ending this shameful process is very worrying as each day that passes is a day of risk to Julian's health and life, and a day of unjust imprisonment of a person who does not serve a sentence and does not have a duty to justice. A political prisoner in every sense of the word," Narvaez said. Such a protracted case is not the responsibility of a certain US administration or party, but of the country's military circles, who want revenge on Assange for disclosing secret information, the former consul believes. "In the US, it is indifferent who is in power, because the true power is not in the White House, but in the military-industrial complex that seeks revenge on Julian because he is the one who has humiliated it most by revealing its [US] war crimes," Narvaez said, while mentioning that he had never thought that Assange's confinement and ensuing imprisonment will take more than a decade. The WikiLeaks founder was arrested in London on April 11, 2019, and sentenced to fifty weeks in prison for breaking his bail in 2012, when he took refuge inside the Ecuadorean embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he was facing sexual assault charges which were later dropped. The US wants the whistleblower for espionage after WikiLeaks published thousands of secret files and classified information that shed light on war crimes committed by American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. (@FahadShabbir) Thousands of people took to the streets of Burkina Faso on Saturday, demanding a stronger response to rising militant bloodshed after a massacre last month killed more than 130 people Ouagadougou, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Jul, 2021 ) :Thousands of people took to the streets of Burkina Faso on Saturday, demanding a stronger response to rising militant bloodshed after a massacre last month killed more than 130 people. The landlocked West African country has faced increasing attacks by militant groups linked Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State since 2015. In the capital Ouagadougou, protesters chanted "No to growing insecurity", "No to populations being abandoned", "No to endless attacks" and "Is there still a president in Burkina Faso?" It was the first march organised by the opposition and civil society groups since President Roch Marc Christian Kabore was re-elected last year. Kabore had asked the organisers to postpone the march. But opposition leader Eddie Komboigo welcomed "a huge mobilisation across the country despite government calls for a boycott". "Today, from Dori to Kampti, from Dedougou to Diebougou, from Ouagadougou to Diapaga, people demonstrated to protest against the worsening security situation," he said. "During Kabore's first term, there were officially more than 1,300 deaths and 1. 2 million internally displaced people," he added. "It is feared that the second term will be worse than the first, because since the start of the year we have had more than 300 deaths". A demonstrator in the eastern department of Madjoari told AFP by phone that he was marching "so that the many displaced people can return to their home regions and live peacefully". Anger has been rising since the night of June 4, when the deadliest attack in the country's six-year Islamist insurgency was waged on the village of Solhan. Armed men -- including "young people aged 12 to 14", authorities said -- killed at least 132 people, according to the government. Local sources said the toll was 160, including many children. Civil society figure Aristide Ouedraogo said "in light of the latest macabre developments of the security front, it was time to send a strong signal to the leaders to pull themselves together". In response to the growing fury, Kabore sacked his defence and security ministers on Wednesday. Kabore himself took over as defence minister. WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd July, 2021) The US has been discussing the possibility of using Uzbekistan or Tajikistan as locations for nearby operating bases for "over-the-horizon" operations in Afghanistan, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Friday. "I think it's safe to assume that we in concert with our State Department colleagues are talking to neighboring nations and trying to explore over-the-horizon opportunities that might exist there. I'll let those two nations [Uzbekistan and Tajikistan] speak for themselves," Kirby said in response to a question about the possibility. WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd July, 2021) The US State Department issued an alert on Friday urging Americans in the Tigray region to shelter in place amid the current unrest following clashes between the Ethiopian government and local rebel forces. On Monday, the Ethiopian government declared an unconditional ceasefire in the province following the recapture of the regional capital of Mekelle by rebel forces that prompted government forces to retreat. However, the government's military has threatened to send troops back into Tigray, highlighting the fragility of any current calm in the region. "US citizens in Tigray should shelter in place. We are working on relocation plans for US citizens in Mekele," the alert said. "If you are a US citizen in Tigray or you have a US citizen family member in Mekele, please contact us. " Clashes in the province of Tigray erupted in November after the Ethiopian government accused the local ruling party the Tigray People's Liberation Front of ambushing a regional army post to hijack weapons and arm anti-government militia. The Tigray region has been occupied by the Ethiopian military since, leading to fighting with the rebels. An estimated two million of Tigray's six million people are reported to have fled their homes and an estimated 900,000 people are likely experiencing famine conditions. In addition, about 33,000 severely malnourished children are projected to face imminent risk of death if more aid is not forthcoming to the people of Tigray. Monday, July 5, 2021: 3pm Dear USF students, faculty and staff, The University of South Florida continues to closely monitor Tropical Storm Elsa and any potential impacts to the Tampa Bay region. The safety of our students, faculty and staff is our highest priority as we track the storm. Based on the latest weather information, all USF classes will be delivered remotely on Tuesday, July 6, and Wednesday, July 7. USF employees should also work remotely until Thursday, July 8. USF buildings with the exception of housing, dining and USF Health clinical facilities will close until Thursday morning in order to make preparations for impending weather. Buildings on the St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee campuses will close at 3 p.m. today. Buildings on the Tampa campus will close at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, July 6. In-person classes and university operations are expected to resume normally by Thursday, July 8, pending weather conditions. Bull Runner service will be suspended during the same period. Residence halls and residential dining facilities at the USF Tampa and USF. St. Petersburg campuses remain open. USF Health clinical operations are expected to continue normally until further notice. Only USF employees who are classified as essential personnel and/or those identified by their supervisors as vital to campus operations should report to on-campus work while buildings are closed. Please contact your supervisor if you are unsure of your status. Employees who are not essential and whose job functions do not allow for remote work should work with their supervisors and USF Human Resources to make appropriate accommodations. We urge students, faculty and staff to plan carefully, follow local weather reports and monitor updates and guidance from county and state emergency management officials. The USF Hurricane Guide also serves as a valuable resource for the university community. University leadership will continue to monitor the storm and provide updates as needed. Any significant updates regarding changes to normal business operations will be shared via usf.edu, USFs official social media channels, MyUSF and email. Saturday, July 3, 2021: 2:15pm Dear USF students, faculty and staff, The University of South Florida continues to closely monitor Hurricane Elsa and any potential impacts to the Tampa Bay region. The safety of our students, faculty and staff is our highest priority as we track the storm. Based on the latest weather information, all USF classes will be delivered remotely on Tuesday, July 6. We encourage all instructors to be flexible in cases where power outages may impede internet access. Only USF employees who are classified as essential personnel and/or those identified by their supervisors as vital to campus operations should report to on-campus work prior to Tuesday. Please contact your supervisor if you are unsure of your status. In-person classes are expected to resume normally on Wednesday, July 7. At this time, residence halls and residential dining facilities at the USF Tampa and USF. St. Petersburg campuses remain open. USF Health clinical operations are expected to continue normally. We urge students, faculty and staff to plan carefully, follow local weather reports and monitor updates and guidance from county and state emergency management officials. The USF Hurricane Guide also serves as a valuable resource for the university community. University leadership will continue to monitor the storm and will provide updates as needed. Any significant updates regarding changes to normal business operations will be shared via usf.edu, USFs official social media channels, MyUSF and email. Brulhart, Msgr Carlino, Crasso, Di Ruzza, Marogna, Mincione, Squillace, Tirabassi, Torzi, and Cardinal Becciu will be brought to trial following investigations into London property deal. By Vatican News The long and complex investigation carried out by Promoter of Justice Gian Piero Milano, Adjunct Alessandro Diddi and by clerk Gianluca Perrone is the result of an inquiry undertaken by the Vatican Gendarmeria led by Commander Gianluca Gauzzi Broccoletti. The probe led to the examination of an enormous number of documents, electronic equipment sequestered from the suspects, as well as the comparison of witness testimony. The president of Vatican City States Tribunal, Giuseppe Pignatone, has ordered the subpoena of ten people after receiving the request presented by the Office of the Promoter of Justice, says the Holy See Press Offices statement. The first phase of the investigation ends with this summons. Now the documentation gathered will be examined by the Tribunal during the public debate involving both the prosecution and the defense. The first hearing is scheduled for 27 July. The following persons will be going to trial: Rene Brulhart (former president of AIF [the Vatican's Supervisory and Financial Information Authority]), who is charged with the crime of abuse of office; Msgr Mauro Carlino (former secretary of the Substitute of the Secretariat of State), who is charged with extortion and abuse of office; Enrico Crasso (financial broker who managed investments for the Secretariat of State for decades) is charged with the crimes of embezzlement, corruption, extortion, money laundering and self-laundering, fraud, abuse of office, materially falsifying public documentes and falsifying internal agreements; Tommaso Di Ruzza (former director of AIF) is being charged with embezzlement and violating confidentiality; Cecilia Marogna (a woman who received considerable sums from the Secretariat of State for intelligence services) is being charged with extortion; Raffaele Mincione (financial broker who allegedly made the Secretariat of State underwrite large shares of the fund that owned the London property at 60 Sloan Avenue, and who then used that money for his own speculative investments) is being charged with embezzlement, fraud, abuse of office, appropriation and money laundering; Nicola Squillace (a lawyer involved in the negotiations) is being charged with fraud, appropriation, money laundering and self-laundering; Fabrizio Tirabassi (employed as a notetaker in the Administrative Office of the Secretariat of State, who allegedly played a leading role in the matter) is charged with corruption, extortion, embezzlement, fraud and abuse of office; Gianluigi Torzi (the broker called to help the Holy See get out of the fund owned by Mincione, and who succeeded in liquidating a total of 15 million so the property could return to its legitimate owners) is being chared with extortion, embezzlement, fraud, appropriation, money laundering and self-laundering. A subpoena was also filed against the following companies: HP Finance LLC, managed by Enrico Crasso, on fraud charges; Logsic Humanitarne Dejavnosti, D.O.O, managed by Cecilia Marogna, on embezzlement charges; Prestige Family Office SA, managed by Enrico Crasso, on fraud charges; Sogenel Capital Investment, managed by Enrico Crasso, on fraud charges. Some of these were committed complicitly with others. Some elements also emerged against Cardinal Angelo Becciu, reads the statement from the Holy See Press Office. In his case, charges include embezzlement, abuse of office in complicity with others as well, and subornation. In a statement released by his lawyers, the cardinal said he is the "victim of an organized plot hatched" against him to his detriment, which has exposed him "to an unparalleled attacks in the media". Thanks soley to faith, he says, is he able "to find the strength to fight this battle for truth." Cardinal Becciu concludes, Finally the time for clarification is coming, and the Court will be able to see the absolute falsity of the accusations." In the meantime, the Secretariat of State has decided to participate as a civil party in the trial being represented by lawyer Paola Severino. 2019 investigation The press statement confirms that the investigation got underway in July 2019 after the Istituto per le Opere di Religione [commonly known as the Vatican Bank] and the Auditor Generals Office reported that there was complete collaboration between the Office of the Promoter and the Judicial Police section of the Gendarmerie Corps. Preliminary activities were also carried out through close and productive collaboration with the Prosecutors Office in Rome and the Economic and Financial Police Unit (G.I.C.E.F.) of the Guardia di Finanza in Rome. Cooperation between the Prosecutors Offices of Milan, Bari, Trent, Cagliari and Sassari, and their respective judicial police offices was also appreciated. Initial activities carried out with rogatorial commissions in numerous foreign countries (United Arab Emirates, Great Britain, Jersey, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Switzerland) brought to light a vast web of relationships with operators in the financial markets that generated substantial losses for Vatican finances which also drew from those resources destined for the Holy Fathers personal acts of charity. The judicial process, the statement emphasizes, is directly connected to the directives and reforms of Pope Francis, in his work toward the transparency and remediation of Vatican finances, a work that, according to the hypothesis of the prosecution, was countered by illicit and detrimental speculative activities on a reputational level in the terms indicated in the request to press charges. Minciones investment fund A primary and important chapter in the investigation concerns the Secretariat of States investment in Raffale Minciones Athena Capital Global Opportunities Fund operative between June 2013 and February 2014. The Secretariat of State borrowed 200 million dollars from Credit Suisse to invest in Minciones fund (100 million in movable goods, 100 million in immovable goods related to the property in London). The high-risk investment brought a serious loss to the Holy See. By 30 September 2018, 18 million euro of the initial investment were lost on these shares. The overall loss, however, is estimated to be a much larger amount. Mincione used the Vaticans money in imprudent transactions and in attempts to take over failing banking institutions. Before such disastrous results, the Secretariat of State tried to get out of the investment by purchasing the property. Torzi and extorsion enter the picture Provided in the transaction was the payment of 40 million pounds by the Secretariat of State to Mincione in exchange for his shares. To this end, the Secretariat of State decided to entrust the transaction to another broker, Gianluigi Torzi, who later succeeded in maintaining control for himself, circumventing the Holy See, allegedly thanks to internal complicity. From the documentation produced by the Vatican magistrates, it appears that Mincione and Torzi were actually in complicity to execute the transaction with the Secretariat of State. The Vatican magistrates indicate that Enrico Crasso and Fabrizio Tirabassi were two key figures. They believe they obtained commissions from Mincione and cash payments from Torzi for bringing him into the Vatican. Thanks to internal complicity, Torzi managed to get a Share Purchase Agreement signed that removed control of the London property from the Secretariat of State. He did this by creating 1,000 shares in GUTT SA and granting voting rights only to these shares he held. Meanwhile, the other 30,000 shares owned by the Secretariat of State did not carry the right to vote. Thus, the Secretariat of State found itself with another broker in the Vatican with sole possession of decision-making power. Officials deceived The Vatican magistrates hold that neither Msgr. Perlasca, who signed the Share Purchase Agreement, nor his Superiors, the Substitute Edgar Pena Parra, and above all Cardinal Pietro Parolin had been effectively informed to be fully aware of the juridical effects that the different categories of actions would cause. The Substitutes signature, necessary to conclude the agreement because he holds power of attorney, was obtained after the fact and without the superiors being made aware of the tactic that allowed Torzi to maintain control of everything. To obtain control over the property, and force Torzi out of the picture, 15 million euro was extorted from the Secretariat of State through payments to the broker for irregular reasons, thanks to the internal complicity of the suspects against whom indictments have been requested. AIFs role According to the Vatican magistrates, AIF overlooked the anomalies of the London transaction of which it had immediately been informed especially considering the wealth of information acquired as a result of intelligence activity. According to the documentation produced by the prosecution, AIF played a decisive role in completing the liquidation process of Gianluigi Torzi's claims. Cardinal Becciu The Cardinal, former Substitute of the Secretariat of State, did not become a suspect immediately. He became involved because the magistrates accused him of "interference and allege that he was behind the offers that emerged suddenly at the end of May 2020 to acquire the building, just a few days prior to the interrogation of Torzi. According to testimony, Cardinal Becciu also tried to get Perlasca to recant. Payments made by the Secretariat of State to Cecilia Marogna at Beccius request were added to the investigation. Between 20 December 2018 and 11 July 2019, the company she owned received payments made by the Secretariat of State for 575,000 euro. A letter rogatory allowed the investigation to ascertain that this sum was mostly used to make purchases that were not compatible, and therefore, unjustifiable, with the corporate purpose of the company. Finally, the magistrates contend that Becciu financed his brother Antoninos cooperative with 600,000 euro that came from the funds belonging to the Italian Bishops Conference and 225,000 euro that came from funds belonging to the Secretariat of State. The donations were allegedly used for purposes other than the charitable purposes for which they were intended. (Working translation of the Italian original) Niger's worsening humanitarian crisis has affected more than 3.8 million people, including children. UNICEF is appealing for attention and mobilization to their plight. By Robin Gomes More than 3.8 million people in Niger are being hit by a severe humanitarian crisis, including 2.1 million children. A combination of factors such as conflict, displacement, food insecurity, malnutrition, recurrent disease epidemics and outbreaks, climate-related disasters and the socioeconomic impacts of Covid-19 have led to the emergency in the land-locked West African nation. The United Nations childrens fund, UNICEF, raised the alarm on Friday saying the people affected show a 30 per cent increase over 2020. It called for increased attention and mobilization to the plight of those children and families who, it said, "suffer in silence. "Considering the dramatic increase in the number of people affected by the multiple, prolonged and complex emergencies in the country, it is a challenge to the government and to the humanitarian community to meet their needs", said UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Marie-Pierre Poirier. Conflict, displacement Insecurity is spreading at a rapid pace in Niger. Attacks along the borders with Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria have led to significant displacements in the country and continue to wreak havoc on the lives of hundreds of thousands of children. "Childrens lives have been torn apart. It is hard to believe that children should live in permanent fear of such attacks. This doesnt have to be their reality" Poirier warned. "The protection of childrens rights, including children in displacement, is fundamental, be it the right to food, health, education, water or the right to be protected from violence. They need shelter, food, drinking water, medical care and education," she said. Attacks in the Lake Chad region have prevented nearly 269,000 people in Diffa (eastern Niger) from returning home. More than 195,000 people are now displaced in the regions of Tillabery and Tahoua, in western Niger. Over 77,000 people who have fled inter-communal violence in northern Nigeria are currently living in Maradi region (central Niger), together with more than 21,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). As of end of March 2021, Niger hosted a total of 313,000 IDPs, 235,000 refugees and 36,000 returnees. School closures The number of schools forced to close due to insecurity in conflict-affected areas has increased from 312 to 377 over recent months in Niger. Threats to school security were particularly acute in the regions of Tillabery, Tahoua and Diffa. In 2020, over 300 schools were closed across the country, affecting almost 22,000 children. Access to schools in these regions is restricted, hampering efforts to support children affected by armed violence. In a separate statement, Aboubacry Tall, UNICEF Representative in Niger noted that as of the end of May 2021, 409 schools remained closed during the school year. One should note that more than 2.5 million children of school age are out of school and that 90 per cent of grade 1 students do not complete high school, he said, adding, the education sector is in crisis. Poirier pointed out that attacks on schools and threats to education are destroying the hopes and dreams of an entire generation of children. The life of a child excluded from school is a tragedy of unfulfilled potential and lost opportunity", said Poirier who provides leadership for 24 country offices across the region. Disease Tall pointed out that over the past decade, Niger has faced the resurgence of several epidemics of diseases preventable by vaccination and/or hygiene and sanitation measures. In 2020, four epidemics raged in several regions: measles, meningitis, polio, and a very high seasonal peak of malaria, he said. Last year, there were more than 3million cases of malaria, which is three times higher than in 2019. Climate Tall also pointed to the countrys vulnerability to the effects of climate change. In 2020, record-level flooding hit Niger and affected more than 640,000 people, hugely surpassing previous years and forecasts. He said climate-related threats have negatively impacted access to services such as health, safe drinking water and education. Limited humanitarian access The sharp increase in insecurity and movement restrictions consequently imposed by the Government have hampered humanitarian actors access to populations affected by conflict. Tall noted that many of the 2.1 million children, who represent 18 per cent of the countrys children, are in hard-to-reach areas with limited humanitarian access. He said that more than 1.6 million children under five are estimated to suffer from malnutrition, of which over 450,000 are severely malnourished. Tall described Niger as one of the most complex and challenging humanitarian environments on our planet. Appeal UNICEF thus called on all stakeholders to respect humanitarian spaces allowing safe and sustainable access to deliver humanitarian assistance to affected populations, including women and children, wherever they are. In 2021, UNICEF and its partners will need $102.2 million to deliver vital humanitarian aid to children throughout the country. UNICEF appeals for solidarity to help the Government and its partners provide vital assistance to affected populations and improve their living conditions, Poirier said. (Source: UNICEF) VOA Correspondent A top government official says all Zimbabwean civil servants should get the COVID-19 vaccine in order to curb the spread of coronavirus, which has killed almost 2,000 people in the southern African nation. Speaking during a COVID-19 assessment meeting with heads of various government departments in Chinhoyi, Mashonaland West province, Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said civil servants have no choice after signing state contracts compelling them to work for the public. Ziyambi stunned those at the meeting when he said civil servants who do not want to follow Public Service Commission rules on COVID-19 vaccinations wont get any form of insurance and as a result are free to resign. When you get employed you cede some of the rights to say if you want to be employed here get vaccinated so the Public Service Commission has regulations which we must comply with if you are a civil servant. If you dont want to comply with that you have a right to quit, said Ziyambi. But Peter Mutasa, president of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, said Ziyambis remarks are unlawful, adding that refusing someone insurance cover on the basis that the person was not vaccinated is discrimination that is not supported by law. Its unlawful because there is no law that supports that discrimination for someone to discriminate an employee that has not been vaccinated There is no scientific support that someone who has been vaccinated will not be infected, said Mutasa. At the same time, he told the gathering that Zanu PF members should not hold illegal meetings that may lead to the spread of the disease. No one directed that Zanu PF must do what the president has said we must not do so we have regulations that were put in place by the president under the Public Health Act and we cannot go against them. That is very clear, said Ziyambi. He was responding to Norton Member of Parliament Temba Mliswas question on why Zanu PF was holding public meetings when other parties have been blocked by health officials due to the current surge in COVID-19 cases. Opposition Movement for Democratic Change Alliance deputy spokesperson, Clifford Hlatswayo, said Minister Ziyambi is parroting what Zanu PF cannot do as they have been violating health regulations at will. Zanu PF has been violating COVID-19 regulations since day one and they will not stop as they are taking advantage of the situation to hold political activities. What they are forgetting is that COVID-19 knows no colour, creed or political affiliation. We must all observe these regulations, said Hlatshwayo. According to the Ministry of Health, as at July 2, 202, Zimbabwe had 52,663 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 39,568 recoveries and 1,841 deaths. To date, a total of 788,004 people have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Mr. Foreign Minister, Luigi, my friend, thank you so much. And thank you for the extraordinary job in bringing us all together, and its wonderful to be with so many colleagues today. Mostly, thank you for hosting what is a very important meeting. And to all of the members of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS or Daesh, thank you for being part of this endeavor today, but also every day. Since this coalition was created in 2014, our joint efforts by, with, and through our local partners have been a critical element in achieving ISISs territorial defeat in Iraq and in Syria. Millions of civilians have been able to return to their homes. The movement of foreign ISIS fighters from into Syria and Iraq has virtually ceased. And key ISIS leaders have either been captured or killed. These achievements are significant and a reflection of whats possible when we come together in common cause with a shared commitment. But there is still more work to be done, and let me briefly outline what the United States sees as our top priorities now. I think it will sound very familiar because its very much on track with what Luigi just said. First, remaining ISIS elements in Iraq and Syria, though severely depleted, still aspire to conduct large-scale attacks, as we saw with Januarys twin suicide bombings in Baghdad. To sustain our military gains, we must reaffirm our commitment, including to Operation Inherent Resolve, the complementary NATO mission in Iraq, and to civilian-led counterterrorism capacity building. Second, we must renew coalition support for stabilization assistance across Iraq and Syria, as Luigi said, to ensure that ISIS doesnt have a resurgence in these countries. Our stabilization assistance will address critical needs that the Syrians themselves have prioritized, deal with vulnerabilities previously exploited by ISIS, close gaps in local authorities capacities. Those needs are particularly acute given the drought and economic downturn in Syria, which ISIS is seeking to exploit. Weve made good progress toward our 2021 fundraising goal for stabilization efforts in Iraq and northeast Syria. We set out to raise $670 million. I think were at close to $507 million now, so lets keep going till we meet our goal. Additionally, I can announce today that the United States will provide another $436 million in humanitarian assistance to Syrians and the communities that host them, bringing the total U.S. humanitarian assistance in response to the Syria crisis to nearly $13.5 billion. Together we must stay as committed to our stabilization goals as we did to our military campaign that resulted in victory on the battlefield. Third, 10,000 ISIS fighters remain in SDF detention in Syria. This situation is simply untenable. It just cant persist indefinitely. The United States continues to urge countries of origin, including coalition partners, to repatriate, rehabilitate, and, where applicable, prosecute their citizens. Several countries have done good work on these fronts. Kazakhstan has repatriated more than 600 fighters and family members and has enrolled many returnees in rehabilitation programs. Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic have repatriated foreign terrorist fighter family members from Iraq, and in the case of Uzbekistan, from Syria and Afghanistan as well. Several Balkan countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia have also repatriated foreign terrorist fighters. And Italy, of course, has distinguished itself as one of the few Western European countries willing to return nationals from the region. Most recently, they repatriated a female foreign terrorist fighter and her children. Finland has also shown leadership in its repatriation of multiple families from Finland originally. Fourth, ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS also means effectively confronting ISIS threats outside of Iraq and Syria, in the place where ISIS places where ISIS has recently focused its efforts. In particular, were grateful for support from coalition partners for expanding counterterrorism capacity building efforts for countries on the front lines of the ISIS threat in Africa. And again, I strongly support what the foreign minister said in that regard. Lets use todays discussion to try to expand on coalition plans for effectively dealing with the threat in Africa, as well as how well synchronize our efforts with national, regional, and international partners. To recap some recent steps the coalition has taken very briefly, last November the United States and Nigeria convened a coalition meeting with representatives of West African states to discuss countering the ISIS threat in West Africa and the Sahel. Weve also held informal discussions among coalition partners on the pressing ISIS threat in northern Mozambique and the steps that we could take there. Several of the coalitions working groups are expanding their focus to include Africa. For example, the Communications Working Group recently proposed an Africa framework paper to guide the coalitions approach to countering ISIS in Africa in the information space by undermining the brand, exposing the recruitment narrative, increasing opportunities for dialogue, sharing positive alternative narratives to ISIS. This is a vitally important effort. We are seeing I know you all know this we are seeing fighters of 13 and 14 years old take up weapons to kill people, and we have to get at this from every possible angle. And information work is vitally important. We urge more coalition working groups for example, the Counter-ISIS Finance Group to follow suit and pay additional attention to ISIS and its the problem it poses in Africa. And recent coalition expansion efforts have focused on African nations, with the Central African Republic and Mauritania joining as our 82nd and 83rd members. Well continue to encourage key frontline states and regional leaders in Africa to consider becoming members of this coalition. On a final related note today, the United States is announcing the designation of Ousmane Illiassou Djibo as a specially designated global terrorist. Djibo is a senior leader and key lieutenant in ISIS Greater Sahara. This designation is part of our continuing effort to counter ISIS financing in Africa. Let me just conclude by saying how grateful the United States is for your partnership and commitment to defeating ISIS in Iraq, in Syria, everywhere in the world. Weve made great progress because weve been working together. So we hope to keep our eye on the fight, to keep up the fight against this terrorist organization until it is decisively defeated. Thank you very much. The Ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS, reconvening in-person after two years, met today in Rome at the invitation of Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Luigi Di Maio and U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken. The Ministers reaffirmed their shared determination to continue the fight against Daesh/ISIS, and to create conditions for the enduring defeat of the terrorist group, which remains the Coalitions sole purpose, through a comprehensive, coordinated, and multifaceted effort. The Ministers welcomed new members joining the Coalition Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mauritania, and Yemen. Together the Ministers emphasized the protection of civilians as a priority and affirmed that international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as applicable, as well as relevant UN Security Council resolutions, must be upheld under all circumstances. The Ministers committed to strengthening cooperation across all Coalition lines of effort in order to ensure that Daesh/ISIS Core in Iraq and Syria, and its affiliates and networks around the world are unable to reconstitute any territorial enclave or continue to threaten our homelands, people, and interests. The Ministers remain firmly united in our outrage at atrocities perpetrated by Daesh/ISIS and in our determination to eliminate this global threat, and stand alongside survivors and families of victims of Daesh/ISIS crimes working for accountability. Daesh/ISIS no longer controls territory and nearly eight million people have been freed from its control in Iraq and Syria, but the threat remains. The resumption in Daesh/ISIS activities and its ability to rebuild its networks and capabilities to target security forces and civilians in areas in Iraq and Syria where the Coalition is not active, requires strong vigilance and coordinated action. This includes allocating adequate resources to sustain Coalition and legitimate partner forces efforts against Daesh/ISIS, and significant stabilization support, both to address the drivers that make communities vulnerable to recruitment by Daesh/ISIS and related violent ideological groups, as well as to provide support to liberated areas to safeguard our collective security interests. In this regard, the Ministers noted the 2021 Pledge Drive for Stabilization as an important means to help sustain the recovery of areas liberated from Daesh/ISIS and prevent its resurgence. The Ministers reaffirm that Daesh/ISIS will continue to be pressured by curbing its ability to raise revenue, enhancing information sharing on terrorists through bilateral and/or multilateral channels like INTERPOL, and fighting against Daesh/ISIS toxic propaganda and denying the group space to exploit social media online. The Ministers acknowledged Iraqs efforts to counter Daesh/ISIS remnants and prevent its resurgence, and commended the increased capacity of the Iraqi forces to combat Daesh/ISIS. Appropriate measures to enhance the operational efficiency and coordination of our collective efforts to maintain the necessary pressure on Daesh/ISIS remain essential. The Coalition operates in Iraq at the request of the Government of Iraq in full respect of Iraqs unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, and to the benefit of the Iraqi people. The Ministers firmly condemned the continuing attacks against Coalition personnel and convoys, and diplomatic facilities, emphasizing the importance of the Government of Iraq protecting Coalition assets. The Ministers welcomed the incremental expansion of NATOs non-combat advisory, training and capacity building mission in Iraq based on the requirements and consent of the Iraqi authorities and complementing the Coalitions efforts. The Ministers also welcomed the EUs support to the Iraqi authorities through the EUAM Iraq Mission. In Syria, the Coalition stands with the Syrian people in support of a lasting political settlement in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254. The Coalition must continue to be vigilant against the threat of terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, to build on the success it has achieved and continue to act together against any threats to this outcome and to avoid security vacuums that Daesh/ISIS may exploit. The Coalition continues to support inclusive local recovery and stabilization in areas liberated from Daesh/ISIS and reconciliation and reintegration efforts to foster conditions conducive to a Syria-wide political resolution to the conflict under the parameters of UN Security Council Resolution 2254. In a session of the meeting focused on the security situation in other continents and regions, particularly Africa, the Ministers noted with grave concern that Daesh/ISIS affiliates and networks in sub-Saharan Africa threaten security and stability, namely in the Sahel Region and in East Africa/Mozambique. The Coalition is committed to working with affected countries to address the threats posed by Daesh/ISIS in Africa to ensure the enduring global defeat of the organization upon the request and prior consent of the countries concerned, and in full respect of international law and in close coordination with existing initiatives, notably the Coalition for the Sahel and the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum. The Ministers welcomed the presence of delegations from several African nations as observers to this ministerial meeting. The Ministers discussed that reinforcing civilian state institutions and consolidating the rule of law, including law enforcement capacity, will be an essential component of combatting Daesh/ISIS, and that the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS will seek to have effective engagement on the African continent. The Ministers tasked the Coalition Working Groups to assess ways in which they can contribute to counter Daesh/ISIS efforts in the affected regions. The Ministers also welcomed Afghanistans efforts to counter the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria-Khurasan (ISIS-K). Recognizing the challenge posed by foreign terrorist fighters who are in custody, as well as their family members who remain in Syria and Iraq, the Ministers committed to pursuing existing effective justice and accountability mechanisms in close coordination with the countries of origin. This also includes accountability for fighters who have used sexual violence as an instrument of terror. The Coalition remains committed to promoting efforts to ensure that accused terrorists, including those of foreign nationalities, are treated appropriately and tried consistently with applicable international law obligations, including fair trial guarantees, and urges the custodians of the detained Daesh/ISIS terrorists to treat them humanely at all times, in accordance with international law. The Ministers further recognized that the situation for Daesh/ISIS detainees and family members in northeast Syria is of grave concern and recognized the importance of finding a comprehensive and long-term solution to this serious issue. The Coalition reaffirmed its belief that a comprehensive and collective effort remains necessary to achieve a full and enduring defeat of Daesh/ISIS worldwide. The Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS has proven that it is a cohesive, responsive tool that has achieved notable successes through military, political, stabilization, counter-messaging, financial, and law enforcement lines of effort. The Ministers also reaffirmed their intent to hold the next ministerial meeting of the Global Coalition by June 2022 and to hold a Small Group Political Directors Meeting in Brussels in the fall of 2021, circumstances pending. Local news is important. It's the information that will directly impact your life because its going on around you, every day. Join our group of dedicated readers today ... Subscribe As the number of positive COVID-19 cases continue to rise across North Alabama, so does the concern for some of the hospitals in the area. Huntsville Hospital's only had about 15 Covid patients for the last week, but Vice President of Operations Tracy Doughty said they're worried the numbers are only going to rise because of the Delta variant and the fact that less than 33% of people in Alabama are fully vaccinated. Thats concerning to us. Were keeping an eye on whats going on across the state and definitely in North Alabama," said Doughty. Huntsville Hospital was full of coronavirus patients in the summer of 2020. They're still full of patients a year later, but now they're mostly seeing patients from surgeries. Doughty said Madison County being in the very high-risk category for the virus is worrisome. Were concerned because were very busy now," he said. "Things have kind of gone back to normal, people getting surgeries, things theyve put off, so the hospital is already very full already, so we dont want a huge outbreak in our community and our hospital be suffering in the process. The age of most of their COVID patients in 2021 compared to 2020 is another change for Huntsville Hospital. Now we are seeing younger people who come in and are unvaccinated, theyre sick," said Doughty. "So, that is holding true, not only here but around the country. He said this proves that young people can still get seriously sick from the virus, and urges everyone to get the vaccine if they're eligible. Especially with the more dangerous and contagious Delta variant. The virus affects everybody differently, everybody genetic makeup differently, and I wouldnt take the chance by not having the vaccine," said Doughty. Doughty told WAAY 31 that the Delta variant is definitely in our community, and encourages people to get vaccinated so the hospitals can continue their normal operations. The trial for Christopher Henderson moved to the penalty phase Friday after jurors heard from several witnesses about the now-convicted killer. He was found guilty of killing five people including his pregnant wife, Kristin Chambers Henderson, and her unborn baby. The jury started deliberations for around an hour and a half Friday before breaking for the holiday weekend. Multiple witnesses were called to the stand prior to deliberations starting. The prosecution called only one witness, Kelly Sokolowski. She's the mother of one-year-old Eli Sokolowski, who is one of the five victims. Kelly told the prosecution that Eli was her one and only child and on the day of the house fire she said she felt like, "someone who just realized her entire world would never be the same." The defense then called six witnesses to the stand including several of Henderson's family members, one being his mother who talked about some of their memories. The defense also called Henderson's 18-year-old daughter who was in middle school at the time the murders happened. She spoke about several photos shown to her, including one that was taken the day Henderson and Kristin Cambers Henderson were married. During closing arguments, the prosecution said that, "it's a stretch to talk about family when he took out an entire generation of Smallwoods." He also said that they're seeking justice and that Henderson's actions have earned him the death penalty. The defense disagreed and argued against the death penalty. Defense Attorney Bruce Gardner called it an abomination to be talking about a death sentence in a court of law in America. Gardner also said that it's not fair to sentence Henderson to die while Rhonda Carlson, the co-defendant, lives. That's because she has a plea deal with the District Attorney's Office. Judge Comer said 10 jurors need to choose the death penalty for that to be their recommendation. Ultimately though it is up to the judge whether Henderson receives life in prison without parole or the death penalty. In the days that followed after it came out on Twitter, and even when it was announced I was working on it, so many people said to me, Oh, my God, its so funny. And I was going, have you read the same [thing]? Bravo recalls. There are even a handful of people who watched the movie saying, I read the tweets and I thought it was going to be more fun. I suggested that they go back and read the Twitter. . . . I know that the text P---y is worth thousands is really funny, but the thing behind it is deeply unfunny. In the months that followed our miscarriage, my husband and I separately shared our sadness with close family and friends, cried and tried to process the loss. But after a month or so, when my body had physically recovered, we also began to mourn together. There were random moments where one or both of us would cry and talk about what happened. His willingness to share his feelings of loss with me brought us closer. When I'm in the house, he will call something out to me from another room. To hear and understand him, I have to stop what I'm doing (even if it's just eating bonbons and scrolling through social media) and go to the room he's in. Back then the expression was No taxation without representation. Sarah Shapiro wanted something a little simpler, just Taxation Without Representation. Sarah is the District resident credited with suggesting in 2000 that the capitals status as a city whose residents pay federal taxes but have no voice in Congress should be set in stone, so to speak. (As well see, theres an even earlier chapter to this story.) Todays Headlines The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Recent years have not only highlighted racial divides, but also revealed how little weve been taught in schools about their historical context. Consider how many of us grew up knowing the jingle, In fourteen-hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue, but never hearing the date 1619. Consider how long it took for people outside of Texas to start talking about Juneteenth. People are still shocked to learn that Georgetown was once filled with free and enslaved Black people, even though their graves remain there as reminders. I am the breadwinner for my wife and 9-month-old, and I wont be able to cover to my familys expenses, said Baban, a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits. Well almost certainly lose our home, and Ill lose my car, which I would need to work. I thought these benefits would see me through the next couple of months until I can get on my feet. In a phone interview, a retired clandestine officer who worked with Mr. Downing in Moscow and at Langley said that he restored morale by his sheer emphasis on operations, on the collection of intelligence and tradecraft. Securely meeting agents on the streets of Moscow or Beijing thats what came first. It was easy to lose sight of that, and we had in some ways. The officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of his assignments, added that Mr. Downing inspired us to do this mission with a sense of adventure and dedication that ramped up our capabilities. Of their immediate family, Michelle Jeans said Ramos had kept in touch with her the longest, sharing updates on his poker-playing hobby, sending postcards from his nine-month hike on the Appalachian Trail and sometimes joining her at concerts or movies. But Jeans said Ramos also sent her emails about the harassment charges he faced from a high school classmate. And he ranted for hours by phone, Jeans testified, about his fixation with the legal fight against the womans supporters, including the author of a column in the Capital newspaper. Chase Kevin Allen, a 25-year-old man from Seekonk, Mass., was arrested this week on charges of engaging in violence and destroying property on the grounds of the Capitol. According to FBI papers filed in court against Allen, he was seen on video stomping on reporting equipment as a large group of individuals swarmed several reporters and drove them away. In one video, a person who appears to be Allen is seen cursing and yelling for the journalists to leave the area. The number of accounted for people have increased, which of course is good news, Levine Cava said. In some cases, where we had originally received a report of a potentially missing person, that report was only marked as one person, but when detectives were able to reach and verified the safety of the person in question, we discovered there were several family members who can be accounted for . . . and marked them safe. The administration has made significant progress getting vaccines into arms, but the pace has now slowed to fewer than 1 million shots per day, well below the mid-April peak of about 3.5 million daily. Biden will not meet his goal of having 70 percent of adults with at least one shot by the Fourth of July the country is on track to clear that by early August, according to a Washington Post analysis. There are debatable issues around the broad question of voting rights and procedures. There are questions about how much restrictive laws actually reduce voter turnout or how much expansive laws expand it. Democrats have long opposed most voter identification laws, but when Manchin included one in his proposal, albeit one that allowed for alternative forms of identification such as utility bills, many in his party got behind it. Republicans still werent willing to give the Manchin proposal consideration, suggesting that in this charged environment, there is no space for real debate. Several former interpreters expressed concern that if they were sent to another country for processing but were denied, they could be sent home to an uncertain fate. One applicant, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of being targeted by the Taliban, said that if he were offered the chance to leave but not guaranteed a visa, it would be a difficult choice. Last September, when Becciu renounced the rights of cardinal one of the few times that has happened over a century neither the Vatican nor Francis explicitly tied the move to the investment deal. A day after his firing, Becciu called a news conference and said he had been accused by the pope of embezzlement in a face-to-face conversation. But Becciu described the accusations as pertaining to a separate case involving donations to Beccius home diocese on the Italian island of Sardinia. Charles L. Riney, 86, of Washington, went home to be with our Lord and Savior on Sunday, June 27, 2021, at 7:25 a.m. He was born in Washington on Nov. 3, 1934, to Thomas and Ann Marie (Smith) Riney. He loved gardening and spending time with his beloved dog. He is survived by one sister, Paul Trusted local news has never been more important, but providing the information you need, information that can change sometimes minute-by-minute, requires a partnership with you, our readers. Please consider making a contribution today to support this vital resource that you and countless others depend on. PS can reveal there is a good reason why both the subject and the viewer do not see much of the paintings in progress. Do admitted he works on his portraits from photos he has studied in great detail well before his subjects enter the studio, and that while he aims to start with a fresh canvas for the filming, often he ends up presenting works he has already done studies as back-ups if hes having an off day while the cameras are rolling. It was Ryan who taught Do the impasto technique of using thick layers of paint trowled onto the canvas with a palette knife, a style also used by high-profile artists such as Ben Quilty. Ryan said he advised Do on the initial line drawings for the works, though Do played down his old friends contribution when PS called. I think he may be taking a bit too much credit, Do laughed, adding he seeks Ryans advice when unsure about where a work is heading, if Ive got the shape of a nose or face wrong, but was emphatic all the preliminary drawing and painting was exclusively his own work. I read a lot before they come in. Sometimes there might be half an hour where they say nothing and Im deep into painting that doesnt make good TV so we obviously have to edit, Do said. In reality, each portrait is at least a solid days work, sometimes longer, with Do revealing some sitters had asked him to fix a few things up after filming stopped. The sitters get to take their paintings home. Creative collaborations are not new for Do. A decade ago the Herald revealed a ghost-writer was hired to work on Dos bestselling memoir, The Happiest Refugee, which picked up three awards at the 2011 Australian Book Industry Awards. But publishers Allen and Unwin said Dos final book bore no resemblance to the original manuscript handed to them by the ghost-writer, former senior Herald journalist Michael Visontay. Do said he was unsure if there will be a seventh series of Brush With Fame, explaining he now has a publishing deal with Allen and Unwin to write a staggering 50 childrens books over the next three years. Packers tender James Packer Credit:AAP While the pretty bikini-clad social media influencers posing for selfies on the deck of James Packers $200 million superyacht IJE off Mykonos have been drawing all the attention recently, a couple of crew members from the giant floating gin palace also made headlines when the boat cruised past Italy. Turns out one of IJEs tender boats, a sleek black vessel worth a couple of million dollars alone, somehow ran aground on a beach at Melito di Porto Salvo, at full pelt, and narrowly missed sunbathers who filmed the incident. According to local media, one of the two crew had to be taken to hospital but was later released with no major injuries. As for the boat? PS hears it sustained a few scratches but was soon back on its way to join the Packer flotilla en route to Greece. Big money for Honey Birdette On Tuesday night, lingerie queen Eloise Monaghan was celebrating the sale of her Australian-grown Honey Birdette lingerie business to the iconic Playboy empire in the US for a staggering $443million. My business partner [retail billionaire] Brett Blundy called me and asked me how it feels to turn a $100,000 investment into a $443 million business in 15 years ... Im still pinching myself, she told PS between sips of champagne from her Los Angeles backyard, having relocated to California with her wife Natalie Monaghan to grow the business. Revved up: Honey Birdette founder Eloise Monaghan. Its been a crazy 48 hours, but one moment really stands out for me. I lost my mum Cheryl suddenly last August, and just as the deal was being closed her favourite song came on Spotify ... Rod Stewarts Sailing. I took that as a sign, a good omen. Its been a long road. I had to take on Frank Lowy, who didnt want sex toys being sold in his malls, and we prevailed. Ive had everything thrown at me, but we still got here, and its only going to get bigger and better. In 2019, her former business partner Janelle Barboza unsuccessfully sued in the Queensland Supreme Court against Honey Birdette, Blundy, his investment firm BB Retail Capital, and the US clothing giant Hanesbrands, alleging breach of contract and unconscionable conduct after she sold out of the business. But for Monaghan, who retains equity in the business and will stay on as its creative director, the future only looks bright. She predicts Honey Birdette will top $2 billion in global retail sales in two years. As for her newfound wealth, Monaghan laughed: I have not big plans on how to spend it, but I did buy a pot plant today. Royal lather A few noses have been put out of joint around the Park Street corridors of Australias largest magazine house, Are Media, following the launch of Australian Womens Weekly royal correspondent Juliet Riedens new podcast The Royal Record, which promises to separate royal fact from fiction. Hot topic: The royal family. Credit:PA The podcast is an independent venture and separate from Are Media, which also owns the Weekly. It is also being co-hosted by another former Park Street stalwart, ex-senior Weekly writer Bryce Corbett. Among the senior bosses at Are Media said to have been left cold by the new venture is Womans Day and New Idea high priestess Fiona Connolly, for whom the Windsors continue to provide a rich and often controversial seam of content. I was recently at dinner with a group of loose acquaintances of a similar age to celebrate the birthday of a woman I had met 10 years earlier at university. She was turning 31. Also at the table were a divorcee, a single woman, a mother, a woman who had been dating her boyfriend for a few months, and a newlywed. The mood was flat. The divorcee had been dating a new man for two years and didnt know where it was going. He doesnt understand the fertility issues I have. He says he wants a baby, but I try to talk to him about when and he says we dont have to talk about that yet. Were not the first cohort to experience a crisis. To experience the passing of time. And by passing of time, I mean the dawning realisation that time is finite. Credit:Liz Rowland/illustrationroom.com.au The single woman had gone to a cafe that morning to have breakfast with a guy she met on a dating app. He just didnt show up. I wasnt even that excited to meet him, but he couldnt even be bothered showing up. Breakfast was his idea, too. Its always something. I dont even really want a boyfriend, but what else should I be doing with my time? The mothers lament was a classic. She had already drunk three glasses of wine to most of the tables one. I didnt appreciate what I had when I had it: the freedom, the lack of direction. I actually just want my lack of structure back. I dont think I thought enough about what having a child was going to be like. Were already seeing evidence of that in other jurisdictions that have higher levels of vaccination, he said. So, when it is like the flu, we should treat it like the flu, and that means no lockdowns. Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly said health experts could in the future measure success based on the number of people severely unwell with COVID-19, rather than total case numbers. This year, Australia has recorded just over 2000 cases of COVID-19, with one death in a person who had returned from overseas. Besides Queensland, where the state keeps all positive cases in hospital, Professor Kelly said there have been few hospitalisations and very few cases in intensive care. Illustration: Matt Golding Credit: There are active cases in all but two of our jurisdictions in Australia. But throughout that, and as of today, there are only three people in intensive care out of all of those hundreds of cases now that are active in Australia, he said. Thats a really crucial point. It does point to and will increasingly point to how vaccination will see us get out of this current situation, he said. There were more than 900 deaths from coronavirus in Australia last year, mostly in Victoria. Burnet Institute infectious diseases expert and physician Suman Majumdar said he thought a rough vaccination target of 80 per cent would reasonably allow Australians to live with coronavirus in the community, without regular lockdowns. Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly believes vaccination will reduce the countrys reliance on lockdowns to manage COVID-19. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen But he said the public should not expect it would be possible to just let the virus go. Instead there would likely be a gradual release of restrictions. Rather than the flu, I would say measles might be more similar, because measles is catastrophic if it is rampant in an unvaccinated population, Dr Majumdar said. University of Melbourne epidemiologist Tony Blakely said while it was sensible to plan for living with the virus, a high level of vaccination alone would not be sufficient to protect the public as Australia opened up. Thats because he estimated that an extremely high vaccination rate of 90 per cent of all Australians, including children, would be required to get close to herd immunity the point where it becomes difficult for the virus to spread through the community. So we will we need to keep wearing masks after some period of time ... in high-risk places like buses, trains and cramped indoor environments, he said. Professor Blakely also said contact tracers would need to continue tracking the virus. Vaccination alone is not enough for this little bugger, he said. It requires a package of vaccination, contact tracing, mask wearing and physical distancing. Professor Blakely said that living with the virus would mean there would be some deaths and illness in Australia from coronavirus but we just have to get our way through it. Loading I think learning to live with the virus is the most sensible scenario to have. It is going to be bumpy out in the community with outbreaks here and there until we really get on top of it, and its going to be a little bit bumpy inside the health sector. Professor Baxter called for a shift in attitudes on how to prevent the spread of infectious airborne diseases, including by following the lead of many Asian countries and making regular mask-wearing the norm, as well as a bigger focus on ventilation. A rare silver lining of coronavirus restrictions has been that cases of the flu have dropped so dramatically, its suspected the virus could have been eradicated from the community. Last month there were just 52 cases of influenza detected, compared with almost 60,000 in June 2019. In the past, Professor Baxter said not enough attention had been given to how the flu could be prevented, and it was just accepted that it killed older people. Its a shame people can travel, but cant taste or eat out. She hoped visitors to the South West were staying throughout the week so they could still enjoy the region and her winery. Each time there is disruption, it seems to get worse, Ms Cullen said. Its tough but I guess necessary. And we have to ask if they are from Perth or Peel ... anyway, hopefully it will finish Tuesday. Loading Ms Cullens concern at playing police to winery visitors during the busy weekend was echoed by Sal Davis, the owner of fine dining Dunsborough restaurant Yarri. I had someone ring up just earlier to ask if we would be checking licences, she said on Friday. Ms Davis said she fielded dozens of calls in the minutes after Mr McGowan announced the new lockdown measures. Ive been taking a lot of calls and cancellations. People were holding off for lunch tomorrow and dinner tomorrow [Saturday], and even dinner on Monday night, she said on Friday. The restaurant had already begun promoting specials on its social media accounts to encourage takeaway business and patronage but Yarri, like many restaurants in the South West, was not one usually frequented by the regions locals. We have kind of done a little social media push, such as BYO ... we wont charge corkage, she said. But we are such a destination restaurant that we do rely a lot on the Perth and interstate market. The poor locals, when they do want to come they cant, and when they can, were busy. Ms Davis said Yarri was often full, which was terrific, but the face of hospitality had changed so much in the 18 months of the pandemic there was no room for spontaneity. We wont recoup takings from just takeaway service, she said. Our food is not transportable. Youd be having an inferior experience and I dont want that for people. What weve done since reopening in July last year is do set seating times and a set menu - both resulting in a more sustainable business that can more easily ride lockdowns and restrictions. Meghan Freind, general manager at Core Cider in Pickering Brook, was ready to welcome patrons back over the weekend but the strict restrictions had changed her mind. Unfortunately due to the continued restrictions and limited trading opportunities, we will not be opening over the weekend as it is not financially viable, she said. The limited capacity heavily impacts opening feasibility and therefore it does not make sense to open given our size, venue layout, offering and location. Three Pound Groups Tim McLernon, who owns CBD bars The Stables and The Reveley and Australias biggest pub, The Camfield, at the Optus Stadium precinct, was disappointed with the latest restrictions. We were ready to open and now we wont until at least Tuesday, he said. Another 10 days of hospitality restrictions will make it even tougher, after the last six this week. The Old Synagogues Ross Drennan said he had planned to open the Fremantle venue because there were no new cases in the community. We had deliveries already and have many others on standby but under the current restrictions, 20 people is ridiculous [to open] for an 800-person venue, he said. Its very disappointing. Lockdowns this year alone have cost us over $1 million in revenue and our staff have lost out on the best part of $300,000 in wages. Australian Venue Cos Joe Baily, who runs Sweetwater in Fremantle, The Guildford Hotel and The Aviary, Winter Village and The Globe in and around the CBD, said he would utilise existing bookings and Uber Eats to keep staff on deck and remain serviceable. The the majority of our venues are open and committed to getting back to business, in line with government restrictions, he said. There is a power shift under way in Australia, from the Commonwealth to the states. No matter how hard Scott Morrison tries to resist it, the pandemic keeps forcing him to collaborate with the premiers on their increasingly assertive terms. On Friday we saw the clearest expression yet of this dynamic as the Labor states, led by Victoria, pulled rank on the Prime Minister and his most prominent state ally, NSW, to slash the number of international travellers to Australia. Illustration: Simon Letch Credit: The irony of the states deciding who comes to this country, and the circumstances in which they come, would not have been lost on the Prime Minister. They have had this right in a theoretical sense since March 2020, when the hotel quarantine system was first improvised in haste. But they only sought to exercise it on a national level this week, and only after they had lost control of the new, more infectious Delta strain of the coronavirus. This is an important point to bear in mind before considering the Prime Ministers own failures this week. The virus stalks us now because NSW and Queensland two of the most successful states in managing the pandemic last year let it out into the community, not because the PM has bungled the vaccination rollout. The NSW Treasurer and the minister responsible for hotel quarantine are keen to join a trial of home quarantine for returning international vaccinated travellers, saying the focus must now fully be on managing the virus rather than eradicating it. Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres said NSWs response to the pandemic needed to evolve, with Treasurer Dominic Perrottet insisting that the states metric for success also had to change as vaccination rates improved and the country moved from an elimination to a suppression strategy. Treasurer Dominic Perrottet and Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres have shown support for trialling home quarantine. Credit:Rhett Wyman Case numbers themselves should not be the sole measure of a successful pandemic response, Mr Perrottet told the Herald. There are significant economic and social impacts that need to be considered and balanced going forward. London: The Australian government has told the UN high commissioner that blocking an Australian mans wish to return home to support his mother during her cancer treatment did not cause him irreparable harm. In April, the UN issued an interim ruling ordering the Australian government to facilitate the return of two men who had launched a case to the UN Human Rights Committee, claiming that Australias border closures and strict caps on returning citizens were a violation of their human rights. Jason George, shown here with his wife Deborah, is stranded overseas and has taken his case to the UN. One of the pair, Jason George, an Australian working in the United States who has been fully vaccinated since March, said that one of his reasons to return home was to support his mother through cancer. But the Australian government said the UNs interim order should be overturned because Mr Georges circumstances did not pass the threshold of what is considered harmful enough. Man in his 60s rushed to the hospital after shooting in Louisville's Shawnee neighborhood Retired Lieutenant Colonel Ty Edwards was cheered on by a crowd of more than 17,000 fans at Tampa Bay's Amalie Arena during the national anthem before Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. Weatherford, TX (76086) Today Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low near 70F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low near 70F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Weatherford, TX (76086) Today Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms overnight. Low near 70F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms overnight. Low near 70F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. HOLYOKE, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- A delayed opening at Holyoke Mall had many people talking this morning. The mall said it was due to "unforeseen circumstances" while we've learned it was a due to a bomb threat. Today Warmer and turning more humid later in the day with intervals of clouds and sunshine. Some early morning patchy fog is possible. Tonight Partly cloudy. Tomorrow Partly sunny, hot, and humid. There might be a stray PM shower or t-storm in spots, mainly north. The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. The U.S. Supreme Court has decided it will hear a case brought by families from Maine who want to use a state tuition program to send their children to religious schools General Services Officer, Skopje, North Macedonia Organization: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Closing date: Thursday, 8 July 2021 The majority of positions in OSCE field operations are filled by secondment, which means that individuals are nominated by their respective OSCE participating State. In addition, a limited number of seconded positions are available at the OSCE Secretariat and the institutions. Issued by OSCE Mission to Skopje Vacancy number VNSKPP00592 Vacancy type International Contracted Field of expertise General Administration Grade P2 Number of posts 1 Duty station Skopje Date of issue 11 January 2021 Deadline for application 8 July 2021 - 23:59 Central European Time (CET/CEST) Date of entry on duty 1 September 2021 Background The OSCE has a comprehensive approach to security that encompasses politico-military, economic and environmental, and human aspects. It therefore addresses a wide range of security-related concerns, including arms control, confidence- and security-building measures, human rights, combating human trafficking, national minorities, democratization, policing strategies, counter-terrorism and economic and environmental activities. All 57 participating States enjoy equal status, and decisions are taken by consensus on a politically, but not legally binding basis. OSCE missions and field activities are the front line of OSCE work in countries that require assistance and are the agent through which political decisions are translated into action. Each mission has a different mandate, but generally work addresses early warning, preventive diplomacy, conflict management and post-conflict rehabilitation. The OSCE Mission to Skopje is the Organizations longest-serving field operation working on inter- ethnic relations, early warning, the rule of law, democratic governance and transnational threats and organized crime. Tasks and Responsibilities Under the overall supervision of the Chief of Fund Administration (CFA), the incumbent is responsible for the administration and management of a diverse range of procurement, asset management, logistical, building management and transport services in support of all components of the Mission, supervising, directly or through sub-ordinate supervisors, the work and staff of the General Services Division. He/she is responsible for providing advice to the CFA on all of the above components of the mission operation and administration system. More specifically, the incumbent will be responsible for: 1. General functions, to include: Assisting in all aspects of planning and provision of support tasks including logistics support and technical services required to execute the Missions mandate; Assisting in policy reviews and formulation of procedures to improve the missions resource management and to streamline and/or enhance the provision of support services; Assessing staff development needs, developing and implementing a strategy to meet those needs; Supervising and assigning work to relevant staff, monitoring its implementation and evaluating the performance of staff supervised. 2. Procurement operations and ensuring efficient delivery and disposition of quality goods/services at maximum cost efficiency, through: Planning and managing all procurement and contractual aspects related to procurement of diverse services and commodities, taking into account local economic and other conditions; Developing standards and criteria for the evaluation of goods, services, supplier capacity, etc.; Managing the preparation of requests for bids, processing of specifications, and other exhibits that may be required in the procurement process to ensure that all actions have been taken and all contracts have been issued in accordance with OSCE rules and regulations applicable to specific processes; Implementing procedures of the FMMC in the processing of claims for write-off of OSCE inventory and property, and liaising, as appropriate, with the Property Survey Board based in Vienna. 3. Operation of functions relating to material management and transport, through: Controlling funds appropriated for logistic support and material management services, ensuring efficient and timely resource utilisation in the framework of the approved budget, OSCE Financial Regulations, Instructions and administrative practices; supervising the preparation of budget estimates for future financial periods for all object of expenditures controlled; Providing effective and timely planning, management of supply support, ensuring the cost-effectiveness and timeliness of the support provided; Managing allocation and control of all equipment and supplies received, stored and distributed by the mission; responsible for maintenance of accurate and complete records with respect to all equipment and supplies received, stored and distributed by the mission; Supervising the activities of the Transport Division and monitoring allotment accounts related to travel expenditure; Liaising with the OSCE Secretariat staff on field equipment and supply matters and co-ordinating the day-to-day support of supply operations. 4. Building Management, more specifically managing the maintenance, repair and housekeeping of missions premises and outside projects; assigning work to individual service providers, as required; monitoring and evaluating performance; making recommendations to the CFA as appropriate; 5. Replacing the Chief of Fund Administration during his/her absences, as required; 6. Performing other related tasks as requested. For more detailed information on the work of OSCE Mission to Skopje, please see www.osce.org/skopje. Necessary Qualifications Citizenship of an OSCE participating State, excluding citizenship or permanent residence of the Republic of North Macedonia First-level university degree in logistics, business administration, management or related field A minimum of four years of progressively responsible professional experience preferably in a multinational environment Prior operational experience in one or more field operations with responsibility for administration and management of general support services Proven record of effective operational leadership and management skills Professional fluency in English including excellent oral and writing communication skills Computer literate with practical experience with Microsoft Office applications Good communications, analytical and planning skills Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, and an ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities Demonstrated ability and willingness to work as a member of a team, with people of different cultural and religious backgrounds, different gender, and diverse political views, while maintaining impartiality and objectivity Valid driving license Required competencies Core values Commitment: Actively contributes to achieving organizational goals Diversity: Respects others and values their diverse perspectives and contributions Integrity: Acts in a manner consistent with the Organizations core values and organizational principles Accountability: Takes responsibility for own action and delegated work Core competencies Communication: Actively works to achieve clear and transparent communication with colleagues and with stakeholders of the Organization Collaboration: Works effectively with others on common goals and fosters a positive, trust-based working environment Planning: Works towards the achievement of goals in a structured and measured manner Analysis and decision-making: Analyses available information, draws well-founded conclusions and takes appropriate decisions Initiative-taking: Proposes and initiates new ideas, activities and projects Flexibility: Responds positively and effectively to changing circumstances Managerial competencies (for positions with managerial responsibilities) Leadership: Provides a clear sense of direction, builds trust and creates an enabling environment Strategic thinking: Identifies goals that advance the organizational agenda and develops plans for achieving them Managing performance: Helps to maximize team performance by providing active feedback and skill development opportunities Remuneration Package Monthly remuneration subject to social security deductions is about USD 3,991, to which Board and Lodging Allowance applicable at the duty station is added, currently at EUR 113 per day. Social benefits will include possibility of participation in the Cigna medical insurance scheme and the OSCE Provident Fund. Please note that appointments are normally made at step 1 of the applicable OSCE salary scale. How To Apply All candidates must apply online, using the OSCE online application link, found under https://jobs.osce.org The OSCE retains the discretion to re-advertise the vacancy, to cancel the recruitment, or offer an appointment at a lower grade or to offer an appointment with modified job description or a different duration. Please note that vacancies in the OSCE are open for competition only amongst nationals of participating States, please see http://www.osce.org/states The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious, ethnic and social backgrounds to apply. The OSCE is a non-career organization committed to the principle of staff rotation, therefore the maximum period of service in this post is 7 years. Please be aware that the OSCE does not request payment at any stage of the application and review process. Link to the organizations job offer: https://unjobs.org/vacancies/1625174808666 Willmar, MN (56201) Today Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low near 70F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low near 70F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Winchester, VA (22601) Today Mostly clear. Low near 65F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Mostly clear. Low near 65F. Winds light and variable. Viewed of Take Five - This is your final free article during this 30 day period.Stay in touch with all of the news from Winchester, Frederick and Clarke. Sign up today for complete digital access to The Winchester Star. TOKYO (AP) A powerful mudslide carrying a deluge of black water and debris crashed into rows of houses in a town west of Tokyo following heavy rains on Saturday, leaving at least 19 people missing, officials said. First responders observe a landslide caused by heavy rains in Zushi, Kanagawa prefecture, west of Tokyo on Saturday, July 3, 2021. In Atami in Shizuoka prefecture, authorities in Japan say multiple people are missing after a powerful mudslide swept away rows of houses.(Kyodo News via AP) TOKYO (AP) A powerful mudslide carrying a deluge of black water and debris crashed into rows of houses in a town west of Tokyo following heavy rains on Saturday, leaving at least 19 people missing, officials said. Dozens of homes may have been buried in Atami, a town known for hot springs, said Shizuoka prefecture spokesman Takamichi Sugiyama. Public broadcaster NHK gave the number of missing people at 20, but Sugiyama said the prefecture confirmed at least 19, although he said the number may grow. Torrential rains have slammed parts of Japan starting earlier this week. Experts said dirt had been loosened, increasing landslide risks in a country filled with valleys and mountains. Shizuoka Gov. Heita Kawakatsu told reporters that the Coast Guard had discovered two people who had been washed into the sea by the mudslide. Their hearts had stopped, but their deaths were not yet officially declared, he said. Other details of their identity were not released. In this photo taken and provided by Satoru Watanabe, a road is covered by mud and debris following heavy rain in Atami city, Shizuoka prefecture, Saturday, July 3, 2021. A powerful mudslide carrying a deluge of black water and debris crashed into rows of houses in the same city, west of Tokyo following heavy rains on Saturday, leaving multiple people missing, officials said.(Satoru Watanabe via AP) I offer my deepest condolences to everyone who has suffered, he said, adding that utmost efforts will be made to rescue lives. Both Kawakatsu and Sugiyama said it had been raining hard in the area all morning. Self-defense forces will join firefighters and police in the rescue operation, and a minister from the national government had also arrived, they said. Japanese media reports said Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga called an emergency meeting for his Cabinet. Houses are damaged by mudslide following heavy rain at Izusan district in Atami, west of Tokyo, Saturday, July 3, 2021. A powerful mudslide carrying a deluge of black water and debris crashed into rows of houses in a town west of Tokyo following heavy rains on Saturday, leaving multiple people missing, officials said. (Naoya Osato/Kyodo News via AP) Evacuation warnings were issued for a wide area, including the so-called Level 5, which is the highest possible alert. The landslides appeared to have struck multiple times, about as fast as a car. Footage showed a powerful, black mudslide slither down a mountain, knocking over and crushing houses and sweeping away cars in its path. Helpless neighbors watched in horror, some recording on their phones. NHK TV footage showed a part of a bridge had collapsed. Atami is a quaint seaside resort area in Shizuoka prefecture, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Tokyo. The area that was hit by the mudslide, Izusan, includes hot springs, residential areas, shopping streets and a famous shrine. Mari Yamaguchi is on Twitter https://twitter.com/mariyamaguchi Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama SEATTLE (AP) Each day, more deaths are being linked to the heat wave that struck the Pacific Northwest this past week, with medical staff who treated people overwhelmed by temperatures well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) saying the toll from the extreme weather will keep creeping up. Farmworkers, who declined to give their names, break up earth, Thursday, July 1, 2021, near St. Paul, Ore., as a heat wave bakes the Pacific Northwest in record-high temperatures. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard) SEATTLE (AP) Each day, more deaths are being linked to the heat wave that struck the Pacific Northwest this past week, with medical staff who treated people overwhelmed by temperatures well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) saying the toll from the extreme weather will keep creeping up. Hundreds of deaths were being investigated as heat related in Oregon, Washington state and British Columbia. The dangerous heat began June 25 and only began to subside in some areas on Tuesday. The death toll in Oregon alone has reached at least 95, the state medical examiner said on Friday, with most occurring in Multnomah County, which encompasses Portland. The deaths include an Guatemalan immigrant who collapsed as he worked at a plant nursery in a rural Oregon town during the soaring heat. In Canada, British Columbias chief coroner, Lisa Lapointe, said Friday that 719 sudden and unexpected deaths have been reported in the province during the heat wave, and that number over a seven-day period is unprecedented. LaPointe said the number of deaths is three times more than what would normally occur during the same period. The intense temperatures are believed to be a significant contributing factor in the jump, but the number is expected to increase as more information is compiled, LaPointe said. Pedro Lucas, left, nephew of farm worker Sebastian Francisco Perez who died last weekend while working in an extreme heat wave, breaks up earth, Thursday, July 1, 2021, near St. Paul, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard) Washington state authorities have linked about 30 deaths to the heat, with more reports coming in each day this week. I think, over time, we will understand that the numbers are only going to climb," said Dr. Steve Mitchell, director of Harborview Medical Center's Emergency Medicine Department in Seattle. "I know, in my experience, that Im expecting to see much larger numbers than what we are currently able to report because of talking to EMS colleagues who were experiencing twice as many calls for help that day. There were 1,792 emergency room visits for suspected heat-related illness since June 25, the Washington state Department of Health said Thursday. Of those visits, 21% required people to be admitted to the hospital. Patrons of the Bitterroot River jump into the cool water as temperatures crested 100 degrees in Missoula, Montana, on Wednesday, June 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Tommy Martino) Monday had the most emergency room visits, with 702, the health department said. It was the hottest day of the heat wave in many areas, with Seattle, Portland, Oregon, and other cities smashing all-time heat records. It reached 108 F (42 C) in Seattle, and 116 F (47) in Oregon's largest city. With this latest heat emergency, when we were dealing with it, the only thing comparable at Harborview and in the region that weve experienced recently was actually the early days of COVID," Mitchell said. Forecasters blamed the temperatures that spiked more than 30 degrees above normal on a heat dome that parked a strong high pressure system over the region. Temperatures cooled considerably in western Washington and Oregon by Tuesday, though a heat warning was still in effect for parts of the interior Northwest and Canada. Experts say the hot weather is a harbinger of things to come as climate change affects global weather patterns. The extraordinary heat wave stretched into the upper reaches of California, where several wildfires erupted in the hot, dry conditions, making it difficult for firefighters trying to beat back the flames that have driven thousands from their homes in mountain communities and burned several residences. SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) Rescuers suspended their search for the living and the dead in the rubble of a collapsed South Florida condo building Saturday to allow crews to start preparing the unstable remainder of the structure for demolition ahead of a tropical storm. Search and rescue personnel remove remains on a stretcher as they work atop the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condo building where scores of people remain missing more than a week after it partially collapsed, Friday, July 2, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. Rescue efforts resumed Thursday evening after being halted for most of the day over concerns about the stability of the remaining structure.(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) Rescuers suspended their search for the living and the dead in the rubble of a collapsed South Florida condo building Saturday to allow crews to start preparing the unstable remainder of the structure for demolition ahead of a tropical storm. The search and rescue mission was halted in the afternoon as workers began the precarious business of boring holes to hold explosives in the concrete of the still-standing portion of the Champlain Towers South tower in Surfside, Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah told relatives awaiting word on missing loved ones. In the closed-door briefing, Jadallah said the suspension was a necessary safety measure because the drilling could cause the structure to fail. If that were to happen, he said, Its just going to collapse without warning. But in video that one of the relatives livestreamed on social media, one of them was heard calling it devastating that the search was on pause. She asked whether rescuers could at least work the perimeter of the site so as not to stop the operation for so many painful hours. Also Saturday, the confirmed death toll from the partial collapse of the 12-story building rose to 24 with the discovery of two more bodies. There were 121 people still unaccounted for. Evalyn Fregene holds a bouquet of flowers as she pays her respects at a makeshift memorial near the Champlain Towers South condo building, where scores of victims remain missing more than a week after it partially collapsed, Saturday, July 3, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) Concerns had been mounting over the past week that the damaged structure was at risk of failure, endangering the crews below. The search in adjacent areas of the collapse site was curtailed, and shifts detected by monitors early Thursday prompted a 15-hour suspension of the entire effort until engineers determined it was safe to resume. The building wont come down until Monday at the earliest, according to Jadallah. That estimate was based on how many holes the demolition team needs to drill, he said, adding that the process has to move slowly to prevent a premature collapse. With Tropical Storm Elsa looming in the Caribbean and forecast to move toward the state in the coming days, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said demolishing the tottering and structurally unsound" structure is the prudent thing to do. Search and rescue personnel help a colleague, as they work atop the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condo building, where scores of victims remain missing more than a week after it partially collapsed, Friday, July 2, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) If the building is taken down, this will protect our search and rescue teams, because we dont know when it could fall over, DeSantis said at a news conference earlier in the day. And, of course, with these gusts, potentially that would create a really severe hazard. "The fear was that (Elsa) may take the building down for us and take it down in the wrong direction, Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said. Elsa was downgraded Saturday from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph) as it brushed past the island of Hispaniola, home to the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Rescue teams use jack hammers to chip through debris and rubble as they continue to look for survivors at the partially collapsed Champlain Towers South Condo building in Surfside, Fla., on Saturday, July 3, 2021. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald via AP) The long-term forecast track showed it heading toward Florida as a tropical storm by Tuesday morning, though some models would carry it into the Gulf or up the Atlantic Coast. Meteorologists warned that it could bring heavy rain and gusty winds to the Miami area. So we cant let our guard down, said Robert Molleda of the National Weather Service. "You still need to be watching this very closely. Once the structure is demolished, the remnants will be removed immediately with the intent of giving rescuers access for the first time to parts of the garage area that are a focus of interest, Jadallah said. That could give a clearer picture of voids that may exist in the rubble and could possibly harbor survivors. Rescue teams use jack hammers to chip through debris and rubble as they continue to look for survivors at the partially collapsed Champlain Towers South Condo building in Surfside, Fla., on Saturday, July 3, 2021. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald via AP) No one has been rescued alive since the first hours after the June 24 collapse. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said officials would resume the search and rescue on any sections of the pile that are "safe to access as soon as we are cleared. Some families had asked to be able to return to the building to retrieve personal belongings, but they will not be allowed to do so. At the end of the day, that building is too unsafe to let people go back in, DeSantis said. "I know theres a lot of people who were able to get out, fortunately, who have things there. Were very sensitive to that, but I dont think theres any way you can let somebody go up in that building given the shape that its in now. Calvan reported from Tallahassee, Florida. Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this report. ROME (AP) The Vatican has set a July 27 trial date for 10 people, including a once-powerful cardinal and papal contender, on charges related to the Holy Sees 350 million-euro investment in a luxury London real estate venture. FILE - In this Tuesday, June 29, 2021 file photo, Pope Francis celebrates Mass during the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. The Vatican's criminal tribunal on Saturday, July 3, 2021 indicted 10 people, including a cardinal, and four companies on charges including extortion, abuse of office and fraud in connection with the Secretariat of State's 350 million-euro investment in a London real estate venture. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File) ROME (AP) The Vatican has set a July 27 trial date for 10 people, including a once-powerful cardinal and papal contender, on charges related to the Holy Sees 350 million-euro investment in a luxury London real estate venture. The 487-page indictment request capped a two-year investigation that exposed how the Vatican had lost millions of euros much of it donations from the faithful in fees to brokers, bad investments and other questionable expenses. Beyond that, prosecutors allege a variety of charges against the defendants, including extortion, embezzlement, abuse of office and corruption. Here is breakdown of the case, the accusations and some of the key players. WHATS THE DEAL ABOUT? The Vaticans Secretariat of State in 2013 decided to invest an initial 200 million euros in a fund operated by Italian businessman Raffaele Mincione, with half the money put into the London building, half in other investments. By 2018, Minciones fund, Athena Capital, had lost 18 million euros from the Vatican's original investment, prosecutors say, prompting the Vatican to seek an exit strategy while still retaining its stake in the building in Londons swank Chelsea neighborhood. Enter Gianluigi Torzi, another broker, who helped arrange a 40 million euro payout by the Vatican to Mincione for the shares in the building that the Holy See didnt already have. But prosecutors say Torzi then hoodwinked the Holy See: Rather than creating a company to manage the building that was controlled by the Vatican, Torzi inserted a clause into the contract giving him full voting rights in the deal, they allege. Prosecutors say Torzi then extorted the Vatican for 15 million euros to take control of the building. Torzi has said the charges are a misunderstanding. WHO IN THE VATICAN KNEW? Prosecutors have acknowledged that Pope Francis was aware of the deal, and even attended a December 2018 meeting with Torzi. One witness has said Francis agreed to pay Torzi a just compensation to turn the building over. Other high-ranking officials, including the secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin and his deputy, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, were also aware and approved the deal with Torzi. Documents show Pena Parra had authorized one of his deputies to sign the contract with Torzi giving him full voting rights. None of them was indicted. Prosecutors say they didn't understand Torzi's contract change, were kept in the dark about Torzi and Minciones dealings, their previous business relationship, as well as alleged commissions others involved in the deal had been earning on the side. WHO IS CARDINAL BECCIU AND HOW IS HE TIED TO THIS TRIAL? Cardinal Angelo Becciu is the lone cardinal indicted and will be the first cardinal prosecuted by the tribunal after Pope Francis changed Vatican law to allow laymen to judge cardinals. Becciu has denied any wrongdoing. Becciu was once one of the most powerful prelates in the Vatican and would have been a contender to be a future pope before Francis fired him last year from his job leading the Holy Sees saint-making office. Francis asked him to resign in September, and stripped him of his rights and privileges as a cardinal, citing a 100,000 euro donation that Becciu made using Vatican money to a diocesan charity run by his brother. At the time of the donation, Becciu was the No. 3 in the Secretariat of State and had decision-making authority over the offices vast asset portfolio. Becciu is tied to another defendant in the case, Cecilia Marogna. She is accused of allegedly embezzling Holy See funds that Becciu authorized for her intelligence work, purportedly to free Catholic priests and nuns held hostage in hostile parts of the world. Prosecutors say she spent the money on luxury goods instead. Marogna has denied wrongdoing and says she can give a full accounting of how the money was spent. WHAT DOES A VATICAN CRIMINAL TRIAL LOOK LIKE? The criminal code of the Vatican City State is based on the 1889 Italian legal code as well as elements of the canon law of the universal Catholic Church. In recent years, the pope has updated the code with a host of financial crimes specifically to address the types of misconduct alleged in Saturdays indictment. The Vatican tribunal has been under pressure to prosecute financial crimes as part of the Holy Sees participation in the Council of Europes Moneyval process, which is aimed at helping countries fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The Vatican entered into the Moneyval evaluation program over a decade ago in a bid to shed its image as a shady, offshore tax haven. The Vatican has outfitted a new courtroom for the upcoming trial in part of the Vatican Museums, given its usual criminal tribunal will be too small for the defendants and their lawyers. If convicted, the defendants could face jail time, fines or both. Its shaping up to be a season of tough choices for Western Canadian farmers as they watch their crops wilt under the relentless heat. Its shaping up to be a season of tough choices for Western Canadian farmers as they watch their crops wilt under the relentless heat. After entering the growing season with low sub-soil moisture and abnormally cold conditions, farmers knew they would be dependent on timely rains to carry this years crop along. The rains weve had have been spotty, but would have gone a lot further except for the heat and winds that have prevailed since May. Thats not to say there arent some excellent-looking fields out there, but there are just as many in below-average to poor condition. The situation is unlikely to improve as heat stress takes its toll. According to the Winnipeg-based Weatherlogics Inc., 14 of the 15 hottest temperatures recorded in Western Canada since 1840 were set between June 27 and 29. Lytton, B.C. set a new all-time high for Canada on three consecutive days leading up to the fire that wiped out the town this week. Farmers in many areas of the Prairies are watching their cereal crops ripen prematurely, a stress response that causes the plant to choose between yield and producing a smaller volume of high-quality seed that has a better chance of survival. Oilseed and pulse crops suffer similar effects. It has also been windier than usual this spring, which creates another challenge: to spray or not to spray? Farmers are generally advised to avoid spraying for weeds and pests if wind speeds are above 15 km/h because of the risk of drift into adjoining fields. Wind speeds, especially across southern Manitoba were above that threshold nearly 60 per cent of the time between May 1 and June 15. As field crops swelter, cattle and dairy producers are trying to find enough pasture to feed their herds through the summer while they round up enough forages to see them through the winter. Manitoba Agricultures latest crop report says pasture conditions throughout the province are poor and the first cut of hay is yielding between 50 and 80 per cent of normal. That implies a scenario in which producers will be forced to start feeding their stock sooner than usual and with less forage available. Or, they must downsize their herds so there are fewer mouths to feed. That sounds like a question of simple math until you consider how much time and effort goes into building up those herds. Cattle producers tailor their herds to their own environment and management by selecting which heifers to retain for their breeding program and which to market. A female calf born this year wont be old enough to join the cow herd until shes two. It can take years to recover from a climate-induced herd reduction. Between 40 to 50 per cent of grain farmers in this province also have cattle, which opens up a third option: they could pull the plug on their cereal crops and decide to harvest them early as forage. Again, thats a tough choice and its one that has to be made soon. "Cereal fields that are or could be negatively impacted by drought and/or heat stress have the potential to be salvaged as forage," said forage specialist John MacGregor in a Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association bulletin this week. "Although we always hope that a crop will recover if we get moisture, the decision to take as forage earlier can provide a better forage rather than waiting." Thats the dilemma. If they wait to see whether their crop will produce enough grain to make it worthwhile, theyll lose out on harvesting for forage. If they jump the gun, they may end up with more forage, but marketing it through their livestock herd takes longer and is riskier. And if they dont manage this in concert with their crop insurance coverage, they could face higher premiums and lower coverage in the future. The growing season is a long way from being over. However, based on the conditions so far, the question on producers minds has shifted from how big their harvest could be to how small will it get. Laura Rance is vice-president of Content for Glacier FarmMedia. She can be reached at lrance@farmmedia.com JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) Sri Dewi stood in the graveyard with her family, waiting their turn to bury her brother. He suffered a stroke and needed oxygen, but there wasn't any in a hospital overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients. Men pray during the burial of a relative at Rorotan Cemetery which is reserved for those who died of COVID-19, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, July 1, 2021. New land around the capital city continues to be cleared for the dead and gravediggers have to work late shifts following surges in COVID-19 cases fueled by travel during the Eid holiday in May, and the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus first found in India. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) Sri Dewi stood in the graveyard with her family, waiting their turn to bury her brother. He suffered a stroke and needed oxygen, but there wasn't any in a hospital overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients. We took him to this hospital, but there was no room for him, said Dewi. The hospital was out of oxygen. The family finally bought an oxygen tank at a shop and brought the brother home, but he died later that evening. After a slow vaccination rollout, Indonesia is now racing to inoculate as many people as possible as it battles an explosion of COVID-19 cases that have strained its health care. But inadequate global supply, the complicated geography of the world's largest archipelago nation, and hesitancy among some Indonesians stand as major roadblocks. Fueled by travel in May during the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, and the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus first found in India, the most recent spike has pushed some hospitals to the limits. Over the past two weeks, the seven-day rolling average of daily cases rose from over 8,655 to 20,690. Nearly half of those who are PCR tested return positive results. Paramedics tend to people at an emergency tent erected to accommodate a surge of COVID-19 patients at a hospital in Bekasi, on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, June 28, 2021. After a slow vaccination rollout, Indonesia is now racing to inoculate as many people as possible as it battles an explosion of cases that have overburdened its health care system. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim) Even those numbers are an undercount, with almost 75% of provinces reporting a testing rate below the recommended benchmark of 1 test per 1,000 people, according to the World Health Organization. The impact is obvious across Java, Indonesias most populated island. In mid-June, hospitals began to erect plastic tents to serve as makeshift intensive care units, and patients waited for days before being admitted. Oxygen tanks were rolled out on the sidewalk for those lucky enough to receive them, while others were told they would need to find their own supply. Away from the hospitals, new land continues to be cleared for the dead. Families wait turns to bury their loved ones as gravediggers work late shifts. Last year, Indonesias highest Islamic clerical body issued a decree that mass graves normally forbidden in Islam would be permitted during the pandemic crisis. Emergency tents erected to accommodate a surge of COVID-19 patients are seen at the parking lot of a government hospital in Bekasi, on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, June 28, 2021. After a slow vaccination rollout, Indonesia is now racing to inoculate as many people as possible as it battles an explosion of cases that have overburdened its health care system. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim) While the surge has largely been concentrated on Java, its a matter of time before it hits other parts of the sprawling archipelago, where the underfunded and understaffed health facilities are even more fragile and could collapse, said Dicky Budiman, an epidemiologist at Griffith University in Australia. The government has been resisting imposing tougher COVID-19 restrictions for fear of hurting the economy, Southeast Asia's largest, which last year recorded its first recession since 1998. This week the government announced its strictest measures of 2021 starting Saturday, including work from home, the closure of places of worship and malls as well as limiting restaurants to delivery only. We have agreed with the governors, mayors, to strictly enforce this emergency measures, said Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, who has been appointed to lead the pandemic response. A man prays at the grave of a relative who died of COVID-19 during a burial at Rorotan Cemetery in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, July 1, 2021. New land around the capital city continues to be cleared for the dead and gravediggers have to work late shifts following surges in COVID-19 cases fueled by travel during the Eid holiday in May, and the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus first found in India. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) Some health experts doubt the measures will be enough, given the overall lax enforcement. Indonesia still doesnt have enough testing capacity, and isolation and quarantine strategies arent effective ... there still isnt enough active case-finding, said Budiman. The government should be concerned with three strategies: strengthening testing, quarantine and early treatment. Without the willingness to enter a full lockdown, Indonesia's only way out is the vaccines. Health workers give shots of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine during a mass vaccination campaign in Depo, West Java, Indonesia, Friday, June 25, 2021. The world's fourth most populous country is now racing to inoculate as many people amid explosion of COVID-19 cases that have overburdened its health care system, but progress have been slow due to limited global vaccine supply, the unpreparedness of the national health system and vaccine hesitancy. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) Like many other countries, Indonesia has fallen short of the shots it needs. By June 30, it had received 118.7 million doses of the Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines far short of the amount needed to vaccinate 181.5 million people, or 70% of the population. Millions of additional doses are scheduled to arrive in the coming months, but will still not be enough to reach the target. The U.S. announced Friday it will donate 4 million Moderna vaccine doses through the U.N.-backed COVAX program as soon as possible. In addition, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi discussed U.S. plans to increase assistance for Indonesias broader COVID-19 response efforts, according to National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne. Indonesia is also working on developing its own vaccine, but even if it passes clinical trials, it isnt expected to hit production until next year. Workers make coffins in anticipation of a surge of COVID-19 cases, at the local government building compound in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Saturday, July 3, 2021. After a slow vaccination rollout, Indonesia is now racing to inoculate as many people as possible as it battles an explosion of cases that have strained hospitals in the country. (AP Photo/Trisnadi) President Joko Widodo has set a goal of vaccinating 1 million people a day, turning stadiums, community centers, police stations and neighborhood clinics into mass vaccination sites. The government aims to double the daily rate starting in August. So far, only about 5% of the population have been vaccinated. Siti Nadia Tarmizi, a spokesperson for Indonesias vaccination program, said that the regions with more cases will be a priority. Geography poses massive challenges in a country whose thousands of islands stretch across an area about as wide as the continental United States, and transportation and infrastructure are limited in many places. Government officials have said there are preparations in place such as training staff and working to secure a stable cold supply chain thats required for transporting vaccines. Hesitancy and misinformation has hampered previous vaccination campaigns. Indonesia has had vaccination rates as low as 10% for routine shots for measles and rubella. Vaccine hesitancy will really impact vaccination efforts, Budiman said. Indonesia still doesnt have a strong communication strategy ... and some people still dont think this pandemic exists. He said the government needs to make "good and strong decisions based on science . ... or I fear we will find ourselves in a similar situation to what happened in India. Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini and videographer Andi Jatmiko contributed to this report. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. In this June 24, 2021, photo, crowds walk through the casino during the opening night of Resorts World Las Vegas in Las Vegas. Las Vegas fully reopened and lifted restrictions on most businesses June 1, though many casino-resorts had already returned to 100% capacity before that with approval from state regulators. Visitor numbers, while not at their pre-pandemic highs, have grown by double digits four months in a row. But this progress is threatened as Nevada this week saw the highest rate of new COVID-19 cases in the country. (AP Photo/John Locher) LAS VEGAS (AP) Fifteen months after the pandemic transformed Las Vegas from flamboyant spectacle to ghost town, Sin City is back. Tourists are streaming in again, gambling revenue has hit an all-time high, the Las Vegas Strip has its first new casino in a decade, and big concerts are starting at a gleaming new stadium. Plexiglass panels installed to separate gamblers at the poker and blackjack tables have largely been removed, the world-famous buffets are reopening, and nightclub dance floors are packed. Vice President Kamala Harris was set to visit Saturday for what the White House is calling the Americas Back Together tour celebrating progress against the virus. But that progress is threatened: Nevada this week saw the highest rate of new COVID-19 cases in the country, hospitalizations are on the rise again, and the highly contagious delta variant has become the most prevalent form of the virus in the state, adding urgency to the campaign to get more people vaccinated. Still, in a place where the economy runs on crowds and uninhibited behavior, a return to pandemic-related restrictions and mask requirements seems to be off the table. Inside the casinos, guests are not required to wear masks if they are fully vaccinated, but employees do not appear to be asking anyone for proof. In this June 24, 2021, photo, a dealer distributes cards to gamblers during the opening night of Resorts World Las Vegas in Las Vegas. Las Vegas fully reopened and lifted restrictions on most businesses June 1, though many casino-resorts had already returned to 100% capacity before that with approval from state regulators. Visitor numbers, while not at their pre-pandemic highs, have grown by double digits four months in a row. But this progress is threatened as Nevada this week saw the highest rate of new COVID-19 cases in the country. (AP Photo/John Locher) It seems like everything is opening back up, getting back to normal, Teresa Lee, a 47-year-old tourist from Nashville, Tennessee, said Thursday as she stood on the Strip, looking out over the fountains in front of the Bellagio casino. Lee said she is vaccinated and felt safe in Las Vegas because she read about the casinos efforts to get their workers and their families vaccinated. Tyler Williams, a 22-year-old from Eugene, Oregon, said it didnt feel as if there was a pandemic anymore because people are everywhere. He said he had seen hardly anyone with a mask apart from a few foreign tourists and felt no need to wear one himself, because he is vaccinated. Las Vegas fully reopened and lifted restrictions on most businesses June 1, though many casino-resorts had already returned to 100% capacity before that with approval from state regulators. Visitor numbers, while not at their pre-pandemic highs, have grown by double digits four months in a row. Shows and fireworks are scheduled for the July 4 weekend, and the new 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium where the NFLs relocated Raiders will kick off their season this fall was set to host its first major concert Saturday, by electronic dance music star Illenium. It will be followed by a full-capacity show from Garth Brooks next weekend. Over the past two weeks, Nevada's diagnosis rate of 190 new cases per 100,000 people was higher than that of Missouri, Arkansas and Wyoming -- all states with lower vaccination levels and the state public health lab found the delta variant in almost half the COVID-19 cases it analyzed. Also, the number of patients hospitalized with the virus has grown 33% over the past week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though the levels are far below what they were in December, when hospitals were near capacity. State biostatistician Kyra Morgan said Friday that the spike in cases might be attributable to the full reopening of the state and city in June and that the return of crowds and big events on the Strip could cause the increase to continue. If we know anything about COVID, we know that when people are gathering in close proximity to one another in large volumes, that is the recipe for COVID transmission to increase," Morgan said. State and local officials said that almost all the new cases and hospitalizations involve unvaccinated people and that the best way to attack the problem is by getting more shots in arms. Nevada has fully vaccinated 45% of those 12 and older, well below the nationwide level of 55%, according to the CDC. We are a state of skeptics when it comes to vaccines, Morgan said. We have a lot of anti-vaxxers, frankly, in the state of Nevada. State and local officials, who in May went so far as to hold a vaccine clinic at a strip club, said they are trying to find more ways to persuade people, including the launch of a cash raffle. Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak, who took the unprecedented step of shuttering casinos for 11 weeks last year when the pandemic started, said Thursday he will ask for help from the COVID-19 response teams that the Biden administration is dispatching to boost testing and vaccinations in communities with outbreaks. Sisolaks office did not respond to questions about whether he is considering reimposing mask mandates or other restrictions, but Las Vegas-area officials say they are following the CDC's guidelines, which say it is safe for fully vaccinated people to go mask-free. At this this point, there is no discussion about increasing restrictions to the business and social life here in Clark County," said Dr. Fermin Leguen, chief health officer in the Las Vegas area. Getting better numbers in immunization is the solution for this problem at this point. Last month, I wrote about two of the 11 practices identified in a 1988 American Marketing Association (AMA) pamphlet titled, Marketing is You. This month, I thought Id touch on two more concepts on the AMA list, namely, treat each customer as you would like to be treated and make it easy on the customer. Just as with last months concepts, these two are marketing fundamentals and yet are difficult to find consistently applied in practice. Last month, I wrote about two of the 11 practices identified in a 1988 American Marketing Association (AMA) pamphlet titled, "Marketing is You." This month, I thought Id touch on two more concepts on the AMA list, namely, "treat each customer as you would like to be treated" and "make it easy on the customer." Just as with last months concepts, these two are marketing fundamentals and yet are difficult to find consistently applied in practice. When I am on the receiving end of poor customer service, I find it hard to imagine anyone would want to be treated that way themselves. Just a bit of self-awareness should be enough for staff to realize that the service they are providing is not reasonable and must be improved. And yet the low quality persists. Perhaps if management "walked the floor" or "secretly shopped" at their own business they would experience the level of service offered to paying customers and changes would be made to deliver a quality customer experience. This simple exercise, and the insights it can reveal, is what made the show Undercover Boss so popular Where is the pride in doing a good job? Two recent first-hand experiences reinforce how these fundamentals are still lacking. We searched and found a website with beautiful images and ordered a floral bouquet as a gift. The arrangement that was delivered was nothing like the picture of what we selected. When we followed up the response was simply, "We have been assured the order was filled to value." Whose definition of value did they use? Because it was not ours. The second recent example was a Fathers Day order we placed for a craft beer sampler and a large pizza-shaped cookie. Again, we found a website with inviting images of exactly what we were looking for. The actual product delivered was a mix of bottles and cans and a few chocolate chip cookies. Again, what was delivered was absolutely nothing close to the picture of what we selected. When we questioned the disparity, a company service representative responded with "high demand resulted in some product not being available. You received the correct number of beers and chocolate chip cookies." In both cases a small refund was offered but we did not receive what we had purchased or a good explanation on what went wrong. Simply giving refunds and not correcting, or at least accepting responsibility for, the errors made is not a strategy for success. If you want to operate like a best-in-class company, you must address these fundamental issues in a much better way than the companies in these examples. Successful companies treat customers with respect and care and begin the relationship in a positive way. These top performers ensure that everyone in their company knows the fundamental expectations when dealing with customers at every moment of connection whether in person, on the phone, or via another virtual method. You must also consider how easy you are making it for customers to do business with you. If your website images are out of date, there must be a process to check and ensure the accuracy of the images and your offerings. Please make the change, so that you represent your product and company accurately, unlike the examples I shared earlier. If the product is out of stock, be clear that it is not available. A physical store is always judged by its storefront and product displays and so should your virtual store front. Leadership is essential to establishing these standards and ensuring they are being lived. The senior leaders of an organization have an obligation to demonstrate what is expected and how it is to be delivered. Empty words or motivational posters on the walls of the lunchroom are not the keys to long term success. Successful organizations understand that this level of customer focus is not a one time approach. This customer focus becomes a fundamental part of the culture and belief system that invigorates, self-polices, and encourages extra efforts to ensure customers are satisfied. Be personable and reasonable when dealing with customers. We are all people and would like to be treated as such. Whenever you are at a loss for what to say, just ask yourself, "would my mother be happy if I talked like this to her?" Tims bits: There are no silver bullet solutions, and yet hard work on the fundamentals can be a difference maker. If you consider these two fundamental concepts as the only ones you need to focus on right now, your success will be earned on how well you execute on a consistent basis. Tim Kist is a Certified Management Consultant, authorized by law, and a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Manitoba. MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Environmentalists and activists claimed victory Saturday after a company canceled plans to build an oil pipeline through southwest Tennessee and north Mississippi, and over an aquifer that provides drinking water to 1 million people. Clyde Robinson, 80, speaks with a reporter while standing on his acre-sized parcel of land on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, in Memphis, Tenn. Robinson fought an effort by two companies seeking a piece of his land to build part of an oil pipeline that would run through the Memphis area into north Mississippi, and over an aquifer that provides clean drinking water to 1 million people. The pipeline builders said Friday, July 2, they will not continue to pursue the pipeline project.(AP Photo/Adrian Sainz) MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Environmentalists and activists claimed victory Saturday after a company canceled plans to build an oil pipeline through southwest Tennessee and north Mississippi, and over an aquifer that provides drinking water to 1 million people. Byhalia Connection said it will no longer pursue plans to build a 49-mile (79-kilometer) underground artery that would have linked two major U.S. oil pipelines while running through wetlands and under poor, predominantly Black neighborhoods in south Memphis. A joint venture between Valero and Plains All American Pipeline, Byhalia Connection had said the pipeline would bring jobs and tax revenue to the region and it had given to Memphis-area charities and tried to build goodwill in the community. But, in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Friday, Byhalia Connection said it was canceling the project due to lower U.S. oil production resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. "We value the relationships weve built through the development of this project, and appreciate those that supported the project, Byhalia Connection's statement said. Byhalia Connection would have linked the east-west Diamond Pipeline through the Valero refinery in Memphis to the north-south Capline Pipeline near Byhalia, Mississippi. The Capline, which has transported crude oil from a Louisiana port on the Gulf of Mexico north to the Midwest, is being reversed to deliver oil south through Mississippi to refineries and export terminals on the Gulf. Byhalia Connection also would have run through well fields above the Memphis Sand Aquifer, which provides slightly sweet drinking water to the Memphis area. Environmentalists, activist groups, lawyers, property owners, national and local elected officials, and even former Vice President Al Gore opposed the project. They feared an oil spill would have endangered waterways and possibly contaminated the water being pumped out of the ground through wells located along the planned route. Opponents said the plans reminded them of environmental racism the practice of placing toxic factories, landfills and other polluters in minority neighborhoods and indigenous areas, where voiceless residents only realize the danger after people get sick. The pipeline would have run under Memphis neighborhoods such as White Chapel, Westwood and Boxtown, which began as a community of freed slaves in the 1860s and where homes had no running water or electricity as recently as the 1970s. Justin J. Pearson, a leader of the Memphis Community Against the Pipeline activist group, called the decision an extraordinary testament to what Memphis and Shelby County can do when citizens build power toward justice. Byhalia Connection had said the pipeline would be built a safe distance from the aquifer, which sits much deeper than the planned pipeline route. Byhalia Connection also has said the pipeline route was not driven by factors such as race or class. The company denied accusations of environmental racism that emerged after a Byhalia Connection land agent said during a community meeting that the developers took, basically, a point of least resistance in choosing the pipelines path. Project officials had reached deals with most landowners on the planned pipelines route to use their land for construction. A few holdouts were taken to court. The pipelines lawyers sought eminent domain, long invoked by governments to claim private property for public-use projects. Lawyers for the holdouts argued that eminent domain could not be used in the case of a private company seeking to build an oil pipeline in Tennessee. In April, Byhalia Connection said it was going to pause the legal action after the Memphis City Council began considering an ordinance that would have made it harder for the company to build the pipeline. No vote has been held on the ordinance, which was one of several strategies meant to put public pressure on Plains and Valero. Activists held community rallies, including one attended by Gore. Lawyers sued in federal court, challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approval of the pipeline under a nationwide permit. The Shelby County Commission refused to sell to the pipeline builder two parcels of land that sit on the planned route. U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Memphis Democrat, and about two dozen other members of Congress sent a letter asking the administration of President Joe Biden to reconsider the permit approval. A Byhalia Connection spokesman did not respond to an emailed question asking whether the community's resistance influenced the decision to end the project. But Amanda Garcia, a Southern Environmental Law Center attorney who helped landowners in their legal battle against the pipeline, said the community's fight was inspiring. The cancellation of the Byhalia Pipeline is a victory for the people of Southwest Memphis, for the citys drinking water, and perhaps most monumentally, it a triumph for environmental justice, Garcia said. ROME (AP) A Vatican judge on Saturday indicted 10 people, including a once-powerful cardinal, on charges including embezzlement, abuse of office, extortion and fraud in connection with the Secretariat of States 350 million-euro investment in a London real estate venture. FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 25, 2020 file photo, Cardinal Angelo Becciu looks down as he meets the media during a press conference in Rome. The Vatican's criminal tribunal on Saturday, July 3, 2021 indicted 10 people, including a cardinal, and four companies on charges including extortion, abuse of office and fraud in connection with the Secretariat of State's 350 million-euro investment in a London real estate venture. Also indicted was another once-powerful Holy See official, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who helped engineer the initial London investment when he was the chief of staff in the Secretariat of State. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File) ROME (AP) A Vatican judge on Saturday indicted 10 people, including a once-powerful cardinal, on charges including embezzlement, abuse of office, extortion and fraud in connection with the Secretariat of States 350 million-euro investment in a London real estate venture. The president of the Vatican's criminal tribunal, Giuseppe Pignatone, set July 27 as the trial date, though lawyers for some defendants questioned how they could prepare for trial so soon given they hadn't yet formally received the indictment. The 487-page indictment request was issued following a sprawling, two-year investigation into how the Secretariat of State managed its vast asset portfolio, much of which is funded by donations from the faithful. The scandal over its multimillion-dollar losses has resulted in a sharp reduction in donations and prompted Pope Francis to strip the office of its ability to manage the money. Five former Vatican officials, including Cardinal Angelo Becciu and two officials from the Secretariat of State, were indicted, as well as the Italian businessmen who handled the investment. Vatican prosecutors accuse the main suspects of bilking millions of euros from the Holy See in fees, bad investments and other losses related to financial dealings that were funded in large part by Peter's Pence donations to the pope for works of charity. The suspects have denied wrongdoing. One of the main suspects, Italian broker Gianluigi Torzi, is accused of having extorted the Vatican of 15 million euros to turn over ownership of the London building in late 2018. Torzi had been retained by the Vatican to help it acquire full ownership of the building from another indicted money manager who had handled the initial investment in 2013, but lost millions in what the Vatican says were speculative, imprudent deals. Vatican prosecutors allege Torzi inserted a last-minute clause into the contract giving him full voting rights in the deal. The Vatican hierarchy, however, signed off on the contract, with both the pope's No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and his deputy approving it. Neither was indicted. In addition, Francis himself was aware of the deal and Torzi's involvement in it. Vatican prosecutors say the Vatican hierarchy was hoodwinked by Torzi and aided in part by an Italian lawyer who was also indicted Saturday into agreeing to the terms. The Secretariat of State intends to declare itself an injured party in the case. Torzi has denied the charges and said the accusations were due to a misunderstanding. He is currently in London pending an extradition request by Italian authorities, who are seeking to prosecute him on other financial charges. His representatives said they had no immediate comment Saturday since they hadn't yet seen the indictment. Also indicted was a onetime papal contender and Holy See official, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who helped engineer the initial London investment when he was chief of staff in the Secretariat of State. Francis fired him as the Vaticans saint-making chief last year, apparently in connection with a separate issue: Becciu's 100,000-euro donation of Holy See funds to a diocesan charity run by his brother. Becciu had originally not been part of the London investigation but was included after it appeared that he was behind the proposal to buy the building, prosecutors say, alleging that he also interfered in the investigation. In a statement Saturday issued by his lawyers, Becciu insisted on the absolute falsity" of the accusations and denounced what he said was unparalleled media pillory" against him in the Italian press. "I am the victim of a plot hatched against me. And I have been waiting for a long time to know any accusations against me, to allow myself to promptly deny them and prove to the world my absolute innocence," he said. One of Beccius proteges, self-styled intelligence analyst Cecilia Marogna, was indicted on separate embezzlement charges. Becciu had hired Marogna as an external consultant after she reached out to him in 2015 with concerns about security at Vatican embassies in global hotspots. Becciu authorized hundreds of thousands of euros of Holy See funds to her to free Catholic priests and nuns held hostage in Africa, according to WhatsApp messages reprinted by Italian media. Her Slovenian-based holding company, which received the funds, was among the four companies also ordered to stand trial. Marogna says the money was compensation for legitimate intelligence work and reimbursements. Prosecutors say she spent the money on luxury purchases that were incompatible with the humanitarian scope of her company. In a statement Saturday, her legal team said Marogna had been prepared for months to provide a full accounting of her work and fears nothing about the accusations made against her." Also indicted were the former top two officials in the Vaticans financial watchdog agency, for alleged abuse of office. Prosecutors say by failing to stop the Torzi deal, they performed a decisive function" in letting it play out. The lawyer for the former office director, Tommaso di Ruzza, said he had only seen the Vatican press statement about the allegations but insisted that his client has always acted in the most scrupulous respect of the law and his office duties, in the exclusive interest of the Holy See." The former head of the office, Rene Bruelhart, defended his work and said his indictment was a procedural blunder that will be immediately clarified by the organs of Vatican justice as soon as the defense will be able to exercise its rights." A former Secretary of State official, Monsignor Mauro Carlino, expressed shock at his indictment on alleged extortion and abuse of office charges, saying his only involvement in the deal was after he was ordered by his superiors to negotiate Torzi down from a 20 million euro fee to 15 million euros. It seems incomprehensible that a worthy act ... that brought him no personal advantage and had on the contrary provided a significant savings for the Secretariat of State, could lead to an indictment," said a statement from his lawyer, Salvino Mondello. When Erin Popoff took a leave of absence as a WestJet pilot last spring, little did she know shed be laid off indefinitely within a matter of weeks. When Erin Popoff took a leave of absence as a WestJet pilot last spring, little did she know shed be laid off indefinitely within a matter of weeks. Sure, the 39-year-old Winnipegger always wanted to spend more time with her family. But after working nearly two decades in the aviation industry, flying from city to city, the last thing she expected was to be grounded without any other career to fall back on. Yet, such has been the case for her and thousands upon thousands of others since 2020. As the COVID-19 pandemic swiftly ravaged one business sector to the next, WestJet Airlines laid off more than half its entire staff. Popoff was a WestJet pilot before being laid off in 2020. (Supplied) About a year ago, the Canadian company had more than 14,000 employees. Now, only 4,800 people remain on staff and almost 10,000 WestJet careers "remain in limbo," the Air Line Pilots Association says. Just in April, another 415 pilots were let go indefinitely by the corporation. So, after life gave her lemons, did Popoff make lemonade? Well, not exactly. "You see, it did start off as an idea for a lemonade stand," Popoff told the Free Press. "It was actually my nine-year-old daughter Olives idea, but I wasnt sure a lemonade stand would work in our very quiet, suburban neighbourhood. I thought why not take it a step further maybe selling food could be more fun?" At first, Popoffs partner Kevin Hiebert helped her with setting up a make-shift stand out of their garage, while she accessed emergency support programs. Popoff's invested years of savings into a food truck and trailer when she realized government aid wasnt going to last much longer. (John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press) Fairly quickly, the pet project turned into investing years of savings into a food truck and trailer, when she realized the government aid wasnt going to last much longer. "The response to the food was incredible from the get-go, even before we truly started," said Popoff. "Though, finding a trailer at our price point was a struggle. And even once we got it in February, we had to spend so much money and time getting upgrades done to make it usable. Then came the inspections in June, and now we can finally launch." Enter PoachT, a new eatery on wheels and catering business that sells delicious made-to-order creations, with the hero of most dishes, and also the businesss namesake, being perfectly poached eggs to top everything off. The wide-ranging menu includes open sandwiches with items like barbecued chicken, prime rib, parmesan-basil pork sausage and even strawberry compote. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are also up for grabs. PoachT is an eatery on wheels and catering business that sells made-to-order creations, with poached eggs acting as the hero of most dishe. (John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press) "Getting here wasnt easy at all and the whole thing is still a work in progress," said Popoff. After all, her three "kiddies" under the ages of 10, "require a village to take care of, because I cant afford a caretaker or nanny type of thing anymore." On top of that, the mental drain of her pivot has been quite hard to handle. "When they laid me off, it was as if I was expected to turn off this switch like somehow, my entire mindset and years and years of work was supposed to stop all at once," said Popoff. "It was all just so sudden and I felt so lonely and honestly, quite depressed." There were many days last year when Popoff waited by her doorstep, "staring through the windows like a dog," for her partner to come back home. Shed fold laundry, clean all the toilets and take care of the dishes. Poachts The Gord includes grilled chicken thighs, lemon-dill aioli, red cabbage-carrot slaw, avocado and sprouts. (Instagram) "I did everything I could to make myself feel like I was doing something worthwhile with my time," she said. Still, things just felt "off." The worries would cloud over Popoffs head about whether she could ever find a job that offered a similar salary to what she was used to and had centred her life around. "Thats why PoachT became my lifes mission and its why, as terrifying as it is, Ive put in all my savings into this," she said. "I wanted to show and teach my kids that when anything unexpected in life happens to you, sure, you can have a few days to be blue about it. But then, you need to pick yourself up, dig your heels in and just get it done." She might not be making nearly as much money as she used to and, of course, she misses the "silent gaze of flying deep above the skies," but Popoff loves being able to kiss and tuck her kids to bed every night. "Its something I definitely missed in all my years before," she said. "Now, I get to actually answer my kids when they ask, What are you going to dream about tonight, mommy?" And as Popoff wakes up every morning, sipping her coffee and looking over at her truck, she thinks quietly to herself with tears in her eyes: "Its all been a beautiful journey." Twitter: @temurdur A team that ventured into Lytton, B.C., for the first time since the village was ravaged by a wildfire this week found two bodies, the provincial coroners service said Saturday evening. A helicopter pilot prepares to drop water on a wildfire burning in Lytton, B.C., on Friday, July 2, 2021. The B.C. Wildfire Service says the wildfire burning near Lytton, B.C., has grown since Friday night as another blaze forced more than 100 homes to be evacuated. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck A team that ventured into Lytton, B.C., for the first time since the village was ravaged by a wildfire this week found two bodies, the provincial coroners service said Saturday evening. The BC Coroners Service announced Friday that two people were presumed dead following the fire that tore through the village on Wednesday, but said it was not safe to enter the area. "With the assistance of the RCMP, the special investigations team at the BC Coroners Service was able to safely access the site today and we can now confirm two fatalities in Lytton," a spokesperson said in an email. "Our investigation is ongoing at this time, but preliminary findings at the scene suggest the decedents match two deaths reported by their family member." The coroners service said it has not received any other reports of deaths linked to the fire, but officials have said that some people remain unaccounted for, in large part due to the hasty evacuation of the village on Wednesday night. That evacuation was the subject of criticism earlier Saturday, as the head of the Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council of which the Lytton First Nation is a member said the government ignored the needs of community members in the early hours of the emergency. Chief Matt Pasco said the tribal council was forced to try to save lives with little to no help from the government. Pasco, who operates a ranch near Ashcroft, B.C., north of Lytton, said the first contact he received from the government came 12 hours after evacuations began, and it was regarding his cattle, not about affected community members. "It was an abysmal attempt at the very thing they're meant to do," he said in an interview Saturday. "They had processes in places for our cattle but none for Nlaka'pamux people." Pasco said the government's shortfalls can be traced to the province's treatment of Indigenous peoples and lack of recognition of their jurisdiction when it comes to land management and stewardship. "Yes, we do have coordination problems because (the province) is not set to take care of Indigenous issues or Indigenous peoples," he said. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth acknowledged the government's shortcomings in a statement. "While there were challenging factors, early communication with the Nlakapamux Nation Tribal Council and the Oregon Jack Creek Band didnt live up to expectations," he said. He said the ministry has taken steps to address gaps in protocols that contributed to this situation. Pasco said the tribal council is working with the Lytton First Nation and other affected communities to figure out how many members remain unaccounted for. He said the most pressing questions concern what happens next for the community. "It's so devastating that I cannot find the English words to describe the devastation. It's hard to fathom," he said. "What does next week look like? What does the first long weekend of September look like when we have the children go back to school?" New mapping from the BC Wildfire Service shows the wildfire has grown since Friday night. Kaitlin Baskerville, with the BC Wildfire Service, told a public meeting Saturday that current conditions are comparable to mid-August. Mark Healey, also with the service, told the meeting that fire crews are working to stop the spread of the fire towards Spences Bridge as well as stop it from crossing the Fraser River. Elsewhere, an out-of-control wildfire burning about 40 kilometres southwest of Kamloops, B.C., forced officials to evacuate more than 100 homes Friday evening. Orders issued by the Thompson-Nicola Regional District said the fire in the Durand Lake area has started threatening structures and the safety of residents. Federal ministers have pledged to support B.C.'s fire fighting efforts, with Public Safety Minister Bill Blair saying the government has been preparing for the wildfire season for the past few weeks. The cause of the wildfire that devastated Lytton is under investigation, although Premier John Horgan said he had heard anecdotal evidence linking the start of the fire to a train running through the community. The office of federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in an emailed statement that it would take necessary action should any potential non-compliance with Canada's rail safety laws and regulations be identified. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 3, 2021. A COVID-19 pandemic forecast that takes into account the more infectious delta variant of concern is still in development, as Manitoba quickly approaches its next reopening target. A COVID-19 pandemic forecast that takes into account the more infectious delta variant of concern is still in development, as Manitoba quickly approaches its next reopening target. Deputy chief provincial public health officer Dr. Jazz Atwal said the number of cases caused by delta, which is more transmissible than earlier mutations, is increasing across all local health regions. However, his office has yet to complete a model that projects the impact of the variant should it get a foothold in Manitoba, while also taking into consideration vaccination rates and the reduction of restrictions under the province's "One Great Summer Reopening Path" plan. "The modelling with the delta variant built into it is still being produced," Atwal said during a noon-hour news conference Friday. "It does take time to generate these mathematical models." Atwal said public health will base its decision to move forward with reopening on available information; an updated pandemic model including the delta variant is not a requirement. The next reopening phase can begin when 75 per cent of the eligible population is partially immunized and 50 per cent is fully vaccinated, government officials have said. The target date was first set for Aug. 2. Yet, the Phase 2 vaccination target will likely be reached in the coming week, if immunization rates hold. As of Friday, 74.2 per cent of eligible Manitobans had received one dose and 46 per cent were fully vaccinated. Under Phase 2, the plan calls for a broad reopening, with 50 per cent capacity restrictions on businesses, services, and facilities, and increased gathering sizes. "Were going to hit those targets, it looks like, in a shorter period of time than anticipated," Atwal acknowledged. "Again, were not going to jump to anything. We need these orders in place for about two weeks to see our case numbers, to see more vaccine effectiveness information for Manitoba. "Hopefully, a model is done by then as well," he said. "Were going to take a look at all the information we have and come to decisions that are best for Manitoba and best for Manitobans." Since late April, 217 COVID-19 infections have been caused by the delta variant (B.1617.2), though that number may be under-reported due to delays in identifying the mutation; another 22 cases were added Friday. The majority of cases were in Winnipeg but a disproportionate number have been identified in the Southern Health region, where immunization rates are below average. About 8,000 COVID-19 samples, or about 52 per cent of all variant of concern cases in Manitoba, were listed as "unspecified," as of Friday. Most Canadian health jurisdictions have yet to develop a reliable process that can easily determine whether a COVID-19 sample is the delta variant of concern; all known cases in Manitoba have been confirmed through genetic sequencing, a process which can take up to 10 days. "Whats remaining, the vast majority then were being sequenced," Atwal said. "From those results, we were getting the numbers of delta variants we have right now in the province. That gives us a very accurate picture of whats happening with the delta variant in Manitoba." Atwal said Cadham Provincial Laboratory and local lab partners should have a screen for the delta and Kappa (B.1617.1) variants ready by Tuesday. Other variants of concern, including the dominant Alpha (B.1.1.7) mutation, can already be spotted through the screening process, which takes 48 to 72 hours to generate a result. "Starting next week, well have a better real time sense on those numbers," he said. On Friday, the Manitoba government announced seven more people had died due to the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The deaths included four people from Winnipeg: a woman in her 40s, a woman in her 50s (Alpha variant), a man in his 60s (Alpha), and a woman in her 70s (unspecified variant of concern). Three people from Southern Health have also died: a woman and man, both in their 60s (alpha), and a man in his 70s. Health officials said the death of a man in his 30s from Interlake Eastern reported June 30 has been removed from the totals due to data correction. A two-day total of 145 new infections was reported: 91 on Thursday and 54 on Friday. Of Fridays cases, 23 were in Winnipeg, 11 in Southern Health, nine in Interlake Eastern, six in Prairie Mountain, and five in Northern Health. There were 163 Manitobans receiving hospital care for COVID-19, as of Thursday morning, including 49 in intensive care, six of whom were being treated in Ontario hospitals. The five-day test positivity rate was 5.4 per cent provincially and 4.8 per cent in Winnipeg. Atwal said case counts decreased by 20 per cent over last week, though a jump in cases remains a possibility as gatherings increase. "People should be concerned. Even if you are fully immunized, there is that risk of getting that infection," Atwal said. "Try to limit those interactions with others. If youre sick, you should still get tested, stay at home until that test result comes back, and your household should still stay at home until that test result comes back." Outbreaks at Carman Memorial Hospital and Eastview Place Personal Care Home (Altona) have concluded. The province declared an outbreak at St. Boniface Hospital's unit M3. danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca The toppling and beheading of a Winnipeg statue erected in the likeness of Queen Victoria has sparked widespread debate about defacing colonial monuments. The toppling and beheading of a Winnipeg statue erected in the likeness of Queen Victoria has sparked widespread debate about defacing colonial monuments. But in the wake of vandalism, one academic has been far more focused on who is missing entirely from the inventory of statues on the Manitoba legislature grounds. "In general, were talking about settlers of one kind or another and typically, European settlers. (The roster) certainly doesnt represent Manitoba in this moment," said Melissa Funke, an assistant professor of classics at the University of Winnipeg. Indigenous erasure and white supremacy have been encoded in both the legislature building and surrounding statues, said Funke, who has researched the influence of the classic world on the grounds. Ionic columns and pediments in the structure itself are nods to Greek and Roman architecture. In 1913, at the time the building was being constructed, leadership in Winnipeg wanted to draw parallels to ancient civilization and in turn, colonization because the Manitoba capital was expected to become a major city, or "the Chicago of the north," said Funke. "Its very essential that as Manitobans, especially as Manitobans in 2021, we understand how the classical world is used and misused in representations." Carved into the east side of the legislature building is an installation of a man wearing a feathered headdress and a Roman soldier, separated between a war chest. To pair a romanticized mythological figure alongside a nondescript Indigenous man is problematic in it suggests they are both equally historic, said Funke, noting the latter is the only Indigenous representation in the external architecture of the building. Notably, there are no bronze statues of Inuit or First Nations leaders at 450 Broadway. The only Metis representation pays tribute to Manitobas founding father, Louis Riel. There is currently a campaign underway to erect a memorial for Chief Peguis on the grounds, to pay tribute to the Saulteaux chief who was known as a defender of First Nations rights and a key signatory of the Selkirk Treaty of 1817. Given many of the existing memorials symbolize values that are no longer embraced in mainstream Manitoba, Funke said she sees no reason why the statue of Queen Victoria should go back up anytime soon. In fact, she said it is worth considering the ancient practice of damnatio memoriae: the condemnation of Roman elites who were deemed unworthy of praise after their deaths to preserve a citys honour. The practice, which involved both removing and at times, burying statues, was not about forgetting history, she said, but about collectively saying a figure no longer reflects societal values. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @macintoshmaggie Fifty years ago this fall, Canada took one of the boldest steps in its history becoming the first country in the world to adopt multiculturalism as an official policy. Opinion Fifty years ago this fall, Canada took one of the boldest steps in its history becoming the first country in the world to adopt multiculturalism as an official policy. In a statement to the House of Commons on Oct. 8, 1971, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau announced multiculturalism wasnt just some vague ideal, but an official government policy. The lofty goal was to preserve the cultural freedom of all individuals and provide recognition of the cultural contributions of diverse ethnic groups to Canadian society. This bit of history is more significant than ever as Canada faces a national reckoning over the deadly legacy of residential schools. In his 1971 speech to the House of Commons, Trudeau stated that no singular culture could define Canada and that the government accepted "the contention of other cultural communities that they, too, are essential elements in Canada." Last Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid homage to his late father in a statement issued on Canadian Multiculturalism Day. "The tragic events of the past several weeks are painful reminders that Canada has not always lived up to its ideals, and that many Canadians continue to feel fear and insecurity simply because of the colour of their skin, their background, or their faith," the PM said. But Canadas multiculturalism policy isnt the only item vying for our attention this year, as we see from todays golden list of Five Five Famous 50th Anniversaries in 2021: 5) The golden anniversary: Starbucks Five decades ago: The iconic coffee retailer with the mermaid logo was founded in 1971 by three 28-year-old java-loving academics named Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker and Zev Siegl, who opened their first store near the historic Pike Place Market in Seattle. Back then, the notion of grabbing a cup of coffee was nothing like it is today. Thanks to Starbucks, that lukewarm cup of Joe sitting all day on a burner has been transformed into everything from from the iced white chocolate mocha and pumpkin-spice latte to the cinnamon roll frappuccino and decaf oat-milk flat white. Its ubiquitous name comes from Starbuck, the first mate character in Herman Melvilles most famous novel, Moby Dick. Today, that one outlet in Seattle has grown into a global empire with almost 33,000 coffee bars in 83 countries employing 349,000 people. Actor Carroll OConnor, who played Archie Bunker in the television series 'All in the Family,' died in 2001. He was 76. (CBS / The Associated Press files) "Over the past 50 years, we have built a company thats about more than coffee," Kevin Johnson, Starbucks CEO, said this year. "Its about the human experience, connection and community, and we need that now more than ever." For the first decade, Starbucks sold only coffee beans, and the equipment to grind and serve them, rather than the actual drink. But in 1982 it started offering brewed coffee. It wasnt until the store was taken over by former manager Howard Schultz in 1987 that it truly started on its path to becoming the largest coffee chain in the world. By 1999, the brand was so well known that the Brad Pitt movie Fight Club had a Starbucks coffee cup in every scene, because director David Fincher said: "When I first moved to L.A. in 1984, you could not get a good cup of coffee to save your life. Then Starbucks came out, and it was such a great idea: good coffee." Today, Starbucks is valued around US$128 billion, but, the original trio Jerry, Zev and Gordon sold out long before the big bucks came in. 4) The golden anniversary: McDonalds Quarter Pounder Five decades ago: Just three years after the birth in 1968 of its signature sandwich, the Big Mac, McDonalds struck gold again with the invention of its iconic Quarter Pounder. The famously simple four-ounce burger with ketchup, mustard, slivered onions, and two dill pickles was born in 1971 and added to the food giants national menu just two years later. The mastermind behind the Quarter Pounder was Al Bernardin, a former McDonalds vice-president of product development who bought two franchises in Fremont, Calif. In a 1991 interview, Bernardin explained that he "felt there was a void in our menu vis-a-vis the adult who wanted a higher ratio of meat to bun." So he came up with a hefty burger with a pre-cooked weight of just over four ounces. "He called it the Quarter Pounder. Which was much better than his other option the big Four Ouncer," noted Terry OReilly, host of CBCs popular advertising focused radio show Under the Influence. McDonalds Corporation Three years ago, McDonalds celebrated five decades of its signature sandwich, the Quarter Pounder. In 1971, Bernardin introduced the first Quarter Pounders at his McDonalds stores in Fremont with signs boasting, "Today Fremont, tomorrow the world." He could not have been more correct, as the sandwich went nationwide just two years later. Not all of his ideas became menu staples. McDonalds corporate office nixed the The Lite Mac a one-fifth pounder consisting of 15 per cent less beef fat and the McGobbler, a sandwich made of ground turkey meat. "He always wanted to make things better," Bernardins son, Mark, who owns three McDonalds in Fremont, said after his father died in 2009. "He spent two years making prototypes to spread butter on corn-on-the-cob." In the 1980s, A&W tried to compete with the Quarter Pounder by introducing its "Third-of-a-Pound Burger," which didnt sell because Americans were reportedly so bad at math they wrongly assumed a third of a pound of meat was less than a quarter of a pound, and they felt cheated. 3) The golden anniversary: All in the Family Five decades ago: For many hardcore viewers, this was nothing less than the greatest TV series of all time. It debuted on CBS on Jan. 12, 1971, and the television landscape was altered forever. At the time, CBS was looking to move away from its rural-themed image (The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres and Mayberry R.F.D.) and find something a touch more contemporary. With All in the Family, the network essentially lobbed a hand grenade into prime time TV. In that first telecast, it was accompanied by a disclaimer: "The program you are about to see is All In The Family. It seeks to throw a humorous spotlight on our frailties, prejudices, and concerns. By making them a source of laughter, we hope to show in a mature fashion just how absurd they are." It would be an understatement to say the show broke new ground for its depiction of issues never addressed on television before. It shone a searing spotlight on racism, antisemitism, homophobia, womens liberation, abortion, infidelity, menopause, poverty, and the Vietnam War. It focused on the Bunker clan, headed by narrow-minded, prejudiced Archie Bunker (Carroll OConnor); his quavery-voiced "dingbat" wife Edith (Jean Stapleton); adored "little girl" daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers) and her liberal, hippy-ish husband, college student Mike Stivic (Rob Reiner) who Archie dubbed "Meathead." "We didnt know Archie Bunker, but we felt we did," series creator Norman Lear, 98, told The New York Post on the shows 50th anniversary. "He was so American, but a specific type of American... There was an Archie Bunker that lived next door to me, and my father had a little bit of Archie in him he would say Jeanette, stifle! to my mother. If you didnt live with Archie, he was up the street, down the street or across the street. The fact that he was on television was a surprise but it wasnt like we didnt know him." The public lapped it up, and it became TVs top-rated show for five consecutive seasons. 2) The golden anniversary: Greenpeace Five decades ago: In 1971, a dozen long-haired, flute-playing environmental activists set sail from Vancouver in an old fishing boat to make the world a little more green and peaceful. Their goal was to protest underground nuclear testing by the U.S.military at Amchitka, a tiny volcanic island off western Alaska. "Amchitka was four thousand kilometres north of Vancouver. The island was the last refuge for 3,000 endangered sea otters and home to a plethora of other wildlife. And it was situated in one of the most earthquake-prone regions in the world. All along the Pacific coast people were concerned that the nuclear blast could "trigger a giant tidal wave," according to a CBC report. On board that tiny ship was a humble crew of idealistic activists some argued they were extremists who gave birth to an environmental movement that took the world by storm. In 1970, a Vancouver activist, Marie Bohlen, proposed a novel idea: "Why doesnt somebody just sail a boat up there and park right next to the bomb? Thats something everybody can understand." So thats what they decided to do. A year later, a small Vancouver group called Dont Make a Wave rented a beat-up fishing boat which they renamed The Greenpeace. Then the group went searching for volunteers to sail to Alaska to protest the scheduled nuclear test. Before Greenpeace arrived at Amchitka, the boat was intercepted by a U.S. navy ship and forced to turn back. When the activists returned to Vancouver, they learned their inaugural action had sparked a public outcry. The U.S. still detonated the bomb, but their voices were heard. Nuclear testing on Amchitka ended that same year, and the island was later declared a bird sanctuary. Today, Greenpeace is easily the most visible and most controversial non-governmental environmental organization with offices in 55 countries around the world. "We may have just looked like a little old fish boat but in fact we were cranking away at our typewriters and with our tape recorders," Vancouver journalist and activist Robert Hunter later said. "In a sense, we were a media warship." 1) The golden anniversary: The first email Five decades ago: It was 50 years ago that Ray Tomlinson, a bearded computer scientist hunched between two cabinet-sized computers in a windowless room in Cambridge, Massachusetts, did something no one else had ever done send the worlds first email. At the time, working in Boston at Bolt, Beranek, and Newman (BBN), a company that was instrumental in the development of a very early version of the internet, called ARPANET, Tomlinson didnt think it was such a big deal. In hindsight, all he did that day and even he couldnt remember the exact date was revolutionize modern communications, changing the way the world shops, banks and stays in touch. "Im often asked Did I know what I was doing? " Tomlinson said at his induction into the Internet Hall of Fame in 2012. "The answer is: Yeah. I knew exactly what I was doing. I just had no notion whatsoever about what the ultimate impact would be." No one asked him to invent email; it was simply a side project to his commissioned work. Tomlinson came up with the "SNDMSG" command. Unlike what came before it, SNDMSG actually sent mail files to the recipients computers the first networked messaging program. "The invention of email came out of a personal desire for a more convenient and functional way to communicate," Tomlinson, who died in 2016 at age 74 of a heart attack, said. "Basically, I was looking for a method that did not require the person to be there when the message was sent and enabled the receiver to read and answer communications at their convenience." It was Tomlinson who decided to use the now-ubiquitous "@" symbol to separate the recipients name from their location to indicate that the user was "at" some other host rather than being local. The content of the historic first email to a computer in the same room as him? "The test messages were entirely forgettable and I have, therefore, forgotten them." It was something banal, something like "QWERTYUIOP," the first row of letters on the keyboard. Or: " =Testing 123 or something innocuous like that." doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca I would like to start todays column with the following heart-felt expression of unfettered joy: Hurray! Opinion I would like to start todays column with the following heart-felt expression of unfettered joy: "Hurray!" Pardon me for letting my emotions run wild, but I am feeling like 20 pounds of happy in a 10-pound bag because my wife and I got our second jabs of a COVID-19 vaccine on Friday at the RBC Convention Centre, Manitobas largest immunization centre. @johnrush5 / Instagram Winnipeg Blue Bomber John Rush donned a wedding gown for his COVID-19 vaccination to raise money for the Rainbow Resource Centre. It is not easy, using mere words, to describe how I am feeling about being among the 40 per cent of Manitobans who are fully vaccinated a number that could exceed 50 per cent late next week but I will give it the old college try: I feel really, really happy! My innermost feelings at this precise moment would probably best be summed up by the following deeply moving poem I wrote to commemorate this historic moment: "Roses are red/violets are blue/I am fully vaccinated/I hope you are, too!" For the last line of that poem, I contemplated saying something along the lines of "Woo-hoo!" which would convey the excitement of the moment, but probably would miss the central theme of todays column, which is this: If you have not yet gotten vaccinated, Id really appreciate it if you stopped dragging your (bad word) feet. Before I expend mental energy ranting about people who for whatever reason are avoiding getting a life-saving shot in the arm, I should confess that, as I write these words, it is actually two days before my scheduled vaccination appointment. So, technically speaking, as I write this, I am not fully vaccinated, but the point is that by the time you read todays column it will be the day AFTER my wife and I were set to have received our second jabs. I am pretty sure that after getting my second dose, I will be feeling perfectly fine for two key reasons: I felt great after getting my first shot back in April; and my wife promised to take me out for all the ice cream I can eat if I behave myself at the inoculation centre on Friday. In my world, getting fully vaccinated against a potentially lethal virus a mere 15 months after the invisible killer rolled into town and getting treated to a huge feed of ice cream the very same day seems like the definition of a win-win situation. I briefly contemplated dressing up in a goofy outfit for my second shot, because that is something a lot of people are doing. I know this because many of them have posted amusing photos on social media showing them decked out in old Halloween costumes. I was inspired when I saw photos of former Winnipeg Blue Bomber John Rush heroically getting his vaccine while dressed up in a wedding gown, which helped raise funds for a local LGBTTQ+ organization ahead of Pride Month. But I am way too big to fit into my wifes old wedding dress, and all of my old Halloween costumes potato, carrot, lobster and other agricultural-themed outfits would barely fit the mayor of Munchkin Land. So my plan was to just show up looking like a middle-aged, overweight newspaper columnist, except I decided not to wear my newspaper persons ID tag, because it caused nothing but problems when I got my first shot. Back then, when I climbed out of the car in the parking lot, I asked a couple of questions of a friendly vaccination site ambassador, who then used her radio to alert her colleagues that a "columnist" was in the building, which resulted in at least six organizers marching over to warn me not to talk to anyone or take any pictures because I was there as a patient, not a journalist. Regardless, I wrote a column about how smooth and efficient the process was, and Im confident it will have been just as problem-free on Friday because it seems they have worked the kinks out. Consider this: It wasnt that long ago Manitoba was North Americas COVID-19 hot spot, but as of Tuesday we had climbed to No. 1 among the provinces in per capita vaccine administration. Not too shabby, Friendly Manitoba. Unfortunately, there are still a few stragglers you know who you are dragging their feet and refusing to sit down for a shot in the arm. Our provincial government has offered $100,000 prizes and $25,000 scholarships in an effort to persuade more people to get immunized, and on Tuesday it unveiled $390,000 for 25 community organizations and other partners as part of its efforts to encourage COVID-19 immunization among groups with low uptake. "We know from research and from clinical leadership that there are thousands of Manitobans who are open to getting a vaccine, that would be ready to get a vaccine. Im just not the guy to persuade them," is what Premier Brian Pallister told a news conference. Its pretty simple, kids: The faster we get fully vaccinated, the sooner we get through this pandemic and our lives return to something approaching normal. Even if we dont win one of the cool prizes being offered, we should all be grateful. We should be grateful for the opportunity to get immunized. And we should be grateful that so many Manitobans as of Wednesday, about 74 per cent have had their first shot are doing their part to protect themselves, and the rest of us, in a time of crisis. So book your shots, everyone, and then leave me alone, because Id like to finish this tub of ice cream in peace. doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca Philip Katz was not an emotional man, his daughter Jennifer Katz says. Through her life, she saw him weep only once, which was when his mother died. But there was another time where he came close, where his eyes teared up and his voice welled with emotion, and that was when he spoke about his visit to a residential school. Opinion Philip Katz was not an emotional man, his daughter Jennifer Katz says. Through her life, she saw him weep only once, which was when his mother died. But there was another time where he came close, where his eyes teared up and his voice welled with emotion, and that was when he spoke about his visit to a residential school. Some of the details of the story have been lost to time. Katz, a prominent Winnipeg child psychiatrist who died in 2017 at age 86, is no longer here to tell them. But what he witnessed at the school in 1969 shook him for the rest of his life, and even changed the course of his professional practice. "It haunted him," says Jennifer, now an associate professor of education at the University of British Columbia. "He used that word: it haunted me." His story, passed down from father to daughter, also casts a damning light on the apathy that allowed residential schools to persist, even as countless people, from Indigenous parents and leaders to visiting doctors, rang alarm bells about the trauma and mistreatment children were suffering in the system. Katz was one of the non-Indigenous people best-positioned to recognize that trauma. By the late 1960s, he was renowned in Winnipeg for his work with children. He made frequent appearances in local newspapers, where he vociferously advocated for better support for youth mental health and improvements to education. So the invitation from the church to tour the residential school, Katz later surmised, was an attempt to polish the schools public image. Perhaps, he told his daughter later, they wanted him and another psychiatrist who visited to say the children were thriving, and that everything at the school was fine. In fact, what they found horrified them. At the time, Katz did not know about the sexual abuse that was rampant across the residential school system. But he noted with alarm the thinness of the children, the inferior conditions in which they lived, and the terrified look in their eyes. His firm conclusion: the children were traumatized, and needed to be returned to their parents. Back in Winnipeg, Katz and some of his colleagues tried to bring this to official attention. They wrote a letter to the federal government detailing their concerns. When that went nowhere, Katz approached a local reporter at the Winnipeg Tribune to get the story told, but that didnt pan out as he hoped either. "He was expecting it would be a big front page kind of thing," Jennifer says, recalling her fathers description. "When the paper came out and it was a small story on the back page, is when he realized that nobody cares. Nobody cares about these kids. Nothing came of it being in the paper." The experience left such a bitter impression on Katz that from that point on he devoted the majority of his work to Indigenous youth, knowing that entire generations of kids were emerging from the schools with deep, lasting trauma. For the rest of his life he was deeply skeptical of the government, and any official system. What Katz perhaps did not know then, is that his complaint was not the first warning about residential schools to come from inside or outside the system. It was, in fact, just another in a long line of such complaints, dating back to the schools beginning in the late 19th century, most of them adding up to nothing. The strongest opposition to the schools, of course, came from Indigenous parents, leaders and survivors, who fought for over a century to make the truth known and to gain control of their childrens education. Their voices were silenced, and as First Nations were for years prohibited from hiring lawyers, they had little recourse. But even floods of complaints from those working within the residential school system had little effect. Earlier this week, in a thread posted to Twitter, University of Winnipeg historian Erin Millions documented many of these complaints. They include multiple reports made by civil servants about inadequate nutrition, dilapidated buildings, unqualified staff, inferior medical treatment and the sexual abuse of children. These complaints were not rare. They were "persistent and consistent," Millions says, which is to say they began when residential schools did, and continued until their end. They document suffering and they document the mass death of children. Above all, they document how little was done to stop it. The point is not that non-Indigenous people agreed the schools were bad: the sheer mountain of testimony from survivors, gathered and preserved by the exhaustive research of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, has already documented the truth of them with detail and depth that no civil servants report ever could. "Survivors started this, survivors continued to do this work, and the rest of us follow along," Millions says. But the archival records of complaints from within the system, and stories of experiences like Katzs, do clearly show the lie in the persistent myth that these harms and abuses were somehow hidden, and that the full extent of them is only now being discovered. It was always known, at every level, by all those in charge. "The No. 1 thing to take away from the archival records is that they were just ignored," Millions says. "They always knew about this, they just ignored it. They were routinely being informed that the conditions in residential schools were killing children, and they just didnt care. "They didnt care enough to want to spend the money to fix the conditions in the schools to make it at least healthy for the children." So that is another element with which Canada has yet to fully reckon: the fact that complicity in residential schools was baked throughout the system, throughout the federal government, and across political parties. Those who held power changed, but for over a century, the trauma of the schools never did. Now, while First Nations continue the grim work of locating the unmarked graves of their stolen children, these facts serve as a call to non-Indigenous Canadians to stand behind survivors in their calls for justice. There are still documents, for instance, that havent been released by the Catholic church and government. To put all the pieces of this history together, to understand the full scope of the schools and the closely-related tuberculosis sanatorium and hospital systems and how they persisted, then we need to have all the facts. And while most of them have long been out in the light, some are still waiting to be publicly counted. "This knowledge has been there for years and years, especially after the TRC," Millions says. "Its frustrating that Canadians are just now learning it but if its going to bring more attention to the issues, to maybe pushing the calls to action forward, to having documents disclosed hopefully that at least can be a benefit." melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca Reading coverage of residential schools can be distressing for survivors and others impacted by the system. Those in need of support can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419, or the Indian Residential School Survivors Society at 1-800-721-0066. OTTAWA Manitoba has used just four per cent of the rapid tests it possesses, as other provinces rely on these devices to help prevent COVID-19 outbreaks. OTTAWA Manitoba has used just four per cent of the rapid tests it possesses, as other provinces rely on these devices to help prevent COVID-19 outbreaks. Almost two-thirds of rapid tests Ottawa has sent to Manitoba remain in a stockpile, despite a threefold increase in the use of such devices since April, according to data obtained by the Free Press. Manitoba is using a much lower proportion of the rapid tests its received than the other Prairie provinces. "Businesses would like to see this in place," said Jonathan Alward, Prairies director for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. "Something like rapid testing might help preemptively, to stop a business from having a two-week shutdown." As of June 23, Manitoba had used just 38,000 rapid tests, and deployed another 326,000 kits schools and businesses havent yet used, while leaving 585,248 in a stockpile. That means just four per cent of rapid tests owned by Manitoba have been used as of June 23, up from 1.26 per cent April 23. Alberta has used 10 per cent of the tests its received from Ottawa, while Saskatchewan has used 8.8 per cent, as of June 24. Ontario takes the national lead, in using 31.9 per cent of its tests from Ottawa, followed by Nova Scotia at 30 per cent. NDP health critic MLA Uzoma Asagwara said Manitobas numbers are embarrassing. "Theres no good reason to not being using those tests, to ensure that we have as much of an understanding of our case numbers as possible, and that were doing everything we can to keep them as low as possible," said Asagwara. Manitoba uses rapid tests that involve a swab taken less than two centimetres up the nostril, with results generated within 20 minutes. Winnipeg-based Red River College provides a two-hour course on how to safely get a reliable result. The province has offered rapid tests to daycare, school and personal care home staff. Rapid tests are less capable of detecting novel coronavirus than the deep-nasal swab test for people with COVID-19 symptoms, which are processed in laboratories. Yet, rapid tests tend to detect people with high viral loads and no symptoms, who are among the most likely to be spreading the coronavirus. In May, Manitoba announced it was sending thousands of rapid tests to 35 companies as varied as Air Canada, Pizza Hotline and Winkler Meats. Some 34 per cent of Manitobas tests are now sitting with such partners but havent been used, which concerns Asagwara. "The government needs to listen to the organizations that had been provided those rapid testing kits, and understand what the barriers are to them being put to use," the MLA for Union Station said, arguing congregate workplaces could be using tests to prevent a pandemic fourth wave. "Manitobans have suffered greatly, and they deserve for the premier and his cabinet to utilize every resource possible to keep Manitobans safe." Manitobas acting health minister, Kelvin Goertzen, was not made available Wednesday. His office noted the lab tests are generally available for the public with results in 24 hours despite the provinces COVID-19 website advising against asymptomatic people getting that test done. "Rapid testing has been strategically used in communities and businesses where the spread of COVID-19 is at the greatest risk," wrote spokesman Brant Batters, who said the provinces use of rapid testing will change as the pandemic evolves. Meanwhile, the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce says it asked the province in May for a program similar to Ontario and New Brunswick, where chambers have rolled out rapid tests to smaller businesses so they can screen employees for asymptomatic COVID-19. No program appears in the works in Manitoba, which in May, started defining workplace outbreaks as having just two COVID-19 cases linked to a workplace. "Theres an appetite from a lot of small- to medium-size employers, for increased access to a program like that, as the economy starts to reopen," Alward said, especially as business start to plan larger events later in the year. In recent weeks, Ottawa has gone over the heads of provinces to provide Shoppers Drug Mart with rapid antigen tests for employers who want to screen employees. The program expanded to Manitoba on June 21, and those tests are not counted in the provinces numbers. dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca Communities across the province boiled in record heat Friday, with 38 weather stations noting their hottest July 2 on record. Communities across the province boiled in record heat Friday, with 38 weather stations noting their hottest July 2 on record. Heat warnings were in effect in almost all of Manitoba as a heat wave enveloped the province in temperatures up to 36 C. Winnipeg fell just short of its record at 33 C. At Provencher Park spray pad, Teri-Lynn Fiorante stood in the shade and tried to keep cool as her children played in the water. A group of girls ran through an arch shooting mist downward as a one-year-old tottered after them, eventually stopping to fill her purple pail with water and drinking from it. For Fiorante, the spray pad is more than a fun place for her children; it had nearly become a necessity. "Our air conditioning broke in the first heat wave," she said. "This has been really crucial." She travelled to the park from Fort Garry because theres no spray pad near her house, Fiorante said. Neighbours have even started a petition to the city to have one built, she added. Kristen Neirinck (left) and Teri-Lynn Fiorante watch their kids cool down at the Provencher Park splash pad in Winnipeg on Friday as the mercury hit 33 C. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press) At Elmwood Park, Jamie Haluik sat on the edge of the wading pool while her seven-year-old, Paige, kicked herself around the shallows on an inflatable doughnut. Haluik said having the wading pool is helpful to cool off on hot days, but its also a good place for her daughter to socialize. "Its so important," she said. "This is kind of our community." Manitobas heat wave is not a localized phenomenon. It began as a ridge of high pressure in British Columbia, said Natalie Hasell, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada. Since then, it has spread across much of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. "It is unusual," said Hasell. "We dont normally see a system that covers two-thirds of the country. Not in this way." Hasell said Friday she didnt have the long-term statistics on hand, but doesnt believe shes seen heat events "last for this long in the same locations." In B.C., the town of Lytton set all-time Canadian heat records three days in a row: topping out at 49.5 C. It culminated in tragedy, as tinder-dry conditions contributed to a wildfire that has destroyed most of the town. Jamie Haluik and her daughter, Paige deal with the heat by going to the Elmwood Park wading pool. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press) Hasell said Manitoba will not reach those temperatures in this heat wave, but thinks its possible for future weather events. "Theoretically speaking, theres no reason why southern Manitoba couldnt see 50 C, because weve already seen 40 C," she said. Dry conditions and hot weather have put Manitoba at risk of forest fire, as well. The Manitoba Wildfire Service said 13 new wildfires have started since Sunday, with lightning expected to cause more. Most are east of Lake Winnipeg, and there are multiple wildfires in Ontario powering smoke that can be seen in the Whiteshell, Nopiming and Atikaki provincial parks. Smoke from such fires can cause air quality trouble, but even without it, hot air can cause problems, said Hasell. Hot air moves so slowly, it gets stale; in urban centres where pollution lingers, that can spell trouble, she added. Health Canada says on its website older adults, infants and young children, people with chronic illness, people who work in the heat and people experiencing homelessness are amongst those at highest risk for health problems due to heat. (Hasell said pregnant women should be added to the list.) Hasell also warned people not to leave children or animals in cars during hot days. Temperatures inside a vehicle can rise quickly to dangerous, even deadly, levels, she said. cody.sellar@freepress.mb.ca With the turning of the calender to July comes school zone speed limits returning to 50 km/h sparking renewed debate on road safety for Winnipeg children, pedestrians and cyclists alike. With the turning of the calender to July comes school zone speed limits returning to 50 km/h sparking renewed debate on road safety for Winnipeg children, pedestrians and cyclists alike. Coun. Shawn Nason (Transcona) drew ire Thursday, after tweeting, "Happy no 30 km/h school zones in Winnipeg until September day." Replies criticized the civic official for seeming to encourage faster driving on streets where children might be likely to spend summer days outdoors. Meanwhile, the city prepares to pilot four reduced-speed greenways year-round. In a Friday afternoon interview, Nason called the 30-km/h residential street plans where some residents have advocated for year-round speed reductions on residential roads "a lark," adding he hoped his tweet would spark conversation about driving speeds. "If we want 30-km/h speed limits, if its truly about safety, then the province of Manitoba needs to legislate it provincewide and support Manitoba Public Insurance in the way of education," said Nason. Nason then criticized the "piecemeal" approach to slowing speeds on city streets, including the pilot project reducing speed limits on sections of Eugenie and Powers streets, and Machray and Warsaw avenues. While he believes drivers should be aware of children at play and slow down when needed, Nason said he doesnt believe the city should be responsible for mandating slower speeds in residential areas. A pair of Winnipeg parents and their four children said year-round speed reductions could work for their neighbourhood, however, even if they dont work for all streets. Across the street from the Gertrude Avenue pool, playground and school, Brennan and Rhonda Cattanis kids spent the hot July Friday in their front yard reading, setting up a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, and showing off skateboard tricks. "When the school zone is in place, its pretty fantastic the park is there, the kids are on this side, there are day programs, the yard is super well-used all summer long. So I think if they were to have the (30 km/h) school zone run all year round, it would be a pretty helpful thing for this context," said Brennan. Gertrude is often treated as a main thoroughfare between Osborne Street and Wellington Crescent, the Cattanis said, prompting heavy traffic on a roadway frequented by children, cyclists, and pedestrians. But while a 30-km/h limit might be a safer option for Gertrude residents, the Cattani family does not support reducing speeds on all residential roadways. Instead, better signage including prompts drivers to watch out for children and better enforcement of road rules could also go some ways to help keep traffic calm on the side streets, they added. In the shade of the Corydon Community Centre splash pad, Heather Perlov suggested slower speeds on all residential streets would make the city safer though she thinks 30 km/h across the board might be a bit too slow. "I think 40 (km/h) for all residential streets would actually be a nice speed limit," Perlov said. "I tend to drive cautiously because I am a mom and I drive crowded River Heights streets for the most part, and I think that people generally drive too fast." The push for slower side streets has been a decades-long passion project for Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverly West), who maintains slower speeds promote better quality of life for residents. Lukes said the tweet from her council colleague was "horrifying." "I have always thought 30 km/h in school zones should be 24-7, 365," Lukes said in a phone call Friday. Lukes noted the World Health Organization recommends maximum speeds of 30 km/h on residential streets and Winnipegs roadways have been designed for faster driving. A middle ground of 40 km/h would still be a win in providing safer roads for children, active transportation and motorists alike, she said. Ultimately, changing "built environment" is the catalyst, Lukes said, noting curb extensions, separated bike lanes and speed tables could help calm traffic in residential areas and promote other means of enjoying the outdoors. julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @jsrutgers Five years ago, a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous volunteers in Manitoba got together to bring attention to an incredible wrong. Five years ago, a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous volunteers in Manitoba got together to bring attention to an incredible wrong. At the Manitoba legislature, the group pointed out, there was no statue commemorating First Nations in the province. Virtually everyone else, including the Metis nation (honoured in 1973 with a statue of Louis Riel), is recognized. In the seat of Manitobas government and at the heart of Treaty 1, it is as if First Nations dont exist. Chief Peguis. Courtesy of the Archives of Manitoba. Frankly, there is no Manitoba, no treaties and no legislature without First Nations, so the committee got to work, convincing provincial decision-makers to let one be built in 2020. It was determined that a statue of Chief Peguis, best known for negotiating Manitobas first treaty in 1817 and welcoming settlers into this territory, would appear once money had been raised and a site found. "It will fill a great void," declared organizing committee co-chair Bill Shead, promising an appearance by 2024. On Canada Day in 2021 151 years after Manitoba became a province a group of citizens had waited long enough. They created their own monument, toppling a statue of Queen Victoria and covering it with orange shirts and red handprints, commemorating First Nations children who attended Canadian residential schools, many of whom died there. While around 15 people pulled the statue down with ropes, dozens more covered it and hundreds more chanted "No pride in genocide" in a collective effort. Some then toppled a statue of Queen Elizabeth installed in 2010 when the Queen and the late Prince Philip last visited at nearby Government House. By the end of Canada Day, the Manitoba legislature had its first statue commemorating First Nations a reason for this country to celebrate, if you ask me. People posing for photos on top of the toppled statue of Queen Victoria on the front lawn of the Manitoba Legislative Building. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press) Instead, Winnipeg police were looking for "protesters" who committed "vandalism" and Manitoba was the lead story on newspapers and networks across the world. Many Manitobans suddenly cared about statues, demanding the perpetrators be brought to justice. One ended an email to me with the signature line "reconciliation is now dead." Premier Brian Pallister issued a statement, promising prosecution for these "acts of violence." Some Indigenous leaders decried the action, while others rightly pointed out thousands of other people participated in other marches that deserve attention. All seem to have forgotten that vandalism is always based in perspective. In fact, Winnipegs most iconic moment as a city, the overturning of a streetcar during the 1919 General Strike, is commemorated in a sculpture on Main Street. During that act of vandalism, protesters pushed the streetcar off its tracks, shattered its windows, slashed its seats and set it on fire. Two people were killed in clashes with police in what became known as "Bloody Saturday." On Canada Day, no one was hurt when the statues came down. In fact, a whole lot of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people across this province felt vindicated. Heard. Seen. Over the past month, much has been written about children who died at residential schools paid for by the Canadian government and run by churches. Much has also been written about how the attitudes and policies in these schools have led to suffering, poverty and deaths in Indigenous communities today. This is actual violence we should be concerned about, not the altering of statues. Thursdays events were not about erasing history or "cancelling" anyones culture. When I woke up this morning, the same old Canada was still here. If anything, Thursdays events were statements against the British Crown, which established the laws Canada now uses to justify the theft of First Nations land and resources, and to commit atrocities against children. The decapitated head of the Queen Victoria statue on the front lawn of the Manitoba Legislative Building Thursday. (John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press) These were statements against governments who refuse to change, implement calls for action and justice, and continue to act as though Indigenous lives dont matter. These were statements peaceful, controlled and even artistic about what inclusion looks like. For some, Thursdays actions were disturbing, because the status quo is so powerful and controlling. Its also evidence of how all change comes with a cost and happens fast when theres will and desire. However, true, long-term change comes from building, not destroying, and from methods driven by dialogue, not the destruction of property. My hope is that Winnipeggers and Manitobans will be as invested in talking about whats next as they are in statues that mean very little. My hope is that the remarkable, peaceful and beautiful sea of orange that blanketed this country for one day will never go away and will shape every single day as we go forward. My hope is that we see beyond our petty, immature perspectives thrust upon us by this countrys brutal, violent past and gain the maturity to appreciate that the events in front of our eyes are incredible. We should be patient, kind and adaptable to change. My hope is that Thursday is a prophecy for tomorrow, with all its attendant complications. On Thursday, as predicted, we witnessed the most remarkable Canada Day yet with more yet to come. The Chinese Communist Party celebrated the centenary of its foundation this week, and most people in China accept the origin myth that justifies its dictatorial rule. China was a horrendously impoverished and unequal society in 1921, the official line says, and owes its current prosperity and freedom from foreign rule to the Communist revolution of 1949. Opinion The Chinese Communist Party celebrated the centenary of its foundation this week, and most people in China accept the origin myth that justifies its dictatorial rule. China was a horrendously impoverished and unequal society in 1921, the official line says, and owes its current prosperity and freedom from foreign rule to the Communist revolution of 1949. The implication, never stated explicitly, is that without the Communist revolution China would still be poor and vulnerable to foreign meddling. But Japan and Korea, which share the same basic East Asian culture, have per-capita incomes three or four times higher than Chinas, and they are also democracies. Then why is anybody celebrating the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)? Because its the victors who write the history, thats why. It was 1949, when Mao Zedong won the civil war and entered Beijing, that was the year of peak Communism. In Europe it was all downhill for Communism after 1950, and the Soviet Union itself finally evaporated peacefully in 1991 at the age of 74, killed by a combination of economic failure and a well-educated populations impatience with the old autocratic ways. But in Asia, it was different. When the Communists took power in China in 1949, they should at least have enjoyed the same decades-long burst of growth the Soviet Union experienced after the end of the Russian civil war in 1920. The raw material for that kind of explosive growth was available in both countries: a large peasant population ripe to be transformed cheaply into an industrial working class. It had nothing to do with Communism: the same growth spurt happened in Britain in 1850-80, in the United States about two decades later, and in Japan in 1950-80. Communism did not stop this great initial surge of industrialization from happening in Russia too in the 1920s and 30s, so why didnt it happen in China in the 50s, 60s and 70s? Step forward the "Great Helmsman," Mao Zedong. The trouble with Mao was that he really believed the sacred books. Russian Communists talked about "New Soviet Man" as a Platonic ideal. Mao spent 25 years actually trying to turn the Old Hundred Names into a Chinese version of that imaginary post-human species. It was 25 years of political upheaval, bloodshed, famine and chaos: tens of millions were killed needlessly, and at the end China was just as poor as ever. Mao died in 1976, and it was 1980 before more sensible colleagues gained firm control of the CCP and began building a modern economy in China. By then Chinas East Asian neighbours, Japan and South Korea, were just coming to the end of their three-decade spurts of 10 per cent-plus annual growth rates. China finally embarked on the equivalent process only in the 1980s. China has now reached the end of its own three decades of high-speed growth, but because the three previous decades were wasted it still has a GDP per capita only a third or a quarter of that in Japan or South Korea or Taiwan. What was the alternative to the Maoist disaster? A Nationalist victory in the civil war, presumably, and how would that have worked out? The Kuomintang (Nationalist) Party, which still clung to power in Taiwan, was deeply corrupt and very oppressive in the 1950s and 60s. A non-Communist China would have been the same sort of ramshackle dictatorship in that era, but the Nationalists would have started growing the Chinese economy right away. We know that because its what they actually did do in Taiwan. Over time the Taiwanese economy blossomed, the islands people became educated, and eventually, in the 1980s, the autocrats were peacefully replaced by democratically elected governments. Why do people find it hard to believe that the same thing would have happened in a Nationalist-ruled China? In fact, that hypothetical democratic China would now bestride the world like a colossus. Communist rule gave China the second-best outcome economically, and also lumbered it with a crude dictatorship. Will it remain that way forever? The prevailing wisdom is that most people will put up with the dictatorship so long as the party also delivers constantly rising prosperity but China now has a pseudo-capitalist economy, including a welfare state that provides even less support to the underclass than the American one. That makes the regime very vulnerable if there is a bad recession, which happens from time to time in capitalist economies. Moreover, under Xi Jinping the party is stuck with another president-for-life, which tends to end badly everywhere. The CCP could rule for another generation, or it could be gone in less than a decade. Gwynne Dyers latest book is Growing Pains: The Future of Democracy (and Work). Indigenous communities are beginning to use ground-penetrating radar to find hundreds of unmarked graves long known to be at the sites of former Indian Residential Schools. Recently, 751 more childrens bodies were discovered at former Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan. More discoveries have followed. Opinion Indigenous communities are beginning to use ground-penetrating radar to find hundreds of unmarked graves long known to be at the sites of former Indian Residential Schools. Recently, 751 more childrens bodies were discovered at former Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan. More discoveries have followed. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says hes "appalled by the shameful policy that stole Indigenous children from their communities." And Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller characterizes it as "shameful" that the Pope has declined to apologize for the Catholic Churchs role in running the schools on Canadas behalf. Non-Indigenous Canadians may likewise feel ashamed and implicated in Canadas genocidal practices. Scholars make a distinction between guilt and shame. Guilt is when I recognize that I have done something wrong. If Ive hurt someone, or broken something through carelessness, I might feel guilt. Shame is a feeling of being wrong, or bad. It is sticky, and it attaches to our sense of self rather than our actions. Mostly, shame is the kind of bad feeling we are encouraged to reject, because its been forced upon us about things that theres no inherent shame in our bodies, our faith traditions, our sexuality. However, there is a place for naming the feeling of being implicated in collective wrongdoing as "shame." My research has shown that many white people started what became valuable contributions to collective anti-racist transformations when they felt shame about benefiting from racism or racist structures. Recognizing and naming the shame pertaining to Indian Residential Schools can be an important starting place. But what comes next? Many suggest that settlers educate themselves. They can read the reports of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), follow investigative initiatives, watch films and read books from the viewpoint of survivors. A next step is to demand accountability from the Canadian government by writing to elected representatives and lobbying for legislative change. And non-Indigenous people can donate money to support survivors or reparation work. Shame turns us inwards White settlers in particular may have a tendency to focus too much on themselves when confronted with racism and colonialism in terms of their self-education and political self-expression. The feeling of shame tends to turn people inwards, yet were all connected in some way to Canadas genocidal past. White people can participate in collective work by standing with Indigenous Peoples. After listening and advocating, we can respond to the TRCs Calls to Action. Non-Indigenous people who arent white might also find some traction in these approaches, but since racialized people have been and are themselves targeted by both the Canadian state and white racists, their collective work will be different. Often instances of shame, such as an implication in genocide, are points of connection in our lives. They might show us things we are genuinely moved to work on. If someone is deeply committed to their church community, for example, and discovers that it was directly involved in residential schools, educating their congregation and initiating its responses to the TRC Calls to Action might be a natural next step. A person who cares about the environment might turn towards supporting Indigenous land defenders in places they care about, here and abroad. Someone who cares about teaching and education can support school-centred actions. Past efforts to show solidarity Non-Indigenous people have been involved in solidarity work for many years in ways that might be instructive for responding to the legacies of Indian Residential Schools. In the 1990s, there were examples like Settlers in Solidarity with Indigenous Sovereignty, Anti-Racist Action members in Toronto who fought against white supremacist fishing and hunting groups and Reaction SIDA members who supported the Kanienkehaka people as they defended their land from development during the Oka Crisis at Kanehsata:ke. Today, we see some settlers protesting alongside Wet'suwet'en, Secwepemc and Pacheedaht, Ditidaht and Huu-ay-aht First Nations in their efforts to defend their land against logging, chemical spills from mining slag and the effects of petroleum pipelines. Showing solidarity and getting involved are connected to the work of actively responding to the TRC Calls to Action. The most effective non-Indigenous participants in this kind of work resist the impulse to act like individual heroes, martyrs or "white saviours." They support and stand by Indigenous people instead of making it about themselves. For people getting involved in ongoing projects of which there are many key starting points include listening more than talking, not trying to introduce big new ideas, taking up the non-glamorous work and not speaking for others. People who dont burn out by trying to do everything, who are in it for the long haul and who help build useful collective organizations those who other people can count on for years of support and collaboration turn out to be the most effective contributors to social transformation at the scale needed for addressing Canadas treatment of Indigenous people. If you are an Indian Residential School survivor, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419 Alexis Shotwell is a professor in the department of sociology and anthropology at Carleton University. This article was first published at The Conversation Canada: theconversation.com/ca. Cowessess Chief Cadmus Delorme recently said he was treating 751 unmarked graves on the site of a former Saskatchewan residential school as a crime scene. Chief Delorme is right in his characterization; as more and more unmarked graves are identified, there seems little doubt that crimes were committed. Cowessess Chief Cadmus Delorme recently said he was treating 751 unmarked graves on the site of a former Saskatchewan residential school as a "crime scene." Chief Delorme is right in his characterization; as more and more unmarked graves are identified, there seems little doubt that crimes were committed. But does that mean any of the people responsible for the deaths of these children will be brought to justice? That is very hard to say right now, although some political leaders are raising the prospect of criminal charges. Minister of Northern Affairs and Winnipeg MP Dan Vandal made national headlines when he declared that all those responsible for crimes against residential school children "need to be charged." Even though this was the strongest statement yet from the federal Liberal government on the issue of unmarked graves, there are concerns about the legitimacy of Mr. Vandals pledge. First, Mr. Vandal did not commit to referring the matter to police for the launch of an actual criminal investigation. And second, he seemed unaware of the complexity of the challenge such a probe would entail. Mr. Vandal was not aware, by his own admission, that Ottawa had already paid private investigators to identify more than 5,300 alleged perpetrators named by residential school survivors. More than 700 of those would actually go on to provide statements to the Independent Assessment Process, which accompanied the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in order to determine compensation for residential school survivors. Mr. Vandal also could not have known all that evidence is tied up in an awkward legal context. The statements from perpetrators were primarily used to verify claims of abuse to determine compensation. It is unclear whether these interviews can be used now as part of a criminal investigation. MIKE SUDOMA / CANADIAN PRESS FILES Minister of Northern Affairs Dan Vandal Going forward, Mr. Vandal can put substance behind his bold assertion by answering some simple questions about the prospect of bringing to justice the people responsible for the abuse and death in residential schools. First and foremost, Mr. Vandal should clarify whether any of the statements collected for the compensation process can be used in a criminal proceeding. If not, could police pursue charges against the more than 4,500 perpetrators who did not co-operate with the compensation assessment process? Mr. Vandal can take comfort in one undeniable truth: crimes did occur. The findings of the TRC and the recent discoveries of unmarked graves is unambiguous. Children were abused, neglected and, when so many of them died, they were buried in unmarked graves, often with no records of their passing or notification to families. Unmarked graves are potent evidence that the people who ran these schools did not consider the Indigenous children worthy of the same level of care and basic human dignity as nonIndigenous children. Unmarked graves are potent evidence that the people who ran these schools did not consider the Indigenous children worthy of the same level of care and basic human dignity as non-Indigenous children. Apart from specific instances of violence or abuse, this kind of dehumanizing neglect is a crime in and of itself. All that having been said, it is premature to talk about charging people when there has been no criminal investigation. However, there are things that Mr. Vandal can do. Retired senator Murray Sinclair, former chair of the TRC, has called upon Ottawa to provide the resources for a full criminal investigation. That is an excellent place to start. Finding and charging those responsible for the death and abuse of residential school children will be a long and arduous mission. But it is worthy of the federal governments attention and resources. Mr. Vandal should move quickly to put some actions behind his words. These people were dressed in neither sheriff nor peace officer uniforms. They yelled commands and did not announce themselves as law enforcement of any kind, the attorneys said. While yelling commands for them to put their hands up, multiple armed people targeted their weapons upon her and Mr. Smith. Askar's attorneys said that she was scared for her life and complied, and that Smith had a mobile phone and began to record for Facebook Live. As he raised the phone all she could hear was gunfire and saw Winston Smith slump over, the attorneys said. When asked if they were suggesting that law enforcement mistook the phone for a gun, Nguyen said: I think that's a logical inference. When asked whether task force officers are supposed to identify themselves as law enforcement, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service said he could not comment due to the ongoing investigation. A spokeswoman with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension also had no additional comment, citing the ongoing investigation. The attorneys said Askar was pulled out of the SUV, handcuffed and put in the back of an unmarked car. She stayed in handcuffs until paramedics gave her medical attention. The attorneys said an officer later asked her how her date was. Ballweg said the law requires the marketplace lodging vendors to file the appropriate information for room tax collection based on municipality, not zip code which was in the original law. She explained filing by zip code can cause confusion on which municipality receives the collection and how much it collects if the same zip code is used for multiple places, like Wisconsin Dells which has the same zip code for Lake Delton and its surrounding jurisdictions. The second item the legislation addresses is the municipality has the authority to audit a marketplace location if the proper amount of room tax isnt being paid or not being paid at all. Something remarkable happened in my little corner of the world in Richland County. Our County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution celebrating LGBT Pride Month. It was not unanimous. There was respectful debate and a significant minority voted no. But even if the resolution had not passed, the mere fact that there was a public discussion would have been a victory. There could have been no such discussion and certainly no resolution when I was in high school 53 years ago and my best friend was gay. Nor could it have happened a few years later when I was a student at Richland Campus and knew several gay students from Richland Center. Gay and trans people have always been a part of our families and communities and until recent years have not been free to be open about their sexual identity. This is an historic moment. Supervisor Shaun Murphy-Lopez, who sponsored the resolution, commented after the meeting, I was so impressed with Shawna Smith Kratochwill, the mother of an 18-year-old, who came to the meeting and gave tearful testimony about her daughter who was bullied after coming out in our community. The same was true for fellow County Board Supervisor Donald Seep from Cazenovia, who told a powerful story about his great-uncle who was forced to leave Richland County in the 1930s after it was discovered he was gay. 87 year old, Woodward resident passed away December 28, 2020. A memorial service will be held Wednesday, July 7, 2021 in the Elmwood Cemetery at 10:00 a.m. Remembrances may be shared online at www.billingsfuneralhomewoodward.com Dogs die in hot cars campaign message to feature on Wales road warning signs again Wales will continue to display messages warning motorists about the dangers of leaving dogs in a hot car during spells of warmer weather. The Welsh Government confirmed the brilliant news in a letter to the RSPCA, who have long championed the benefits the signage can play in raising awareness of their ongoing campaign. Wales remains the only nation in Great Britain to have taken the step following calls from the animal welfare charity with the Deputy Minister for Climate Change Lee Waters MS confirming the news. During spells of hot weather, variable messaging signage on Wales trunk road network will read: CEIR POETH YN LLADD CWN / DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS As lockdown restrictions continue to ease across England and Wales, the RSPCA is determined to spread the message about the risks to dogs of being left in a hot car, as people return to making more regular day-trips with their canine companions. Dogs left alone in a car on a hot day can quickly become dehydrated, develop heatstroke or even die but the charity and Police continue to receive numerous reports of dogs left in jeopardy. When an RSPCA staff member put the rising temperatures to the test, they saw the heat sky-rocket from 23.3C to more than 57C degrees in only 26 minutes highlighting the dangers posed to dogs. RSPCA campaigns officer Carrie Stones said: Its brilliant news for animal welfare in Wales that variable messaging signs will continue to share this important campaign message during spells of warm weather and this remains a first in Great Britain. These subtle, awareness-raising messages will save the lives of dogs by reminding motorists that leaving their canine companions in a hot car can be absolutely fatal. If anyone sees a dog in distress in a hot car, they should dial 999 immediately. Sadly, we know too many think it is still acceptable to leave a dog in a warm car so messaging like this is absolutely invaluable; particularly as Covid restrictions ease and day-trips and travelling become more commonplace again. We know temperatures inside a car can sky-rocket in a very short space of time, so its so important people never leave a dog alone in a warm car. Put simply, not long is too long. We are grateful to the Welsh Government for their support for this campaign in making these road network messages a reality. Its hoped Highways England will follow suit and ensure motorists in England get the same life-saving reminders for dogs when journeying on the motorway and trunk road network there; just like well see again in Wales in 2021. The Deputy Minister for Climate Change Lee Waters said: I am very pleased to support this important campaign on our roads. Leaving dogs in vehicles on hot summer days is dangerous as temperatures in cars can rise rapidly even in a short space of time. I know the RSPCA and the police receive hundreds of troubling calls about this every year highlighting what a major animal welfare concern this is in Wales so it is crucial we get the message across that you need to think before leaving your dog in a hot car as this could lead to its death. Get yourself sorted ASAP Pop up walk-in vaccination clinic opens today at Tesco Wrexham Local residents who have not had a vaccine are being told even if you feel invincible, you should still get vaccinated as soon as possible. Details have come as Wrexham Council have provided their usual update locally, saying: Wrexham now has the second highest coronavirus rate in Wales, and the Delta variant is spreading rapidly. Hospital cases remain low at the moment (some good news), but with all the disruption that comes with having to self-isolate, the situation isnt great. Lots of people are being affected, including schoolchildren, and our daily lives are still fraught with complications. It feels like Ground Hog Day, and the only way out of this once and for all is to vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. If youre eligible, this includes you. You need two doses for the best protection, and if you havent had both doses yet, dont hang about. Please get yourself sorted ASAP. Get vaccinated. There is the straightforward online booking system via the local health board site: https://bcuhb.nhs.wales/covid-19/covid-19-vaccination-information/covid-19-vaccination-online-booking/ , or you can call the Vaccination Contact Centre on 03000 840004 although lines are quite busy. There is also a new way, with a pop up clinic being held at Wrexham Tesco today, with no booking needed on a first come first served basis for those wanting first doses. This will be in Tesco Wrexham car park (Crescent Rd, Wrexham LL13 8HF) today only from 9am to 4:30pm . Anyone aged between 18 and 39 who has yet to receive their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine is urged to drop in. It is expected more pop up style clincs will be rolled out soon and we will pass on the information as soon as we spot it, or the health board share it. As well as the pop up clinic, the health board have indicated people appear to be welcome at vaccination centres without bookings with a spokesperson saying, People can also visit one of our vaccination centres without a pre-booked appointment where they may be able to get their first or second dose (after eight weeks) depending on supplies and capacity at the time. In a wider update from Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, Area Director Ffion Johnstone says: What weve seen so far is that having just one dose of the vaccine significantly reduces the chances of someone being admitted to hospital with Covid-19. This is why its so important that anyone who hasnt yet taken the opportunity to get vaccinated does so as soon as possible especially with the Delta variant circulating. For those whove received the recommended two doses, the chances of catching and being hospitalised by Covid-19 is reduced by more than 90 per cent. Councillor Hugh Jones, Wrexham Councils Lead Member for Communities, Partnerships, Public Protection and Community Safety, says: By getting vaccinated, youre not only helping to protect yourself and others youre helping Wales and the rest of the UK move to a situation where fewer people become seriously ill and we can learn to live with the virus. So even if you feel invincible, you should still get vaccinated as soon as possible. If we want to return to a more normal life, vaccination is the only way we can do it. Top pic: The message from the council. Trading Standards Wales and Crimestoppers join forces to make it easier reporting under age sales Residents and businesses across Wales who think that someone has purchased or sold age restricted products to an underaged person can now report it anonymously to Crimestoppers. Trading Standards Wales and the charity Crimestoppers have joined forces to provide a service that enables members of the public to anonymously provide valuable information to help keep communities safe and healthy. It is the latest issue that the two organisations are working on to encourage members of the public to provide information on concerns they might have, 100% anonymously. Aged restricted products include: Alcohol Tobacco products including cigarettes, tobacco, cigarette papers and cigars E-cigarettes Fireworks Knives, knife blades, open edged razor blades, axes Glue, aerosols, domestic cleaning fluids, dry cleaning fluids, paint strippers and thinners Helen Picton, Chair of Trading Standards Wales, said: Were delighted to be working with Crimestoppers and giving members of the public a way to report these crimes anonymously. Aged restricted products have a minimum age of purchase as they are considered to be harmful to children and teenagers. Not only is the sale of these products a crime, but they also harm the welfare of our children and disrupts communities. If you think that someone has purchased or sold age restricted products to an underaged person then report it to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit http://crimestoppers-uk.org and tell them what you know. Your information can help keep communities across Wales safe. On Thursday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the April 2018 conviction of actor and entertainer Bill Cosby, ordering his immediate release from prison. Cosby, who is 83, had served three years of a 10-year sentence on three aggravated felony counts of indecent assault against Andrea Constand. Constand, a former employee at Temple University, alleged Cosby had drugged and sexually assaulted her at his home in 2004. Bill Cosby, center, and spokesperson Andrew Wyatt, right, approach members of the media gathered outside Cosbys home in Elkins Park, Pa., Wednesday, June 30, 2021 [Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke] Though differing in their reasons, all seven judges agreed that the conviction violated Cosbys fundamental right to due process and a fair trial under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the US Constitution. The violation was so severe that the majority barred the prosecution from retrying the case. Four of the seven judges (three Democrats and one Republican) ruled the conviction violated Cosbys due process right to protection against forced self-incrimination, ordering his release. Two judges (both Democrats) concurred in part and dissented in part, agreeing with the majoritys ruling but stating they would have ordered a new trial instead of releasing Cosby outright. The remaining judge (a Republican) dissented, ruling that Cosbys due process rights were violated, but not by an infringement on the right to protection from self-incrimination. Rather, the dissent found the trial judge violated Cosbys due process rights by unfairly allowing prosecutors to call five character witnesses to argue that Cosby had assaulted them in the past and was therefore guilty in this case. The court majority declined to address this issue and neither affirmed nor overturned the trial courts allowance of broad character witnesses. The first time Cosby was tried in 2017, prosecutors brought only one character witness and failed to secure conviction, with the case ending in a mistrial. #MeToo proponents, media attack court for freeing Cosby The Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision was denounced by the proponents and supporters of the #MeToo campaign. Times Up President Tina Tchen wrote, Lets be clear, even the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision did not challenge the finding of the jury that Bill Cosby committed sexual assault. Dylan Farrow, sister of Ronan Farrow, said, The fact that Bill Cosby, after being accused by 60 brave women, could have his conviction overturned by a technicality is a travesty. Christian Nunes, president of the National Organization of Women, also said the court failed survivors by releasing Cosby on a technicality. Others accused the judges of facilitating future sexual assault crimes. Such statements testify to the dangerously low level of democratic consciousness in official circles. One does not have to sympathize with Cosby or condone his actionswhich are presently the subject of numerous civil lawsuitsto oppose prosecutors violating the democratic rights of the accused. The court overturned the conviction after finding that police prosecutors forced Cosby to self-incriminate himself, a tactic used by police against untold numbers of poor and working people who are detained in police precincts and coerced, deceived and cheated into making forced confessions. By attacking the Supreme Court decision, the #MeToo proponents pave the way for future frame-ups like the NYPD frame-up of the Central Park Five, young men who were also coerced into self-incrimination. In a very concrete way, a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling against Cosby would have created binding precedent depriving many future defendants of democratic rights. The argument that violations of due process are acceptable to ensure that guilty people do not get away with crimes has always been a hallmark of right-wing tough on crime campaigns that have resulted in the incarceration of millions of impoverished people in the US. It flies in the face of Blackstones democratic adage, It is better that ten guilty persons escape than one innocent person suffer. The fact is that the #MeToo proponents vocally demanded prosecutors take actions which the highest court in Pennsylvania has now ruled violated constitutional due process. The claim that the courts ruling was based on a technicality is aimed at covering up this embarrassing fact which exposes the right-wing character of the #MeToo initiative. The decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court The 79-page majority opinion authored by Judge David Wecht exhaustingly explains what the concurrence called the prosecutions coercive bait-and-switch. The court explained that the jury reached its guilty verdict based on self-incriminating statements Cosby made in depositions in a separate civil (i.e., non-criminal) lawsuit filed by Constand in 2005. The court found that Cosby had only agreed to give civil depositions because he relied on a 2005 agreement made with then-Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor, who stated that Cosby would not face criminal prosecution for the allegations in exchange for a waiver of Cosbys Fifth Amendment right to protection against self-incrimination. Castor explained that he felt the evidence against Cosby was too weak to bring a conviction, but felt a civil settlement would bring some measure of justice to Constand. Constands attorneys voluntarily agreed to this proposal, and Constand successfully settled the civil suit for $3.5 million in 2006. In Thursdays ruling, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court explained that after Castor had been replaced as district attorney by Kevin Steele, the latter betrayed the prior promise made by the district attorneys office and brought charges in December 2015. Steele then introduced Cosbys civil depositions as evidence in the criminal case, even though Cosby only gave those depositions after waiving his right to plead the Fifth. Judge Wechts decision explains that Cosby found himself in a nightmarish situation where prosecutors used the coercive power of the state to trick him into depriving himself of a fair trial. Wecht wrote that the facts and law compel only one conclusion. Cosby did not invoke the Fifth Amendment before he incriminated himself because he was operating under the reasonable belief that D.A. Castors decision not to prosecute him meant that the potential exposure to criminal punishment no longer existed. Cosby could not invoke that which he no longer possessed, given the Commonwealths assurances that he faced no risk of prosecution. Not only did D.A. Castors unconditional decision not to prosecute Cosby strip Cosby of a fundamental constitutional right, but, because he was forced to testify, Cosby provided Constands civil attorneys with evidence of Cosbys past use of drugs to facilitate his sexual exploits. The court then explained the constitutional basis for its decision: Due process is a universal concept, permeating all aspects of the criminal justice system. Like other state actors, prosecutors must act within the boundaries set by our foundational charters. The privilege constitutes an essential restraint upon the power of the government, and stands as an indispensable rampart between that government and the governed. The court also addressed the prosecutions argument that because of Cosbys wealth, privilege and media savvy, he should have known better than to rely on the district attorneys promise and the advice of his own lawyers in agreeing to the deal. This argument is a slightly-more-refined version of the argument made by #MeToo proponents who cover their right-wing law-and-order campaign against due process under the false guise of challenging the wealthy and speaking truth to power. The court disagreed with the prosecution, writing that this argument offended basic notions of due process and the right to counsel, guaranteed under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments. At this point, the court came closest to addressing the mood of mob justice that sat in the trial courtroom like the proverbial elephant: The contours of the right to counsel do not vary based upon the characteristics of the individual seeking to invoke it. Our Constitution safeguards fundamental rights equally for all. The right to counsel applies with equal force to the sophisticated and the unsophisticated alike. The most experienced defendant, the wealthiest suspect, and even the most-seasoned defense attorney are each entitled to rely upon the advice of their counsel. Notwithstanding Cosbys wealth, age, number of attorneys, and media savvy, he, too, was entitled to rely upon the advice of his counsel. No level of sophistication can alter that fundamental constitutional guarantee. Those who denounce the court for releasing Cosby on a technicality have no concept of the historical significance of the right to protection from self-incrimination, which was secured through nearly 1,000 years of progressive social development and revolutionary struggle. The history of the right to protection against forced self-incrimination In 1637, on the eve of the English Civil War, Freeman John Lilburn was arrested for distributing anti-clerical literature from free Holland, which had not been approved by the crown censors of the Stationers Company. Lilburn was arrested and the Star Chamber attempted to coerce him into incriminating himself. This process had acquired prominence as a method for forcing confessions during the religious inquisitions of the prior centuries and was closely associated with torture. Lilburn refused to incriminate himself and denounced forced self-incrimination as an illegal usurpation of the Magna Carta of 1215 and the 1628 Petition of Rights. He was held in contempt of court and dragged behind an oxcart from Londons Fleet Prison to Palace Yard as he was lashed with a three-pronged whip 200 times. He was then pilloried but still refused to testify against himself. Lilburn became a hero and leader of the 17th-century Leveller movement, which represented among the most radical and egalitarian factions of the progressive forces in the English Revolution of 164251. These democratic principles were carried forward in the American Revolution against the British monarchy. Members of the Sons of Liberty would raise their glasses in the bars of Boston and proclaim a toast: No answer to interrogatories, when tending to accuse the persons interrogated. Over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the right to protection against forced self-incrimination was denied to broad sections of the US population, especially in the Jim Crow South, and was not incorporated to apply to the states until 1964. The central importance of this right from the standpoint of securing due process as a whole was made plain in the landmark 1966 decision Miranda v. Arizona, where US Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren ordered police departments to inform all arrested persons they have the right to remain silent. The role of the corporate media The corporate media is not trying to hide its sanctimonious anger over Thursdays decision. Cosby no longer lives in prison, but he will always live in shame, writes Eugene Robinson in the morally-pure Washington Post, which the same day published another op-ed piece titled, Donald Rumsfeld was a great man, whose lessons I will never forget. The New York Times published a piece denouncing Castor by a former prosecutor entitled Theres one man to blame for Bill Cosbys release. At the same time, there is a sense of nervousness in the press coverage of the recent decision, which reads like an indictment of the media hysteria over the last four years. Not once did the New York Times, Washington Post or other left publications give serious treatment to Cosbys due process arguments, which his lawyers raised consistently over the course of the trial and appeal. No publication has played a more foul role than the New York Times, which cheer-led Cosbys prosecution from the start. In January 2016, the Times belittled Cosbys due process argument, calling it a court maneuver. In April 2018 it published a gushing profile of Cosbys prosecutor, Kristen Gibbons Feden, who, as it turns out, was primarily responsible for violating Cosbys rights by insisting that charges be brought. The entire corporate press cheered and jumped for joy when Cosby, who was then 80 years old, was convicted and shuffled away into prison as a result of a massive violation of the Constitution. The Times and other publications called it a watershed moment. For socialists, the principle of the defense of democratic rights is not determined by the personality or even the actions of the accused. Only dishonest people claim defending due process means endorsing the conduct of the defendant. These argumentsand the #MeToo campaign as a wholeserve the interests of historical and political reaction. On Wednesday, the last German soldiers flew out of Afghanistan. This marked the end of the biggest and longest deployment of the Bundeswehr (Armed Forces) to date. Bundeswehr soldiers from Camp Marmal on patrol (Image: ISAF / CC BY-SA 2.0) At 20 years, it lasted more than three times as long as the Second World War. More than 150,000 German military personnel experienced their first war deployment. Fifty-nine died, thousands more were injured and traumatised. The military costs alone amounted to 12 billion euros. In its final phase, the withdrawal resembled a desperate scramble. It came after US forces began withdrawing the bulk of their troops well before the 11 September deadline set by President Biden. The last German transport planes left Camp Marmal, their transponders switched off for fear of being shot down by the Taliban. Observers expect the fundamentalist Islamist movement, which was ousted from power at the beginning of the war, to retake the nearby city of Mazar-e-Sharif and large parts of the country in the coming weeks. This has led to numerous German media outlets writing about a failed mission and a defeat of the West. But this is only half the truth. For one thing, the war in Afghanistan is far from over with the official withdrawal of NATO troops. Neither Washington nor Berlin is willing to let Iran, Russia, China or any other rival exert influence over the strategically important country. Military advisors and private mercenaries will stay behind. Regional allies of the WestTurkey, but also Pakistan, the Talibans protecting powerwill be encouraged to keep the conflict simmering. US drones and aircraft will bomb the country, as has long been the case with other countries with which the US is not formally in a state of war (Yemen, Iraq, Syria). German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has announced, When we leave the country militarily, we must continue to stay by Afghanistans side, for example by talking within NATO about how we can continue to support the Afghan army. Washington and Berlin did not succeed in installing a stable puppet regime in Kabul, as they had originally intended. But from the German point of view, the war served a far more important purpose: it paved the way for the return of German militarism, hated by broad sections of the population after the crimes of Hitlers Wehrmacht in the Second World War. For the ruling class, this was more than worth the high human and financial sacrifice. In 2001, the government of Chancellor Gerhard Schroder (Social Democratic PartySPD) and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer (Green Party) had literally forced German participation in the war on the US government. At a press conference, then-US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld later confirmed that Berlin had never been asked to provide soldiers, as the German government had claimed. President George W. Bush used the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 to implement war plans against Afghanistan that had long been worked out. As the WSWS warned just a few days after the attacks: The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon have been seized on as an opportunity to implement a far-reaching political agenda for which the most right-wing elements in the ruling elite have been clamoring for years Can there be any doubt that this crusade for peace and stability will become the occasion for the US to tighten its grip over the oil and natural gas resources of the Middle East, the Persian Gulf and the Caspian? Behind the pious and patriotic declarations of politicians and media commentators stand the long-cherished designs of American imperialism to dominate new parts of the world and establish global hegemony. German imperialism did not want to be left out of this war for the re-division of the world. On 11 October 2001, four days after the start of American hostilities in Afghanistan, Chancellor Schroder announced a fundamental reorientation of German foreign policy to the Bundestag (federal parliament). After the end of the Cold War, the restoration of Germanys state unity and the regaining of our full sovereignty, we have to face international responsibility in a new way, he declared. A responsibility that corresponds to our role as an important European and transatlantic partner, but also as a strong democracy and strong national economy in the heart of Europe. The period in which Germany had participated in international efforts to secure freedom, justice and stability only through secondary assistance was irretrievably over, the chancellor stressed. We Germans in particular now also have an obligation to do full justice to our new responsibility. That also includesand I say this quite unequivocallyexplicitly participating in military operations. One month later, the Bundestag decided to provide 3,900 Bundeswehr soldiers for the fight against international terrorism. Schroder linked the vote to a vote of confidencea highly unusual procedure,especially since, due to the support of the CDU/CSU and FDP, a majority would have been guaranteed even should there be defections from within his own camp. But Schroder wanted to make sure that the SPD and the Greens would vote unanimously in favour of Germanys largest military deployment since the Second World War. Foreign Minister Fischer threatened to resign if the Green parliamentary group turned against the Afghanistan mission. The threats proved to be superfluous. An SPD party conference three days later approved the war policy by a 90 percent vote. At the federal party conference of the Greens, more than two-thirds of the delegates backed the decision to go to war. Since then, more than 150,000 servicemen and women have received their baptism of fire in Afghanistan. They had to learn to risk their lives and kill in the interests of German imperialism. The statement by Defence Minister Peter Struck (SPD) at the beginning of the war that the security of the Federal Republic of Germany was being defended in the Hindu Kush summed this up. In addition, it was necessary to accustom the public to the fact that German soldiers were killing again. The outcome was the Kunduz massacre. On the night of 4 September 2009, Bundeswehr Colonel Georg Klein, in consultation with his superiors in Potsdam, gave the order to bomb a hijacked tanker truck filled with petrol. Although the truck was stuck in a riverbed and posed no danger, Klein refused the American pilots request that they be allowed to warn the many people around the truck of the attack. As a result, over 130 civilians, including many children and young people, met their deaths in a hail of bombs and the ensuing conflagration. Neither Klein nor any other officers were prosecuted for the massacre. The Office of the Attorney General closed all investigations in 2010. In 2013, Klein was promoted to brigadier general and head of the department in personnel management, responsible for recruiting and leading soldiers. The relatives of the victims were fobbed off by the federal government with pittances of 5,000 euros. Lawsuits were rejected by the courts. Militarism at home, which played such a devastating role in the Weimar Republic in the 1920s and 30s, was strengthened by the Afghanistan war. Soldiers became a commonplace sight on the streets. They were allowed to travel by train for free if they wore their uniforms. This was expanded to the development of a cult of sacrifice and the establishment of fascist and terrorist networks within the military. The conservative press is even trying once again to create a kind of stab-in-the-back legend, following the example of the myth promoted by Hitler about the traitorous Weimar Republic. The tabloid Bild, for example, was outraged that Federal President Steinmeier, Bundestag President Schauble, Chancellor Merkel and Defence Minister Kramp-Karrenbauer did not personally stand guard when the last soldiers returned from Afghanistan. This was disrespectful, undignified, disrespectful. While hundreds of Afghan translators and civilian staff of the German troops were left behind, and now fear for their lives, at great expense the Bundeswehr flew out a 27-ton memorial stone for the fallen soldiers, which is now being rebuilt in a forest of remembrance at the Henning-von-Tresckow barracks in Schwielowsee. This was an important step for the culture of remembrance of the armed forces, commented an officer in charge. Most significant of all, the extensive right-wing terrorist networks within the military and state apparatus are inextricably linked to the Afghanistan mission. For example, Sergeant Major Andre S., alias Hannibal, was a member for eight years of the Special Forces Command (KSK), which operated largely covertly in Afghanistan, hunting down and killing political opponents together with American Special Forces troops and itself suffering heavy casualties. Hannibal, who also worked for the Military Counter-Intelligence Service, built up a nationwide network through several online chat groups and the association he founded, Uniter, which included reservists, officers of the criminal police, members of special operations units (SEKs), judges, secret service employees and members of other German security agencies. It set up weapons caches, organised shooting exercises, and drew up lists of political enemies to be killed on Day X. Despite this, Hannibal was neither dismissed from the Bundeswehr nor imprisoned. Hannibal is only one of several known right-wing extremists within the KSK. The Nazi cult within the special unit took on such serious forms that in 2020 the defence minister felt compelled to dissolve one of four companies and replace the commander twice. Now, the unit is led by General Ansgar Meyer, who was the last German soldier to leave Afghanistan. All the establishment political parties are determined to build on what has been achieved in Afghanistan. In 2014, the Grand Coalition of the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats made another attempt to strengthen German militarism. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who, as head of the Chancellery, had presumably written Schroders war speech in 2001, announced in almost the same words a greater military role for Germany in world politics. Since then, military spending has risen massivelyfrom 32 to 50 billion eurosand Steinmeier has become federal president. If the establishment parties have learned a lesson from the Afghanistan deployment, it is that imperialist military missions should no longer be concealed with hypocritical phrases about drilling wells, building democracy and womens rights. On Wednesdays Tagesthemen news broadcast, Defence Minister Kramp-Karrenbauer drew the lesson from the Afghanistan mission that in other international missions it was necessary to think very carefully about what were realistic political goals. It had been a mistake to give the impression that Afghanistan could quickly be turned into a state following the European model. We must not repeat this mistake in other international missions, for example in the Sahel, for example in Mali. The federal government that follows this years general electionregardless of its compositionwill intensify the militarist offensive. All partiesfrom the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to the Greenshave made this clear in their election programmes. Even the Left Party has repeatedly declared that its occasional critical phrases about the Bundeswehr are no obstacle to forming a joint government with the parties of warthe SPD and the Greens. Their defence policy spokesman, Tobias Pfluger, commented on the Afghanistan withdrawal by saying, If you read through the justifications given by Gerhard Schroder and Joschka Fischer in 2001, it is obvious that the Bundeswehr missions have not achieved their alleged goal. As if it was not already clear at that time what goal Schroder and Fischer were pursuing with the Afghanistan war. Ultimately, it is the insoluble global crisis of capitalism that is driving the imperialist powers once again to militarism and war, as in 1914 and 1939. The US is intensively preparing a military confrontation with China, and neither Germany nor the other European powers want to stand aside. The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party) is the only party standing in the Bundestag elections to present a programme that combines the struggle against militarism and war with a socialist perspective. It advocates the mobilisation of the international working class for the overthrow of capitalism. The ongoing heat wave across Western Canada and the US Pacific Northwest has been described as a once-in-a-millennium event, with temperatures in Portland, Oregon reaching 116 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday, Seattle, Washington reaching 108 degrees over the weekend, and 116 degrees in Vancouver, British Columbia. A farmworker wipes sweat from his neck while working, Thursday, July 1, 2021, in St. Paul, Ore. [Credit: AP Photo/Nathan Howard] Among the highest temperatures reached was in the town of Lytton, British Columbia, which breached 121 degrees Fahrenheit. On Monday, people were evacuated as several wildfires tore through the town. Such temperatures are unbearable for human life, as evinced by the hundreds of people who have so far died. This includes at least 486 sudden and unexpected deaths between Saturday and Wednesday and another 60 fatalities in Oregon have been linked to the heat and more than a dozen in Washington. Many more deaths are expected as the heat wave across the Pacific Northwest continues and coroners complete their investigations into the surge in deaths. The Sunrise Center, an emergency shelter in Portland, Oregon, set up for protection from the February winter storm that hit the Pacific Northwest this year, is now being used as a cooling shelter from the blistering heat. Caleb Coder, who helped set up the emergency center told the Financial Times (FT), People were literally crawling to the Sunrise Center because it was so hot. They were vomiting, burnt and dehydrated. Hundreds of people came through because we had water stations, misters and a shower truck, as temperatures reached 116 degrees. Had Sunrise not been there... he trailed off. It was life-saving. Other extreme recent deadly events have hit Australia, California and Siberia with deadly wildfires caused by extreme heat. Death Valley, California reached a scorching 127.7 in June, a record high for that month. The increased frequency of such weather events raises whether such once-in-a-millennium events will become once a century, a decade, or even a year, and whether humanity is prepared for the consequences of global climate catastrophes. The western US has especially suffered a gruesome combination of heat waves, droughts and wildfires in recent years, putting immense strain on its infrastructure. There is an emerging consensus that this is some kind of new normal, Dr. Jennifer Vines, lead health officer for Oregons tri-county region, told the FT. As well as this weeks heat wave, she pointed to the February snowpocalypse and the wildfires last year that hugely polluted Portlands air. How are we going to structure ourselves in our responses, given the intensity, the frequency and the sense of urgency that weve faced literally every few months over the past year? The blistering temperatures in the US and Canada this week were caused by an atmospheric high-pressure zone known as a heat dome. These conditions arise when the jet stream, a band of fast-moving air high in the atmosphere, develops a large wave pattern that keeps the dome locked in place. Global warming has pushed up the planets average temperature, which is about 1.2 degrees Celsius warmer now than in 1850. While heatwaves are not new, they are becoming much more extreme due to this expanded warming trend. Fragile infrastructure has shattered under the pressure. In Washington, roads began to crack and buckle, and bags of ice quickly sold out at stores around Seattle, where less than half of the population has any kind of air conditioning. The extreme temperatures over a four-day period sunk in as the West Coast was already preparing for yet another severe wildfire season. The heat has intensified a 20-year mega-drought that has brought a deepening water crisis to the region. As well as causing more evaporation from reservoirs, rising temperatures dry out the ground and increase the amount of water soaked up by plants, reducing run-off. What we are seeing in the American West is a long-term warming and drying, Brad Udall, a climate research scientist at Colorado State University, explained to the FT, with temperature increases accounting for about half the decline in the water flow through the Colorado River since 2000. The flow of the river, a vital source of water for the residents of California, Arizona and Nevada as well as farmers, has dropped by a fifth since the start of the century. There are agricultural users who wont get enough water. Its a really harsh reality, Udall said. The increasingly common disruption has left many US cities and industries pondering if and how they can manage inevitable future weather events. President Joe Biden held a virtual meeting Wednesday with several western states governors: Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming, during which he rattled off a series of obvious facts, Climate change is driving the dangerous confluence of extreme heat and prolonged drought, as well as jabs against climate change deniers, But dont worrythere is no global warming because its just a figment of our imaginations. Such attempts at sarcasm, however, fall flat. It has been the US government, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, that has denied the implications of climate change by pursuing policies that are either ultimately empty, such as Obamas signing of the historic Paris Accords, or Donald Trumps outright ecological vandalism. Bidens words are also belied by his aggressive stance toward Russia and China. Climate change is an inherently global problem and requires an internationally coordinated system, which is impossible under such tensions, all of which involve countries armed with nuclear weapons. As such, it falls on the working class, the only international social force on the planet, to stop the ongoing and accelerated ecological crisis. Inspired by the struggle that the striking Volvo truck assembly workers in Dublin, Virginia are mounting against the transnational automaker and the pro-company United Auto Workers (UAW), several Indian auto workers have spoken with World Socialist Web Site reporters about the need to build rank-and-file committees, independent of the pro-capitalist unions, to assert their class interests. Hyundai was forced to close down its plant in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu for several days in late May after workers staged a sit-down strike to protest the lack of protections from COVID-19. The recent WSWS report about the martyred Maruti Suzuki worker Jiyalal has also figured in the discussions. So too has the fight to secure the freedom of the eleven surviving Maruti Suzuki Manesar car assembly plant workers jailed for life on frame-up murder charges for opposing a brutal work regime and precarious contract labour jobs. WSWS reporters conveyed to the workers the contents of the June 14 open letter the Volvo Workers Rank-and-File Committee (VWRFC) sent to the UAW, What is your strategy for victory, and the workers subsequently used Google Translate to translate the letter into their native Tamil. The letter advances a series of demands based on what the workers actually need, not what the company claims it can afford, and insists that a fight to broaden the Volvo workers struggle to ensure victory is essential. We are demanding that a line be drawn in the sand, that this strike result in a clear victory for workers, the VWRFC letter states. If they are informed about our struggle, workers throughout the country and indeed around the world will understand that it is in the interests of all workers. They will understand that this is a strike not only for us, but for the future. A successful struggle here at Volvo will strengthen every autoworker, and in fact the entire working class. If you are not prepared to carry out such a fight, then get out. The rank-and-file will elect a bargaining and strike committee of its own that is prepared to carry out the struggle that is required. The Indian workers expressed their appreciation for the struggle waged by the VWRFC to advance the independent interests of the Volvo workers in opposition to the corrupt UAW, and said they felt politically clarified about the purpose of a rank-and-file committee and why the VWRFC insists workers confront a war on two fronts. The first front consists of the giant transnational corporation Volvo, which is scouring the globe for the largest profits, while the second is the UAW, which functions as a junior partner of Volvo management and works to impose the companys concessions demands on the workers. The autoworkers also said that establishing international links between workers, as called for by the recently established International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees, makes a lot of sense given that autoworkers in every country confront transnational corporations. The workers who spoke with the WSWS reporters included several Renault-Nissan auto and Royal Enfield motorcycle workers in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and a 26-year-old Maruti Suzuki contract worker. Around 5,000 Renault Nissan workers recently forced management to suspend operations for five days because of unsafe working conditions in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. At least six of their colleagues have died and hundreds of others have been infected. In the nearby Hyundai auto plant, 12 workers have died, and hundreds have been infected. The DMKthe regional party that recently came to power in Tamil Nadu in an electoral alliance with the two main Stalinist parties, the CPM and the CPIhas continued the disastrous pandemic policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national government, placing autoworkers health and lives in peril. With the backing of the courts, the Tamil Nadu and all other state governments have ordered export and continuous process industries, which includes non-essential auto production, to continue operating. This is despite numerous major COVID-19 outbreaks in industrial plants across India. The Renault-Nissan workers showed our reporters a letter in Tamil sent by management to the leadership of the local union, the Renault Nissan India Thozhillar Sangam (RNITS), which bluntly stated that the company cannot implement even the inadequate government-mandated minimal social distancing measures at the plant. The union leadership concealed this information from the workers. In addition to unsafe working conditions, the workers complained about low wages and the lack of a pay increase for the past 3 years. They also denounced the increasingly bureaucratic attitude of the RNITS towards the rank and file. RNITS is affiliated to the United Labour Federation (ULF). Below are the sentiments and comments expressed by the Indian auto workers to the WSWS reporters. Names have been changed to protect them from company retaliation. The Renault-Nissan workers said, We completely support the campaign to free the remaining 11 framed-up Maruti Suzuki workers. In our company, at least 6 workers have died, and more than 1,000 workers have tested positive due to unsafe working conditions. Our union, the United Labour Federation (ULF), has neither spoken about the death of Jiyalal, nor the need to free the 13 victimised Maruti Suzuki workers. As you summarised the political lessons of betrayals of autoworkers strikes by the trade unions in the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial zone (known as the Detroit of India), we understood that it is the trade union federations such as the CITU, AICCTU, and the LTUC in Tamil Nadu and also our own union, the United labour Federation (ULF), that have worked systematically to isolate these struggles. It is necessary to mobilize workers broadly to fight the corporations and also these union bureaucracies. You clarified our doubts about the relationship between trade unions and rank-and-file committees. You cited the example of Volvo workers and also the educators in US. We now understand that rank-and-file committees have an international socialist strategy, where discussions are done by workers in a democratic way. We understood that we have fundamental democratic right to form rank-and-file committees and these committees will break the isolation of workers. We need to unite globally to fight these transnational companies. Although all our fellow workers have not yet accepted your perspective completely, they are nevertheless eager to know of the analysis of WSWS. We will share and discuss your articles with our colleagues and be in touch with you. Sridharan, who is a contract worker and a machine operator at Royal Enfield company in Tamil Nadu, said, I completely support the defense campaign to free the 11 Maruti Suzuki workers who are still victimised. I started reading Marxist literature during my college days. Yet I did not join any of the left-wing movements. I was threatened many times by cadres of right-wing Hindu-fascists for criticizing them with my left-wing outlook. Later, I joined TVS Sundaram company in Hosur, Karnataka where I was shocked by the super-exploitation and slave-like conditions prevailing there. So, I started to read further about the working class and exploitation explained by Marxism. Subsequently I joined the Royal Enfield motorcycle company. The situation here was even worse. At this time, seeing my left-wing posts, many cadres from various left-wing movements contacted me to join their movements. But I was not convinced by their arguments. Now for the first time, I am really attracted to your argument that the real need is for an internationalist strategy and the international unity of the working class. I feel I am learning a lot from you. Although our union WPTUC (Working Peoples Trade Union Council led by one Kuchelar, a pro-Stalinist union official) raised the conditions of contract workers initially during the strike in 2018, they never mobilised the 4,000 contract workers out of our Enfield plants 5,000 total workforce. Later the union dropped these demands and stopped talking about contract workers altogether. During the second wave (of the pandemic) and the subsequent lockdown, many workers who left the city to save their lives, could not return when the factory was hastily reopened. At least 100 contract workers were dismissed from their jobs immediately without any prior notice. Many contract workers are irritated and also dislike the so-called security check-ups. They check our shoes, inner pockets etc. and even the bags and purses of women workers. All this in the name of security. I completely agree that these unions are adapting to the divisive and reactionary policies of management and capitalist governments. They will not unite the permanent and contract workers, let alone fight to unite us with our global counterparts. I fully support the IWA-RFC proposed by your movement and the Bolshevik policy of uniting the international working class for a future socialist society. In late 2018, thousands of workers in Yamaha, MSI and Royal Enfield erupted in a strike in Tamil Nadu. Murugesan, who played a leading role in the Royal Enfield strike, was victimized and spoke about the lessons he has drawn from his experiences: I was working in Royal Enfield assembly plant in Oragadam until 2019. I was victimised and transferred to a Gujarat showroom which is 1,500 kilometers (more than 900 miles) away from my home. This was punishment for participating in the 2018 Yamaha, Royal Enfield, MSI struggles. Along with me, 150 of my fellow workers who were also leading the struggle, were either transferred or dismissed. Our union, WPTUC, was unable to reinstate my job at Oragadam where my family still resides. I have lost confidence in legal and trade union struggles which now seem bogus. The decisions taken by union bureaucrats are kept secret and not explained to workers openly. I can relate to the great difficulties faced by the 13 victimised Maruti Suzuki workers. I was forced to sign a good conduct agreement by the management. They targeted me for my militancy and for showing concern for my fellow workers. I support the campaign to release the 11 remaining Maruti Suzuki workers. Their victimization is a vital lesson to all workers. We have to mobilize the working class internationally. Please share your articles with me as I would like to read more about the IWA-RFC. Twenty-six-year-old contract worker Manuj, who is a victim of Mauri Suzukis policy of firing contract workers whenever it wishes, spoke to the WSWS. He hails from Sikar, a town about 280 kilometers from the national capital, Delhi. He moved to the Gurgaon-Manesar industrial belt on the outskirts of Delhi where the Maruti Suzuki plant is located to improve his living conditions. He is now jobless living with his family and a small child. He is experiencing great financial difficulties and it is becoming hard to care for his family. I was working as a contract worker at the Maruti Suzuki assembly plant in Manesar, but I was suddenly terminated from my job in February 2021. This was due to the impact of COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns. Even now 470 cars are made in 8 hours. Just 7 minutes are given for tea break and only 20 minutes for lunch time which means we are still in the same slave-like conditions that the Maruti Suzuki Workers Union (MSWU) fought against during its formation in 2011-12. Now the MSWU dont fight for us. Your idea of rank-and-file committees is really good and also it is new to me. I will read your articles and also support your campaign to release the 11 Maruti Suzuki workers imprisoned for life. The highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus, which is spreading rapidly around the globe, is fuelling an unprecedented surge of cases among the more than 270 million people in Indonesia, the worlds fourth most populous country. UNICEF aid workers in Indonesia [Credit: UNICEF] For weeks, the refusal of President Joko Widodos administration to introduce the necessary safety measureswith Widodo saying he did not want to kill the economyhas created the conditions for a catastrophe on the scale of that witnessed in India this year. Over the past fortnight, records of transmission have been broken numerous times. The Indonesian Health Ministry recorded 25,830 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, a fresh record, bringing the total tally to 2,228,938, with the death toll rising by 539 to 59,534. Health experts are unanimous in saying these numbers are a significant underestimation, with some epidemiologists in Indonesian universities reporting up to five times the official statistics. For the entire course of the pandemic, the share of cases returning positive has hovered around 20 percent, one of the worst reported results in the world. The impact of the Delta variant is most pronounced, but not limited to, the heavily populated island of Java and the tourist destination of Bali, which has suffered a quadrupling of cases in the past two weeks. Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan reported that 87 percent of recorded cases in the city were due to the Delta variant. According to the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology (LBM), cases also have been discovered in Sumatra, Sulawesi and Kalimantan. All the signs are pointing to a calamity because the government is still rejecting complete lockdowns and other safety measures. The Delta variant is widely considered to be 60 percent more contagious than the previous Alpha variant originating in the United Kingdom, and around four times more likely to cause hospitalisation. Hospitals are reaching full capacity across Java, with the capital Jakarta recording a bed occupancy rate of 93 percent this week. With isolation rooms overwhelmed, makeshift tents have been erected in carparks to deal with the overflow of patients. Many people are being turned away and forced to self-isolate in their homes, so deaths outside of hospitals are becoming more common, and families are having to bury their own loved ones. A video that went viral on social media earlier this week showed a 64-year-old man left to die outside his front door in North Jakarta waiting for an ambulance that took 12 hours to arrive. He had reportedly tested positive for the virus two weeks earlier. Oxygen tanksin high demand not just for hospitals but families in self-isolationare in critically low supply in Java. The price for a tank has roughly tripled in price in some of the hardest hit areas, from $66 to $185. The health ministry claims this situation is temporary and is scrambling for all government agencies, including police, to redistribute tanks to the hardest-hit areas. Suppliers have made a belated commitment to shift their production from industrial to medical use. At a press conference, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin sought to blame the oxygen tank shortage on an electricity supply interruption that halted factory production in Central Java. As elsewhere internationally, the working class and poor are the hardest-hit by the governments pro-business program and its failure to take the necessary safety measures. Dr Dicky Budiman, an epidemiologist now based in Australia, said: The problem in Indonesia is that testing rates are very low because only people who present themselves at hospitals with symptoms receive free tests. Everyone else has to pay. Based on the current reproduction rate in Indonesia that has climbed from 1.19 in January to 1.4 in June, I estimated there at least 200,000 new cases in the country today. But if I compare that with modelling by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle, it is much higher, about 350,000 new infections per day. Thats as high as India before the peak. It is no coincidence that Indonesia, which has seen disastrously low testing and contact tracing as well as the avoidance of lockdowns at all cost, is one of the most unequal countries on the planet, with four billionaires owning as much wealth as the poorest 100 million people. Widodos administration has pinned all hopes on a vaccination rollout that is now behind schedule. The government promised to inoculate 181.5 million people by next January with Chinas Sinovac vaccine but has reached just 7.5 percent of this target. Health experts have stated that it could take up to three years to reach the governments target. Health measures belatedly announced by the government this week were of a limited character, stopping short of a full shutdown. As of Saturday, almost all of Java will be in a partial lockdown along with only the most populated areas of Bali. The restrictions include all non-essential workers to work from home and the reintroduction of distance learning for schools. Shopping centres, houses of worship, leisure centres and parks will be shut, and restaurants have been restricted to takeaway and deliveries. Weddings are still running with a limit of 30 people in attendance. Those industries allowed to run at 100 percent capacity include those relating to health, security and energy, while financial services are reduced to 50 percent. The measures are currently set to run until July 20. The inadequate nature of the restrictions is underscored by the official aim, which is to halve the current number of daily virus cases to below 10,000. If the government is half-hearted it will just remain the same, Defriman Djafri, an epidemiologist at Andalas University in Padang on Sumatra island, said. What was needed, he insisted, was two weeks in total lockdown, no outside activities and no contact, with people ordered to stay at home. Up until now, Widodo has resisted introducing any measures that might affect corporate profits. News of even the limited curbs wiped out earlier gains on Indonesias main stock index. The crisis in Indonesia is part of an international resurgence of COVID-19 cases, due to the refusal of capitalist governments everywhere to take the measures necessary to prevent the emergence of new mutations. Infections are surging throughout Southeast Asia, including in Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. There is also a rise in Africa, with nine out of 14 African countries experiencing a resurgence. South Africas cases have doubled in the past week. A Michigan county sheriff with connections to far-right militia groups sought to seize Dominion voting machines in cooperation with the effort of Donald Trump and the Republican Party to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential elections. In email messages obtained by Bridge Michigan through the Freedom of Information Act, Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf tried late last year to enlist other county sheriffs in an illegal and unsuccessful bid to investigate all acts of voter fraud by seizing and inspecting voting machines manufactured by Dominion Voting Systems of Denver, Colorado. Sheriff Dar Leaf [Source: Michigans Sherrif Association] Bridge Michigan said that the trove of emails indicates that Trump had at least some law enforcement support in his bid to overturn the 2020 election won by Democratic President Joe Biden. Among the top-level Trump contacts involved in the communications from Leaf were a liaison for former national security adviser Michael Flynn and White House attorney Sidney Powell, who was leading bogus legal filings alleging election fraud by Democrats across the country. The messages show that Dar Leaf retained the services of Ann Arbor attorney Carson Tucker, who in turn sent requests to the Trump advisers asking for information that would justify the seizure of the voting machines. In a December 15 email to Carissa Keshel of the Fight Back Foundationa nonprofit organization chaired by the fascist attorney L. Lin WoodTucker asked for information about counties that have been potentially compromised in the November 3 elections. In his request, Tucker claimed that sheriffs in St. Joseph, Shiawassee, Lake and Jackson counties were expressing interest in the effort along with Leaf. Tucker wrote: My client Barry County Sheriff and several other county sheriffs in Michigan would like to consider issuing probable cause warrants to sequester Dominion voting machines if there is evidence of criminal manipulation. In her response to Tucker on December 15, Keshel provided a document that she said came from Michael Flynn. Flynn, who twice pled guilty to lying to federal investigators during the FBIs Russia probe, was pardoned by Trump after the 2020 elections. Keshel was referencing a report that asserted voter fraud in Antrim County, Michigan, writing, Hi Carson and Dar, General Flynn wanted yall to see the Antrim Forensics analysis, and we believe all 48 counties are affected the same. I am in contact with the team to be able to coordinate our next steps with these Dominion machines. Bridge Michigan also reported: In an earlier, Nov. 20 email to Powellwho later filed failed lawsuits seeking to overturn Trump losses in Michigan and other swing statesCarson Tucker claimed Leaf had already seized voting machines and ballots in Barry County. But that did not happen, according to local election officials and Leaf, who told Bridge he did not recall why his attorney told Powell it had. When Bridge Michigan contacted Leaf about the emails, he claimed he worked with other Michigan sheriffs on an ongoing matter but would not discuss any details other than to say, It is our job to investigate all acts of voter fraud. However, of the four sheriffs mentioned in Tuckers letter, only Lake County Sheriff Rich Martin confirmed that Leaf had spoken to him and told Bridge that he never agreed to the effort, saying he didnt want any part of it. Martin also told Bridge that Leaf does kind of his own thing and Im friends with him , so he usually calls me first on some of these things, but I dont have anything to do with that. Leaf belongs to a group of self-described constitutional sheriffs that are connected with far-right and fascist politics including the racist and xenophobic Sheriff Joe Arpaio from Maricopa County, Arizona, who was convicted on criminal contempt charges and then pardoned by Donald Trump in August 2017. Members of the group contend that they are the highest level of government authority and have the authority to disregard laws they think are unconstitutional. In his comments to Bridge, Leaf said that it is important for elected county law enforcement officers to exercise their authority so that it does not get diluted. He added, Its just a matter of us harnessing it and getting the office of sheriff back on track and where its supposed to be. As Tuckers letter to Keshel explained, Constitutional Sheriffs have a legal obligation and duty to ferret out criminal activity in the county on behalf of the citizenry. And they are the chief law enforcement officers. The Antrim County forensic audit report that Keshel provided to Tucker and claimed was from Flynn was prepared by a pro-Trump group called Allied Security Operations. The report claimed that Dominion voting machines had a 68 percent error rate and were intentionally and purposefully designed with inherent errors to create systemic fraud and influence election results. These conclusions were denounced widely by various independent sources, including Trumps former chief of the Department of Homeland Securitys Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Chris Krebs, who said during a Senate hearing in December that the report was factually inaccurate. David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, described the attempt by Leaf to seize the voting machines with the support of Tucker and others within the Trump camp as befitting a banana republic and tinpot dictator stuff. Becker also said, Every single person knew the rules of the election going into the election, and to try to seize voting machines in contravention of federal law shows a fundamental disrespect for the rule of law. A profile of Dar Leaf was published here on the World Socialist Web Site last October that reviews his extensive connections with right-wing and fascistic organizations, including militia members who plotted to kidnap and murder Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer last fall. In an interview with Fox17 in Grand Rapids, when Leaf was asked about the kidnapping plot, he said, a lot of people are angry with the governor, and they want her arrested. These new documents detail coordination between the Trump White House officials, Republican Party leaders and fascistic individuals in Michigan to overturn the 2020 presidential election and show a widespread and ongoing conspiracy against the US Constitution. Culminating in the assault on the US Capitol on January 6, the claim of a stolen election continues, while the Democrats are doing nothing to bring the conspirator Trump to account. More than a week ago, drivers employed by NZ Bus in Wellington voted against a sellout deal hatched by the Tramways Union and management. The offer, the third that the drivers have rejected, would have increased hourly wages to just two dollars above the legal minimum, while cutting overtime and weekend rates. Bus drivers picket during the April 23 lockout in Wellington [Credit: WSWS Media] During the ratification meeting on June 23, drivers angrily denounced the union for promoting the agreement in the media, and for seeking to pressure workers into approving it. Union officials had distributed a memo declaring that if drivers voted against the rotten deal, they would face drawn-out industrial action with no chance of a better offer. The drivers vote is part of an emerging rebellion against the trade unions, which long ago ceased to function as defensive organisations of the working class. The unions are controlled by an upper middle class bureaucracy, which collaborates with corporate management and the state, to police the working class and prevent any organised struggle against austerity. The unions have played a central role, in one country after another, in enforcing government and business demands for the dangerous reopening of schools and factories, before the pandemic has been halted. In London, where more than 60 bus workers have died from COVID-19, the unions have refused to defend driver David OSullivan, who was sacked for seeking to uphold workers rights to health and safety. In New Zealand, over the past year-and-a-half, the unions helped to organise thousands of redundancies, while the government handed over billions of dollars to corporations, in response to the economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The unions promoted the Labour Party in the 2017 and 2020 elections, including its false promises to improve conditions in public transport. Workers in New Zealand are beginning to fight back against the brutal attacks being imposed by corporations, and the Labour Party-led government of Jacinda Ardern. To expand this struggle, however, new organisations are needed. The Socialist Equality Group calls on NZ Bus workers to build a rank-and-file committee, controlled directly by the workers themselves, and independent of the unions. This must become the starting point for the formation of similar committees in different workplaces and industries, to unite workers throughout the country and internationally. The SEG is fighting to build a new political party, opposed to Labour and all the established parties, and based on the program of socialist internationalism, as part of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). The NZ Bus dispute starkly reveals the manner in which the ruling elite relies on the unions to block and demobilise working class opposition. The Tramways Union has made clear, by its statements and actions, that it is working hand-in-hand with NZ Bus, against the interests of drivers. Even though drivers previously voted in favour of strikes, if they failed to get a decent offer, the union has not announced industrial action, declaring that this would be hopeless. Tramways and the other transport unions, First Union and the Rail and Maritime Transport Union, have refused to unify the struggles of transport workers in Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, Tauranga, Hamilton, Dunedin and elsewhere. Since the Wellington drivers vote, the Tramways Union, along with the media, has gone completely silent. The Council of Trade Unions, which feigned support for the drivers when they were locked out by the company for 24 hours in April, has also said nothing. Likewise, the various pseudo-left organisations that back the union bureaucracythe International Socialist Organisation, Organise Aotearoa, and the union-backed Daily Blog have made no comment on the rejection of the sellout. The blackout is part of a strategy to isolate the drivers from the rest of the working class, in order to create an atmosphere of demoralisation and persuade drivers that they have no alternative but to accept a deal that maintains poverty wages and cuts penalty rates. To break the isolation of NZ Bus drivers in Wellington, a rank-and-file committee would aim to unite with hundreds of workers employed by the same company in Auckland and the Bay of Plenty. It would also appeal for support from workers in other bus companies, such as Tranzit and Uzabus, and in the commuter rail network run by Transdev in Auckland and Wellington. Public transport workers must also call for a united struggle with healthcare workers, teachers and others affected by the three-year wage freeze announced by the government. Two weeks before the bus drivers vote, 30,000 nurses and other public healthcare workers held a nationwide strike against an offer of a 1.38 percent pay increase. Nurses are currently voting on more strike action, but the New Zealand Nurses Organisation is desperately working with District Health Boards to reach a sellout agreement, as the union did following a national strike in 2018. The unions have fraudulently portrayed NZ Bus as an exception, with the CTUs Richard Wagstaff declaring in April that the Australian owner, Next Capital, was out of touch with the way we conduct business in New Zealand. The suggestion that New Zealand-based businesses are kinder is completely false. It was the NZ-owned bus company Tranzit that set the bar for the current attack on NZ Bus workers. The unions anti-Australian nationalism is aimed at diverting attention from the real source of attacks on wages and conditions: the capitalist system itself. It is also aimed at dividing NZ workers from those in Australia, who face similar attacks. To wage a counter-offensive against multinationals like Next Capital requires the mobilisation of workers in Australia, New Zealand, and other countries. The private equity firm invests in numerous Australian-based businesses, with the stated aim of receiving a return of 25 percent. This is achieved by attacking workers conditions and wages. One of Next Capitals biggest companies is Lynch Group, the southern hemispheres largest flower exporter, which employs over 400 people in Australia and 800 in China. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported in March and May 2018 that Lynchs workers in Melbourne and Sydney claimed they had been bullied, harassed and verbally abused under sweatshop conditions for years, while working at the companys Australian warehouses. Workers said safety training was neglected as Lynchs management pushed them to process flowers as quickly as possible, with frequent accidents as a result. In response, Lynch Group noted that the National Union of Workers in Australia had never raised any concerns about these conditions. The unions role was to prevent any fight by warehouse workers that would have threatened Lynchs profits. In its April 23 statement calling for the formation of an International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC), the ICFI explained: For the working class to fight back, a path must be created to coordinate its struggles in different factories, industries and countries, in opposition to the ruling class and the corporatist unions The IWA-RFC will work to develop the framework for new forms of independent, democratic and militant rank-and-file organizations of workers in factories, schools and workplaces on an international scale. The working class is ready to fight. But it is shackled by reactionary bureaucratic organizations that suppress every expression of resistance. Such a struggle has to be sustained by political leadership, namely, the development of a socialist and internationalist party, based on the working class. The unions claim that the Ardern Labour government, including its coalition partner, the Greens, represents workers interests is a lie. It is a capitalist government, overseeing an historic transfer of wealth to the rich. It is responsible for soaring homelessness, a crisis in the education and public healthcare systems, and widespread poverty-level wages. We call on workers to join and build the Socialist Equality Group into the New Zealand section of the ICFI, the world Trotskyist movement. The SEG alone opposes the right-wing Labour Party and its backers in the unions, and their pseudo-left allies, from the standpoint of genuine socialism. This includes the demand for the nationalisation of public transport, under workers control. Tens of billions of dollars must be redirected to renovate and upgrade transport infrastructure, and provide decent wages and conditions to all workers. These measures must be funded through the expropriation of big businesses that have profited from the running down and gutting of public services. The two hundred and forty-fifth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th takes place this year under extraordinary circumstances. John Trumballs painting Declaration of Independence [Source: Wikimedia Commons] This is the first Fourth of July since Trump incited a mob on January 6 with the aim of overturning the results of the 2020 elections and establishing a presidential dictatorship. The political conspiracy had the support of the Republican Party, which promoted the lie that the election had been stolen. It had the backing of a significant faction of the state apparatus, which oversaw a standdown of police forces at the Capitol as the events unfolded. In a year dominated by Trump's efforts to overturn the Constitution, the Democratic Party and its affiliates have been engaged in an effort to destroy the legitimacy of the American Revolution through the racialist rewriting of history. The New York Times promoted its 1619 Project, which denounces the American Revolution as a slaveholders rebellion, the main aim of which was to perpetuate slavery in the United States. The adoption by the Second Continental Congress of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776 marked a major turning point not only in the history of the future United States, but the entire world. Karl Marx noted that the War of Independence, which had begun one year earlier, in April 1775, sounded the tocsin for the European middle-class, providing the impetus for the great democratic revolutions of that era, including the French Revolution that began in 1789. In announcing their irrevocable break from the British monarchy, the Founding Fathers grounded the revolution in the universal ideas of the Enlightenment, conceptions that at their own time were thoroughly progressive. We hold these truths to be self-evident, the Declaration, written by Thomas Jefferson, proclaimed, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. If any Form of Government becomes destructive to these ends, it continued, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it. As with all the bourgeois democratic revolutions, there was a chasm between the universalist ideals of equality and the objective conditions that prevailed at the time. In particular, the American Revolution was not able to resolve at that point the fundamental contradiction of American democracy, the existence of the institution of chattel slavery. However, the revolution set into motion the social and political processes that would lead, eighty-five years after the Declaration of Independence, to the outbreak of the US Civil War, the Second American Revolution, which culminated in the abolition of slavery. The Civil War cleared the decks for a new stage of class struggle, between the working class and the bourgeoisie, that continues to this day. What is it that underlies the staggering decay of democratic forms of rule today? First, the extreme growth of social inequality. Four decades of social counter-revolution have produced a concentration of wealth in the hands of a negligible percentage of the population that would put to shame even the British aristocracy. The top one percent of American households now possesses $34.2 trillion, 15 times more than the wealth of the bottom half of the population. During the pandemic, the worlds billionaires increased their wealth by more than 60 percent, from $8 trillion to $13.1 trillion. Individuals like Amazons Jeff Bezos or Teslas Elon Musk are social and economic ecosystems of their own, with immense power over the lives of billions of people. This is combined with the inexorable and unending war drive of American imperialism. During the past year and a half, the ruling elite has presided over a homicidal policy that has led to the deaths of more than 600,000 people from the coronavirus pandemic in the US alone. This same ruling class, now under Biden, is escalating a policy of militarism and war that threatens the lives of tens, if not hundreds of millions. The noxious product of social inequality and war creates the objective conditions for dictatorship. Trump represents this process in its most concentrated form. The events of January 6 are significant not only for what happened six months ago, but for what is ongoing. Trump speaks for a faction of the ruling class that is actively plotting for the overthrow of the government and the abolition of what remains of democratic forms of rule. Over the past week, Trump has led a series of campaign-style rallies as the unofficial kickoff for the Republican 2022 midterm election campaign, further solidifying his position as the de facto leader of the Republican Party. At a rally in Lorain County, Ohio last weekend, Trump railed against radical left Democrats who are doing everything possible to put your family in grave danger by allowing immigrants into the country and undermining the police. Trumps remarks in Ohio were preceded by a statement from Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, an outright fascist and proponent of the QAnon conspiracy theory, who called for the arrest of radical Democrat socialists, including the Jihad Squad led by AOC, the little communist from New York City. On Thursday, the Supreme Court voted by 63 to uphold restrictions on voting in the state of Arizona. The decision, which guts what remains of the Voting Rights Act, is a signal to states throughout the country to pass further measures undermining the right to vote. It is also aimed at bolstering the fraudulent claims of the Republicans that the elections were stolen. There is, however, no faction of the ruling class committed to the defense of democratic rights. The response of the Democratic Party has been, at every point, to cover up and downplay the significance of Trumps coup and the ongoing danger. Biden came to power six months ago calling for unity and bipartisanship with Trumps enablers in the Republican Party. And then there is the thoroughly reactionary project, spearheaded by the Democrats, to rewrite history, presenting not only the American Revolution but also the Civil War as merely episodes in unending and enduring racial struggle, in which black Americans have waged a solitary fight against endemic white racism. One of the most reactionary consequences of the denigration of the revolutionary traditions of the United States is that it has allowed the fascistic Trump to absurdly posture as a defender of the heritage of the American Revolution, even as he plots to overturn the Constitution and the democratic rights that were its product. What both factions of the ruling class have in common is a deep fear of the political radicalization of the working class. In his fascistic tirades, Trump portrays himself as the best mechanism for the financial oligarchy to preserve capitalism and eliminate the threat of socialism. The Democrats promotion of racial conflict is a mechanism for dividing the working class. As WSWS International Editorial Board Chairman David North wrote in the Introduction to The New York Times 1619 Project and the Racialist Falsification of History: The interaction of racialist ideology as it has developed over several decades in the academy and the political agenda of the Democratic Party is the motivating force behind the 1619 Project. Particularly under conditions of extreme social polarization, in which there is growing interest in and support for socialism, the Democratic Partyas a political instrument of the capitalist classis anxious to shift the focus of political discussion away from issues that raise the specter of social inequality and class conflict. This is the function of a reinterpretation of history that places race at the center of its narrative. It is of immense significance that the only organized defense of the two American revolutions was organized by the World Socialist Web Site and the Socialist Equality Party. Apart from the intervention of the Trotskyist movement, the only opposition to the 1619 Project would have come from the right. This underscores a more profound truth, that the defense of democratic rights, not only in the US but internationally, depends on the independent mobilization of the working class for socialism. The Declaration of Independence proclaimed the right and the duty to alter or abolish any government that becomes destructive of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Changing what must be changed, these words read today as an indictment of the ruling class and the entire social and economic system over which it presides, which has been confirmed in horrifying form over the past year and a half. Opposition to fascism, dictatorship and authoritarianism is impossible outside of the fight to establish a workers government, in the United States and internationally, to extend democracy to the economy itself through the expropriation of the rich, the abolition of private ownership of the means of production, and the construction of a socialist society based on genuine equality. Germanys ruling Grand Coalition of the Christian Democratic Union, Christian Social Union and Social Democratic Party has used the final parliamentary sessions of the current legislative period to massively expand the powers of the countrys police and intelligence agencies. Largely unnoticed by the public, the Bundestag has passed a total of nine related laws and amendments. Headquarters of the BND in Berlin Mitte (Image: Olaf Kosinsky / CC-BY-SA 3.0) The new government to be formed after the federal election due this autumn will have at its disposal a technically highly equipped surveillance apparatus, with powers the likes of which have not been seen in Germany since the end of the Nazi regime. The state security apparatus (nicknamed Stasi) of the former East Germany, with its network of neighbourhood snoopers and its note box system, appears amateur in comparison. Taken together, the legislative changes passed by the Bundestag since November 2020, and especially in the last four weeks, represent the biggest legislative complex passed since the reunification of Germany in 1990. Its main features are as follows: Almost complete abolition of the separation of the police and secret services introduced after World War II in response to the experience of Hitlers Secret State Police (Gestapo). The Federal Police (Bundespolizei) now has powers equivalent to those of a secret service, while the secret services can undertake police tasks. Both agencies will in future work hand in hand. * The Federal Police will be able to massively restrict the freedom of citizens and refugees via bans on staying, detention pending deportation and similar measures, without requiring judicial authorisation. * The powers of the police and secret services to tap into computer systems, mobile devices and other electronic systems in order to gather and/or manipulate data on a massive scale are being legalized. * Authorisation is being granted for the secret services and Federal Police to carry out cyber-attacks and other observation and persecution measures merely on the basis of a targeted persons opinions, without any evidence of criminal activities. * New powers are being authorized to comprehensively deploy automated monitoring and censorship of the internet with the help of upload filters. * Seamless centralised collection and storage of personal and biometric data, made accessible to all state authorities, is being legalized. Repression of the population, rather than its security, is the single purpose of the new laws. The entire state apparatus is being armed to suppress growing popular resistance to the devastating consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, attacks on jobs and social rights, militarism and war, and the threat from neo-Nazis and fascists. The new Protection of the Constitution Law The Protection of the Constitution Law, passed by the Bundestag on 10 June 2021, legalises the extensive use of so-called State Trojans by the Bundesamt fur Verfassungsschutz (Federal Office for the Protection of the ConstitutionGermanys domestic secret service), the 16 Landesamter fur Verfassungsschutz (State Offices for the Protection of the Constitution), the Federal Intelligence Service (foreign intelligence agencyBND) and the Military Counter-Intelligence Service (MAD). All of these 19 secret services can now systematically spy on people at home and abroad. The law sets virtually no limits on the data that may be collected and the reasons for observation. A State Trojan is malware placed by an intelligence agent on the smart phone, laptop, PC or server of a person or organisation to be observed during a clandestine invasion of his or her home, or remotely via the internet. The monitoring of an ongoing communication takes place on the targeted persons device before the conversation, chat message or SMS is encrypted. The operation is also referred to as telecommunication source tapping. The use of a State Trojan with the aim of transmitting stored data such as documents, image recordings and video recordings to the intelligence service is known as an online search. In addition, State Trojans can manipulate data and programmes on other peoples computers, mobile phones and IT systems, with far-reaching, possibly fatal consequences for the persons concerned. A vehicles electronic control and braking systems can, for example, be manipulated to cause an accident. Telecommunication source tapping and online searches were previously legally permitted only by the Federal Criminal Police (BKA), in the context of police investigations ordered by a judge into serious crimes. Now, all secret services have the power to conduct such operations. According to the wording of the new law, the secret services are not permitted to carry out online searches. They are, however, allowed to extract data stored on a targeted device after a Trojan has been activated. In practice, nothing can prevent agents from collecting data stored much longer. Technically, a telecommunication source tapping operation is capable of carrying out a complete online search at the same time. Several experts have sharply criticised the new Protection of the Constitution Law, declaring it to be unconstitutional. Dr. Matthias Backer, professor of public law and information law at the University of Mainz, stated in an expert opinion that all malware operations not strictly limited to an ongoing communication are online searches. If they are now carried out in the name of telecommunication source tapping, bypassing all legal hurdles, this will constitute a violation of the basic right to the integrity and confidentiality of information technology systems, he said. [1] The Mainz professor also criticised the fact that the latitude for hacking and spying attacks has been considerably expanded. The law allows telecommunication surveillance in part even in the case of the planning of comparatively minor offences. As examples, Backer mentions the dissemination of propaganda material of anti-constitutional organisations, violations of a ban on associations and membership of a secret association of foreigners. [2] In addition, the new law has expanded the concept of anti-constitutional aspirations from organisations to individuals, whereby the target of their behaviour is sufficient justification to start intelligence agency observations. Backer warns that the law virtually invites a practice of observation based on (presumed) personal characteristics or the social ties of the persons concerned, instead of on actions objectively relevant to the intelligence agency. [3] In other words, persons are observed and prosecuted not because of concrete acts, but because of their opinions. This principle of Gesinnungsjustiz (judgement based on opinions) was the basis of the legal system of the Nazis and is also the basis for the observation of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality PartySGP) by the Verfassungsschutz. When the Verfassungsschutz first included the SGP as a left-wing extremist party in its annual report of 2017, it justified its action by stating that the SGP defended a socialist programme, criticised capitalism and politically criticised apologists for capitalismin particular the SPD, the Left Party, the Greens and the trade unions. When the SGP subsequently filed a complaint against this judgement, lawyers for the Verfassungsschutz justified the persecution of the SGP not on the basis of unlawful activities, but rather on the basis of the partys analysis of society, its Marxist stance on history, its political analyses and its socialist objective. The Verfassungsschutz lawyers stated that arguing for a democratic, egalitarian, socialist society contradicted the central values of Germanys Basic Law. [4] The SGP warned at the time: With its attack on the SGP, this criminal government agency wants to set a precedent for a new kind of legal prosecution of thought crimes that would provide the basis for the prosecution of anyone who criticises the current reactionary social and political situation If the right-wing conspiracy in the state apparatus is not stopped and the SGP is not defended, the dam will be broken for even more far-reaching measures. [5] This assessment has now been confirmed. The new Protection of the Constitution Law legalises hitherto unprecedented measures targeting broad sections of the population and all kinds of organisations and parties assessed to be undesirable by the intelligence agencies and the German government. In order to carry out this surveillance technically, the law obliges companies active in the aviation, financial services, telecommunications and telemedia sectors to pass on the personal data of citizens under surveillance and provide technical assistance for the insertion of State Trojans for online searches and the transmission of the resulting data streams. Internet providers such as Telekom and Vodafon, but also Google, Facebook and banks, will be turned into accomplices of the secret services. Only a few target groups, such as priests and lawyers, are exempt from secret service cyber-attacks. Journalistsdespite protests from journalists associationsare explicitly not among them. The freedom of the press and the digital protection of its sources have been gutted. The law also provides for networking and data exchange between all of the various secret services, Federal Police, Federal Criminal Police and other state authorities such as the countrys immigration authorities and the Federal Employment Agency. The new Federal Intelligence Service Law The Federal Intelligence Service Law of 25 March 2021 legalises the tapping of huge databases and data streams to monitor the communications of millions of people and search their computers, mobile phones and servers for data, photos and videos by the BND, the foreign intelligence service. This same law was supposed to fulfil legal requirements to restrict and control the activities of the BND, as stipulated by the German Constitutional Court in May 2020. The court declared that the previous law of 2016, which legalised the mass surveillance uncovered by American whistleblower Edward Snowden, to be unconstitutional. The court, however, did not object to mass surveillance per se, but merely insisted on compliance with a few formalities in its ordering, documenting and monitoring. It thereby provided a flimsy democratic fig leaf for mass surveillance. But even with these formalities, the changes in the new BND law compared to the old one are minimal or simply farcical. For example, the quantitative limitation of interceptions demanded by the Federal Constitutional Court is implemented in such a way as to cover not more than 30 percent of the transmission capacities of all globally existing telecommunications networks! What looks like a limitation is, in reality, a licence for unlimited spying. The BND, even if it continues to greatly expand its technical capabilities, will never be able to collate the enormous amount of data associated with this limit, according to Klaus Langenfeld, a man who should know. He is the operator of the worlds largest Internet node DE-CIX, near Frankfurt am Main, which at peak times records a data flow of more than 10 terabits, or 10 trillion bits per second. [6] The new law also significantly expands the power to intercept data and spy on people. The BND is allowed to hack communication providers such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft and Vodafone, as well as the IT systems of foreign companies and authorities, even without their knowledge and without concrete cause. These shady and criminal operations are called strategic telecommunications reconnaissance in the jargon of the ministerial authors. Significantly, not only foreign but also German citizens, companies and IT systems may be targeted by the BND. Formally, the law prohibited the surveillance and interception of the individual communications of natural persons, even though no one can control compliance with this prohibition. The use, however, of a smart phone, computer or even a telephone is considered communication with machines. In these cases, the BND is allowed almost unrestricted access to stored data and current traffic and content data. For such operations, the BND is explicitly allowed to cooperate and exchange data with foreign intelligence services such as the National Security Agency (NSA) and thereby use huge secret data storage centres such as the one in Utah. As Edward Snowden has revealed, the BND has been carrying out such operations for years, without any legal basis. Now the laws have been adapted to this practice! As already mentioned, the BND is also allowed to use State Trojans for the mass extraction of data from foreign IT systems and devices. The range of dangerous topics which the BND is authorized to spy upon has also been considerably expanded. In addition to the previous topicsinternational terrorism, the transfer of nuclear weapons material and illegal smugglingcrisis developments abroad, protection of critical infrastructures and cases of intellectual property theft or copyright infringement have been added. The latter marks the first time a secret service has been authorised by law to intervene in private legal disputes. German companies are to be strengthened against foreign competitors. Chinese companies in particular have long been accused of copying products and programmes, although no evidence of such activities has ever been provided. Now, with the help of the BND, it is hoped that such evidence can be found or fabricated as a pretext for more aggressive action against China. US companies are also likely to appear soon as targets on the monitors of the BND. The growing tensions between Germany and the US are part of the background to the BNDs increased powers. Particularly dangerous is the BNDs new task of monitoring, spying on, sabotaging or manipulating oppositional tendencies, organisations and individuals at home and abroad under the catchword international extremism. These operations are based on the same principle of a thought police utilised by the Verfassungsschutz. The BND was founded in 1956 by Reinhard Gehlen, who was responsible for military espionage against the Soviet Union under Hitler. Its staff consisted mainly of former agents of the Nazi military espionage apparatus, Gestapo and SS. Gehlen even collaborated with war criminals and Holocaust mass murderers such as Klaus Barbie, who had gone into hiding in Bolivia. [7] Germanys Grand Coalition has now turned this organisation, steeped in its Nazi past, into a kind of super-intelligence agency for use against foreign countries and against its own people. The BND reports directly to the German Chancellery and has over 6,500 official employees, as well as enormous financial resourcesthis year alone over half a billion euros. For the past two years, it has resided in Europes largest new building complex in the centre of Berlin. Part two of th is article will deal with other new polic e state legislation and provide a political assessment. ** Notes [1] Dr. Matthias Backer, statement on the draft for the Adoption of the Law on the Protection of the Constitution, Bundestag papers 19/24785; p. 13 [2] ibid., pp. 14-15 [3] ibid, pp. 4-6 [4] See: Stop the right-wing conspiracy! Defend the SGP against the Verfassungsschutz secret service! https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/07/26/sgps-j26.html [5] ibid. [6] See: https://netzpolitik.org/2021/bnd-gesetz-bundesnachrichtendienst-erhaelt-so-viele-ueberwachungsbefugnisse-wie-noch-nie/ [7] See: How former Nazi official Reinhard Gehlen erected a state within a state in post-war Germany https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/12/27/germ-d27.html Auto companies reported substantial sales increases for the second quarter of 2021 compared to the same time last year, in spite of an ongoing worldwide microchip shortage which has idled much of the worlds auto production. Some corporations have reported sales numbers that reveal a closing of the gap between post- and pre-pandemic production. However, Wards Intelligence, an analytics firm which tracks auto sales, shows US light vehicle sales were down last month, with 1.3 million cars sold compared to 1.6 million in May of this year. Ford Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan [Credit: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File] The basis of the rebound in the auto industry has been levels of exploitation of autoworkers which are practically unprecedented. At major auto plants throughout the country, with the full support and collaboration of the United Auto Workers union, forced overtime has become routine as companies scramble to make up for profits lost in the early stages of the pandemic. Meanwhile, an unknown but no doubt massive number of workers have gotten sick and died of COVID-19 inside the plants. The human toll of this breakneck pace on autoworkers was expressed in a series of tragic deaths in Detroit last week. Two autoworkers died of drug overdoses at Stellantis Warren Truck Assembly Plant and Warren Stamping Plant, and a third worker died outside of the companys Jefferson North Assembly Plant when she was struck by a train in the middle of the night leaving work. Roadside memorial for Jefferson North Assembly worker struck by a train leaving her shift last Friday [Credit: WSWS Media] The UAW announced this week that mask requirements would end later this month for vaccinated workers in US plants, as part of its continuing collaboration with the auto companies to tear up what remains of coronavirus-related restrictions, justified by false claims by the Biden administration that the pandemic, which is still surging throughout the world, is over. Toyota reported a sales increase of nearly 73 percent this past quarter compared to 2020. EVs, including hybrids, made up nearly a quarter of total sales, the company said. Toyota replaced General Motors as the top selling automaker in the US for the second quarter of 2021. Unlike the US-based corporations, Toyota had a supply of the microchips on hand when the shortage first began to affect the auto industry, but as the situation has dragged out it has also had to cut back production at its plants due to the lack of components. Cox Automotive earlier predicted that Fords sales would be up by 20.5 percent compared to last year, but still down 19.5 percent from the second quarter of 2019. However, Ford missed most predicted targets for the second quarter of 2021, increasing sales by only 9.6 percent. Its June 2021 sales fell by 26.9 percent compared to May 2021, with sales of its best-selling F-series pickups declining by nearly 30 percent. Fords sales and production continue to be impacted by the chip shortage. The company reported earlier this year that it expected to lose half of its projected second quarter production as a result of the lack of parts. Recently the company announced a slew of production cuts that will impact workers across its factories in the US, Canada and Mexico over the next month. Of these, Ford Chicago Assembly Plant will be impacted the most, with all production shut down for four weeks beginning July 5. Workers will have to apply for dwindling unemployment benefits through the state yet again, many who have already been temporarily laid off this year due to the ongoing chip shortages. Stellantis, formed out of a merger in January of PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, reported a 32 percent increase in second quarter sales compared to what the two parent corporations reported last year. The increase was driven in large part by a 47 percent increase in Dodge Ram sales. The most popular Ram pickup truck, the Ram 1500, is built at its Sterling Heights Assembly Plant (SHAP) in Michigan, where autoworkers have been on forced overtime for the entire year. Stellantis executives have clearly made the decision to keep the plant running at full blast no matter the cost. This breakneck pace continued throughout massive outbreaks of coronavirus inside the plant. At one point in the spring, more than 10 percent of the plants nearly 8,000 workers were out on quarantine. The UAW, meanwhile, has run damage control for the company by covering up the true extent of the spread. SHAP is also one of the few major assembly plants never to have shut down or cut production due to the microchip shortage. Stellantis even shifted chips and manpower from idled plants such as Warren Truck, which is now reopened, to SHAP. General Motors (GM) reported sales increases over 40 percent for this quarter compared to the second quarter of 2020, down only 5.8 percent compared to 2019. Sales of the Chevrolet Bolt EV, built in Orion Township, MI, went up 31 percent, and sales of its Buick SUV, built in Delta Township, MI, went up 31 percent. Its Chevrolet Silverado truck, built at its plant in Silao, Mexico, also picked up large numbers of sales. Similar to SHAP, workers at GMs Silao plant have faced grueling conditions, including forced 12-hour shifts, and COVID-19 has infected and killed an unknown numbers of workers at the plant. Other major automotive corporations reported high sales increases compared to the previous quarter. German auto giant Volkswagen reported sales increased of 72 percent in the second quarter of 2021 compared to 2020 and sold 5,756 EVs last quarter, up from 474 in the first quarter. Its stock price rose 1.3 percent after sales results were released Thursday. Honda recorded an overall sales increase of about 64 percent compared to the same quarter last year. The company also reported a record number of EV hybrid sales. All-electric carmaker Tesla, which reopened its plant in Fremont, California, in defiance of stay-at-home orders in the state of California last year, recorded record numbers of deliveries in the second quarter of 2021. According to Refinitiv, the company delivered 201,250 vehicles in total during the past quarter, above its expected target of 200,258 vehicles. Tesla stock prices rose as high as 3.3 percent on Friday morning and it has reportedly increased its vehicle prices in response to the chip shortage. Although it sells far fewer cars in comparison to its competitors, the massive wealth of the company and its billionaire CEO Elon Musk rests in large part on speculative profits and is increasingly dependent on volatile cryptocurrency investments like its $1.5 billion bitcoin investment revealed in February. The companys productive capacity is vulnerable to the supply of microchips, and there is nervousness on Wall Street that its streak of prosperity could end if it relies heavily on cryptocurrency to shore up its financial profits. While the auto companies no doubt had much to celebrate this week, there can be no doubt that in corporate boardrooms and in UAW offices throughout the country there is intense anxiety that rebounding profits could be jeopardized by an eruption of struggles by autoworkers. Last year, workers rejected a UAW-corporate deal to keep plants running during the initial surge in the pandemic by carrying out wildcat strikes, temporarily foiling this corporatist conspiracy and forcing a two-month shutdown. Given the pressure-cooker atmosphere inside the plants, there is every reason for them to fear a renewed upsurge. This is a central reason why the UAW has imposed an information blackout of the strike by Volvo Trucks workers in Virginia upon the rest of its membership. Indeed, the first reference to the strike on the UAWs website was published on Thursday, when the union announced a tentative agreement which it hopes will end the strike. The UAW fears most of all that other autoworkers might follow the lead of the Volvo Workers Rank-and-File Committee, which was founded to oppose the UAWs isolation and betrayal of their struggle, by rebelling and forming committees of their own. Public health sector nurses in Sri Lanka held a two-day national sick-note strike on Thursday and Friday, in defiance of President Gotabhaya Rajapakses draconian essential services measures. Health workers protest in Ampara on June 11 [Source: Facebook] Apart from those involved in special services, including for treating children, cancer and COVID-19 patients, and for emergency and intensive care units, over 30,000 nurses from the 38,000-strong workforce were involved in the industrial action. Strikes or any other form of industrial action or protest is a punishable criminal offence, under the governments Essential Services Act. Anyone who breaks this law faces between two to five years imprisonment, and/or fines of 2,000 to 5,000 rupees. While the law affects nearly one million public sector workers, not a single Sri Lankan union, including those in the health sector, has opposed these anti-democratic measures. The nurses demands include a 10,000-rupee ($US50) disturbance, availability and transport allowance, an increased uniform allowance, a five-day working week, amendment of the nurses constitution, promotion after five years, and transformation of all nursing schools into universities, so that all nurses obtain a nursing degree. The two-day protest was called by the Public Services United Nurses Union (PSUNU), Government Nursing Officers Association (GNOA) and the All Ceylon Nurses Union (ACNU). The PSUNU campaigned to bring the Rajapakse government to power and remains its supporter. The GNOA is aligned with Samagi Jana Balawegaya, the main opposition party, while the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), another bourgeois opposition party, controls the ACNU. These unions were compelled to call the sick-note strike, in response to long-standing demands by these essential frontline workers over allowances and conditions, which have dramatically worsened with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This weeks two-day action is the third by health workers in the past 30 days. On June 4 and 11, health workers from all other categories, including nurses, paramedics and attendants, held half-day strikes over a range of demands. While doctors were not involved, the walkout involved over 20,000 health workers on June 4, and 50,000 on June 11. The industrial action followed strikes and protests by other key public sector employees, including post, railway and power workers, as well as teachers, along with garment and plantation workers from the private sector. Protest outside Kandy hospital in June [Credit: WSWS Media] The health unions, which like their counterparts across the island, oppose unified industrial action, are desperately working to discourage, isolate and finally betray the health workers struggles. The Health Employees Trade Union Collective, which called the two protests in June, ended those walkouts after negotiating a sellout deal with Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi. The union declared that it was content with it [the deal], considering the prevailing crisis situation in the country and the essential nature of the health service. On Friday night, President Rajapakses media division issued a statement, which said that following discussing with the PSUNU, the President had provided solutions to all the proposals. The statement indicates, however, that the nurses five-day-week demand has been relegated to a special committee to investigate, and the 10,000-rupee allowance has to be ratified in the governments forthcoming November budget. Thus far, the nurses unions have not issued any comment, indicating that they have agreed to Rajapakses vague proposals. From the outset, the unions have sought to halt the nurses national two-day protest. PSUNU leader Muruththetuwe Ananda, a Buddhist monk, told a press conference on June 30 that all the unions attempts to resolve the nurses issues, through discussions with the government, had failed. Ananda said he had long discussions with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse but the decisions taken in those talks have not been implemented. He warned that if nurses demands were not granted there would be an indefinite strike from July 7. This is empty posturing. Like the Rajapakse government, the trade unions fear that the developing struggles of health sector workers will escalate out of their control. At the same press briefing, the GNOA leader Saman Rathnapriya said that if the government made any promises on nurses demands, even at midnight, We will stop the protest. The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA), which fully supports the government, denounced the nurses industrial action as extremely inhuman, and directed doctors to carry out nurses duties in an attempt to break the strike. The establishment media has unleashed a barrage of hostility against the striking nurses, whilst shedding crocodile tears about suffering patients. The fact remains that health sector strikes are tantamount to holding the sick to ransom Therefore, health workers strikes that cause tremendous suffering to the hapless public cannot be countenanced on any grounds, an editorial in the Island declared. The suffering of patients and health workers, however, is a direct result of the ongoing attacks on public health services by successive Sri Lankan governments, aided and abetted by the unions, which function as tools of the state and big business. In order to win all their demands and establish COVID-19 working conditions, health workers must take control of their struggles. This requires the building of workplace action committees in every hospital and health facility, independent of the trade unions and their bureaucratic apparatus and based on a socialist program. This is the only way to unite workers across the country and internationally, all of whom face common problems and a common enemy in the capitalist profit system. (see: Sri Lanka: Stop the criminal mishandling of the pandemic! Lockdown the country with full compensation to those affected!) We urge workers and youth to contact the Socialist Equality Party, embrace this initiative, and take up the fight for this socialist and internationalist perspective. Nurses spoke with WSWS reporters about the difficult conditions they confront. A female hospital nurse, treating COVID-19 patients in Puttalam district, said: There is only one bus to travel for all the health workers employed at the hospitals from Negombo to Kurunegala. Some nurses have to spend about three hours travelling home. We have still not been paid the risk allowance, promised during the last strike. She criticised the health unions, including the GMOA, for dividing health workers, and accused the government of covering up the real situation with the pandemic. Another nurse from Matara hospital said that about 1,000 nurses at her facility participated in the two-day sick-note strike. We have to work longer hours, but are only paid 250 to 350 rupees per hour for overtime. None of us has been given any understanding of the seriousness of the essential services laws by the unions, which are against a united struggle of health workers, she said. A nurse from Peradeniya hospital said nurses must wait for 25 years to get a supra-grade promotion. What is the use of it? she asked. We have to work 12 hours on the night shift but are not paid for the extra six hours. Our uniform allowance is inadequate. Currently we are only given 15,000 rupees for that each year. She said that the trade unions were collaborating with the government. I dont believe that we can win our demands by putting pressure on the government. The government will disperse our struggle, with the help of the trade unions. Jana, a nurse from Jaffna teaching hospital, said: We are working in a very dangerous situation. We need Personal Protective Equipment [PPE]. We are using normal masks, which are not secure for us, and although we have been vaccinated, our nurses have been infected with the coronavirus. We need N99 masks. Even though we are working in a dangerous situation, the government is not giving us the allowances or promotions we are demanding, and our families also face the same danger. She said that the hospitals coronavirus ward was inadequate. There is only one ICU unit and only eight beds in the corona ward. Oxygen shortages are yet to come. We are watching people dying before our eyes. We cant tolerate this situation, she added. Last Saturday, Stundin, a prominent Icelandic biweekly, published revelations that Sigurdur Siggi Thordarson, a key witness in the US indictment against Julian Assange, has walked back almost all the allegations he made against the WikiLeaks publisher. Sigurdur Siggi Thordarson pictured in 2019 [Credit: Facebook] The bombshell report should have been front-page news all over the world. It demolishes the US attempt to prosecute Assange as a dirty-tricks operation, conducted by the intelligence agencies and the top levels of the American government. According to one of their own star witnesses, the US submitted an indictment to the British courts that contains lies. The fabricated document is the basis for Assanges ongoing imprisonment in the UK and the US bid to extradite him. One might have thought that media interest in the story would be particularly great in the US, Britain and Australia. The US, after all, is seeking to try Assange on 17 Espionage Act charges, which are a frontal assault on freedom of the press. Britain is indefinitely detaining Assange, a journalist, in a maximum-security prison. And the Australian government, along with the Labor Party opposition, have washed their hands of Assange, despite the fact that he is a persecuted Australian citizen and publisher. Instead, the response has been one of radio silence. As of today, a Google News search indicates that not a single English-language corporate publication has even referenced the Stundin report or Thordarsons admission. It would be difficult to conceive of a more complete suppression of significant and newsworthy information. The blackout has been adhered to across the board, without even one publication breaking ranks and informing its readership. The media embargo is not motivated by concern that the Stundin report stood on shaky ground. The newspaper interviewed Thordarson, meaning that the story came from the horses mouth. The reporters, moreover, cited chat logs and other documents provided by Thordarson, which they say substantiates his admission to have lied for the indictment. The silence is all the more striking given that many of the publications maintaining it, such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the British Guardian and the Sydney Morning Herald, have published editorials and/or opinion pieces branding the attempted US prosecution of Assange as a threat to journalism and press freedom. Those statements, however, all had a pro forma character. They were couched in the most tepid and non-committal terms, and were not accompanied by any concrete actions or campaign for Assanges freedom. In fact, over the past two years, one could chart a law of diminishing returns in the corporate media coverage of Assange. The more the US-led pursuit of Assange has been exposed as a politically-motivated frame-up, the less the newspapers have published about the WikiLeaks founder. The same goes for publicly-funded outlets that claim to offer impartial reportage, untainted by the editorial influence of private owners, such as the British and Australian broadcasting corporations. Julian Assange Outlets that previously reported every smear and slander against Assange with relish, have increasingly dropped his case altogether. The 2019 finding by United Nations Rapporteur Nils Melzer that the persecution of Assange amounted to state torture was given short shrift. So was the final collapse of Swedish sexual misconduct allegations, which had been used against the WikiLeaks founder for the best part of a decade, including by the media, but never made it past the preliminary investigation phase. Revelations that the US Central Intelligence Agency had illegally spied on Assange and all his associates, while he was a political refugee in Ecuadors London embassy, were given scant attention, as were reports that this campaign included discussion of kidnapping and murdering the WikiLeaks founder. The same was the case for warnings, including by prominent doctors, that Assange could die in a British prison due to the deterioration of his health, and the powerful defence testimony during the extradition hearings last September. In other words, the official media has largely run cover for the US government and Justice Department, as the operation to prosecute a journalist has unravelled. There is a particular reason, however, why the major publications are especially intent on covering up the Stundin revelations. For years, they have sought to justify their participation in what Melzer aptly termed the public mobbing of Assange, by questioning or dismissing his journalistic credentials. The corporate outlets criticised the Trump administrations Espionage Act charges against Assange, primarily from the standpoint of their potential implications for the mainstream media, while claiming that Assange was a polarising figure, a bad actor and worse. The main argument they set upon was that Assange was something other than a journalist or publisher. He was an activist at best, a computer hacker at worst. The US incorporated Thordarsons lies into a superseding indictment against Assange, issued in June 2020, precisely to bolster this narrative, and to obscure the fact that the attempted prosecution was an attack on press freedom. Thordarsons tales of having conspired with Assange to secretly record the conversations of Icelandic politicians, hack into banks and commit other cyber-crimes, are presented in the indictment as fact, and proof that the WikiLeaks founder is nothing more than a common criminal. When the indictment was released, Thordarsons credibility was already low. He had previously been convicted in an Icelandic court of impersonating Assange, stealing tens of thousands of dollars from WikiLeaks, and molesting underage boys. The psychiatric assessment presented to those hearings was hardly a glowing character reference, describing the Icelandic man as a sociopath. The indictment and Thordarson, however, received limited media scrutiny, because his lies dovetailed with those of the corporate press. Now that he has walked back the claims, nothing is said or written. The response to the Stundin report brands the official media as an adjunct of governments and the intelligence agencies. The Assange case has revealed the willingness of almost the entire corporate media to facilitate and aid a state campaign aimed at destroying a journalist for exposing war crimes, global diplomatic intrigues and government surveillance operations. The despicable role played by the press has served to undermine the widespread public support that Assange has won for his journalistic exposures, and to create an environment in which governments feel emboldened to be ever-more brazen in their persecution of him. The same function has been played by a host of pseudo-left and trade union organisations, which once claimed to support Assange, but abandoned him long ago. The Stundin episode again demonstrates that any perspective of securing Assanges freedom by issuing plaintive appeals to the official institutions of capitalist society, including the corporate media, amounts to a fools errand. In its own way, the media silence indicates the real constituency for the defence of Assange and all democratic rights. The blackout of the Thordarson revelations is a tacit acknowledgement that if the details of Assanges plight were widely known and discussed, they would provoke mass outrage and opposition from ordinary people. It is the working class, increasingly being propelled into struggle against inequality, austerity and war, that can defeat state frame-ups and guarantee democratic rights, if it is politically-educated and mobilised. Finally, the episode demonstrates the crucial importance of the fight against online censorship. But for Stundins initial article and reports about it by a handful of alternative and anti-war publications, Thordarsons admission that the US indictment is based on lies would not have appeared anywhere on the entire internet. On Thursday, the US Supreme Court upheld two restrictive Arizona voting regulations aimed at limiting the ability of poor, minority and working-class people to cast a ballot. The vote was six to three, with the courts three nominally liberal members in dissent. In upholding the Arizona regulations, the Supreme Court overturned a ruling striking them down last year by the US Federal Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, based in San Francisco. The US Supreme Court building in Washington DC (source: Joe Ravi via Wikipedia) The cases in question Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee and Arizona Republican Party v. Democratic National Committee concern two reactionary and discriminatory voting regulations dating from 2016 and 2018. One invalidates any ballots cast out of precinct, and the other criminalizes transporting another persons ballot to the appropriate polling station on his or her behalf, an act Republican critics call ballot harvesting. The ruling takes place within the context of a wave of voter suppression measures following Donald Trumps false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen because of voter fraud. Arizona is among 43 Republican-controlled states whose legislatures have introduced election integrity bills attacking the right to vote. The laws restrict voting by antidemocratic means, including shortening the time polls remain open, imposing new requirements and shortening timelines for voting by mail, and obstacles to the voting process. Such laws have already been enacted in 14 states as of mid-May, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. The Democratic Party challenged the two Arizona regulations, claiming the policies violated a section of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which bars voting regulations that result in racial discrimination. According to the Democratic National Committee, Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix and is home to more than 60 percent of Arizonas population, cut the number of polling places by 70 percent between 2012 and 2016. The Democrats argued that the regulations would disproportionately impact minorities because American Indians, Hispanics and African Americans in Arizona are twice as likely as whites to vote out of precinct. Writing for the right-wing majority, Justice Samuel Alito said both restrictions were lawful under a set of new guidelines recommended by the court. Alito argued that the ban on out-of-precinct voting was justified because it introduced only a minor inconvenience for voters, noting that there were other ways to vote, including by mail. Alito also sustained the prohibition on ballot collections on the grounds that they were meant to combat voting fraud. He ignored multiple reports denying the existence of significant voter fraud in US elections. During oral arguments, Alito said poor and less educated voters would naturally find it more difficult to comply with just about every voting rule and proposed asking only whether policies denied voters an equal opportunity to participate in elections. Voting law changes may have a different impact on minority and nonminority groups, Alito said, but the mere fact there is some disparity in impact does not necessarily mean that a system is not equally open or does not give everyone an equal opportunity to vote. He upheld this reactionary conception is his guidelines, writing that courts may discount disparities in a rules impact on members of different racial or ethnic groups to the extent that minority and nonminority groups differ with respect to employment, wealth and education. In her dissenting opinion, Justice Elena Kagan, joined by Justices Stephen G. Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor, wrote that the majoritys cramped reading of the Voting Rights Act trod on the nations ideals. What is tragic here, she wrote, is that the court has (yet again) rewrittenin order to weakena statute that stands as a monument to Americas greatness and protects against its basest impulses. What is tragic is that the court has damaged a statute designed to bring about the end of discrimination in voting. Justice Kagan argued that the measures disproportionately affected rural Native American communities because many lack access to postal services. President Joe Biden said in a statement that he was deeply disappointed by the courts decision. In a span of just eight years, the court has now done severe damage to two of the most important provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965a law that took years of struggle and strife to secure, he said, adding that the ruling makes federal voting legislation even more necessary. However, the current assault on democratic rights is an escalation of an attack that has been ongoing for decades, against which the Democratic Party has offered no serious opposition. The Democrats demonstrated their lack of concern for defending voting rights in 2000, when the entire party accepted the Supreme Court ruling in Bush v. Gore that handed the election over to George W. Bush, who had lost the popular vote, by halting a recount of votes in Florida that had been ordered by that states Supreme Court. This continued in 2013, when the Supreme Court carried out its 54 ruling to overturn Section 5 of Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder. The ruling invalidated the key means of enforcing the Voting Rights Act by lifting the requirement for former Jim Crow states in the South to pre-clear any changes in voting procedures with the federal government. Neither the Obama administration nor the congressional Democrats mounted any serious effort to pass legislation restoring Section 5, emboldening the Republicans to expand their drive to impose barriers in states across the country to block working-class voters. The For the People Act, a congressional bill that would expand voting rights, remains stalled in the Senate by a Republican filibuster, which requires 60 votes to override. Some Democratic senators expressed support for abolishing the filibuster for the bill, but others, such as Senator Joe Manchin, remained opposed, meaning the bill has little chance of becoming law. In response to the Republican blockade, the Biden administration and the Democratic leadership have effectively abandoned their opposition to voter ID laws, one of the means by which mainly Republican-led states have sought to restrict voting by working-class and poor people. Thursdays decision also underscores the dead end of racial politics. The Voting Rights Act was substantial and significantly expanded suffrage. It was a concession to the mass civil rights struggles of black and white workers and youth in the 1950s and 1960s, in which people of all races and ethnic backgrounds were martyred in the fight for equality, murdered by the KKK and segregationist police in the Democratic-controlled South. At the time, the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover declared Martin Luther King, Jr. to be a communist and the civil rights movement to be communist plot. However, the Voting Rights Acts limited nature, prohibiting discrimination based only on factors of identity, primarily race, set the stage for sweeping measures that inhibit workers from voting. Trump and the Republicans represent the most predatory and fascistic elements of the American ruling class. Their assault on democratic rights, won through the struggles of millions of workers, has been emboldened by the spineless response of Biden and the Democrats to the January 6 attempted coup. The Democrats continue to call for unity with the conspirators who attempted to overturn the election results, while seeking to cover up the extent of the plot. The Democrats actions are guided by a fear of the emergence of a working-class movement outside of the capitalist two-party system. They are no less callous than their Republican counterparts when it comes to blocking ballot access to left-wing and socialist parties. No confidence can be placed in either party of the American corporate-financial oligarchy to defend the right to vote. The defense of the right to vote and all democratic rights requires the building of a mass socialist movement of the working class, independent of the capitalist parties. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - The 1426 union representing Amcor employees in Terre Haute is on its final day of contract voting. If there is no labor agreement, they tell us they plan to go on strike. Employees were unhappy with the lack of health insurance and high cost. One of them told News 10 it is especially important to him and he is willing to fight for his rights as a worker. "It's all very important," said Walker Carver, a voting member of 1426. "My wife in years past had a bout with pre-cancerous cells," said Carver. "We have to have a way to protect ourselves against the possibility that that might return." This is why health insurance is critical for Carver, who said he needs better coverage from Amcor. He told News 10 Amcor can decide what employees' out-of-pocket costs are for health coverage. This, combined with the pandemic made some workers feel an enhanced risk. "We're performing during a global pandemic, where at the time, we didn't know if it was gonna come in here and live and die," said Kirk Smith, the president of 1426. On Friday, Amcor said they had a plan if the company went on strike. The spokesperson told News 10, "Together with our Terre Haute employees, we've worked hard to build relationships with our customers and grow our Terre Haute business. We recognize that a strike could have a negative impact on our customer relationships and, more importantly, that our customers are counting on us to deliver packaging that safely transports essential goods like food, water and other consumer products, to market." They followed up by saying they hope workers will reconsider the restructured contract. Workers, however, say this is not enough. "This makes a huge difference from one day to the next. The ability to pay our bills, the ability to pay our mortgages, our light bills and put our babies in diapers," said Carver. The voting deadline is 8 pm on July 2. Amcor's contract expires at 11:00 pm Friday. INDIANA (WTHI) - The Indiana Department of Natural Resources needs your help in counting young wild turkey hens and broods. Starting July 1st until August 31st anyone across the state can send in the number of wild turkey hens you see. The summer months are one of the primary factors influencing the population. This is an effort to estimate how many young turkeys live through the hottest months of the year. Brood surveys provide useful estimates about annual production by wild turkey hens and the survival of poults (young turkeys) through the summer brood-rearing period. Summer brood survival is generally the primary factor influencing wild turkey population trends. Information on summer brood survival is essential for sound turkey management. The Indiana DNR has made it easy for you to report sightings. You can visit their reporting page, here. Advancing the work of the committee Ambassador Piracha reported on his consultations with WTO members on advancing the committee's existing work and on identifying possible new areas for the committee to address. Current areas of work where progress has been cited as difficult include the full operationalization of the committee's mandate to act as the focal point for the WTO's development work, as called for at the 2011 Geneva Ministerial Conference. Another area of difficulty stems from the 2013 Bali Ministerial Conference, where ministers mandated the establishment of a Monitoring Mechanism to serve as a focal point within the WTO to analyse and review the implementation of special and differential provisions for developing countries. The objective is to improve beneficiaries' ability to utilize them but proposals by members are yet to be made to the committee. Special and differential provisions are flexibilities granted to developing and least-developed countries (LDCs) to help increase their trade opportunities, such as access to technical assistance activities and longer transition periods to implement agreements and decisions. The WTOs agreements contain over 150 such provisions. The chair said members have made suggestions to broaden the discussion on technical assistance for developing countries and LDCs and to assess the virtual capacity-building activities implemented in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Members have also called for an exploration of how the WTO could help developing countries recover from the crisis and build resilience to future shocks. The chair also reported an interest by some delegations to discuss the WTO work programme on electronic commerce in the Committee on Trade and Development. Other topics for potential consideration cited by members include the challenges faced by developing countries in meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals notably with regards to climate change, natural disasters and desertification and how to target policymaking towards these goals. Some delegations also highlighted the importance of trade finance and technology transfer and called for discussions on issues of interest to landlocked developing countries. The chair indicated that he will carry on informal consultations with members and would report back at the next formal committee meeting. Capacity-building activities for developing countries The WTO Secretariat carried out 216 capacity-building activities in 2020 despite limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, benefitting 15,000 participants across the world. WTO members welcomed the revamped Technical Assistance Annual Report, released earlier in June, which they said is more reader-friendly. The report highlights how technical assistance programmes have helped beneficiaries to improve their understanding of WTO agreements and trade negotiations and play a more active role in the multilateral trading system. The programmes involve both e-learning activities that participants follow individually and group courses held virtually. Members also drew attention to the dynamic electronic dashboards launched in November 2020 to help WTO members, donor countries and others track the implementation of the WTOs technical assistance and training programmes via real-time data. The report can be found here. Preferential treatment for LDCs' exports Reporting on its duty-free and quota-free market access for LDCs, China said that it currently provides duty-free treatment to 41 LDCs on 97 per cent of tariff lines, while an additional two LDCs benefit from duty-free treatment on 95 per cent of tariff lines. It noted that LDCs' exports to China increased considerably following the application of zero tariffs. India said it is currently providing LDCs with duty-free market access on 96 per cent of tariff lines and preferential duties on another 2.2 per cent. It said it remained committed to supporting the world's poorest countries in their integration into the global trading system. The United States said it imported USD 18 billion worth of LDC goods in 2020, including clothing, shoes, furniture and toys. Out of these, USD 3.5 billion was under the US preference programmes. It also highlighted its trade-related technical assistance programmes, including Prosper Africa and Standards Alliance. Developing countries' participation in electronic commerce In the discussion on furthering the participation of developing countries in electronic commerce, some members highlighted the importance of discussing the development-related aspects of e-commerce in the committee. The need to develop digital infrastructure and skills and to make products competitive in the digital world were highlighted as priorities for developing countries. India said it is working with other members on a submission on this matter for the committee's consideration. The United Kingdom said its Trade and Investment Advocacy Fund is supporting developing countries' participation in the WTO's Joint Initiative on Electronic Commerce. Regional trade agreements and preferential trade arrangements The chair noted at separate sessions of the committee dedicated to regional trade agreements (RTAs) and to preferential trade arrangements (PTAs) that the WTO Secretariat is unable to finalize the factual presentations of several RTAs and PTAs. This is required under the Transparency Mechanism for RTAs and the Transparency Mechanism for PTAs. The reason is that the concerned members are yet to submit the required data and information. Ambassador Piracha urged these members to do so as soon as possible. Four agreements between developing countries were considered at the dedicated session on RTAs. These were the Partial Scope Agreement between Mexico and Paraguay, the Economic Complementarity Agreement between Mexico and Brazil, the Preferential Trade Agreement between Indonesia and Pakistan and the Partial Scope Agreement between El Salvador and Cuba. A new notification was made by India and Mauritius concerning the goods aspects of their Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement. The full list of RTAs notified by WTO members can be found here. Notifications of modifications to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) schemes of Japan and Kazakhstan were presented at the dedicated session on PTAs. GSP schemes consist of preferential tariffs granted by developed countries to imports from developing countries, with the objective of increasing their participation in world trade. More information on the PTAs implemented by WTO members can be found here. Please purchase a subscription to continue reading. If you have a subscription, please Log In . Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. If you believe you've gotten this message in error, please Log In. Beth A. White is the executive director of the West Virginia Association for Justice. She has researched and written on the history of trial by jury for more than 10 years and has presented lectures on the subject to state and national audiences. Police blotter is a list of recent arrests compiled from public records in Laramie County. All people listed here are innocent until proven guilty. Anyone listed who has a charge dismissed or is acquitted of the charge may bring or mail a court document proving such to the WTE editor, 702 W. Lincolnway, Cheyenne, WY 82001. Photo credit: WPA Pool - Getty Images Princess Dianas statue unveiling happened *checks calendar* literally yesterday, and unfortunately, before the event, tensions were running pretty high between Prince Harry and Prince William. Kate Middleton has recently been cementing her role as a bridge between him [William] and his brother [Harry] to help improve their relationship, but she placed her mediator duties on hold since she didnt attend the statue unveiling Thursdaya move thats telling on so many levels. An alleged royal family source told Page Six that Catherines absence speaks volumes, despite the guest list being slashed at the last minute. I think keeping the numbers down is a perfect excuse for Catherine to stay away. William is fed up with the drama and Catherine doesnt need to be dragged into this, the source added. Photo credit: WPA Pool - Getty Images Dont think this means that Kate wont be paying her respects though: She, alongside William and their three childrenPrince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louisare planning a private family visit with their children, and that private moment is far more important than the public rhetoric. William, on the other hand, is determined that the Sussex drama does not overshadow this important moment of remembrance to his much-missed mother and is keeping that as his focus. Kate may have stayed behind the scenes for this one, but the good news is she doesnt seem particularly stressed about any drama, a source told The Telegraph. Shes not really the type to get het up about these sorts of things, the source said, referring to Harry and Meghan Markles Oprah interview. Shes just trying to help to bring the family back together and alleviate her husbands stress and sadness. You Might Also Like Long airport lines at Delta Air Lines' check-in. Drew Angerer/Getty Airlines are back to overselling flights as demand spikes, and some flyers can expect to get bumped. A man was on a flight from Minneapolis to Iceland and got $4,500 in credit to take the next flight. Airlines will often give meal and hotel vouchers if travelers have to spend the night. See more stories on Insider's business page. Americans flying this summer will be faced with not only long lines but also oversold flights. Airlines are back to filling flights to capacity, and then some, as travel demand spikes to its highest levels since the pandemic began. Flights are frequently oversold in hopes that not all passengers will show up. The system often works itself out, as passengers miss flights for a host of reasons, and the airline gets to keep the extra revenue from selling more seats than they have. But it's a bet that airlines sometimes lose, and lose big. Andy Luten was all set to fly Delta Air Lines from Minneapolis to Iceland on Thursday when gate agents made the announcement that the flight was oversold by 30 passengers. "I got to the gate and everything was fine," Luten told Insider. "And then they said, 'We're in an oversold situation,' which is not surprising because it's a holiday weekend and it's Iceland." Iceland was among the first European countries to open to vaccinated American tourists, and airlines like Delta have been adding flights to the capital city of Reykjavik to accommodate the increase in demand. But bad weather meant that the Boeing 757-200 operating the flight would need more fuel and couldn't take as many passengers. The bidding started at $500 for passengers to take the next flight, and then Delta agents increased it to $700 after nobody raised their hands. If not enough passengers volunteer, airlines will resort to what's known as involuntarily denied boarding and "bump" passengers from a flight. In that case, the Department of Transportation has guidelines on how much passengers are entitled to in cash compensation, depending on the length of the delay. In Luten's case, as the next flight to Iceland was departing in 24 hours, he'd be entitled to 400% of the one-way fare for a maximum of $1,550. Story continues Luten said he knew he was "at the top of the bump list," as he booked a last-minute round-trip ticket for $465 in basic economy just three days before the flight. Airlines take all those factors into consideration when determining whom to bump. Eventually, Delta offered $1,500, then $3,000, and, eventually, $4,500. Luten said the first person who received the $4,500 voucher "just went 'woo' and started high-fiving people." Luten also got the $4,500 after initially telling Delta agents that he'd take $1,500, and he didn't even make out the best. A family of five from Mississippi walked away with $22,500 in total compensation. Normally, the $4,500 can be used only to book future flights on an airline, but Delta allows flyers to choose from a selection of gift cards. Among those on offer, Luten said, were from American Express and Visa, which allows him to use the $4,500 almost the same way as cash. Read more: United's CEO argued it's not a problem that airlines will keep burning tens of millions of cash per day for months With no other flights to Iceland that night, passengers were given free hotel rooms in Minneapolis and round-trip transportation vouchers to get there. Luten said no meal vouchers were given, but passengers could likely request them when returning to the airport the next day. Some ways that travelers can hedge against being bumped from a full flight is by checking in as early as possible, arriving at the gate on time, and booking trips well in advance. Holiday weekends are prime for overselling, as Luten found, and travelers with flexibility can use it to their advantage. "Everybody's going to get to Iceland one day later and $4,500 or $22,500 richer," Luten said. Read the original article on Business Insider By Michelle Nichols and Doyinsola Oladipo UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -Top U.N. officials warned the Security Council on Friday that more than 400,000 people in Ethiopia's Tigray were now in famine and that there was a risk of more clashes in the region despite a unilateral ceasefire by the federal government. After six private discussions, the Security Council held its first public meeting since fighting broke out in November between government forces, backed by troops from neighboring Eritrea, and TPLF fighters with Tigray's former ruling party. Acting U.N. aid chief Ramesh Rajasingham told the council that the humanitarian situation in Tigray had "worsened dramatically" in recent weeks with an increase of some 50,000 in the number of people now suffering famine. "More than 400,000 people are estimated to have crossed the threshold into famine and another 1.8 million people are on the brink of famine. Some are suggesting that the numbers are even higher. 33,000 children are severely malnourished," he said. The Ethiopian government declared a unilateral ceasefire on Monday, which the TPLF dismissed as a joke. There are reports of continued clashes in some places as pressure builds internationally for all sides to pull back. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said Ethiopia's government must demonstrate "it truly intends to use the ceasefire to address the humanitarian catastrophe," warning that any denial of aid access is "not an indication of a humanitarian ceasefire, but of a siege." Ethiopia's U.N. Ambassador Taye Atske Selassie Amde told reporters after he addressed the council that the purpose of the ceasefire "is not to make a siege, it is to save lives." Amde questioned the need for the public Security Council meeting, telling the body the ceasefire was declared to improve aid access and "should have encouraged our friends to give support and de-escalate the unhelpful pressure." He said the government hoped the ceasefire could also spark dialogue. Story continues Thomas-Greenfield urged the parties to the conflict to "seize this moment," warning that if they failed there could be devastating consequences for Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. U.N. political and peacebuilding affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo said Eritrean forces had withdrawn to areas adjacent to the border and that forces from the neighboring region of Amhara remained in areas of western Tigray that they had seized. "In short, there is potential for more confrontations and a swift deterioration in the security situation, which is extremely concerning," she told the council, urging the TPLF to endorse the ceasefire and for Eritrean troops to fully withdraw. While Russia and China did not object to Friday's public meeting of the Security Council on Tigray, they made clear that they believed the conflict is an internal affair for Ethiopia. Russia's U.N. Ambassador said: "We believe that interference by the Security Council in solving it is counterproductive." Russia and China are both council veto-powers, along with the United States, France and Britain. (Additional reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien, Philippa Fletcher and Daniel Wallis) Photo credit: Getty Images A necklace changed Aisling OBriens life. When the Duchess of Cambridge visited Galway, Ireland in March 2020, she changed outfits in a physiotherapists office. Prior to vacating the room, that physiotherapist decided to leave a small gift for Katea pair of earrings and necklace from small Irish brand, All the Falling Stars. OBrien, the designer and creator of the jewelry, custom-made the necklace, featuring initials of all three of the Cambridge children. The physiotherapist received a thank you note from Kensington Palace, and OBrien thought that would be the end of the road. However, months later, the Duchess of Cambridge wore the monogrammed necklace to a September 2020 event in Battersea Park, London, and the orders started flooding in. OBrien made the jewelry part-time, alongside her day job as a speech pathologist. She soon had more than 500 orders from around the world, before she had to shut down her website, selling out her inventory. It was chaos. Really thats the only way to describe ita lot of panic and how am I going to do this? And roping in family and friends for lots of different tasks, OBrien tells T&C. Prior to the Duchess wearing her jewelry, OBrien had only sold two pieces outside of Ireland. After, she was getting orders from as far as Australia and Malaysia. Both the earrings and necklace that the Duchess wore are still her strongest sellers, especially since Kate has worn the jewelry a few times over. The necklaces personalization makes it even more popular, as customers can engrave letters on each of the small discs. The jewelry brand is now so successful that OBrien quit her main job to pursue All the Falling Stars full-time. Photo credit: ARTHUR EDWARDS - Getty Images I feel blessed, OBrien says. I suppose it was such a crazy thing to happen, and very much the stars aligning. When youre working towards building a little business, you never expect that something like that is going to happen. OBrien continued: The fact that in the she, even though she has every piece of jewelry in the world, has gone to her jewelry boxor wherever she gets her jewelry frommultiple times and picked out those two things to wear on different occasions together and separately, it blows my mind completely. I just I can't get my head around it. Story continues The Duchess of Cambridge is not the only royal to enjoy a monogrammed necklace. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has also been known to sport jewelry featuring letters. Right when she and Prince Harry started dating, Meghan used a necklace to hint at their relationship to the wider world. Walking down the street in Toronto, Meghan wore a piece from brand Maya Brenner, featuring the letters M and H, confirming their romance. Photo credit: Karwai Tang - Getty Images Brenner herself does not know how the Duchess received the necklace. Though she has been in business for over twenty years, the impact of Meghans choice of necklace was unlike anything she had ever seen. We're in Los Angeles and so we have a lot of celebrities that wear our jewelry, but royalty is on a whole other level, and you could tell that from the moment that happened, Brenner says. It was very, very exciting, but also intimidating at the same time, because we're a small jewelry company and we weren't prepared for that level of attention. The necklace sold out and continues to be one of Brenners top sellers. Though Brenner does not have a personal relationship with the Duchess, Meghan has worn the asymmetrical letter necklace multiple times, including to the Invictus Games in 2018. However, the rewear did not send a secret message like the original monogrammed piece, which Brenner called a nod to what was to come. Tracey Kahn, the creative director and owner of Mini Mini Jewels, knows how Brenner feels. The Duchess of Sussex wore Kahns monogrammed initial dog tag necklace to the 2019 U.S. Open. The two charms were engraved with an M and an H. Kahn also did not know ahead of time that the Duchess was slated to wear her necklace. Photo credit: Gotham - Getty Images The orders came in from all over the world in triple digits, Kahn says. We had an incredible year and to this date sales within personalized charms continue to grow. Kahn, too, does not know how the Duchess initially received her necklace, calling it a wonderful surprise, but the brand has since developed a relationship with her. We feel very lucky to have been able to work closely with the Duchess, Kahn says. We have the utmost respect for her and adore her style and beautiful taste in delicate jewelry. Indeed, both royal women clearly deem monogrammed necklaces to be wardrobe staples. Below, shop the Duchess of Cambridge and Duchess of Sussexs necklaces, plus a few of T&C's own favorite options. You Might Also Like Jul. 3The Hawaii Department of Transportation and neighbor island counties are set to receive $5.1 million in federal funding to purchase electric buses, according to U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz. The counties of Kauai, Maui and Hawaii will each receive funds to help purchase three new electric buses to replace diesel buses that have reached the end of their useful life. The funding will also go towards charging infrastructure. "Electric buses make our air cleaner, our roads quieter, and reduce the operating costs of our public transit, " said Schatz, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing, in a news release. "Hawaii has been a leader in clean energy, and this new federal funding will make it easier for people to get around, while cutting greenhouse gas emissions and pollution." The funds come from the Federal Transit Administration's Low or No Emission Vehicle Grant Program, which supports state and local transit agencies across the nation in the conversion of their fleets to zero-or low-emission alternatives. The announcement comes on the heels of, expanding the use of electric vehicles in the state. Schatz said these funds will help move Hawaii closer to its goal of decarbonizing its economy by 2045. Another day on the recruiting trail and another prospect releasing his top schools for recruitment. IMG Academys Joenel Aguero has narrowed his school list down to 12 schools. The four-star athlete is ranked as the No. 5 athlete in the country according to 247Sports composite. Aguero looks to project best on the defensive side of the ball at cornerback. The Oklahoma Sooners are in need of cornerbacks and Aguero could fit in well with Alex Grinchs scheme. The Sooners are no strangers to the IMG Academy after signing Brendan Radley-Hiles, among others from that school to play at Oklahoma. Among his list, Aguero also listed the Texas Longhorns as one of his 12 choices. Joenel Agueros Recruiting Profile Rating Stars Overall State Position 247 4 35 9 6 Rivals 4 54 ESPN 247 Composite 4 38 8 5 Vitals Hometown Bradenton, Florida Projected Position Cornerback Height 6-0 Weight 195 Recruitment Offered on Feb. 26, 2021 No visit scheduled at the time of publication Offers (Top 12) Oklahoma Alabama Boston College Clemson Florida Florida State Georgia Louisiana State Miami (Fl) Ohio State Penn State Texas Crystal Ball No crystal ball predictions at the time of publication Film Twitter This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes and opinions. Phylicia Rashad has issued an apology to the Howard University community after voicing her support for Bill Cosby following his prison release earlier this week. On Friday, Rashad, 73, wrote a letter addressed to the students and parents at the school, where she studied and now serves as the dean of the College of Fine Arts, multiple students told CBS News. "This week, I tweeted a statement that caused so much hurt in so many people - both broadly and inside the Howard community," she wrote in the letter, according to HuffPost. "I offer my most sincere apology. I have since removed that upsetting tweet." Rashad continued, "My remarks were in no way directed towards survivors of sexual assault. I vehemently oppose sexual violence, find no excuse for such behavior, and I know that Howard University has a zero-tolerance policy toward interpersonal violence." RELATED: Fresh Prince's Janet Hubert Slams Phylicia Rashad for Bill Cosby Support: 'What Are You Thinking?' She also noted that she will "engage in active listening and participate in trainings" over the next few weeks "to learn how I can become a stronger ally to sexual assault survivors." Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Rashad's initial tweet, which has since been deleted, celebrated her Cosby Show costar's release from prison on Wednesday after he served nearly three years of a three to 10-year sentence for aggravated indecent assault. Cosby was convicted on three counts of aggravated indecent assault in 2018 after Andrea Constand said he had drugged her and sexually assaulted her in her Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, home in 2004. More than 60 women have also accused the actor of sexual misconduct. He and his defense have denied the allegations. "FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted a miscarriage of justice is corrected!" Rashad wrote after the news broke. Story continues Michael Loccisano/FilmMagic; Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Phylicia Rashad, Bill Cosby RELATED: What's Next for Sex Assault Allegations Against Bill Cosby Since His Conviction Was Overturned? After receiving backlash for the post, Rashad tweeted again hours later, this time stating her support for sexual assault survivors. "I fully support survivors of sexual assault coming forward," she wrote in a statement on Twitter. "My post was in no way intended to be insensitive to their truth. Personally, I know from friends and family that such abuse has lifelong residual effects. My heartfelt wish is for healing." Also on Wednesday, Howard University released their own statement voicing support for sexual assault survivors, and expressing that Rashad's remarks were personal and therefore separate from her role at the university. "Survivors of sexual assault will always be our first priority," the statement began. "While Dean Rashad has acknowledged in her follow-up tweet that victims must be heard and believed, her initial tweet lacked sensitivity towards survivors of sexual assault." This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The university added, "Personal positions of University leadership do not reflect Howard University's policies." "We will continue to advocate for survivors fully and support their right to be heard. Howard will stand with survivors and challenge systems that would deny them justice. We have full confidence that our faculty and school leadership will live up to this sacred commitment," the statement concluded. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org. Yankton, SD (57078) Today Mostly cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. A stray severe thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. A stray severe thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. Independent ceramic artist born in Russia, Bogorodsk with focus on unique tableware and interior objects. Ksenia works mostly with naked clay bodies and natural colours; her works can be find in restaurants and coffee houses all over the world, in private collections and European museums. Click here to see her works 1. When did you arrive in Hungary and what brought you here? Love brought me here, my husband is Hungarian. I moved to Budapest 7 years ago. 2. Have you ever been an expatriate elsewhere? After moving to Hungary I and my family decided to live for a while in the USA . We spent 2 years there and I can definitely say that every country gets specific flavour from expats. 3. What surprised you most about Hungary? Speed. Somehow in Russia everything is super fast - renovation, service, selling/buying things. Here in Hungary people live like they have one hundred lives. There is some magic about this lifestyle of course, but for me it is still a big surprise . 4. Friends are in Budapest for a weekend - what must they absolutely see and do? I would focus on architecture. I know codes from some old houses and you can sneak and see all these beautiful yards. I like Budapest's combination of Bauhaus and art deco styles. My second choice would be a bike tour through Varosliget with stops at museums and finishing at Margaret island. 5. What is your favourite Hungarian food? To tell the truth, Hungarian food for me is super heavy and fat. I prefer light dishes, with a lot of greens, veggies and fish. So lets say I can eat one langos per year, but that is all. 6. What is never missing from your refrigerator? I have 2 little kids, so just things they like - milk, Turo Rudi and salami. 7. What is your favourite Hungarian word? Kucko. We don't have in Russian one solid word to define a cozy place and I like that Hungarian does. 8. What do you miss most from home? Language and friends. And also something that is difficult to put into words - let's say scale. When you come from a huge country with a lot of nations and start to live in a small country (though Hungarians will never let me call their country small) it is very different. It is not bad or good, just very different. 9. What career other than yours would you love to pursue? Theoretically a surgeon, but practically speaking I love my life and work so much that I wouldn't change anything. 10. What's a job you would definitely never want? Office job. 11. Where did you spend your last vacation? We went with my family to Tisza to. It was during the pandemic, so we didn't have a lot of options. Surprisingly it was a brilliant experience. We did a bicycle roundtrip of the magnificent lake. I can only recommend that. 12. Where do you hope to spend your next holiday? Well, in these circumstances it is impossible to plan. But I can easily dream about Italy, Iceland or Greece. 13. Apart of temptation what can't you resist? To participate in interesting projects and collaborate with geniuses. 14. What was your favourite band, film, or hobby as a teen? I was keen on "Beatles", I was playing the guitar. Also I read a lot - at that time close to every Russian family had a collection of classical literature. So it was really something that gave me joy. 15. Red wine or white? In Hungary it is difficult to decide, so I'm ordering both. But if there is only one option, it would be a nice dry red wine from Szekszard-region. 16. Book or movie? I'm a bookworm, so it is an easy question. Though a good movie is an excellent remedy and sophisticated time spending. Now I'm waiting for the release of Hungarian movie "Natural light" directed by a friend of our family Nagy Denes. 17. Morning person or night person? Morning. Maternity taught me to do everything important in the morning as you never know what evening and night is keeping for you. 18. Which social issue do you feel most strongly about? Racism, equality of rights and questions about pollution and climate changes. 19. Buda or Pest side? I'm living in Pest, so Pest. However, we are planning on moving to Buda side eventually. 20. What would you say is your personal motto? I have two mottos and they are very easy. First: Less is more. I'm trying to keep this motto for my work and for everyday life. Second is just one word: Priorities. You can't focus on a lot of things and being good everywhere and for everyone. That is why making priorities helps to focus and move you forward. Well never sell fuel or anything; youll have to go to the gas station, he said. But other than that, wed like people to just be able to stop here and get your bait, get your munchies and go on. With the owners of the store being fishers themselves, Barnhart said anyone can stop by and receive help as they decide what to purchase. So the nice thing about us is that you can come in here, and we can set you up with a fishing pole and a reel and get you lined up and put a hook on it, everything you need in order to just leave and go catch fish, he said. Even if youre not an experienced fisherman, I can send you in the right direction. Since opening the store just over a month ago, Barnhart said, customers have been excited to have a bait store in town instead of having to drive to Omaha. So just to have the resource here in the local community is going to be a huge deal, he said. And to have us be open all year-round will be a big deal. So far, Barnhart said his favorite part of the job has been the customers, some of whom have already sent him photos of their catches to post on the wall. A lot of companies are looking at launching their public issues in the month of July. The COVID-19 pandemic has definitely saturated the IPO market but with the second wave, Indian companies raised around Rs 40,000 crores in the Q1 of 2021 against Rs 20,000 crore in the second half of 2020. According to a report, around 20 companies have filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to launch their public issues in the H2 of 2021 to secure more than Rs 20 crores. In addition to that, 26 companies are awaiting SEBIs nod to go ahead with the initial share sale. Check the list of companies to launch IPOs this month: 1) Zomato: According to a Moneycontrol report, the food delivery giant is going to be listed at a valuation of $8.7 billion. Zomato is awaiting IPO approval from SEBI and looks to launch by mid-July. 2) Arohan Financial Services: Based out of Kolkata, this micro-finance lender will launch an IPO offering worth Rs 1800 crore along with a fresh issue of Rs 850 crore with a sale offer. 3) GR Infraprojects: Rajasthan-based company will launch its IPO of Rs 963 crore in the month of July. The subscription will open on July 7. 4) Utkarsh Small Finance Bank: This bank will launch an IPO at a sale of around Rs 600 crore and a fresh issue of equity share worth around Rs 750 crore, according to Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP). 5) Shriram Properties: The company is planning to launch an IPO worth Rs 800 crore in July. The sale offer stands at Rs 550 crore and the fresh issue is Rs 250 crore. 6) Seven Islands Shipping: Mumbai-based Sea logistics firm got SEBIs nod to sell its initial share in April and raise Rs 600 crore. It is then bifurcated into two parts. One that would include a new issue of Rs 400 crore and a sale offer that stands at Rs 200 crore. 7) AMI Organics: This company will launch its IPO of Rs 650 crore in July. The sale offering is seen to be at 6.06 million shares with a fresh issue of Rs 300 crore. 8) Glenmark Life Sciences: This company is planning to launch its IPO of Rs 1700 crore and the offer is made up of a fresh issue of up to Rs 1160 crore and an offer for sale consisting of 73 lakh equity shares by Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. 9) Clean Science Technology: This chemical manufacturing company plans to launch an IPO of Rs 1400 crore via an initial share sale. 10) Vijaya Diagnostic Centre: This diagnostics company is looking to raise a public issue of Rs 2000 crore in July. 11) Aadhar Housing Finance: This company plans to launch an IPO of Rs 7300 crore in July, which is made up of a fresh issue worth Rs 1500 crore and an offer for sale worth Rs 5800 crore. 12) Nuvoco Vistas Corp: The cement company is planning to launch an IPO of Rs 5000 crore. The offering will have a fresh issue of Rs 5000 crore and a sale offer of Rs 3500. Live TV #mute New Delhi: For the Capitol Fourth celebrations on July 4, 2021, actress and former Miss America Vanessa Williams will be taking charge as the host and will also be performing the song 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' to honour Juneteenth (June 19), a newly declared national holiday in the US celebrating the emancipation of African-Americans from slavery. In an interview with The Associated Press (AP), she expressed that the Fourth of July celebration will be a great way to commemorate Juneteenth. Its in celebration of the wonderful opportunity that we now have to celebrate Juneteenth. So we are reflective of the times, she said. For the unversed, the Capitol Fourth celebration is held every year in honour of America's Independence Day (July 4) and broadcasted on PBS. It is traditionally presented from the west lawn of the United States Capitol Building in Washington. This year the show will mark 41 glorious years on the air. Due to COVD-19, the celebration will not be held live, as per Williams statement to the AP. She elaborated, "Performers will be remote in New York and California, Nashville, all over the place." Williams, the first African-American woman to be crowned as Miss America, will be performing the song 'Lift Every Voice and Sing', a popular Black anthem. Apart from her, artists such as Cynthia Erivo, Christopher Jackson, and Laura Osnes, Gladys Knight, Alan Jackson, Jennifer Nettles, and the iconic Jimmy Buffett will also partake in the remote but lively celebration. Interestingly, in the same interview, Williams revealed that astronauts from space will be giving special messages for the Fourth of July celebration, giving the event an 'out of the world' experience. It's a new day, a new beginning. It's all about starting life afresh. So as you begin a new journey, find out what the stars have in store for you today. There are twelve zodiac signs and each has its distinct features. Be it, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces each of the signs has something unique to tell. Aries You might be in an irrational state of mind today. Try not to make any decisions by yourself in this state. In good news, your financial position is going to rise today. Youre either going to stumble upon some large finances, or you might get offered a promotion. But dont spend it all in one place. Taurus Spending time outdoors is advised today. Even if your work doesnt permit you to do so, try to go out and meet with nature. Its also a good day to go out of your way and talk to others. You might have to put some effort in reaching out to people you havent spoken to in a while, but youre going to be able to do that easily as this news is going to uplift your mood for the day. Gemini Saving money is going to be the sole purpose of your day, so dont spend on anything that isnt a necessity. Someone you werent expecting in your life will show interest in you romantically. This might excite you, but keep in mind that you dont know this person too well, and you dont know what youre getting into. Cancer If youve been putting in extra effort to help someone out with their issues and confidence, then today youll see results. Today, instead of starting something new, take a step back and focus on things you already started earlier. Your success is in that. Leo Spread your imagination in all sectors of your life including work, romance and family. Do something special for your loved ones, crack up a new idea at work, anything you want. On the other hand, there might be some friction in your family for which you will have to step in and settle things down. Remember not to play favourites. Be diplomatic and dont side with anyone. Virgo Change is going to take place in almost all aspects of your life today. You will find yourself planning a change of job today. You will also most likely find yourself migrating to a new home, or a new room in your home. Keep a keen eye on your childrens health today. Libra Things that are happening around you are much more important than what is going on in front of your eyes at the moment. You will find yourself working out of your way to help someone, and thats okay sometimes. Try not to be overwhelmed by other peoples success. Kids' health seems to be an issue today, so make sure to keep them in the house. Scorpio Whatever youre planning career wise, put it on pause. Focus on personal tasks more today. You will spend time with your family and enjoy a day out with them. Try staying away from the heat today, as it will get you more than you think. Sagittarius Today you will be blessed with a positive moon, which will help in solving any career related problems that you might be facing. Your family might not listen to your opinions today. You might have to take care of your kids health too. Capricorn Today you may help people around you - especially those in need. Creativity will strike well and new ideas will come to your mind at work. You might also want to indulge in a change of interiors in your house. Lovers will find themselves planning a romantic night. Aquarius You will enjoy your work more than usual today. Your family will help you in solving some difficult issues you might be going through. Students will find themselves more focused on their studies. Health is to be taken care of. Pisces Today you will find yourself spiritually forward and more connected to your religion. Gains in terms of investments are in the cards today. You will strengthen your bond with your boss at work, which might lead into a promotion in the near future. Your importance amongst your social circle is bound to increase today. The astrological predictions are by Dr Sundeep Kochar. New Delhi: Superstar Sanjay Dutt's wife Maanayata Dutt is an avid social media user. Recently, she took to social media and shared an unusual picture with hubby Sanjay Dutt. A so far yet so close picture with the husband got many comments too. Maanayata Dutt posted on Instagram: For all those who were asking for a latest picture of me and @duttsanjay together#missionimpossible #accomplished #love #grace #positivity #dutts #beautifullife #thankyougod @duttiqra Fans are always longing to see the couple's latest pictures together. In this one, Sanjay Dutt can be seen through a transparent glass while Maanayata poses away in a bright orange dress. Earlier this year in February, Sanjay Dutt made a sweet declaration of his love for his wife Maanayata Dutt on their 13th wedding anniversary. The 'Munnabhai' actor took to Instagram to post an adorable picture of the couple standing with their arms wrapped around each other. Maanayata and Sanjay Dutt share an unbreakable bond with each other. Last year, when Dutt was diagnosed with stage 3 Lung Cancer, Maanayata firmly stood by him and helped him through the challenging battle. Fortunately, Sanjay Dutt is cancer-free now as announced by him in October last year. Sanjay Dutt and Maanayata got married in 2008 in a Hindu ceremony in Mumbai and on October 21, 2010. The duo is blessed with twins, Shahraan and Iqra. Dutt also has a daughter named Trishala from his first marriage with Richa Sharma. However, his daughter currently resides with her maternal grandparents in the US. Tirath Singh Rawats brief stint as the Uttarakhand Chief Minister was nothing short of a roller-coaster ride. In these four months, he courted several controversies with some Opposition leaders even allegedly calling him a disaster for the BJP. From commenting on womens attire, making wrong historical references to handling Kumbh amid COVID times, Rawat has landed himself and his party in several uncomfortable situations. As the constitutional crisis forced Rawat to resign, we take a look at his bumpy ride at the helm of the state. The infamous Ripped jeans comment Rawat had drawn flak when he said that youngsters follow strange fashion trends due to a lack of values and consider themselves to be big shots after wearing jeans ripped at the knees. Women also follow such trends. Rawat then went on to describe the attire of a woman who sat next to him on a flight. He described her as wearing boots, jeans ripped at the knees, bangles in her hands and with two children travelling with her. He also said she runs an NGO, goes out in society and has two children and wondered what values she would give them. America enslaved India for 200 years In his overzealous attempt to praise PM Narendra Modi and his handling of COVID crisis in India, the now former CM made another faux pas when he said America, instead of Britain, had ruled India. To emphasise on the fact that India, with its huge population was faring far better than a super power like America, Rawat said, "As opposed to other countries, India is doing better in terms of handling #COVID19 crisis. America, who enslaved us for 200 years and ruled the world, is struggling in current times." Handling of the Kumbh Mela Tirath Singh Rawats handling of the Kumbh Mela, wherein thousands of devotees gathered at the ghats of Ganges in Haridwar, at a time when COVID was peaking in the country, was widely criticized. Rawat said that the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar should not be compared with the Nizamuddin Markaz which was held in a closed space and attended even by foreigners. "There should be no comparison between Kumbh and Markaz. The Markaz was held in a closed space, in a Kothi like structure whereas the Kumbh is being held in the open on the sprawling ghats of the Ganga," Rawat said on a weekly talk show organised by the Hindustan Times. The chief minister was replying to a question as to why the two religious events should not be equated (Nizamuddin Markaz and Kumbh) as Kumbh also draws crowds and could strengthen the second wave of the coronavirus infection. Citing other differences between the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar and Nizamuddin Markaz, Rawat said, "The devotees attending Kumbh are not from outside but our own people. But as cases spiraled in the state and rest of the country, Rawats claims meant little. In May, the Uttarakhand High Court even slammed the state government for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and for allowing religious events like the Kumbh amid the second wave. Decision to hold Chardham Yatra In a latest event, the state government decided to knock on SCs door against the HCs decision. The Uttarakhand High Court had directed the state government to not allow the Char Dham Yatra, arguing that religious faith cannot be allowed to override public safety. But on June 30, the Uttarakhand government approached the Supreme Court on in a bid challenge the high court's stay. Live TV New Delhi: Indian drugmaker Cipla Ltd has received regulatory approval to distribute partner Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine in the country, said a senior government official, clearing the way for the shot to be imported. Moderna's vaccine will be the fourth shot authorized for use in India, after AstraZeneca and partner Serum Institute of India's Covishield, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and Sputnik V developed by Russia's Gamaleya Institute. The government has reiterated in recent press briefings that the Pfizer vaccine may soon arrive in India. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla in June said that his company was in the final stages of getting approval for its COVID-19 vaccine from the Indian government. He added by saying that when approved, Pfizer will supply one billion doses to India within this year. India has an ambitious challenge of vaccinating its huge population by the end of this year. With the increasing number of vaccines and various firms joining the club, India will not only be able to achieve this dream but also resolve the constant scarcity of vaccine doses. Following are the vaccines available for Indian citizens: 1. Covishield: The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine Covishield is locally manufactured by the Serum Institute of India in Pune. Covishield and Covaxin were the very first vaccines that India kicked off the world's largest vaccination drive with on January 16. The vaccination is given in two doses, four to twelve weeks apart. It can be safely maintained at temperatures ranging from 2 to 8 degrees Celsius and simply supplied in existing healthcare facilities such as doctors offices. Most of the Indian have taken jabs of this vaccine. 2. Covaxin: Covaxin works with an inactivated virus, meaning it is made up of coronaviruses that have been killed, making it safe to inject into the body. Covaxin is manufactured by Bharat Biotech. The company exports to 123 countries and have a portfolio of 16 vaccines, using a coronavirus sample isolated by Indias National Institute of Virology. The maximum price of Covishield for private Covid-19 Vaccination Centres (CVCs) has been fixed at Rs 780 per dose, while that of Covaxin is Rs 1,410 per dose. 3. Sputnik V: Sputnik V is manufactured by Hyderabad-based Dr Reddys Laboratories in India. Whereas Russias Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology has developed the vaccine and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is marketing it globally. The vaccine makes use of two different viruses that cause the common cold (adenovirus) in humans. The two doses, given 21 days apart, are different and not interchangeable. Private hospital chains Fortis Healthcare and Apollo Hospitals have started administering Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V at two of their hospitals in Delhi-NCR. Indraprastha Apollo in Delhi started administering Sputnik V in a staged manner from Wednesday. Around 1,000 people have been vaccinated so far. The Centre has fixed the price of the vaccine at Rs 1,145 per dose. 4. Moderna Moderna will become the fourth vaccine to be available for use in India. The vaccine doses will be imported by Indian drug manufacturer Cipla Ltd and will be under the central governments purview. The Centre plans to provide the Moderna doses directly to states. India is receiving the Moderna vaccine doses under the COVAX scheme of the World Health Organisation (WHO), a few days after the DGCI granted approval to it. 5. Pfizer: US-based Pfizer is in the final stages of getting approval for its COVID-19 vaccine from the Indian government, when approved, the pharma giant will supply one billion doses to India within this year. The Centre is also planning to grant indemnity from liability to Pfizer and Moderna to speed up approvals for the vaccines in India. Indemnity means protection to vaccine makers from legal proceedings, which ensures they cant be sued in India. 6. Many more to come: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has hinted that the supply of COVID-19 vaccines is about to increase in the coming days. He said that seven companies are producing different types of vaccines today. Trials of three more vaccines are in the advanced stage, he said. The Prime Minister also talked of trials for two vaccines for children and a nasal vaccine in one of his speeches. With the advent of technology and research, humanity has managed to develop vaccines at an unprecedented pace and scale. Indian population will soon get benefitted from the vast choice of vaccines available in the country. Live TV These are the top news stories for July 3, 2021: 1. Pushkar Singh Dhami to take oath as CM on Sunday, says 'work on people's issue' Pushkar Singh Dhami who was named as the new chief minister of Uttarakhand will take oath on Sunday. Full story. 2. Something's cooking? AAP leader Sanjay Singh meets SP chief Akhilesh Yadav While the meeting has triggered speculations about a possible alliance for the upcoming 2022 polls, the Aam Aadmi Party leader, however, refused to comment. Full story. 3. Aamir Khan-Kiran Rao divorce: 5 times Bollywoods power couple made headlines! The nation woke up to shocking news of Mr. Perfectionist Aamir Khan and his wife Kiran Rao ending their marriage. The couple, in a joint statement, announced their divorce after 15 years of marriage. Full story. 4. Bank fraud case: Assets of actor Dino Morea, DJ Aqeel and others attached by ED The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged that this is a bigger bank scam in volume than that of the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud by fugitive diamantaires Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, as it involves fraud to the tune of about Rs 16,000 crore. Full story. 5. Bizarre! MS Dhoni, son of Sachin Tendulkar, applies for post of teacher in Chhattisgarh In a bizarre incident that has been reported from Chhattisgarh, an applicant name MS Dhoni, the son of Sachin Tendulkar, applied for the post of a teacher and even made it till the interview round. Full story. 6. India vs England: Pacer Ollie Robinson cleared to play immediately despite eight-match ban Robinson had previously admitted breaching ECB Directives 3.3 and 3.4 in relation to a number of offensive tweets which were posted between 2012 and 2014. Full story 7. Check the list of major upcoming IPOs in July: Zomato, GR Infraprojects and more According to a report, around 20 companies have filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to launch their public issues in the H2 of 2021 to secure more than Rs 20 crores. Full story. 8. Twitter to appoint resident grievance officer for India soon Twitter had appointed California-based Jeremy Kessel as Indias new grievance redressal officer after Chatur quit his post. The update on the website of Twitter showed the appointment of Kessel in the new role. Full story. Live TV New Delhi: India on Friday (July 2, 2021) called upon Pakistan to take credible, verifiable and irreversible action against terrorist networks and asked the neighbouring country to bring the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot terrorist attacks to justice. Arindam Bagchi, the Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, while answering a question on Pakistan being denied any relief from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said, "All countries must take credible action against terrorism, including by putting an end to cross border movement of terrorists, ending terrorist safe havens and infrastructure and their financing channels." He added, "We call upon Pakistan to take credible, verifiable and irreversible action against terrorist networks and proxies operating from territories under its control and to bring the perpetrators of terrorist attacks including the 26 November Mumbai attack and the Pathankot attack to justice." Bagchi also reiterated that India has a 'zero-tolerance policy' against terrorism and terror financing. "We condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations," he said. More than 170 people had lost their lives in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks perpetrated by Pakistan-based United-listed terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba. While in 2016, the terrorists had attacked the Pathankot Air Force Station that had killed over 20 Indian personnel. This is to be noted that Pakistan has been on the anti-terror financing body's grey list since June 2018. Being on the grey list is a signal that money in the country is being used for financing terrorism. The External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson also commented on a drone being spotted over the premises of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad and said that this has been taken up officially with the Pakistan Government. "We expect Pakistan to investigate the incident and prevent recurrence of such breach of security," Bagchi said. Live TV New Delhi: India on Friday (July 2, 2021) said that it is closely monitoring legal proceedings against fugitive businessmen Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi. On being when asked about the latest update on Mehul and Nirav, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "We are of course closely monitoring the ongoing legal proceedings in both cases." The statement comes amid reports of the Dominican Prime Minister rubbishing the claim of his government's involvement in the alleged abduction of Mehul Choksi. Choksi is currently facing trial in Dominica and had gone missing from Antigua on May 23. He was later caught in Dominica and was charged with illegal entry into the Caribbean island nation by police after he allegedly fled Antigua and Barbuda in a possible attempt to avoid extradition to India. The 62-year-old fugitive, notably, is wanted in India in connection with the Rs 13,500 crore fraud in Punjab National Bank. On the other hand, Nirav Modi is currently held at Wandsworth prison in South London where he has been lodged since his arrest in London in March 2019 in connection with the largest bank fraud perpetrated in India. Last week, the UK High Court had rejected a plea by Nirav Modi against his extradition to India to face charges of defrauding Punjab National Bank (PNB) of more than Rs 13,000 crore. The 50-year-old along with his uncle Mehul Choksi are accused of colluding with officials at PNB for the issuance of fraudulent lines of credit. Nirav Modi is also accused of subsequently intimidating witnesses and tampering with evidence. Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday transferred seized assets worth Rs 9,371.17 crore in cases related to Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya to the public sector banks and the central government. The ED has so far seized assets worth Rs 18,170.02 crore. (With agency inputs) Live TV New Delhi: After closing East Delhi markets including Laxmi Nagars main market for flouting COVID-19 norms, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Friday (July 2) allowed the reopening of Laxmi Nagar market with a few conditions from Saturday. In its order, the DDMA has also asked officials to set up a mobile testing van in the area and organise COVID-19 vaccination drives for shopkeepers and vendors, PTI reported. The decision comes after the DDMA received written assurance from the market associations, Chamber of Trade and Industry and shopkeepers. "A meeting of DDMA (East) was held on 02.07.2021 wherein various issues were discussed. After the deliberations in the meeting on this aspect and on the basis of assurances from Delhi Police, MCD and Market Association, DDMA (E) agreed that the Main Bazar, Laxmi Nagar from Vikas Marg to Lovely Public School, Kishan Kunj and its surrounding Bazars /markets like Mangal Bazar, Vijay Chowk, Subhash Chowk, Jagatram Park, Guru Ramdas Nagar etc. Can be allowed to function W.E.F. 03.07.2021," the order read. In order to avoid crowding, parking has been banned "in and around the market", the DDMA said. Further, it has directed the market association and Chamber of Trade and Industry to ensure strict adherence to COVID guidelines by the visitors as well as vendors, shopkeepers, and hawkers. "District Police shall increase the presence of its personnel and shall take adequate measures to stagger crowd movement in the market and ensure that the DDMA guidelines/SOPs are followed along with CAB," the order read. On Tuesday, Sonika Singh, District Magistrate, East Delhi, had issued a notice closing down all shops except those involved in essential services for violating COVID-19 protocols. "Laxmi Nagar main market and surrounding markets like Mangal Bazaar, Vijay Chowk, Subhash Chowk, Jagatram Park, Guru Ramdas Nagar will remain shut from 10 pm on June 29 till 10 pm of July 5 for not following COVID-19 appropriate behaviour," the earlier order said. (With agency inputs) Live TV New Delhi: The ED on Saturday (July 3) said it has arrested a Delhi-based freelance journalist in connection with a money-laundering probe linked to alleged leakage and supply of sensitive information to Chinese intelligence officers. Freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma was arrested under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on July 1 and produced before a local court here on Friday (July 2). The court granted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seven days' custody of Sharma, the central probe agency said in a statement. The agency said its probe found that 62-year-old Sharma "had supplied confidential and sensitive information to Chinese intelligence officers, in exchange for remuneration thereby compromising the security and national interests of India". "It was further revealed that cash for remuneration of Sharma and other unknown persons was being generated through a 'hawala' by Mahipalpur-based (an area in Delhi) shell companies that were run by Chinese nationals namely Zhang Cheng alias Suraj, Zhang Lixia alias Usha and Quing Shi, along with a Nepalese national, Sher Singh alias Raj Bohara," it alleged. Apart from cash, huge transactions were made with various Chinese companies and some other trading companies in India which are being examined, the ED said. "These Chinese companies were acting as a conduit for the Chinese intelligence agencies to provide remuneration for persons like Sharma who indulged in criminal activities," it said. "Rajeev Sharma also received money through benami bank accounts in order to conceal his involvement in criminal activities," the agency claimed. The ED case is based on a Delhi Police FIR filed under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and various sections of the IPC against Sharma last year. He was arrested by the Delhi Police special cell on September 14 last year and was charged with passing on information about the Indian Army's deployment and the country's border strategy to Chinese intelligence. The journalist was given bail by the Delhi High Court in December 2020 after he sought statutory bail on the grounds that the charge sheet was not filed within 60 days of his arrest. Sharma used to run a YouTube channel called "Rajeev Kishkindha", which has thousands of followers. On the day of his arrest, he uploaded two videos. One of the videos claimed that China would still do "mischief" despite talks with India amid border tensions. The other video deplored the state of journalism in the country. The Press Club of India (PCI) had criticised the Delhi Police for its "high-handed" action against Sharma. "We are astounded to hear of the arrest of Rajeev Sharma, a well-known independent journalist of long-standing and a member of the Press Club of India," it had said in a statement. "This is on account of the dubious track record of the special branch. More generally also, the record of the Delhi Police is hardly a shining one," the PCI had said. Live TV New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday (July 3, 2021) conducted raids across six places in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in connection with a forced religious conversion case. The places searched included the office of Islamic Dawah Centre (IDC), the house of the main accused Mohd Umar Gautam and his associate Mufti Qazi Jahangir Qasmi, all located at Jamia Nagar in the national capital. In UP, the ED raided offices of Al Hassan Education and Welfare Foundation and Guidance Education and Welfare Society located at Lucknow. These organisations, notably, are run by Umar Gautam. "These have been playing an instrumental role in carrying out illegal conversions," the ED said in a statement. "Several incriminating documents have been seized during searches which reveal the large-scale conversion carried out by accused Umar Gautam and his organisations all over India," the ED added. The law enforcement agency stated that the documents also reveal several crores of foreign funding received by the accused organisations for the purpose of illegal conversions. This is to be noted that Umar Gautam and Jahangir have allegedly forced around 1,000 non-Muslims to convert to Islam. Live TV New Delhi: The Supreme Court has asked the Karnataka High Court to decide the bail plea of one of the accused in the murder of activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh without being influenced by an order quashing charges against him. The top court sought a response from the Karnataka government on a plea made by sister of slain journalist challenging the dropping of organised crime charges against accused Mohan Nayak in the case. A three-judge bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar issued notice to the Karnataka government and others while seeking their response on the appeal filed by Lankesh's sister Kavitha Lankesh against the high court order. "Issue notice on the applications seeking permission to file special leave petition, prayer for interim relief and special leave petition. "After hearing counsel for the respondent No.6, for the time being, we observe that the bail application filed by respondent No.6 before the high court be decided without being influenced by the impugned order. For, it is a subject matter of challenge in this special leave petition," the bench also comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Annirudhha Bose said. The apex court has posted the matter for next hearing on July 15. According to the appeal filed by Kavitha, Nayak is relying on the impugned judgement of the Karnataka High Court, which quashed charges against him on April 22, to seek bail. The high court had quashed the charges saying, "All the subsequent acts namely sanction order, charge sheet and the order taking cognisance flow from the approval order." "If the approval order itself is bad in law, the sanction order, the charge sheet and the approval order so far as the offences under the Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act against the petitioner (Nayak) have no legs to stand," the high court had said. Kavita's lawyer told the top court that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had revealed that Nayak was part of a syndicate which was behind several instances of organised crime. Lankesh was shot dead on the night of September 5, 2017, from a close range in front of her Rajarajeshwari Nagar house in Bengaluru around 8 pm. Live TV New Delhi: The Madhya Pradesh government on Friday (July 2, 2021) announced that the night curfew timings of the state are being eased by an hour in the urban areas. The state government in its order stated that the COVID-induced night curfew, which was imposed during the second wave, from 10 pm to 6 am, has now been eased by an hour. Dr Rajesh Rajora, state's additional chief secretary (home) revealed the new timings for night curfew in the state, which is 11 pm to 6 am. The revised order will come into effect immediately in all urban areas of the state, he said. Sunday curfew lifted: Additionally, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on June 26, 2021 had announced that the state government is ending its Sunday Corona curfew as the COVID-19 situation is under control in the state. The Chief Minister had also added that not even one positive case of coronavirus was reported in 35 districts. "Corona is under control in MP. Not even one positive case reported in 35 districts and active cases stand below 1000 in the state. Positivity rate has dropped to 0.06 percent. In this situation, it is not justified to impose a corona curfew on Sunday. So we are withdrawing it immediately," The Chief Minister said in a tweet in Hindi. COVID-19 update: Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh on Friday recorded 43 new cases of COVID-19 and eight casualties which took the total infections to 7,89,887 and the toll to 8,989, the state health department said. "Indore added 12 cases to its tally, which now stands at 1,52,858, while Bhopal's count increased by six to touch 1,23,144. The death toll in Indore and Bhopal remained unchanged at 1,391 and 972. Of 52 districts in the state, 35 districts did not record a single new case in the last 24 hours," the official said. Live TV Mumbai: The Maharashtra Board has revealed the evaluation criteria for the HSC or class 12 students. On a similar ground as the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the Maharashtra Board will also calculate results based on three-year performance. The best of three marks of class 10, class 11 score, and class 12 internal assessment will be taken into account in calculating class 12 results. The Maharashtra Board is likely to announce the class 12 results by July 31. The government has released the evaluation criteria after several rounds of consultations with various stakeholders. An official notification said, Given the pandemic, the state board is permitted to pass all students in the HSC exam. 1. Class 12: 40% weightage 2. Class 11: Marks in final exams 30% weightage 3. Class 10: 30% weightage to Average of best 3 exams Evaluation criteria: 1. Scores in college-based assessments in class 12 and class 11 will be considered for the evaluation criteria. 2. Marks of students best 3 performing subjects in Class 10 board exams will be considered. 3. For the theory portion, scores in one or more (unit test/first-semester exams/practice exams) theory papers of class 12 will carry 40 per cent weightage whereas marks in the final exam of class 11 and the average of the best three performing theory papers of class 10 will have 30 per cent weightage each. Imp announcement: After several rounds of consultations with various stakeholders, we have finalised the assessment mode & the policy for tabulation of marks for Std.12th HSC board students. Given the pandemic situation, state board is permitted to pass all students #HSCExam pic.twitter.com/zt45CodRKy Varsha Gaikwad (@VarshaEGaikwad) July 2, 2021 On Friday (July 2), the Maharashtra state school education department released a Government Resolution (GR) announcing the assessment policy stating, "For the theory portion of Class 12 exams, 40 per cent weightage will be based on marks scored in the unit test or first semester exams or practice exams of Class 12, 30 per cent weightage will be given to marks scored in Class 11 and 30 per cent will be based on the average of the best three performing theory papers of Class 10". This assessment policy has arrived after multiple rounds of consultations with various stakeholders. Varsha Gaikwad said, "Given the pandemic situation, the state board is permitted to pass all students. The policy is based on the evaluation method similar to the one devised by central education boards to maintain uniformity in Class 12 results". Colleges are requested to meet the timelines for various activities to allow the board to declare results in a timely manner. The board will organise webinars, upload FAQs & set up helplines to give colleges, teachers a detailed understanding of the evaluation process, Varsha Gaikwad added. Live TV Mumbai: At least eleven persons were arrested on Saturday (July 3) for beating up a woman and her two male friends allegedly at the behest of an autorickshaw driver who tried to molest her, police said on Saturday (July 3). The incident occurred on the intervening night of Friday (July 2) and Saturday when the woman was travelling alone in an autorickshaw in the Kolsewadi area. "Taking advantage, the autorickshaw driver tried to molest the woman passenger, who raised an alarm and called up her two friends for help. As soon as the two men from Ulhasnagar reached the spot, the autorickshaw driver called up some local villagers, who thrashed the woman and her friends despite their plea to spare them. They were beaten up with belts and other objects. The woman was also molested by some members of the mob," police said quoting the FIR. A senior officer said eleven people were arrested and a search is on for others. The offence is registered against the Auto Driver at kolsewadi Police station, kalyan (E) Thane City Police (@ThaneCityPolice) January 15, 2018 The incident triggered outrage in various quarters after a video of the beating went viral on social media. Kolsewadi police station inspector told PTI that a case was registered against the attackers, including the autorickshaw driver, under sections 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), and 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Amid the outrage, BJP leaders including MLA Ganpat Gaikwad alleged the law and order situation in the Thane district has deteriorated and crimes against women are on the rise. An eye-witness claimed he shot the video of the incident and tweeted it to the police after which they swung into action. (Inputs from agency) Live TV New Delhi: A massive fire at a closed cinema hall in West Bengals Kolkata injured at least two people, a senior official of the Fire Department said. Around 15 fire tenders were rushed to douse the blaze at Mini Jaya hall on Friday night (July 2) at the citys Lake Town area. Fire Minister Sujit Bose informed that the fire caused injuries to the caretaker of the hall and his wife who stayed in a room on the top floor of the building, PTI reported. The cause of the fire, Bose said, seems to be a stove on which food was being cooked by the wife of the caretaker. "It seems that the fire broke out from the cooking stove on which the caretaker's wife was cooking. The woman herself suffered burn injuries and was taken to a hospital. The caretaker was also injured," Bose said. Bidhannagar Police CP Supratim Sarkar who was also present at the spot said the fire occurred at 9.15 pm and later electricity connection of the area was switched off. The blaze gutted a major part of the hall and its projector room, known as Jaya II, was also damaged, the Fire Department official said. (With agency inputs) Live TV New Delhi: The Monsoon session of Parliament will commence from July 19 and is likely to conclude on August 13. A Lok Sabha communication said on Friday (July 2), "The Sixth Session of the 17th Lok Sabha will commence on Monday, the 19th July, 2021. Subject to exigencies of government business, the Session is likely to conclude on Friday, the 13th August, 2021." New Delhi, 2 July, 2021: The Sixth Session of the 17th Lok Sabha will commence on Monday, the 19th July, 2021. Subject to exigencies of government business, the Session is likely to conclude on Friday, the 13th August, 2021. LOK SABHA (@LokSabhaSectt) July 2, 2021 The Rajya Sabha said, "The President has summoned the Rajya Sabha to meet on Monday, 19 July 2021, at New Delhi. Subject to exigencies of business, the Session is scheduled to conclude on Friday, 13 August 2021." The Upper House added that the session in total will have about 19 sittings. This comes amid the declining number of new COVID-19 cases in the country. The vaccination drive has also been stepped up across India and as per reports, over 440 members from Lok Sabha and 210 from Rajya Sabha have been vaccinated with at least one dose. Earlier in 2020, the monsoon session began in September and the winter session was not held due to the coronavirus situation. The Budget Session this year was also wrapped up by March 25. While the first part of the session commenced on January 29 and concluded on February 29, the second part started on March 8 and was scheduled to end on April 8. Notably, the Parliament holds three sessions every year, Budget session (January/February to May), Monsoon session (July to August/September) and Winter session (November to December). (With agency inputs) Live TV New Delhi: IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday lauded significant social media platforms such as Google, Facebook and Instagram for publishing their first compliance report on voluntary removal of offensive posts as per new IT rules, terming it a big step towards transparency. Under the new IT rules, large digital platforms that have over 5 million users are required to publish periodic compliance reports every month, mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken thereon. "Nice to see significant social media platforms like Google, Facebook and Instagram following the new IT Rules. First compliance report on voluntary removal of offensive posts published by them as per IT Rules is a big step towards transparency," Prasad tweeted. The publishing of compliance reports by Google, Facebook and Instagram is bound to turn up the heat on Twitter, which has been engaged in a tussle with the Indian government over the new social media rules. The government has confronted Twitter for deliberate defiance and failure to comply with the country's new IT rules, and not appointing the requisite officers, leading to it losing the 'safe harbour' immunity. Facebook on Friday said it "actioned" over 30 million content pieces across 10 violation categories during May 15-June 15 in the country, as the social media giant brought out its maiden monthly compliance report as mandated by the IT rules. Instagram took action against about two million pieces across nine categories during the same period. 'Actioned' content refers to the number of pieces of content (such as posts, photos, videos or comments) where action has been taken for violation of standards. Taking action could include removing a piece of content from Facebook or Instagram or covering photos or videos that may be disturbing to some audiences with a warning. Google had stated that 27,762 complaints were received by Google and YouTube in April this year from individual users in India over alleged violation of local laws or personal rights, which resulted in removal of 59,350 pieces of content. Koo, in its report, said it has proactively moderated 54,235 content pieces, while 5,502 posts were reported by its users during June. Apart from publishing periodic compliance reports every month, the rules also require disclosure on the number of specific communication links or parts of information that the intermediary has removed or disabled access to in pursuance of any proactive monitoring conducted by using automated tools. According to the IT rules that aim to curb blatant abuse and misuse of platforms, the significant social media intermediaries are required to appoint a chief compliance officer, a nodal officer and a grievance officer and these officials have to be resident in India. Non-compliance with the IT rules would result in these platforms losing their intermediary status that provides them immunity from liabilities over any third-party data hosted by them. Facebook recently named Spoorthi Priya as its grievance officer in India. India is a major market for global digital platforms. As per data cited by the government earlier this year, India has 53 crore WhatsApp users, 41 crore Facebook subscribers, 21 crore Instagram clients, while 1.75 crore account holders are on microblogging platform Twitter. Twitter's apparent heavyhandedness has come under government scrutiny - the microblogging platform has not complied with the new rules, called intermediary guidelines, that mandate setting up a robust grievance redressal mechanism and appointing officers to coordinate with law enforcement. Twitter recently named California-based Jeremy Kessel as India's grievance redressal officer on the platform's website -- although the appointment does not meet the requirements of new IT rules that clearly mandate key officers including the grievance officer, to be resident in India. Notably, Twitter has lost its legal shield as an intermediary in India, becoming liable for users posting any unlawful content. Amid the standoff with the government over compliance with new IT rules, the Twitter website on Monday had displayed a wrong map of India that showed Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh as separate country. Twitter had removed the wrong map later that day, after facing heavy backlash from netizens. Even in the backdrop of heightened strained relations with the Indian government, Twitter recently briefly blocked IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad from accessing his own account over alleged violation of US copyright law -- a move that was immediately slammed by the minister as being arbitrary and in gross violation of IT rules. Also Read: Cannot allow local train travel for lawyers as experts fear third wave of COVID-19: Bombay HC Twitter and the government have been on a collision course on multiple issues in the past months as well, including during the farmers' protest and later when the microblogging platform tagged political posts of several leaders of the ruling party BJP as "manipulated media", drawing a sharp rebuke from the Centre. Also Read: Gold Price Today, 3 July 2021: Gold cheaper by Rs 8800 from record highs, perfect time to put your money on yellow metal? New Delhi: The Calcutta High Court on Friday (July 2, 2021) ordered the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal Government to provide security to West Bengal Assemblys leader of opposition and BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari. The High Court ordered the state government to reinstate the security it withdrew from Suvendu Adhikari. While hearing Suvendu Adhikaris security case, a single bench of Justice Shivkant Prasad ruled that the security of the BJP MLA lies on the shoulders of the state and it should be the state government who needs to ensure Adhikari is not exposed to the threat. The High Court bench also stated that Suvendu Adhikari already enjoys Z-category security cover by the Ministry of Home Affairs and he need not be provided any additional security by the state government besides the one which was taken away. Report of the Directorate Security mentioned that Adhikari is already being provided states security for the pilot, route lining and meetings. The security provided to Suvendu Adhikari by the West Bengal Government had been withdrawn on May 18, 2021, after which, the BJP MLA moved to the High Court in the matter. Live TV New Delhi: The second COVID wave in India was slightly different than the first one, with higher mortality being reported in all age groups except those below 20 years, and more people developing acute shortness of breath and requiring supplemental oxygen and mechanical ventilation, a new study said on Saturday (July 3). The study - Clinical profile of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in first and second wave of the pandemic: Insights from an Indian registry based observational study - was published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research and has been done by experts from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), All India Institute of Medical Sciences and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). India witnessed a massive second surge of COVID-19 cases since March after a period of decline from September last year. Data collected under the National Clinical Registry for COVID-19 (NCRC) were analysed to describe the differences in demographic and clinical features of COVID-19 patients recruited during these two successive waves, the study stated. The NCRC, launched in September last year, is an ongoing multi-centre observational initiative, which provided the platform for the current investigation. Demographic, clinical, treatment and outcome data of hospitalized and confirmed COVID-19 patients were captured in an electronic data portal from 41 hospitals across India, it said. Changes in symptoms: Patients enrolled between September 1, 2020 and January 31, 2021 and February 1 to May 11, 2021 constituted the participants of the two successive waves respectively, it said. As on May 11 this year, 18,961 individuals were recruited in the registry, 12,059 and 6,903 reflecting in-patients from the first and second waves respectively, it said. The mean age of the patients was significantly lower in the second wave with higher proportion of patients in the younger age group intervals of less than 20 years, and 20-39 years, the study said. It said approximately 70 per cent of the admitted patients were above 40 years in both the waves of the pandemic and the proportion of males were slightly lower in second wave as compared to the first. The most common symptom was fever in both the waves, it said. "In the second wave, a significantly higher proportion complained of shortness of breath, developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), required supplemental oxygen and mechanical ventilation. "Mortality also was significantly increased in the second wave in all age groups except in below 20 years," it said. "The second wave of COVID-19 in India was slightly different in presentation than the first wave, with a younger demography, lesser comorbidities, and presentation with breathlessness in greater frequency," the study stated. Incomplete data: Noting that there were some limitations of the present investigation, it said the registry did not capture the initial phase of the first wave as data collection commenced from September 1, 2020. There has been a considerable lag in obtaining a complete dataset due to time required for data verification and the unprecedented workload of the healthcare team involved in COVID-19 care. Hence, the outcome data were not available for many cases from the second wave, the study said. Though the data was submitted from more than 40 hospitals across the country to the NCRC, data from some states like Maharashtra and Kerala were missing due to logistical reasons, thus constraining the national representation, it said. Rapid and explosive spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection during the second wave of the pandemic in India resulting in huge caseload on the entire healthcare system of the country including the participating institutes, did not allow enrolling all in-patients in our registry. (With inputs from news agencies) Live TV New Delhi: Sirisha Bandla will soon become the second India-born woman to fly to space. The first Indian-origin woman to achieve the feat was Kalpana Chawla. After she embarks on her journey on July 11, Bandla would be the fourth Indian to fly into space. Who is Sirisha Bandla? Born in Tenali of Andhra Pradeshs Guntur district, Bandla was raised in Houston, Texas of the USA, The New Indian Express reported. The 34-year-old is among the six-member crew of VSS Unity -- Virgin Galactics suborbital rocket-powered space plane. As per the report, Bandla is vice-president, government affairs and research operations wing of Virgin Galactic as well as its sister concern, Virgin Orbit. During the space flight, which is the 22nd for VSS Unity, Sirisha's role will be to evaluate research experience. Sharing the video of the crew members, Bandla tweeted on Friday (July 2), "I am so incredibly honored to be a part of the amazing crew of #Unity22, and to be a part of a company whose mission is to make space available to all." I am so incredibly honored to be a part of the amazing crew of #Unity22, and to be a part of a company whose mission is to make space available to all. https://t.co/sPrYy1styc Sirisha Bandla (@SirishaBandla) July 2, 2021 Expressing elation at his granddaughters feat, Sirishas grandfather Bandla Ragaiah, an agricultural scientist and a resident of Janapdu village in Piduguralla, Guntur district told The New Indian Express, Ive always seen her zeal to achieve something big and finally, she is going to fulfil her dream. Im sure she will succeed in this mission and make the whole country proud. Sirisha Bandla told Space.com in June that the Virgin Galactic flight will last approximately 60 to 75 minutes and will take off and land back at Virgin Galactic's Spaceport America in New Mexico. Sirishas father Dr Bandla Muralidhar is a scientist and a member of Senior Executive Services, United States Government. He and his wife Bandla Anuradha migrated to the US when Sirisha was 5. She studied aeronautical engineering at Purdue University and also has an MBA from George Washington University. In 2015, she joined Virgin Galactic as a member of government affairs and research operations and was later promoted as vice-president. Live TV Lucknow: Aam Aadmi Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Saturday (July 4) met Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow, triggering speculation about a tie up between both parties ahead of the Uttar Pradesh elections next year. The Aam Aadmi Party leader, however, refused to comment over it, saying he met Yadav to convey birthday greetings to him and held discussion over the current political situation in the state. Singh refused to divulge details of his meeting with Yadav. To a question as to whether the upcoming Assembly elections in UP will see an alliance between the Samajwadi Party and AAP, Singh said, "I cannot say anything on this matter." Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party chief and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had recently announced that that his party will form alliance with smaller parties in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. "Samajwadi Party is going to form an alliance with small political parties," the SP chief told a news agency. Yadav claimed that the people in UP wanted a change and insisted that "people will vote for change". Taking a jibe at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Yadav had said the saffron party has forgotten its manifesto and that they should dump it in the garbage. (with Agency inputs) Live TV New Delhi: Since Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Tirath Singh Rawat tendered his resignation to Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya on Friday night (July 2) within four months of his taking over as the Chief Minister, the political circles are abuzz with speculations over the next CM. Justifying Rawats resignation, Madan Kaushik, Uttarakhand BJP President said that it was the only option and the next CM will be decided in the BJP legislature meeting on Saturday (July 3). The Election Commission had no issue with conducting polls but due to COVID, it could not materialize. In such circumstances, resignation was the only option, Kaushik was quoted as saying by ANI. Talking about the BJP legislature party meeting in Dehradun at 3 pm, he said that the party will elect the new CM today. The supervisor and in-charge will reach here (Dehradun) around 10:30 am. In the legislature meet at 3 pm, we will elect the leader (CM). Post that, we will meet the Governor for government formation. It's possible that CM will be among the MLAs, Kaushik stated. Election Commission had no issue with conducting polls but due to COVID, it could not materialize. In such circumstances, resignation was the only option: Madan Kaushik, BJP State President ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2021 The meeting will be held under the chairmanship of Kaushik and attended by Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar who will be present as a central observer. "BJP legislature party meeting is scheduled to be held at 3 pm on Saturday at the party headquarters. The meeting will be held under the chairmanship of state president Madan Kaushik," Uttarakhand's media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan had earlier said. Tirath Singh Rawat was the second BJP CM since the 2017 Assembly elections in the state. He replaced Trivendra Singh Rawat in March 2021 after the latter was asked in a similar fashion to resign. Commenting on his successor's resignation, former Uttarakhand CM said that if Tirath would not have resigned it could have led to constitutional crisis in the state. Had he (Tirath Singh Rawat) not resigned, it would have led to Constitutional crisis. In some states, bypolls were delayed due to Covid. Circumstances have led to this situation. Leader to be elected at today's legislature meet, Trivendra Singh Rawat said. (With agency inputs) Live TV New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Tirath Singh Rawat, who resigned as chief minister of Uttarakhand late Friday night (July 2), said that he submitted his resignation in view of the constitutional crisis in the state, ANI reported. Addressing mediapersons after tendering his resignation to Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya, Rawat said, "I have submitted my resignation to Governor. Given the constitutional crisis, I felt it was right for me to resign. He added, I am thankful to the central leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for every opportunity they have given to me so far. Earlier on Friday, Rawat had addressed a press conference where he discussed various measures taken by the government during his tenure. Tirath Singh Rawat who took over the CM post from Trivendra Singh Rawat has resigned within four months. He had also met the BJP central leadership in Delhi on Friday. The resignation has come amid uncertainty over Assembly bypolls in Uttarakhand, which will be held early next year. Rawat, an MP from Garhwal, had to be elected to the state assembly within six months. Meanwhile, a meeting of the BJP legislature party will take place on Saturday in Dehradun to discuss the future course in the state. Uttarakhand's media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan said that the meeting of party MLAs will be held under the chairmanship of state president Madan Kaushik. "BJP legislature party meeting is scheduled to be held at 3 pm on Saturday at the party headquarters. The meeting will be held under the chairmanship of state president Madan Kaushik," he said. Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will be present as a central observer during the meeting. (With agency inputs) Live TV Mumbai: Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh and his son have been issued fresh summons by the Enforcement Directorate to appear next week in a money laundering case against them, officials said on Saturday. This is the third notice issued to the NCP leader for deposing before the investigating officer of the case, they said. Deshmukh has been asked to record his statement at the central agency's office in south Mumbai on Monday. His son Hrishikesh Deshmukh has also been issued summons to appear the next day on July 6. The agency had alleged in a court document that Hrishikesh "looked after" hawala transactions to convert alleged ill-gotten cash into white money by routing them into an educational trust run by the Deshmukhs, through some purported shell companies. Deshmukh (72), had skipped the earlier two summons citing his "vulnerability" to COVID-19 as the reason for non-compliance in his last communication to the agency. He instead offered the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to record his statement through video conferencing. The summons are in connection with the criminal case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) related to an alleged Rs 100 bribery-cum-extortion racket that led to Deshmukh's resignation in April this year. The first summons followed raids conducted by the ED at his premises in Mumbai and Nagpur apart from that of his aides and some others last month. The agency subsequently arrested two of his aides in this case--personal secretary Sanjeev Palande (51) and personal assistant Kundan Shinde (45). They are in ED custody till July 6. The agency, sources said, apart from the present case wants to question Deshmukh about his and his family members' alleged links with certain shell companies that were being used to launder funds much before the present allegations of bribery in the Mumbai Police setup came to light. The ED case against Deshmukh and others was made out after the CBI booked him in a corruption case related to allegations of at least Rs 100 crore bribery made by former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh. In his letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray after he was removed from the police commissioner's post, Singh had alleged that Deshmukh had asked suspended Mumbai Police assistant police inspector (API) Sachin Waze to extort over Rs 100 crore a month from bars and restaurants in Mumbai. Deshmukh had to resign from his post in April following the allegations and he has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. In his last communication sent to the agency through his lawyers, Deshmukh said the agency had already recorded his statement during his "several hours" of interaction with the ED investigators when they raided his premises here on June 25. He wrote in a letter saying he was a law abiding citizen "who has led a life of dignity and honour." "I am sanguine to expose the falsity, hollowness and lack of substance in the allegations levelled against me," he had stated. He said he was suffering from "hypertension and cardiac problems" and hence it "may not be prudent or desirable to appear in person today." The ED had earlier claimed in the court that Waze recorded his statement before the agency stating he "collected" Rs 4.70 crore cash from Mumbai bar owners and "handed it over" to Deshmukh's personal assistant (Shinde). The cop, lodged in Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai, had also told the ED that he attended a meeting at the official residence of the home minister wherein he was given a list of bar and restaurant owners and asked "to collect Rs 3 lakh per month from each bar and restaurant" in Mumbai. According to the PMLA, a statement recorded under the stringent sections of this law is admissible before the court. New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has attached assets of late Congress leader Ahmed Patel's son-in-law, actors Dino Morea and Sanjay Khan and DJ Aqeel in a criminal investigation into a money laundering case linked to alleged bank fraud. The case involves a Gujarat-based pharmaceutical company called Sterling Biotech group and its absconding main promoter brothers, Nitin Sandesara and Chetan Sandesara. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged that this is a bigger bank scam in volume than that of the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud by fugitive diamantaires Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, as it involves fraud to the tune of about Rs 16,000 crore. A consortium of banks led by Andhra Bank were alleged to have been duped, it said. The amount involved in the PNB case is pegged at about Rs 13,400 crore. The federal probe agency said four separate provisional orders were issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach the assets of the four people which are worth a total Rs 8.79 crore. Out of this, the value of attachment of assets for Khan is Rs 3 crore, for Dino Morea it is Rs 1.4 crore, for Aqeel Abdulkhalil Bachooali, popularly known as DJ Aqeel, it is Rs 1.98 crore and for Irfan Ahmed Siddiqui, who is Patel's son-in-law, it is Rs 2.41 crore, the central probe agency said in a statement. It added that the attached properties include three vehicles, several bank accounts, shares and mutual fund. Siddiqui, Morea (45) and Aqeel (44) have been questioned by the agency in the past in this case. The ED had recorded the statement of Sunil Yadav, an employee of the Sandesara family, where he told the agency that Siddiqui "occupied" a house in Delhi's Vasant Vihar, which reportedly belonged to Chetan Sandesara. The agency had then said that it has evidence to say that Morea and Aqeel were paid some money in an alleged unauthorised manner by the Gujarat-based pharmaceutical group between 2011-12 when they reportedly attended some family events organised by the Sandesara brothers. While Morea, also a model, has worked in a number of Hindi films, Aqeel is a popular DJ. Aqeel is married to the eldest daughter of veteran actor and director Sanjay Khan (80). Late Ahmed Patel and his son Faisal were also questioned and their statement was recorded by the ED last year in July in this case. Patel, after the fourth round of questioning, had told reporters that the ED action was "political vendetta and harassment against me and my family and I do not know under whose pressure they (investigators) are working." He died on November 25 last year at the age of 71 resulting from complications linked to COVID-19. The ED statement linked the four to the Sandesara family. "Investigation by ED revealed that Sandesaras' diverted proceeds of crime of Rs 3 crore, Rs 1.4 crore, Rs 12.54 crore and Rs 3.51 crore to Sanjay Khan, Dino Morea, Aqeel Bachooali and Irfan Ahmed Siddiqui respectively," it alleged. The Sandesara brothers, Chetan's wife Dipti Sandesara and Hitesh Patel have been declared fugitive economic offenders by a special court, the ED said. They are stated to be based abroad and India is trying to extradite them. The total attachment of assets in this case now stands at Rs 14,521.80 crore. The ED had registered a criminal case in connection with the alleged bank-loan fraud in 2017 on the basis of a CBI FIR. New Delhi: Veteran actor Dilip Kumar, who has been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Mumbai's Hinduja Hospital, is stable, his wife Saira Banu said on Saturday. Speaking about the current health condition of the legendary star, Saira Banu told ANI that although his health is stable, he will not be discharged today. "Dilip Kumar Sahab's health is still stable. He is still in ICU, we want to take him home but we are waiting for doctors' approval as they know his medical condition as soon as doctors allow, will take him home. He will not be discharged today. Need prayers of his fans, he will be back soon," she told ANI. Dilip Kumar was taken to the hospital on June 30 after he complained of breathing issues. This is his second visit to the medical establishment in the month of June. Confirming the news to ANI on June 30, Dr Jaleel Parkar said that the 98-year-old star is currently undergoing treatment at the hospital. He refused to give any more health updates about the actor, at that time. Earlier, the veteran actor was hospitalised after a similar complaint on June 6. Known as the 'Tragedy King' of Bollywood, the veteran actor's career spanned over six decades. He has acted in over 65 films in his career and is known for his iconic roles in movies like 'Devdas '(1955), 'Naya Daur' (1957), 'Mughal-e-Azam' (1960), 'Ganga Jamuna' (1961), 'Kranti' (1981), and 'Karma' (1986). He was last seen in 'Qila' in 1998. Mumbai: Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, who is undergoing treatment for pneumonia at a hospital here, is stable and under observation, a hospital source said on Saturday. The 70-year-old actor was admitted to the Khar-based P D Hinduja Hospital & Medical Research Centre, a non-COVID-19 facility, on Tuesday. According to the hospital source, Shah has no issues at present and is doing well. "He is stable and under observation. He is on medication and absolutely fine," the source told PTI. On Wednesday, Shah's wife and veteran actor Ratna Pathak Shah told PTI that the veteran actor had a "small patch" of pneumonia in his lungs and was undergoing treatment for the same. Shah is known for his contribution towards art house cinema with films such as 'Nishant', 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro', 'Ijaazat', 'Bazaar', 'Masoom', 'Mirch Masala', 'A Wednesday', 'Waiting'. The National School of Drama (NSD) and Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) alumnus has also created a space for himself in commercial cinema with movies such as 'Karma', 'Tridev' 'Vishwatma', 'Chamatkar', 'Mohra', 'Sarfarosh', 'The Dirty Picture', 'Krish', 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara', among others. The multiple National Award-winning actor was last seen in the 2020 drama "Mee Raqsam" and the acclaimed Amazon Prime Video series 'Bandish Bandits'. New Delhi: In an adorable new video, Bollywood veteran actress Neetu Kapoor asked her son Ranbir Kapoor to encourage youngsters to call their parents every day even after the lockdown. She said that if kids can spend so much time on social media, they can surely spare a few minutes for their parents! The actress also penned down a cute caption for the video and called Ranbir a 'good bachcha'. Witnessing her love for her son, B-Town celebs rushed to the comment section to gush over how adorable her message was. In the video, she said, "Beta, can you send a message to all young people to call their parents every day, even after the lockdown. Social media pe toh bohut busy ho toh apne family ko bhi do minute ka time dena toh banta hai, hain an (You are always busy on social media but you can still spare a few minutes of your family too, right?) In addition to the message, she wrote in the caption, "I am sure my good bachcha will spread the good word. And call me too! Just #SayItWithRanbir. #EmotionsInPortrait @oppomobileindia". Check out the adorable video message: In the comment section, agreeing with Neetu, Neena Gupta wrote, "So true" while Sussanne Khan complimented the veteran actress and wrote, "u are the prettiest Neetu aunty". Unfortunately, last year, Neetu lost her husband and veteran actor Rishi Kapoor to Leukaemia (blood cancer). The actor, who breathed his last at HN Reliance hospital in Mumbai on April 30, 2020, had gone under treatment for it in New York a year prior to his demise. He is survived by his wife and actress Neetu Kapoor, children Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, and actor Ranbir Kapoor. During his tough times, Neetu stood like a rock behind him. The two shared a great bond and gave perfect couple goals. On the workfront, Neetu will be next seen sharing screen space with Anil Kapoor, Varun Dhawan and Kiara Advani in 'Jug Jugg Jeeyo.' New Delhi: Last year, on July 3, renowned choreographer Saroj Khan left for her heavenly abode. The veteran Bollywood dancer had succumbed to a cardiac arrest and was suffering from ill-health weeks prior to that as well. Her demise was mourned by one and sundry. From colleagues in the film fraternity, political leaders to fans - everyone condoled the death of Masterji, as she was fondly called. Her favourite and one of the most graceful dancers in Bollywood, superstar Madhuri Dixit has had a long association with Masterji (as she was fondly called). Naturally, on her demise, Madhuri was shattered and had penned an emotional note on social media. To honour their strong bond and relationship, on Saroj Khan's first death anniversary, we travel back in time with the duo's hit Bollywood songs. Take a look at some of their top songs together: Humko Aajkal Hain Intezaar Dhak-Dhak Karne Laga Channe Ke Khet Mein Dola Re Dola Maar Daala Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai Tabaah Ho Gaye Her camaraderie and collaboration with superstar Madhuri Dixit delivered sure shot success. Blockbuster songs like 'Ek Do Teen' in Tezaab, 'Tamma Tamma Loge' in Thanedaar and 'Dhak Dhak Karne Laga' in Beta are a few milestones in her career which helped her emerge as the numero uno choreographer in Bollywood. The veteran choreographer's on-screen and off-screen bonding with Madhuri Dixit resulted in some of the iconic dance moves. Incidentally, her last film 'Kalank' (2019) was with Madhuri for the song 'Tabaah Ho Gaye'. New Delhi: A year ago, on this day (July 3), ace Bollywood choreographer Saroj Khan left for her heavenly abode. The veteran Bollywood dancer had succumbed to a cardiac arrest and had been suffering from ill-health weeks prior to that as well. Her demise was mourned by one and sundry. From colleagues in the film fraternity, political leaders to fans - everyone had condoled the death of Masterji, as she was fondly called. Saroj Khan will always be remembered for her iconic dance sequences. She had choreographed songs from Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Kangana Ranaut, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Sanjay Dutt and many other Bollywood celebs. She had also collated some timeless moments spent with these stars on her Instagram (unverified) timeline. The pictures are from the sets of the films and every bit frame-worthy. For late star Sridevi, Saroj Khan choreographed songs such as 'Hawa Hawai', 'Main Naagin Tu Sapera' and many more. Madhuri's association with Saroj Khan was three decades-long. The duo gave Hindi cinema some best songs, including 'Ek Do Teen' and 'Dhak Dhak Karne Laga'. Take a look at some other timeless pictures here: Saroj Khan was the recipient of the most National Film Awards for Best Choreography. She won three National Awards for choreographing 'Dola Re Dola' ('Devdas'), all the songs of Tamil film 'Sringaram', and 'Yeh Ishq Haaye' (Jab We Met). On her first death anniversary (July 3, 2021), film producer Bhushan Kumar announced that he will be producing a biopic on the Bollywood veteran to bring the story of her illustrious career to the masses via his banner T-Series. New Delhi: Over one crore central government employees and pensioners are impatiently waiting for the restoration of dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) under the 7th Pay Commission. While the Indian government is yet to formally announce the restoration date, the centre has now come up with another good news for its employees. The Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) has relaxed rules for claiming Child Education Allowance (CEA Claim Rule) to offer some respite to central government employees. What is the new CEA rule? At present, central government employees are provided Rs 2250 per month as part of CEA under the 7th Pay Commission. Employees are required to share the result/report cards of their children to claim the sum. However, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, several schools havent shared childrens results/report cards yet. As a result, parents are facing difficulties in submitting the required documents. Taking note of the situation, DOPT is allowing its employees to claim the sum by sharing a self-certification. Employees can also share the printout of e-mail or SMS of results or report cards share by schools to claim CEA. However, employees are requested to take note that the relaxation is valid only for the academic years ending in March 2020 and March 2021. DoPT has also issued a circular regarding the change in the rule. Also Read: Twitter to appoint resident grievance officer for India soon The central government pays CEA to employees to help them take care of the needs of their children such as schooling and hostel fees. Also Read: Amazon asked to change Alexas name by parents in UK, heres why Live TV #mute Bengaluru: The 20-year-old son of Kannada and Tulu Film Director, Suryoday Perampalli, met with an accident here and died on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, said the police. According to police, the deceased has been identified as Mayur, who succumbed after his motorbike collided with a water tanker. The Byadarahalli police said Mayur was reportedly speeding and could have failed to properly gauge the water tanker ahead of him. "As he was riding a 300 cc motorbike so due to over-speeding, he collided with this tanker from behind and due to the impact succumbed on his way to the hospital," the police added. Perampalli has produced and directed superhit Tulu film, 'Deyi Baidethi - Gejjegiri Nandanodu', an adaptation on the life of Deyi Baidethi, the mother of Koti and Chennayya who were the twin warriors of Tulunadu (present day Mangaluru and Udupi districts). They fought valiantly on the battleground and died nearly 500 years ago. The movie has won three state awards. Encouraged by the success of this movie, Perampalli also directed the Kannada movie, Salt, a comedy-crime thriller in February 2021. In the last one month, this is the third road accident involving the Kannada film industry. Earlier, it was Sanchari Vijay who died on the spot while just two days ago, noted Kannada actor and BJP leader Jaggesh's son Yathiraj met with an accident but escaped with minor injuries. This was followed by 20-year-old Mayur who died in a bike accident. New Delhi: July 3 marks International Plastic Bag Free Day when the world reminds itself of the importance to reduce the usage of plastic in everyday life. Every year, this day is observed to create awareness about the threat caused by plastic pollution to the natural environment, be it land or marine life. History of International Plastic Bag Free Day: The campaign by Zero Waste Europes Bag Free World became a global initiative and July 3 was chosen as the day to encourage the use of eco-friendly products including paper and cloth bags and avoid the usage of single-use plastic bags. People around the world celebrate the day by organizing beach clean campaigns, making resolutions to go plastic-free and spread awareness about the hazards of plastic pollution. Closer to home, in India, the Sikkim government had passed the countrys first plastic-bag ban in 1998. India passed the first plastic-waste management law in September 1999 with the aim to restrict the use of plastic carry bags (thickness 20 m or less). Despite several bans introduced since then, the situation remains grim across the country. Reality check: As per United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) report, 5 trillion single-use plastic bags are used globally every year. The world produces 300 million tonnes of plastic waste every year which is equivalent to the weight of the entire human population. The report also warns that our oceans could contain more plastic than fish by 2050. Its time to Go Green and make environment- friendly choices if we want a pollution-free world for the next generation. Live TV New Delhi: Veteran Bollywood actor Shatrughan Sinha won a million hearts with her power-packed performances in several iconic films. He along with his wife Poonam Sinha graced the Indian Idol 12 recently and made interesting revelations on the show. During those times, I was continuously shooting for films which had two heroes and, somehow, we can call it a human error or my dates were an issue due to which I couldnt sign the film Sholay. Im sad but happy at the same time as due to Sholay, national icon Amitabh Bachchan, who is my dear friend, got such a big break, the actor reportedly said this after Himesh Reshammiya quizzed him over turning down the iconic film Sholay. Certain rejections of films occur due to date issues. Even Amitabh Bachchan wanted to do Kalicharan but he couldnt do it for a reason. Its generic in nature, even Rajesh Khanna, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Sunny Deol must have rejected films for several reasons, he added. Directed by Ramesh Sippy, Sholay starred Sanjeev Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Amjad Khan, Hema Malini and Jaya Bachchan in lead roles. He also recalled the moment when he dozed off during the script narration of Subhash Ghai's Kalicharan starring Reena Roy. IANS quoted the veteran star as saying, "A very good friend of mine -- family friend and wife's brother -- Subhash Ghai, who was a newcomer back then, narrated the script of Kalicharan to me. But in the middle of the narration, I dozed off! Although it happened, the complete truth is that the script narration took place at about 3 to 4am and I had just returned after completing three to four movie shifts. By the time I reached home, it was already 2am. Still, I immediately freshened up and met him at 4am sharp. I was so tired that I partially dozed off during the narration. But during the shooting of this movie, I gave my full support to Subhash Ghai and apart from this film I did three more with him." Shatrughan Sinha and wife Poonam Sinha's special episode on Indian Idol 12 will be aired over the weekend. New Delhi: A terrifying video showing the exact moment when lightning strikes an SUV car carrying a family of five on the highway in Kansas is going viral on social media platforms. The 13-second video has left netizens stunned. The incident took place on June 25 and the visuals were recorded by a passenger in a car behind the SUV, Carl Hobi. The recording shows a car being driven on a highway on a rainy day, when suddenly after 5 seconds a lightning bolt strike the SUV, which was carrying five passengers, including three children. "They were in shock and the first thing they did was make sure the kids were okay and they were relieved that everyone was just fine. The car was dead and stuck in gear and we could not get it into neutral to push off the road. It will most likely be considered totaled," Carl Hobi told Newsweek. Take a look at the horrifying video here: ALSO READ: Stunning rainbow snake changes skin colour, leaves netizens amazed - Watch According to the report, an eyewitness confirmed that passengers in the car included a three-year-old, a 1.5-year-old and an eight-month-old. The car was dead and stuck in gear and we could not get it in to [sic] neutral to push off the road. It will most likely be considered Totaled, Hobi added. New Delhi: Stirring up a controversy, a councillor of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) was caught on camera giving a COVID-19 jab at a vaccination centre in Asansol. Some Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders shared the video on microblogging site Twitter. They accused Councillor Tabassum Ara of giving the dose without any prior experience. BJP leaders Babul Supriyo and Agnimitra Paul, shared the clip which shows Ara administering a shot by herself to another woman at vaccination camp. Asansol MLA Agnimitra Paul in a tweet wrote: "TMC's manhandling of the lives of people knows no bounds..A non-medical official, TMC's Tabassum Ara, member of administrative board of AMC, chose to vaccinate the people herself, in spite of doctors and nurses being present there Is she even medically authorised to do so?" CHECK TWEET HERE: TMC's manhandling of the lives of people knows no bounds..A non-medical official, TMC's Tabassum Ara, member of administrative board of AMC, chose to vaccinate the people herself, in spite of doctors and nurses being present there Is she even medically authorised to do so? pic.twitter.com/3WSFqKw6hE Agnimitra Paul Official (@paulagnimitra1) July 3, 2021 While, Babul Supriyo said: "Seems like TMC govt has no control over its administrators. TMC's Tabassum Ara, a member of the administrative body of AMC, has vaccinated people herself and risked hundreds of lives... Will her political colour shield her from stern punishment?" Though, Ara has denied the allegations. "I did not give any vaccine. I was only holding the syringe in my hand. There are a lot of people who are hesitant of taking the shots," she waas quoted as saying by NDTV. "While claims are being made that I administered the dose, I was just trying to spread awareness by holding the syringe," she added. Live TV Honolulu: A cargo plane made an emergency landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii early Friday and both people on board have been rescued. The pilots of the Transair Flight 810 reported engine trouble and were attempting to return to Honolulu when they were forced to land the Boeing 737 in the water, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. US Coast Guard Lt. Commander Karin Evelyn said in an email that they received a report around 1:40 a.M. Of a downed inter-island transport plane. About an hour later, rescuers in a Coast Guard helicopter spotted the debris field and two people in the water, Evelyn said. One person was hoisted into the helicopter and taken to Queens Medical Center, Evelyn said. The Honolulu Fire Department rescued the other person, she said. Their identities were not immediately released. Queen's officials said a 58-year-old was in the intensive care unit in critical condition, according to Hawaii News Now. A boat brought the other 50-year-old to shore before being transported to the hospital in serious condition with a head injury and multiple lacerations, Hawaii News Now reported. The plane debris remains, Evelyn said, and the Coast Guard will evaluate the pollution at first light. According to the state Department of Transportation, the plane debris was found about 4 miles (6.5 kilometers) off Oahu, Hawaii News Now reported. The plane was flying from Honolulu to Maui. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The NTSB said in a tweet that it will send a team of seven investigators. The Boeing 737 first flew in the late 1960s and is the most popular airline plane still in production. Boeing has delivered more than 10,500 of them and has unfilled orders for about 4,000 more, almost all of those for the latest version of the plane, the 737 Max. Over the years, about 200 737s have been destroyed in crashes and several hundred others have been involved in less serious accidents and incidents, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. "For a jet that has been in production for so long and is being used so extensively, 203 hull-loss accidents can be considered a very good safety record," said Harro Ranter, who runs the database. He said the plane's accident rate improved dramatically from the first models to more recent ones that preceded the Max. The plane involved in Friday's incident is 46 years old. It is a much earlier version of the 737 than the Max, and US Airlines no longer use the older ones for passenger flights. Boeing said in a statement: "We are aware of the reports out of Honolulu, Hawaii and are closely monitoring the situation. We are in contact with the US National Transportation Safety Board and are working to gather more information."